Much like the previous HD upgrade collection, Kingdom Hearts I.5 HD Remix, Kingdom Hearts II.5 HD Remix takes 3 previous Kingdom Hearts games and gives them an HD bump-up. Square Enix had a playable demo available at this year’s Jump Festa 2014, and Kotaku East was there to experience some HD goodness.
There were two demos provided, each with different playable stages. For Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix, there was the Halloween Town stage and the Beast’s Castle. For Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Final Mix, there were three stages for each of the different protagonists.
Control-wise the demo was the same as the original games, just prettier. The original games themselves were well already well-refined. Obviously, the graphics upgrade is quite noticeable when compared with the original versions. This doesn’t come as too much of a surprise looking at Kingdom Hearts I.5 HD Remix.
Of the two, Birth By Sleep benefits the most, both in terms of controls and visual upgrades, by moving from the handheld PSP to a home console. I love the PSP, but the lack of a second analogue stick was always a bit of a drawback. Japanese blog Hachima Kikou posted some comparison pics and you can really see what magic an HD facelift can do for a PSP game.
Overall, it’s hard to describe Kingdom Hearts II.5 HD Remix without covering the same ground that was already addressed with Kingdom Hearts I.5 HD Remix. Both games work hand-in-hand as a definitive Kingdom Hearts collection as well as a nice lead-up to the (eventual) release of Kingdom Hearts III. Now, the only chapter in the Kingdom Hearts saga that has yet to join the HD family is Kingdom Hearts 3D [Dream Drop Distance]. Maybe it’ll be included as HD video content in Kingdom Hearts III…
Kingdom Hearts II.5 HD Remix is currently scheduled for release in 2014. The game will include playable HD versions of Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix and Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Final Mix, as well as HD video content from Kingdom Hearts Re: coded.
『キングダムハーツHD 2.5』、PSP版バースバイスリープとの比較画像が登場!背景の本の背表紙が読めるようになってるwwwww [はちま起稿]
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6 responses to “Kingdom Hearts II.5 HD Remix Is Just Like I.5 HD Remix, In A Good Way”
Just shut up and take my money!
I still wish they would release these games in dual audio. Does anybody know how much it actually costs developers to add subtitles and an extra language track (which they’re already recorded) to their games? It can’t be that bad… can it? I almost wish game studios would at least consider adding that stuff as DLC.
That’s like asking how much effort it takes to skin a cat. (For whatever reason people did that and why there were so many ways to do it) The easiest and cheapest way would be to just have the subtitles (or closed captions) show up while the alternate audio plays. That’s assuming that the timing of a different language fits, which in the case of Japanese with English subtitles, is very rarely. (Hence the extra jaw flaps or voices with closed mouths in dubbed live action)
It also depends on whether you have pre-rendered cut scenes which need to switch audio, or whether it’s all rendered in engine as the synching will be different for each. Even if you consider all that, it depends on the implementation and how easy it is for the system to load the audio assets and subtitles for a specific language. Then you have to consider licensing and royalties, etc. that may have been part of the VA contracts.
It seems as though SE listened to you for at least one game though, Lightning Returns has a dual audio pack as a day one DLC.
I’m throwing money at my screen but nothings happening 🙁
You too? I threw my wallet but the only thing that happened was these weird cracks formed over everything.
I tried throwing coins but the cracks only got bigger 🙁
*Tries loading credit card into disk tray*