Kingdom Hearts 3 Images Confirm The Return Of Drive Forms

Square Enix has been working overtime with trying to prop up Final Fantasy XV, but they also have another big game on the horizon in Kingdom Hearts III. Well, a recent tweet has revealed the return of the popular Drive form ability from previous games.

The tweet was posted up on the official Kingdom Hearts Twitter account, indicating that various forms will be available in the game that players can utilize during combat to help gain the edge in Kingdom Hearts III.

The Drive forms have multiple sub-forms, including a Guard form and a Power form. According to Gematsu, in the image tweeted above by the Twitter account, we see that the Keyblade that main protagonist Sora is known for using has transformed into a shield. Gematsu notes that it's the shield of Hercules. They also reveal that there's a Power form that gives Sora a hammer, but they state that the image of Sora with the hammer was edited because Square hasn't been willing to reveal that world yet for Kingdom Hearts III.

Originally, the Drive forms made their appearance in the Kingdom Hearts series during the first sequel, Kingdom Hearts II. According to the Wikia, there are a multitude of different Drives that allow Sora defensive, offensive and mobility oriented abilities when transforming into a different form using the Keyblade.

In the previous games the Drives were limited in their levels, despite Sora being able to level up to the max at 99. The limitations on the Drive form levels was to keep players unlocking new forms and leveling them up at different points throughout the game.

Given that they've already revealed that there is a shield form for Sora in Kingdom Hearts III, and that the hammer form won't be discovered until he reaches a certain location that they haven't revealed, it's safe to assume that the Drive forms will be scattered throughout the gameplay and players will have to journey far and wide to unlock all the abilities.

According to director Tesuya Nomura, they have plans on unveiling the new world and some of the new Drives that will be at Sora's disposal in Kingdom Hearts III sometime early in 2017. This was revealed during a second tweet where they showcased the image of Sora with the hammer.

A lot of fans are absolutely geeked for the possibilities of the upcoming JRPG because of all the properties under the Disney label and the connection that Square has with Disney regarding the Kingdom Hearts franchise. It's one of the few endearing brands out there that -- despite being confusing as heck when it comes to the story -- has managed to maintain a childlike appeal to the story and characters.

Also, Disney has expanded their roster of properties quite a bit since Kingdom Hearts II (not counting all the re-releases and half-releases between that time) so there will be a lot to look forward to in the third numerically sequential game.