Also, a question: Is Golden Sun: Dark Dawn worth checking out? Comment if you have an answer.
My Review- Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
The Kingdom Hearts series has evolved from a successful experiment into one of Square’s principle franchises, and many of Square’s most beloved characters come from this surprisingly complex tale. One of these characters is Roxas, KH protagonist Sora’s Nobody (basically an other self). Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days is an interquel detailing Roxas’ time in Organization XIII prior to the events of Kingdom Hearts II. It also has the distinction of being the first Kingdom Hearts game on the DS. Does this portable adventure have the magic of it’s predecessors?
STORY
Familiarity with previous Kingdom Hearts games is essential for enjoying 358/2 Day’s plot- while playing Kingdom Hearts II isn’t necessarily essential, those who have played the original Kingdom Hearts and other interquel Chain of Memories will be most at home with the game’s story (as a side note, there are quite a few references that clarify KH2’s plot in Days). You play as Roxas, Organization XIII’s number thirteen, who joins the mysterious Organization with no memory of his own, but is troubled by flashbacks and dreams of Sora, a mysterious boy dressed in red. Roxas finds that he is capable of wielding the Keyblade, and the Organization requires his power to collect hearts so that the Nobodies might complete themselves. Roxas meets Axel, his best friend and semi-mentor in the Organization, as well as Xion, the mysterious fourteenth member who is also capable of wielding the Keyblade. The main story shows the 358 days Roxas spend in the Organization, where he, Axel, and Xion will attempt to discover the truth about their identities and unravel a conspiracy in the Organization.
The story is Days has the series’ usual melancholy tone, driven home by the focus on Roxas and Xion’s interwoven stories. The many revelations give insight into Roxas’ character and how he came to be what he was in KH2. The game’s ending is also gut-wrenchingly sad, probably one of the few times a game made me cry (seriously, I cried. No shame.). There is also some humor, as some missions require you to ally with other Organization members like Xigbar or Demyx, and they usually have something funny to say. 358/2 Days tells one of the best stories in the Kingdom Hearts series.
GAMEPLAY
358/2 Days successfully brings the Kingdom Hearts series to a handheld. The gameplay in Days is very similar to the original Kingdom Hearts- camera is controlled by either the touch screen or the shoulder buttons, and you move with the D-pad (cycling through the command menu is done with the X button instead). Movement isn’t as fluid as the console versions, but it’s pretty close. In combat, Roxas can perform basic combos by mashing the A button either on the ground or in the air, and some Keyblades add extra combat options mapped to the Y button. Other Keyblades allow increased ground or aerial maneuverability.
Gameplay unfolds through missions. Roxas can take on one mission each day- missions marked with a key are necessary to progress the story, while others are optional. It is often best to do all of the optional missions first- they reap plenty of benefits. When not on a mission, Roxas stays at the Gray Room hub, where he can shop or converse with the other Organization members. The mission-based structure makes Days an ideal portable game, as most missions are pretty brief, with a single main objective to fulfill. The game clocks in at around 40 hours if one devotes time to all the side missions, although blowing through the story will most likely halve that time.
358/2 Days features a unique character building system called the Panel System. Basically, everything you have on a mission- items, abilities, stat upgrades, weapons, spells, and levels- takes up a ‘panel’ on a grid. How much of something you have in the field is based on the number of panels you have- if you want three potions, you must have three potion panels equipped. Item panels disappear after use and need to be replaced, but spells do not- however, you can only cast spells up to the number of panels you have equipped for that particular spell (three Fire panels = three Fire spells). Character levels also take up slots on the grid, but there are special pieces that can multiply the number of levels or spells on each panel. Roxas also receives extra panel slots frequently. You can save up to three ‘decks’ of panels, allowing you to quickly switch between different character builds depending on the task at hand. The Panel system gives a great degree of freedom with character customization, much more than prior Kingdom Hearts games.
PRESENTATION
Without a doubt, 358/2 Days has some of the best 3D animation on the DS. Characters move as fluidly as their PS2 counterparts, and the framerate is usually consistent. The textures are fair for a DS game, and many of the worlds are mapped just like the original Kingdom Hearts worlds were. Yoko Shimomura composed the music again, but unfortunately most of the music is recycled- there are only a couple of original tracks. There are also numerous pre-rendered cutscenes that look just like the PS2 games, and these are used for the story’s most important moments. The voice acting in these scenes is great, with kudos to Christopher Lee’s return as the mysterious DiZ.
CONCLUSION
Any Kingdom Hearts fan should already have played 358/2 Days, but if you haven’t, it’s a great game. The story is emotional, the gameplay is fun, and the presentation is one of the best on the DS. This brief exploration of Roxas’ life is definitely worth playing.
SCORE- A-
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