If her chapter was turned into a full-fledged game, I’d definitely rate this game higher given how much I enjoyed it. In fact, my main gripe about A Fragmentary Passage is its length, which essentially makes it an extended demo. More importantly, the game also points to a promising turn for Kingdom Hearts 3 as Aqua’s chapter apparently uses the same engine that KH3’s development is based on. Hidden secrets, including the Zodiac relics, meanwhile, help extended Aqua’s short adventure. Once you do, however, it opens up some very fun action, whether it be against heartless fodder or impressively designed bosses. Granted, the combat system throws a lot at you and can be tough to truly master. Its grace and martial artistry make it look like someone combined Jet Li with Misty Copeland. It also mixes in a variety of mechanics, including melee-based and magical combos on the ground and in the air, block counters, and multi-targeting spells that can be timed for maximum damage. Based on a system that combines real-time action with classic JRPG menus, A Fragmentary Passage’s combat feels more fluid and intuitive than Final Fantasy XV’s. One part of Aqua’s mode that is also done really well is the combat. From fallen towns now out of place to thorn-infested forests, I couldn’t help but feel a tinge of melancholy while playing Aqua’s adventure.
The game also does a good job of portraying the despair that permeates the Realm of Darkness. Granted, the game can get overly sappy at some points but it does a solid job overall in painting a picture about the bonds of friendship and the narrow line between light and darkness. While characters like Kingdom Hearts' Terra - not to be confused with Final Fantasy VI Terra, who's one of my favorite video game characters - willingly allowed darkness to creep into their hearts, Aqua ended up trapped in the Realm of Darkness because she essentially sacrificed herself to give her close friend a fighting chance. At the same time, Aqua’s quiet strength and penchant for introspection also make her realization that she’s slowly succumbing to darkness even more heartbreaking. Although some protagonists tend to have a “why me?” outlook and try to justify their negative traits, Aqua is capable of looking inside herself and recognizing her faults. One of the best things about Aqua is that she’s very self-aware in a good way. Then there’s Aqua, a likable character who serves as a well-adjusted breath of fresh air in a genre that admittedly tends to overuse sulky, emo characters like rainbows bursting with Skittles - no offense to Cloud and his ilk. There’s the Japanese fantasy look of the game, which melds quite well with the Disney aesthetics that are present throughout its art style. It’s also an all-new adventure - essentially an unreleased chapter in the Kingdom Hearts story that centers on Keyblade Master Aqua.Īrguably the best part of the HD 2.8 collection, A Fragmentary Passage espouses many of the elements I like about games from Square Enix’s golden age and JRPGs in general. “Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth By Sleep: A Fragmentary Passage” sports yet another title that’s as long as the gap between Kingdom Hearts 2 and 3. Strangely enough, however, I also felt the same sense of familiarity with one part of this collection that I have never played before. Part of it is because it includes “Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance HD,” which is a remastered version of the 2012 game that was originally released on the 3DS.
In that sense, playing Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 felt like a reunion of sorts.
Simple and clean kingdom hearts series#
It also made me realize that I still cared about this series after all.
It made me realize that the series has managed to weave its way into the most treasured recesses of my consciousness. It’s like a flood of memories from 2002 to 2005 suddenly overflowed in my head, not just of the Kingdom Hearts games but also people I knew who have since passed away. All of a sudden, I felt a lump in my throat and got teary-eyed as I heard the remixed version of Utada’s “Simple and Clean” song play in the background while scenes from Kingdom Hearts played on my television screen. Kingdom Hearts 2.8, however, made me change my tune. One could certainly be forgiven for making fun of Kingdom Hearts' penchant for using decimal points and words like "final chapter" and "prologue" in the same sentence for its spinoffs. Then I loaded up “Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8: Final Chapter Prologue” on my PlayStation 4. Honestly, I thought I stopped caring about it at all. With more than 10 years passing by since the last main game from the series was released, I haven’t really thought much about Kingdom Hearts lately.
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