Current issues with the port and Steam changes (Q&A)

[GillianMC]

Q: What are the current issues of the port in general?

*Issues that are in Italic are fixed by Re:Freshed.

Issues that affect everyone:

• High framerates (>60 FPS) are still unstable, even though the game does support them just fine - the game is just way more prone to crashing, so it should be fixable.
  
• Even if you play at high framerates, the game will randomly decide to lock you to 60 FPS which is jarring (whenever the Destiny Islands waterfall or KH2 sun is seen, for example).
  
• In-game cutscenes are still 30 FPS even though they support 60 FPS just fine without any extra work.
  
• FMV's are also locked to 30 FPS display which causes audio-video desync. They can be unlocked to 60 FPS with no issues which fixes the problem, too.
  
• Bad-quality AI upscaled textures[x.com]
  
• Audio issues (crackling sound (can be fixed by setting audio to 2 channels), sound cut-offs, missing voicelines; Re:Fined recently got to fix that too)
  
• Several broken visual effects[imgur.com] (PS3 port issue carried over to pc)
  
• Scuffed Re:COM controls (a PC-exclusive change - the d-pad actions got shifted clockwise which doesn't even make sense) and rebinding controls doesn’t help (plus it’s more limited than the console releases).
  
• Quit Game crashes the game or hangs it. Quite a simple fix in the code actually.
  
• Alt-tabbing occasionally turns borderless mode into windowed for no reason (notably when you throw mouse to top right of the screen right after alt-tabbing - happens often if using discord on second screen). Also a simple fix.
  
• Not sure which exact release removed this, but KH1 gummi ship minigame allowed to rebind controls on the PS3 - you can not do this on PC anymore and the default controls are personally bad.
  
• Muting the game is not possible from system settings (only goes down to 1)
  
• You still cannot buy&install the games in the collections separately, even though games like Halo: MCC support that and even this game in fact does: you can replace the game files of every other game but KH2 with dummy files, which saves space and you can still play KH2.
  
• FMVs are *bloated* in size. They take way more space than they should - Steam Deck depot has them reduced in size without any notable quality sacrifices.

Issues that affect a smaller amount of people but still worth acknowledging all the same:

• Shadow issues on the Steam Deck
  
• VRR (G-Sync, FreeSync etc) causes stutter. They're meant to eliminate tearing.
  
• No ultrawide, 16:10, 4:3 or any other aspect ratio support (mods can add this, why can't square?[imgur.com] also the games were 4:3 on the ps2 lol)
  
• The game crashes really badly on some GPU's, especially on RX7000 GPUs and select RTX GPUs.
  
• The game crashes frequently when alt-tabbing in Exclusive Fullscreen mode
  
• The game crashes frequently during load screens, notably in Port Royal, but may happen completely randomly
  
• Still no universal fix for FMVs on Linux (FMVs are fixed on the Steam Deck and the fix is easily applicable to PC too) Fixed on Proton Experimental
  
• There's no way to play with Japanese audio & English subtitles, even though mods have been able to do that even back in the PS2 days and on the EGS version too. With toggles.
  
• You can not unpause Atlantica sections for some reason
  
• You can’t share savefiles between friends or even between EGS and Steam due to arbitrary ID checks that aren’t even necessary.
  
• (Minor) Steam Cloud carries over your configs even between devices, which may break the configs on one or the other device if you play on multiple.
  
• (Minor) Achievement names are not sorted by game name, which makes them hard to navigate.
  
• (Minor) There is no quick way to go to the menu and reload the savefile without either wasting your time going to the savefile or reloading the whole game. The game, in fact, has soft resets implemented in the code, but you cannot execute them without a mod.
  
• (Minor) Kingdom Hearts Re:COM... reads again.... changes some text to.. spanish when using a controller.. how did this even happen... (workaround: change button type to 1 or 2)

Q: Isn't it unreasonable to ask Square to fix all of this?

No. Square only acknowledged one of the issues in the list, but they're capable of fixing all of them if people actually pushed them into it.

Q: But isn't it normal for 20-year old games to be broken?

A: If the ports were 20 years old sold at 5 bucks, maybe they would be. We're talking about a recent port sold as a native PC game that nobody bothered to fix up, however - which they have all the resources in the world to do. Modders shouldn't have to do developers' job, either.
List of PS2-era games with actually decent ports you can buy on Steam:

• Katamari Damacy REROLL
  
• Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
  
• Okami HD
  
• Monster Rancher 1 & 2 DX
  
• Disgaea
  
• Disgaea 2
  
• Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus R
  
• Persona 4 Golden
  
• .hack//G.U. Last Recode
  
• Onimusha Warlords
  
• TY The Tasmanian Tiger Trilogy

If anybody has more examples, please list them in the comments.

Furthermore, select old games that never even were on PC received some of the best PC version treatments ever:

• Super Mario 64 received a decompilation effort which allowed to clean up the code and manually port it to PC (and other platforms) allowing the best SM64 experience ever - sm64ex[github.com], SM64 Coop Deluxe[sm64coopdx.com]
  
• The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time also received a decompilation effort with all the same results: cleaned up code, pc (and other platforms) ports and enhanced releases - Ship of Harkinian[www.shipofharkinian.com]
  
• The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask currently has an ongoing decompilation effort and received a recompilation effort[github.com], which supports unlimited framerate, ultrawide, several fixes and even ray tracing!

If passionate fans can fix up old games and make them some of the best PC experiences ever, why can't companies?

Q: What's different between EGS and Steam releases ignoring the update?

A: Steam version supports Steam Cloud, playing without an internet connection, has fixed FMVs for Steam Deck and seems to have improved gamepad compatibility. Oh, and you can open the System Setings with a gamepad now.

Q: Was Epic Games Version updated to be on-par to the new Steam versions?

A: Yes, although cloud saves, offline capabilities and fixed linux FMV's didn't make it to Epic Games.

Q: What did the update itself change?

A: It has fixed driver crashes on RX7000 GPU's (although people report frequent in-game crashes now instead) and blue checkerboard patterns on RTX 3000/4000 GPU's. It seems they have also introduced way more crashes with this release. They have also AI upscaled textures[x.com]. Most issues in the list are actually old issues from the EGS version and even the PS3 version.

Q: Did the FMVs get fixed on linux?

A: Yes. Use Proton Experimental.

Q: What mods are currently compatible?

A: At the moment, only stuff that uses KHPCPatchManager, which was updated recently[github.com].

Q: Are 358/2 Days and Re:Coded finally playable? Did they fix missing cutscenes or re-render them in higher quality?

A: Nope, nope and nope. For those unaware, 358/2 Days and Re:Coded were originally playable Nintendo DS games (really fun ones at that) which Square decided to lazily turn into cutscenes instead, never re-rendered or revisited or bothered to be remade. There's multiple community efforts to making these games more enjoyable on PC, and Square could also do one if they cared: Melon Mix[github.com], 358/2 Days Final Mix. I highly recommend you check them out and even try them out.

Q: Why do people complain about the pricing? Seems reasonable for the amount of games you're getting

A: They're all almost 20 years old PS2/PSP games, with issues of the both PS3 and older PC version still unfixed. You can also buy ALL the games up to KH3 on PS4 for just $20 on sales (+$15 for remind). Just so you get the picture, here's the full list of KH1 re-releases:

• Original PS2 release ($50, around $84 today if adjusted for inflation)
  
• Japanese-exclusive PS2 Final Mix release (same price, enhanced game)
  
• PS3 1.5 re-release ($40, around $52 today if adjusted for inflation); <- this release had bugs that are still unfixed up to today, like the audio bugs
  
• PS4 1.5+2.5 re-release ($50, included in an all-in-one $100 collection you can buy for $20 online and this collection goes at $20 on sales too);
  
• Xbox One 1.5+2.5 re-release ($50, goes at $20 on sales);
  
• PC (EGS) 1.5+2.5 re-release ($50, went as low as $25 on sales); <- this release was based on the Xbox One release and introduced a ton of new bugs you can see today even in the current Steam release
  
• PC (Steam) 1.5+2.5 re-release ($50, went as low as $35 on sales); <- we are here

In total, a person who bought a KH1 release every time, would've spent $420 (or $320 on sales) on KH1 alone and they still get almost the exact same experience after PS3 without making Square improve.

In hindsight, these prices are not that much, but consider the fact they are not improving the game with each subsequent port anymore - it's not a remaster, they don't fix most bugs. Regardless, if the price doesn't bother you - that's all good too, just ask Square to treat you better as a customer and understand the people who already bought the games on other platforms.

Remember: you don't have to defend a multi-millionaire corporation, especially when you're paying *them* for a 20 year old product released for the full price for the 5th time in the past decade and they didn't even bother to fix most issues nor make a proper native PC game experience despite claiming it is.

If you can, please leave a bad review highlighting these issues. Make Square aware of them so we have a chance at a fix. This is not a call to hate the game, but rather a call for Square to improve and make the experience better for everyone. Bringing attention to these issues shows how much you actually want to see these great games be truly great. Also leave a comment here if you see this so the post gets bumped on Discussions and more people are aware of the issues.

About me "not owning the game"

Some clowns may accuse me of "not owning the game" - keep in mind every issue relevant to the PC version I list here is also what I put on the PCGW page (and not just me! plenty of people are maintaining the page) with proof and references. The issues I list here date back to either the PS3 2012 version or the 2021 EGS release, and you can find plenty of reports online on Reddit, Steam Discussions, Steam Reviews and generally people online who own the game (me personally, I interact with the people in the Re:Fined community which bought the game the first minute it went online on Steam and aren't hypocritical when a game is broken). So yeah, think about embarassing yourself before accusing me of lying. The reason I don't own the games is simple - I don't have money to throw *again* at the exact same broken ports and I've double checked the issues with other people I trust instead.

Also you don't have to send me awards, I have plenty of points and this is not done for clout-chasing, but rather spreading awareness.

[Nora's Crimson Colored Nectar]

Maybe you can list some non-issue I have found whilst playing KH1, after activating a Trio-Technique, the framerate becomes very weird, it feels like the framerate goes unlimited for a while.
I can't really tell what's going on there, So far I only have the blue technique.

[GillianMC]

doesn't sound like a common issue

[Kriegerwut]

My game is sluggish and is slower than usual. Didnt have any problems in the epic games version. Changing any options wont fix anything. It is sad to see so many square enix games on steam and the one i waited literally years for to appear finally is a worse port than the epic version...

[GillianMC]

Originally posted by Kriegerwut:

My game is sluggish and is slower than usual. Didnt have any problems in the epic games version. Changing any options wont fix anything. It is sad to see so many square enix games on steam and the one i waited literally years for to appear finally is a worse port than the epic version...

i've seen some people report that installing the texture downgrade mod actually may fix that

[polocatfan]

Disgaea 1 and 2 aren't that great of ports lol.

[GillianMC]

refreshed kh2 just came out, fixing some of the issues (i’ll highlight the ones fixed by refreshed)

[the_randomizer1889]

Originally posted by GillianMC:

refreshed kh2 just came out, fixing some of the issues (i’ll highlight the ones fixed by refreshed)

I thought it wasn't working on Steam

[GillianMC]

Originally posted by the_randomizer1889:

Originally posted by GillianMC:

refreshed kh2 just came out, fixing some of the issues (i’ll highlight the ones fixed by refreshed)

I thought it wasn't working on Steam

That’s why i said “refreshed” and “just came out”; it’s a new version, currently only on discord though

[add]

BUMP

[Big Rios]

Originally posted by GillianMC:

Originally posted by the_randomizer1889:

I thought it wasn't working on Steam

That’s why i said “refreshed” and “just came out”; it’s a new version, currently only on discord though

That's great news, at least we can mod this collection to make it work.

[Bitwolf]

Latest bleeding edge proton had over 100 commits to media foundation and other video stuff. KH videos now play fine without any extra installs or Steamdeck=1!

[GillianMC]

neat

[keybounce]

Originally posted by GillianMC:

refreshed kh2 just came out, fixing some of the issues (i’ll highlight the ones fixed by refreshed)

Where and how can I get this? In particular, KH2 is unplayable for me -- the initial cutscene dies if I reach Roxas on the bed, and if I abort it before that, it dies when it wants me to start giving commands/movement.

Also, Github makes it look like refreshed was abandoned about 9 months ago.

Also: How was "SteamDeck=1" supposed to make videos work before? Trying to make things work, I had this as my properties string:
SteamDeck=1 %command% -reboot=true

Which bypassed one of the initial copyright strings, but still did not fix video playback. (side note: Are they really plain .mp4's and can't play? -- no, VLC does not like them, what gives?)

[Bitwolf]

Originally posted by keybounce:

Originally posted by GillianMC:

refreshed kh2 just came out, fixing some of the issues (i’ll highlight the ones fixed by refreshed)

Where and how can I get this? In particular, KH2 is unplayable for me -- the initial cutscene dies if I reach Roxas on the bed, and if I abort it before that, it dies when it wants me to start giving commands/movement.

Also, Github makes it look like refreshed was abandoned about 9 months ago.

Also: How was "SteamDeck=1" supposed to make videos work before? Trying to make things work, I had this as my properties string:
SteamDeck=1 %command% -reboot=true

Which bypassed one of the initial copyright strings, but still did not fix video playback. (side note: Are they really plain .mp4's and can't play? -- no, VLC does not like them, what gives?)

On bleeding edge proton, you shouldn't need the steamdeck command anymore, also the videos are just mp4's, but theres a bit of data in them that the game reads that VLC and other players cannot.