There was a time when the Nintendo Switch was home to cloud games. If a title wanted to take advantage of the popularity of Nintendo's hybrid console but did not want to go through the trouble of overhauling the game to work on the underpowered hardware, then cloud gaming was the stopgap solution. It wasn't exactly something that players were clamoring for. The need for a constant internet connection, the presence of controller lag, and a deteriorating presentation when there were connection spikes all put a damper on the viability of cloud gaming. This is all before you come to the realization that game ownership is very temporary, despite being charged full game prices. The Switch 2 has effectively made it so that some of those cloud-only games could come back as native system titles. We've seen it happen with the latest games in the Resident Evil franchise, and we saw it at the system's launch with Hitman. Now Square Enix is getting in on this with almost all of its Kingdom Hearts titles.

The first thing to know for the review is that there is no upgrade path for cloud version owners to get the Switch 2 native versions. You get a discount of around 50% for the Switch 2 versions if you own the cloud versions, so at least that's something. There also isn't a way to take that cloud game save and make it applicable to this version. That's nothing new based on what we've seen from those aforementioned cloud titles-turned-native titles, but it is worth mentioning for those who have played the cloud versions before.

The second thing to know is that while you can buy all the main games piecemeal, it's cheaper to buy everything as a complete package. All three of the main games are $40 each, while the complete package is around $75. Price rarely gets mentioned in our reviews since it tends to promote the idea that cost is an indicator of game value, but it is worth mentioning since this doesn't seem to be a temporary package for the eShop.

The final bit to know is that the collection may represent 10 games, but that doesn't mean that everything is playable. Three of those titles (Kingdom Hearts Re:coded, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, and Kingdom Hearts X Back Cover) are only available in video form, where the original cut scenes are stitched together with text scenes that replace the original gameplay sections. They still work fine for those who are into the lore of the series, but it is disappointing that not everything is in a truly playable state.

We've reviewed these titles before when they came out on the PC via the Epic Games Store (Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 +2.5 ReMIX, Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue, and Kingdom Hearts III + Re:Mind) and when they were released on Steam (Kingdom Hearts Integrum Masterpiece), but the previous analysis still holds true. The appeal is clear. Combining elements of Square Enix's RPG experiences with Disney worlds and characters is a compelling premise. Seeing even a small set of those characters interact with some of the studio's bigger movies is heavy wish fulfillment for any Disney fan, let alone a die-hard fan. The story has gone from something fairly straightforward with the usual anime-like twists to something so convoluted and complicated that you need a few wikis to make any sense of it. After 10 games, there are still plenty of loose ends, so unless you're really into the lore and really good about keeping track of everything in an understandable way, your real purpose for playing is just to see a video game rendition of something like Agrabah, Arendelle, or The Grid.

Compared to the story, the gameplay evolution throughout the games feels smoother. What starts off as a serviceable action-RPG with a menu system that takes some getting used to slowly transforms into a title that is faster and more sure of its combat, creating an experience that is more kinetic. This really opens up in the later games, when platforming is introduced and you can start doing things like running up walls or swinging around poles for more attack moves against more dynamic bosses. The summoning system also evolves in a similar way, where you may start off calling on Bahamut to help you out, but later games increase the strangeness factor as you summon parts of the Main Street Electrical Parade to attack your foes. It all feels like a fever dream gone right.

When it comes to Switch 2-specific features, don't expect anything exclusive for the system. There's nothing in terms of motion controls or touch-screen support. You're getting a traditional experience, but that's to be expected, since the games also didn't feature anything exclusive for any other system except for the PC with its ultrawide support. Switch 2 owners should be prepared to clear out a good chunk of space for the whole package, as you're looking at roughly 120GB of space for all three packages. That's a hefty amount of space but still reasonable since you're getting seven full titles that aren't from the sprite era.

When you consider that the games in the package cover at least two generations' worth of content, your expectations for each title will differ from both a graphical and performance perspective. For the bulk of the titles, the game performs as expected. The enhanced versions from the original PS3 versions are cleaned up with textures that only look slightly blurry, while character models are excellent with fluid animations to match. The games run at a solid 60fps with high resolutions to match in both docked and portable modes. Oddly enough, the only time this falters is with the original Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix, as some of the movies exhibit slowdown like they were fighting against disc access, while the in-game cut scenes seem to artificially slow themselves to 30fps while still dealing with some late event triggers.

Once you move to the two Unreal Engine-powered titles, Kingdom Hearts 0.2: Birth By Sleep - A Fragmentary Passage and Kingdom Hearts III + Re:Mind, you'd expect the look and performance to start tanking. However, like a good number of recent Switch 2 ports, things are surprising in a good way. Based on reports from other outlets, these games run at 1080p in handheld mode and a little over 1200p in docked mode. Based on experience with other Switch 2 games, this is about right when looking at the system via a 4K TV. DLSS is certainly doing some heavy lifting, but the only sign of any picture degradation is in the smaller detailed areas, where there is a tiny bit of fizzle. Even then, you're really going to have to look for it, as it isn't so apparent. The frame rate can fluctuate between 30fps to 60fps given the situation, but the pacing seems good enough to the naked eye that you'll swear the game is trying to push above to 40fps range and into the 50fps range without any noticeable judder or drops. Both of these titles look smooth and provide another good example of how the Switch 2 can be a powerhouse of a handheld in the correct hands.

Meanwhile, nothing has changed with the audio, and that's great since the audio treatment from the last set of ports was very good. The voice acting remains as crisp as ever, with no hints of compression. The score for every game teeters between epic and whimsical, which also fits perfectly considering how variable the set pieces are. The sound effects can be a little soft, but the volume is comparable to the other ports, so it isn't as if the Switch 2 is slacking in this department.

Kingdom Hearts Collection [I~III] is a very good correction for a host of games that suffered from the initial cloud gaming incarnation. The Switch 2 has once again proven that it can handle games of this caliber without having to sacrifice a great deal, and while Nintendo-only fans will benefit the most from this package, those who mostly play on the go will also enjoy these quality ports. Unless you've already played these games to death or already own them in any of their various forms, this collection is well worth owning.

Score: 8.5/10