"Interesting concept, so-so execution."

This is one of those games that doesn't really have a middle ground as far as public opinion. The vast majority either loved it or hated it. It's hard to understand why until you've actually sat down and played the game. Everything one would expect in a Kingdom Hearts game is here and that's part of the problem. Not enough has changed. Yes, the average KH fan will be pleased, but causal gamers and people new to the series are left behind.

The main point of this game is to explain a few, admittedly trivial, plot points in detail and help set the stage for Kingdom Hearts 2. After KH1, Sora and the rest came upon a castle. In this castle, everything they remembered, they forgot. Every time they learned something new, they had to forget something old. This results in a trip down memory lane, which means a rehash of the previous game for us. Heartless, battles, music, places, philosophical speeches, the whole shebang. But, this time, you get to play it with amazing card-battle goodness. Minus the goodness.

Yes, that's right, card battles. If you're anything like me, you like your Kingdom Hearts with a healthy dose of platforming. And, at first glance, the game seems to be a pure platformer. As Sora runs from room to room, various Heartless will spawn. Touching one initiates as battle. Of cards. This is where things start to go down hill. Among the various cards found throughout the game, many represent attacks. Before heading into battle, the player is given the option to create a deck of attack cards, ranging from Keyblade action, magic, items and summons. In an attempt to add a level of strategy, each card has a numerical value. When the enemy attacks, it will also be assigned a value. Based on the difference between the two numbers, you may take, receive or block damage. This, in of itself, helps to break the game by making these numbers visible. All one would have to do is gather together a deck of the most uncommon numbers and, boom, unstoppable.

But what happens when the cards run out? Simple, just recharge the deck. By coming to a dead stop. In the middle of a battle field. And don't move, that's the important part.

Hey, you think you won't need the strategy while you have Donald and Goofy hanging around, right? Wrong, Sora fights alone. The duck and the dog are given to him as his first summons (all of which show up long enough to fire off an attack that will most likely miss or do a pathetic amount of damage). It's kind of like Baten Kaitos meets Streets of Rage, but with broken RPG elements and fighter mechanics mixed with a distinct lack of fun. Toss in some frustration and, holy crap, we've got a special child. As for collecting these cards, the process is so necessary, the challenge is eliminated. Enemies drop cards, as do barrels, chests, stores and story events. A case could be made for a challenge being created based on the price of cards and the challenge of finding a store. However, munny is easy to come by (and can be found in many of the same places as cards) and shops are littered all over worlds, ignoring the fact that some cards can create shops.

You thought you could escape from this card nonsense by running around the over world, right? That's adorable. The worlds, various as they are, are all made up of square playing fields with exits and pathways littered around. Passing through these exits requires, you guessed it, the correct card, which can be found in all the same places as the rest. Just to add a bit of variety, each room will be different based on what card is use to open the door. That is, a treasure card will make the next room a treasure room, a card comprised of enemies will result in a room of death. This does create an illusion of strategy, as low health and a stack of cards that create tidal waves of monsters doesn't exactly instill one with a warm sense of ‘this-is-a-good-idea'.

Graphically, this is one of the best looking games on the GBA. Bright, colorful, detailed worlds, well animated sprites and near perfect transition of characters from PS2 polygons to GBA pixels. Really, this has to be the most masterful job ever done for a game of this type.

However, there is a very strict limit. Yes, the levels are bright and beautiful, but there is no variety. At all. Imagine a colorful paper box. Next, imagine this box is a room. Now, imagine every room looks exactly alike, the exception being the furniture, which has been moved around a bit. Toss in a few predictably moving enemies and a couple random items, boom, done. Yes, it's pretty right from the start, but it gets visually old fast.

Let's not forget the FMV sequences. Yeah, that's right, FMV. On a GBA. Near PS2 quality, even. No skips, no lag, virtually unnoticeable artifacting.

The visuals are on just about equal footing with the audio and stands among the best available on the GBA. Sadly, the full potential wasn't abused. While it's the best on the GBA, it's still little more than MIDI rehashes of tracks from the previous game. Oh, yes, PS2 quality tracks, downgraded. The audio people didn't even bother coming up with new sounds. Sad, really, seeing the amount of love and care that went into basically rerecording everything.

In the long run, CoM only has as much life as you choose to put into it. It all depends on your devotion to the game and the series. After beating the game once, the real game begins. A new round of the same starts in, but this time, no Sora. Riku takes center stage and we get to find out more about what he was up to during the last game, he troubles and his good friend King Mickey. The game plays virtually the same way with very little changes outside the story. And, much like the first half of the game, it's all trivial in the grand scheme of things. There are obvious collection aspects in effect here, but as most of the collectables are required for the main game, any missing pieces will only be minor distractions. Outside that and the story, there really isn't much more to gain.

As with all games, it's really up to the individual if the game is worth touching or not. If you're a dedicated fan of Kingdom Hearts, then you'll most likely have no problem seeing past CoM obvious flaws. If you aren't a fan (dedicated or otherwise), it's still worth a look. Despite the problems, it's still one of the better looking, better sounding games available for the GBA. However, the game play may drive you back. Remember what I said back at the start. It'll be very rare for a person to have a mixed feeling about CoM, it's either love or hate. If you're a fan, buy it, play it, love it. Otherwise, bum it off a friend.

Score: 6/10

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 12/20/04, Updated 01/23/08

Game Release: Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories (US, 12/07/04)