KH 2.5 Interview Gamescom 2014 – MeriStation

Kingdom Hearts 2.5 HD ReMIX will be released in stores, during this oncoming December. During Gamescom, we took the initiative to interview Kingdom Hearts’ co-director, Tai Yasue, about Kingdom Hearts 2.5 and Kingdom Hearts 3. Furthermore, he gives us an update about the Spanish version of the compilation.

Kingdom Hearts 2.5 HD ReMix is on verge of success. With the game completely finished, we were able to speak with the game’s co-director, Tai Yasue, at Gamescom, in Cologne, Germany, for the sake of uncovering the secrets surrounding the re-mastery, as well as discussing some open possibilities for Kingdom Hearts 3. That is, the third installment of the Kingdom Hearts saga, and one of the most anticipated titles by the fans. For the process of remastering, they had ‘to work on all fronts’. Therefore, it was far from a simple pack, bundling all three titles.

To start, Yasue explained to us how, for an example, Birth by Sleep received a graphics enhancement with newly recreated texture in order to adapt to an improved resolution. In the case of Kingdom Hearts 2, if you recall the game’s original resolution was 4:3, but when transferred to HD ReMIX, it would display in 16:9. This issue motivated the team to recreate additional information to accommodate for the proportional difference, likewise with Kingdom Hearts Re:Coded. Instead of Re:Coded being playable, it is available in Theatre Mode with three full hours of High Definition Cinematics, and fresh voice casting.

Now, let’s move away from what we’ve already covered on MeriStation on various occasions. We wanted to take advantage of a face to face and clear up a few questions that the community has been asking for quite some time. The first being possibly the worst case scenario: Kingdom Hearts 2 will not have Spanish voicing in KH 2.5 HD ReMIX. Yasuke explained that Spain and Europe, in general, are receiving KH2 Final Mix for the first time and the ideal solution would be to retain the Spanish dubbing of the game and leave the new scenes in English, but that would be “too weird”. At the very least, it has been confirmed to have Spanish subtitles, seeing as what happened with Dream Drop Distance. It’s enough to show some gratitude.

Onto other concerns that have resulted in an online petition, Kingdom Hearts 2.5 HD ReMIX will not be released on the Xbox 360 platform, considering Kingdom Hearts 3 will be made available on the Xbox One. According to Yasue, when the team began work on 1.5 HD, they checked the coding and determined that the original KH games released on the PS2 were a lot easier and cheaper to port to the PS3, a console that “brought out the full potential of these titles”. Additionally, they aren’t close minded to the idea of releasing the titles on other platforms, although he has stated that we can forget about the compilation receiving any digital releases on PS4 / One. For the moment, they will remain as hard copies.

Dream Drop Distance is the only game in the series that has not been considered for a re-edition, but this could change. We questioned him about its omission from the compilation. He told us that the game was too new, and with time they will see, and take it into consideration. About the browser game, Kingdom Hearts X[chi], he explains that there aren’t any plans in localizing it in the west, but some of the history is relevant to the saga and eventually will be retrieved and canonized. Also, there aren’t any intentions of creating Nintendo releases. The Kingdom Hearts 3 team will only be releasing the KH3 to PS4 and One.

On the topic of future plans, we commented on how Frozen was an downright success worldwide, but above all else, a spectacle in Japan. We asked him about how he would incorporate this world in the saga, hypothetically speaking of course, he explained how he loves the aesthetics and various elements created through ice. We asked, “What other things would you like to add?”, and he responded without going to much into detail that he would like to incorporate elements of Star Wars and Marvel, worlds based on Disney films, similar to what was done to Timeless River in Kingdom Hearts 2, or including characters from other Square games: Final Fantasy 7 characters who have yet to make an appearance are likely his prime candidates.

Kingdom Hearts 2.5 HD ReMIX will be released in Spain, December, 5, 2014 for the PlayStation 3, with re-recorded music by a live orchestra, enhanced graphics, additional content provided by the Final Mix versions, and various other adjustments. If it’s a success or not, only time will tell, but it’s a real thorn in our sides to know, that we will not be having the highly appraised Spanish voice casting of Kingdom Hearts 2 included on the disc. One final time, we tempted Tai Yasue. “Have you thought about launching the dub as DLC?” He pondered it for minute and responded: “Everything is possible, although at this moment, we are not thinking about it”.