Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix Tops Square Enix's 2014 Development List

[Mike Hoffman]

Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix Tops Square Enix's 2014 Development List

After a successful 2013, Square Enix is counting on Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy Agito, and mobile games for the next year.

Square Enix released the financial results of their 2013 fiscal year (ended March 31st) and a few popular franchises came up in their future plans. [a href="http://www.hd.square-enix.com/eng/news/pdf/14q4slides.pdf"]The briefing[/a] mentions the titles Square Enix is releasing this year and includes Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix, Final Fantasy Agito, and the Chinese release of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn.

Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix is still expected to release this year, according to the briefing. The high-definition remastered collection includes Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix, Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Final Mix, and a cinematic version of Kingdom Hearts Re:coded for PlayStation 3. The collection might see a release date announced during E3 this June.

Final Fantasy Agito is a "a full‐scale Final Fantasy title for smartphones" expected to release in Japan this year and functions as an entry point to the Fabula Nova Crystallis series which started with Final Fantasy XIII.

Throughout [a href="http://www.hd.square-enix.com/eng/news/pdf/14q4slides.pdf"] the report[/a], Square Enix points out their focus on "accelerating the development cycles" and "smart devices as a game platform". Mobile games from the past year and planned releases for the next year make up the majority of titles in the report, while Drakengard 3, Murdered: Soul Suspect, and the free-to-play Nosgoth (based on Square Enix's Legacy of Kain series) all receive mentions as 2014 titles.

[a href="http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/134369-Strong-Final-Fantasy-XIV-Sales-Lead-Square-Enix-to-Financial-Turnaround"]Square Enix revised their financial forecast[/a] earlier this month thanks to successful sales of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, Thief, and Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition. The long-established publisher showed a 5% increase in net sales over last year.

Source: [a href="http://www.hd.square-enix.com/eng/"]Square Enix Holdings[/a]

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[bluegate]

'Fabula Nova Crystallis', I'm feeling gloomy just by reading this name, ugh, I can't believe that, 8-9 years later, they are still dicking around with this turd collection.

caption: gimme pizza.

Indeed, I'm in need of some comfort food.

 

[shirkbot]

Kingdom Hearts 2.5... Well, at this rate it'll only be around another decade before Kingdom Hearts 3 comes around. Seriously, I know we give Nintendo a lot of flack for always releasing the same game, and Valve for not being able to count to 3, but I think Square manages to beat them both on this one.

 

[Marik2]

Hopefully they have plans for putting all the old Kingdom Hearts games in one package.

 

[draigodragon]

Hopefully they have plans for putting all the old Kingdom Hearts games in one package.

Hahahahahahaha

oh wait your serious...

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

 

[Hero of Lime]

Hopefully they have plans for putting all the old Kingdom Hearts games in one package.

Hahahahahahaha

oh wait your serious...

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

That's not really that hard to believe...

It's a long shot for sure, but I would not put it past Square to put out a nearly full Kingdom Hearts collection a few years after 3 finally gets released. Maybe it would not have every single game, but most of the major ones anyway.

 

[Roxas1359]

Kingdom Hearts 2.5... Well, at this rate it'll only be around another decade before Kingdom Hearts 3 comes around. Seriously, I know we give Nintendo a lot of flack for always releasing the same game, and Valve for not being able to count to 3, but I think Square manages to beat them both on this one.

In this case though, they actually put a lot of work into these ports as opposed to others. This one will contain Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix Plus, never released outside of Japan; Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Final Mix, a full PSP game never released outside of Japan; and they are completely redoing the cutscenes for Re: Coded. If you notice, there is a Kingdom Hearts game a year. Honestly I expect Kingdom Hearts 3 to be out in either 2016 or 2017.

OT: Well I just have to finish my LP of KH2FM+ before this releases I guess. That was my plan really, but I'm excited for 2.5 because of the obvious work that was put into HD 1.5.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

We already knew this was coming because the guy who voices Roxas said he was working on it a while ago. Still, glad to hear it has been officially confirmed. I really need to sit down and finish up getting the trophies for the first Remix set, but the card battle system is just so...blah.

I'm glad this new one includes Birth By Sleep. I've never played it, but I do own it. Just never felt like digging out my brother's PSP to give it a shot.

 

[Neurotic Void Melody]

Legacy of kain?...Free to play? Emotions...conflicting.

Christ i didnt know Squenix have bigger plans for FF XIII. So no chance of the lightnening character just going away somewhere between dimensions then?

 

[Voulan]

Kingdom Hearts 2.5... Well, at this rate it'll only be around another decade before Kingdom Hearts 3 comes around. Seriously, I know we give Nintendo a lot of flack for always releasing the same game, and Valve for not being able to count to 3, but I think Square manages to beat them both on this one.

In this case though, they actually put a lot of work into these ports as opposed to others. This one will contain Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix Plus, never released outside of Japan; Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Final Mix, a full PSP game never released outside of Japan; and they are completely redoing the cutscenes for Re: Coded. If you notice, there is a Kingdom Hearts game a year. Honestly I expect Kingdom Hearts 3 to be out in either 2016 or 2017.

OT: Well I just have to finish my LP of KH2FM+ before this releases I guess. That was my plan really, but I'm excited for 2.5 because of the obvious work that was put into HD 1.5.

Going by the usual release dates and from Tetsuya Nomura stating that he wants yearly KH releases, it's very likely we will be seeing KH3 in 2016.

At any rate I'm super excited.

 

[Roxas1359]

Going by the usual release dates and from Tetsuya Nomura stating that he wants yearly KH releases, it's very likely we will be seeing KH3 in 2016.

At any rate I'm super excited.

I know that's the case, but remember the Kingdom Hearts team is still working on Final Fantasy XV, and they won't all go to Kingdom Hearts 3 until the game is done. Plus, I still have hopes for Birth by Sleep Volume 2 in some way, mainly because of the secret ending of Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Final Mix if you've seen it.

 

[Voulan]

Going by the usual release dates and from Tetsuya Nomura stating that he wants yearly KH releases, it's very likely we will be seeing KH3 in 2016.

At any rate I'm super excited.

I know that's the case, but remember the Kingdom Hearts team is still working on Final Fantasy XV, and they won't all go to Kingdom Hearts 3 until the game is done. Plus, I still have hopes for Birth by Sleep Volume 2 in some way, mainly because of the secret ending of Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Final Mix if you've seen it.

I remember talk of BBS2, but no news came out of it in the end, right? I haven't played any handheld KH titles, so if I've seen it I don't remember the context.

But if your are right, then we'd be looking at a 2017 KH3 release. Although I don't see why they'd plan another title before the main one with these packages coming out. I thought the point was to let everyone play all the instalments on one platform to catch up with the story before 3?

 

[Roxas1359]

I remember talk of BBS2, but no news came out of it in the end, right? I haven't played any handheld KH titles, so if I've seen it I don't remember the context.

But if your are right, then we'd be looking at a 2017 KH3 release. Although I don't see why they'd plan another title before the main one with these packages coming out. I thought the point was to let everyone play all the instalments on one platform to catch up with the story before 3?

Spoiler: Spoilers for Kingdom Hearts stuff, open at own risk

The original thing of BbSV2 was supposed to be about Aqua's 10 years being trapped in the Realm of Darkness, and of King Mickey finding the Keyblade of that realm, the golden Keyblade he has. The ending also shows Aqua being shocked when she sees Cinderella's Castle absorbed into the Realm of Darkness because during that time was when the Heartless siege was occurring. The ending cutscene also shows Aqua meeting up with Ansem the Wise, in the same spot where Sora and Riku were after beating Xemnas. Ansem doesn't remember the names of the kids, but he still feels the guilt of trying to use them as pawns. Some of these aspects were put in Dream Drop Distance, but there are still some unanswered questions. So this would be sorta a prequel that wouldn't matter as much I'd say.

 

[T-004]

I'm all for 2.5 HD Remix, only game I don't currently have is Dream Drop but I like the shiny things so will definitely get it

Final Fantasy Agito can quite frankly burn in a fire! I want Type 0!