According to a report from the long-running Japanese trade publication, Famitsu, the long-rumoured Kingdom Hearts HD Collection from Square-Enix is due to become a reality, with the collection tipped to arrive on PS3 early next year.
What is most (pleasantly) surprising however, are the games which have been chosen to be part of the collection.
Take a look after the jump.
Famitsu claims that we can expect to see the the very first Kingdom Hearts game from the PS2; the PS2 version of the somewhat underrated Game Boy Advance title Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories; and the more recently released Nintendo DS entry in the series, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days.
Most interestingly to us Western folk, the version of Kingdom Hearts included in the collection will be the ‘Final Mix’ version, which previously hasn’t been seen out of Japan. Oh and also, if you curious as to the somewhat curious absence of Kingdom Hearts 2 from the pack, don’t worry; its non-attendance plays into the title of the pack.
Titled ‘Kingdom Hearts HD 1,5 Remix‘, this appears to be the first of two HD Kingdom Hearts collections and one that specifically concerns itself with everything which happens before Kingdom Hearts 2. Based on that, I could wholly see a ‘Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix‘ being released shortly before the near-mythical next-generation Kingdom Hearts 3 does, containing Kingdom Hearts 2, PSP title Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep and the final franchise effort on the Nintendo DS; Kingdom Hearts: ReCoded.
Anyway back to Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix. The game is tipped to have full trophy support in addition to generous lashings of HD toppings across all versions; something that i’m sure will look great for the PS2 entries in the franchise, but could serve to highlight the painfully visually basic aesthetics seen in the Nintendo DS effort. Needless to say, i’m waiting with somewhat baited breath on those first screenies.
Finally, while the ‘early 2013′ release window only applies to Japan at this point, you would have to be some sort of fool not to expect a western release of the pack (and its likely successor) given the popularity of the franchise on these shores.
I’m just loving the fact that not only are we getting a HD version of Kingdom Hearts (the previously unreleased Final Mix edition) in the first place, but that we’re also getting the relevant handheld titles chucked in there too; making these collections feel like proper, all-encompassing efforts that will cover all of the relevant entries (Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance notwithstanding) in the series prior to its inevitable next-generation debut.
Colour me excited.
Wait, first of TWO?
Holy crap. What the Hell, SE?
I gotta admit, I’m a little torn from the double-dipping aspect of it, but its kind of countered by the fact that between the two collections, you’re going to a comprehensive ‘HD-ification’ of all the Kingdom Hearts games prior to the third one.
They could have just have easily given us KH 1 & 2 in a twin pack and had done with it, and while I realise some folks would actually prefer that, I figure that over the longer-term, it’ll be good to have as much Kingdom Hearts goodness in HD as possible.
@John-Paul Jones, I was discussing this with a friend on Facebook last night, and came to the EXACT conclusion you did, what with the inevitable 2.5 including KH2, BbS and re:Coded.
That said, I’m with Kyle. I was expecting an HD remake of KH1, CoM and KH2, and that would have been fine. Granted, it IS nice for those people that skipped on all the handhelds that they will get the HD treatment as well, but I still find it to be pretty cheeky doing things this way.
Especially when you consider that 358/2 is only getting cutscenes and no gameplay – I went through once after I’d beaten the game and re-watched all the cutscenes, and it hardly makes any sense (as much sense as the KH games CAN make, anyway) without the before-and-after context of what’s going on. You need the gameplay for 358 or else the videos are kind of pointless.
I am a huge supporter and fan of the Kingdom Hearts series, but I just can’t get the bad taste out of my mouth this is leaving.
@Zachary Lyons, I see where you’re coming from for sure.
For me, a self-professed KH newbie with next no knowledge of the IP’s twisted canon, having all of the major offerings in one place is a major boon for me.
358/2 not actually having any gameplay is a bit of a dick move though; doubly so when as you suggest that not having it can render the whole thing superfluous.
Perhaps I should just avoid the handheld ports altogether eh? :)
@John-Paul Jones, See, I enjoyed 358/2. It’s a fun and worthwhile game, and I enjoyed getting more of Organization XIII’s story. But having just the cutscenes leaves way too much stuff unexplained.
Perhaps they’ll make MORE cutscenes for the HD remake to fill in the appropriate gaps? Not likely, but it’s a possibility.
Funny that they made this announcement now… Having gone over a year now without a single Final Fantasy X HD update, I’m gonna put the KH HD release as holiday season 2019. If we’re lucky.
What the heck Square?!
Still patiently awaiting FFX-HD. I’m starting to assume its been scrapped……..
@Kyle Johansen, I know that Final Fantasy X is one of the sweethearts of the series, but I keep wondering why on Earth Square-Enix would want to do an HD upgrade of one of the dumbest Final Fantasy games on this planet? Seriously.
Maybe they finally realized how dumb the game actually is and did away with it.
@Kyle Gaddo, Regardless of your opinion, there’s plenty of fans… And that’s beside the point.
The point is, there’s a recurring habit of announcing things and having them drop off the planet. I’ll believe this one when I see it, is what I’m saying.
Skeptical.
@Kyle Johansen, My seriously realistic opinion as to when these games will come out:
KH HD 1.5 Remix: Summer 2013
FFX HD Remake: Winter 2013
KH HD 2.5 Remix: Summer 2014
FF Versus XIII: Summer or Autumn 2014
KH3: Spring or Summer 2016
Nomura has stated before that KH3 can’t begin production until Versus XIII is out, because they’ve got the “core Kingdom Hearts team” working on VS XIII. That said, Nomura says a lot of shit that we have to take with a grain of salt because that guy is plain nutty. Regardless, if what he said is to believed, then KH3 will lucky to be out 2 years after VS XIII, as I predict above.
tl;dr Square Enix is terrible at keeping their fans informed and have no sense of moderation when it comes to announcing new titles in a timely manner.
@Zak, versus is never coming out
@Kyle Gaddo, FF XIII Versus is coming out. In about two years. It has been in production than the first FF XIII though. GO KINGDOM HEARTS!!!
I say screw the remakes and move onto KHIII.