Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix

Kingdom Hearts Final Mix Kingdom Hearts follows the adventures of Sora, a cheerful teenager who fights against the forces of darkness. He is joined by Donald Duck, Goofy and other Disney characters who help him on his quest. In the original and Final Mix versions of Kingdom Hearts, the command menu had four commands: Attack, Magic, Items, and a fourth context-sensitive slot that varied depending on several factor's, including the player's location and which character they were targeting. The command menu was updated to include "Attack", "Magic", "Items", and "Summons" in the fourth slot, which was originally located as a sub-category beneath the "Magic" menu. The original fourth command is replaced by the introduction of Reaction Commands from Kingdom Hearts II, triggered by pressing the Triangle Button. The camera works more similarly to that of Kingdom Hearts II, utilizing the right thumb stick to move the camera and allowing the player to click the R3 button to reset the camera behind Sora, as opposed to the original game which made use of the shoulder triggers L2 and R2 to position the camera. It was released in North America, Australia, and Europe for the first time as part of the collection. Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories is a direct sequel to Kingdom Hearts, and its ending is set about a year before Kingdom Hearts II. The game follows Sora and friends, exploring a mysterious castle. At the same time, Riku explores the castle's basement levels and fights the darkness. This version of Chain of Memories was released in Europe and Australia for the first time as part of the collection, as it was previously released in North America in December 2008. ==Development==

In August 2011, Tetsuya Nomura expressed desire to release a high definition re-release of the game, though he had yet to confirm such plans. The idea for a high definition re-release preceded plans for Final Fantasy X re-release, and was a focus for two Square Enix programmers for over a year. In September 2012, Square Enix announced Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix for release in Japan on the PlayStation 3. The collection, developed in-house by Square Enix's 1st Production Department, would include both Kingdom Hearts Final Mix and Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories in high definition and Trophy support, as well as non-playable HD event scenes from Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days as a way for players to understand the story. The development team experimented with using some character models from Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance for HD 1.5 Remix. The cutscenes from Kingdom Hearts Final Mix were remastered with Japanese voice overs for both Chain of Memories and 358/2 Days so that 70% of main story scenes would have full voice acting. In January 2013, Jesse McCartney, the voice of Roxas, posted a picture on Instagram of himself in a recording booth, with Roxas seen on a screen in the background, along with the caption, "For all you 'Kingdom Hearts' Fans. Recording the next chapter! #KingdomHearts #Roxas #Gamers." McCartney later deleted the image. In February, Square Enix confirmed the game would release in North America and Europe, later revealing September 2013 releases for North America, In June 2013, Nomura stated that the original game assets for Kingdom Hearts had been lost some time ago. He explained, "[The game data] was lost, so we had to research, and we had to dig out from the actual game what was available and recreate everything for HD. We had to recreate all the graphics and it was actually not that easy." In July 2017, Nomura spoke on bringing the collection to Xbox One, saying he did not believe there was much demand for it outside of North America, but felt it could be a possibility after Square Enix completed development on Kingdom Hearts III. At the X019 event in November 2019, Shinji Hashimoto and Ichiro Hazama announced that the collection, along with 2.5 and 2.8, would be released on the Xbox One in 2020. The game released on Windows exclusively via Epic Games Store on March 30, 2021, and later on Steam on June 13, 2024, following the expiration of the exclusivity. In October 2021, it was announced that a cloud version of the game was in development for Nintendo Switch as part of Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 Remix. ==Release==

Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix was released in Japan on March 14, 2013, in North America on September 10, 2013, in Australia on September 12, 2013, and in Europe on September 13, 2013. Preorders for the game in North America, Australia, and Europe included a book of the game's concept artwork and a dynamic PlayStation 3 theme. Square Enix also released the collection in a bundle in Japan with Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix titled, ''Kingdom Hearts Collector's Pack: HD 1.5 + 2.5 Remix''. The Collector's pack featured both collections, a code to get an Anniversary Set for Kingdom Hearts χ [chi], music, and a booklet with art from the series. A set of free downloadable content for the PS4 version released in June 2017 added a Theater mode for Kingdom Hearts Final Mix and an additional cutscene for 358/2 Days; these were included by default in later ports of the collection. An additional bundle, Kingdom Hearts: The Story So Far, includes the Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 Remix PlayStation 4 collection and Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue and was released in North America on October 30, 2018 for the PlayStation 4. ==Reception==

Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix received generally positive critical reception. Aggregating review website Metacritic gave the game a 77 out of 100 based on 49 reviews. Joystiq gave a positive, unscored review, saying the collection "captures that early era of the franchise at its purest simplicity. It's a trip down memory lane for long-term fans, while the visual overhaul and back-to-beginnings story should make it a welcoming entry point for newcomers." GameSpot stated, "Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix presents a couple of the earliest games in the beloved series in their best light and makes a revealing cinematic experience out of a third one. The three experiences complement one another with unique elements and welcome context that is a treat for longtime fans and newcomers alike." GameTrailers felt that, "While Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX certainly lives up to the HD part of its name, the collection is not without its shortcomings. The original game's inclusion with all the new revisions and the addition of Final Mix content is a worthy investment on its own, and the inclusion of Chain of Memories is a nice gesture. The card-based battle system might be off-putting, but it's a unique experiment that deviates from the norm of the series. However, despite the overhauled visuals and new voice work, it's hard to excuse the reduction of 358/2 Days to a lengthy film rather than an actual game." IGN felt that the collection was "an excellent way to replay the series' first two games in crisp, high-definition splendor" but was disappointed that the box art did not properly distinguish 358/2 Days as a non-playable game. Electronic Gaming Monthly stated the collection "brings a PS2 classic to the modern age with a noticeably impressive visual update, improved camera controls, and, for added fun, secondary and tertiary Kingdom Hearts content all contained on one disc." ==Additional collections==

HD 2.5 Remix In October 2012, Tetsuya Nomura suggested that an HD-version of Kingdom Hearts II was likely to be created for another collection, saying that "it'd be unusual if there wasn't" another one. In the credits of HD 1.5 Remix, clips of Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix, Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Final Mix and Kingdom Hearts Re:coded were shown, hinting at a second collection. The collection was released exclusively for the PlayStation 3 in Japan on October 2, 2014, in North America on December 2, 2014, and in Europe on December 5, 2014. HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue In the credits of HD 2.5 Remix, clips of Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance were shown as well as the inclusion of a secret ending related to the game, hinting at a possible additional collection. In September 2015, Square Enix announced Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue. The collection features an HD remaster of Dream Drop Distance as well as Kingdom Hearts χ Back Cover, a cinematic retelling of Kingdom Hearts χ that reveals new parts of the series' history in HD cinematics, and Kingdom Hearts 0.2: Birth by Sleep – A Fragmentary Passage, a new game taking place after the events of Birth by Sleep, told from the perspective of Aqua. It was released on January 12, 2017 in Japan and January 24, 2017 for other countries. ==Notes==