The Kingdom Hearts series has infamously stalled in the lead-up to its third and climactic core chapter, Kingdom Hearts III, which will now be releasing over a decade after Kingdom Hearts II first hit PlayStation 2 in 2006, but fans of the series’ many offshoots and remasters who were hoping that they’d make their way to current hardware are in luck! Today, at Paris Games Week, Square Enix finally announced Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 Remix, a massive compilation that will combine the remastered packages of Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix and Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix, in one huge game collection, exclusively for PlayStation 4!
Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix and Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix were previously both exclusive to Sony’s last-gen PlayStation 3, releasing at the tail end of 2013 and 2014, respectively, and both were oft-demanded by fans for a PlayStation 4 revamp. The large PlayStation 4 compilation didn’t have specific additions detailed over the former two PlayStation 3 packages, though it’s a safe bet that they’ll boost the presentation to native 1080p HD resolution at the very least, along with adding the PlayStation 4’s built-in sharing and streaming functionality, of course.
Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 Remix will include remastered PlayStation 4 versions of the original Kingdom Hearts, its sequel, Kingdom Hearts II, a card-battling-themed interquel, Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories, and series prequel, Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, along with remastered cutscene stories taken from the series’ duo of Nintendo DS offerings, Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days and Kingdom Hearts Re: coded. As with the previous PlayStation 3 packages, Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts II and Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep will also come in their enhanced ‘Final Mix’ editions, previously exclusive to Japan in their initial release runs, which add in new features and gameplay challenges not present in the games’ original PlayStation 2/PlayStation Portable builds.
Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 Remix is set to release on March 28th, 2017. This PlayStation 4 compilation will be following up another PlayStation 4 compilation for the series, Kingdom Hearts 2.8: Final Chapter Prologue, which will arrive on January 24th, 2017, exactly two months beforehand. Kingdom Hearts 2.8: Final Chapter Prologue will include a remastered version of the series’ latest mainline game, Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance, as well as an all-new game called Kingdom Hearts 0.2: ~A Fragmentary Passage~, and cutscene stories inspired by mobile offering, Kingdom Hearts X [Chi]: Back Cover.
Kingdom Hearts III meanwhile, still doesn’t have any kind of release window set at this point. That game is in development for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and will mostly comprise new Disney-themed worlds, as well as run on Unreal Engine 4. Some sporadic gameplay footage has been shown at various expos and events, but most of the game still remains a mystery. Square Enix did offer a small bit of consolation though, confirming that Kingdom Hearts protagonist, Sora will be offered as free DLC in their recent cutesy RPG throwback release, World of Final Fantasy, for a limited time this Winter.
Keep unlocking Eggplante for all major news and updates on Kingdom Hearts.