Kingdom Hearts Collection [I~III] Review – Not Every Heart Belongs Here

Kingdom Hearts Collection [I~III] Review

Kingdom Hearts IV is finally happening sometime next year. What better time to release a massive bundle of all the previous games? The Kingdom Hearts Collection [I~III] is all three previously released KH bundles strapped into one massive purchase. It’s a great deal, unless you’ve been paying attention to any of the many, many times these releases have gone on sale. But still, if you want this collection on, for example, the Switch 2, this will be your chance. There isn’t anything truly new here, but there are still a lot of classic Kingdom Hearts games crammed into one release. Kind of!

The thing about each Kingdom Hearts collection being offered here is that some of these releases aren’t really games. Instead, you’re getting a collection of cutscenes. 358/2 Days and Re:coded are both a series of scenes for you to watch. χ Back Cover is also just an HD movie that covers a ton of backstory only available in a defunct mobile game. So you’re getting six full games, some cutscene compilations, and a couple of DLC releases. Which is still a sizable chunk of games to play through, don’t get me wrong. Of course, some of these games are also pretty awful.

Maybe Skip Re:Chain of Memories

By which I mean Re:Chain of Memories. It’s a hacked-together mess, a GBA RPG that got shoved into a 3D engine with all sorts of important bits sticking out at strange angles. You’re basically playing the first Kingdom Hearts again, with worse combat. Oh, and every once in a while you get a cutscene about the parade of new characters. Memories are replaced, people are forgotten; it’s a whole thing. Kingdom Hearts II covers everything relevant in a couple of quick scenes at the start of the game. Birth By Sleep is better, but it’s still mostly worth it to fill in some gaps in the lore.

This is true of all the side games in the collection. Why would you play an entire side game just for the lore, you ask? Well, the plot in the Kingdom Hearts series gets incredibly complex. People have made entire careers out of explaining these games and their plots. The shortest video I’ve ever seen about this subject was sixteen minutes long and it missed so many things. If you play through every game and watch a couple dozen of these videos, there’s a good chance you will mostly understand everything that’s happening.

Play It for the Plot

There are three major elements to any Kingdom Hearts game. You’ve got the fan fiction stuff, where Disney and Final Fantasy characters show up for various adventures. In between those bits are all the many KH plot threads, constantly multiplying whenever you turn your head. And finally, you’ve got the themes. Massive emotional moments that stand like Atlas beneath everything I’ve described thus far. These games are an absolute masterclass at tugging your heartstrings if you let them. Utada Hikaru’s theme songs are enough to stop most fans in their tracks. And most of the characters pass you by, but Donald and Goofy? Those are your ride or die crew right there.

As much as the side games can feel like homework, the main series is pretty excellent. The corny writing is somehow quite compelling, the Disney of it all hits just right, and the gameplay is delightful. Fights are floaty in a deliberate way, the sound design is enchanting, and the visuals are mostly charming. Sora and crew do sort of look like dolls that came to life in the first game. Specifically, their eyes roll around in their heads like a childhood toy unmoored. But aside from that, the old games look great.

Lot of Bangers in There

Even though I love these games, I mostly can’t recommend this specific collection. Each of these three titles go on sale like clockwork. Steam is offering the whole bundle at a crazy discount right now. The full price of the Kingdom Hearts Collection is gonna be a lot more than that. The only argument I could make for getting this specific version on release would be if you want all these games for the Switch 2. Every other version has been out there, and cheap, for quite some time now.

I love the whole Kingdom Hearts franchise. It’s crammed with amazing characters, approachable gameplay, and tons of plot. The emotional highs are pretty legendary, the music and sound design is exemplary, and Donald and Goofy are there the whole time. It rules. There are a few duds in this massive bundle, but most of these games are worth playing. Ultimately, I would recommend grabbing the individual releases on sale rather than grab this at full price. But if money is no object, and you’ve somehow never played these games before? Then by all means, now is the time to get the Kingdom Hearts Collection [I~III] for your library.

***A PS5 code was provided by the publisher***