I've been playing through Kingdom Hearts 3D [Dream Drop Distance] for the Nintendo 3DS, and here are my thoughts on the game so far.

Since Kingdom Hearts is one giant storyline, hardcore fans of the 10-year-old franchise will likely have a better understanding of what's going on than newcomers. As you make progress, summaries from the past games are unlocked. It helps some, but if you really want to know the story, just find it on the Internet.

There's a Pokemon and Nintendogs vibe going on in this one as more than 50 Dream Eaters called Spirits can be collected to fight alongside Sora and Riku. You can even play with them to help boost their levels. During battles they seemed to help for the most part, but sometimes my healer failed to cure me when I needed it.

The most interesting mechanic is the Drop system, which forces you to switch between Sora and Riku when a timer runs out. It feels weird at first, then natural afterward. The annoying thing is if you're in the middle of a boss fight and have to make the switch, you'll have to fight the boss from the beginning again. This happened to me once, but never again since I decided to make the Drop right before the battle, making things less stressful.

Watch out for my full review at www.theoaklandpress.com.

Get even tinier random thoughts at www.twitter.com/JeffHoard921.