It has been an exciting year for Kingdom Hearts fans last year with the release of Kingdom Hearts on Windows and the addition of Sora as a fighter in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. However, 2022 will become another exciting year because March 28th, 2002 marks Kingdom Hearts’ 20th anniversary in Japan. To celebrate this, all the games previously released games within the franchise are packed into one game. This is coming to Nintendo Switch as KINGDOM HEARTS INTEGRUM MASTERPIECE for Cloud.
A little bit of back story, I never grew up playing PlayStation because I was a Nintendo kid but when I started to learn more about the other consoles, Kingdom Hearts was one that piqued my interest. So years later when I had my own money I bought a PlayStation 3 and picked up both Kingdom Hearts games. So when KINGDOM HEARTS INTEGRUM MASTERPIECE for Cloud was announced I was really excited. But also disappointed that it’s not a proper release but a cloud one. More on this later.
Sora who?
Let me give a brief explainer for those not familiar with the franchise as well as a list of all the games included in KINGDOM HEARTS INTEGRUM MASTERPIECE for Cloud.
Kingdom Hearts is an action role-playing video game that is the result of a collaboration between Square Enix and The Walt Disney Company. Kingdom Hearts is a crossover of various Disney properties based in an original fictional universe. The series centers on the main character, Sora, and his journey through various Disney and Pixar worlds, as well as some from Square Enix properties, in addition to original content created specifically for the series. The primary plotline of the series sees the protagonists clash against the multiple incarnations of Xehanort, the primary antagonist.
What do you get?
KINGDOM HEARTS INTEGRUM MASTERPIECE for Cloud costs a staggering €99,99, € 79,99 with the 20% discount as of writing this review. This is quite a lot of money, especially for a cloud-based game. So what do you get for all the money? The game consists of a total of 7 playable games, 2 additional contents (when counting Reverse/Rebirth), and 3 cinematic movies. All packs can all be bought separately if you do so prefer.
Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 Remix. This includes HD remasters of Kingdom Hearts 1, 2, Re: Chain of Memories, and Birth by Sleep as playable games & Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days and Re:coded as HD remastered cinematics.
Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue. This includes HD remasters of Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, 0.2: Birth by Sleep – A Fragmentary Passage as playable games & Kingdom Hearts χ Back Cover as a “cinematic” film.
Kingdom Hearts III + Re Mind. Which includes: Kingdom Hearts III and the Re Mind DLC
Who or what is Cloud?
I was really excited about the announcement of a Nintendo Switch version, so I could play on the go. However, KINGDOM HEARTS INTEGRUM MASTERPIECE is a cloud game. For those not familiar with what this means. A cloud game is a game that runs on remote servers and streams them directly to a user’s device. This means that in order to be able to play you have to have a (good enough) internet connection.
I like to preserve the game and play it anytime and anywhere I want to, which is not the case here. When the servers are down or you don’t have (good) internet, you can’t play. You never truly own the game. Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 Remix could have been easily put on a physical card or as a download since they were first released on the PS3 way back when. However, I rather have something than nothing at all, so let’s find out how the cloud gaming preforms
My Cloud experience, graphics & performance
This is what you most likely came to this review for. Before I go in-depth on my experience I first want to mention that your experience can vary from mine since it’s dependent on the quality of your internet connection. Even if you have similar or better speeds, this doesn’t guarantee a similar or better experience. For the best experience, it’s recommended to connect to a LAN-cable connection instead of Wi-Fi. I tested with a Wi-Fi connection of 40-50mbps as mentioned in the Nintendo Switch’s own network test. Even when testing and sitting right next to the router I got no more than 50mbps.
Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 Remix; In terms of latency I definitely felt it and was especially noticeable when turning the camera around since it always turned a little further than anticipated. It however was not terrible and could perform everything I wanted to do without too much delay. I did experience low/choppy framerate that was pretty rough. From time to time it also looked like it had a grainy filter over everything.
Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue; Like with the 1.5 2.5 Remix pack, I definitely had some latency but nothing too bad. Here I also experienced low/choppy framerate, in both of the games.
Kingdom Hearts III + Re Mind; The latency here was also noticeable. But felt a bit better compared to the 1.5 + 2.5 remix. The main thing that threw me off was the low resolution. Everything looked really blurry. The frame rate since it ran at 60fps was a bit better than 1.5+2.5 Remix but still had some hiccups and stuttering.
Before you purchase any cloud game on Switch I would recommend you test out the demos that are available on the eShop for either the Kingdom Hearts titles, Control, Guardians of the Galaxy, or Hitman 3. to see if your connection can keep up.
Conclusion
Personally, I wouldn’t recommend KINGDOM HEARTS INTEGRUM MASTERPIECE for Cloud as your best option to play the Kingdom Hearts franchise. There is no benefit of buying the games on Nintendo Switch since the game lost its portability because it’s cloud-based. The graphics and framerates are downgraded compared to other releases. On top of this depending on your internet connection are even more rough and choppy. If you own any other consoles or a gaming PC then these are your best option to play. However, if this is not the case that is no problem. The game can perform really well under the right conditions, so please check if you meet these conditions via the demos available on the eShop. Remember I can only review based on my own experience.
