While I’ve been an avid gamer my whole life there is one point in history where it was the hobby of choice. That period began about midway through the first Playstation’s lifespan before truly peaking during the following generation of consoles. I’d been lucky enough to grab a Dreamcast near the end of it’s run, an Xbox from the holiday it launched, and a PS2 a couple years after that, plus my nephew owned a Gamecube. This was an era of truly astonishing video games as companies had the tech and cash to make some wild ideas come to life but had yet to become obsessed with online features and market research. So many favorites come from this time be it Shenmue 1-2, Jet Set Radio (and the even better Future), Otogi, crap loads of Final Fantasy, Tales of, Katamari, just so much wonderful gaming. Then there was a game so daffy sounding it just had to be a work of Genius, Kingdom Hearts.
I got the first game not long after getting a PS2 and was quickly sucked in. I missed both variations of the Chain of Memories spin-off but was first in line for KHII. For some reason I ended up getting distracted near the end and failed to reach the finish line. In the following years more spin-offs would emerge on different consoles with me making a promise to one day go back and catch up. Even as the long-awaited third main game came barreling our way I wasn’t prepared, having yet to carve out the time to do a proper series run-though. This past Christmas brought me the complete ps4 packing, and Melody of Memory showed up soon after. So I’ve spent the vast majority of my gaming hours in 2021 marching through the franchise with only small breaks for some Trine and Ys as life requires some variety. With a healthy sized chunk under my belt I thought I’d share the journey with you all.
Kingdom Hearts
The immediate worry when returning to an old favorite is whether or not it holds up to your memories. Plus there’s always the potential loss of your former skills (oh how I used to be so damn good at Mario 3). Coming back all these years later it was amazing how well Kingdom Hearts has held up. Most of the problems I have with it now were the same I had back then. And while there’s plenty of little issues spread throughout the adventure the total experience never feels broken or aimless.
When the game was new it was easy to fear how it might become some heartless corporate cash-grab via the melding of Disney and Final Fantasy with new heroes and mythology tying it all together. The surprising aspects of the mixture were how the game used FF stuff sparingly, paid honor to all these classic animated films, and let the original stuff take the wheel.
This first outing is so pure in it’s structure as a young boy named Sora is separated from his home and friends by interdimensional beings known as Heartless who serve at the behest of a league of Disney villains and a strange man named Ansem. Teaming up with Goofy and Donald Duck the trio travels from world to world befriending characters from different properties and slowly unfolding bizarre questions about existence.
The gameplay elements from exploration to battles were all fairly basic. Each world might bring its own wrinkle but largely players are running, jumping, and slashing their way through through thousands of enemies and the occasional giant boss. While there’s a few nifty trick like a lock-on and customizable quick commands there are still times when players must contort their hands to scroll through menus while also surviving tense encounters. In fact the game is surprisingly challenging given the subject matter with a few nasty bosses to contend with. That brings up the topic of difficulty balance which is something of an issue throughout the series. This one is mostly consistent save for a few spikes, the wonderland boss for example is a bit much for so early in the game.
There’s countless little issues to be found yet the adventure never feels cheap, broken, or aimless. Even with some control issues, difficulty spikes, and a few portions that feel underdeveloped (lookin at you Halloweentown), the game manages to keep me hooked decades later on what was probably my third or fourth playthrough. There’s a reason the game became an overnight sensation which largely that nameless sort of passion that just permeates the project. You never feel slighted because there’s always a new discovery or wonder to be fund, all of it leading to what is still one of the greatest, and saddest, endings in all of gaming.
Re: Chain of Memories
Allow me a short tangent if you will. What a minute, this is my blog so I’ll tangent however much I want. Ya know how there’s like a dozen Assassin’s Creed games? (not accounting for weirdo spin-offs). Well I’ve beaten all but maybe 2 of em, even wwent so far as to platinum Odyssey. My point is that no matter how much you enjoy a series there’s always an installment that just doesn’t jive. In that series it’s the original and Unity. With Kingdom Hearts it’s this card based midquel.
Originally put together as a Game Boy Advance title this was later remind in 3-D using assets from the main entries. The story concerns Sora and his pals being lead to a bizarre ruin called Castle Oblivion that messes with the memories of those who venture within. Using cards the heroes are able to revisit locations from the first game restructured into small rooms of a seemingly endless castle along with simulated takes on their allies and acquaintances. Within the franchise this game is notable for introducing this location, Organization XIII, and major characters like Namine and Axel.
So what is it that puts me off about Chain of Memories is that’s it’s a combination of two of my least liked sub-genres; card games and dungeon crawls. You’re using cards to navigate this endless maze of rooms based on events you’ve already experienced while attempting to grasp a weird new combat style where enemies can cancel your healing simply by playing a higher number. Those who have gotten into the combat sings its praises and I’m sure there’s something there but it’s a tough one to stay motivated on to the extent that I decided to move past it.
The key factors that made me skip a full playthrough for now is that I knew the game would kill my pace, and I already knew the main story well-enough to continue. One day I’m gonna sit myself down and make an honest attempt at this one but it’s gonna be a while and possibly I’ll swing for the original GBA version as it looks a bit more manageable with a slower pace.
358/2 Days story
While the entire Kingdom Hearts Franchise is sort of available on modern consoles, entries like this Nintendo DS game are condensed into story digest movies. I’ve heard the actual game can be something of a drag as the game-play portions are very padded but I’ve no way of knowing how true those statements are. As for the story this is a nice slice of the KH world.
Beginning near the later portions of the first game, running alongside Chain of Memories, and leading straight into KH II we get to see the experiences of Roxas, Axel, and a new character named Xion. Considering this was released after part II players already knew the fates of the first two but had never heard of the third which of course means you should prepare for some tragic stuff. Really the most important factor here is how the game establishes the theme of this series being about trios of friends who are caught up in a cruel and outlandish conflict. As a viewing experience it’s not too bad either though you get the feeling you’re missing out on some developments regarding the other members of Organization XIII.
Despite warnings about the games repetitive nature and the fact that I now know the main story I’d actually like to settle down with an original DS copy someday.
Kingdom Hearts II
As I mentioned earlier I failed to complete KH II way back in the day. I’d wondered whether I’d have the same issue of motivation this time out and this newest play-through of the game helped me to better identify why I fell behind in the first place. If the first game is that crush you always cherish, this one is the well-meaning romance that turns abusive.
I must make it clear that I’m not declaring this to be a bad game, simply a lesser follow-up. There’s still tons I love about the adventure from it’s wild opening hours as Roxas to the selections of worlds that includes the likes of Tron and Steamboat Willie. New party members Auron and the aforementioned Tron are always a blast to fight alongside. Plus the story still contains that wild mix of childlike glee and soul-crushing depression.
Picking up from the weird events of Chain of Memories leaves Sora in the position of still searching for his friends while dealing with old villains like Melificent and new threats in the guise of the nobodies and Organization XIII. There’s a lot of mythology and world-building as players finally learn who the real villain is while also visiting important locals like Disney Castle. What’s odd about the story is that it feels like they were trying to wrap things up even though they’d yet to really reveal what was going on. Way back when it was new that wasn’t so much of an issue but when playing the series in a row it sticks out as shortsighted.
There are roughly three interlocked issues that make part II such an irritating topic for me. One is the forced variety that changes so many of the games big moments into special mini-games or transforms them into quicktime events. This combines and contributes to a wildly unbalanced difficulty which is somehow a bit worse in the final mix version thanks to the addition of another weirdly overpowered boss in the last act. Seriously I thought he must be one of those moments you’re supposed to loose give the damage output but no. The second round sounded sorta like a Dragonball episode with me screaming my way to victory. It drives me crazy because the game doesn’t offer the challenge for a player to master the gameplay but instead asks them to adapt to whatever new novelty happens to permeate the next fight. You might spend a minute making sure Donald and Goofey have the right skills for a big boss only to find you’re forced to pair only with Simba and pound the triangle button to monotonous prompts.
The last part of the trio is the drive system. In the first game you slowly gain access to new maneuvers like the ever so useful dodge roll or high jump. In this game those commands are gained and upgraded by upgraded special battle forms called drives which are fixed to a quickly extinguished gauge and each form has their own unique leveling method. That locks many of the best abilities behind multiple progression walls as players must obtain a form and then find how best to upgrade it. Adding insult is how the game basically neglects to tell you how important this whole subset of upgrading is so some players may wonder why the hell they keep struggling without a proper dodge or high jump.
The pacing also suffers from the choice of having players visit nearly every world twice. You lose a lot of the sense of progression by having to retread each area. Plus some of the worlds have been needlessly changed. Whereas Atlantica had formally brought a new wrinkle to combat with its swimming mechanics it now served as a dreadfully simplistic rhythm game.
I still have a soft spot for a lot of what this game has to offer. The opening section as Roxas ranks among the great left-turns in gaming, Donald and Goofy are still the best support crew, and there’s a much better selection of worlds to play through. The constant forced variety and nonsensical challenges do a lot to curb my overall enjoyment of the adventure. Still; I finally finished the game after all these years and was newly free to delve deeper.
Birth by Sleep
Despite all my irritation towards part II this prequel totally revived my love for the franchise thanks to a major overhaul of fighting and upgrading with storytelling that alters the focus of the greater mythology.
Expanding on the concept of multiple playable characters players now have the ability to play through distinctly different takes on the game by playing as 3 separate characters. Once all three campaigns are complete a final episode unlocks and, if you’ve done the needed steps, a secret episode can be unlocked after that. Suffice to say this was a longer experience with a Kingdom Hearts title and that’s not even getting into all the side content like kart-racing, arena battles, and a very useful boardgame that lets you acquire and upgrade commands.
Story wise this is prequel begins ten years before the first game and immediately raises major questions within the first few scenes involving Destiny Islands and series villain Xehanort who looks much older than we’ve seen in the other games. As for the three protagonists they range in combat styles with very different personalities. Terra is arguably the Aniken Skywalker of the series, a dopey meathead with a tendency to make horrible choices. Not helping matters is his voice-actor who delivers much of the dialogue in very bland manner. As for fighting he’s a physical tank which makes his role as the first suggested campaign makes sense. Second up is Ventus; a boy who plays, looks, and sounds a whole lot like Roxas. Finally there’s the magically attuned lady, Aqua. She’s sort of the soulful waif type and requires the most mastery of command melding to turn her into a spell-slinging badass. As everything unfolds you get to learn the origin of major locations, the reasons why Sora and his friends were drawn to this greater conflict, and start to ask questions about larger matters like the Keyblade War.
The biggest contributors to my love for Birth by Sleep are the retooled combat system and the accompanying command meld/ability upgrade system. Both aspects are so perfectly connected it’s difficult to think of them as separate entities. Battles themselves are largely the same real-time hackfest they’ve always been. The pacing and timing has been tightened, almost stiffened in a way that creates a nice flow to combat. It’s easier to gauge when to attack, dodge, and block. More complex moves like spells or special attacks are handled as a sub-menu of equipped commands. Once each command is mastered it can be mixed with others to form new ones that may include permanent abilities providing more health, defense, or ways to earn experience. Since you routinely have to upgrade small, basic commands to make bigger and better versions upgrading becomes a joy since you’re always accomplishing something of value. The command system can be as basic or nutty as you desire. On my opening play-through as Terra I mostly stuck to core stuff like Firaga, stumbled into some Surges, etc. By the 3rd run as Aqua I was creating top-tier rare commands that are almost game breaking in their usefulness.
Unfortunately Birth by Sleep still dabbles in the occasional bout of sudden nonsense, namely the final battle of Ventus’s campaign. After two rounds of straight dueling the game suddenly twists into a rock paper scissors button mash to charge up a special attack that can miss the opponent, oh and they take away your healing options too. It’s not even all that challenging as it is confounding. Somewhat in the nonsense camp are the shifting requirements to unlock the secret episode. This becomes easier to do depending on your choice of difficulty. For the standard difficulty, at least in the final mix version, you have to hunt down every report, sticker, and take out 9999 enemies. The game does not give you an easy method to track your K.O.s and what made it so much worse for me is that nobody warned me of when the keyslinger trophy pops. I spent hours turning the castle from Cinderella into a slaughterhouse yet that goddamn trophy refused to pop. I added up just the kill count between Aqua and Terrra & found myself hundreds of enemies past the mark. Giving up in frustration I moved on with the game only to find keyslinger unlocked upon finishing the final episode… seriously. Speaking of the secret episode; that last boss was another one of those weird difficulty spikes which is a shame since this one generally has a steady challenge.
All in all this was the best entry since the original and a major bright spot in the series marathon.
Re:coaded story
Re:coaded originally released for the DS and to a certain extent seems like babies first Kingdom Hearts. After serving as the record keeper during past games, Jiminy Cricket finds his diary of the first adventure to be mostly blank save for some entries he didn’t write. Seeking the aid of King Micky and the others they digitally scan the journal and call on the help of a data created Sora to eliminate the bugs that are blocking information from being restored while visiting old locals like Wonderland.
I feel like very few people properly discuss just how weird and meta this thing gets. You’re watching video game variations of cartoon characters who are in turn interacting with a digitized version of their friend and another being who is the personification of a mystery journal. It’s fuckin madness. It does have some importance to the overall narrative since it brings up the topic of the trios from Birth and Days and suggests how a certain villain might return. That said the story doesn’t make for the most entertaining viewing experience.
Perhaps things would be different if I’d actually played through the game as I might then have developed a closer bond with Data Sora. Otherwise it’s just such a strange and cumbersome way of presenting an important bridge between titles since there’s endless corny inspirational speeches, and two obvious stretches to pad out the game including a last-minute return to Castle Oblivion. I still love the way it sets up future games but I can see why people look down on this one since this is such a cumbersome way to bridge titles together.
Right this moment I’m in the midst of Dream Drop Distance, with just a few bits left to go before the big number III and Melody of Memory cap it all off. Frankly I’m a bit surprised I haven’t lost my mind or gotten totally sidetracked. There’s just something so inherently thrilling to going all in on such unique and varied piece of entertainment. Way back in the first game I fought a man who merged with pure evil to become some sort of flesh-vessel. Now I’m befriending spirits and helping out the Hunchback of Notre Dame. So wish me luck dear readers as I continue this journey and down the line, maybe around May, I can tell you how it wraps up.
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