Full Review for Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days by dragonx254

Introduction

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days (that is Three-Five-Eight Over Two)is the latest Kingdom Hearts game in the series. The game, released for the DS, is not a continuation of the series, but a look at Roxas' days in the Organization, something no one knew until now. The events of this game take place during the time frame after Kingdom Hearts 1 and Kingdom Hearts 2, around the same time as Kingdom Hearts: Chain Memories, it's just that you play as Roxas, not Sora. This game helps explain Roxas' mysterious past, allowing some insight to some key events that were missed in the other two games. During the game, you learn the connection between Roxas and Axel, as to why they were best friends, as well as the introduction of an unknown Organization Member: Number XIV, Xion. For some reason, she can wield the Keyblade as well. Organization XIII has been a mystery ever since it was introduced, so this game does a good job of explaining it. The story will take you through Roxas' and Xion's adventure through Organization XIII in the 358 Days that Roxas was in it. The game features various worlds that players of the previous Kingdom Hearts games will recognize, like Agrabah and Wonderland. As you venture to different worlds, performing more missions, the story of Roxas begins to unfold.

Graphics

The last Kingdom Hearts game released for a Nintendo Handheld, Chain of Memories, was pretty decent graphically for a GBA game, as well as all the cut scenes they had. However, there was no audio in it. With the DS, the cut scenes rival those of the PS2, and there are quite a number of them as well. In-game graphics are also very well made. Taking a look at all the worlds you visit, almost every aspect of them is the same as they were on the PS2, so fans of the series that have played previous titles should recognize each and every aspect of the worlds. Every character is well made, with all of the Organization members, the few Nobodies that you face (seeing as you ARE a Nobody), and also including all of the Heartless that Kingdom Hearts fans should instantly recognize, with some new additions. Of course, being a handheld game makes graphics quality very limited, even for a DS. However, because of this, the graphics should be highly regarded even more so. Graphically, this game receives a nine out of ten.

Sound

Kingdom Hearts has a unique soundtrack for each world, and Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days keeps the same music as there was for Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2 for the worlds. Because of this, fans of the series should be very pleased. The game stays true to having the music reflect either the mood, or the style of wherever you are, whether in battle or not. Sound effects are of less importance, but still a vital part of any good video game. Most of the sound effects in this game are the same as they were for Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2. Voice acting is only present in cut scenes (aside from the random yelling and stuff as you attack), but it would be hard to make it have full voicing being a DS game. Compared to Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, the sounds in the game are much better, just like Star Wars: Episode III for the GBA had worse sound than the DS version. Sound is always a key aspect in games and so the whole sound experience 358/2 Days has to offer is very high quality, earning it a score of nine out of ten.

Gameplay

Gameplay is very fluid. The game keeps true to Real Time Battling just like in KH 1 and 2, instead of the cards system in Chain of Memories. As such, it is a lot easier to understand and play the game. The game still has three difficulty levels: Beginner, Standard, and Proud. To be completely honest, Proud Mode is way too hard, you take too much damage, but this can be seen as a very hard obstacle for die-hard gamers that want a severe challenge. Camera movements can feel a bit restricted sometimes, since the touchscreen is what people will most likely use to move it (the alternative, pressing select and using the D-Pad is not a good choice since you cannot move while looking around). The use of the Touchscreen for this feature as well as displaying the map and the objective is a very good use for it; more touchscreen usage would most likely hinder the game. The lock-on system is much better than it was in Chain of Memories, but that's basically because of the different style of play. Instead of traveling the worlds in a Gummi Ship, you take on Missions issued out by Sai'x. The mission objectives vary every time, with objectives such as Collecting hearts from Emblem Heartless (the ones that have the insignia on their bodies) or defeating a giant Heartless. Not all missions have to do with eliminating enemies. Some are simply performing recon in a new, unexplored world, while others may require the collection of Organization emblems (these kinds of missions are hard to complete 100%). These missions take place in various worlds, and you are automatically taken there. This makes the game have less freedom, as you have to be on a mission to go somewhere. The game progresses one day for each mission you complete, with the occasional time jump. The more you progress, the more secrets are unlocked about the storyline, and usually Roxas writes in his diary, explaining his feelings. There are also "Challenges" that can be done. These Challenges can be unlocked by finding "Ordeal Badges" in various missions. The Challenges are to do the same mission, but with a certain handicap or restriction. Successfully completeing these gives you Nobody Insignias. These can be redeemed at the store (you do not spend them, it is automatic) for various items, some which will prove very useful. Equipping items and magic, as well as leveling up, is different in this game. There are new things called "Panels" that the player can assign to "slots". These Panels give you new abilities, such as Dodge Roll and Glide. This is also how you equip magic. Magic is now in a Stock system: instead of expending MP, you expend one use of that certain magic. There are linking panels that are used to increase abilities. For example, you can equip Doublecast and then put a Fire panel inside of it to make that panel worth two. Unfortunately, leveling is also under this category. When you gain EXP, you do level up, however, you don't automatically do that. What happens is that you get a LVL UP panel that you must then assign to a slot. The problem with this is that as you level higher, you take up more room, leaving less spaces available to be used for magic and items (which you must also equip). The system may seem confusing, but luckily it is easy to understand. Aside from Story Mode, the game also features Mission Mode. Mission Mode can be used as a multi-player experience, or just solo. Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days is the first in the series to have a Multi-player option. It also features the most playable characters. In Mission Mode, you can be any of the Organization XIII members, as well as a few secret characters too. To unlock the missions, you have to play Story Mode and collect "Unity Badges". Missions are the same as the ones in Story Mode, so one might question why they would even do them. Completing a Mission awards you Mission Crowns, which, just like Nobody Insignias, can be redeemed at the store for various items. Of course, this is completely optional, the items there are not crucial to completing the game, but collecting them may prove worthwhile for those who need a little help, especially as the game gets harder. The difficulty curve is sort of wavy, having some missions be ridiculously easy to insanely hard and frustrating, even towards the end. However, this does not happen until late in the game so this shouldn't affect gaming at all. Though the gameplay may have some slight issues, the majority of the positives outweigh those setbacks, allowing a score of nine out of ten.

Lastability

This is a hard category to score for this game. The game is fairly long, with all of the missions that you have to do, especially if you're a gamer that likes to complete things 100%, since some missions are optional. Each mission has a completion gauge, but some of them have a certain cut-off point. That point is where you can go back and say you've completed it, but if you keep going, you get more rewards (this is also key to unlocking a very special character for mission mode). The story should last quite a while, even on Beginner Mode. Since the game goes through 358 days, that is a lot of missions (even though you don't play during every single day, there are time advances). Completing each one is a very tedious task so it's not like you can just breeze through the game withing a couple of hours. And of course, there are those missions where defeating a boss can be so long that players have to have a lot of time on their hands in order to defeat it (there are quite a few of these bosses). The Mission Mode is nice, but it can get repetitive since all the missions are from the story mode.Challenges can be seen as a pain to some and an extension to others, so it's all based on the perspective of the gamer playing this. The key aspect to this game's length is it's multi-player function. As long as you can get two or three people that have the game, it can last a long time, as you compete with your friends to get a higher score (which nets you better rewards). Of course, this isn't to deny the greatness of this game's storyline, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days has a very interesting plot, with new surprises every time you play.

Overall

As you can see, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days is a great game overall. Unlocking the secrets of Roxas' past was a great idea by Square-Enix, allowing full insight to the events that transpired during Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories and Kingdom Hearts 2. There were many great things of this game, especially keeping the same battling style, allowing for a better Kingdom Hearts experience. I would not suggest this game to those who have not played Kingdom Hearts 2, since none of it will make sense. Chain of Memories is not a necessity, but it helps to play that too. With it's multi-player function, the enthralling storyline, and trueness to the Kingdom Hearts series, this game gets a nine out of ten overall.

Final Score: 90%