EGX Snapshot Reviews: Kingdom Hearts HD II.5 ReMIX

Platforms: PS3
Release Date: December 5, 2014
Developers: Square Enix
Publishers: Square Enix

This December Kingdom Hearts HD II.5 ReMIX finally makes its debut on the PlayStation 3, and for some, it can’t come soon enough. For others, well, ‘meh’ pretty much sums up the sentiment there. It’s a remastered collection, it’s not next-gen, and frankly, even those of us who do care are more preoccupied with wondering if our fingers will have withered away before they curl around Kingdom Hearts III.

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I’m not here to dispute the worth of II.5 as a collection, as without doubt it’s pure gold for the completionists. After all, it will contain the previously Japan-exclusive Final Mixes of KHII and Birth by Sleep, as well as giving Europe our first look at the HD cinematics of Re: Coded, sequel to KHII and the only thing able to satiate our thirst for the third installment in the main story arc. Re: Coded alone would be enough to recommend this collection to Western fans. In the cases of Kingdom Hearts II and Birth by Sleep, however, it’ generally the Final Remixes versions’ new difficulty mode, a new boss battle and some explanatory cutscenes here and there which will be the main draw. But will that be enough?

The Square Enix booth at EGX London was hardly the impressive behemoth of expectation. Barely scraping a square foot of floor space, two basic consoles were accompanied by a demo of Kingdom Hearts II Final Remix, which bearing in mind represents only a third of the collection’s content, and a gimmick keyblade, which I posed with for many photos, regardless. It did a good job of reminding me Kingdom Hearts was not the world-renowned super-franchise that at thirteen I had assumed it to be, while storming through Olympus Coliseum tournaments all night in dungeon-style darkness. It’s been almost a month since EGX, and only now am I reviewing the new HD collection, since the lack of hype surrounding this release left me with decidedly deflated sentiments towards the game I had previously prioritised over an Xbox One and French Revolution assassins. This poor show at EGX was likely pinned on the game’s initial mediocre Japanese sales in October (dispatching 45,000 less copies than the previous in its opening week), but even so, excitement levels were so flat they’d beat paper in a contest.

For a moment, though, the booth’s façade shall be placed aside – I admit, it would only have really seemed adequate had it come with brass band, party poppers and red carpet attached. The demo of KHII HD itself was teasing and fleeting and served only two more well-known levels as trials: Beast’s Castle and Halloween Town. Within these you engaged in small portions of story, zipping around, defeating (because Sora’s too kind to slaughter, right?) heartless, before facing off against a heartless boss in battle – in this case it was the Shadow Stalker/Dark Thorn and the Prison Keeper, and I had to look that up. I wonder how anyone can keep track of every monster in a 20-page-long bestiary.

Kingdom Hearts II HD may not be a noticeably improved game when compared with its remastered predecessor, but neither did it need to be. Kingdom Hearts II was a mighty decent game to begin with.

Visually, all on the surface seems much as before. Additional screen space has been filled with altered background and textures to compensate for the shift to wide-screen. Menus, character designs (save for the new addition of Christmassy costumes in Christmas Town) and the laughably flat keyblades which show when tilting the camera suddenly, are all familiar but sharper sights, for better or worse (and I think we’ll go worse with the 2D keyblades). I always respected the decision to keep FMVs well out of the game’s hundreds of cutscenes for memory’s and continuity’s sake, but while the remastered version’s cutscenes now have a beautifully crisp look, in gameplay Sora is still guilty of attending the Schwarzenegger academy of Static Expressions. Oh, hello there, gripe of Kingdom Hearts HD, what are you doing here, so far from home?

Ah well, can’t expect Square Enix to take their eyes off Final Fantasy for too long. Perhaps we’ll get our fully 3D rendering in Kingdom Hearts III, if and when it appears.

Let’s keep things in perspective, though. Lack of continual 3D rendering is not the colossal slip-up a perpetually naked King Mickey (oo-er!) or game-wrecking glitches would be – and truth be told, no other major issues revealed themselves during the fifteen-minute demo, not that they were expected in an enhanced port. But small improvements are plentiful. Square Enix’s reimagined Disney worlds are brought to life in a way more immersive than before via touched-up textures and lustrously rich palettes, and iconic soundtracks improved with extra orchestral layers (outside, we’ve also been promised more cinematics to explain holes in Re: Coded’s story, not that we would know the difference). Battling the demo’s heartless bosses, it is clear that reaction commands – still triggered at intervals by pressing the triangle button – are on hand to show off KHII HD’s smoother and more responsive battle system, which thrives on fast-paced finger-work. This paid off best in the demo at Beast’s Castle when teaming up Sora and Beast to perform a chain of 10 Twin Howl Limits on the Shadow Stalker.

CHANCE! Reaction commands provide the thrill of lightning-fast attacks during battle. Photo: www.kingdomhearts.com

Albeit small and almost impercievable, these improvements are not to be taken lightly, the game cast off as just another extortion ploy. We also have to bear in mind Kingdom Hearts needed a bigger overhaul than Kingdom Hearts II ever did – due to its one, oh yes, just one Destiny Island bug and some really dodgy controls (plus voice acting moments, but hey, they can’t fix everything). KHII was also more structurally intact in the first place; the graphics were brighter, softer, more appealing to the game’s innocent, playful style, the gummi ship didn’t feel like such an ad-hoc time-waster and the camera angles in boss battles were less like an untamed Alastor Moody eyeball intent on looking anywhere but at the enormous dragon stomping about, trying to kill you. What I mean by all this, is Kingdom Hearts II HD may not be a noticeably improved game when compared with its remastered predecessor, but neither did it need to be. Kingdom Hearts II was a mighty decent game to begin with.

Will II.5 be more of the same? Putting aside Re: Coded, which has never seen release outside of Japan, KHII and Birth by Sleep offer some lacklustre  additions, it must be said. Recoloured Heartless and Unversed, as well as a handful of extra cutscenes (which you could watch on YouTube in a few months’ time) are hardly enough to merit the price tag of a new title. Having said that, defeating the game in the dastardly Critical Mode will be a worthy challenge, and an unlockable battle against the Lingering Will at Disney Castle certainly has my interest piqued. 

Is KHII a decent enough remastering to send the punters throwing coins at cashiers? Generally, yes. Graphics are crisp and mesmerising, and we can safely say that while none of the unique additions Final Mix has to offer made it into the demo, the promise of these will definitely sweeten the deal.

For reminiscing enthusiasts whom have waited until what feels like the dawn of a new sun for Kingdom Hearts III, II.5 comes at a good time for a pick-me-up, and for everyone else, a game that marries Disney and JRPGs is certain to chase down a flock of new gamers.

Whether diggin’ or duggin’ this collection, it’s no secret that the Kingdom Hearts series gets treated like the runt of the litter, overshadowed by the Final Fantasy beast. So in many ways we ‘diggers’ should be counting our lucky stars (and our hearts, for that matter) – because it’s a miracle these collections ever got off the ground.

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