Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix (PS3)

In March of 2002, Kingdom Hearts was released for the PlayStation 2. Now more than a decade late, the game is being re-released for the PlayStation 3 with a new graphics overhaul.

Kingdom Hearts was one of the first games I played on PlayStation 2 (Along with God of War) and it was the first J-RPG that I found tolerable. Sure the story bits were filled with nonsense, the main draws for me were the non-turn based combat and the Disney universe. (Today, Disney Infinity fills the need for mixing things up in the Disney Universe.)

I have never played beyond the first entry in this series, I have tried both the PSP incarnation and the PlayStation 2 sequel, but never devoted any time to them. Now, with the amount of time that has passed, it feels like a great time to revisit the franchise.Who knows, maybe we will see a Kingdom Hearts 2.5 before the next-gen release of Kingdom Hearts 3 in 2015

The biggest challenge facing director Tetsuya Nomura during the development of Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix was recreating all the assets after discovering the elements from the original game had been lost forever

“Kingdom Hearts was created a long, long time ago, the original data was missing already. It was lost so we had to research, to dig out the original game and recreate everything for HD. It was not that easy.”

So what do you get with Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD? The disc is a compilation of the original Kingdom Hearts (via Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix a version previously exclusive to Japan,) and Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories (an upgraded version of the GBA game.)

In addition, the two-in-one-disc package features HD cinematic story videos from Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days,(the total running time is about three hours) enhanced game play mechanics and PlayStation 3 system trophies.

The game is out today and it is $39.99. A limited edition was also available to people who pre-ordered, it contained an art-book

Purchase the game on Amazon

View the launch trailer