Kingdom Hearts turns 15 in 2017, and Square Enix kicked off a year of celebrations with the release of Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue on Jan. 24.
I was planning on having a review of Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue ready for this post, but I messed up my Amazon shipment and received my copy a little too late. You can expect a review in the coming days, but for now I can still talk about my (brief) time with the game.
The big news to come out of the game is the sneak peak of what could be in story with Kingdom Hearts 3 through the new episode of Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep. Kingdom Hearts 0.2: Birth By Sleep — A Fragmentary Passage.
Birth By Sleep is probably one of my favourite games in the series because it has one of the best storylines in the game, and each playable character in the game offers a unique experience every time you pick up the controller. Not to mention that it probably has some of the best mechanics in the series (looking at you, shotlock).
So when they announced A Fragmentary Passage, I was pretty stoked. Aqua is my favourite character from that game, and testing out the new engine seemed pretty cool. I think right now I’m about halfway through the episode, and I love it. It feels incredibly polished, it’s challenging but not impossible, and it feels like like the new engine will deliver on its next-gen promise.
I could go on, but I think that would spoil the proper review that I’m working on for a later date.
It is exciting to see Kingdom Hearts receive some much deserved love, whether it’s through a collaboration with World of Final Fantasy or the upcoming rerelease of Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX.
I find it hard to believe that Square Enix won’t release Kingdom Hearts 3 this year, as the hype train is on pace for delivery, but Square has been good in celebrating the game thus far. Let’s hope they keep up the good work, because if they can improve what came packaged in 2.8, things are looking bright for the series.
MORE PARTIES!
But even though 2017 is the 15th anniversary of Kingdom Hearts, it’s also just the beginning of celebrations Square Enix has in store. Last week we talked about a new chapter in Final Fantasy XIV, next month Final Fantasy VII Remake content will hit Final Fantasy Mobius, and later this year fans will get the anniversary HD rerelease of Final Fantasy XII.
Outside of the JRPG world, Square Enix recently announced a deal with Marvel Entertainment to publish an Avengers series of games, and things seem to be working out with their mobile lines. It’s still early into the year, but I think there will be something to write about for some time now.
Square Enix Saturdays is a weekly column exploring the many worlds created by Square Enix over Square and Enix’s 42-year history. If you’d like to see us cover any specific Square Enix topics, please leave us a comment below or connect with us on Twitter or Facebook.
