by Wimberly Wilson
Like the first collection, Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix is a package of two games that have been remixed and accompanied with a three hour-long movie. This time it’s the ever-popular Kingdom Hearts II and the PSP exclusive title Birth By Sleep that are getting the HD treatment.
Despite the fact that the original game came out in 2006, this game is still an enjoyable RPG that functions extremely well. The HD improvements are impressive enough that I almost got distracted during my battles against the heartless because of how blown away I was! Not only have the graphics been vastly improved, but fans of the vast plot will rejoice to learn that cutscenes that were originally cut from the American release have been restored with English dubbing. These added cutscenes reveal more about the story surrounded by the mysterious Organization 13 and help clarify confusions that were present in the original. Hidden gameplay elements such as secret keyblades and new hidden bosses add fresh experiences, and one of the bosses in particular will keep you at the edge of your seat considering the story of the next game in the collection pack.
Birth By Sleep is easily one of the best HD collector packs to be released in a while. Instead of simply providing us with a basic port, Square Enix took advantage of the additional buttons on the PS3 controller by changing the control scheme from the PSP controler to the PS3 controller to allow feats like combos and the battle system to be much easier to use. Fans of the original will be glad to find that the magic system is relatively the same. In Birth By Sleep there are many different spells to combine and try out as you go along on your adventure and thanks to this being the international version, this game grants even more spells, keyblades, worlds, and boss battles to try out.
The only thing that hinders this collection pack is the three hour movie version of Re:coded. It’s by no means a bad movie, as it technically fixes the problems the 358/2 Days movies had, but this movie doesn’t really connect with the series overall. On the positive side though, Re:coded acts more like a movie with dynamic camera angles, and includes Sora’s adventures in the Disney worlds, along with boss battles.
The result is a significantly better movie than was found in Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix, but lacks the heartfelt story that the previous installment had. That’s not the HD version’s fault though. The original DS game had arguably the weakest story, which feels like a rehash of Kingdom Hearts except for the ending, which explains something major that happened in Kingdom Hearts 2. This movie overall has better production value, but at the same time it almost doesn’t seem worth the three hours to get to the emotional impact of the story. Despite this slightly disappointing addition to the package, it doesn’t stop Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix from being one of the best games to come out in 2014.
With the expanded upgrades from the original games, each installment in this collection feels almost brand new, making it a great experience for both returning and new players. While the Re:coded movie hinders the experience slightly, that by no means should stop anyone from picking the second installment of one of the best HD collection packs I have ever played.
