Kingdom Hearts II.8 Announced at TGS 2015

Kingdom Hearts HD II.8 Final Chapter Prologue (yes, that’s the real title) was revealed during Sony’s event at Tokyo Game Show 2015. This, of course, is the very first time that fans have been anxiously awaiting a Kingdom Hearts III announcement and, instead, got another HD collection since the release of Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix launched in 2013. Oh, wait…

Kingdom Hearts II.8 will feature a remastered version of the Nintendo 3DS exclusive Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, which was said by Square Enix to be the game that comes right before Kingdom Hearts III in the official Kingdom Hearts timeline. Dream Drop Distance was a great game, and I’m sure it’ll look amazing on the PS4. The collection will also include Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth By Sleep – A Fragmentary Passage –, a new episode with a story that will be directly linked to Kingdom Hearts III, and Kingdom Hearts χ [chi] Back Cover, a movie that will focus on events before the first game. So, we will be getting one full game, a new adventure that is being described as a “playable episode,” and a movie with Kingdom Hearts II.8.

I’m a pretty big Kingdom Hearts fan, so I’m quite happy that Kingdom Hearts II.8 will allow more players to experience Dream Drop Distance, one of my favorite games in the series. I’m also excited to see a new Kingdom Hearts experience that features Aqua, who, despite what some people say, is a pretty cool character. However, I’m more confused than excited by the announcement, and there are a few reasons for that – not to mention the physical pain that I experience every time I see the way that roman numerals are used in Kingdom Hearts II.8 [cringe].

I think it’s strange that Kingdom Hearts II.8 isn’t being released on Xbox One as well as PS4. Square Enix has said that Kingdom Hearts III will be on Xbox One, and this probably would have been a good title for Xbox players who want to get a taste of the series. This is especially important, since Kingdom Hearts III will be the first KH game to be launched on a Microsoft platform. Though, considering Square’s habit of releasing KH games that aren’t Kingdom Hearts III, I wouldn’t be surprised if Kingdom Hearts HD XCIX.18 χ re:Create Keyblade Master III (Super α Remix) launched on Xbox One sometime next year. It’s understandable that Square would want to play it safe and release the collection on PS4 (where the core KH fan base probably is), but it’s still a bit frustrating.

It looks like Kingdom Hearts II.8 will launch next year, which throws the idea of Kingdom Hearts III coming out next year into serious question. We’re not sure yet, though – Square Enix has said that new details about Kingdom Hearts III at this year’s D23 Expo in Japan (A special Disney expo that will be held at the Tokyo Disney Resort from November 6 – November 8). We’ll probably see some new gameplay and/or new details for Kingdom Hearts II.8 at D23 as well. You can watch the TGS trailer below.

So what do you think of the new KH collection? What’s next? Kingdom Hearts Kart Racing? Kingdom Hearts: Revenge of the Improperly Used Roman Numeral? Let us know what you are (and aren’t) looking forward to seeing from KH in the future, and keep checking back with Load The Game for more gaming news.