Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days Review
The Square-Enix and Disney Crossovers Arrives On The DS
Oct 22, 2009
Back in 2001 when Kingdom Hearts was first announced, the idea was scoffed at. Combining something as dark as Final Fantasy with the family-friendly Disney company seemed laughable. But this was Square-Enix (then Squaresoft), who have knack for producing quality games. Kingdom Hearts was no different, and was met with high acclaim when it was released.
Thanks to its simple yet exciting combat system, as well as remarkable visuals, great voice acting and a surprisingly deep story, Kingdom Hearts was a critical and financial success. It soon became its own franchise, with a card-based game released for the Game Boy Advance and a full sequel for the Playstation 2 which expanded the story further. Now 358/2 Days is here, which is very enjoyable but it can't live up to its Playstation counterparts.
The Story of Kingdom Hearts
358/2 Days is a sequel to the first game, but a prequel to the second. It centres around Roxas, Axel and Organization XIII, who all have important roles in KHII. It also introduces the new character Xion, who becomes friends with Roxas and Axel. However (as always), things aren't as they seem - the main antagonists of the KH series are creatures called Heartless, who consume the hearts of the living. But for every heart that is taken, another type of monster is formed called Nobodies.
Nobodies feel no emotion, unable to feel happiness or sadness. These can take the shape of unnatural beings, but certain Nobodies can take human form. This is who makes up Organization XIII - a group of the smartest Nobodies, who wish to rule over the elusive Kingdom Hearts. It all sounds rather confusing, just like any other Square-Enix game, but playing through the story makes it easier to understand than reading about it.
A Worthy Kingdom Hearts Game?
358/2 Days is played through via missions, some which progress the story while others are simply for leveling up or finding items. The majority of the missions are repeated throughout the game, even those missions that are important to the narrative. This is 358/2 Days biggest letdown - playing through similar missions gets boring quite fast. The challenge mode is worth a try though, as other characters from the series (including Organization XIII) are playable. Unlike previous KH games though, there are no Final Fantasy characters present in the game in any form.
The basic combat system from KHI and II has been retained, and it has been implemented well on the DS. The old 'hack and slash' style is still as simple as before, yet the battles can still be as tricky. The level up system, however, has been altered. A panel system has been introduced, which makes the battles more strategic. Players have to put basically everything they would need into this system, including leveling up and magic abilities. This allows players to be creative in their approach to each battle.
The Kingdom Hearts series has always been visual impressive, and 358/2 Days is no exception. Square-Enix have managed to recreate many areas and characters very well for the DS. Obviously it can't compete with the PS2 graphics but it's still a remarkable achievement. Yet what is disappointing is the sound - it's all basically taken from KHI and II. Even the main theme song is from KHII. With all of the other hard work that's been put into the game, it couldn't have hurt to put in some new songs or remixes.
An RPG To Remember?
For a RPG on the DS, this is an enjoyable game. But as an RPG coming from Square-Enix, it could have been improved in many areas. The reuse of music from previous games is disappointing, as well as the restriction of voice acting to certain cutscenes (though all VA is well done throughout). The repetition of the missions soon becomes annoying, only with the increase of the difficulty making it better to play through.
At the same time though, Square-Enix has managed to bring in a lot from the Kingdom Hearts franchise into one game, which is no easy feat. The combat is deep, the story (though confusing in parts) is well played out, and its managed to keep the visual charm of its PS2 counterparts. For Kingdom Hearts fans, this is a treat but any other RPG fan may want to look elsewhere.
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