Kingdom Hearts Re:Coded takes place after KH2. So this is good news right? if it's after KH2 then that means we must see new levels, new characters from our favorite Disney and Final Fantasy heroes? Sadly that's all false, Re:Coded takes place after KH2 but basically all it is, is a shorter version of KH1. Which is only rewarding at the VERY end of the game.
Story - After reviewing Jiminy's Journal, he finds a mysterious message that he knows for a fact he did not write. While Jiminy, Mickey and the rest of the crew are trying to figure out what the message means, they decide they need to go inside the journal itself. To make a long story short, they ask the Sora (that's only data from the journal) to destroy all the "Bugs" inside the journal to help restore the journal and see where this message came from. Basically it's KH1 with a different view of the worlds. You kinda feel unimportant to most of the characters you meet and really do not feel part of the Disney worlds at all. I felt like most of the stuff I did was pointless (in a way it kind of was). You could just find the ending on YouTube and be just fine because everything before that really did not matter at all.
Gameplay - Re:Coded has kept the same "Command Deck"gameplay that was seen in Birth by Sleep which was a real treat, the Command Deck style combat is hands down the best gameplay out of the series so it was really nice to see they used it again in Re:coded, I hope we see this with the KH games in the future, it's simple, addicting and really fun to use, I just like the way it's all constructed and I'm sure most folks out there will agree. Although with the DS buttons it was a tad bit tougher to work with than the PSP but never the less it was still fun and pretty well done for the most part. Platforming side of things was just horrible, between the annoying camera and the Auto jump they is new to the series, things got a little tedious. I really hope they work on the camera and platforming for the next installment because this was just almost not doable, countless retries I had to go through just to jump from block to block, it was a real pain and a huge downside to the game.
On a different note I must point out what I loved about the gameplay, every level brings a whole new style of gameplay as in, Side scrolling, chase scenes, Turn-based RPG and more. Each one was fun and unique. These gameplay tweaks were THE highlight of the game ,they were a lot of fun and this is how the first game should have been (although still a great game) it was a breathe of fresh air regardless of the same old environments.
Sound - Obviously the sound on the DS won't be as good as the current console or PS2 for that matter but for the most part they did a descent job. The voice acting was typical of a KH game, most are good but it does have it's annoying parts, one thing I must point out is that you play as the young version of Sora (from KH1) but Haley Joel Osment is much older now so yeah when you hear his voice it does not exactly match well...but don't worry its watchable. Of course the Disney cast did their part excellent. Final Fantasy characters are lacking in the series more and more, but their still great nonetheless, hopefully we see more of our Square buddies in the future titles.
Sound effect were basically like any other KH game, with quirky sounds and all, which of course I enjoyed it really brings you into the world, they always do a great job with it.
The soundtrack wasn't much different from the first, with only a few new tracks, this wasn't that much of a treat, I for one did not care for it much at all, not too mention I'm tired of hearing Simple & Clean and Sanctuary from Utada Hikaru, hopefully we'll hear another original song we can all love in Day Dream Drop (or KH3). Just for the record I'm not saying this is a bad soundtrack but its just nothing special at all, nothing to separate it for the other titles in the series.
Graphics - The game looks the same as 358/2 Days looked, which is pretty nice for a DS title I was pretty impressed with the graphics, the DS did a good job handling the KH series we know and love. As for the cut scenes they look pretty nice although the frame rate is a little lower then PS2 and PSP but it still looks good, especially for a DS title, I thought they did a nice job. As far as KH series go the DS versions won't be the best looking but they are what they are, DS powered KH titles and for that, they do a excellent job.
Final Rundown - Re:Coded is just not a good title, yes it has its good moments but not enough to make me play it again, the story just felt pointless and I felt no connection with any of the characters, levels felt small and rushed and the whole thing felt pointless until the very end (Including secret scene) other than the ending there is no point to this title, the gameplay may be good enough to get at least one play through for everyone but that's it.
- Fantastic gameplay
- Ending levels were a neat take.
-Con's:
- Poor Camera.
- Horrible Platforming.
- Halloween Town is no where to be found.
- Basically a rushed version of KH1.
- Boring Story.
Review Score: 6.5
