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Review cover Kingdom Hearts Integrum Masterpiece on Steam GBAtemp review
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Product Information:

  • Release Date (NA): June 13, 2024
  • Release Date (EU): June 13, 2024
  • Release Date (JP): June 13, 2024
  • Publisher: Square Enix
  • Also For: Nintendo Switch

Game Features:

Single player
Local Multiplayer
Online Multiplayer
Co-operative
Finally, Square Enix has brought Kingdom Hearts to Steam. Today we'll dive into the beloved series with the Integrum Masterpiece Collection and explore whether this really is the greatest way to experience the epic that is... Kingdom Hearts

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As a Kingdom Hearts superfan since the PS2 era, I was thrilled to hear that the entire series would be available on Steam, and even more excited to play it on the Steam Deck. Having platinumed every title on PSN and spent countless hours immersed in its magical blend of Disney and Square Enix worlds, this review covers my experience of playing the Kingdom Hearts Integrum Masterpiece collection on the Steam Deck.

Finally, a Simple and Clean way to play the series portably

I should state from the start that technically this could be read as a "Kingdom Hearts on PC" review, but it's more accurate to describe it as a "Kingdom Hearts on Steam Deck" review, since this collection has already been available on PC through the Epic Games Store. I think that the biggest takeaway from this version is the fact that it can be played on the Steam Deck without any hassle. I would also like to begin by stating the obvious, this isn’t technically the first time that we are able to play the Kingdom Hearts series portably, as this collection has been available on the Nintendo Switch and on Epic Game Store for quite a while now. While I admit that I haven’t tried the Switch version, I’ve been made painfully aware at this point of the issues that arise from streaming games to the Switch from the cloud. And yes, technically there are ways to get the Epic Games launcher on Steam Deck which could have allowed me to play these titles portably, but now that the games are officially out on Steam, we don’t have to worry about that workaround anymore. You could even say that the process is simple and, dare I say it, clean.

And I have to say, playing the Kingdom Hearts series portably for the first time without relying on cloud streaming was a game-changer. Having platinumed every one of these games on PSN over the years, I must admit that I found that playing on the Steam Deck provided a superior experience compared to any PlayStation console. The convenience of portable play, combined with the quality and performance of the Steam Deck, created a perfect setup for diving back into these beloved games.

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Consider this collection your Game Central Station

The Kingdom Hearts Integrum Masterpiece collection includes every game in the 1.5, 2.5, 2.8, and 3 collection, providing a comprehensive and immersive experience for both long-time fans and newcomers. Notably, this excludes Melody of Memory. The collection features:

  1. Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX:
    • Kingdom Hearts Final Mix
    • Kingdom Hearts Re Chain of Memories
    • Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days (HD remastered cinematics)
    • Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix
    • Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Final Mix
    • Kingdom Hearts Re Coded (HD remastered cinematics)
  2. Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue:
    • Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance HD
    • Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep – A Fragmentary Passage
    • Kingdom Hearts χ Back Cover (movie)
  3. Kingdom Hearts III + Re Mind (DLC)

Having all these games available in one collection, playable on the go, was a dream come true for a fan like me. The ability to revisit the entire series, from the very beginning to the latest installment, provided a nostalgic and rewarding experience.

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What even is Kingdom Hearts?

The answer to that question is obvious, Kingdom Hearts is light... Except when it isn't. For those who don't know, the story of Kingdom Hearts is an intricate (and often outrageous) mix of Disney and Final Fantasy, following Sora, Donald, and Goofy as they journey through different Disney worlds battling the heartless and other enemies. What starts off as a simple "main character needs to find his friends" adventure quickly spirals into one of my personal favorite epics in gaming. 

I truly recommend newcomers going into this series relatively blind and experiencing this series in release order. People intending to 100% the series will need to deviate and watch the Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days cutscenes prior to playing Chain of Memories, but other than that it's wise to play in release order. 

While the themes and very general gameplay are similar across all titles, each one plays differently from the last. Kingdom Hearts Final Mix, for example, is a more traditional action/RPG where combat is relatively straightforward, focusing on real-time battles with a mix of physical attacks, magic, summons, and items. The focus is on upgrading Sora's stats (and to a lesser extent your companions' stats) effectively and the strategy revolves around mastering the timing of attacks and, quite frankly, breaking the magic system. On the other hand, you also have the insanely fast paced Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance where combat is extremely fast as you zip around stages destroying everything in your path. I love each and every one of these games, and the differences between them are great enough to keep the games from becoming stale. 

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Dive into the Heart of the settings

The performance on the Steam Deck was impressive. Unlike cloud-based gaming, downloading the games directly eliminated any input lag, making the gameplay smooth and responsive. The configuration menu offers extensive settings to tailor the experience, including screen modes (fullscreen, borderless, windowed), resolutions ranging from 800×600 to 4K, multiple frame rate options (30, 60, 120, and uncapped), v-sync (called refresh rate in-game), display brightness, and colorblind settings.

While I have yet to play each and every game to completion in this version, I played enough of each title to see that each game worked flawlessly right out of the box, but playing around with the configuration menu and seeing what worked and what didn’t was a fun experience on its own. I opted for a consistent 60 FPS for each game and found that for most of the titles, I could hit that goal easily at max settings. However, for Kingdom Hearts III, I had to set the graphics to medium to ensure a stable 60 FPS, though max settings was an option if I was willing to play at 30 FPS. This level of customization was a significant improvement over previous console versions, allowing for a more tailored and optimized gaming experience.

The audio quality was consistent with previous versions, delivering the iconic music and voice acting that fans have come to love. However, the option to switch between Japanese and English audio was only available in Kingdom Hearts III, which was a slight disappointment. Having this option across all games would have enhanced the overall experience.

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The controls and interface work Hand in Hand

The Steam Deck’s controls felt intuitive and responsive. The in-game options menu allowed for a variety of button prompts, including Xbox, PlayStation, Generic, or auto-detect, making it easy to adapt to the Steam Deck’s controls. Although keyboard input support is available, it’s not particularly useful for the Steam Deck. The real highlight to me was the mappable back buttons, which offered a high degree of customization. Granted, that’s a pro to the Steam Deck in general and less to the collection itself, but it’s still a factor to consider when deciding which version of these games to purchase. For instance, I could map multiple button presses to a single button, making it easier to open the item menu and pop a potion with the press of a single back button when Donald refuses to heal me.

You can play anywhere, even in your Sanctuary

Okay, maybe that pun sounded better in my head. At any rate, the portability of the Steam Deck added immense value to the Kingdom Hearts collection. Being able to play these beloved games on the go, without compromising on performance or quality, was a fantastic experience. The Steam Deck’s robust hardware and customizable settings allowed for a seamless transition from home gaming to portable play, making it easy to enjoy the Kingdom Hearts series wherever I went.

Whether I was commuting, traveling, or simply lounging at home, the Steam Deck provided the flexibility to dive into the immersive worlds of Kingdom Hearts at any time. This level of portability was a game-changer, allowing me to experience the magic of the series in a whole new way.

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Is it work your Munny?

At the time of this review, the Kingdom Hearts Integrum Masterpiece collection is on sale for $69, down from the standard $100. This sale price offers excellent value for money, considering the extensive content and enhanced experience provided by the Steam Deck version. However, the full price of $100 may be a bit steep, especially for those who are not die-hard fans of the series.

For long-time fans like myself, the investment is well worth it, given the convenience of portable play and the customization options available. For newcomers or casual fans, the sale price offers a more attractive entry point to the series.

My Dearly Beloved final impressions

As someone who has been a fan since the PS2 era and has platinumed every title on PSN, playing the Kingdom Hearts collection on the Steam Deck was a nostalgic and enjoyable journey. While I didn’t play each game to completion this time, I played enough of each title to get a solid sense of their performance on the Steam Deck.

The Steam Deck’s portability and performance enhancements added a new dimension to the Kingdom Hearts experience, making it more accessible and enjoyable. The ability to customize graphics settings and controls provided a tailored and optimized gaming experience, allowing me to relive the magic of the series in a whole new way.

However, as stated above, one drawback was that only Kingdom Hearts III offered the option to switch between Japanese and English audio. It would have been nice to have this feature available across all the games in the collection, as most of the English speaking audience have only had the opportunity to play these games with the English dub. It would have been a nice change of pace to let us experience these games in different light.

In conclusion, the Kingdom Hearts Integrum Masterpiece on Steam Deck is an exceptional collection that offers a nostalgic and rewarding experience for long-time fans and an accessible entry point for newcomers. The Steam Deck’s portability and performance enhancements add immense value, making it the ideal platform to relive the magic of the Kingdom Hearts series.

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Verdict

What We Liked ...
  • This version allows for seamless, on-the-go gameplay without the need for cloud streaming
  • Smooth gameplay with customizable settings, including resolution, frame rate, and graphics options
  • Intuitive and responsive controls with the ability to customize button mappings and prompts on the Steam Deck
  • Includes most mainline Kingdom Hearts games and key spin-offs in one package
  • Currently on sale for $69 for the entire series
What We Didn't Like ...
  • Only Kingdom Hearts III offers the option to switch between Japanese and English audio
  • The full price of $100 may be steep for casual fans or newcomers
  • High graphics settings in Kingdom Hearts III may require a lower frame rate to maintain stability
  • Lack of Melody of Memory, a canon post-Kingdom Hearts 3 game
10
Gameplay
I found the gameplay on the Steam Deck to be smooth and responsive. Unlike the Cloud version, there is absolutely no input lag. The controls adapt perfectly to the Steam Deck's layout. Customizable button mappings enhance the experience, ensuring buttery smooth gameplay.
9
Presentation
Visually, the Kingdom Hearts Integrum Masterpiece collection looks better than ever. Unlike on consoles, this version offers a range of graphical options to optimize performance and aesthetics. The art style and environments are as vibrant and detailed as ever, capturing the essence of the series. Audio maintains its high quality, though I wish we had the option to toggle the language in each game.
9
Lasting Appeal
With *nearly* every mainline game and key spin-offs included, the collection provides an insane amount of content that would take hundreds of hours to fully complete. Each title plays differently than the last so fatigue isn't as likely to creep up on you if playing the series for the first time. Just make sure to play the games in release order and you'll be good to go for a long while.
9.2
out of 10

Overall

The Kingdom Hearts Integrum Masterpiece collection for Steam offers an outstanding portable experience, combining the beloved series' magic with modern hardware's flexibility and performance. The collection's performance is impressive, with smooth gameplay and extensive customization options that enhance the overall experience. I highly recommend playing on the Steam Deck and feel that it is the ideal platform to enjoy the series, whether you’re a long-time fan or a newcomer.
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RHOPKINS13
I'm really glad that when releasing Kingdom Hearts on Steam, they made fixes to get it to run on Steam Deck properly. Yes, there are workarounds, you can run the Epic Games launcher on Steam and it's not even that hard to do. BUT, the Kingdom Hearts games never worked well that way. They switch between two versions of DirectX while switching between gameplay and cutscenes. Proton isn't able to handle that. With some tinkering you could still get the games to play, but with no cutscenes, which ruins the experience for me.

The best workaround I found was to dual-boot Windows on the Steam Deck and run the games that way, but I believe DRM protection still prevented the games from being played offline. And running Windows on Steam Deck is not exactly ideal, at least in my experience. Another option is to emulate the console versions, but that's not seamless either.

But in order to get the game to run well on Steam Deck, they re-rendered the cutscenes so it wouldn't have to switch between DirectX versions, and I'd say this is now the definitive way to enjoy Kingdom Hearts. I'm so glad, as I love this series. It was the one game that convinced me to go out and buy a PS2 long ago.
 
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AdenTheThird
I think I speak for all KH fans when I say a collection like this was long overdue. Kingdom Hearts is one of my favorite series and I've been dumbfounded for years that the games didn't come to Steam sooner. May your heart be your guiding key!
 
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AdenTheThird
whitesword7 said:
I recommend to play the ds game if you have the time… kh358 is unique because each keyblade has a different combo string and there’s also a lot of playable character, kh Re:Coded battle system is like an improved version of kh bbs battle system
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One of my buddies is playing through every game in the series in release order. He's playing through Days now. I liked the combat but he isn't as big of a fan. The best part by far is listening to him try to predict the plot of the game! He has no idea...
 
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Fugelmir
Sometimes you can go to a gas station in the middle of nowhere. It'll reek off piss for miles away and you'll walk into the bathroom stall and the toilet will have dried feces from years ago and cigarette butts with mildew.

I'd rather drink from that toilet than play 5 minutes of kingdom hearts.
 
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osaka35
the quesion is which secondary games are missing? that cellphone game about the ancient keyblade wars, was it remade or is it lost to time?

but very happy about this. mainly because mods can fix all the issues I've had about enjoying this series. now i can finally finish 3.
 
SecureBoot
osaka35 said:
the quesion is which secondary games are missing? that cellphone game about the ancient keyblade wars, was it remade or is it lost to time?

but very happy about this. mainly because mods can fix all the issues I've had about enjoying this series. now i can finally finish 3.
Click to expand...
There is a "movie" covering the first arc of the Union X mobile game, but the back half with the dandelions in data daybreak town can only be viewed by downloading the app which still has a cutscene viewer. There is also not any content from Dark Road. Melody of Memory is missing which released after 3. The DS games are also represented as movies instead of fully playable games. I don't think I'm missing anything else
 
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Purple_Heart
My alltime fav game Series. Playing it since I am a kid... 2002 dang I am old. Sad is they stopped German VA after 2....but my English is good so.... It's ok.
 
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Purple_Heart
osaka35 said:
the quesion is which secondary games are missing? that cellphone game about the ancient keyblade wars, was it remade or is it lost to time?

but very happy about this. mainly because mods can fix all the issues I've had about enjoying this series. now i can finally finish 3.
Click to expand...
Melody of Memory is missing. And KH V-Cast which was a Verizon Exclusive Mobile game
 
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limpbiz411
knowing them and the way they treat this series, i'm shocked it's not streaming only. Look what they did with the switch titles
 
AdenTheThird
limpbiz411 said:
knowing them and the way they treat this series, i'm shocked it's not streaming only. Look what they did with the switch titles
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It would've been worse for PR. If the Switch had the first two natively and streamed 3 it would've been seen as way lazier and less uniformed than if they were all streamed. It would have also been a blaring alarm to the Switch's weak processing power.
 
ZeroFX
epic games milk cow finally dried so they decided to launch for pc, also no japanese language for the oldies??? you're stuck with the crappy dub, wow, expensive and a ripoff, nice work as always fucking square enix.
 
osaka35
AdenTheThird said:
It would've been worse for PR. If the Switch had the first two natively and streamed 3 it would've been seen as way lazier and less uniformed than if they were all streamed. It would have also been a blaring alarm to the Switch's weak processing power.
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you mean if 1 and 2 were local on switch? i would have been much happier with 1 and 2 being native. then many of us would have actually bought it. Perception of the switch version is somewhere near the earth's core.

Any games that "stream", or is online only, I don't consider it as having made the game available. it's an online-only game, not a purchasable game. very different things.

As is, no kingdom hearts games have been released on switch, which is a shame. maybe on the switch 2.
 
J
btw, if you have a modern AMD card (rdna3).. don't bother. There's a rather nasty crashing issue making them nearly unplayable that's been in the games since they were on Epic 2 years ago that still isn't fixed.

SE is not apparently working on it.

AMD says they are looking to see if they do something.
 
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SecureBoot
jeremy2020 said:
btw, if you have a modern AMD card (rdna3).. don't bother. There's a rather nasty crashing issue making them nearly unplayable that's been in the games since they were on Epic 2 years ago that still isn't fixed.

SE is not apparently working on it.

AMD says they are looking to see if they do something.
Click to expand...
They fixed the main crashing issue. Some other crashes were introduced but *can* be played around
 
MasterJ360
Square putting KH series on steam is like selling overdue milk:creep: Jokes aside I grabbed it, but will probably play KH1 and DDD more than the others. I never actually beat KH FM and only beaten DDD on the 3DS.
 
E
Japanese audio for the older games is available if you buy the games in Japan. No English then though.

More wtf is no MoM on Steam. Also MoM on Epic has no Japanese songs. Even if you buy it in Japan. Luckily there's a mod to restore them, but they should be available by default.
 
ut2k4master
Ethelbert said:
Japanese audio for the older games is available if you buy the games in Japan. No English then though.
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you dont need to buy the games in japan, you can just switch the language in steam. the text being in japanese is still true then though. there are voice mods on nexusmods for every game though in japanese, german and french at least (the latter two for kh1 and kh2).
 
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SecureBoot
jeremy2020 said:
Ok, well, that's nice. Knowing nothing about your machine.. or the many, many reports currently ongoing..

Oh, and that SE and AMD also say it's not fixed, but since it works on your machine...
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Bro it ain't that serious. For more detail, I am using a 12700k CPU with a 7900XTX GPU. The *driver* crashes were patched out when the steam release hit, but there were many ingame crashes to take their place. You are now able to actually progress, but very inconsistently
 
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Review cover
Product Information:
  • Release Date (NA): June 13, 2024
  • Release Date (EU): June 13, 2024
  • Release Date (JP): June 13, 2024
  • Publisher: Square Enix
  • Also For: Nintendo Switch
Game Features:
Single player
Local Multiplayer
Online Multiplayer
Co-operative

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