Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue - PlayStation 4

While I have only put two hours into the Aqua portion of the game, just based on the overall package, this game warrants five stars. I have already played DDD on the 3DS and it is easily one of the best games in the series. Definitely top four. I really look forward to playing through this game again on a console and TV screen compared to the 3DS. It should definitely be a much better experience gameplay wise. The narrative while confusing, is enjoyable. This is also one of only a couple of KH games where you get to play as Riku, who is one of my favorite characters and is also fun to play as. The big highlight of Chain of Memories for example was the Riku story mode, and same goes for DDD. The combat itself is fun too and for those wondering about boss fights and difficulty, its a KH game so there is always a couple fights that will frustrate you. All in all DDD is a great game and worth playing for any KH fan. Now in regards to the Aqua portion of the game, this is essentially the prologue to KHIII and pretty much the MGSV Ground Zeroes of Kingdom Hearts. The game is meant to connect to the story of Birth By Sleep to KHIII and of course the ending of DDD for those who have already beaten it. Yet it is also here to show us what we can expect graphically and gameplay wise from KHIII. The game is running on Unreal Engine 4 and you can definitely see a huge graphical difference between the KH games of past and now. From a gameplay standpoint, its a combination of Birth by Sleep and KHII. The magic gauge is the same as KHII, same goes for the d-pad menu, and the quick menu to easily use your magic and potions. It also uses the gauge thing from Birth by Sleep where you can hold R1 to lock on to a target and shoot a burst of magic or energy at it. All in all the combat is fluid and quick. Controlling Aqua is very fun and moving around each combat area feels right. The magic spells feel really powerful and are cool to use. The game also starts you off with an Aqua who is already at level 50 and the four magic spells are already in their third -aga form which is necessary since this is a keyblade master after all, so I like this touch Square Enix put here. One of my worries about the Aqua portion was that it could potentially be rather short. Yet with two hours put into it, those worries are being simmered down. Square Enix put in these things called up objectives where you need to do specific tasks, some combat related, boss fight related (these are especially missable), and story related. These essentially give the player more things to do. If I finish the the main story with 5+ hours put into it and still some objectives to do then the game is worth it in my opinion. Doing these objectives of course awards you with items you can decorate Aqua with. This is a new system for KH, one where we can actually dress up our character, that I hope makes its way into KHIII. It allows the player to add their twist to the character and just gives you more options and customization. So far I have enjoyed my experience in the Aqua portion and it just makes me more excited for KHIII, it gives me hope Square Enix can pull this off. Now the package comes with an addition movie that I guess gives you the story of this desktop KH that came out in the last year or so. From my understanding it takes place even before the Birth by Sleep and I assume in incremental to the overall story especially in regards to KHIII where games like Birth by Sleep, Chain of Memories, and DDD are now very significant to the story. I like that Square took this approach so that these games are more than just spin offs, but are essential as well. Overall, this is a great package. I picked up the Limited Edition which comes with two pins. It was the same price as the standard so hey, why not? The pins are pretty cool looking too for anyone wondering. Now the big question for some, is it worth the $60? Unless you are a die hard KH fan, then I'd say no. Though worth is subjective. If you base worth around hours you can get out of a game and you don't tend to rush through games, you can easily get 30-40 hours out of this whole package, which some $60 releases fail to do. That being said this game is certainly worth owning at some point for anyone who likes Kingdom Hearts. It is essentially the prologue to KHIII, highlights the gameplay mechanics we can probably see in KHIII, and has one of the best games in the KH franchise which is Dream Drop Distance. A game perhaps not worth it for some now, but worth it eventually.

Brief thoughts about the LE upgrades: I think Amazon ran into a shortage with the LEs. I pre-ordered 2.8 an year ago and got the upgrade. So, you can imagine that this was a first come first serve basis. This time though, Amazon also ran into a shortage problem with the standard 2.8 versions. So, big advice one can give you is don't wait until the very last minute or a month (for LE/CEs) prior to the release date. Just pre-order right away when you're able to. You'll never know how many Amazon has of these in stock. With KH3 around the corner, you should start thinking about how quickly Amazon's inventory is going to go with that game. Getting back to my review: As someone, who has played the original Dream Drop Distance (Master Collection ed.), I'm digging these improved aspects on this remastered DDD. I'm only a little over an hour into the game on Proud mode. + Seeing and hearing the game on a TV screen is a big thumbs up. + More save slots + Faster loading times. + Skippable cutscenes. + Upgraded graphics, of course. Looks smooth. + Everything feels faster. Like, your walking and Flowmotioning (off of objects) got faster too. (P.S. to newbies: Yes, you can turn off your Flowmotion commands if you feel them to be too OP. Just wait until you progress a little further into the game.) + You can create three decks for your commands. I think that's the same as the 3DS version? I can't remember. + Links seem to be activated differently and a little easier to use compared to relying constantly on the bottom screen of the 3DS. Maybe, because I haven't fully gotten use to the PS4 button set up... Hmm. + You now have two ways you can pet your Dream Eaters. By stick or the touch pad. It feels like petting the DEs with the mini pad got a teeny easier and faster than the 3DS? (Note to newbies: You don't have to maintain your DEs as constant as the Sun/Moon Poke'mon. They're a lot easier to maintain in my opinion. Don't worry too much about your DEs, but maintaining their happiness a bit will make them a little more effective, in battles, more than they already are. Basically. it's up to you. They can "die" in battle, but not forever.) + I've read that the Drop system has been slowed down so that's good for people, who haven't gotten a habit of drowning yourselves in Have-Me-Nots and Nevers. Word of advice though is that you definitely should buy a lot of Nots and Nevers. Abuse them. You'll find time really slow just by doing so. It's no different than using Cure or a Potion so why not? There's not much else to say for a fun game that I enjoyed on the 3DS. I know I only mentioned a fraction of the changes from the original DDD. As for 0.2 and BC, I'm leaving those two at the end. I'm making DDD the priority, while the KH3 prologue and UX movie are the extra caveat. ;) And, there's a Secret Movie too, I believe? Happy playing, KH fans. To the on the fence KH story followers, if you've never experienced DDD and the mobile UnchainedX games, 2.8 is a definite must. Its unique KHish title says it all: "Prologue". You'll need this for KH3. As for the people, who've played 3DS DDD --- at the very least, it's your choice on how to proceed.

For me these were all new games and story arcs. And they were a blast. The music is still phenomenal and the gameplay diverse and challenging. The first game is Dream Drop Distance and is the story of Sora and Riku’s mark of mastery exam…which goes off the rails because the villains just can’t give us a break.The combat in this game took the command deck from birth by sleep and it felt improved. Plus you get parkour and magical dashing in this game on top of being able to use the environment in combat. Instead of Donald and Goofy, you create Dream Eaters that help you. Each type of Dream Eater unlocks different abilities and combat styles. While most bosses are relatively easy this time around there are 2 that are a complete nightmare and one is early on. Only a few worlds are old worlds and those are mainly new areas once again. Birth by Sleep 0.2 was short but amazing to play. If Kingdom Hearts 3 is using this as a basis for gameplay…we are all in for a treat. The story follows Aqua as she explores the World of Darkness and considering Birth by Sleep was a prequel to the main story, this explains a few things that were going on in the background. The story is thought provoking and moderately challenging. The final boss was the most difficult to be honest which wasn’t a bad thing, necessarily. If you enjoyed Aqua’s story from Birth by Sleep, you have to play this. The last part is a retelling of the story from the mobile phone game but reveals the true start of everything in this series as it happens 100 years before the first game. It is enjoyable to watch and see how the first Keyblade War unfolded. It raises a few questions (What’s in the box!?) but does fill in some gaps. I watched this first before playing DDD and Birth by Sleep 0.2 as it doesn’t spoilt anything for these games. I would say if you haven’t or only skimmed through the previous games, play them and this. You will not be disappointed. Plus, you will be ready for Kingdom Hearts III, which is supposed to end the series.

If you like Zelda, you'll like Kingdom Hearts. I played halfway through KH1 on PS4, and I'm enjoying the narrative much more than in most video games, but the controls are too date for me to enjoy over a full-length title. I understand the series becomes very convoluted storywise as the games progress (there is a 20 minute summary of the full KH story on YouTube I recommend for interested customers not willing to put in hundreds of hours across all the games), but focusing on that ignores the evolution of combat and RPG ideas that Square Enix makes with each KH game. Mechanics change, and it's very interesting to see these changes with each new KH game. Having said that, as someone with limited gaming time these days, I simply don't have the time to invest in very long stories and learning whole new sets of mechanics with each game. It's more work than fun for me, and I would rather learn the latest mechanics, and slowly master them, than dedicating loads of time to historical mechanics. I played each game for over an hour in the two new PS4 releases before settling on this disc only as the best option for me. Dream Drop Distance as far as I can tell represents the best of all the mechanics of previous games (although Chain of Memories is a great execution too), and as a full length title DDD will likely satisfy my urge to appreciate the full series combat-wise. Birth by Sleep 0.2 - A fragmentary passage - is supposedly much shorter and basically a lead-in to the upcoming KH3, which is great by me. Mostly I'm wanting to prepare for KH3, and this blu-ray release does that perfectly. The controls are at their cleanest, visuals at their loveliest in Birth by Sleep 0.2. So if you're wondering whether to buy both this one and HD 1.5 + 2.5, unless you're a diehard KH fan, my recommendation is to save yourself money and time and just go with this HD 2.8 blu-ray. Enjoy. Oh and by the way go play NieR: Automata if you haven't already. It's the best Square Enix title to date in my opinion, much better than Final Fantasy XV in terms of combat, varied gameplay, and story.

Some people are criticizing Dream Drop Distance's conversion to the PS4. But I can't tell where this is coming from. It's an HD version that you can play on the TV and it looks fantastic. From the beginning I liked the additions it brings to the series with Flowmotion and Dream Eaters. But the best thing is if you don't want to focus too much on either of those, you don't have too. I literally only had to "rescue" a Dream Eater one time in my play through. Just having them leveling up in my party made they're health high enough that I didn't need to worry about them. So besides getting a few spells and such from them you can just let them do their thing if you want. Though it's a lot more fun to use their link moves so Sora and a Penguin can crash into enemies with a hot tub. Drop bosses were initially a little bit hard but nothing overbearing. As someone who was playing DDD for the first time, it wouldn't be that hard to believe it was made for the PS4 to begin with considering how well it works on the system. However, one thing to watch out for is that they labeled significant parts of the story as flashbacks. That could confuse people about their importance. You shouldn't skip those. As much as I enjoy the aesthetic of earlier Kingdom Hearts games, there is no denying the huge jump in graphics that A Fragmentary Passage takes. The magic effects are particularly gorgeous. You get to explore a few different spots. Later on you can travel between them with save points which makes it quick and simple. Being able to complete objectives that give new options for Aqua's clothes is a nice bonus. Can't wait for Kingdom Hearts 3 when we get to experience more of the series' new direction. The hour long Back Cover film serves as some of the earliest lore and as an introduction to Unchained X. The wonderful visuals show off what Square Enix has accomplished with the Kingdom Shader. I love the design of the Foretellers and the mysterious Master adds humor and intrigue to the plot. Keep in mind though that Back Cover ends with questions that will likely be answered by Kingdom Hearts 3.

i love the game, KH 0.2 was a lot of fun to play through, the graphics are beautiful and its awesome to really get to look at what KH3 will be like, back cover was fun to watch and being able to learn more about the foretellers, and dream drop distance is an awesome KH game and it looks amazing on the PS4. the only thing on not the biggest fan of is the price, this game is honestly not worth the price that it is, its much more of a $40 game then a $60 game, im glad you get a discount with the game through amazon prime. also this game isn't the kind of game someone wants to get if they are just getting into KH, they should wait till march where 1.5 and 2.5 comes out on the PS4 and play those before getting this game, but besides that this is a great game for any and every KH lover. :)

This game is a solid entry for the KH series and gives you quite the tease for KH3. An HD transfer of Dream Drop Distance is certainly welcomed at glorious 60fps and a mind boggling story with a unique gameplay style never before seen in the series. The real deal of this bundle however is Birth by Sleep A Fragmentary Passage. This is the final stop before KH3 and it's such a tease. The gameplay is familiar but fresh. The graphics just look fantastic, and the story leaves you on edge wanting more. It's everything you'd come to expect in a prologue to KH3, and it was worth every penny in my book. If you're a longtime fan definitely pick this up at some point. If you're either new to the series or been out of the loop since KH2 I would say hold off. It tries its best to get everyone up to speed via cutscenes and journal entries but it relies too much on fan knowledge to keep the plot moving forward. The PS4 transfer of 1.5 and 2.5 is due for late March and I would recommend buying that first before playing this for it gives you both 1,2 and everything around it that leads into Dream Drop Distance and Fragmentary Passage. This was purely designed to set the final stage for what I'm assuming is the final chapter of the series, and a lot is going down.

To clarify, because it seems a lot of people are confused on what this game actually contains... Let me clarify... This game contains two games and a movie. The most important is the 0.2 Birth By Sleep game where you control Aqua moments before the ending of Kingdom Hearts 2 while she's inside the darkness. The second game is a remastered Dream Drop Distance. Contrary to a lot of people on Amazon, that remaster is REALLY good and it's a fun game. I never played it on the 3DS and i'm glad I didn't because it's a lot of fun on the PS4. My only complaint is when you're trying to play with your companions, it feels a little awkward to do it on the controller. They should have probably removed this feature or automated it, because i'm sure it was a LOT easier using the 3DS touchscreen. I haven't watched the movie yet, but from what I understand, it's not THAT important to the story. In summation.... Buy the game. You're going to enjoy it and really get excited for KH3. And buy the KH1 & KH2 PS4/XB1 remasters as well to support the developers and to show excitement for new KH games.

KHの2本のゲームが入っていて英語版が安かったので購入しました。 リマスターのクオリティは高いと思います。 ただ、リバイバル作をやればやるほど早くIIIがやりたくなります。

El juego llegó 1 semana después de haber sido pedido, para ser importación de verdad fue muy rápido y con eso me siento contento, aparte llegó en muy buen estado y sin detalles. Muy recomendado comprar en amazon, es profesional y formal el servicio. La saga de Kingdom hearts desde que llegó por primera vez a ps2 se ha hecho de las favoritas de los gamers, altamente recomendada la saga para quien quiera entrar a este mundo crossover entre Disney y Square Enix.

is perfect condition

Very good, I enjoyed KH 3D a lot, and 0.2 is a great demonstration of how KH 3 will play out, can't wait for that !!!!!

Work as expected