Kingdom Hearts III Re:Mind DLC Review – Not For Everyone, But A Treat For Fans

Kingdom Hearts III Re:Mind DLC Review

So far there’s been a decent amount of negativity towards Kingdom Hearts III Re:Mind. This DLC is basically an extension of the Final Act of Kingdom Hearts III, which to me, sounded like a gift. I’m a huge fan of the Kingdom Hearts series, and having played Re:Mind I realize that the key to one’s enjoyment of it is almost entirely gauged on how you enjoy the Kingdom Hearts story.

The Kingdom Hearts franchise story is one of the most cryptic and convoluted I’ve ever experienced. But I’ve always enjoyed it the way I enjoy a David Lynch film, where figuring out the plot of the story is a huge part of its fun. A lot of the criticism of Re:Mind is that it creates more questions than answers, and to that I rebut that it’s fallen victim to people’s expectations that it would provide answers. If you’re a fan of the Kingdom Hearts mystery, you’ll find Re:Mind to be a real treat, because there are tons of additional end game cut scenes.

Too Long After Launch

My complaint with Re:Mind is that it comes a year after the Kingdom Hearts III release. If it had come out a month later, the story and controls would still be fresh. Because it’s come out a year after the main game, it almost requires that you play through the game again. The player will be facing the most difficult battles of the game, and gain additional story sequences, which only come at the finale. The story of Re:Mind begins at the end of Kingdom Hearts III, and begins with the mystery of the box Maleficent and Pete are searching for. Although Re:Mind can be played right where the new content begins, it is definitely best experienced after an in-depth refreshing of the Kingdom Hearts story. If I’d played it shortly after beating the main game, I’d be able to drink in all of its intricacies, but as it stands, I didn’t put another 60 hours into Kingdom Hearts III, and am left wishing this wasn’t just DLC, but part of the main game.

But, I did write that this DLC was a real treat for Kingdom Hearts fans, and that’s not just because of extended story sequences. During the game’s final battles, the player can use keyblade wielders other than Sora, such as Riku and Aqua. There’s even a sequence where players get to use Kairi for the first time.

Once Re:Mind is finished, the player unlocks Limit Cut, which is essentially a series of very challenging boss battles, which was something I found missing from Kingdom Hearts III. Sure there was one, but nothing on the level of the Sephiroth fights from the other games.

A Treat For Hardcore Fans

The production value of Re:Mind is excellent. The graphics, music, and voice-over are all top notch. And if it’s been a while, the player won’t be able to notice which sections are additions. There are a lot of new cutscenes and they look and sound great. This may technically be the final performance of the late, great Rutger Hauer, as Master Xehanort.

There are two other menu options that come with the Re:Mind download. They are Slideshow, where the player can create a movie using photos they’ve taken during the main game, and Orchestra, where an entire set from Kingdom Hearts -World Of Tres- can be watched. I was pleasantly surprised by the inclusion of the live orchestral songs. The video that accompanies the music features footage of the orchestra mixed with the visuals from the game. For a Kingdom Hearts fan, it’s a real treat to hear orchestral versions of iconic songs like Simple And Clean and Face Your Fears. My only complaint is that Passion from Kingdom Hearts II didn’t get its own complete performance.

The main complaints about Kingdom Hearts III Re:Mind are that it provides no answers to the questions the series left players with, and that it involves playing a lot of content that the player has already experienced. My positive spin is that it’s an extension of what was already a fantastic game ending, that provides multiple characters to use, and extra boss battles. My main complaint is that it came too late, or shouldn’t have been DLC at all. If one accepts Re:Mind for what it is, it should be a real treat for hardcore Kingdom Hearts fans.

***Review code provided by the publisher.***