Game director Tetsuya Nomura of Square Enix reveals that gameplay elements from Kingdom Hearts 3 will be demoed in Kingdom Hearts 2.8 HD Final Chapter Prologue.
Ever since the first Kingdom Hearts 3 trailer dropped, Square Enix fans have been buzzing about the game. While a release date for the much anticipated title is not yet available, fans will have a chance to sample some of the gameplay that will be featured in Kingdom Hearts 3 before release thanks to the upcoming Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue.
Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue comes with an HD remake of Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, a short film called Kingdom Hearts Chi Back Cover, and a brand new experience called Kingdom Hearts 0.2: Birth by Sleep - A Fragmentary Passage. The latter, which stars the character Aqua, is designed to play similarly to Kingdom Hearts 3, and will be as long as one world in the other games.
So while Kingdom Hearts 0.2: Birth by Sleep - A Fragmentary Passage may only take a few hours to complete, the value comes from it essentially serving as a demo for Kingdom Hearts 3. Square Enix has employed this strategy for other games recently as well, with multiple demos released for Final Fantasy 15 this past year. However, the difference between Kingdom Hearts 0.2 and Episode Duscae for Final Fantasy 15 is that Square Enix is not looking for fan feedback as it pertains to how Kingdom Hearts 3 plays.
Instead, Kingdom Hearts 0.2 will simply serve as a sneak peek for Kingdom Hearts 3 in terms of gameplay, as well as story. Perhaps players will also have an opportunity to test out the Toy Story summon or visit the Big Hero 6 world in addition to toying with the new gameplay mechanics. Whatever the case may be, it will be interesting to give the Kingdom Hearts 3 prologue a test run next year.
Hopefully this news also indicates that Kingdom Hearts 3 is nearing completion. The game was once rumored to be releasing by the end of 2015, but that's clearly not the case at this point. Square Enix has been somewhat vague as to how far along the game is in its development cycle, but with its basic systems apparently complete and being used in Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue, it seems as though Kingdom Hearts 3 development is moving at a decent pace.
Are you excited to take the Kingdom Hearts 3 gameplay for a test drive with Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue? Does this make the collection worth buying, or are you simply going to wait for the actual Kingdom Hearts 3 release? Sound off in the comments below and give us your thoughts on Kingdom Hearts 3 as well as Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8.
Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue is due for release at some point in 2016, exclusively for the PlayStation 4.
Source: Game Informer