Back in 2013 Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD ReMix was released for the PlayStation 3 and a year later 2.5 HD Remix was released, it's has been nearly 10 years since first Kingdom Hearts II released on the PlayStation 2 back in 2005 and since then it's been a huge success worldwide and being released on multiple platforms and systems; of course most hard-core fans are still waiting for Kingdom Hearts III. Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMix is a HD collection contains Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix which is the director’s cut which was only released in Japan along with Birth by Sleep Final Mix with some new content including Episode 0 and new bosses in Mirage Arena; And of course there is all Cinematic cutscenes for Kingdom Hearts Re: Coded.
I was really looking forward to playing both Kingdom Hearts II and Birth by Sleep again in HD along with the extra content that we never got outside of Japan. With two companies working together both Disney and Square Enix, the combination of both Disney and Final Fantasy characters coming together in one game has been a really good cross-over based around Sora. Throughout Sora's adventure in Kingdom Hearts II travelling through various Disney worlds and fighting the Heartless with the help of Donald and Goofy they go on a quest to find Sora's best friend. But the real plot gets even deeper later in the story for all three titles for 2.5 HD Remix leading to the long-awaited Kingdom Hearts III. Birth by Sleep story takes places 10 years before the first game around three Keyblade wielders Terra, Ven and Aqua who all want to be Keyblade masters but Master Xehanort goes missing and someone has been summoning creatures called the Unversed through various worlds so it's up to our heroes to find Xehanort and stop the Unversed. Plus Re-Coded story takes place after the events of Kingdom Hearts II and Jiminy Cricket finds a strange journal that has a hidden secret in the pages.
If you've played the originals you'll notice in Kingdom Hearts II that a new form called Limit is added in where you can pull off ability attacks like Sonic Blade, Strike Raid or Ragnarok. Including the Data/Illusion battles of Organization XIII, where some of them are a bit of a challenge to defeat but with the right levels you'll have no problem defeating them including the Organization XIII Mushrooms which are each scattered in different worlds giving you a challenge to beat which you give you some special goodies if you get a good score or time. Birth by Sleep's gameplay still feels the same as it was on the PSP when it was first released but you can use the right analog stick for the camera, you can use the L2 and R2 to scroll up and down for the command bar using the X to attack and Triangle to use one of your command attacks. All the new features and gameplay are all very rewarding if you are a fan of the series but it feels like Square has put more effort and detail in Kingdom Hearts II than its other two titles but most fans would say that Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix was the best game in the series if you did managed to import the original version for the PS2 back in 2007 plus it was that one game that leaded to many mysteries based on something called the Keyblade War.
Kingdom Hearts 2.5 HD Remix the graphics look even more impressive to look at when it comes to cutscenes and gameplay a lot has changed since then even seeing the face textures and emotions look stunning to look at. As I've just mentioned above in Gameplay the Target-Lock and the Camera system may only be the annoying things about the HD Collection. The Voice acting hasn't even changed since all three games were original released with both Hollywood voice actors and TV/Anime voice actors added in as well.
For Kingdom Hearts Re: Coded with it being a DS game to begin with, this version is all cinematic cutscenes and some text added but it does not have any gameplay what so ever. This version contains all scenes from Coded in a 3 hour film; this is a nice touch if you didn't get the chance to play the game on the DS but however it could have been nice if it was a full game instead. It's even nice to have all voice actors from the original DS game coming back again to do the HD version however there is one character that has a different voice which is the Genie but that's about it.
The soundtrack yet plays another important role in the series with the help of Yoko Shimomura composing the whole soundtrack of all three games but the main soundtrack is well concentrated in Kingdom Hearts Final Mix have been re-recorded with live instrumentation, as opposed to the original games' use of the PlayStation 2's built-in tone generator for their background music. Music for Birth by Sleep and Re: Coded soundtrack is well worth listening to as well.
As a fan of the series I was very happy when I first heard of the announcement over a year ago and can say that the wait was worth it. I am amazed that the series is still selling strong over the years and looking forward to what is installed next in the series. If you didn't get a chance to play the original games on the PlayStation 2, PSP or DS this is your chance to play some classic titles that still live up from today since 2005 when Kingdom Hearts II was first released and 2010 for both Birth by Sleep and Coded, even trophy support is added for both hard-core Kingdom Hearts fans and trophy collectors. You can easily spend more than 50 hours on both Kingdom Hearts II and Birth by Sleep pending on what difficulty you plan on playing it on either Beginner, Standard or Proud or Critical mode, what might make you want to play the series is actually memorable story around the series and the emotional soundtrack this is a must have for any PS3 owner.