Let me preface this hands-on impressions of Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue by stating I have not played all the Kingdom Hearts titles. I barely remember what happened in Kingdom Hearts II. I know, I know; bad Kingdom Hearts fan!
That said, the Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue demo available to play at the Square Enix press event for New York Comic Con 2016 was the most enjoyable out of all the games there. I played as Aqua, a girl that seems a bit desperate to figure out why she’s stuck in this strange world where no time passes.
Side note: what’s with Square Enix and memory loss? World of Final Fantasy had a similar plot line, except it was a pair of siblings trying to piece together their lost minds.
Anyway, the most exciting part was experiencing first-hand the same Unreal Engine 4 that will be used to create Kingdom Hearts 3. The Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue demo was visually stunning. I was instantly transported into the Kingdom Hearts world from the first franchise title. The great thing about Square Enix is the studio does an awesome job with the consistency in its art style – it’s as if nothing has changed in the Kingdom Hearts world and it really brings up feelings of nostalgia.
In the demo, I must collect 5 gears to repair a bridge to a castle I wasn’t familiar with; it took about 20-30 minutes to complete. It kind of looked like the castle you see at Magic Kingdom, but broken. I encountered a tornado of heartless for the boss battle, which Aqua took down with ease.
The controls are fluid. It was like my muscle memory took over; I was able to get through battles with Heartless as if I’d been playing the game just yesterday. I was impressed with how easy it was to pick up the controls without it being oversimplified. I wasn’t button-mashing despite the battles’ overall fast pace; I was casting spells and dodging attacks without getting frustrated.
However, I couldn’t tell you what’s going with Aqua in Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue. That said, Aqua looked depressed and lonely, so the themes in Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue might be a little heavier and darker than past titles.
Overall, it’s not Kingdom Hearts 3 , but Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue looks like it will hold fans over until Square Enix finishes the game. Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue will be released on the PlayStation 4 on Jan. 12, 2017.
