Game Review - Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain Of Memories
Name: Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain Of Memories (1.5 Remix)
Console: PS2/3/4 (PS4 Reviewed although all are owned)
I know, I'm changing things up straight after the first review of this series. Trust me you don't want me repeating myself with this game.
Bit of background first: Kingdom Hearts: Chain Of Memories was a sequel to the original game but released on the Game Boy Advanced. Of course a sequel on another device didn't sit well with fans and many choice to skip it. Cut to Kingdom Hearts II and everyone who didn't play the GBA were confused to buggery... I like that word.
Square Enix released a PS2 remake later on to make up for this... sort of.
STORY TIIIIIME!
After the ending of Kingdom Hearts we see Sora, Donald and Goofy running after Pluto to god knows where whilst looking for King Mickey and Riku.
This game opens up immediately after where Sora bumps into a mysterious hooded figure who guides him to a warped castle. There the gang forget all of their abilities and have to start from scratch WITH A CATCH!
The hooded figure reveals that their abilities have been changed to cards! This includes Donald and Goofy.
We are then left with this statement: "In Castle Oblivion, to find is to lose and to lose is to find". Paraphrasing probably.
With that said Sora and the gang must climb the castle whilst exploring their memories of previous Disney worlds.
MINOR ANNOYANCE TIIIIME!
I don't mind this premise, in fact I like it for a GBA title and understand it in the remake as it's inconsequential besides from introducing certain characters and setting up the whereabouts of certain things later on. With that being said I'm still going to point out flaws in this story. That flaw being that Sora forgets every Disney world AFTER ARRIVING TO THE SECOND FLOOR! Seriously all of those hours meeting Disney characters are gone within minutes of the game.
Alright rant over.
GAMEPLAY TIIIIME!
The entire game revolves around the use of cards. More specifically card values. If you play a card with a higher number value to that of your opponent you cancel their attack and use your card.
Cards are numbered 0-9 with the 1-9 acting as normal attack/magic/item cards whereas 0 cards act as a special card that can cancel any opponent card no matter what.
You can create "sleights" by combining three cards using the triangle button to select said cards and unleashing the attack chain or special ability depending on the value of the combined cards. Note that the first card of each sleight is gone until the end of the battle or if you use an item like a potion or ether.
Battle cards can be earned either through the overworlds, by hitting various objects, or through moogle shops.
We'll return to battle cards in a bit.
Each world is presented as a labyrinth created by yourself depending on which map cards you use on which door.
Map cards can have special traits attached to them such as a room with more Heartless or a room containing a moogle shop.
You earn map cards through winning battles.
Your main objective is to collect story cards to progress to the three story rooms of each world, fight a boss and then move onto the next.
Notice how I haven't jumped out with an opinion yet...
MAJOR RANT TIIIIME!
OH MY GOD THIS GAME IS BROKEN!
As long as you use sleights you'll beat regular enemies as they only have 1-9 cards meaning that even if you lose cards by using them it doesn't matter as corpses will fill your screen before you notice.
The one exception are bosses but even then, despite them having 0 cards I HAVE POTIONS meaning that if a sleight failed I can immediately try again and again until I deal a massive amount of damage.
Sonic Blade IS BROKEN IN THIS GAME! If you have enough cards to keep using this then you'll easily get 8 hits per sleight that will deal one FULL HEALTH BAR of damage.
My deck was stacked with cards that enable Sonic Blade very early in the game...
To say this was a challenge would be a massive over exaggeration. The final boss took no time at all to kill and he's widely considered to be the hardest boss in the game...
Of course you might not get as lucky as me due to one three letter abbreviation: RNG!
Random Number Generator meaning that every card you get is up to fate. Hell you might never get a over 5 valued card until the last world. I've seen it happen and it's all thanks to the game's randomness.
I got lucky of course but it's bulls*** either way.
It can turn a playthrough anywhere between 10 hours to 40 hours taking it completely frustrating.
Now onto the worlds or rather BOXES!
The only difference between worlds in this game are the colour schemes and I'm not even joking. I wiped out so many items leaving nothing but a series of barren wastelands behind me.
By the time I got to the third world I was sick of it.
I know I'm generating the rooms using cards but some variety between them would've been nice!
SPOILER TIIIIME!
If you don't want the plot spoiled then please look away!
As we explore the castle Sora begins to lose his memories of various events in the past and they are replaced with a girl name Namine. All the meanwhile we are being chased and egged on by members of "The Organisation". These characters make up the cast and, for the most part, make the game bearable.
Axel and Larxene are a joy to see in any Kingdom Hearts game. They chew scenery like no one else in this franchise and it pleases me so!
As for the other members we're introduced to, if it wasn't for 358/2 Days I would've forgotten them as quickly as they appeared.
Anyway, as we quickly ascend the Castle we learn that Namine is a witch who has been reluctantly rewriting Sora's memories to include her at the forefront. She is quick to apologies and they make up but not before Marluxia, the leader of this rebel section of the "Organisation" takes Sora on. 7ish Sonic Blades later and he's killed by Sora... Welp...
Namine promises to restore Sora's memory on the condition that he sleeps for a year, effectively giving Kingdom Hearts II an excuse to start from scratch.
We also learn that all memory of this game's events will be wiped out meaning, yes, this was pointless except for introducing Kingdom Hearts II's baddies and explaining where Sora and Co are at the start of that game.
STORY TIIIIMEeee?
Yeah after you've beaten the game Riku's story "Reverse Rebirth" unlocks.
It's much shorter, more focused and has more of an identity.
In this game Riku travels up Castle Oblivion whilst learning how to cope with the darkness within him from Kingdom Hearts.
I can do something here which I can't do with Sora's story: EMOTE!
This is a redemption story and considering Riku was possessed for 70% of the first game I'm glad to see him take charge here. Even if it's brief. No memory nonsense, just a simple but powerful story from beginning to end.
GAMEPLAY TIIIIME!
Simple enough, it's the same as Sora's but with a few gimmicks.
Cards are set before each battle meaning that you can't remove or change them however, SHOCK, THEY'RE NOT RANDOM!!!!
So Riku's game is actually a lot more consistent and challenging in comparison to Sora's because you have to work with a pattern you're given from the start of each fight making decks easier to learn and abilities more fun to pull off because your actually did something rather than just mashing buttons!
Don't get me wrong, when Riku enters his Dark Riku form the game becomes slightly broken again, thanks to duels where you have to challenge an opponents series of cards within a time limit leading to a massive series of attacks afterwards.
The flow just works better here though.
ENDING TIIIIME!
Riku, along with help from Mickey, learns to use his darkness as a weapon and decides to set out with Mickey to learn about the evil "Organisation" and how to stop them for good.
A much simpler ending as well.
CONCLUSION TIIIIME!
I would be pissed off with this game but in all actuality I understand why this game has the faults it has.
This was GBA game. The point was to entertain both fans and newcomers on the go and it did. Whilst the broken mechanics remain the same I'm sure playing it on a portable system was reason enough to pick it up. The plot was meant to be attached to the series without making the next big title seem lesser because of it. It's just that in doing so you actually made this game more important to play regardless. A stupid mistake, but one I can forgive.
And then they remade it.
Want to know something else about this game?
IT WAS RELEASED ON PS2 IN 2008! THE PS3 WAS RELEASED IN 2006!
Way to market your game Square Enix and Disney...
6/10 - Watch the cutscenes online and you'll do just fine... I rhymed XD