Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days Review
Imma whack you with ma giant key
By Ben Salter
Kingdom Hearts made a name for itself when it was launched last generation on the PS2. If you’re not in the know developer, Square Enix, grabbed some characters from Final Fantasy, mixed them in with some Disney favourites and created something special. There have only been two instalments in what we consider to be the ‘main series’ so far, and Kingdom Hearts 358/2 days is yet another spin-off. The question is does the PS2 classic transfer flawlessly to the handheld DS?
Gamers are divided into two groups when it comes to Kingdom Hearts, from what I can gather. There are the diehard fans that know every minor detail about the series, and then there are the gamers who know almost nothing about it; never having played a Kingdom Hearts game before I feel well into the latter and herein lies the problem. Kingdom Hearts 358/2 days takes place between Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Heart 2. Unfortunately it assumes that you’ve played at least the first game, and does a terrible job of explaining the story, and what’s actually happening. Being an action/RPG it’s very story orientated, which presents a problem for the newbies. It’s like trying to watch a movie in French, without subtitles when you don’t speak a word of it, you can kind of grasp what’s happening, but it’s a lot harder than it needs to be. This wouldn’t be such a problem if it was a direct sequel, but it’s not, it’s a spin-off title and on a different platform.
Fortunately I was able to comprehend some of the story, but I certainly missed countless references to the series as a whole. Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days followed the journey of Roxas as a member of Organisation XIII. The primary objective of the Organisation is to collect the Kingdom Hearts (where the giant key you’ll most likely remember even if you haven’t played it, comes into play). That’s the general gist of things without spoiling the whole thing, and if you haven’t played a Kingdom Hearts game before this I challenge you to explain what is happening better (without spoilers of course).
The first thing you’ll notice is how amazing the pre-rendered cutscenes are. From the opening cinematic you’ll be in ore of their beauty, you’ll think you’re playing on a HD home console. Obviously the DS cannot maintain this during actual play, but the 3D world is pretty damn close to the best we’ve seen on the handheld, and not far off the PS2 version. Sure there’s some rough edges, but the detail is immaculate, characters have faces, and fingers and the entire world is in 3D! We’ve known the DS is capable of this since Super Mario 64 DS, but many developers have opted for a top down 2.5D look, or for the traditional 2D. Graphically Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days really pushed the DS to its limits and looks absolutely amazing. To put it into perspective I normally get stuck into the gameplay first in any review. Personally I think graphics take a backseat role in what makes a great game, but here they were so spectacular – for a DS game – I had to mention them first!
A majority of the game is controlled using the face buttons, which almost became a foreign concept after Phantom Hourglass, but rest assured that it works well in its old school form. All of the action takes place on the top screen; battle commands and HP are also located here. This setup will feel familiar if you’ve ever played a turn-based game before. Now just add real time battles into the mix and you’ve mastered combat in Kingdom Hearts. The game is entirely mission based; as a member of Organization XIII you’ll be assigned key tasks, which must be completed to progress through the story. Each mission takes you to a different world, although most are reused endlessly. Missions that aren’t critical to the ever so confusing story can be bypassed and returned to later. For a DS game the mission-based approach certainly works well. It doesn’t give you the same feel of an epic journal that you get with, say, a console Final Fantasy, but it’s the best way to handle a handheld platform.
Every level-up, weapon, item, spell and skill must fit into the panel system of levelling up Roxas’ stats. You have a set number of spaces on a board, and each time you level up you’ll receive a tile. This won’t actually come into effect until it is placed onto the board. It’s a great system, and allows you to customise your character to suit your play style. You can load up on weapon upgrades if you want to run in guns blazing (or giant key whacking), or have a host of spells at your disposal if magic is your thing. Unlike most RPGs it allows you to change your character at any point in the game. If you don’t like how your battles are working out simply change your strengths on the panel.
358/2 Days also offers Mission Mode through multicard play. Here you can play every mission, continue to refine you skills, but do it all with 2-4 mates! It’s a great feature, and best of all it let’s you play through a large portion of the game. I only had a chance to test it out with one other player and everything ran smoothly; however, reports suggest there is some slowdown with 4-players.
The pre-rendered cutscenes have some nice voice acting, which is much appreciated with so much text to read during the rest of the game. The music has been recycled from previous games. It’s disappointing, but it does offer the only upside to not having played the first game.
The Final Verdict
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days is a great action/RPG and finally pushes the DS to its limits with a stunning 3D world. The battle system works well and the mission-based structure is perfect for on the go play. Unfortunately it loses big points for not being accessible to newcomers. That isn’t to say you won’t enjoy the game if you’ve never played the original Kingdom Hearts, you’ll just struggle to comprehend the story. The gameplay makes up for this is most regards; it’s just a shame some thing weren’t explained a little better considering this is a different platform to the original title.
Gameplay
8.0/10
Great battle system, missions and panel RPG system work very well. Unfortunately it’s heavily story-based and almost impossible to fully understand for people new to the series.
Graphics
9.5/10
Extraordinary 3D world and pre-rendered cutscenes. Yes there are some rough edges, but this is the DS we’re talking about, and the level of detail is absolutely amazing.
Sound
7.5/10
Nice music, but apparently they are all rehashed from the first two games.
Value
8.5/10
You’ll be here for days, like any good RPG there’s heaps to do. Once you’ve managed to complete everything grab a mate or 3 and get stuck into the co-op mission mode.
Overall
8.2/10
Submitted by ICC_06
14/10/2009
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