So its been 15 years since the original Kingdom Hearts game first came out and in the years that have followed, we've had several great if a tad confusing games and many different ports of said games. Who knew that Disney and Final Fantasy (and later on The World Ends With You) would work so well together. Well its no Kingdom Hearts III, but we have a new game in the series and the third HD compilation which unlike the previous compilations, it actually has some new stuff and not completely all stuff we already know and played of. Now for this review, as I've previously reviewed the original 3DS version of Dream Drop Distance, I won't delve into that game too much and if you prefer something more in depth with that game, please check out my series review of Kingdom Hearts
here. So an HD remaster of one game (which seems to be a common trend in the gaming industry right now), a brand new game that last the length of one Disney world and a new cinematic film which sets the stage for Kingdom Hearts III or so we're led to believe. Let's get to it:
Oh and there may be spoilers if you haven't played some of the games.
Dream Drop Distance HD
Taking place shortly after Coded, Sora and Riku are called upon by Yen Sid to take on the Mark of Mastery exam in order for them to fully become keyblade masters in preparation for an upcoming battle against Xehanort and his minions. While largely the same game as it was on the Nintendo 3DS, the HD remake had to revamp the gameplay to take into account of the lack of two screens and AR and so therefore, has been turned into a more traditional Kingdom Hearts experience. You still create, use and fight Dream Eaters. You still switch between Sora and Riku like before. And the worlds are still the same too. As an HD remake, I would say its on par with its original 3DS counterpart. The big difference that a lot of HD remakes tend to take into account, is the ability to go 60FPS making the game much faster and smoother than how it worked on the 3DS. So based on that, it really doesn't matter which version you play as they are both the same game. Just with some varying differences that ultimately depend on your playstyle more than anything else. 9/10
Birth By Sleep - A Fragmentary Passage
Taking place after the main Birth by Sleep game as well as Dream Drop Distance, Yen Sid tells of his plans to Riku, Kari and Mickey for preparation of this upcoming battle. He along with Mickey explain the events of Birth By Sleep to Riku and Kari and that Aqua is following a never ending path into darkness with no hope of escape to save her friends. That is unless outside help can be used. So on her journey, Aqua finds herself in a familiar world that's been consumed by darkness and seems to follow a time thing that changes things in the world accordingly. Its a pretty short game that as stated by the developers, only lasts the length of one world in one of the main games. But the good thing here is that we get to play a version of Aqua who has got her abilities and so forth maxed out. Not only that, but thanks to the Unreal engine, we get to play a game that is at the standard we expect to see on PS4 and it gives us a taste of what is to come in Kingdom Hearts III which is still a bit of a way off, but its good that we finally get a chance to have an idea of what we can expect to see. However for a better presentation, I would recommend playing the game using a 4K TV and the PS4 Pro because while it looks good on a regular PS4, it would like much better in that resolution in my opinion. But other than that, its short but sweet and I like how we get to hear Aqua's thoughts as the game progresses. So a good game, but I just wish there was more of it. 8/10
X: Back Cover
A little while ago, Kingdom Hearts made it to mobile with a game called Kingdom Hearts X which is mostly a game much like one of the main games. The only difference is that you can create your own keyblade wielder and go from there. So as a companion piece, we get the story of the Foretellers from that game who are each given a role from their hooded master and must fulfil that role, but ultimately come into conflict with one another and everything that happens in the series thus far is set in stone. As the second thing in this compilation to use the Unreal engine, its a pretty decent film. Its well presented and well acted throughout. Obviously there are some things that don't make sense to me as I haven't played X myself (or properly at least anyway), but its a good cinematic film which I have to say is probably better than the cinematic versions of 358/2 Days and Coded. Unlike those two, it plays out like a movie with no pauses and its good. 7/10
So as an HD compilation, its a good one and its also great to see some new content for a change as opposed to content we've already seen and played. I don't think Kingdom Hearts will ever be not confusing, but its good to know that the developers are doing all they can to make sure the series makes sense to us. Now we just want III and then we will all be happy. 9/10
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