Kingdom Hearts III Chess Set Comes With A Catch As Big As Its ...

Square Enix is releasing a chess set replicating a scene in Kingdom Hearts III in July 2022. However, it's not meant for playing chess.

Square Enix lists the Alba and Ater chess set at $699.99 on its website, but the set is being advertised as entirely decorative as the awkward diagonal placing of the squares on the board does not allow its owner to play a conventional game of chess. The store page very clearly states, "This is not a game. No rules included."

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According to the product description, the set is a "three-dimensional replica of the chess-like game in which Eraqus and Xehanort go head-to-head with one another" in Kingdom Hearts III. Meant entirely as a decorative piece, the board is "intricately and exquisitely detailed," with each chess piece representing a different character in Kingdom Hearts. Finished in gold or silver, the bottom of each chess piece is die-cast as well.

A total of 32 pieces, 16 silver and 16 gold, accompany the multi-leveled board, representing the light and the dark. As the product description states, these pieces embody certain characters from Kingdom Hearts, such as Sora, Kairi and, of course, Goofy.

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The chess set appears in a flashback scene at the end of Kingdom Hearts III as young Erqaus and Xehanort play each other while discussing the ancient Keyblade War and the Lost Masters. The match may even have prophetic qualities, too, as it seems to foreshadow a battle between Luxu and the Foretellers. This is implied further by Xehanort lamenting about the pre-determined nature of the future.

Despite the board not having the functionality to host a chess game, fans of Kingdom Hearts III could still recreate the scene featuring Eraqus and Xehanort. Though, it is clear Square Enix intends for this set to be a commemorative ornament to help celebrate the series' 20th anniversary.

Square Enix recently announced that various Kingdom Hearts games will release on Nintendo Switch in preparation for the game's upcoming 20th anniversary in 2022. On the same day of this announcement, franchise protagonist Sora was revealed as the final DLC character joining Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Kingdom Hearts was first released in 2002, with Kingdom Hearts III being the most recent installment in 2019. Square Enix has teased a twentieth-anniversary event coming in 2022, along with further merchandise celebrating the two decades since Kingdom Hearts' initial release.

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Source: Square Enix