Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue is a collection of two games and a short film. It includes Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance HD, a remaster of the original 3DS game, and King Hearts 0.2: Birth by Sleep — A Fragmentary Passage, a story featuring Aqua that gives us a taste of Kingdom Hearts III. Kingdom Hearts x Back Cover is an hour-long cinematic that focuses on characters from a mobile game. All three, when combined with Kingdom Hearts 1.5 and 2.5 HD, give fans a complete Kingdom Hearts experience before the third mainline game releases.
Dream Drop Distance will consume a bulk of your time and the HD remaster is largely well done. While the scale and scope of the game make it clear that it’s a 3DS title and there isn’t much they can do to improve character models, the animations and visual effects look pretty good. Players control Sora and Riku and must explore a collection of worlds with each character. These events take place in alternate timelines and when playing as one character; you will sometimes see visions of the other. You can switch between the two at any time but will be forced to switch once the Drop gauge becomes empty.
Upon entering a new world for the first time, you play a free-fall mini-game which consists of hitting or avoiding enemies while collecting as many points as possible. Both Sora and Riku don’t have a vastly different playing style. In addition to basic attacks, players have a customisable command deck that allows them to cast magic spells and use items.
Both characters can use Flowmotion, a mechanic that lets you use walls, poles and other environmental objects, as well as enemies themselves, to move much faster and unleash special attacks. You can also have up to three Dream Eaters as allies in battle. These colourful monsters are especially useful against large groups of enemies and can link with you to perform special attacks.
Kingdom Hearts 0.2 is the main draw for this collection and it is beautiful, filled with stunning visual effects and a gorgeous colour tone. The combat is extremely similar but features a better control scheme and several other nuances. As a small taste of what Kingdom Hearts 3 will offer, I was left impressed but it’s not worth the asking price on its own. Dream Drop Distance is fun but flawed, and thus this collection offers little if you have already played the original 3DS version. I recommend purchasing Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 only if you have already played through Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2, and have not played the 3DS game.
Overall: 7.5
