On April 6th Square Enix released Kingdom Hearts X Unchained for iOS and Android devices. Believe it or not, smart phones and tablets have become one of the most popular gaming platforms in the last few years. I cannot blame Square Enix for making the decision to dive into that arena, and potentially dig into a whole new population of Gamers that will fall in love with the series. This is an excellent stepping stone for this set of games, if this wasn’t the first of it’s kind. Kingdom Hearts X Unchained may be the first smart phone compatible game, but we have had plenty of other titles in the last 5 years on other gaming consoles to do the same job. Being a die hard Kingdom Hearts fan since the age of 12, I can only say that I was kind of bummed. While some may disagree, I feel that this is Square Enix’s way to keep the masses at bay as we continue to wait for Kingdom Hearts III. After it’s E3 trailer release last summer, Gamers have been on edge to get back into the magical world that incorporates Final Fantasy and Disney. Granted fans are aware that Kingdom Hearts 2.8 is the next large release, but when is the space filling going to be over?

There is no denying that each game has brought plot substance to the story of Kingdom Hearts explaining parts of the Keyblade War and the importance of it’s wielders. That is all good and fine, and I am happy to see Square Enix trying new things with characters we love – but let’s take a moment to look at the big picture. Concepts of Kingdom Hearts III have been out since 2006, in 2013 we received an announcement of it’s development, and finally the November of last year we received new footage at Japan’s D23 Expo. Ultimately, myself and other Kingdom Hearts fans have been waiting for 10 long years to continue our adventure with Sora, Goofy, and Donald.

Kingdom Hearts X Unchained begins with enchanting music we all know and love, and after entering your name quickly drops you off into a town square where you begin learning the basis of the turn based battle system. The world the player enters is vibrant, and the all too familiar Heartless begin your battle sequence. The tutorial teaches you how to use the abilities of Donald, Goofy, even Sora the main protagonist of the series. The medals you collect are what give you the abilities that you can use through out the game. Once the tutorial is complete your cat like mentor/companion teaches you to open portals with your Keyblade transporting you to different worlds such as “The Dwarf Woodlands”, which cuts to a scene with the evil queen speaking with her mirror. The premise of the game are incredibly similar to the original plot line, but I am still confused about the cat.

While the game only costs $0.99 cents (in-app purchases available) people have complained that there is a huge issue with the download. There has also been talk that you are in need of an incredible amount of space on your device. If you are bored and in need of something new, and yet familiar, this may be a good choice for you. Although with the amount of actions and swiping you are doing throughout the game to battle, I would recommend a tablet over a smaller smartphone. If you haven’t played any of the games of the Kingdom Hearts franchise you may want to consider playing the first games of the series before diving into a world you don’t know anything about. At the end of the day, the game is only a dollar and could provide at least a few hours of entertainment.