There are dream factories in the entertainment world: one of them is Disney. This company has made us cry and laugh with its movies since we were little kids. Another of those companies is Square Enix, with games like Final Fantasy where our mind travels to very faraway worlds to challenge the worst of our fears. Once again, these two companies have joined together to bring us a new masterpiece: Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days for the Nintendo DS.
The game is starred by Roxas, who already had his own cameo in Kingdom Hearts 2. Once again, we will travel to the marvelous universe of Disney to uncover the dark secrets of the Organization XIII and the magic of the keyblade.
Creating Magic Since 2002
Even though the first title of the saga can be established in the 2002 year, the project of mixing the Disney world with the Final Fantasy saga actually started in the year 2000 with the announcement of Disney’s All Star, which was called Kingdom Hearts some time later. This first title was released exclusively for the PS2 and told us the story of Sora, a 14 year old boy who, with his friends and some Disney characters, fought against the heartless creatures who were trying to bring darkness to the world and in order to avoid that, our heroes had to travel through different levels based on the Disney movies.
In Kingdom Hearts 2, which was launched in 2005, we took control of Sora after one year of the events that occurred in the first game but now with a new added element: the mysterious Organization XIII, which is the main target to defeat in this title.
Between these two adventures, a game for the GBA called Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories was released in 2004. This title links these two games and it is vital to perfectly understand the events that will occur during Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days.
Why 358/2?
The answer is easy: 358 is the number of days that Roxas belongs to the Organization XIII. For those who don’t remember, in Kingdom Hearts 2 we were able to take control of Roxas in some kind of prologue where you had to accomplish some missions and after various events, he is able to find Sora in order to wake him up.
In Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, Roxas is the main character, being the 13th member of the Organization XIII and the only one capable of holding the keyblade. Day by day, we will be uncovering all the secrets of this dark corporation through different missions. In the beginning, Roxas doesn’t even remember his name, but little by little he will be able to recall some things and also to know all the members of the organization better, who will be your partner to help you in some of the missions.
At the same level of its predecessors.
Without any doubt and taking into account that this is the first title of the series to arrive to the DS, we can say that the graphics of this title are just brilliant. There are some moments where it seems that you are playing one of the PS2 games. It is incredible how Square Enix managed to introduce some of the best graphics that we have seen for the portable console.
All the adventure is developed on the top screen of the DS, leaving the one at the bottom to show a very complete map. When you press start, a menu pops up on both screens to show some options of the game and also the whole status of your character. The different CG movies between missions were developed with the same graphic engine of the game; they simply look beautiful.
Each one of the levels is an accurate copy of the ones we were able to see in the PS2 games. All the stages are beautiful, filled with a high visual aspect; they are not boring or repetitive at any time. Even if there are a lot of enemies in the screen at the same time, the fluency of the game won’t be affected.
Different Protagonists but a Great Gameplay
The similarity in the controls with its older brothers will also be present in the game. All the action and combats are developed in real time. You control your character with the arrows and you can move the camera in two different ways: the first one by moving the stylus over the touch screen and the other one by pressing Select and entering to the free camera mode. The rest of the actions are controlled via the buttons of the console’s right side. You can talk to other characters, open chests, jump, use magic and items, etc. with them.
Differently from Kingdom Hearts I and II where you were able to take control of your partners at any time, in 358/2 days, during the Story Mode, you can only play as Roxas and in the missions where you have partners of the organization at your side, they will be controlled entirely by the CPU.
As in every saga, the soundtrack is colossal and pretty accurate with the theme of the game, but unfortunately it is practically the same music that was included in the previous games. It is not a bad aspect per se, but the introduction of new themes would have probably assured a prefect score for this title. The characters’ voices are the same of the original games, so the same charisma still remains.
The main story will last around 30 hours, and the game is also provided with three different difficulty levels. Once you get used to the dynamic of the game, those hours will seem just a few, since the story absorbs you and you won’t want it to end.
Beside the single player mode, we find a multiplayer one where up to four persons will be able to play at the same time. You can choose between any members of the Organization XIII to accomplish different missions. In some of them you will have to collect specific items, or kill certain enemies. The fun with your friends is guaranteed with this mode.
