PS4 Top 10 -- #9 Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5

#9 Kingdom Hearts 1.5 + 2.5 HD Remix Collection

The first thing I want to point out about the Kingdom Heart's collection for PS4 is what an amazing value it is. You get four complete Kingdom Hearts games; KH Birth By Sleep Final Mix, KH 1 Final Mix, KH Re Chain of Memories and KH 2 Final Mix. The “Final Mix” in the titles shows that they are unreleased versions that were previously exclusive to Japan. These versions include tons of new things ranging from new abilities and accessories to brand new enemies and cinematics. They are the definitive versions of all the games. Square-Enix also included all of the cinematics from the 3DS games, 358/2 Days and Re: Coded, presented as HD movies. It helps you see the whole picture of what is often referred to as one of the most convoluted and confusing stories in all of video games. After playing all of these games without many year long gaps in between, it actually seems to flow a lot better than I remember. I followed along just fine without the use of any external story walkthroughs to clear things up.

The gameplay and premise of Kingdom Hearts holds up pretty well today. When I was a kid in high school, the thought of Square mixing Final Fantasy with Disney made me scratch my head pretty hard and I didn't think it would work. Now Sora, Riku, and Kairi are household names right alongside Mickey, Donald, and Goofy. The idea just doesn't seem nearly as absurd today for some reason. Not only does the gameplay hold up, but the visuals also retain the same charm that they've always had. They certainly can't pass as native PS4 titles and the polygons definitely show their age, but the HD visuals really do pop off the screen. If you are like me and play on a PS4 Pro, the visuals shine even brighter. The colors pop off the screen in remarkable ways (for a PS2 title) when played in 4K. I loved re-watching the many cinematics with this new graphical sheen. Newcomers won't notice this as much as old-school fans, such as myself. There is also a bump in frame rate that's extremely noticeable in my opinion. It runs at a smooth 60fps compared to the original's 30fps. This is truly the best way to experience Sora and company's journey. Better game performance and more content all at a bargain price. At the time of this writing, you can net a new copy of the game for 40 bucks or cheaper easily. That is one hell of a deal for a couple hundred hours of quality gameplay. If you're a Disney or Final Fantasy fan, or just a fan of any good game in general, go and grab this disc or download it today.