The review embargo for Kingdom Hearts Collection [I～III] lifted on Monday morning, three days before Square Enix’s October 8 launch on PS5, Xbox Series X|S and Switch 2, and a day before PS5 and Xbox digital preorders get their 48 hours of early access. We collected 25 numeric scores by late Monday morning Pacific time, and they put the NGC Rating at 86, a little above OpenCritic’s 84 top-critic average and below the 89 Metacritic shows for the Switch 2 version from its first eight reviews. Critics agree on what is in the box, which is the same three collections Square Enix already sold on PS4 and Xbox One, with the Re Mind expansion included. Where they part ways is over who should pay for it again, and over how well Kingdom Hearts III holds up on Nintendo’s hardware.
That 86 is the plain average of the 25 numeric critic scores listed below, each normalized to a 100-point scale, rather than a copy of any aggregator’s figure.
| Outlet | Published | Score | Normalized bar |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manual dos Games | 9.8/10 | 98 | |
| NintendoWorldReport | 9.5/10 | 95 | |
| Cat with Monocle | 4.75/5 | 95 | |
| Nintendo Connect | 93% | 93 | |
| ProjectN | 92% | 92 | |
| TheGamer | 4.5/5 | 90 | |
| Noisy Pixel | 9/10 | 90 | |
| MonsterVine | 4.5/5 | 90 | |
| The Outerhaven | 4.5/5 | 90 | |
| Final Weapon | 90 (Metacritic) | 90 | |
| Nintendo Wire | 9.0/10 | 90 | |
| Twisted Voxel | 9/10 | 90 | |
| Loot Level Chill | 9/10 | 90 | |
| Andrenoob | 9/10 | 90 | |
| Insider Gaming | 9/10 | 90 | |
| Impulse Gamer | 4.5/5 | 90 | |
| Pizza Fria | 8.8/10 | 88 | |
| CGMagazine | 8.5/10 | 85 | |
| República DG | 8.4/10 | 84 | |
| Nintenduo | 82/100 | 82 | |
| Console Creatures | 8/10 | 80 | |
| Cultura Geek | 4/5 | 80 | |
| COGconnected | 70/100 | 70 | |
| Push Square | 7/10 | 70 | |
| Console-Tribe | 60/100 | 60 |
Excluded: RPG Site and GameSpew (Switch 2 features with no numeric score). Final Weapon's score is taken from its Metacritic listing because the review page was behind a bot check when we collected scores. Collected October 5, 2026 (PT).
We read the full reviews or features from TheGamer, RPG Site, Push Square, Impulse Gamer, GameSpew, Noisy Pixel and Nintendo Wire, and pulled performance and value notes from CGMagazine, MonsterVine, The Outerhaven, Insider Gaming, Nintenduo, COGconnected and Andrenoob. One pattern stands out before you get to any single review. The 16 scores from critics who played on Switch 2 average about 89, while the five from critics who reviewed on PS5 or PS5 Pro average about 83. That is a small sample, but it fits what the reviews say. On Switch 2 this is the first native release of the series after years of cloud-only versions, while on PlayStation it is mostly a repackaging of games that already ran well through backward compatibility.
Newcomers get a bargain, longtime fans get the same games again
The lower end of the board is mostly a value argument rather than a quality one. Jaimie Ditchfield gave it a 7 at Push Square after playing on a PS5 Pro, calling it ideal for people coming to the series for the first time but hard to justify for longtime fans, because there are “no significant changes to any of the included games.” The HD 1.5+2.5 ReMIX games already ran at 60 frames per second on PS4, and Melody of Memory is missing even though it carries story threads that lead into Kingdom Hearts IV. COGconnected‘s 70 makes a blunter version of the same point, noting that the three bundles go on sale constantly elsewhere and that the strongest reason to buy this release at full price is wanting the games on Switch 2. Italy’s Console-Tribe, at 60, says nostalgia alone does not justify buying the saga yet again.
Critics who weighed it as a first purchase were far more generous. Impulse Gamer‘s Gareth Newnham counts seven playable action RPGs that will take “upwards of 200 hours” to finish, which works out to under £10 a game at the UK price of £65, and he still calls the PS5 version the best way to play the series on console. Even so, he wishes Square Enix had used the occasion to make 358/2 Days and Re:coded playable rather than leaving them as cutscene compilations. Noisy Pixel’s 9 lands in a similar spot, describing the collection as both the obvious starting point for newcomers and “a frustratingly incomplete one,” while Insider Gaming, also at 9, argues that existing owners should have been given a free upgrade.
On Switch 2, the older games run well and the newest ones vary
The Switch 2 reviews are close to unanimous about the older games, meaning everything in HD 1.5+2.5 ReMIX plus Dream Drop Distance. RPG Site‘s Mikhail Madnani found Kingdom Hearts Final Mix capped at 60fps on every console and called HD 1.5+2.5 ReMIX on Switch 2 his favorite version of that bundle so far, docked or handheld. TheGamer‘s George Foster reported no frame rate or visual problems in Re:Chain of Memories, Birth by Sleep or Dream Drop Distance, and he called Kingdom Hearts II flawless on the system. MonsterVine and The Outerhaven both saw a steady 60fps in the original game, with The Outerhaven noting 1080p in handheld mode.
The trouble sits in the two games built on Unreal Engine 4, Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep -A fragmentary passage- and Kingdom Hearts III. When critics mention “Birth by Sleep” performance problems, they mean the short 0.2 episode starring Aqua, not Birth by Sleep Final Mix. TheGamer describes 0.2’s uncapped frame rate as one that “consistently dips and dives,” and says Kingdom Hearts III has the same unsteady frame rate along with some long loads, adding that a 30fps cap would have helped. RPG Site says Kingdom Hearts III on Switch 2 performs no better than the demo did, still with no 30fps cap, and it cannot recommend the 2.8 and III portions without caveats yet. The critics who quoted numbers come out roughly in the same range. Insider Gaming saw Kingdom Hearts III move between 45 and 54fps, Nintenduo put it between 40 and 50, and MonsterVine never saw it fall below 30 but saw it waver between 30 and 60.
Not every Switch 2 reviewer had the same experience, which matters if you plan to play mostly in one mode. The Outerhaven saw frame drops in 0.2 but said Kingdom Hearts III “ran spectacularly” in handheld, and Nintendo Wire’s Ricky Berg wrote that it “plays fantastically,” with occasional slowdown and weaker visuals in handheld that docked play mostly closes. Noisy Pixel reported the reverse pattern, with drops only while docked and fairly strong handheld performance. Taken together, the reviews suggest the first five games are safe on Switch 2, while Kingdom Hearts III and 0.2 are playable but uneven, and how much that bothers you will depend on how sensitive you are to an uncapped frame rate.
On PS5 and Xbox, Kingdom Hearts III is the real upgrade
Kingdom Hearts III is also where the PlayStation version earns its keep. CGMagazine reported a locked 60fps on PS5 Pro, a native 4K presentation, newly added DualSense haptics and much faster SSD loading, and Impulse Gamer also saw it run without problems on PS5 Pro. Push Square described it as mostly stable at 60fps, where the PS4 version fluctuated. RPG Site found a clear image quality boost in 0.2 and III over the PS4 versions running on PS5, but also spotted overblown bloom in 0.2 that only affects the PS5 release, and it was disappointed that the older games still have no 120fps option. Xbox coverage is thin so far. Andrenoob is the only scored review in our set played on Xbox, and it reports a smooth, constant 60fps with improved resolution and short loads, without separating Series X from Series S.
| Game in the collection | Switch 2 (as reported) | PS5 / PS5 Pro (as reported) | Xbox Series X|S (as reported) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kingdom Hearts Final Mix | 60fps cap, no issues (RPG Site); “smooth as butter” (TheGamer); 60fps at 1080p handheld (The Outerhaven) | Same 60fps cap as PS4, no haptics (RPG Site); slightly sharper at most (Push Square) | 60fps across the collection (Andrenoob) |
| Re:Chain of Memories, Birth by Sleep Final Mix | No frame rate or visual issues, fast loads (TheGamer); PS2-era titles including Birth by Sleep “play flawlessly” (Nintendo Wire) | Functionally unchanged from PS4 apart from sharper visuals (Impulse Gamer) | 60fps (Andrenoob) |
| Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix | Flawless (TheGamer); same 8-direction movement snapping as PS4 (RPG Site) | Same 8-direction movement snapping (RPG Site) | 60fps (Andrenoob) |
| Dream Drop Distance HD | “Runs and looks like a dream” (TheGamer); smooth 60fps (MonsterVine) | No specific issues reported | 60fps (Andrenoob) |
| 0.2 Birth by Sleep -A fragmentary passage- | Uncapped and choppy (TheGamer); variable from the start, better draw distance than PS4 Pro (RPG Site); frame drops (The Outerhaven) | Higher resolution and draw distance, but bloom set too high on PS5 only (RPG Site) | No game-specific notes yet |
| Kingdom Hearts III + Re Mind | No 30fps cap (RPG Site); about 45 to 54fps (Insider Gaming); 40 to 50fps (Nintenduo); “ran spectacularly” in handheld (The Outerhaven) | Locked 60fps on PS5 Pro with native 4K and haptics (CGMagazine); mostly stable 60fps (Push Square); Default and Stable modes look the same (RPG Site) | 60fps, improved resolution (Andrenoob) |
| 358/2 Days, Re:coded, χ Back Cover | Cutscene movies, run fine with the usual jagged edges (TheGamer) | Cutscene movies, unchanged | Cutscene movies, unchanged |
Physical buyers should also know the formats differ. CGMagazine notes that the PS5 disc carries the full content, while GameSpot’s preorder guide lists the Switch 2 physical release as a Game-Key Card that needs a 128GB download and, as of June, said no physical Xbox edition had been announced. On Xbox, the Play Anywhere purchase also covers the PC version.
What the upgrade and price math looks like
None of the reviews puts the store prices side by side, so we checked them. On the U.S. Nintendo eShop on Monday, the full collection was $74.99, while each of the three parts was listed separately at $39.99, or $119.97 for all three. With seven playable games in the bundle, the collection works out to about $10.71 per playable game. Square Enix’s official collection page offers 50 percent off digital purchases of the new versions to anyone who already owns the matching games digitally on PS4, Xbox One or the Switch cloud versions, so the discount follows what you own and Kingdom Hearts Integrum Masterpiece owners on those platforms qualify on everything. Disc copies of the older games do not count, and Square Enix says save data only carries over from the Switch cloud versions to Switch 2.
| Your situation | What you pay | What changes for you |
|---|---|---|
| New to the series, full collection | $74.99 (about $10.71 per playable game) | Seven playable games plus three cutscene movies |
| New to the series, one part only | $39.99 per part on Switch 2 | Nintendo Wire suggests Kingdom Hearts III alone if you only want one game before Kingdom Hearts IV |
| Own Kingdom Hearts III + Re Mind digitally on PS4, Xbox One or Switch cloud | About $20 for the native Kingdom Hearts III upgrade (50% off $39.99) | The upgrade Impulse Gamer recommends for PS4 owners, at £16.50 in the UK |
| Own Integrum Masterpiece digitally on PS4, Xbox One or Switch cloud | About $37.50 for the full collection (50% off) | Native versions; save transfer only from cloud to Switch 2 |
| Own the PS4 or Xbox One games on disc | $74.99, no discount | Same games; the discount requires digital ownership |
| Own Integrum Masterpiece on Steam | Nothing to buy | Square Enix lists the Steam release as the same collection |
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| June 9, 2026 | Square Enix removes the Switch cloud versions from sale and opens Switch 2 preorders |
| October 5, 2026 | Review embargo lifts |
| October 6, 2026 | 48-hour early access for digital PS5 and Xbox Series X|S preorders |
| October 8, 2026 | Launch on all three consoles, plus a native HD 1.5+2.5 ReMIX release on the original Switch |
| June 9, 2027, 7:59 a.m. PT | Switch cloud versions stop working |
Who should buy which version
| Player type | Verdict | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Newcomer on Switch 2 | Buy, and start with HD 1.5+2.5 ReMIX | The older games run close to flawlessly in the Switch 2 reviews we read; expect an uneven frame rate later in 0.2 and Kingdom Hearts III |
| Newcomer on PS5 or Xbox Series X|S | Buy | The most consistent version critics have tested, with Kingdom Hearts III at a locked or mostly stable 60fps on PS5; Xbox coverage is limited to one scored review so far |
| Owner of the PS4 or Xbox One digital versions | Skip the full collection; consider the Kingdom Hearts III upgrade | Push Square and Impulse Gamer agree the older games are essentially unchanged, and saves do not transfer |
| Owner of disc copies or the Steam release | Skip unless you want the games on Switch 2 | No discount for physical copies, and PC already has the same collection |
| Switch cloud owner | Upgrade at 50% before June 9, 2027 | Your saves carry over, and the native version removes the streaming dependency that Switch 2 reviewers welcomed |
Read as a whole, the board says this is an easy recommendation for anyone who has never played the series and a hard sell for anyone who already owns it digitally on PlayStation or Xbox. Switch 2 owners get the biggest jump, since this replaces cloud streaming with native games that mostly run very well. They are also the only buyers who need to accept a less settled Kingdom Hearts III, and a frame rate cap in a future patch would answer the most common complaint in the Switch 2 reviews. We have not seen Square Enix announce one, so if Kingdom Hearts III is the main reason you are buying, the PS5 version has the strongest critic reports for it today.
Sources: the outlet reviews linked in the scores table; OpenCritic and Metacritic listings; Square Enix’s collection page; Square Enix’s North American press release; the Nintendo eShop listing; GameSpot (physical editions); and GameSpew.