Kingdom Hearts RE: Chain of Memories Review - PS2

Kingdom Hearts RE: Chain of Memories Review--

It’s been six years since the original, three since the sequel, four since the GBA version, and you’ll just need to wait a couple of months just for the next Kingdom Hearts game to come out. What does this add up to? Not much except Square Enix trying to throw out their last PS2 title before the system meets that great basement in the sky. Kingdom Hearts RE: Chain of Memories is in no way a rushed project but one that could have used a couple of extra tweaks before hitting the shelves. American fans of the series might feel a bit slighted since their neighbors in the East got this game along with Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix + in one neat package.

What Happened Again?

We have to find Mickey! With Donald, Goofy, and Jiminy Cricket by his side, Sora explores the shifting and amnesia-inducing rooms of Castle Oblivion to find clues about his missing friends and to recover his lost memories. Fortunately, memories come in the form of cards that you can deal out to do everything from swing a sword to cast a spell. Chain of Memories also introduces the hood wearing Organization XIII, a band of rogues sent out to test the young Keyblade master.  The castle is broken down into sections reminiscent of the areas find in the original title. You’ll have to battle the same enemies, the same bosses, and use generally the same moves as before – just through cards.  

For players not familiar with the lore, this is a mighty deep pool of people, places, and concepts that will leave you scratching your head. The PS2 title does add in moving cut scenes missing from the original GBA title. The original voice actors reapply their talents to their characters even though you only get to hear them between levels. The rest of the time will be spent reading and rehashing the same story lines from before. This all comes after the fact of Kingdom Hearts 2 where fans already know the rest of the story. Chain of Memory is simply there to fill in some of the holes.

Fighting With Cards

Kingdom Hearts RE: Chain of Memories is an action card battle title mixing characters from the Disney and Final Fantasy universe. If you are still reading this after that sentence, them maybe this game is for you. The card mechanics will either peak your interest or have you throwing the disk across the room. With each card representing an action (attack, magic, summon, ect.), you choose the cards in your deck as you plan how you would approach each battle. Since you stack the deck, the order of your cards creates a rhythm to your battle that can be adjusted to meet the demands. Chain creates a hybrid between turn-based and real time action that may bring more gamers into the card shuffling fold.

While innovative, the system is also infuriating. All cards come with number ranging from zero to nine. The top card, in most cases, takes precedent over other actions and will break an opponent’s card. A broken card cannot be used again for the battle. While the system makes you think twice about jamming on the buttons, longer battles will have you hitting the reset button when you’re down to only a couple of cards. Unless you happen to stack your deck in just the right mix, players will often find themselves shuffling and reshuffling through the same two or three cards. This makes for agonizingly long battles that wear you down instead of make you think.

Camera Shy

In such a small arena, the camera needs to be able to swing around like a tilt-a-whirl on crack. Just about every battle throws you into a barrel of a dozen or so baddies walking, crawling, and flying around the place. If everyone would just line up in front of you, choose to move in the same direction, and died in five seconds; camera control wouldn’t be a problem. But that rarely happens with enemies zipping around the place. The bigger disappointment comes with targeting bosses. While you can keep your eye on them for awhile, warping around the arena seems to be too much for the camera lock-on to handle. You’re better off diving into the unknown and hoping for the best.

Die Hard Fans Wanted

RE: Chain of Memories rounds out your collection of Kingdom Hearts titles but in no way is it recommended reading. The battle system finally bridges the gap between turn-based card battle and real-time battle, but is that a bridge you really want to cross. The card system may not be perfect but it makes a lot more sense then other card based titles out on the market. Yes, I’m looking at you Yu-Gi-Oh. At its near bargain bin price, however, few fans will be disappointed with the purchase. Gamers interested in dabbling in a little card battling should give the game a spin or at least seek professional help.

Article By: James Youngblood