Review for Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX. Game for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 09/03/2017 The version for Xbox One came out on 18/02/2020
When a publicly acclaimed and loved game often undergoes a remaster: improved performance and a wealth of equipment accompany the nostalgic factor, allowing new and old fans to enjoy the resurrected adventure. However, when the same title undergoes a third reiteration, it is essential that the offer is much more attractive.
Square Enix presented the "definitive" (hopefully) reincarnation of the two main chapters of the series, combining them into a single package compatible with the current flagship Playstation 4 console. Welcome (again) to the world of Kingdom Hearts thanks to Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX.
In order to avoid the prejudices that can be created on a re-remastering, it is necessary to analyze the innovations introduced: in the package they will be included (in addition to the two main titles of the saga) Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories, videos and documents of Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Final Mix and the videos and documentation of Kingdom Hearts Re: Coded.
In itself the content is the union of Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX and Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX, having as great variation of the complete remastering of the cutscenes of Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days.
Therefore, leaving behind us the individual titles given the absence of variations in the plot, from the first start of any title contained in Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX is the performance upgrade that Square Enix applied: anticipated by gloriously remastered and refined menus, all gameplay phases will take place at 60 frames per second (almost always) stable even on the standard PS4 (as in the latest collection of the series Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue).
Thanks to this variation, fighting and moving in the environment will be infinitely more enjoyable and with the resolution increase this reiteration is more sensible than the previous ones. The visual leap is remarkable and surprising, far away from the two collections for PS3.
A pack of four games and two movies made so current might seem like the ultimate solution for any lover of the series and new fans especially for those who have skipped the first two HD editions. So does it manage to be the collection of dreams?
There are some shortcomings that leave us perplexed. First of all, the lack of the same fluidity in the cutscenes: the FPS of the gameplay will give way to much lower framerates in the movies creates an annoying and unpleasant detachment. This wouldn't be a huge problem if all cutscenes were at stable 30 FPS, but instead some animated parts will run at higher framerates, annihilating the visual constancy.
We also noticed a suboptimal graphic rendering in some videos, which appear almost "watered down", especially in the first title, where even some of the polygonal structures will appear not perfect.
These flaws are not visible in the two "films", which remain pleasant to watch. Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days finally reaches current video standards, thus giving a sense of completeness to the collection (deserved finishing, given the pleasant and deep plot portion that tells).
Kingdom Hearts RE: Coded it had already undergone restyling in the previous ReMIX, so it does not show any changes.
But let's go back to those "almost always stable" 60 FPS. If the first title, Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep and Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories do not have excessive performance defects (outside the aforementioned cutscenes), in Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX we encountered some slowdowns that made us turn up our noses. We have often been faced with obvious drops in sections populated by many enemies or elements (of which the second chapter is richer than the previous title). This is a real shame, given that visually Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX is the title that most benefits from graphic improvements by beating the old remastered.
Negative evaluation? Not necessarily. The problems of Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX they are fortunately easily fixed with simple patches, so although it is necessary to wait for a dedicated update, the promise of Square Enix is that the game will be improved in the short term.
A noteworthy aspect of performance is related to loading times: being in this generation of consoles with almost no loading is a real pleasure, almost a dream. Enjoying hours of gameplay without wasting tens of minutes waiting is an improvement that may seem unimportant, but it deserves an honorable mention.
Furthermore, the porting does not present any damage in the controls, on the contrary, the increased fluidity allows you to move with more agility and precision. Of course, the first chapter of the series did not enjoy an excellent camera and the fluid animations could give a sense of disorientation, but we only got this impression in the first few minutes of the game.
Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX is the ultimate dream for lovers of the series sold at a weighted and correct price (given the non-uniqueness of the "remastered"). It is not a version to run to buy if you already have the two previous ReMIXs, but the technical leap "finally from next-gen" allows us to recommend it to anyone who wants to feast their eyes by reliving the much loved adventure. Square Enix didn't just copy and paste games from old titles, but managed to give a sense of rebirth to these titles that really deserved it.
► Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX is a game developed and published by Square Enix for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 09/03/2017 The version for Xbox One came out on 18/02/2020
