Kingdom Hearts was a surprisingly great adventure in the eyes of many an RPG fan, while Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories was satisfying to some fans and to others a disappointment. How does the third game (despite being billed as the second) in the series stack up? This game is rated E-10 and is on the PS2, and the Review's on a scale of 5.
Story: 4
The story starts out much like the original;
you're a young boy (Roxas) hanging out with his friends, until bizarre
circumstances and weird dreams cause everything the character knows to
change. Very interesting actually, with a lot of unique twists and references
to Chain of Memories. But soon, you're back to
being with Sora and, while most of
the story is interesting, the only places as Sora that are particularly
exciting are the non-Disney worlds and Port Royal, though the latter's
probably only because I haven't seen Pirates of the Caribbean.
Graphics: 5
It's hard to appreciate the graphics during a lot of the game since most worlds look overly cartoony to fit with the Disney theme. But Port Royal looks amazing, a lot of the backgrounds are nice, the opening video is even more impressive than that in the original, and the non-Disney worlds also look fantastic, especially Hollow Bastion.
Sound: 4 1/2
The voices are done well, and the background noise sounds very nice as well. The voice actors are very much into their roles for the most part (though I just wasn't feeling it during Cloud's cutscenes, despite the fact that Sephiroth's voice actor was perfect for the role). Maleficent sounds different than she did before, but you can tell it's actually an attempt by the same voice actress to improve upon her performance in the last game.
Battles: 5
The battles are more highly evolved
from before without losing the simple charm of the last game. Reaction
commands are a lot more commonplace, and the new Drive abilities are all
pretty cool. The enemies are much more diverse this time around, and you
can do a lot more too; at some points, you can change out
party members mid-fight (unlike before
where you had to use a save point) and you can do a bunch of new combos.
The only real complaint is that summoning is near impossible now, as there
are very specific conditions rather than a simple spell like before.
Characters: 5
Roxas is the kind of guy you'll hate at first but soon grow to love, and Sora, Donald, and Goofy all are much more interesting this time around. Most of the other characters have personalities too, and it was a nice move to include those who were summons in the original game remembering Sora, despite the fact it wasn't really necessary. The developments in the characters from the original of Xenahort (you'll find out who he is and what he has to do with things), Mickey, and others are nicely done, and new characters as well as those from Chain of Memories are used perfectly too. Cloud's subplot is pretty boring, but not enough so for it to mean anything. Hades, by the way, is one of those guys you just can't hate, because he has some awesome one-liners in this game.
Difficulty: 3 1/2
Not as hard as the original game (not that the original game was very hard), but part of that has to do with the fact that I've got experience from the previous venture and that Sora has more powerful abilities than before. The game gets tough as it gears toward the end, but it does so at a rate where it's gradual and you'll hardly notice.
Weapons: 4
The planned Create a Keyblade was cut, but they added in new weapons for the Gummi Ship, and they added in some new Keyblades with some old. My personal favorite from the original, the Oathkeeper, is back, and a few others are, though for the most part the Keyblades are new (odd that the Jungle King Keyblade didn't make a return though, since this time you actually do go to the Pridelands, and do get a Keyblade there...)
Extras: 3 1/2
There is only one non-Underdrome optional boss in this game (Sephiroth), as well as the fact that the dalmatians aren't in it nor are the trinities, so there really isn't much else to do. There are a lot more tournaments to take part in though, and there are far more minigames to be played.
Controls: 4
The controls have been switched around so as to provide a more efficient manner in which to battle and plunder at the same time. Summon's new method of execution is annoying, but other than that everything is fine.
Length: 4
The game is a nice length, but unfortunately
a lot of that comes from repeating every world except the Disney Castle
and the Timeless River. If the game were to cut to its ending motions immediately
after the showdown at Hollow Bastion, the game could be considered insanely
short (for an RPG anyway- for
anything else, it'd be considered a
long game), so it's really not fair to judge it on the call to repeat the
worlds either way.
Worlds:
Twilight Town: 4 1/2
Making its 3D debut (a fake version
was in Chain of Memories), this world plays the role Destiny Islands had
in the original, except that the time at the beginning is much longer here,
and you return to this place semi-frequently. This is the only world in
which you play as Roxas, though you also play as Sora here.
Hollow Bastion: 5
This world looks incredibly different
from how it did in the original, really not bearing any actual resemblance.
This is your main base of operations, and home to an incredible battle
in which you must single-handedly defeat 1,000 enemies. That constitutes
bonus points, heh.
Land of Dragons: 3 1/2
Despite the fact that this world has
been likely the most anticipated, there really isn't much to do here. Ping/Mulan
is an interesting partner and one that will prove to be quite useful, but
the world is really rather forgettable besides a small plot point that
rises up here.
Beast's Castle: 4
Nice world, nice boss, boring plot
in between. The typical "good guy loses sight and goes nuts, killing everybody"
story, only done poorly. At least the bosses of this world are pretty cool,
besides Beast who is a pushover.
Olympus Coliseum: 5
I'm not sure why this is named what
it is since almost all of the fighting takes place in the Underworld, but
whatever. It's nice to get a bit of nostalgia from the original here, and
the Underdrome is much cooler than the coliseum of the last game. Auron
is an awesome partner, though he doesn't stick around very long before
departing.
Disney Castle: 3
Blah. Really easy level, not sure what
purpose it even serves to the storyline, but whatever. No real point, but
it is a great place to gain much-needed experience for the upcoming trip
to Port Royal.
Timeless River: 3 1/2
This place looks really cool with its
black-and-white style and is a bit innovative in concept, but is ultimately
pretty boring. This houses your second and third run-ins with Pete, and
I'm not really sure the point of including this world either, besides to
kill some time and offer some closure to your dealings with Pete (well,
confrontations at least- he still appears later, just not as a foe you
directly fight).
Port Royal: 5
Very nice area. The acting is top-notch
and Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Pete manage to tie in well with the world
(though they look out of place). The amount of programming that must have
gone into making the pirates change form depending upon if they're in the
moonlight or not, as well as change their vulnerabilty, is impressive in
and of itself. The fact that the moonlight movesduring some battles is
just plain amazing, and really makes a huge difference in how you are to
go about fighting the pirates.
Agrabah: 3 1/2
Though the plot is fairly original
here, the world is less interesting than it was in the last game. It's
fun, and it's nice to see Agrabah and the Cave of Wonders did get redesigned
like Hollow Bastion and Halloween Town, though you get a sense more of
deja vu than you do nostalgia.
Halloween Town: 4
Your experience here references the
movie quite a bit, which is bizarre considering that the original broke
its continuity quite a bit. Jack Skellington is not as useful as before,
but this world is still pretty fun and is redesigned from before.
The Pride Lands: 1 1/2
Sora's lion form is cute, but the battling
in this place is ridiculously flawed (Sora's lion form moves way too fast
for any of your major hits to amount to much, and you can't use Drives),
the plot is incredibly boring (not altered in the slightest bit, besides
adding some Heartless and Sora and crew), and the hyenas and Scar are all
incredibly weak adversaries. The other boss in this area, Groundshaker,
is tougher, but still not very interesting.
Space Paranoids: 2 1/2
I have neither seen nor heard of Tron,
but judging by what I saw of this level, I'm not exactly jumping to see
it. This level's small and boring, with a pretty useless partner as well.
And did I seriously hear Sora using the Friendship Motivational Speech
on a computer program? Come on.
The World That Never Was: 5
Nice, plot-and-battle heavy area that,
much like End of the World in the original, is a worthy and climactic final
confrontation.
Average: 4
Fun Factor: 4
The game keeps itself interesting but at the same time the repeating worlds issue gives you that sense that they're trying to kill time, which is never good. Still, battling through the enemies found throughout the worlds takes your mind off that.
Overall: 4 1/2
This game is highly recommended, and this is coming from somebody who doesn't like much that comes from Disney or Square. The main plot as well as the excellent battles and interesting original characters are a great incentive to buy it, and if you're not really a battling type, there's still plenty of room for many minigames you can play.
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