Kingdom Hearts is a series beloved by many Square Enix and Disney fans alike. No other game gives players the ability to run around and kill demons with a giant key, fly in a spaceship made of things called “gummis,” or have Donald Duck scream at them about ingredients. Though these games started off on a single console, they slowly made their way onto other platforms, even coming to PC not that long ago. Finally, on February 10, Square Enix is dropping Kingdom Hearts on the Cloud.
Most people would think that this would be a good thing, but is it really? This article will go over whether players should buy Kingdom Hearts on the Cloud.
While there are certainly more drawbacks to downloading cloud versions, there are advantages.
Image supplied by the enraged author of this article
Hard to believe that at one point on sale, players could get this bundle for 24 dollars. If players need even further convincing, look at the screenshot below.
Another screenshot from the enraged author of this piece.
With free shipping and about 4 dollars tax (this example is from a Chicago resident, tax varies by location), the total to have it delivered to a customer is $44.39. Granted, it is cheaper to pick it up in stores, this is still cheaper than on the e-shop. If someone subtracted the regular price of the cloud bundle from the All-in-One Package, players would be looking at a $45.60 cent difference. If one subtracted from the discounted price, it would be a $27.60 cent difference. Either way, this is a lot of money for streaming a game without the costs of physical manufacturing factored in. Square, come on…
Even more compelling, on Amazon, a U.S. citizen can get the game with free shipping for $40.24. Jeff Bezos charges less for the entire Kingdom Hearts system than a company that makes family-friendly video games, and again, THIS IS WITH PHYSICAL MANUFACTURING COSTS. My. God.
Image from kh13.com
Image of Mickey Mouse’s Keyblade, Star Cluster, from Kingdom Hearts 3. Courtesy of kingdom.hearts.fandom.com
It is a “beautiful thing” when making reskins of existing keyblades become acceptable by production standards…Advent Red also has no real differences from the other keyblades that bring Sora into the Second Form form change. Long point summed up, it is a lazy reskin and not good enough of an incentive to encourage player purchase.
With there being a lot more cons to the cloud releases than pros, should players make this investment? Well, it depends on their situation. Again, if Switch is their only avenue to enjoy video games, then, by all means, they will enjoy it. However, players should not support this release or the release of any cloud version. While it sounds like a good idea on paper, cloud gaming severely limits the gaming experience. This is a beloved franchise that many fans want to be able to play on the go. But, the limitations on cloud services only allow them to experience it when connected to Wi-Fi. In an age where gaming is already heavily reliant on internet connection and online, supporting this release would only support a dangerous transition. And this is coming from a Kingdom Hearts fan.
With the games being on Playstation, Xbox, and PC (with Mods available), please, for the love of God AND Satan, give this purchase a pass. There are better ways to experience one of the greatest crossovers of all time.
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