As we close the curtains on this generation of video games, it?s hard not to notice how prevalent HD ports of existing franchises have become. Some of those ports have been excellent rebirths, with titles like Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, while others are best forgotten like the poorly executed Silent Hill Collection from Konami. I think most fans will find that Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX is one of the better compilations out there, both in overall value with two full games included, and in general quality.
This collection includes the original Kingdom Hearts Final Mix, which marks the first time Final Mix has been made available in North America. Think of this as a director?s cut of sorts for the first game, featuring small content changes across the board. Oddly enough Final Mix, previously a Japanese only release, brought over some content from the original North American release of Kingdom Hearts that wasn?t found in the Japanese version of the game, so now we?ve essentially come full circle with this HD port.
The two playable titles here both shine in their HD trappings. I was really amazed with how great the original game looks, despite the wooden animations and lackluster voice acting. The character models in Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix HD stand out in particular, with a makeover that really pops out in HD, full of vibrant colors that help sell you on Tetsuya Nomura?s eclectic character designs more than ever.
I think most will agree that Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories ends up being the better experience between the two. Chain of Memories has always been a personal favorite of mine anyways, so I might be a bit biased here to begin with. But it certainly benefits from coming later in the franchise, released for PS2 after Kingdom Hearts II as a standalone entry in North America and as part of Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix in Japan. There?s certainly design lessons learned when it comes to character movement, combat, and camera control that make for a better overall experience here.
You?ll start off with a set number of cards, but quickly gain new cards to outfit your deck with, starting with simple attack cards and later earning summoning cards featuring classic Disney characters, and other magic cards with various effects. Most cards feature a number of some sort, and the concept here is to overpower your opponent?s card with a higher numbered card, breaking through their defense or attack and pummeling them into submission. It makes for a more strategic combat system than the rest of the series tends to have, none of which is lost with this HD port.
The only outlier here is the inclusion of 358/2 Days, and while I can understand its inclusion as an effort to bridge the story gap between this and what I?d imagine will be a Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX down the line, it still stands out as odd. The ?movie? of 358/2 Days clocks in at a little over 2 hours, and quite frankly is a little less interesting without any actual gameplay to accompany it. Square Enix does a solid enough job stringing together the cutscenes into a cohesive tale, but I?m not sure that most will have the patience to sit through it, outside of the hardcore Kingdom Hearts devotees.
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