KINGDOM HEARTS Re:Chain of Memories – PS2 – Review

In case you missed the original
Chain of Memories of the GBA, the game’s storyline takes place immediately after
the events of the first Kingdom Hearts game. Sora, Donald and Goofy are in a
mysterious place known as Castle Oblivion, searching for Sora’s missing friend
Riku. The castle becomes a place where Sora must explore his own memories of
events and places he visited in the first game, and interacting with many of the
same characters from the first game, as well.

Chain of Memories (and the remake)
utilizes a pretty unique approach to card-based gameplay, which was all the rage
when the original GBA game released back in 2004. The game utilizes card decks
for all elements of combat; as every special or melee attack has a card assigned
to it. If you run out of cards in your deck, you have to stop fighting briefly
in order to reshuffle and get more cards. Each card in your deck has a certain
number corresponding to it in relation to your enemies, and you’ll have to use a
card with a higher number than your enemy’s card in order to defeat them.

What works best in Re:Chain of
Memories approach to card battling is that it very rarely feels that different
from the series’ action-RPG elements; you still have full control of Sora and
press the same buttons to perform your melee attacks and can perform simple
combos, and will even be able to perform reaction commands from Kingdom Hearts
II for certain high-end moves. In order to get assistance from your allies or to
perform certain magic spells, you’ll have to pull a card from the deck, but it
very rarely feels like a disruption.

Additionally, aside from combat, the
card-system will come into play as to how the world unfolds in front of you. As
you complete rooms and defeat enemies, you’ll have to use cards from your pile
to dictate what the next room will hold. For example, if you use a special enemy
card, you’ll have to fight a certain type and number of enemies in the next room
once you unlock it. However, a different card might hold some special items or a
save point in the next room, and depending on your need for it, you’ll have to
decide which card to use for the next room.

As solid of a remake as it may be,
Re:Chain of Memories is not without its flaws. The game’s camera is very
problematic, not utilizing the much-improved one in KH2 but rather opting for
the same lousy one from the first Kingdom Hearts title. It’s a big issue during
combat, as it will often get hung up on walls or stuck at a bad angle, making
things pretty frustrating. Additionally, even if you haven’t played through
Chain of Memories on the GBA, there is a distinct sense of “been there done
that”, throughout, as most of the places are set just like they were in Kingdom
Hearts and lack any sense of change or dynamic. The whole game is very linear
when compared to the open nature of the rest of the franchise, making it very
apparent that this entry is meant to be a spin-off and not part of the series
proper.

Graphically, Re:Chain is in the same
league as the other PS2 entries to the series. The character models look just as
you remember them, and while some of the environments lack the detail of the
second Kingdom Hearts game, there’s still an impressive amount of work done here
to bring the game up to the same production level as the rest of the franchise.

The music features mostly older
compositions from other Kingdom Hearts games, but the new voice work done by the
majority of the principal actors from the other games is very impressive.

Sure, it’s a remake of a four year
old Game Boy Advance game, but Re:Chain of Memories is a solid entry to the
popular franchise that offers up some nice story details and improved gameplay
that will keep you engaged for dozens of hours. If you missed out on the original GBA version (as I admittedly did), this is a good way to play catch up with the
franchise.

Gameplay: 8.0
The game has some camera problems and is generally a pretty linear game when
compared to the other games in the Kingdom Hearts series. Still, there is a ton
of polish and the card battle element is well done for the most part, especially
when compared to other attempts at card-based gameplay.

Graphics: 8.5
While not quite as good as Kingdom Hearts 2, the work here is impressive
considering it’s a remake of a 2D GBA game.

Sound: 8.0
The majority of the principal voice actors from the previous two games (no
Hayden Panettiere or Brittany Snow) return to reprise their roles, and the music
what you’ve heard from other entries in the franchise.

Difficulty: Medium

Concept: 7.5
The game’s storyline is solid and reveals some nice details of the events
between the first and second Kingdom Hearts games. However, there are no new
details if you’ve already played through Chain of Memories.

Overall: 8.0
Taking a page from other “from the ground up” remakes of other Square-Enix
remakes like Final Fantasy IV on the DS, Re:Chain of Memories is a great way to
check out an adventure that many may have missed the first time around.