Analysis: Kingdom Hearts III Lucca Comics and Games 2018 Tangled Trailer

Welcome to KH13's trailer analysis for the new Kingdom Hearts III tangled trailer from Lucca Comics and Games 2018! The trailer is all about Tangled and showing off more of Kingdom of Corona; so Kingdom Hearts III and Tangled fans, let’s take a look!

The trailer video starts with Kingdom Hearts III's ESRB rating; it is rated E10+, meaning it will have content that is generally suitable for ages 10 and up, in this case including fantasy violence and alcohol reference (which could possibly appear in the Pirates of the Caribbean world like it did in Kingdom Hearts II). The first moment of the actual trailer took me by surprise as the cutscene of Sora and company being surprised when walking towards Rapunzel's tower in the E3 2015 and Jump Festa 2016 trailer has changed. In this trailer, Sora looks more surprised by the appearance of the tower through facial expressions and voice acting. The characters, which were now running into the open, come to a halt at the sight of the tower. They and environment look more vibrant and realistic now than in previous trailers. The camera also zooms in at speed on the tower, giving the audience/player a more rushed sense of adventure.

Sora, Donald, and Goofy slow down at the sight of Rapunzel's tower (Lucca C&G 2018 trailer)

Rapunzel's tower (Jump Festa 2016 trailer)

Rapunzel's tower, (Lucca C&G 2018 trailer)

We can now hear the field music for Kingdom of Corona playing in the background, with a touch of the  distinctive Kingdom Hearts playful sounds that you can find in Yoko Shimomura's other works in the series.

The next scene shows us Rapunzel jumping from the tower and standing on the beautiful green grass. It’s so great to see little parts of the environment in high quality as it makes it look very close to the original movie in terms of graphics. Rapunzel's hair, the most complex aspect of her character design, is beautifully depicted in the escape scene, emulating its original softness and elegant physics. The scene of Rapunzel stepping on grass for the first time captures this emotional moment of her freedom seamlessly.

Rapunzel stepping on grass

Tangled's story is made clearer in Kingdom Hearts III throughout the trailer as we know Sora and company have to escort Rapunzel to the Kingdom to see the lights. This is a great choice of narrative as it will let the players revisit the nostalgic moments from the original movie.

After finally being free from the tower, Rapunzel goes to touch the giant dandelion Heartless and all of the small dandelion Heartless pop up in a group. This is same scene as shown in the previous Big Hero 6 TGS 2018 trailer, where Rapunzel goes to curiously touch the cute puffy being. Once again these Heartless also look better and more realistic than in the previous trailers. We also get another very detailed look at the white puff close up in this scene.

Dandelion Heartless

The English voice acting in this scene is also something that stands out as it is hard to tell if this is Mandy Moore's voice (original voice of Rapunzel) or someone else, because it does sound like her. Mandy Moore also voiced Final Fantasy character Aerith in Kingdom Hearts, so it would be interesting to see her return for Kingdom Hearts III. Currently, it is unconfirmed if Mandy Moore will be reprising her role as Rapunzel.

Once again the Nobody creatures that looks like Marluxia are shown off but this time it is clearer what they look like and how they attack. This particular creature makes a little dance characteristic of its species, showing itself off and how far production has come to bring enemies to life. The animation of this Nobody is also appealing as it’s very similar to Marluxia in terms of how it grabs its scythe. The flower theme that Marluxia and his Nobodies (and Hearltess) bring to the world matches with the original story's theme and environment perfectly, as if they were meant to be!

One of Marluxia's Nobodies

Finally we are able to hear more of confirmed voice actor Zachary Levi reprising his role as Flynn Rider in this cutscene. This scene is also interesting as Goofy doesn’t lift his ear in the English version, but lifts his ear to listen in the Japanese version. Flynn says Sora and company are more cut out for combat, meaning they can tag along with Rapunzel and him through the Kingdom of Corona. It is unclear whether Flynn is hiding his true intentions from them, but it can be assumed he is.

Sora, Donald, and Goofy listen to Flynn (English trailer)

Goofy lifts his ear to hear Flynn better (Japanese trailer)

The scene quickly transitions to the Nobody attacking Sora as he dodge rolls away. Sora instinctively summons his Keyblade with beautiful petals and light - it simply looks so pretty! Sora is wielding the Ever After; this could just be for show in the trailer, or maybe we could be able to obtain this Keyblade earlier rather then having to finish the world first like in previous Kingdom Hearts titles.

Sora summoning Ever After

We have always wanted to see all the animation for world logos in Kingdom Hearts III, and now we can finally see the Kingdom of Corona's beautiful logo animation. Rapunzel’s golden glowing hair is flowing out of the tower window to reveal the artwork and world name.

Kingdom of Corona world logo animation

From here on, gameplay footage beings, featuring the battle track from the Toy Box demo. The music is upbeat, making combat more enjoyable. Situation Commands are present; the most commonly seen throughout previous trailers is Mirage Staff and Blaster Blaze. Mirage Staff seems to be shown in larger areas throughout Kingdom of Corona and has a huge attack radius in the trailer; Blaster Blaze is also shown off, looking more improved since the last time we saw it. Two new Situation Commands, both green, have also appeared on the screen. Goofy Bombardier sounds like a link attack or limit with Goofy like in Kingdom Hearts II. The Tangled Twist command could be a link attack with Rapunzel. The Situation cCommands also change into a unique style along with the command deck in the world you’re in.

Situation commands

We can get a glimpse of the HUDs for Sora, Donald, Goofy, Rapunzel and Flynn in combat and non-combat. Flynn can be seen with low health, while Donald and Goofy are knocked out.

Character HUDs

Amongst all the combat an item drop can also be spotted that looks very similar to items dropped in Kingdom Hearts II, like lucid shards and other materials.

Item drop

Another interesting feature  is a pointing sign as Sora and company are running through the forest. It is unclear and tricky to figure out what the sign says and is there for, but it could be a direction guide orpart of the scenery. The trailer then shows Rapunzel help Sora across the gap; the player may be able to use this mechanic creatively (rather than with clear directive) to overcome obstacles.

A guiding sign on the roar

This next important thing spotted is sure to grab your attention; there are two new Heartless in this trailer. Firstly, there is a Heartless with a red hat and bow in its hand, standing on a rock. It shoots blue arrows and has a circle around it with a green arrow on top. In the Japan version, Sora hits it and a crown symbol appears. This Heartless is also unclear to see in the English version, but we do get a clearer view in the Japan version.

A new archer Heartless

The second new Heartless is even more interesting as we have never seen one like this before. While it is not shown in the English trailer, in the Japan trailer it is wearing a type of blue-white ball gown with a hat and two pink feathers. Its appearance could be related to dresses worn by characters in Tangled. It is one elegant and classy ladylike Heartless because of the way it holds its bag up after Rapunzel hits it!

Another new Heartless


Gameplay showing new Heartless

A short glimpse of the Magic Carousel attraction can be seen, similar to the rest of the theme park rides including the tea cups ride, roller coaster and pirate ship Attractions seen first in the E3 2015 Trailer. It also shows the excellent score when a chain of ten is achieved; it looks to be more powerful the higher the score, as the notes come out from the Carousel and the Heartless are flung back.

Magic Carousel

An Item pick up of a Lucid Stone has also been seen while the Carousel is active. The layout is very similar to Kingdom Hearts 0.2 item obtained alert.

Item picked up

Memorable scenes are also present from Tangled as Rapunzel is unsure (and then sure) of continuing her journey to the Kingdom. Rapunzel is brought to life as she shows her disbelief at her own bravery. Sora and Flynnlook up as Rapunzel feels guilty while leaning on the tree. Goofy watches as Rapunzel affirms she is never going back home while rolling down on the grass. Flynn and Sora lean casually against a tree as Rapunzel swings around it with her hair, perfectly overlapping her swing attack in the trailer. It's wonderful how Sora, Donald, and Goofy have been included into this iconic scenes from the movie. They are very nostalgic as Rapunzel's inner conflict is one of the most classic and comical parts of the movie and amongst Disney animated movie scenes.

"I'm going back. I am never going back! Best. Day. Ever!"

Just before the ending of the trailer, Sora starts using the previously shown Situation Command called Splash Run, which was shown in the E3 2018 showcase trailer

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Spash Run

Finally, there are two other interesting things in the Japanese version of the trailer. First of all, the combat is based in a different area in one of the scenes, allowing us to actually see the rock quarry for the first time, which is where one of the escape scenes take place in the movie. It is unknown if this is a playable area or just a part of the background; it is also still a mystery if The Snuggly Duckling place will be a playable area or have a scene in Kingdom Hearts III.

The rock quarry

The second interesting thing is by far the most puzzling gameplay feature in the Japanese trailer. When Sora does the final attack for Mirage Rod/Staff (different names in each trailer), just in the bottom right corner is Flynn, Rapunzel and something we haven't seen before.It is unclear if this is a horse, another new creature, or something else. What do you think it might be?

Mirage Rod

We have come to the conclusion of KH13's analysis of the Kingdom Hearts III Lucca Comics & Games 2018 trailer! We hope you enjoyed every detail of it. Thank you for tagging along, and if we’ve missed anything (or if you figure out what that mysterious creature is), please let us know in the comments below!