There must be something about the number 3 that brings developers to their knees like some kind of game designer kryptonite. While Valve Corp and its founder, Gabe Newell, hear no end of Half-Life 3 jokes, Square Enix has also been fending off questions about Kingdom Hearts 3 for nearly the same length of time.

Since the 2006 release of Kingdom Hearts 2 (2005 in Japan), the franchise has seen over half a dozen releases on handheld and mobile devices, along with a couple of “remixes” that ported the original games to PlayStation 3. Fans have been waiting nearly 10 years for Kingdom Hearts 3, and despite a short gameplay clip shown at E3 on Tuesday, the wait does not look like it will end any time this year.

But that is not necessarily a bad thing.

Disney Animation’s rebound

The primary attraction to the Kingdom Hearts series is its bizarre crossovers between Final Fantasy games and Disney films. After Kingdom Hearts 2, Square Enix had already tapped out most of the A-list Disney library, and if the third game had been released only a few years later, it would have either had to retread old ground or scrape the bottom of the barrel for new Disney material.

No one wants play through a level set in Brother Bear.

Now, however, Kingdom Hearts 3 has plenty of excellent new Disney material to pull from, and the footage from this year’s E3 has already confirmed a crossover with Tangled. With no release date in sight, Square Enix could be taking the time to add material from other recent hits coming out of Disney, including Big Hero 6,  Wreck-it Ralph and, of course, Frozen.

Perhaps even more exciting, Disney’s acquisitions over the last few years have opened up entire new directions for the series, including the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Star Wars. A lightsaber keyblade? A battle between between Thor and Disney’s Hercules? The possibilities are endless.

Of course, like all things involving E3 and games with no release date, this is all rampant speculation, but the confirmed inclusion of Tangled is a good sign for the future of the franchise. And we will still get it before Half-Life 3.

Watch the full video of the Kingdom Hearts 3 E3 gameplay trailer below (via Eurogamer)

Screenshot via YouTube