Kingdom Hearts: Chain Of Memories

THE BAD:

• Some bosses are just broken no matter which story/difficulty. (read: Captain Hook *cough*)
• Requirement of Map Cards can lead to long/frustrating/reset games. (I refer to the infamous Required Blue Map Card with a value of 1 needed for the last floor, which many people have to play extra hours, or just reset if they aren't getting Map Cards, like I was. Don't believe me? Check forums here.)
• Early game can be hard on new players due to a weak starting deck. (for Sora)
• On Reverse/Rebirth, people who didn't get the picture that you have to fight intelligently, and can't power your way through won't get anywhere due to not being able to modify Riku's deck.
• Remembering to use enemy cards is a pain as sometimes while using the card that would help you win, the boss obliterates you.

SUMMARY:
This game I played and beat BEFORE I even picked up Kingdom Hearts II. The storyline is decent, but could have been done a little better, as the various Organization characters aren't really fleshed out.

The levelling system, while interesting, can make for some long/horrible gameplay, as Sora's choices are all equally important, and you can't just pour all your points into one category or the other. Riku's is a little easier, because you can technically just keep dividing it between HP and DP, and choosing AP everytime it becomes available.

Trying to power level leads to defeat later on, with either really low HP, or really low CP, both of which can frustrate somebody into selling this game, or stop playing it.

The learning curve is not difficult, especially if you pay attention to the black-cloaked guy at the beginning, and Leon in Traverse Town, but the gameplay can be very repetitive, especially on Sora's story. (As a matter of reference, I have about 40+ hours of gameplay on Sora's, as opposed to about 6-7 hours on Riku's, does that tell you how much more time Sora's story practically demands?)

The payoff for this game, is unlocking Reverse/Rebirth. This alone makes this game worth buying, and worth defeating Sora's storyline. Plus, it's satisfying when you can obliterate all these enemies, who gave you issues while playing Sora, with Riku's advanced abilities.

Overall, if you liked Kingdom Hearts, or like card-style games, or just want to try something new, give this a try. If you didn't like Kingdom Hearts, or card-style games, or just don't care, don't buy it. This game is not for everybody. But I highly recommend it. Even if you don't like card-style games, but like Kingdom Hearts, get it, it will help you understand a LOT about Kingdom Hearts II.

THE BAD:
-If you don't have a certian card, can create lots of extra of gameplay to find it
-pretty easy
-recieave nothing special for getting 100%

SUMMARY:
The game is an essential part in the Kingdom Hearts series. It starts right after the first game, and leads the characters through a mysterious castle. It features a new way of doing things, using cards. Everything is done with cards. The different worlds that you visit are created form cards, and attacking is done with cards. It is a fun, and new way of battle.
You visit new levels, and some levels that were also faced the original Kingdom Hearts. You encounter old and new friends and foes.
This game lacks difficulty, it can get challenging at times but overall it is pretty easy. You can battle your friends using your character against theirs. You experience a whole lot of new gaming through the cards. The graphics are average, but could not bad for a game boy game. In conclusion, this game is pretty good, could be better, has a few minor errors.

THE BAD:
-The Deep Jungle, from the last game wasn't included.
-Some battles can be to hard for young players.

SUMMARY:
The sequel To Kingdom Hearts is not to disapoint. In fact it's one of the best games I've played all year. Although the new battle system revolves around special cards, you shouldn't worry because it's still a action game that is similar to the original. Some people do not like the card system because they don't want to waste there time costumizing a card deck, but it can be very fun setting up combos, and sleights in your deck.
This game is harder then the original (but not too hard) which means you'll be playing it more then two weeks or so. However the card system and boss battles may be a bit too hard for kids. Two neat features are unlocked after you beat the game called multiplayer (where you can use your deck and fight a friend which is obvious) and Reverse/Rebirth allowing you to know everything that went on in the game and you get to play as another character with a slightly different battle system, which along with your will to replay the normal story provides great replay value. And finally I suggest you play this game if you want to fully understand everything that will go on in Kingdom Hearts 2.

THE BAD:
Okay, here's a few.
*Opponents repeatedly Card Breaking (by playing a card with a higher card value than you).
*The final boss in Monstro is a little confusing.
*Ugh, those MAP CARDS! THEY PISS ME OFF, but that's only a little bit, besides the save, moogle and treasure chest cards.

SUMMARY:
Uhh, where to start?
This is the sequel to Kingdom Hearts on the PS2. But, on the GBA? That's good of Square Enix to do that.
Well, I gathered this game is a lot longer and harder than Kingdom Hearts. It's just hard. No many people will finish this one in a week. No, they'll probably finish this in a month or 2 and this game will keep you going and going until your batteries run out.

This game requires more strategy than other games since you need to reserve the cards that don't reload (such as Potion and Ether) for later. Reloading is good for when you run out but when you do sleights (conbining 3 cards together) first card used for the slieght gets deleted for the rest of the battle (even if you reload). So, uh, yeah. The game is good, believe me. To make you want to buy it more, your GBA will rot in the dust unless this game is bought.

SO DON'T COME CRYING TO ME WHEN YOU FIGURE OUT THIS GAME KICKS ASS! MUST....KEEP.....Writing.........wordz. There. DONE.

THE BAD:
... The battle system is a bit complicated and there are only 2 new worlds. That's it.

SUMMARY:
KH: CoM is the follow-up to the orignal Kingdom Hearts for the PS2. It tells the story of what happens in between the first and the second, so if you played the first, want a good idea of the plot in number 2, play this. It's good.

It has a complicated card based battle system, and you can perform combos with them, called 'Sleights'.

There isn't a Firaga card. There's no Cura card. There isn't a Strike Raid, or a Sonic Blade card. You combine three Fire cards in a sleight to get Firaga, two cures to get Cura, and for Keyblade special attacks, you have to do a certain combination of different level Keyblade cards.

You fight alone throughout Castle Oblivion, because Goofy and Donald are transformed into cards when you enter a world. There are 13 floors in the Castle, and each floor(except 11 and 13) are places from Sora's memory. This castle screws around with memories a lot.

You fight through all your memories(which you can't remember what they are, except Traverse town and Destiny Islands) and all the baddies you fought. You fight Squal, Guard Armor, Cloud, Hades, Hook, Maleficent, and a lot of others you fought before. It's nothing like a Rehash, it's more like a remix... A Redux, if you will... People who have beaten it will know what I mean by that.

Along the way in the castle, you meet four mysterious people, who are a part of the 'Organization'. Nice name. Anyway, they include Axel, a fire user, and my personal favorite villian so far, Larxene, a super fast lightning user and she trusts no one. Vexen, an aged Ice adept who tries to control Riku. And ********(I won't spoil him.), the leader.

You also fight Riku 4 times, and he's hard the last two times.

All in all, get it.

THE BAD:
there's only two but...
-the game needs voice overs
-needs a shop not just moogles
that's all i can think of

SUMMARY:
i love the game (even though i haven't beat it yet) it has a great plot great new enemies love the battle system it kind of makes it... more... fun (i think that's the word) if i could i would skip school just to play the game all day i play the game every night before bed it is awesome like i listed above the only bad thing about it is that (in my opinion) the game needs voice overs in the whole game not just in battles but other then that the game is excellent, the new moogle thing is cool i think its a great idea but yes it needs the original shop. i would say that my favorite thing is that it has the same characters (not just because I'm a ff freak) but the Disney part is good too the worlds are a little different but still good. overall i just love it!!

THE BAD:
The music was a little sloozy, it could have been better.
The rooms aren't very detailed, it seems as if they took a game and threw it together.
The Battle System is a little complicated.

SUMMARY:
The storyline is based on a transition from KH1 to KH2 where Sora, Goofy, and Donald loses their memories, but they have to find them which makes them forget more, but find out more(Yes, this is very complicated logic). You travel through the past Memories and uncover the Organiztion and their plans as Sora searches for Riku, Kairi, the King, and a new girl called Na****'.[Don't want to ruin it ] The new battle system is complicated at first, but you kinda transition into it after a while. You have a lot to put your attention into. You can build your deck from scratch and buy cards from Moogle Shops. The Room Synthesis addition is okay, but it can be a real pain if you don't have the numbers they are looking for.

THE BAD:
I heard there was Multi-player, but I cant figure it out. So people hate the battling system, thats about it.

SUMMARY:
I dont care what some people say, I love this game. It has two modes, Normal and Reverse/Rebirth mode. The original battle system is Awsome, and the story is incredible! I loved the first Kingdom Hearts, And think this one is even better. Use the DS to blast out the great Music and sound without head-phones. The graphics would win Best graphics of the year for GBA in my opinon. They are incredible, along with the soundtrack. The refernce's to Final Fantasy and Disney all fits in so well. If you enjoyed the first game, do me a favor and pick this up. It's Kingdom Hearts, Chain of Memories.

THE BAD:
Hm...I'm not really sure

SUMMARY:
This game...what can i say it's awesome. I really liked this one much better than the first one.

Storyline: The storyline is basically the same from Kingdom Hearts but with a few additions. You end up in a place called Castle Oblivion and you are forced to go up the castle if you want to look for your friends. Fairly Enough, you encounter the worlds that you went to before but they don't remember you nor you remember them. So basically you're just playing KH all over again. But this time there are different stories. There is a girl that used to live with Sora years ago but she left and he's trying to find her again. Sora is still looking for Riku etc etc.

Gameplay: This is the highlight of the game. The card battle system is just awesome. It keeps you on your toes and you have to strategize and use different card combinations to defeat your enemies. The cards have numbers and if the enemies use an attack that has a card level of 3 then i can break their card and cancel their attack with a 3 or higher card. There is also a combo of sorts in the cards. They are called sleights. Sleights are special abilites or skills that occur when you combine 3 cards. They can be used effectively but there is a catch the first card can't be used again until the battle is over

Graphics/Sounds: The graphics are up to the date with the GBA's capacity. The animations of spells and such are great. The sounds are almost the same as the PS2 versions they are crisp and cleaer and sound as good as ever!


Overall: IF you were a KH fan in the past get this game you will love it. I suggest playing KH first though since it refers to the story in the past from KH often.