Kingdom Hearts 2.5 ReMIX Preview

Whenever I see that a game is getting an HD re-release the first thing that crosses my mind is always why?

I should clarify that when I say ‘why’, I don’t mean that in a condescending way. I’m not having a knee jerk moment of ‘why are they doing that?’ outrage, it’s more, ‘why this series?’ What makes this particular franchise worthy of an HD re-release? Why Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX?’

Kingdom Hearts is one of those titles that has a strong case right out of the gate. Not only is it still an incredibly unique proposition, being a mix of Japanese hair, mind melting plot, and cute, plushy Disney characters, but the style of the games has an almost timeless quality thanks to their focus on clean edges, exaggerated animation and narrative. Sure, it’s narratively confusing, but it helps the games remain substantially appealing considering that the combat was creaky even when the games launched. The other aspect that ensures their enduring appeal? Visual style.

It’s in the game’s recurring stain glass motifs that the effect of the HD scrub feels most prominent. While the visual components of the HD Kingdom Hearts games are left largely untouched – most evident in larger foes and vistas, the polygon count just isn’t there – there are many visual elements that look stunning simply thanks to the higher resolution, with the series staple stain glass being the biggest example of this. Glimpsing one of these is enough to make you say ‘ok, that’s why’. For a nine year old game, Kingdom Hearts 2 can look surprisingly contemporary.

Heck, give our review of Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD a read if you need that point hammered home any more.

So stained glass aside, what remains to impress with Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX then? Well what you’re getting here is largely the same as with the first HD collection – a series of Kingdom Hearts instalments all on one disc, and all the most complete versions of those titles too. Of the selection it’s Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep that impresses most. Originally released on PSP, Birth by Sleep was the title that could have fared the worst in the transition to the larger screen (well, Kingdom Hearts 2 also gets a better aspect ratio, but that was only ever going to be a positive).

It’s reassuring, then, that Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep looks good. More than that, it’s more than comparable to Kingdom Hearts 2. Sure, the hands have got a bit of the slab look going on, and the camera sits a bit more snug to your character’s back, but it’s an impressive upscale nonetheless.

Voice acting everywhere you’d expect, exquisite animation in cutscenes, fluid combat. The UI harks back to first appearing on a smaller device, but that aside the port of Birth by Sleep that appears in Kingdom Hearts 2.5 HD is exemplary, proving that it’s a fully features Kingdom Hearts title, regardless of its previous home.

In some ways the game even outstrips Kingdom Hearts 2, and this bodes well for the announced Kingdom Hearts 3. Choreography in cutscenes, for example, is arguably superior in Birth by Sleep, and combat has some new and interesting wrinkles. It may have been a game on less powerful hardware, but there are a number of ways in which Birth by Sleep often feels like the best part of this collection, especially now that its gameplay is on the big screen.

And that, as with Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD, is the best thing about Kingdom Hearts 2.5 HD – Square Enix are bringing the series together. Kingdom Hearts is a confusing saga at the best of times, but by ensuring that the vast majority of the saga (after these two collections, the only title missing is the 3DS’ Dream Drop Distance) is available to its players via one machine is massively important in guaranteeing the relevance and approachability of the franchise to both new and existing fans. By guaranteeing that the titles present in these collections are of the highest quality, Square Enix guarantee that these collections are the best way to play Kingdom Hearts.

So that’s why this series gets the HD treatment. Kingdom Hearts 2.5 HD ReMIX, alongside Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD ReMIX, ensures that the series (with all of its strangeness, absurdity and uniqueness) can be played and enjoyed by a modern audience. That’s a big enough ‘why’ for me.