“Kingdom Hearts 3”, the next major installment in its franchise, has been the subject of a lot of discussion lately, as many fans are excited to see how their favorite series is going to be continued. At the same time, the release of some additional titles that surround the main one has been the subject of some confusion among certain fans, especially those who are new to the franchise. And certainly, looking at names such as “Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8” and “Kingdom Hearts 0.2” could make people question what’s going on, especially when those titles are split across different platforms.
Tetsuya Nomura seems to have noticed this confusion among his fans and he’s stepped forward to shed some light on the situation, explaining the peculiar choices that were made with the naming pattern. He reportedly claimed that there was a very solid reason behind all of those names, such as the fact that the last entry in the “HD” part of the series was 2.5.
On the other hand, he also explained that “Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep” is technically 0.1, which led to the decision to give the 0.2 title to the more recent installment. An explanation which seems to have added even more confusion for some fans, while others have been claiming that those names are just an unnecessary gimmick which only serves to make it more difficult to figure out which game one should be looking to buy.
Some critics have even been making fun of the explanations provided by Nomura, claiming that “at least it’s good that they make sense to the person developing the game”, and we might be left without any good explanation for that pattern in the end. If the games themselves are properly organized on the market and easily distinguishable from one another, however, that shouldn’t really be such a major problem.
There has also been some confusion over the availability of some of the games on different platforms – 0.2, for example, will only be available on the PS4, much to the disappointment of fans who’re still playing on the PS3 and were hoping to get their hands on it. The decision to make it exclusive has been particularly disappointing to those who have been hoping to refresh their memory of the story, as the game is seen as an important entry in the overall plot.
The problem seems to boil down to technological limitations – the game is apparently based on the engine behind “Kingdom Hearts 3” itself, which is not backwards compatible with the PS3. And while that probably doesn’t do much to console fans who will have to miss out on the game on the PS3, it’s at least a nice reminder that the new game will use the capabilities of the PS4 properly, implied by the fact that it will be so demanding that it won’t run on the PS3. Of course, no fans were expecting anything different given that it’s a modern title coming out nowadays after so much anticipation.
And while fans will probably keep discussing the ridiculous nature of the games’ naming and the possibilities for the future of the franchise, some have started to patiently count the days until the release of “Kingdom Hearts 3”. After so much talk about this game and all the developments around it that were discussed in the media, it should be a really great experience for all fans.