Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX PC Review
Starting out as a unique PlayStation exclusive, born from the strange crossover of media franchises, the Kingdom Hearts series has been re-released on a new platform with the latest PC port. Overall, the PC journey has been kind to Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX in some modest ways, with some features to enhance the Windows port. Other than a few issues and minor gripes, Kingdom Hearts is making a successful transition to PC. Among the Windows-specific bells and whistles that most console-to-PC ports expect, the original lineup of Kingdom Hearts games on PC are similar to console remasters. There are only very minor performance problems to speak of, none of which break the game. The only major hurdle consumers need to consider is price versus value, as the classic Kingdom Hearts collection still retails for $49.99 MSRP on the Epic Games Store. Other than minor and infrequent issues, the PC debut of Kingdom Hearts is excellent. The only barrier to entry is the price, but otherwise, Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX on PC is a solid port.
Fans who have played the remastered collection before will be familiar with the included games, but for new PC gamers Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX is a collection of the first and second main Kingdom Hearts games, as well the two narrative spin-off games in Re:Chain of Memories and Birth By Sleep Final Mix. The last two “games” are actually remastered cinematics and cutscenes from the original release of Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days and Kingdom Hearts Re:Coded. Of course, the first Kingdom Hearts is iconic in its own right for starting such a franchise with unique gameplay, quirks and awkward combat. The first game in the series continues to show its age, especially in 2021. However, as if Square Enix had done a complete 180 in the two years between the original and the sequel, Kingdom Hearts 2 definitely which doesn’t suffer too much from that problem. in 2021. Even Re:Chain of Memories and Birth By Sleep, which further changed the formula with a card and command-based spell/ability system, are still quite enjoyable as action RPGs, despite their- their imbalances of each game. Players will witness the humble action RPG beginnings of Kingdom Hearts 1, the near perfection of mechanics and gameplay in Kingdom Hearts 2, as well as the experimentation of the formula in Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories and Birth By Sleep. Those curious about filling in the narrative gaps between mainline games can check out the origins of a Nobody in Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, as well as the frankly hilarious narrative that takes place in Re:Coded. Obviously not much has changed in these remasters on the way to Windows, but that’s fine. All previous major issues with the PS4/Xbox One remaster have been resolved. RELATED: PSA: Sora Won’t Be Coming to Super Smash Bros Ultimate
Overall, performance is nearly flawless at default settings, especially on a mid-range PC where visuals and performance are as crisp and fluid as possible. Only in high average and very specific high-end rigs do small inconveniences start to appear. None of the Kingdom Hearts games in the collection have ultrawide support, which produces black bars and letterboxing on larger monitors. G-Sync capable monitors in particular have issues (according to fan reports, FreeSync monitors have similar issues) with extreme screen flickering. However, there are some more significant issues that can also be solved with simple fixes. V-Sync in the PC port of Kingdom Hearts, in particular, can cause some irregular crashes and instability, depending on moments in the game and/or hardware specifications. It’s hard to narrow down the source of these issues, but turning off “Refresh Rate” (V-Sync) in the game settings will completely avoid the issue. All Kingdom Hearts games also have an uncapped framerate option, which is great on paper, but is also the source of the biggest performance issues on PC. Due to an issue with the game’s logic in determining framerate scaling, some cutscenes and moments in the game may force a lower framerate to maintain stability. Fortunately, there is a fan mod that fixes this.
Minor issues aside, gamepad and keyboard support is surprisingly solid for Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX. All games support three different icon displays for button layouts, using Xbox, PlayStation, as well as generic XInput icons for various gamepads. Players can also fully customize and remap bindings for gamepads to their liking. Finally, the collection settings also allow players to switch the “confirm” action between circle/B and cross/A, flip-flopping between Japanese and Western standards. Keyboard support includes multiple layouts, fully re-mappable bindings, as well as mouse sensitivity settings, but it’s honestly not recommended for any Kingdom Hearts game. Right now, the only thing that lets Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX on PC down is the few graphic and performance issues that occur. Those problems aside, gamers are left with a surprisingly adaptable port that plays just like the PlayStation and Xbox remasters did. Wide controller support, unlocked framerate (when it doesn’t slow the game down), visuals at their highest texture resolution, overall the Kingdom Hearts PC ports are beyond beautiful. Luckily, most collection issues can potentially be fixed with a patch/update down the line, so it’s not the end of the world. Overall, playing the original Kingdom Hearts games on PC is definitely a defining experience for those games. The only major thing buyers should consider is the full $49.99 price, which can be a turn-off for anyone but hardcore fans, especially with the aforementioned issues. On the one hand, this collection shines and performs well on Windows, but it’s up to consumers to decide if they should jump at the full price as it stands, or wait for a patch and/or sale. Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX is now available on PC. Today Technology was provided with a code for this review. MORE: Kingdom Hearts 3 PC review