Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep

Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep is the 7th installment to the KH series. This is the first one (besides KH2) to feature new worlds such as Dwarf Woodlands (Snow White). Enchanted Dominion (Sleeping Beauty). Deep Space (Lilo & Stitch) and more. All of which were very well done and added a very nice change of scenery. This is a prequel to the first KH game, it takes place 10 years before. Don't worry this is NOT a poorly made KH game, it feels new, different and one of my favorite of the series.





Story - It is now 10 years before Sora is introduced to the "Keyblade". So you will not be playing sora once again, you will be playing as 3 all new characters; Aqau, Venus and Terra. Their friendship is similar to Sora, Riku and Kairi's friendship. Each character has their own campaign though the main story line is the same for all, every campaign you play will run into different characters and arrive at the worlds before or after one of your friends. Although it got a little repetitive, it was still one of the best told stories in the KH series. It actually explains a whole lot which I won't spoil but this game is a must for all KH fans. It has plenty of story line goodies that all KH fans will enjoy. It explains a few critical plot points. The story was pretty solid that even first time KH players will enjoy, seeing how it's a prequel it's totally fine to start out on this one.

Gameplay - KH:BBS by far has the best gameplay in the series, introducing the new "Command" style combat, which gets rid of mana, instead all your abilities have recharge time, some longer waits than others. You also can mix and match different moves to create new ones, found at the "Synthesize" menu. And believe me there are plenty of moves to be founded upon. With a "shortcut" added to a move of your choice makes it easy to switch to your most used move(mine was "cure"). The camera may get a little out of control here and there but what's a KH game without a bad camera anyway?. Platforming was better than previous KH titles but still can be a pain in the butt here and there. Overall I loved the gameplay and I hope they stick with the "Command" combat. They also feature an "Arena Mode" where you may play arena matches similar to the coliseum from KH1. Also a great way to level your abilities is "Command Boards" which is a Mario Party style game mode, roll dice and play your abilities to level them, if you win, you'll receive extra exp, it's very rewarding and just plain fun.


Graphics - I was pretty impressed with the graphics, just imagine the PS2 version but it was a little more sharp than that. PSP handles it well from gameplay to cut scenes, all was smooth and very good looking. The worlds were very well done and really came to life, character models were best yet and enemies, magic and so on were just amazing. It is one of PSP's best looking games yet. There are plenty of cut scenes to add all of which were fun to watch and looked amazing, animation was very well done also. As you can already tell theres not much to complain about here. Nothing that will blow you away but absolutely nothing to complain about. They are sharp and simple and also looks great especially for a PSP title.

Sound - The soundtrack was excellent with plenty of tunes to set the mood. Whether it was a very dark moment or KH's famous "way too happy" moments, the music captured it all and totally set the mood. And let's not forget the famous KH title screen music "Dearly Beloved" which everytime it's different. BBS' version brings a much slower version of Dearly Beloved with soft piano notes it makes to be my favorite one yet. I highly enjoyed the sound work.
Voice acting was typical of a Japanese game but still pretty well done, there were a few actors that really stood out for me, like Master Xehanort who is played by Leonard Nimoy (English version) who also played Spock in the original Star Trek series, I loved this characters voice work, very original. And of course all of the Disney characters did a fantastic job.

Final Rundown - Fact is, is that BBS is an amazing adaption to the KH series and a very necessary prequel. I recommend this to all PSP owners especially Kingdom hearts fans. Not too mention the gameplay is HIGHLY addictive. Overall Birth by Sleep is a outstanding title that I loved from start to finish.


+Pro's

• New Disney Levels (good selection at that)
• Addictive Gameplay
• Arena Mode/Command board are a fun way to level.
• Very rewarding ending for KH fans.
• Good Story

-Con's

• Minor camera issues.
• Platforming is still clunky.
• Ven will probably get on your nerves.
• Lack of Final Fantasy characters.

Review Score 9.0

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days (Say that 5 times fast) is another Kingdom Hearts game that is NOT Kingdom Hearts 3, so I was kinda looking down upon this game, same levels and not only another KH game but on the DS? How good can it be?. Well to be honest it certainly made me wish I never thought that, this games story has a lot of heart and some very deep emotional parts throughout the story that will have you playing to the wee hours of the morning.

Story - The story takes place during Chain of memories, which is before KH2 just in case you didn't know. It revolves around Organization XIII, you play as number 13 (Roxas), who is sora's nobody. Roxas wakes with no memories, he remembers nothing. He seems to find a friendship in another Organization XIII member Axel, he becomes best buds with Roxas. Roxas feels sort of alone and Axel was really the only one to show some sort of compassion for Roxas. To make a long story short, the Organization has a new member her name is Xion and her, Roxas and Axel all become the best of friends, they hang out everyday and eat ice cream a lot....a whole lot, everyday for 358 days straight...they got one heck of a sweet tooth, as i grew tired of watching them eat stupid ice cream, it made sense in a way. As Roxas is told he must keep fighting with his keyblade to release more hearts, in order to complete kingdom hearts, he presses on everyday so that he may have a heart of his own. Down side is you have to play through all the same levels as the first game, with no new characters or levels involved. Without giving too much away, it's a very deep story and actually one of my favorite in the KH series, it was very moving and I can't wait to play it all over again.

Gameplay - The gameplay is similar to the other games, bashing buttons and using your command deck for magic and potion use. Although they introduce a whole new leveling system called "The Panel System". Which was kinda neat, not my favorite but still had something going for it. You basically have a grid, and each type of magic, ability, potion etc. is a block, and you fill that grid using the blocks of your choice. Lame part is that level ups come in block form so when you level you must place it within the grid to earn its upgrades. the gameplay wasn't anything special but like always it's very fun to play, and real simple to use with the DS, hardly ever (If any at all) use the touch pad, I personally never touched it the whole game. Controls for DS are solid and work well with its limited buttons. 358/2 Days is the first KH game to feature multiplayer, you may play any character in the Organization and battle waves of heartless together with your buddies which is actually pretty cool (If anyone you know has the game of course).

Sound - I have to say right off the bat that this was one of the best soundtracks out there, especially Xions theme, every piece of music fit so well in the story and really brought you into the game. And of course the classic Disney music brings a sense of joy to everyone's heart unless you don't have a heart (like Roxas).
The sound in this game was pretty spot on, typical KH sound effects used, the constant grunting when you swing the keyblade carries over with Roxas. The terrifying alarm when your health is real low, all great and re-memorable sounds, they did a fantastic job with this game. Although DS titles may not sound is great as consoles and such, they did a really good job considering.

Graphics - I was pretty surprised when I saw how good the graphics were, when they first announced this back in 07, I pictured the KH type graphics that were displayed on the GBA, although as graphics go in general they are a little blocky and sometimes fuzzy, but not to worry it's far from "unplayable". Even the cut scenes looked fantastic, a small amount of lag in the scenes but still awesome to say the least. I really enjoyed it and had no problem with the way it looked, it was a very good looking DS game.



Final Rundown - 358/2 is a fantastic game with a outstanding story. Although only KH fans will understand it, so it's mostly just for us KH fans. Gameplay is not perfect but good, with the typical KH camera. Playing the same worlds over again was a bit of a drag but don't let it turn you away from this great story that all KH fans will love.

Pro's:

• Great Story
• Good voice acting
• Fantastic Soundtrack 
• Plenty of goodies to snatch up

Con's:

• Some missions get repetitive
• Same levels as KH 1
• Camera Issues
• Jesse McCartney plays the voice of Roxas                            
• Lack of Final Fantasy characters

Review Score - 9.0