Summer Of Kingdom Hearts – Part 2 – Kingdom Hearts RE:Chain Of Memories Review (Steam)

Hello again, everyone! Todd Black here, and welcome to the second installment of the “Summer of Kingdom Hearts” review series! If you didn’t see Part 1, my review of Kingdom Hearts Final Remix, please go and check that out! Or, if you’re ready to continue on, allow me to show my Kingdom Hearts RE:Chain Of Memories Review! This one was special to me going in, because the original Chain of Memories on Game Boy Advance was one of my favorite games ever, so I was curious how the “upgraded” version was! The answer: mostly good…but there are flaws that hold it back.

To recap the lead-in to this, Sora, Donald, and Goofy have sealed the door to darkness but are on a new quest to try and find Riku and Mickey via the “Door to the Light.” On their path, they wind up in a strange place called Castle Oblivion. Here, they meet equally strange robed figures who dare Sora to go deeper into the castle to “find the person who means the most to him.” What follows is a deep narrative involving memory, truth, what’s important to you, and the importance of a promise.

Those who played the GBA version know that this was the game that had the card battling system and sprite graphics. For the “upgraded” version, we got an overhaul to the PS2-style graphics, but they kept the card battle system and how it all works. Sora starts out with a basic Keyblade and loses all the abilities he had before. As he goes through each “card world” within the castle, he’ll level up the way the player (that’s you) wants and build up his deck, health, and sleights to fight foes, both familiar and new.

The graphics and gameplay are obviously key elements in my Kingdom Hearts RE
Of Memories Review. I do miss the sprite graphics, but the GBA could only render certain things so well back in the day. Here, we get more drawn-out cutscenes and animations. Plus, we get to hear the voices of the Organization XIII members, which wasn’t possible on the GBA. As for the gameplay, it matched up very much with how I remember it before.

There’s a fun creativity to the gameplay due to all the cards you can get, including Keyblades, summon cards, magic cards, item cards, etc. You can truly craft your deck how you want, then tailor your gameplay to release certain combos. When you add that to the “World Map” cards that alter what kinds of rooms you go into, the game becomes an incredibly customizable experience. I focused on giving Sora lots of health and Card Points so I could make a deck full of high-numbered cards while also being able to take lots of damage. It worked for me, but you might try and play it another way, which is totally fine!

Another key positive is that while you are basically going through most of the worlds from the original game, the stories aren’t the same. You’ll experience them through three rooms in Sora’s run, and each focuses on an altered take involving memories. They’re simple changes, but they work here, and that’s the point. Plus, the overall narrative is incredibly engaging, and even though I knew all that was to happen, it was great seeing the story recreated with better graphics and voice acting.

Arguably the best part about the game, which I still love to this day, is that after beating Sora’s run, you get to be Riku! You get a new story that helps flesh out parts of Sora’s, builds toward KH2, and gives Riku his chance to shine. True, it’s not as robust as the first part of the game, but it served a good purpose that would pay off in games to come.

Plus, it was fun having to go from playing the “Sora-style” to playing the “Riku-style.” In his mode, Riku can’t alter his cards and literally has to deal with what he’s been dealt. It can be tricky, but it’s also satisfying when YOU are the one using Dark Aura and not the other way around. Yep. Very satisfying!

Sadly, we’ve gotten to the negative part of my Kingdom Hearts RE
Of Memories Review. I’ll start small and work my way up to the truly frustrating elements. First, the graphics. While it’s great having the PS2-era visuals here, as I’ve mentioned, they come at a cost. For example, there are numerous scenes that are in the upgraded visual style but are incredibly pixelated. It got to the point where I wondered why they did the upgrade at all if they were going to let certain scenes look really bad. Plus, some of the issues I had with the first game regarding the lip-syncing were not only on display, but there were also times when characters’ mouths weren’t even moving as they talked!

Going to the gameplay, the battles may be deep in customization, but they can be a total chore and grind to get through. The final level for Sora’s run had me spamming “Trinity Limit” whenever possible due to the toughness of some of the Heartless. In Riku’s playthrough, there’s minimal story in the card worlds, meaning you’re sometimes going through NUMEROUS rooms with the sole purpose of just leveling up Riku. Honestly? That could’ve been adjusted to be more meaningful.

Just as important is that the lock-on system in the game is broken! In the overworld, you can’t lock onto Heartless to do damage as you start the game. I could be looking right at a Heartless, hit the attack button, and Sora or Riku will either react too slowly or hit something else that just so happens to be hittable. Then, in battle, the lock-on will sometimes target an enemy you’re not even looking at, which frustrated me to no end.

Arguably, the worst part, and this carried over from the GBA, is that there are some STEEP difficulty curves to endure in both runs. In Sora’s story, Vexen and Dark Riku are the toughest bosses around, and it’s to the level where I was ready to rage quit because of how tough they were. Then, when I did finally beat them, everyone else was a breeze! Marluxia was a three-part boss fight that took no effort compared to them. As for Riku, while having “no set deck” was clever, it got tedious and annoying, especially in places like Wonderland, where enemies constantly had better cards than you, and you had to adapt in very specific ways just to win.

There were other small annoyances as well. For example, when doing treasure rooms in Sora’s run, sometimes you got sleights featuring cards you didn’t even have, or they were so complicated it wasn’t even worth using. Then, there were special treasure rooms that should’ve featured special items, and yet, they were sometimes basic cards or rare cards at Level 1, which weren’t worth using.

This was supposed to be a true “upgraded edition,” and yet, they didn’t go as far as they should’ve, and it shows.

Even still, as I wrap up my Kingdom Hearts RE
Of Memories Review, I still hold fond memories (pun intended) of this title. I’m so happy I got to enjoy this game in a new light, and much of that new light is still good! As is the darkness that accompanies it. I still feel the GBA version is better for multiple reasons, but for those who never got to experience that one, you’ll enjoy this.

Next up in our “Summer of Kingdom Hearts” series? 358/2 Days! (If you’re curious why, it’s literally the next game in the set on the main menu).