Professor RPG here with a special investigation! This morning, Square Enix released the official box art for their biggest upcoming title, Kingdom Hearts 3. I found some interesting bits in the art, let me show them to you!

A) The Clock of 13

Even before Kingdom Hearts 3 was announced in the secret ending for Dream Drop Distance, it was revealed that the last game would focus on the battle between the seven lights and the 13 darknesses. This conflict is at the center of this box art design. On the left, marked with “A” you will notice the clockface. At a quick glance you will just see a normal clock, but when you look closer you will notice that this clock goes up to 13, not the usual 12. Immediately to the right of the clock of 13, you will have the seven lights with Ventus, Terra, Aqua, Sora, Riku, Kairi, and Mickey on top. Nomura being Nomura, the placement of these seven is not accidental. Notice that the form a curved, almost domed shape around the rest of the cast, acting as a barrier, a shield, the front lines of the war.

B) Lea and friends

It’s interesting to see that the full crew from 358/2 Days is present here, especially Xion. I don’t think they are their Nobodies either, as you can see that this is Lea and not the Nobody Axel due to the lack of marks under his eyes. We see no indication of any of their keyblades either. I wouldn’t put to much weight on that though, since Aqua, Terra, and Ven aren’t wielding theirs either.

C) Whatcha looking at, Goofy?

This could be a case of Goofy being well, Goofy. I find it strange that as everyone is looking straight at the battle in front of them against the 13 darknesses, Goofy is the only one looking away. It appears that his attention is completely on his king, Mickey. It will be curious to see if this is a hint at perhaps his main focus, or at something that may happen in the final game. Does something happen to Mickey? Does something happen to Goofy while trying to protect Mickey? Or perhaps Goofy has to make a choice that would benefit others while harming the king? Another possibility is that he is looking at Kingdom Hearts itself. Above the game’s logo is the blue cloudy sky traditionally associated with Kingdom Hearts coming into view. Is Goofy noticing something the others are not? Very interesting…

D) Mickey’s new keyblade

Mickey has a new weapon to battle the darkness with and it certainly looks familiar! In order to avoid any spoilers for those of you who are refraining from watching the trailers, I won’t mention the character specifically. But it closely resembles the keyblade held by that one yellow-eyed character. The only missing detail between the one Mickey is holding in the art and the one in the trailer is that it is missing the deep blue shaft of the blade portion, and the stars going around it. Is it the same keyblade, or are they similar but different, much like how the Kingdom Key had it’s opposite with the Kingdom Key – D?

Those are a few of the items that I found in my first look at the box art. Did you find any small details that I missed? Do you think there is a hidden meaning behind the Darkling Heartless holding the star-shaped light? Sound off in the comments down below or join the discussion over at the official Irrational Passions Discord!