Lighting issues with Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories (Steam version)

[The_Hyphenator]

Hello. I've been struggling with this issue for close to a month now without answers. Hoping someone here can help.

Playing the Kingdom Hearts 1.5 & 2.5 release on Steam. In Re:Chain of Memories, and ONLY Re:Chain of Memories, I am experiencing an issue with the lighting just...turning off as soon as you enter the first room of the game. The only visible textures are lamps, certain floor border textures, and the chains and zippers on character models. Everything else is pitch-black.

I've tried every fix I can think of. I've uninstalled and reinstalled the game, verified the cache, tried running it as an admin, tried running it in DX11 and Vulkan, adjusted every graphics option in the game, even tried some graphics mods to see if I could get ANY results without success. I've already contacted Square-Enix support, and they were useless, blaming it on the game not being "installed correctly" (it and Steam are both installed on the C drive, vanilla installation). And I can't find ANY other people reporting this bug online.

Hoping someone here can help me out. My specs:

Intel NUC 12 Serpent Canyon:
Core i7 12700H
Arc A770M
64 GB RAM
2 TB SSD
Windows 11

[VonM_Intel]

Hi, The_Hyphenator.

Thank you for posting in our Community.

I understand the persistent issue you're facing with Kingdom Hearts 1.5 & 2.5 on Steam. 

Given your thorough approach: reinstalling the game, verifying the cache, and trying different graphics settings and mods, the issue is still the same. Have you encountered this issue with any other games or is it specific to Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories (Steam version)? Have you checked if there are any system or graphics driver updates available that might address compatibility issues? Have you tried adjusting any system-level settings, such as power management options or display settings, to see if they affect the issue?

Additionally, I'd like to delve deeper and verify specifics like the operating systems, OS builds, and any system errors. Utilizing the Intel SSU tool will enable us to collect detailed information about your system setup, which could aid in identifying the underlying cause of this issue.

Looking forward to your response. Have a nice day!

Best regards,

Von M.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[VonM_Intel]

Hi, The_Hyphenator.

Have you had a chance to review our previous response regarding the persistent issue you're facing with Kingdom Hearts 1.5 & 2.5 on Steam? Please inform us if you require any further assistance. We're here to help.

Von M.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[The_Hyphenator]

Hello,

I have seen your response, but haven't had a chance to reply. To answer your questions, the issue is specific to Re:Chain of Memories. No other games have had this problem for me, even within the KH 1.5 & 2.5 collection. My drivers, Steam and the game itself are all up to date. I have tried changing around some system-level settings to see if there was any impact, such as adjusting brightness and turning HDR off and on, since those seemed most likely to be related to this particular bug. I also installed the game on my girlfriend's Steam Deck and tested it there, and the game ran without issues, so it does seem to be something connected to my particular setup rather than an account issue.

I haven't had the chance to run the utility you linked, but I'll do so tomorrow and report back with my findings.

Thanks.

[The_Hyphenator]

Hello,

I just ran the SSU. The report is attached to this post.

[VonM_Intel]

Hi, The_Hyphenator.

Thanks for the detailed update. I see that you've covered a lot of ground in troubleshooting. I've reviewed the Utility logs you shared and I noticed that both Intel ARC A770M and Iris Xe Graphics have an outdated graphics driver version, 31.0.101.5592. As a first step, I recommend updating your graphics driver to the latest version of 32.0.101.5762 or newer, and let's see if the issue persists. However, since you're using an Intel NUC device, we would like to gently inform you that as of January 16, 2024, the Technical and Warranty Support for Intel's NUC 7 through NUC 13 Systems is now managed by ASUS. For any assistance regarding software, firmware, BIOS support, and security advisories, please visit the ASUS website at ASUS Support. While we realize this may not be your anticipated response, engaging with ASUS technical support will ensure you receive the most specialized assistance. For additional information, we encourage you to review the related articles.

• Customer Support Services for Intel® NUC Products Has Transitioned to ASUS as of January 16, 2024: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000097279/intel-nuc.html
• [NUC] NUC Service, Support, and Warranty Transition FAQs: https://www.asus.com/us/support/faq/1051445/

Furthermore, the generic Intel driver provides users with the latest and greatest feature enhancements and bug fixes that computer manufacturers (OEMs) might not have customized yet. OEM drivers are handpicked and include customized features and solutions to platform-specific needs. Installing this Intel generic graphics driver will overwrite your handpicked OEM graphics driver. Users can check for matching OEM driver versions at OEM websites. For more information on how the installation of this driver may impact your OEM customizations, see this article. 

The driver or software for your Intel® component might have been changed or replaced by the computer manufacturer. We recommend you work with your computer manufacturer before installing our driver so you don’t lose features or customizations.

Best Regards,

Von M.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Blazing_Liger]

I'm having the exact same issue on a desktop with an Arc A770, 16GB running the latest driver 32.0.101.5762.  I just updated, and I always run DDU before installing GPU updates.

Specs as follows:

• Intel Core i7 12700K
• Intel Arc A770, 16GB
• Asus Z690-A Prime motherboard
• 2 TB SSD
• 32 GB DDR5 RAM
• Windows 10

[Blazing_Liger · Accepted solution]

I found a fix messing with the in-game settings.  Turning the "Refresh Rate" in the game settings menu to "Off" appears to have fixed the problem, for anyone else having this issue.

EDIT: This doesn't seem to fix cutscenes, however.

EDIT 2: Framerate must also be set to 'unlocked'. The black textures during cutscenes may be related to the framerate being set and unchangeable for those scenes.

[The_Hyphenator]

Well, I'll be damned, that actually worked for me. I could have sworn I tried that before, but maybe it was updating the graphics driver to the newest version (which wasn't showing up on my ID&SA for some reason) in combination with that.

Thanks for the info!

[VonM_Intel]

Hello, The_Hyphenator.

That's great to hear it worked for you. If I may offer input here, sometimes updating the graphics driver to the latest version can make a big difference, even if it wasn't immediately visible in the Intel Driver & Support Assistant. I'm interested to know if there's anything else you need assistance with. Please feel free to inform us if there's anything more we can do for you.

@Blazing_Liger I understand the challenges you're encountering. I've also observed that the workaround you mentioned resolves issues for @The_Hyphenator. Moreover, thank you for taking the time to share this fix, and hopefully, it may help other community members experiencing similar behavior. However, I would appreciate it if you could start a new thread for your case. This will enable us to concentrate on your particular issue and offer more effective assistance.

Von M.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[VonM_Intel]

Hello, The_Hyphenator.

I trust you're doing well.

I have not heard back from you, we will close this inquiry now. If you need further assistance, please submit a new question as this thread will no longer be monitored.

Best regards,

Von M.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Kaim]

hello, i'm writing you because i have the same problem, also all the FMV appear on screen with a single green and grey spot, you can't see or distinguish anything. this last problem extends to all the games of KH1.5+2.5 but only in Chain of Memories i have the problem of the predominantly black screen and it's not playable. MSI CLAW Intel Core Ultra 7 16GB. I've updated the drivers but it's still the same. i've unlocked the framerate and disabled vertical sync as advised above but it's not useful for me. Any ideas?