Outside the likes of spin-off title Melody of Memory, the Kingdom Hearts series has largely sat out the hybrid offerings of the Nintendo Switch, but the games’ absence is now set to end with the recently announced release of the mainline trilogy. Launching as three separate “Cloud Editions,” each title will only be accessed through an online connection to cloud servers, rather than through a traditional hardware-optimized port.

Explaining the decision to go all-in on the cloud, Kingdom Hearts producer Ichiro Hazama recalled the “great deal of consideration” dedicated to making these Nintendo Switch ports a reality in an interview with Nintendo Life. Mentioning the many times director Tetsuya Nomura spoke of such ports, Hazama described the endeavor as “quite difficult for various reasons,” specifically citing the limited “storage capacity” of the popular hybrid hardware.

“Bringing these titles to Nintendo Switch proved to be quite difficult for various reasons, including the storage capacity of the hardware, but we’re excited that we were able to make it happen for the first time ever by utilizing the Cloud service.”

As viable internet speeds and availability vary from place to place, some fans may be understandably upset that Kingdom Hearts isn’t being natively ported to the Nintendo Switch. However, as many developers have suggested in the past, the feat has proven to be a considerable undertaking for games of a certain scale, with acclaimed ports like The Witcher 3 and DOOM Eternal requiring nothing short of modern miracles to operate at a favorable capacity.

As Hazama has similar concerns for the trilogy on Switch, it’s no surprise cloud versions are being pursued instead. With that said, the producer didn’t entirely close the book on the matter, with native ports declared “undecided” for the time being. “At this moment in time, the production of a native version is undecided,” Hazama said. “We believe that the Cloud version is currently the best way to deliver the Kingdom Hearts series to Nintendo Switch players.”

“We are always excited to hear feedback from our fans and want to thank them for all their support.”

Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX, 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue, and Kingdom Hearts 3 + Re:Mind are in development for Nintendo Switch via Cloud Editions. Each game is currently available for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

What do you think? Are you upset that Kingdom hearts games are only getting Cloud Editions, or are you glad to be getting Sora’s adventures on Switch at all at this point? Let us know in the comments below and be sure to follow Don’t Feed the Gamers on Twitter and Facebook to be informed of the latest gaming and entertainment news 24 hours a day!​

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