While there were spin-off, sequels, and prequels in-between Kingdom Hearts II and Kingdom Hearts III, the wait from console to console spanning thirteen years was incredibly tough for fans. The wait then for this DLC was less aggravating, but was the anticipation worth it?
It may be a cliche thing to write, but Kingdom Hearts III Re:Mind is a mixed bag. There are a lot of negatives to this package, but there are also some really high moments that fans will surely devour. Do the cons outweigh the positives? That's the big question here. This article will mark each victory and defeat before determining whether or not this is worth the extra dough.
10 Best: Christopher Lloyd As Xehanort
Here is a little bit of weird trivia; the role of Master Xehanort is a bit cursed. The character first appeared in Birth By Sleep in 2010 and was portrayed by Leonard Nimoy. He was able to reprise his role in Dream Drop Distance in 2012.
Unfortunately, due to his passing in 2015, Nimoy was not able to do his lines for Kingdom Hearts III. For that game, he was replaced with Rutger Hauer last year, who sadly passed away in July 2019. Therefore, for the DLC, Xehanort's lines were spoken by Christopher Lloyd, who does a fantastic job voicing the character.
9 Worst: Not Much New
The absolute worst part about this DLC pack is that it is mostly reused content. If one were to make an estimate, only approximately 20% of the DLC consists of truly new content, while the rest feels rehashed from the base game.
That fifth of the DLC is pretty good, making the best entries on this list noteworthy to discuss. It, unfortunately, is accompanied by a lot of dreadful retellings that makes even these great moments hard to swallow.
8 Best: Exploring Scala ad Caelum
Most areas in the game are reused from the original. However, Scala ad Caelum is a lot more fleshed out. Instead of taking place in one area for part of Master Xehanort’s final boss fight, there is a lot more to do.
There are monsters to fight, treasures to uncover, and puzzles to solve. It isn’t that big as it will only take about twenty minutes max, but being able to explore what was a cool part of the original game is a nice bonus.
7 Worst: Can’t Backtrack
While the Keyblade Graveyard is incredibly easy, the second part wherein Sora has to fight digital versions of Organization XIII is the exact opposite. Can’t win? Well, guess what? There is no way to get out of the digital prison and explore the original game. Once one starts the DLC, that is it. No going back to level up or get extras to get stronger.
Pressing the square button while loading the DLC's save file will load the last save in the base game with the DLC upgrades intact. After grinding to a satisfactory level, then it is time to restart the DLC.
A warning from the game would have been nice. Let’s just say that some here didn’t find that out until halfway through DLC and subsequently had to restart after going back to the original content. Thank goodness for the skip button at least.
6 Best: Return Of The Keyblade Masters
Ever wonder what Riku, Mickey, Terra, Lea, Xion, Roxas, Aqua, and Ventus were doing while Sora, Donald, and Goofy were fighting Master Xehanort at Scala ad Caelum?
Well, this DLC answers that. The eight of them have to fend off clones of Xehanort in a team battle. The way it is constructed is very cool and allows players to take control of everyone there. That really only means mashing buttons so they really aren't that controllable, but close enough.
5 Worst: Mickey’s Last Stand
Sadly, what follows is a travesty. Eventually, the eight Keyblade wielders are dispersed and all that is left to fend off Xehanort's clones is a weakened Mickey. Players have to slowly walk towards a glistening keyhole while occasionally deflecting lasers, or attacks.
If one isn't fast enough, Mickey will fall back and players will have to mash buttons in order to revive him. This assuredly sounded cool on paper in the planning phases at Square Enix, but what came out was a battle of patience.
4 Best: Final Fantasy Is Back
Where were the Final Fantasy heroes while everything was going on in Kingdom Hearst III? Who knows? Even the guest stars that previously appeared in the franchise weren't all present, most notably Tifa and Cloud.
As disappointing as it was not to have all of the Final Fantasy guest characters appear in Re:Mind, it was still a relief to get to see and hear Leon, Aerith, Yuffie, and Cid once again. The scenes were short but they were certainly treasured.
3 Worst: The World Ends With You Snub
If one got the secret movie by collecting all of Mickey's emblems in the main game then they were treated to Sora and Riku seemingly wandering around Tokyo. Specifically, the version of Tokyo present in The World Ends With You.
As characters like Neku did appear in Dream Drop Distance, this seemed like a surefire bet as to where the next game was going. Then Kingdom Hearts III's DLC got announced, so one could have surely thought that Tokyo is where this was taking place. Nope. There is a boss battle with Yozora there, but that is it. Needless to say, it was a letdown.
2 Best: Oblivion & Oathkeeper
Even if one doesn't buy this DLC there are two things one can do with the latest update of 1.09. The Oblivion and Oathkeeper Keyblades can now be obtained.
Oblivion is incredibly hard to get as one has to beat the game on Critical Mode while Oathkeeper is much easier. Most people will probably have already found all Mickey Emblems so once their save is loaded up, voila, the Keyblade is once again in Sora's rightful hands.
1 Worst: That Price
This may be obvious, but the DLC's $30 is ridiculous. As it was said earlier, most of the content is a rehash. Even with all of the great stuff in Re:Mind, the price is a hard pill to swallow on top of a lot of this content being extremely hard.
Re:Mind has its moments but overall, it is recommended to wait until the price lowers.