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Joined: Sat Aug 30, 2008 9:43 pm EDT
17 Game Reviews

Written By: Romel Ramos
D&W Reviews Editor

Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories for the PlayStation 2 is the game in-between Kingdom Hearts I and Kingdom Hearts II. Originally released for the GBA, Chain of Memories has been remade with upgraded visuals for the PS2. However, looks can be deceiving (and in Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories' case, they are). Sure, it has better graphics than the GBA version and sure, it has Sora and the rest of the Kingdom Hearts crew, but what it lacks is anything new (that is if you've played both Kingdom Hearts I and II).

If you’ve played Kingdom Hearts II before; you’re really not missing much, as the story of Chain of Memories is primarily explained in the opening cut scene and later spiels by Naminé. As for those who’ve played Kingdom Hearts I… Chain of Memories is essentially a walk down memory lane. In Kingdom hearts Re: Chain of Memories, our heroes Sora, Donald, and Goofy come across Castle Oblivion. This castle takes Sora’s memories and ends up turning them into a barricade against him as he ventures to the top floor. So basically, every floor until the top will be a stage you’ve already visited in the first game. Such levels include Wonderland, Agrabah, Traverse Town, etc. Unfortunately the level choice becomes somewhat mundane after a while, most due to the fact that there’s no real driving force in the storyline, just a sense of nostalgic remembrance until you reach the top.

Battle:
The only thing that’s different in Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories compared to previous Kingdom Hearts games, is the battle system. To get into a battle, you touch a heartless on the map; which takes you to a new screen. During fights; instead of mashing the X button to swing your keyblade (like in Kingdom Hearts I & II), you use battle cards to strategically win. The system may seem difficult to understand at first; but you get used to it as you play further into the game. There are 3 types of battle cards [keyblade, magic, and support] and on each card is a number. You can only equip a certain amount on Sora, but while on the battlefield you’re free to use them at your disposal. All the enemies have numbered cards as well and sometimes end up using them at the same time you do; in which case, it’s the stronger card [numerically] that wins. Skills in Chain of Memories are called Sleights and in order to access them you must manually combine 3 cards during battle; and depending on the card types and sums of the combined cards, you perform a special attack. [For example, combining 3 blizzard cards creates blizzaga; combining 3 keyblade cards that have a sum of 1-6 unleashes the skill "Ars Arcanum".] Bosses can also use sleights and in order to cancel them you must get a stronger sum of numbers or simply cancel it with a 0-numbered card. Later on in the game, the battle system gets genuinely repetitive as you can are confined to using the same sleights over and over to defeat giant groups of heartless. Lastly, Goofy and Donald do not fight alongside Sora as they have traditionally done so in the previous two games, in Chain of Memories they are summon cards which; on occasion, randomly float about the battlefield.

Gameplay:
The main goal in Chain of Memories is to reach the top of Castle Oblivion by progressing through the various floors. Every floor corresponds to a place Sora’s been to in the first game, be it Agrabah, Wonderland, etc. Furthermore each floor is divided into a set of rooms all connected to each other. What will show up in the rooms is up to the player. After defeating a group of enemies, Sora receives cards used to create rooms. Some cards create rooms with save points or contain treasure chests, and certain cards spawn enemies of varied skill level. Important rooms are specially marked on the map, seeing as they require special cards to enter and as a direct result, advances the plot. To beat a floor, Sora must get through all the special rooms. There are usually three special rooms on every floor.

Story:
There’s really nothing new here. If you’ve watched past the ending credits in the first game, you know that Sora and crew come across Pluto and chase him, eventually catching up to the cartoon dog [spilling into Chain of Memories] in Castle Oblivion. Here they meet Axel plus a couple more Organization XIII members; who in Kingdom Hearts 2 are already dead (killed by Sora and company). With a vague feeling of home coming upon him (as well as Riku and Kairi); Sora and company run up to the top of castle, while suffering from distorted memories. Later on, the mystery of who Naminé is comes into play. [However, this mystery is already addressed in Kingdom Hearts 2]. When you finish Sora’s part, you are able to jump into Riku’s side of the journey.

Graphics, Voice Acting, etc:
The graphics look similar (if not the same) as the first Kingdom Hearts. All the character models are practically carbon copies of those in the original game. The voice acting in Chain of Memories is decent, however the script is atrocious. They use the word "treason" in just about every line during the second half of the game and the side conversations between the three heroes, which are meant to rekindle a sense of friendship fall short. The in-game music is largely unchanged from the first game with too few noteworthy tracks.

In the end, this game is catered towards hardcore fans of the series. People who are playing Kingdom Hearts for the first time would be better off skipping this chapter. And for the people who played the GBA version of Chain of Memories and thought it was a simply average game should steer clear of this PS2 version as well. This lovely-looking, sugar-coated, Kingdom Hearts stamped game, is anything but sweet. Filled with monotony and containing nothing new, it’s a like walking down memory lane with a sprained ankle and splitting migraine.

PROS/CONS
+new battle system
+more organization, XIII member info [for the fanatics]
-lackluster storyline
-battle system gets repetitive
-the whole game gets repetitive

6/10

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