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Hello everyone! It's been a while since we first made that update about user-submitted editorials, and unfortunately we haven't had the opportunity to post them up due to the recent news outbreak. That, however, finally comes to an end! We're happy to bring you the first editorial, written by forum member Mirby!
Kingdom Hearts 2.5: Worlds of Possibilities
By Taylor Brown (Mirby)
We’re heading into the home stretch before Kingdom Hearts -HD 1.5 ReMIX- is released in Japan, with the classic original being updated to include more modern design sensibilities. We’re also sure that other regions will be able to enjoy this collection, thanks in part to Jesse McCartney’s habitual leaking. As such, I’m beginning to think about the inevitable -HD 2.5 ReMIX-; Nomura did say it’s only logical for 2.5 to follow 1.5, so it’s only a matter of time. However, the question remains: what will that collection include?
Obviously, we’ll be receiving Kingdom Hearts 2 Final Mix with all the bonuses that has over vanilla Kingdom Hearts 2. Having played Kingdom Hearts 2 Final Mix myself, I’m quite familiar with the additions, and can’t wait for the world at large to experience them for themselves. We’ll already have the Puzzle collecting, which is quite entertaining, and the power of Limit Form, which is a blast to use. We’ll get to battle Roxas during the storyline and the rest of Organization XIII (including those who died in Chain of Memories) and even the Lingering Sentiment. There’s also the Cavern of Remembrance, a brand new area within Hollow Bastion that contains quite a few powerful Heartless variations along with some platforming that requires all Drive forms to become maxed out. With all these additions, there’s not really room for more, is there?
Of course there is! Though they added even more powerful Gummi Missions in Final Mix, they did nothing to make the extra missions have any bearing on the main game. If anything, they should take a cue from Dream Drop Distance and reward players with a new Keyblade, thus giving some incentive to replay that portion of the game. Perhaps they can touch that up with some more modern controls as well. In addition, we’ll definitely receive English voiceovers for the cutscenes added in Kingdom Hearts 2 Final Mix; that will definitely be quite awesome. I’d love for them to add in the removed content as well; seeing the recolored Behemoths during the Battle of 1000 Heartless would breathe new life into the now-repetitive scene, and being able to summon Buzz Lightyear and Woody from Toy Story would indeed be glorious (4 summons is just too few). Also, Genie needs a Limit Form to match Sora’s; he currently lacks that.
Now the collection won’t just be Kingdom Hearts 2 Final Mix; hopefully Birth by Sleep will be part of the collection as well. In the case of a Birth by Sleep HD remake, there’s plenty that could be done. Firstly, the controls could be updated to match KH2’s; this would make it easy to switch between games since there wouldn’t be completely different control schemes. Secondly, there’s the addition of multiplayer with Mirage Arena. While I think that local multiplayer would be good, I’m not sure how they’d handle it unless you loaded another save and therefore another character. Online would be great too, but they’d have to ensure the interface and service was as smooth and simple as possible. Not only would the ease of use make a great selling point, it would also be quite awesome to do that. Also they should put Laguna back where he belongs.
I’m sure they could make the multiple-story aspect work for a console game; I doubt anything would really have to be changed, honestly. Because they’d be most likely be making the Final Mix of Birth by Sleep HD as they’re doing with Kingdom Hearts Final Mix in 1.5, we’d be receiving the Secret Episode as well as the additional bosses, which I’m pretty happy about. There’s also the Command Board. Perhaps we could receive ones not present in the original game. While we’re at it, why not make The Hundred-Acre Wood an actual PLACE instead of just a command board. It bugs me that the only way you can see Pooh and the gang is by playing that command board. I’d also like for characters to not vanish after their story is done; it made the already-empty worlds so much emptier. Let’s also make Destiny Islands and Mysterious Tower playable; I don’t see a reason for them to be on the map if you can never actually visit them. All things told, I can’t think of much I’d want to see in Birth by Sleep HD.
There’s also the matter of Re:coded, which I could easily see as being remade just with cutscenes much like we’re seeing with Days. Though I love that title’s gameplay, the cutscenes are the only really important parts. I’d hope to see more of the non-voiced cutscenes redone as well, because that would certainly help tie everything together. Honestly, there’s really not much else that would lend itself to being redone in HD. They could include Dream Drop Distance, but considering that title just came out, I don’t see it happening.
There’s plenty of possibilities for Kingdom Hearts -HD 2.5 ReMIX-; though I’ve outlined plenty of what I expect, there’s still the fact that anything could happen. If I could truly have my way, everything that wound up on the cutting room floor would be restored. The Jungle Book would be in BBS, Buzz and Woody would be summons in KH2FM, and so much more. Is there anything that you would love to see in the upcoming Kingdom Hearts -HD 2.5 ReMIX-?
