One of the things that Chandler pointed out in his review for the Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD Remix was how the “heavily rumored Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix isn’t out yet!” With Square Enix teasing such a collection at the end of the 1.5 Remix, it almost seemed like a foregone conclusion that a collection with Kingdom Hearts II, Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep and Kingdom Hearts Re:coded would be close behind.
As Shinji Hashimoto, Producer on the Kingdom Hearts series, explained to IGN though, “If everyone plays 1.5 HD Remix, if everyone likes it and everyone supports us, then 2.5 HD Remix could happen. So at this stage, we just have to encourage people to play 1.5 HD Remix!”
While it appears the 2.5 HD Remix is up in the air, Kingdom Hearts III is definitely happening, with Hashimoto talking about the upcoming sequel:
The fact is that the main focus of the series is Sora and Riku; how their friendship develops, but also how they grow up. After so many years, the players’ personal growth is closely tied to the game’s story at this point, so that’s the most important thing about the series and what we want to put into the game. For Kingdom Hearts III, players will be able to resurrect the happy memories they have from being teenagers when playing Kingdom Hearts III. So it’s very contemplative, and will match the personal experiences of much of the audience very closely.
Shinji wasn’t able to comment on the future of Sora past Kingdom Hearts III, just that it’s “up to Tetsuya Nomura,” but he did explain:
As I said earlier though, the Kingdom Hearts storyline is designed to mirror the player’s personal experiences. If people play HD 1.5 Remix they remember what it’s like to be a teenager again, access those memories and experience some enjoyable nostalgia from their past. That theme is something we want to keep with future titles as well. About the characters, we can’t say anything… but that’s the theme we want to continue.
Would you buy a Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix? Let us know in the comments below.
