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 Alright, I'm not going to take credit for the idea of making a review of an entire series, but I am going to welcome it as a good idea and do one myself. I'll be reviewing the entire Kingdom Hearts series here, not for any particular reason, but just because I like writing these reviews.
Kingdom Hearts
Spoiler: click to toggle  Overview: This is the first game in the series. On paper, it looks like a terrible idea. Mixing the usually whimsical style of Disney with the more serious nature of the Final Fantasy series, but it works remarkably well. I went into this game not knowing what to expect, as I had never been much of a fan of either Disney or Final Fantasy. However, I went in with an open mind, and was pleasantly surprised. The game itself is an Action RPG. You control Sora, the very vocal and usually enthusiastic protagonist, as he travels from world to world, fighting off Heartless and attempting to find your friends. Story: The story of this game is simply fantastic. I love it, and it's one of the main attractions of the game. It begins with Sora and his best friends Riku and Kairi on their home, Destiny Islands, wondering what it's like on other worlds. Then, after preparing a raft to leave on the ocean, a freak storm hits, during which Sora acquires his Keyblade, and the 3 of them are separated. Sora wakes up in Traverse Town, where he meets Donald and Goofy and sets out on a journey to find his friends. Along the way, he goes from world to world in an attempt to find Riku and Kairi, meeting Disney characters all the while and blending in with their stories. Every world seems to be infested with Heartless, which typically give power to the antagonists in each world. I give this a 5 out of 5, due to its utter perfection in every regard, with the exception of a few loose ends to be tied up in future sequels. Gameplay: The gameplay is nearly seamless, at least in my opinion. There are a few issues I have, but they can be addressed later. To begin with, the center of the gameplay is focus on "swordplay," which involves swinging an enormous key around  (Yeah, it's shaped like a key, but they don't sell keyblade keychains at Disneyworld.  ) and attempting to fight of swarms of Heartless. Unsurprisingly, most fights can be won by simply button mashing, but the boss fights will require a bit more strategy, trying to avoid attacks and learning openings to strike and heal. You also have a variety of spells and abilities that can be used, and using them in battle is a bit complicated and difficult to pull off, but still accessible enough to use in intense fights. Moving is done by using one of the analog sticks, and I believe the camera is controlled by the other. The D pad is used to scroll through spells and abilities, and using those on the move is a bit difficult if memory serves. However, they also made it easier and implemented a shortcut system, so you can assign spells, abilities and items that you use often to buttons that can be used much more easily. There is also the use of party members, and for the most part, your partners will be Donald and Goofy. They are controlled by an AI, though you can give directions to the AI, such as telling it to focus on attacking, or use items sparingly. Now, we have to get into the negatives in the gameplay, though there are few. One is that when you enter a new world, you're forced to put that world's character in your party. For example, when you arrive at Agrabah, you need to use Aladdin. This wouldn't be that bad, but you also have to replace either Donald or Goofy. When they aren't in your party, they don't gain as much experience, and won't be on par with your other characters when you go to another world, and the character you're forced to use doesn't go with you. Another problem I had while playing is the fact that during battle, you can't pause the game, open treasure chests, or activate anything. This usually doesn't really matter too much, but there was one instance during which I was just trying to run past the enemies, and activate a platform to progress. But the enemies were flying over a chasm, where I couldn't reach them, and what should have taken like 10 seconds, ended up becoming a 5 minute battle. The fight command shouldn't replace the command to open chests and activate platforms, for exactly that reason. Those are really my only complaints with the gameplay, so otherwise, it's pretty seamless. I'll give it a 4.5 out of 5. Graphics: Personally, I don't like grading graphics. They've never mattered to me in the slightest, as long as everything is discernible. That being said, my opinion on graphics won't be as biased as others. As long as things look decent, I don't care. Now, for the graphics of this game. They are adequate, I happen to like them, though others may disagree. There are a few graphical glitches, but other than that, everything looks good. The only problem I have is Halloweentown. It's really too dark, as shown here:  . I spent like an hour looking around town for a door that just didn't seem to be there, only to find it in plain sight 5 minutes later. That might just be my fault, but the graphics there really should be lighter so as to distinguish buildings from each other. I give the graphics a 4 out of 5. Music: Unbelievable. I love all of it. From the trademark song of "Simple and Clean" to the theme inside Monstro's belly, to Hollow Bastion, all of it is incredible. The combat themes feel appropriate, the cutscenes always have the perfect music, or sometimes lack thereof. There is not a single bad track in the game, unless I'm forgetting something. 5 out of 5. Replayability: There is a ton of content in this game. There are plenty of worlds to explore in depth, many of which you can't fully explore in your first visit, and there are a ton of collectibles as well. The biggest among them is the 99 Dalmatians spread around the worlds in treasure chests. You find them 3 at a time, and they are spread among the worlds, pretty evenly. The chests are sometimes a bit difficult to find, and you can spend a lot of time looking. There is also the Coliseum, in which you can compete in Arena challenges, like the Phil cup, and the Hercules cup, and most famous, the Hades cup. Beating the Hades cup is an enormous accomplishment, I myself haven't even done so. There are also a ton of optional bosses, including Sephiroth, that provide for extremely intense fights. Even without these, I would say that the replayability is extremely high, simply because it's such an incredible game. 5 out of 5 here as well. This game is incredible in all aspects. If you haven't already, go play it. NOW! Final score: 23.5/25, or a 94%
Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories
Spoiler: click to toggle  Overview: This is the second game in the series to be released, and in my opinion, the worst. I'll be honest, I've never actually finished this game. I finished the main story, but the secondary mode (which will be discussed in further detail later) proved to be a bit too difficult. Chain of Memories, or as it will henceforth be referred to CoM, is a direct sequel to the original game, and is meant to be a smaller game, so as to transition to the much bigger Kingdom Hearts II, which would be released later. CoM is for the Gameboy Advance, and as such, is a bit limited in comparison to the original, so I can't judge it too harshly on topics like graphics and control variety, because of the limited hardware. However, I can criticize it for what I found to be rather relentless difficulty and convoluted battle systems. Also, just as a note, this was also released later on the PS2, as Re: Chain of Memories, which I have not played, but it looks to be vastly superior. Now, to get into specifics. Story: I happen to rather like the story elements introduced in this game. It takes place directly after the end of KH, and it even features FMV cutscenes ripped straight from the ending and ported to the GBA as the intro. However, these FMV cutscenes are rather rare, I believe only showing up twice or thrice more. Anyway, the story builds off of the ending to KH. Sora, Donald, and Goofy make their way to a mysterious castle in their search for Mickey and Riku. Upon entering, they encounter a robed figure who informs them that they cannot leave, and that their memories will be lost throughout their adventures in the castle. Sora is then given a card, which allows him to open a door in the castle, and it leads him to Traverse Town. The only difference is, nobody remembers him. Sora then makes his way through the castle, losing his memories along the way, and revisiting worlds from the first game. The only legitimately new plot devices are introduced in the intervals between "worlds," when he is in the castle, which, since I have not yet mentioned it, is named Castle Oblivion. The story is sub par compared to the first game, but I suppose that was their intention. They introduce the villains of the next game without revealing too much about them. They make what seem like minor events in this game into something huge in later games. The idea behind this story is the the same idea behind the game itself. It's a transition. It serves that purpose well. The story also kept me interested enough to keep playing, despite my complaints with the gameplay, which I will go into later. So, I shall give it a 9/10. It isn't perfect, as it has a few holes, but it serves it's purpose well.  Gameplay: This is where, for me, the game goes to crap. I understand that with the limited hardware of the GBA they were limited in what they could have done with this. With only 6 buttons and a D-pad, one of which being a pause button, I understand their limitations. But still, the entire game is pretty much the same, and it gets old after a while. Let me explain. The game is built around cards. To access a world, you must be given a card in a cutscene. These cards let you open the doors into that world. Simple enough. But when you get inside the world, cards still play a major role. In order to open a door, you must find a card that fits a certain requirement. How do you find these cards? You can get them in battles with enemies. I'll get into the battles in a minute, but suffice to say, this gets annoying, as you don't know what cards they will drop. It's almost entirely random. There are different types of cards, and the type you use has an effect on the room. For example, there are cards that you can use that will make the enemies stronger or weaker. There are also cards that will create a save point in the next room. Every different card has a different effect, and they all have levels. Every door will have a level requirement, ie, putting in a card that has a level of 7. But if you don't happen to have a level 7 card, you have to go grind for it, which becomes extremely tedious. And now we get to the battles. The battle system revolves around cards as well. Instead of fighting with Donald and Goofy as well as Sora, you instead have to summon them from cards for brief moments. These cards get added to you "deck," which contains all of the cards you have set there. To attack, you must use a card, either a magic card, summon card, or a simple attack card. Once you use a card, it is discarded and can only be reaccessed by charging up your deck again, which becomes more time consuming after a few recharges. It is also possible to combine up to at least 3 cards to create what is called a "sleight," which is essentially a special attack. The power of your attack or spell is determined by the level of the card, so logically, stacking your deck with level 9 cards is ideal. Now, another annoying part of the combat is the opponents. They use cards as well, and more often than not, their cards end up "breaking" yours by being a higher level, and rendering it unusable until you recharge again. You can also break their cards, however, this is much more uncommon. Even if your deck is stacked with high level cards, as mine often was, they can still break you with their sleights or 0 cards. 0 cards can be broken by anything, but can also break anything. So, more often than not, when I would use a sleight, they would either use a 0, which would break my sleight, or use one of their own, but of a higher level. It becomes infuriating when you're stuck on a boss with a high level deck and you're out of cards to produce shops to buy higher level cards. Some might view this gameplay as innovative and interesting, but I find it simply infuriating. I give it a 5/10, as it's entertaining at first, but then gets stale and infuriating. Graphics: The graphics are what you would expect from GBA.  This is what the typical battle screen look like, nothing too great, but not bad either. The levels are similar to the worlds they are trying to emulate.  This is this game's iteration of the Hundred Acre Wood, and it looks rather good. I actually find the graphical, cartoonish style to be quite charming and I happen to like it. There are few, if any, graphical glitches, and the FMV looks pretty good for GBA standards, so I think this section deserves a 10/10. Music: Honestly, unlike the previous game, no songs particularly stand out to me. The Castle Oblivion theme is appropriate for the setting of almost sterile white, and the "worlds" typically have a variation of the music from the worlds they are trying to emulate from the original. For lack of standout pieces, but still a decent soundtrack, I'll give it a 7/10. Replayability: If you're willing to put up with the same problems again, then it would have decent replayability. Having a secondary campaign would somewhat add to that, but if that could even be considered in replay value calculation, it wouldn't account for that much. The only thing you could do in a second playthrough is customize your deck in different ways, which loses it's appeal after a while. This deserves a 6/10, being decent, but nothing too noteworthy. Final Verdict: 37/50, or a 74%.
Kingdom Hearts II
Spoiler: click to toggle .jpg) Overview: This game absolutely blew my mind. Everything about it is fantastic, with one exception that I'll explore later. The premise is the same as the first. Combine Disney and Final Fantasy to create a totally unique gaming experience. I'll be honest, I actually own a Kingdom Hearts II bookmark. I love this game that much. Anyway, it takes almost everything in the first game and improves upon it, adding new features as well. Going back to the PS2 makes it worlds better than Chain of Memories, and it also makes it able to improve on the quality of the first game. Story: This story blew my mind. You start off the game as a boy named Roxas, and to be honest, he does not interest me in the slightest. In fact, he is probably my least favorite character in the series. Luckily, only about 1/50th of the story and game revolves around him, so that's alright. Anyway, after about 2 hours of intro playing as Roxas, you take control of Sora, Donald, and Goofy again to go save the universe. The story, at least at the beginning, is based on the world that you're "exploring" (Quotes explained later...), but then it begins to heat up as you approach the Kingdom Hearts original worlds, like Hollow Bastion, and The World That Never Was. After a certain event, you begin to start revisiting worlds, to complete a secondary objective. I.E, in Halloween Town, the primary objective follows the plot of the original Nightmare Before Christmas movie, whereas the secondary objective involves Sora more actively and begins to look more like a Kingdom Hearts plot. The plot really begins to heat up after visiting every world a second time, and it begins to get awesome. The plot deserves a 10/10, absolutely flawless in my opinion. Gameplay: Alright, for the most part, this is essentially the same as the original. If you want control descriptions, check the first game's gameplay section. Some new additions take this to new levels however. One such addition is the reaction command, used with Triangle. In the original, there was one boss fight, Cerberus, that is reused in KHII. I recall that he was insanely difficult (at least for me), but the same does not hold true here. With reaction commands, he becomes slightly easier. You can dodge one of his attacks and do decent damage at the same time, setting yourself up for a combo to deal more damage. However, these don't break the game as much as one might think. They do a set amount of damage, and usually that is not very much. It's a welcome addition, vastly helpful in some fights, especially against one of the regular enemies in particular. Now, another addition to the game is the inclusion of Drive Forms. These are, for the most part, insanely powerful, and can give you new abilities to boot. The idea is to temporarily get rid of one of your teammates in exchange for a second Keyblade and increased Power, Magic, or any combination of the 2. These can only be used for certain amounts of time, as long as you have a drive gauge, and are extremely helpful. They can level up and give you abilities to help in the field and battle, such as the Glide ability, and as they level up, they become more powerful and more useful. These, if used correctly, actually can break the game a little bit, making some extremely tough boss battles remarkably easier. Now, the one negative thing I noticed about this game. That would be the nonexistent exploration, hence the quotes around "Explore" before. There is virtually no exploration and platforming in this game. In the original, there were mandatory abilities like High Jump that were necessary to reach new areas and treasures. These are nonexistent here, the only way to get these abilities is through optionally levelling up your drive forms. The areas are extremely linear, nothing is hidden. Take Halloween Town for example. In the last game, I commented about exploring for 2 hours looking for what I needed to do. Here, because of the lack of explorable areas, I was in the world for a total of about 2 hours. I'm dead serious. The worlds are rather bland and linear, but still manage to provide incredible amounts of entertainment. The gameplay deserves a 9/10, for being phenomenal in all areas except for exploration. Graphics: See the first game. Except take out my only objection. 10/10. The reaction commands are usually flashy, and show off the graphical power of the system, and they look absolutely remarkable. 10/10. Music: Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. There are a few tracks that do stand out to me, particularly Riku's Theme, and though I dislike him as a character, Roxas' Theme. Every track seems to fit the locale or the scene during which it is play perfectly, nothing is out of place. 10/10. Replayability: Unfortunately, this isn't great. One of the attractions of the original that would inspire many to keep playing and attempting to complete it, the 101 Dalmatians, is completely absent here. The 100 acre wood is much simpler and much less interesting. The exploration is gone. This makes the replayablility take a major hit. I would still replay it, if only for the fantastic experience and story. However, from an objective point of view, it isn't the best aspect of the game. 5/10. This game is probably one of my favorites in history, definitely the best in the series, and for good reason. It takes everything about the first and makes it significantly better. If you haven't, go play it. But also, don't play it before the previous 2. You'll be extremely confused. Total Score: 44/50, or an 88%. Deserves better, in my opinion, but I'm trying to be objective.
Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days
Spoiler: click to toggle  Overview: This game was a bit of a departure from the first 3. Instead of controlling the primary protagonist, Sora, you take control of Roxas, the boy you controlled at the beginning of Kingdom Hearts II. This time, however, it's permanent, and would start a trend of new characters taking the lead roles. As a concept, it is very good. Sora was asleep for a year in between Chain of Memories and Kingdom Hearts II. This game exists to explain the goings on of that year, from the perspective of Roxas. However, I feel that this was executed rather poorly, and will go on to explain it further. Story: I have but one complaint in this regard. The inclusion of Xion. I can't tell you anything about her without spoiling anything, but to me, she just seemed an unnecessary inclusion in the game. Like, I get her concept, but the story could have been executed just as well without her. Otherwise, the interactions between Roxas and Axel are flawless, and make the player actually feel for the characters. Again, I can't really say much without spoilers, but the point is, it's deep. I give it a 9/10, only taking off points for the aforementioned flaw. Gameplay: I did not like the gameplay at all. Instead of a traditional leveling system, it was instead a "command deck" of sorts. As you leveled up, you would acquire level panels to place in your command grid, where you would also place your items, commands, and magic. There would also be panels that would have effects on other panels, such as doubling their effects, so you could double your levels if you had room for them. You would also gain these panels from gaining actual experience. So my question is, why did they make the level system go through these panels? Why not just apply the stat boosts when you gained the experience? There were points when I leveled up, and forgot to put it in my command grid, and was very confused by it. Now, if you've read the reviews above, I praise the system of magic, summons and, in the case of Kingdom Hearts II, drive forms. They were easy to access and use on the PS2 controller, and I liked them a lot. The command grid in this game has potential, as proven by some of the sequels, but it just seems unfinished in this game. The commands have levels, and they can be modified by the aforementioned panels as well. Which doesn't sound so bad. But the problem arises when you begin to realize that you're running out of room in your command grid. Having the levels take up panels is a real detriment, and greatly bothered me. To scroll through your commands, you would use the L and R buttons, and use them with the X button, only for them to recharge eventually. Which works well, though it didn't for me, only because the L and R buttons on my DS are somewhat broken. The point is, after playing this game, I found myself craving the originals, or even one of the sequels (which I had already played) because this one was just...sub par in this regard. The controls themselves are fluid, for the most part, though I found platforming to be a bit difficult. OH! Wow, I actually forgot to mention the major dealbreaker about this for me. And I don't feel like going back to edit it in, so I'll just add it as a bit of a footnote. The entire game is based around these 358 days, hence the title. However, every day you are assigned a mission. Anything from "beat this boss" to "find these checkpoints." There is a decent variety, and occasionally you get to choose the mission you do (though you have to do them all eventually), but it gets massively repetitive. I found myself getting really bored. Like really, really bored. The exploration of the old games is virtually non existent. The combat is also very repetitive, and quite "blocky" if that makes any sense. Any challenge that was in the first games was essentially removed. The point is, this is where this goes entirely to crap. However, it is somewhat fluid, though very repetitive. 4/10. Graphics: They are what you would expect from an early DS game. There are very few graphical glitches, but it also has it's limitations. You visit some of the same worlds you do in the PS2 games, and of course they don't look as good, but there are more divisions in the areas, therefore more loading screens. There were also several instances in which I experienced some slow down. Overall, not too bad, though also kinda blocky. 6/10. Music: To be honest, nothing really about it stuck out to me, with the exception of Roxas' theme, which wasn't even originally from this game. However, everything did fit with the world that it was playing in, so no complaints. Another 6/10. Replayability: Meh. Nothing really at all here. There is nothing that cannot be obtained on the first playthrough, no benefit to playing again, and with the horrible gameplay, I don't see why anyone would want to. Unless, of course, you like it. For me, 1/10. Final Verdict: This is easily my least favorite game in this series. Perhaps it's because of the bad memories associated with being sick when I first played it. Perhaps it was the lack of traditional "Kingdom Hearts" feel to it. Something about it just doesn't sit right with me. If ever I'm looking through my old games, bored, I immediately skip this game, because I really did not enjoy it. Sorry to point out another problem here, but the FMV cutscenes are alright, but the fact that they continue while your system is in sleep mode is horrible, and that there is no way to pause them. I might just be nitpicking here. Anyway, my final verdict: play this game, but only once. Final score: 26/50, or a 52%. Horrible score, probably a very biased review.
Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep
Spoiler: click to toggle  Overview: This game kicks ass. I know that was not a particularly eloquent way to begin this review, but it's true all the same. Birth By Sleep was the Kingdom Hearts premiere on the PSP, and it does not disappoint. The fantastic visuals, combined with smooth gameplay and great music, make for an epic experience. Not only is it epic, but you get to experience 3 different stories, all correlating, though completely different. If you haven't picked up on this yet, this game is awesome. Story: This game has a great story, subdivided into 3 separate stories and one final story. The stories follow Ventus, my least favorite of the characters, Aqua, the more likable, but still not particularly interesting female protagonist, and Terra, the badass powerhouse of the game. Ventus is my least favorite because he is Roxas. He looks exactly like Roxas, shares a voice actor, and even his theme is based off of Roxas' (Not that this particular point is a bad thing). I might be a bit biased because I hate Roxas with a passion, but still, it does show a bit of a lack of originality. Aqua is the more grounded, funkilling, irritating character. She is your typical nag, following Terra and Ventus around trying to keep them out of "trouble." Still, she isn't Roxas, which makes her more interesting than Ventus. Terra is by far the most interesting. He is the one who associates with the villains of the Disney worlds, like Maleficent and Hades. This game takes place years prior to the original Kingdom Hearts, so it gives an interesting perspective into the world. Story in this one is a perfect 10/10, no complaints to be had here. Gameplay: This is another area in which this game truly shines. The series really lends itself well to Playstation, as evidenced by my high scores for the two PS2 games and my abundant praise for this one. The introduction of the command deck system was executed flawlessly. I'll go into that later, however. To begin with, basic controls. Flawless, as is to be expected. The movement is much more fluid in this game than in either of the DS entries in the series due to one simple thing: a control stick. It is so much more comfortable moving with a control stick than with a control pad. However, the control pad is used for another aspect, and that is the command deck. In this game, commands are like items. They range from simple magic spells to more complex Keyblade acrobatics. You can equip a certain number of them, the number of which increases thoughout the game, and scroll through them with the control pad on the PSP. You then use them with triangle. You use a command on the spot, and then it immediately scrolls you to the next command in your deck. This is good, if you want to string commands together, such as multiple cure spells, as it allows you to do it without delay. There is also a recharge time required for each command, keeping them from being too overpowered. The better the command, the longer the recharge time. Another interesting element is that of fusion. You can fuse your commands for a multitude of different results. For example, I have 2 Fire spells. I can fuse them to make a Fira spell. Then, in addition, you can add an item to the mix, particularly gems. These gems add abilities to your commands, and when you have those commands equipped, you can use that ability. These abilities range from boosted item drops to scanning enemy hp. The best part is, when you level up a command to max level (yes, they have levels), you get to keep the ability indefinitely, though you have the option to turn it on and off at will. The gameplay here is flawless, absolutely flawless, provided you play on accelerated speed. Otherwise you get lag, which nobody wants. And yes, you have the ability to change that, at the cost of battery power. 10/10. Graphics: Beautiful. The entire game is utterly beautiful. Even on the lowest graphical settings, the graphics are fantastic. The animations are smooth, the landscapes beautiful, and I have yet to find a single graphical glitch. You can even change the quality of the graphics at will, displaying them in more colors, at the cost of battery power. Either way, it looks fantastic. 10/10 Sound: The score is fantastic. I'm not going to say it's flawless, however. There are few tunes that particularly stick out in my head. Also, all of the character themes are just depressing, though understandably so. Except, of course, Terra's, which just sounds like an epic prelude to battle. The world themes are fitting to their environments, though aren't particularly catchy. Also, as I've previously mentioned, Ventus' theme is just a reskin of Roxas'. Gotta take off a point for that. I'll give this an 8/10, deducting for the lack of originality in one of the main character's themes, and for lack of particularly great music. Replayability: Very high. There is so much to do, between all 3 stories. You could try to get all of the ice creams. You could try to get all of the abilities, or all of the commands. You could simply play to see the secret ending, which is harder than it seems. You could play on a higher difficulty. As if all of this wasn't enough, there is even a multiplayer aspect. You can go to the Mirage Arena and play with friends wirelessly, whether battling enemies or playing on the Command Board, a board game used to both entertain and give extra experience to your commands. The replay value here is very very high. 10/10. Final Verdict: 48/50, or a 96%. Fantastic in every way. With almost no shortcomings, this is easily my favorite entry in the series. Even if you haven't played the others, this is a prequel. You can play it without spoilers. So buy it!
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