Quite possibly the best 3DS game there is at the moment, fans of the series will really sink their hearts into this one.
If you've never played a Kingdom Hearts game you might want to stay away from this one, since this is a sequel to Kingdom Hearts Re Coded (DS), but however throughout the whole game you'll receive journals on past stories and events on what's happened in the series. Main plot is where Sora and Riku are taking the Mark of Mastery to become Keyblade Masters, Master Yen Sid sends them to 7 worlds which are meant to be rescued in the "Sleeping Worlds" so it's up to Sora and Riku to save them.
Gameplay: Fans of the series will get into the gameplay straight away if you've played past Kingdom Hearts games, but however the battle system is a little similar to the one that was used in Birth by Sleep. You'll be using a command deck and having up to 4 or more commands and techniques on to your Deck Command. Unlike Birth by Sleep and Re Coded you had to level up your attacks and magic commands; none of that appears in Dream Drop you can easily swap back and forth any commands, magic or items at any time.
Another cool thing you'll enjoy is Flow motion and Reality Shift where you can jump from wall to wall or speed through at incredible speed when it comes to jump and dodging. For Reality Shifts you use the touch screen to pull off certain objects or meeting certain requirements during various boss battles. Certain worlds you'll be sliding the touch screen or tapping the bottom screen, or even connecting other points on the screen to make a rail.
Unlike the past games where you have Disney characters in your party team are no longer available in Dream Drop. Instead you're using Dream Eaters which are like these monsters which can aid you in battles, you might be thinking of Dragon Quest or Pokémon where you can level your Dream Eaters and looking after them like pets. Using the camera on the 3DS you can see your Dream Eaters on the top screen and take photos, feeding them with sweets and candy and playing mini-games with them.
This might be a little annoying at first but you get used to it after every 20 minutes is that you switch back and forth with Sora and Riku which is the Drop Gauge. Which is the Pink-Coloured gauge bar which slowly drains down, your time will be up and you'll be switching to the other character either Sora or Riku. You can spend Drop points and give them some of your combat points and any leftover points can be exchanged into money.
Graphics and Sound: Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop does have some of the best graphics that I've seen for a 3DS console, the CGI opening at the beginning of the game is really amazing to watch, the cutscenes are little similar to the past games in the series that uses Playstation 2 styled animation for its cutscenes and gameplay. Even using the 3D on your 3DS can really pull of some good animation which is actually the best part about the whole game.
But like past games in the series the camera system can be really annoying at times and even target-locking onto enemies doesn't make a difference at all. However this game is Circle Pad compatible if you want a second analog stick on your 3DS. Most worlds you'll visit where it's either Traverse Town, or The Grid (Tron Legacy) or even Pranksters Paradise (Pinocchio) are almost identical to the same Disney films which we've all seen when we were younger.
For those who have played or fans of The World Ends With You (DS) will be pleasantly surprised that some of its characters make an appearance and some of its music gets mentioned. Soundtrack for Dream Drop is still impressive as always like past games the soundtracks have always been worthy to listen through from world music, theme music or even battle music.
Music from Fantasia gets used as you play through that world later on in the game, but however if you've played games like Kingdom Hearts II or 358/2 Days you'll hear the same main theme music again Sanctuary- Utada Hikaru. It would have been nice if they had a new theme song for Dream Drop, just hope there's a new one when it comes to Kingdom Hearts III.
Overall: Clearing the main story can take you at least 20 hours or more pending on what difficulty you are playing the game on, you can unlock Critical Mode once you've beaten the game first time round.
There are plenty of things to do and unlock after beating the main story including Flick Rush where you have a party of 3 Dream Eaters in your team and enter a monster-mash tournament. You can play 2 players with a friend if they have a copy of the game where you can battle each other; its gameplay is a little similar to Chain of Memories (PS2/GBA) if anyone has played through it. Street Pass is also used where you can exchange data from other players by placing a portal nearby and giving other players a pit challenge or sending your Dream Eaters to aid other players in battles.
You would think that Dream Drop Distance was going to be another cheesy-knock off title but it's actually quite the opposite, with addicting gameplay and confusing story-plot fans of the series will really want to sink their teeth into this one. Anyone who just bought a 3DS and was curious about this game you may want to stay away from it and play through the other Kingdom Hearts games before playing Dream Drop.