There are a lot of Kingdom Hearts games.

Sure, you may have dipped in now and then to try them out. After all, the hype around the original game felt earned, with a concept that honestly seemed like some sort of fever dream. Disney's most beloved characters crossing over with the heroes and villains of the Final Fantasy series? Back in 2002, you could sign basically everyone up.

But the series' lore spans more than just its numbered titles, and for plenty of potential fans the recently released Kingdom Hearts III is just a make-good for a generation of players who haven't heard from the series in 14 years. Though that's not entirely true, because plenty happened in the franchise's handful of titles released between its numbered entries.

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So, what happens if you don't have much exposure to the series at all and want to jump into Kingdom Hearts III? Well, it's mighty confusing.

Kingdom Hearts III opens with an montage of events from the series up until now sans any kind of narration. Longtime fans will probably know exactly what's happening, as glimpses of the earlier games and the many worlds explored show up here, like Tron: Legacy, The Little Mermaid and... The World Ends With You? For a new player, this is more music video than anything else, and then you find yourself in the playable shoes of series protagonist Sora before you know it.

With limited exposure to just the opening moments of the first Kingdom Hearts, this beginning will seem familiar, as you select broad attributes based on short clips that seemingly influence your "build" when you start the game. Are you a fan of friendship -- or power? For friendship, maybe you'll get some extra HP. For power, maybe a boost to your attack.

Before you know it, the baggage of the series comes into play, and a leather-wearing, zipper-clad Mickey Mouse will address you as a budding "master of the Keyblade," the series' signature weapon class. Goofy and Donald Duck are also there as your allies and party members once again, and then it's just cameo after cameo from characters like Yen Sid from Fantasia, Jiminy Cricket and Chip and Dale, all of whom have seemingly played huge parts in the lore up to this point. Chip and Dale make you a cellphone in this one.

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This neatly leads into Sora's first mission in Kingdom Hearts III, to discover his lost power while his friends, Riku and Mickey, search for some lost Keyblade masters who may hold the key (heh) to preventing a war before it happens. A war with who? The new Organization XIII, a crew of evildoers who may just be split versions of the series' main evildoer, Xehanort. This is where a flowchart would come in handy, but as a new player just know that the guys in the long black cloaks are bad and you've got to stop them.

From there, the bread and butter of the Kingdom Hearts series comes out in full force, and you journey from Disney-inspired world to Disney-inspired world, including Olympus from Hercules, Toy Box from Toy Story, Monstropolis from Monster's Inc., Arendelle from Frozen and a handful of others. Some of these were in earlier games in the series (which will be obvious when Hercules or Winnie the Pooh address Sora by name) and some are brand new, like Frozen and Big Hero 6. 

Each world is wonderfully-crafted, with plenty of detail packed into every corner. For new players, this is probably the strongest element of the game, as Sora, Donald and Goofy are simply slotted into the events of the film versions of Tangled, Frozen and Big Hero 6. Sure, it may feel a little forced, but these worlds are replicated extraordinarily well, with a handful of returning voice cast to boot. Though, some of the soundalikes can pull you out of the illusion.

In addition to the Disney and Pixar worlds, there are appearances from characters like Simba from The Lion King, Stitch from Lilo & Stitch, Ralph from Wreck-it-Ralph and Remy (known here as Little Chef) from Ratatouille. These are either in the form of "Links," one of the game's many summoning systems, or just as cameos in Twilight Towna point of gathering for residents of the multiverse.

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Unfortunately, there's not too much here for fans of the Final Fantasy aspect of Kingdom Hearts, except for an incredibly-built trailer for "Verum Rex," a video game from the Toy Story world that bears a striking resemblance to the ill-fated Final Fantasy Versus XIII, which eventually became Final Fantasy XV. It's a fun Easter egg that does come into play a bit later in the game's story, but for the gaming enthusiast at large, it's a nice touch.

While there is certainly a lot of background to the Kingdom Hearts series going into this third entry, the game does a solid enough job at explaining the basic stakes of its story for first-time players. If you don't have the 17 years of history with the franchise, then you're in for a gorgeous action RPG that just so happens to cross over some of Disney and Pixar's most iconic worlds, and that might be just enough for you to enjoy it. Even if it is a bit corny.

Kingdom Hearts III is now available for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. A review copy was provided by the publisher.