Kingdom Hearts 2.8 HD: Final Chapter Prologue on PS4

Square Enix continues to be on quite the roll lately with stellar releases, many of which have emerge from their beloved Final Fantasy series. That roll is at the expense of other projects, though, with one highly-anticipated release being left quite a ways off to ensure the company are capable of doing it sufficient research. That title is, certainly, Kingdom Hearts 3, the finale towards the long-running Disney, Final Fantasy, as well as World Ends Together with you crossover. However, that can be a entry continues to be hiding somewhere on the horizon without having any release date (or even window) being revealed, the developers have provided something to tide players over, Kingdom Hearts 2.8: Final Chapter Prologue.

This will be the third Kingdom Hearts compilation to be sold, but it’s quite different from its predecessors. Both 1.5 Remix and also.5 Remix contained franchise entries that have been for a while released. Fans got a final Mix versions (which are previously available only in Japan) from the initial two games, Birth by Sleep, RE: Chain of Memories, and cinematic renditions of 358/2 Days and Re: coded. These people were great collections for people who maybe overlooked games that weren’t on the PS2 platform or those that wanted to relive their most favorite events in HD with new challenges. While they were great offerings, they didn’t exactly push the storyline forward in case you had already played everything, presenting a combined bag of the items players got through the experience. However, Kingdom Hearts 2.8 approaches fans with entirely new content that helps to bridge the gaps between games together with set the stage to the highly-anticipated final entry.

Included in Kingdom Hearts 2.8 is surely an HD remaster of 3D: Dream Drop Distance, which has been previously a 3DS exclusive, Kingdom Hearts 0.2: Birth by Sleep – A Fragmentary Passage (a very new game starring Aqua from Birth by Sleep), and Kingdom Hearts x Back Cover, the big game type of the mobile release that reveals events not amongst people.

Before entering into the latest content, let’s address usually the one remaster within the package. Dream Drop Distance is considered by many people fans to become probably the greatest inside franchise as players take over both Sora and Riku as they simply endeavor to hone their skills in preparation for what’s to come back at some point. It had been a fun romp around the 3DS that included the many world hopping and Heartless-slaying action that fans had grown employed to. Since the title was originally produced for the dual-screen handheld, I had been a lttle bit worried that this wouldn’t properly produce the transition up to the PS4. Even though there is a touchpad over the DualShock 4, there isn’t a screen, and it also is unwieldy to always guess where you’re flicking and petting in cases of the Spirit bonding segments along with the Flick Rush minigame. However, that’s solved which has a simple call time d-pad and X button, slowing encounter down slightly to fit more traditional controls to be employed.

It’s great how the controls could actually be addressed so simply, because after spending hours checking upgraded visuals and diving back into the deep systems presented in Dream Drop Distance, it became clear that it previously handheld exclusive was intended to be played with a large screen. The experience sparks and shines. Experiencing your first Drop, as colors and obstacles whiz by you at terrifying speeds, is actually mesmerizing, and achieving to be able to all over again observe much Riku has grown as the character takes full benefit of the shades and resolution which is available from a real television. Dream Drop Distance also is a very integral part of Kingdom Hearts 2.8’s main objective in laying the inspiration for Kingdom Hearts III’s main story.

The five-year-old Dream Drop distance is simply one section of the puzzle, though, and that’s where Back Cover and the entirely new Birth by Sleep – A Fragmentary Passage come up. Back Cover primarily covers the events before a sluggish start the whole series, explaining why one can find multiple worlds and recounting?the events before the primary Keyblade War that players are actually hearing about for many years now. It’s interesting to check out the times leading up to that fateful event so enabling to feature some clarity to Kingdom Hearts in general, yet I had been still left with more questions than answers.

Dream Drop Distance was the most up-to-date release on the story’s timeline, but after seeing images and footage on the upcoming sequel, it became clear there would have been a large gap between the events, which might undoubtedly bring on far more confusion from the already convoluted Kingdom Hearts narrative. That needed to be addressed, but who claimed it couldn’t be performed without also giving players a taste of the way the following game will feel.

Kingdom Hearts 0.2: Birth by Sleep – A Fragmentary Passage is almost certainly the key reason fans should acquire Kingdom Hearts 2.8. It is actually set directly after the original Birth by Sleep, and continues on until after Dream Drop Distance. This puts players answerable for Aqua, among the many protagonists within the original Birth by Sleep, as she navigates that same Arena of Darkness in search of herself in addition to a strategy to return light to the world.

Without stepping into spoiler territory, we’re finally able to see just what was that Mickey learned as a way to profit the likes of Sora and Riku in the real world, in addition to see the fact that was taking place , behind the curtain with major enemies which include Nehanort or heroes like Riku. ?Exploring Aqua’s own issues presented your strugle from a new light once we learned what drives the opposing forces, and in what ways that will help the heroes when they approach your next Keyblade War.

One with the major attributes of Kingdom Hearts 2.8, though, is usually that Birth by Sleep – A Fragmentary Passage influences Kingdom Hearts III engine, rendering it the closest to truly playing the upcoming game we’ve ever gotten to. And so i must say, the game feels top notch. At the time you begin, you understand that this can be a much smoother experience than its predecessors, and that’s not only for for its absolutely beautiful visuals. Combat contains a additional natural flow to barefoot jogging while still retaining the basic combos that fans will recognize from all of the prior entries. Aqua’s style transitions – fighting forms and skills which have been unlocked by doing a lot of damage – keep your fights intriquing, notable and also include a little strategy to the affair. Don’t you go pure melee to exchange in a faster, magic-powered combo machine, or can you make use of spells to acquire a fair stronger, single-use magic attack?

There’s and also traversal that enables for double jumps and air glides. While it’s not as free and fast because Flowmotion system from Dream Drop Distance, which allows you to bounce and boost off just about everything amongst players, it did provide easier navigation of levels to learn verticality, and fights to learn eclectic mixtures of enemies. This have the developers put more puzzles in the game that centered on making your way around, as opposed to just opening some door. Regardless of whether was using reflections to build new platforms, or platforming across treacherous chasms, the experience element of this RPG feels more realized compared with past games.

While it was actually a rather short experience?since it’s not really a full game, whether it was something to ignore then Kingdom Hearts III will likely be absolutely mesmerizing. When I finished and watched the credits roll initially, I honestly stayed feeling such as that was all the point. We’ve been waiting around for on the decade for part three, receiving over 10 games that are included with three compilations during that time. With lots of wondering if it would feel exactly the same possibly it will stray too much into new territory, it is the perfect critical for satiate fans. Although, it’ll undoubtedly trigger all the more fervor from those wanting to know if we can get the next game.

Walking off from Kingdom Hearts 2.8, I had been reminded of the reasons I fell crazy about the series to begin with. The big, tangled web of history as Final Fantasy and Disney characters do battle in unison, the colorful worlds, the deep bonds of friendship, cheap it could possibly all cause me to feel feel as though a youngster again. Diving into Dream Drop Distance in 2017 is just as exciting as it was way back in 2012, and Birth by Sleep – A Fragmentary Passage finally provided some much-needed answers, while leaving the perfect amount of inquiries to keep me stuck in money.

While it’s not the revolutionary Kingdom Hearts game that many sometimes have wanted, it’s far more than only a simple collection of old titles or some cheap cash-in. It’s a bridge from what awaits, and I can’t help but feel excited after watching the credits roll to your umpteenth time.

Score: 4.5/5 – Great