With Kingdom Hearts III officially in development, series' fans are no doubt chomping at the bit in hopes of seeing some new gameplay footage. Unfortunately, Square Enix has kept Kingdom Hearts III under wraps since its E3 2013 reveal, so hungry fans continue to starve.

To tide them over, Square Enix is working on the localization of Kingdom Hearts 2.5 HD, a high-definition PlayStation 3 re-release of Kingdom Hearts 2, the PSP exclusive Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep, and a cinematic compilation of the Nintendo DS exclusive Kingdom Hearts: Re:coded.

Particularly notable is that the re-mastered games are the "Final Mix" versions — enhanced, Japanese-exclusive releases featuring new enemies, bosses, items, and abilities.

What's in the Final Mix Games?

Kingdom Hearts II saw significant changes with its Final Mix release. On the story side, Final Mix added new event scenes and scenarios, which further fleshed out some characters. This included the addition of a unique story-related boss fight near the end of the game.

On the gameplay side, Final Mix added all of the villainous Organization XIII members as optional, re-fightable boss fights. Some of these bosses and their moves were added to the game entirely from scratch. Final Mix also added the Lingering Spirit super boss, who fans of Birth By Sleep should recognize instantly.

Final Mix added an entirely new dungeon, with enhanced enemies and tough exploration puzzles. It included new enemies, a brand new "Drive" form based on Sora's (the series' protagonist) first Kingdom Hearts outfit and fighting style, two new side quests, and several new weapons and items.

As mentioned before, this version of Kingdom Hearts II was released exclusively in Japan. Kingdom Hearts 2.5 HD Remix will be the first time North American and European audiences will see this content.

The "Final Mix" version of Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep also saw notable additions to the game, but not to the extent of Kingdom Hearts II. The "Aerial Recovery" ability was added for all characters, as well as a new fighting style. The Mirage Arena, a multiplayer-oriented battle-hub, was given three new missions, each of which has an all-new end-boss challenge. A fourth boss was added to the Final Mix version, which is found within an all-new end-game scenario for protagonist Aqua.

Hands-On Impressions of the 2.5 Remix

The Kingdom Hearts II demo dropped Sora into the eerie Halloween Town. You can fight alongside The Nightmare Before Christmas's Jack Skellington and fend off swarms of Christmas and Halloween-inspired Heartless.

Sora was very limited in what he could do during the demo. While he was well suited for slapping around the silly Christmas Heartless that poured in to each area, his move set did not show off any of his new moves. He did have access to his new "Limit" Drive form, which gives Sora his classic Kingdom Hearts fighting style, as well as a responsive guard and quick dodge-roll. But that was about it for his new moves, which is a shame considering how much content is stuffed into the Final Mix version.

Birth By Sleep is relatively unchanged outside of the Mirage Arena content and post-game, neither of which was showcased. I picked up Aqua's demo for a while, which had her run through the Radiant Garden world as she looked for her compatriots Terra and Ventus. She was armed with her standard Keyblade and eight basic command abilities, such as Fire, Thunder, Barrier Surge, and Cure, which supplemented her basic melee attacks. But, aside from a few re-colored "Unversed" enemies, there was nothing in this demo that fans of the game haven't already seen.

Hopefully, we'll see more Kingdom Hearts 2.5 HD Remix content before the game's Dec. 2 PlayStation 3 release.