I really don’t have an intro this week. Here’s Kingdom
Hearts: Chain of Memory for the Game Boy Advance.
Chain of Memory was the first game in the Kingdom Hearts line
that I played since I didn’t have a PS2. Playing this game first is really interesting
since both Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2 were out, and this was set in between them.
This should mean that the plot would likely stand on its own since it’s also on
a new system and would likely be an introduction to new players, right? Well
yes and no. While there is a plot that is introduced in this game, it’s not
fully resolved at the end (though, I feel like that might be a trend in these
games) . There are also many characters and terms which are referenced like
they’re normal, but I don’t know who they are or what they mean. But, I’m
getting ahead of myself.
The game begins with Sora (main character for most of the
Kingdom Hearts games) Donald and Goofy entering a castle. Upon coming face to face with a mysterious
dark figure, they attempt to use some of the skills they would have known at
the end of Kingdom Hearts, but have somehow forgotten them. Evidentially, the
castle erased part of their memories upon entering and every floor they visit
will be based on Sora’s past (whether he knows it or not). Things start getting
a little complicated, as Sora realizes he forgets more as he climbs the castle,
but remembers about a girl named Namine.
It is neat that this game attempts to explain how Sora,
Donald and Goofy could forget all their abilities between games (the same way
we sometimes see Samus lose her equipment), but I don’t think it’s something
people raged with Kingdom Hearts 2, was it? If I could believe that the whole
plot was based around that trope, it would be pretty cool, but that’s probably
not the case. That being said, the easy reasoning behind visiting previously
used locations and already met characters is appreciated.
The game play is actually pretty interesting, as it’s also
based on the whole memory motif. As previously mentioned, everyone forgot all
their skills upon entering the castle. All those abilities have been
transferred to cards. You’ll make a deck of cards to use in each battle. While you
have the expected selection of spells, assist and items, Sora’s basic attacks
are also determined by these. The really neat thing is that even the enemy
attacks work on cards, and one can actually interrupt the other. Each card has
a number 0-9 on it. After someone plays a card, and until its effect is
resolved, lower numbers cannot be played. Higher numbers will interrupt that
attack. The exception to this is 0, which will interrupt any number (but
obviously can be easily interrupted). 3 cards also can be set aside to use all
at once in a combo: possibility letting you use a skill and giving you a
higher, harder to beat number.
Of course, you’re not stuck playing the cards as they come
out, as you can actually cycle through them and get the ones you need, and you
can refresh your deck when you want. Yeah, I admit, on paper, the battle system
seems pretty complex. In practice, it’s one of those ones where it’s simpler
than it appears, and if you can figure out some of the tricks of it, you can do
some pretty cool stuff (like nerf a boss’ deck by timing your 0’s right… and
yes, that is how I beat the game).
Chain of Memories is an interesting side-story game for
several reasons. First off, there were so many games that would come to later
reference it (from what I’ve seen), you have to question whether or not it was
intended to have that much of an impact. Also even just playing this one game,
you can tell it has connections to others. But as for what it does on its own,
I think it’s a pretty cool game. I like the card and deck system, along with
the graphics and the worlds you visit. One of the coolest things is how they
use a video game trope of forgetting all your skills to inspire almost every
aspect of the game (whether it was intentional or not). I’ve seen that this
game has seen been remade, and I can’t really comment on that version (since it
seems to be more like the other games). But for the first Kingdom Heart game
available to people without a Sony system, it makes for a good first impression.
I give Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories on the GBA 8.5 Levels out of 10.
No comments:
Post a Comment