The final stop, a glorified demo or short experience that was a part of the Kingdom Hearts II.8 -Final Chapter Prologue- collection on PS4, which… Was something, it’s the newest piece of KH content, and now III will replace that title and will be out tomorrow. But, it still has some story significance and acts kinda like the “prologue” of III: Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth By Sleep -A Fragmentary Passage-. Now, what else can you call this thing? Well… technically a follow up to the PSP entry itself, but not quite. You play as Aqua, go through some worlds that were swallowed up by the darkness, meet Mickey later on, and help in locking up the door to Kingdom Hearts from the first game, even if it’s such an insignificant role that definitely felt just thrown in there. On top of some… very confusing contradictions to past events shown in Birth By Sleep, it can be hard to follow, and even will throw off the most veteran of KH fans.

Thing is, I’m not gonna lie, this wasn’t the most “worth it” thing to have gotten brand new, I obtained it at the time because I’m a Kingdom Hearts fan and I at least have Dream Drop Distance(review here) with it, despite how much it’s not my favorite of the series. It tested me as a fan in both gameplay is fairly well done for the series, and it REALLY tested me in trying to keep up story wise. I eventually got it, however, it took a moment, and a really weird oversight to get over. But is it a fun experience? Well… yeah, the game definitely looks nice, you’re back to old school combos and magic, but with the recharging MP gage from KH II. The cool thing is this experience showcased all the good aspects of the past games, and how good they can work together, making this experience that is amazingly fun! It still is a bit floaty, but it feels so refined. Like the past 7 games were experimenting ideas just for the climax of the saga being Kingdom Hearts III.

You have a charge meter similar to Birth By Sleep, with keyblade styles and shotlocks also returning, you also have some mobility from Dream Drop Distance with grinding rails, especially made by ice. When you take so many aspects that worked for the past games and put them all together like this, then you have a really good experience here to enjoy. Its what Kingdom Hearts III is looking to be like, the big open level design, how it is graphically, and just the music has been kicked up since last time. The few original tracks or even remixes are a joy to the ears and even can convey such a sense of dread that this experience deserves. It’s something that at the time was given to satisfy the wait we’ve had.

It definitely has some content, past the customization you can do visually for Aqua, the chests, exploration, and even a boss rush you can unlock, its something I can recommend as now a part of the $40 “Story So Far” collection on the PS4. It’s a great value as it includes everything I’ve covered for the series for that much, given the countless hours you can waste away in these action JRPGS, it’s worth every dollar for just the original Kingdom Hearts -Final Mix-(review here), Kingdom Hearts II +Final Mix+(review here), and Birth By Sleep ~Final Mix~(review here). However… if you bought this new for $60, eh, only if you know you like the series anyway. But tomorrow, we will finally have that next piece of the ever-evolving puzzle for Kingdom Hearts, III after 13 years past II’s release… what a hell of a day it’ll be.