Let’s see… Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance came out in 2012. That means the last time I played a Kingdom Hearts game was… 2012!?
But since the recent 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue actually had some new content, I decided to see how Kingdom Hearts III is shaping up in Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth By Sleep -A fragmentary passage-.
So, disclaimer: I’m not very good at action games. But I have completely cleared all of the games except the mobile Unchained X and the challenges in Days 358/2. Because there’s no way I’m going to not miss a swing on a DS screen. In 0.2, I played through three times: Proud, Beginner, and then Critical. Yes, in that order.
Good:
- I still think the Kingdom Shader makes everyone look terrible in stills, but it sure does look wonderful in motion.
- Style changes and finishers are awesome. They were cool in Birth By Sleep, but you could easily get screwed. (Nothing worse than accidentally activating Ghost Drive instead of Rhythm Mixer…) Instead, you build up the counter and decide when — or even if — you want to unleash your bonus attack and alter your combos. Hope they’ll go the extra mile and turn ones you don’t like off.
- Enemies seem pretty smart. Some will chase after you. Constantly. The others will snipe you. Constantly.
- Aqua runs pretty fast.
- Music is still nice.
- All three elemental magic spells have their use. (But Thundaga is still the best.)
- Revenge values means Bosses aren’t snapping out of combos randomly.
- Puzzles aren’t always so obvious, but the game still gives hints. A good balance I think between exploration and hand-holding.
- Feels like a huge difference between difficulties. You can’t assume anything in Critical, especially with no Orb drops.
- The ending is great.
Bad:
- Short, and even with 3D and Back Cover, it just feels like a downgrade after getting two full games in 1.5 and 2.5. Even though it’s a PS4 game, it shouldn’t have retailed for the price of a normal game.
- Super small UI. I mean, it’s not that big on the TV, but on the Vita, it’s like fine print in a contract size. Plus it feels like ten miles between the menu and the gauges.
- Item menu. It always seemed a bit silly to equip items, but the three item limit is pretty harsh. I guess maybe it will increase like in the other two main games, but what about Donald and Goofy? Will they just equip items like in the other main games? Because for example, I can’t imagine doing some of the Mushroom XIII challenges on just three Ethers.
- Frame drops. I had several instances during the secret boss where the game just stuttered. (PS4 Slim) Had a couple of game overs since it just threw me off. They really need to make sure this runs smoothly on non-Pro systems. Plus it’s also going to be on Xbox One, so I hope they don’t try to overload the consoles.
- Everything transforms or teleports, making Lock-On a lot less useful than it should be. Hate having to keep R1’ing.
- Boss design was dull and repetitive. I can understand this is because Aqua is in the World of Darkness, but if you want to complete all the objectives, it just feels tiring. “Great, you again…”
- Some of the objectives are just plain irritating. (No damage, using a specific Finisher to defeat the enemy.) Worse yet, they’re only obtainable in one fight. And a couple only activate after completing 0.2 once, even though you could actually do them the first time through.
- I miss the cute 2D portrait.
Mixed:
- Wasn’t Blizzagun/Firagun/Thundagun in Kingdom Hearts II? Why were Aqua’s Finishers switched to the -ja spells?
- Third and fourth worlds didn’t seem as good as the first two.
- Dodging and Guarding require timing. I’m sure many of the skilled gamers are cheering. However, combined with the Lock-On issues, I think more deaths will come from enemies seemingly appear out of no where rather than poor skill. I know camera has always been an issue, but I worry there’s going to be less room to readjust and regroup.
- They did patch it, but the default Critical version seemed pretty unfair from what I’ve read.
- The partner you get can do a pretty decent amount of damage, but I’m hoping Donald’s spells give him a little bit of an advantage over Sora’s magic. He’s a magician; he needs something considering all the mobs.
Final Thoughts:
I still really like the Command Deck system of the handhelds. Of course, I knew it wouldn’t carry over into Kingdom Hearts III, but I do like how you can easily make more adjustments in difficult fights other than “just get good”. The enemy A.I. had issues, but experimenting with all the different abilities you get was a lot of fun. But I do like the direction the Osaka team is headed, a sort of “best of all games” approach.
However, if you’re not interested in replaying Dream Drop Distance right away, then there’s absolutely no rush to buy 2.8. It’s not like Final Fantasy XV: Episode Duscae where it was only included as a bonus for a limited time. Wait for a price drop… and also because it really makes you want Kingdom Hearts III.
In case you’re wondering, no, I’m not replaying Dream Drop Distance. Getting all the Dream Eaters once was enough. And the superboss is lame.
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I’m thirsting real hard for all the new KH games, but since there’s no Vita port… I can’t play them Orz
Though I do want to finally play the prequels and sequels on PSP and DS/3ds, since I’ve only played KH1 and 2, when I was younger.
I feel like I lost a lot of hype because it’s been millenniums since KH2 came out, but as soon as I see new content I’m all thirsting for it ?
It sounds like they’ve done a good job balancing 0.2, but I really wish they’d just… Hurry up and came out with KH3.
Agreed with you, I’m sad they seem to changed the drawn icons to 3d icons. I like Nomura’s art 🙁
This was great to read, you’re giving me pangs to hurry up and play the games I haven’t yet ???
It was pretty fun to play 0.2 on the Vita. Except for the whole tiny font thing. I didn’t do any Boss fights on the Vita though since I worry I’ll get a little tooooo into the fights and wear the buttons and joysticks out.
? taking care of the Vita well I see ?
KH is pretty much a button smasher, it’d definitely wear down the Vita out, but it feels so good playing on it ?
Ooh, it seems like the game has its issues. It also sounds like Kingdom Hearts II.8 was merely an excuse to remaster Dream Drop Distance in HD. I can’t help but feel that Square Enix phoned it in for A Fragmentary Passage. A better solution could have been to sell just the new content on the PS Store for a cheap price. I did pick this game up, but only because my wife hadn’t played DDD and wanted to play it on PS4. As a full product, it otherwise wouldn’t have been worth it for us. But great read though! I still look forward to playing A Fragmentary Passage after we finish DDD.
Yeah, I wish it was either longer or the whole game had cost less. Either way would have made me happier. But I hope you & your wife enjoy the rest of 3D & 0.2 when you get to it!
Thank you! Will do! Kingdom Hearts is her favorite series so I think she’ll have a great time either way.
I haven’t played a Kingdom Hearts game since KH2. Between all the years that have passed and the spin-offs I haven’t bought I suspect the plot of three will confuse me a lot.
Heck, I’ve played them and I get confused.
I haven’t played since KH 1. Cool to see something different on the site.
You missed a lot of great games! And a couple of duds…
I haven’t bought a new console in awhile.
What are you saying? Thundaga is good Thundaga is great NEVER doubt Thundaga!!!
That aside I haven’t played 0.2 and I really want to play it but the tiny font thing is scaring me ;w;
Thank you for the review!
The font is a pain and I hope that they consider making the menus a bit bigger in KHIII.
I used to rely on Fire since I’d be like, “I have no idea where the last enemy is, go get ’em, Fire!” thanks to its homing properties, but Thunder pretty much has stolen its crown. Especially thanks to Shock Charms in KHII and Thunder Surge in BBS.