It looks like the upcomingRe: MindDLCwill giveKingdom Hearts 3a new ESRB rating. Or, at least, it’ll give the rating more warnings announcing maturer content.
The game will continue to sit at “Everyone 10+,” but will now have three new warnings attached. The vanilla version ofKingdom Hearts 3currently tells buyers that players will experience “Fantasy Violence,” and “References to Alcohol.” However,Re: Mindwill upgrade “References to Alcohol” to “Use of Alcohol,” and will add “Mild Blood,” and “Mild Language.” Here are the two ratings for comparison:
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The change comes from two new videos posted by the official Kingdom Hearts Youtube channel. The videos promote a newRe: Mind+ bundle that will include both the DLC and a concert video that features 19 soundtracks from the Kingdom Hearts - World of Tres - concert. The new ESRB rating appears right at the beginning of these two videos. They’re the firstRe: Mindtrailersto have it, as all three of the previous trailers featured the rating from the vanilla version ofKingdom Hearts 3.
How exactlyRe: Mindwill utilize its new rating remains to be seen, but some evidence for an educated guess already exists. The closestgame in theKingdom Heartsseriesto haveRe: Mind’s rating isKingdom Hearts 2(Final Mix), which features “Mild Blood,” “Use of Alcohol,” and good old-fashion “Violence.” Both the “Use of Alcohol” and “Mild Blood” warnings came about on Port Royal, a world that features characters and plotlines fromPirates of the Caribbean. Seeing as the world featured pirates, drinking was inevitable, and because the world’s plot revolved around a blood curse, blood was also inevitable. Since Port Royal makes a return inKingdom Hearts 3, players can probably expect the drinking and blood to come from there.
The “Mild Language” addition is interesting, though. It suggests someone inRe: Mindwill be having fun with naughty language, and considering this is an ESRB rating, it probably won’t be something like “damn,” “hell,” or “crap,” but an actual swear.Kingdom Heartshas never featured this kind of talk because of the whole Disney character thing. So while it would be hilarious to see someone like Goofy pop off, Disney’s probably not going to allow that to happen. It’s probable this warning also comes from Port Royal characters. However, it’s also possible aKingdom Heartsoriginal characteror someone fromFinal Fantasycould be the cause of it.
Kingdom Hearts 3is out now for PS4 and Xbox One.
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