Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8: Final Chapter Prologue Reviews
Visiting colourful worlds, exploring the meaning of friendship and raising some cute pets in the process, has made me rediscover why I enjoyed the Kingdom Hearts franchise in the first place.
Kingdom Hearts 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue is a morsel that updates a small bit of the past with a very nice Dream Drop Distance HD Remaster, details a bit of the present with the χ Back Cover cinematic, and shows a smidge of the glorious future with Kingdom Hearts 0.2: Birth by Sleep – A Fragmentary Passage. The gaming content is high quality, but low quantity, leaving you wanting more. Great for junkies needing a Kingdom Hearts bump to get them through the long wait should get this immediately.
A brief but precious look at what the future holds for Kingdom Hearts.
Kingdom Hearts 2.8 does exactly what it was meant to do. Get us ready for Kingdom Hearts 3.
Kingdom Hearts is great but this collection isn’t good. There is a serious lack of content in this collection.
Mandatory purchase for the Kingdom Hearts series fans, giving a foretaste of what will be in Kingdom Hearts 3. Unfortunately, compared to previous collections, this is extremely modest in content.
Review in Polish | Read full review
A collection of well-made PS4 ports, preparing fans of the series for Kingdom Hearts 3. But for everybody else it's not worth buying.
Review in German | Read full review
Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue is not some cheap cash-in collection. It’s a bridge to what is going come in the future backed up by an amazing remaster and an intriguing teaser to the next game.
It is tough to recommend this collection to even the biggest KH fan at its current price tag, because what Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 consists of is one of the weakest games in the series, a glorified demo and extremely short teaser of what to expect in Kingdom Hearts III, and a movie that many may find difficult to care about its characters. At a much lower price, however, this will be worth the investment, as the small story pieces in KH 0.2 alone set the stage and clear some things up. It is visually beautiful, and whilst the controls and combat need work, there is still a solid foundation there for fun and flashy gameplay. Anyone yet to dive into the franchise, wait for the PS4 combined bundle of 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX, then pick 2.8 up after it has reduced.
Regardless, Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance HD is an enjoyable romp that'll last you a good number of hours. If this is your first Kingdom Hearts game, then for the love of God almighty PLAY ALL THE OTHERS PREVIOUSLY. You won't understand a single thing otherwise! The combat can be clunky at times, and can be a bit annoying to control, but once you get a knack for it, you'll be hooked.
Birth by Sleep 0.2 is the the best part of this package, with great visuals, music and combat system, and as a teaser for the third part it largely succeeds despite its length, and is an overall great bite-sized entry, while Dream Drop Distance HD is an entertaining albeit flawed entry. This package is aimed more at series veterans than newcomers, and is better experienced after the upcoming 1.5+2.5 bundle in March.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue is a fine entry in this crazy saga of games, even though it contains one of the least interesting games story wise with Dream Drop Distance. The taste of what we might be getting in Kingdom Hearts 3 certainly m
A good game, but already seen on 3DS five years ago, plus an even better one, but too short.
Review in Italian | Read full review
For a fan, this is an essential purchase and it comes with a sense that this nearly 15 year old series is drawing to a logical conclusion. It’s also a great opportunity to not only unpick some of the more convoluted areas of the lore, but look to the future with its reveal of the sumptuous looking Kingdom Hearts 3 engine. It’s a shame that Square didn’t see fit to release a complete collection alongside the forthcoming reissues of the rest of the games in the series; casual fans and newcomers who are interested in getting into the series would do well to hold off til April and pick up both this and the 1.5/2.5 double pack.
Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue is a collection of very exciting, yet overpriced, adventures. Composed of two games and a movie, this collection gives fans of the series a lot to chew on as they wait for the elusive Kingdom Hearts 3. This is not a good starting point for newcomers and to them I recommend playing both 1.5 and 2.5 before they buy this title after it drops in price.
Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue is the most far-reaching package of content in the franchise, stretching from the series’ earliest moments all the way to its most recent, but an understanding of its scope requires some history with Kingdom Hearts lore. And because much of it touches on familiar territory, as a whole it lacks an essential feeling that the main numbered entries and spinoffs (like Birth By Sleep) evoke. A Fragmentary Passage is a truly exciting glimpse through the door to Kingdom Hearts’ future. That look ahead is a wonderful appetizer for what’s to come, but hopefully that tease, along with the rest of the tablet setting done here, doesn’t make the wait for the full course that is Kingdom Hearts 3 more difficult in the long run.
While it’s not my favorite bundle they have released, it most certainly has some fun times in it. RPG and Kingdom Hearts fans should not shy away from this one. Still, seeing as how 2.5 HD had both Kingdom Hearts 2 and Birth by Sleep in it and this package only has a full game and a 2 hour episode, I would say at least wait for a slight price drop.
This collection of Kingdom Hearts is great to people who knows more than the basic about the story, but not welcoming at all for newcomers. Square did a good job with the remaster of Dream Drop Distance. Aqua’s new adventure in 0.2 Birth By Sleep gives us amazing but short taste of what to expect in KH 3. Saldy the movie falls short in reaching a good climax.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue is a strong but unnecessarily pricey collection for die-hard fans, especially for those who don't intend to play Dream Drop Distance. For those who do, it most certainly is a wonderful game that has undergone an admirable transition between platforms. With a fair film and enticing episode in tow, there's only so much more our hearts can bear in anticipating Kingdom Hearts III.
This is the most disappointed that I’ve been with Square Enix for quite some time. I appreciate that the publisher wanted to make sure that fans had access to everything they needed ahead of the release of the big game (Kingdom Hearts 3), but the overall package feels like it’s a collection of Z-list content thrown together.