kingdom-hearts-15-hd-remix
Latest
GameStop post-Christmas sale hacks $10 off select next-gen games, more
That money grandma tucked into your card this year? GameStop wants it, and is holding a post-Christmas winter sale to get it. The retailer's deals end on December 29 and take $10 off the following Xbox One and PS4 games: Call of Duty: Ghosts, FIFA 14, Battlefield 4, Need For Speed: Rivals, Madden 25 and NBA Live 14. Each game is $10 cheaper on their respective current-gen platforms as well. Additionally, Assassins Creed 4: Black Flag and Battlefield 4 are discounted to $39.99 on their other respective platforms (PS3, Xbox 360, Wii U and PC), though the former isn't on sale for PS4 or Xbox One. GameStop's sale page features a number of items that aren't discounted at all, including listings for available Xbox One and Wii U consoles. Among the other games and accessories on sale are Tearaway ($19.99), Grand Theft Auto 5 ($39.99), NBA 2K14 for Xbox 360 and PS3 ($39.99), Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD Remix ($24.99) and Gran Turismo 6 ($39.99).
Deja Review: Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix
This is a Deja Review: A quick, unscored look at the new features and relative agelessness of a remade, revived or re-released game. More than a decade before Disney Infinity hatched its brilliant scheme to squeeze all of the House of Mouse's properties under one roof, Square Enix took a try in its own inimitable fashion. The result was Kingdom Hearts – a bizarre marriage of Disney magic and Square's Final Fantasy characters, with a liberal dose of director Tetsuya Nomura's new designs thrown in for good measure. The series has gained fans at the intersections of both properties, and a healthy base of players who truly care about the trials of protagonist Sora and his associated Keyblade wielders. I enjoyed the first Kingdom Hearts, which had an elegant simplicity that felt like a fairy tale who's-who as reinterpreted by Japanese fantasy tropes. While the fusion of third-person action and RPG mechanics was hit-or-miss, it worked well enough to carry me through the game and several of its sequels. I'll confess, though, that as the series has worn on, my interest has waned. If any criticism has dogged Kingdom Hearts most justifiably, it's that its internal myth-building has grown too complex and impenetrable for the casual fan. As the long wait for Kingdom Hearts 3 continues, Square Enix must have decided it's a good time for us all to take a step back and get our (Donald) ducks in a row. Hence, Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix: a compilation of the three early stories in the KH chronology, detailing just about everything you need to know before the seemingly inevitable Kingdom Hearts 2 compilation paves the way for a proper sequel.
Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD Remix lays on a gameplay trailer
With two weeks to go until Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD Remix, now's the time to gander at the spruced up PS3 compilation, and remind ourselves what it comprises: Kingdom Hearts 1 Final Mix, Re:Chain of Memories, and the cinematics (not the game itself) from 358/2 Days.
Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD Remix trailer has flashbacks
This trailer for the PS3-exclusive Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD Remix reflects on the series' history. That might be wise, given it's one of the most difficult storylines to sort out in all of gaming. The pack contains KH 1 Final Mix, KH Re:Chain of Memories and a non-playable movie of KH 358/2 Days.
The troubled history of Kingdom Hearts reflects Square Enix's own
In his weekly column, writer Bob Mackey will alternate between two of his passions: the Japanese RPG genre and classic games. This Tuesday brought the announcement of Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD Remix's American release date, and with it, feelings of ambivalence from people like me who once thought the strange pairing of Square and Disney would do more than tread water for a decade. I worked at a mall GameStop when the first installment launched in the fall of 2002, and even though I'd outgrown Disney (and had begun to outgrow Square), Kingdom Hearts felt like the first true RPG of the PS2 era, outclassing the at-the-time-recent Final Fantasy X, which relied on the same pre-rendered – albeit prettier – backgrounds that evoked the previous console generation's limitations. Regardless of how you felt about the characters on display, turning away from our in-store TV during the Kingdom Hearts demo reel proved nearly impossible; Square's technical wizards worked overtime to ensure that an army of 2D Disney characters would look and move perfectly in real-time 3D – and they still do nearly 11 years later. For fans of Japanese RPGs and classic animation, the tag-team of Square and Disney felt like some impossible dream that somehow came true, despite the odds against it. After leaving the Capcom legacy behind in the mid-90s, the existence of Kingdom Hearts seemed like a second chance for Disney to make their games more than just cheap tie-ins sold on marketing alone.%Gallery-179789%
Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix plays NA on Sep. 10, EU Sep. 13
Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix is lined up for North America on September 10, and Europe on September 13. The upgrade to the autumn release window came courtesy of a Square Enix post on the PlayStation Blog, which also outlined the pre-order bonus for both regions, namely a limited edition artbook. The PS3 compilation includes HD versions of PS2 games Kingdom Hearts Final Mix and Re:Chain of Memories; Final Mix is the formerly Japan-only re-release of the original Kindgom Hearts, while Re:Chain of Memories is the PS2 remake of GBA entry Chain of Memories. HD 1.5 Remix also features the cutscenes from DS game 358/2 Days (in HD too!).
Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix trailer lives on in our hearts
We recommend watching this Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix trailer in full-screen. If you're not able to see the HD upgrades, you're basically just watching a trailer for the original Kingdom Hearts.
Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD Remix coming to PS3 in NA, EU this autumn
Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD Remix is headed west in the fall. Square Enix confirmed the PS3 localizations today, much speculated after series voice actor Jesse McCartney revealed he was working on a secret project. As revealed on the PlayStation Blog, the localizations won't support Japanese voices. The compilation features hi-def re-releases of PS2 games Final Mix and Re:Chain of Memories, the latter for the first time in Europe, and the former outside of Japan. It also includes hi-def versions of the cutscenes from DS game 358/2 Days. 1.5 HD Remix lays down its remastered beats in Japan on March 14. %Gallery-179789%
Actor teases new Kingdom Hearts voice work
Jesse McCartney is a voice actor for the Kingdom Hearts series; he's played Roxas for a few different games now. Earlier today, McCartney tweeted that he was "recording the next chapter" of the series, along with a picture of Roxas on a monitor, which you can see above. Unfortunately, the tweet and picture featuring the game have been removed; however, an earlier update confirmed McCartney is currently "behind the mic" working on something.The question remains: what game in the Kingdom Hearts series is McCartney working on? The likely answer is it's the North American release of Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD Remix, which features Final Mix, Chain of Memories, and 358/2 Days. Time will tell.
See and hear Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD Remix for yourself
The first trailer for Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD Remix not only gives you an idea of what the series looks like with its new coat of paint – it also lets you hear Goofy's Japanese speaking voice.
