AC11 - VGR - Kingdom Hearts 2.5 HD Remix

This could very well be the last ever PS3 game that I review, or at the very least, the last PS3 exclusive game as the console is to be discontinued very soon and this game isn't even a brand new game at that. Its just another compilation of games that came out on other platforms before the arrival of the PS3, but that's OK. So around this time last year, I was finally able to play the first ever Kingdom Hearts game since I became a fan of the series after playing 358/2 Days on the DS as well as the game that connects this and its sequel together and a cinematic version of 358/2 Days and all that, made the first game of the series to be my number one all time favourite video game, despite the problems that it may have compared to bigger games that are out there. Now, I get a chance to finally play the sequel and prequel to the first game and get to watch a cinematic version of Coded. Was it worth the wait and is it better than the first game and compilation? Let's find out:

So we have 2 games and a cinematic film with the 2 games being in their final mix forms meaning that they are the definitive versions of those games and they have come out of Japan for the first time in this form. So in Kingdom Hearts II, Sora, Donald, Goofy and Jiminy awaken from their slumber not knowing how, when or why they are there, following the events of Chain of Memories and are guided by Mickey to his master Yen Sid (Mickey's master in the Fantasia sequence "The Sorcerer's Apprentice", voiced by the audio double of Christopher Lee, Corey Burton) who sends them on a new quest to find Riku and stop Organization 13's plans while also dealing with Maleficent who has been able to resurrect herself with the help of her accomplice Pete. Then in Birth by Sleep, we find out how all the events that occur in the series, happens such as how some of the Disney characters including Maleficent and the 7 Princesses of Heart were able to escape from certain darkness or eternal slumber, who the members of Organisation 13 were before becoming their nobodies, how the 3 main characters of the series become keyblade wielders, all while focusing on 3 other keyblade wielders who set the events of the series into motion. And finally in the cinematic version of Coded, Mickey, Donald, Goofy and Jiminy try to figure out the meaning behind a message left in Jiminy's journal by sending in a Data version of Sora to investigate. Now much like with the last compilation, many changes were made in the games seen in this compilation to make use of the PS3 such as improved visuals and textures, enhanced gameplay and some additional dialogue and remixed music. KHII manages to be like the first game, but the developers made it so that complaints made from the previous game were addressed, which they have done a good job on in my opinion. And because of the graphical engine that was used, this allowed the developers to make some of the Disney worlds be based on live action films like Pirates of the Caribbean and Tron while also including a world based on The Lion King (something of which the developers wanted to do in the first one, but couldn't due to restrictions and only had Simba appear as a summon as a result). BBS which originally released on PSP, has had the most improvements in the way of graphics and so forth. You play as three characters who each have their own scenario which though similar in regards to the fact that they go to the same worlds but not necessarily in the same order, is different and is mostly based on the skills and abilities of each character. And finally Coded is pretty much a cinematic film that follows the game with some extra dialogue and scenes to fill up what would've been the gameplay and also has new scenes to flesh out the back stories of the other games in the series. It is big, but totally worth it if you need some catching up before Kingdom Hearts III comes out.

So having played II and BBS for the first time through this compilation, I think this is a much better compilation than the first because with the first, you're exploring the same worlds in the two games that you're given, but altered in the case of COM. But in this one, both games have a mixed bag of worlds with some being the same in each game while others being different which I like. II is great in the sense that its bigger than the first game and there is more stuff to do and less frustrations than the first (which may only just make it on my all time favorite video games list), BBS is good as it answers questions that many of us fans have about the series thus far and giving us some good gameplay to go with it as well and the cinematic version of Coded may not be much, but that game kind of feels like playing COM again so I think it was right to make that into a cinematic film which works the same way with how 358/2 Days worked in the last compilation. As a fan of the series, I got the big collector's edition which comes with both compilations in a steelbook case, a heartless plush toy, an art book and a few other things as well which is quite nice. Anybody needing catching up before III arrives, these 2 compilations are the way to go, but I feel it should be the Microsoft audience that should get these instead of the Sony ones because the next game will be the first of the series to come out on a Microsoft platform so it only feels right for it to go that way in my opinion. 9/10