Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance is an action role-playing game developed and published by Square Enix exclusively for the Nintendo 3DS, revealed at E3 2010. The game is the seventh installment in the bestselling Kingdom Hearts series. The game was released in Japan on March 29, 2012 and is set to be released in Europe on July 20, 2012, Australia on July 26, 2012 and North America July 31, 2012. Set after the events of Kingdom Hearts Re:coded, the game focuses on Sora and Riku's Mark of Mastery exam in which they have to protect parallel worlds in preparation of the return of their enemy Xehanort. Besides controlling the two playable characters across a single scenario, the player is able to recruit creatures known as Dream Eaters able to assist them in fights.
The Square Enix staff decided to develop Dream Drop Distance after being impressed by the quality from Nintendo 3DS. Taking advantage of the console's functions, they increased the action elements from the series based on the system previously seen in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep. Additionally, both the gameplay and the plot are meant to give a glimpse about how the following title in the series, Kingdom Hearts III, will be like. The game has been well received in Japan, selling over 300,000 units as of May 2012.
