Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories
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| Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories | |
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| Developer(s) | Jupiter |
| Publisher(s) | JP Square Enix Co., Ltd. PAL Nintendo |
| Series | Kingdom Hearts series |
| Release date(s) | JP November 11, 2004 NA December 7, 2004 |
| Genre(s) | Action RPG |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Everyone OFLC: G8+ |
| Platform(s) | Game Boy Advance PlayStation 2 |
| Media | 256 megabit cartridge DVD-ROM |
Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories (キングダムハーツ チェインオブメモリーズ Kingudamu Hātsu Chein obu Memorīzu?) is a video game developed by Jupiter and published by Square Enix Co., Ltd. for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance and the second installment in the Kingdom Hearts series, bridging the gap between Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II. The game was released in the United States on December 7, 2004 and in Europe on May 6, 2005.
Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories was remade into a PlayStation 2 game that was released in a package with Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix+ in Japan on March 29, 2007.
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[edit] Gameplay
This game's gameplay is a combination between a console role-playing game and a collectible card game. Every action that Sora does (except moving and jumping) is based on cards. For example, physical attacks, offensive/defensive magic, items, and summoning are all used by playing cards. Enemy cards are used to give Sora a temporary ability, such as better offensive or defensive capabilities.
Cards are numbered from 0 - 9, which are used for making attack combos, or breaking enemy cards. The higher the card number, the more Card Points are required to equip it for use. Premium Cards do not require as much CP to equip, but they become unreloadable for further use during a battle unless they are restored by an item card that can reload such cards.
Combining cards in sets of three will create attacks that are more difficult to break because they are higher in number than a single card. They can still be broken by a well-timed 0 card, however. Certain card combinations will create a sleight, a special combination that will create a powerful physical attack, magical spell, or a summon. The cost of a combination, whether broken or not, is the loss of the first card of the sequence and it will not be reloaded.
Using some of the Boss Enemy cards can also have an additional side effect. Other than receiving the temporary special ability associated with that card, Sora and Riku will also become resistant and weak against the same type of damage, such as using Axel's card makes Sora resistant to fire-based magic, but becomes stunned by ice-based magic.
Another aspect more unique to this game is the synthesis of new rooms: to advance through the game, Sora must utilize Map cards he has found after winning a battle to create rooms and everything in them, from enemies to items. Each card has a specific effect, ranging from creating a room with more enemies or slower-moving enemies to save rooms and treasure-containing ones.
Both Sora and Riku's card playing system are different. In Sora's story, Sora must obtain cards through playing through the game or through Moogle Shops. In some cases Sora must earn the specific card first through gameplay before it becomes available in a Moogle Shop. Sora can create a total of three different decks so long as the decks do not exceed the current Card Point (CP) limit and each deck contains at least one attack card.
Unlike Sora, Riku has a closed deck that cannot be customized. The deck is dependent entirely on what world he is in. Riku cannot use summon, magic, Premium, most items, and certain map and enemy cards. While he can still combine cards, Riku cannot use sleights unless he is in dark mode. Three clear advantages that Riku has over Sora is that Riku can use any of his Boss Enemy cards whenever he wants after he receives them (The Non-Boss Enemy Cards are only temporary and each one individually can only be used for one world), he reloads his cards at a faster rate than Sora, and he can raise his attack power at certain levels instead of collecting cards of a new weapon that has higher attack power (Sora has to equip the new Keyblade attack cards that have higher attack power, but they take more CP to equip than less powerful cards of equivalent value). However Riku's greatest weakness is that he can't heal as easily during battle, as his King Mickey Friend card, Search Ghost enemy card, or the Oogie Boogie boss card are his only set of cards that can restore HP.
[edit] Plot
[edit] Setting
- Further information: List of locations in the Kingdom Hearts series
All the worlds in Chain of Memories (with the exception of Twilight Town) are the same worlds contained in the first Kingdom Hearts, except for the "Deep Jungle" world. However, the plotlines differ slightly from those in the original game, and generally revolve around the themes of memory and feelings.
The Disney Worlds:
- Agrabah, from Aladdin.
- Olympus Coliseum, from Hercules.
- Wonderland, from Alice in Wonderland.
- Monstro, from Pinocchio.
- Atlantica, from The Little Mermaid.
- Halloween Town, from The Nightmare Before Christmas.
- Neverland, from Peter Pan.
- 100 Acre Wood, from Winnie the Pooh.
The original worlds:
- Traverse Town
- Hollow Bastion
- Destiny Islands
- Twilight Town
- Castle Oblivion, the 'real' world in the story; the others are memory-based environments.
[edit] Characters
Though many characters from Kingdom Hearts were voiced by the cast from before, the Japanese version used the following voice actors (all voice acting was done only for the battle sequences of the characters below):
- Keiji Fujiwara as Axel.
- Tatsuya Kando as Vexen, Marluxia, and Lexaeus.
- Rieko Katayama as Larxene.
It should be noted that the Organization characters only had vocal commands spoken in battle in the Japanese version of the game and not in the English version. The English version had only giggles for Larxene in battle and a Kefka-like laugh for Vexen, neither of which reflected their original Japanese battle cries.
Axel's "fire" vocal was entirely removed for the English version and the only remnants of Marluxia's voice are the deep grunts which were present in the Japanese version. Characters who appeared in Kingdom Hearts such as Riku, Sora and others simply had voice clips from that game inserted into the English version. Interestingly, Tatsuya Kando, the voice of Vexen, Marluxia and Lexaeus, happens to be the Animation Director for Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories and Kingdom Hearts II.
[edit] Story
The story of Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories takes place directly after the ending of the first installment, Kingdom Hearts. We find Sora, his two friends Donald Duck and Goofy, as well as Jiminy Cricket, walking down a seemingly never-ending path, when suddenly a mysterious man dressed in a black hooded trenchcoat tells Sora, "Ahead lies something you need. But to claim it, you must lose something dear." As they continue down the path, Sora and his companions find a massive fortress called Castle Oblivion. When they enter, they find the mysterious figure.
When Sora and his companions attempt to engage the figure, they find that their abilities seem to have no effect.[2] The figure then explains that at the moment our heroes entered the castle they forgot every ability they had previously known. This figure continues by creating a deck of cards made from Sora and his friends' memories, and tells them that everything they encounter in this castle will be based on their memories. But the higher they go, the more memories they will lose in the process.
Meanwhile, floors below, Riku has somehow managed to return from the World of Darkness and fights his own inner demons as he battles upward from the basement levels of Castle Oblivion. But neither he nor Sora are aware that they are being targeted by a mysterious group called the Organization. As Riku ascends Castle Oblivion, he, like Sora, encounters various members of the Organization. One particular encounter with an Organization member known as Vexen served simply as an analysis of Riku's combat data, which Vexen used to make a replica of Riku. Unlike the real Riku, this replica chose to embrace the Darkness and proclaimed himself the stronger of the two because he was able to wield the full power of the Darkness, while the real Riku did all that he could to suppress it within himself. The Riku Replica crosses blades with the real Riku on a couple of different occasions. After losing to Riku in both encounters, Vexen decides to find a different use for him...
As Sora ascends through the castle, he battles Larxene, a member of the Organization. After battling her, he remembers the name of a former friend of his that he forgot: Naminé. He learns that she is being held in the castle, and continues to ascend the castle, clashing with the Riku Replica who now believes himself to be the real Riku. After witnessing the death of Vexen, another Organization member, Sora learns from Naminé herself that the hooded figure he met earlier is named Marluxia, and is in fact manipulating both of them into being his servants. He also learned that everything he remembered about Naminé was fake, planted in his memory by her. Naminé was never on the islands, but the only thing Sora can remember is her. Marluxia hoped to enslave Sora with these false memories and use the Keyblade's power to overthrow the Organization, but Naminé was able to admit the truth to Sora due to the intervention of Axel, an Organization member who served as a double-agent. Forming an alliance with the Riku Replica—who turns on the Organization when he finds out that he is a fake and that the memories he had were also created by Naminé—they fought to the top of the castle and defeated Marluxia. Sora then bid farewell to the Riku Replica, who left to find the truth to his existence. After sealing the Keyhole on the top floor of Castle Oblivion, Naminé then put Sora & company into an unnatural sleep inside a cluster of pod-like machines to help them regain the memories they lost in the castle, even though they would forget about the events that transpired in the castle.
Meanwhile, as Sora was fighting his way through the castle, Riku began destroying dark beings he met in the depths of the castle in an attempt to rid himself of the darkness. "Ansem", who took over Riku's body in the previous game, attempted to gain control of Riku again, but was continually thwarted with the intervention of King Mickey. On the way, Riku battles another Organization member named Lexaeus. Riku then used his dark abilities and noticed that Marluxia had been killed. He was confronted by Zexion, a manipulative Organization member, but embraced his darkness and overcame him. Arriving in Twilight Town, Riku learned that the "Ansem" who had goaded him earlier was in fact DiZ, an enigmatic man who seemed interested in Riku. DiZ sent Riku to speak with Naminé, but a new foe blocked his way: the Riku Replica, who now sought to justify his existence by finding out which of the two Riku's was the strongest. After eliminating the replica in a fierce battle, Riku learned from Naminé that what remained of the "real" Ansem lived in the bowels of his heart. Riku chose to face him, and after affirming this with DiZ, the odd man loosed "Ansem" from Riku's heart for him to battle. After successfully defeating "Ansem", Riku learned that as long as he had darkness at his command, "Ansem" would reside within him. He set out on a quest to keep his darkness but remain his own master, with King Mickey as his companion. Riku learns that while his darkness is a significant part of his heart, he may still use it, as well as his light, to fight for good alongside his friends.
[edit] Development
Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories was originally going to be called Kingdom Hearts: Lost Memories, according the creator Tetsuya Nomura [3]. The theme songs, which can actually be heard, for the Japanese and English versions of Chain of Memories are "Hikari" and "Simple And Clean," respectively.
[edit] Reception
While the least successful in the series, both critically and commercially, Chain of Memories received generally positive reviews. The main criticism was directed at the battle system, which Gamespot called "unwieldy". Many critics also found the Room Synthesis to be far too linear. The most frequent praise, however, went towards the story, which IGN called an “engrossing storyline that actually changes up after the adventure comes to an end".
In Japan, however, the game was exceptionally well received, receiving an excellent 36/40 from Famitsu.[3] It sold 104,001 units in just 48 hours, a record for a Game Boy Advance title at the time.[4]
[edit] Versions and merchandise
A manga series ran in Monthly Shonen Gangan in Japan. It was written and illustrated by Shiro Amano, the author of the original Kingdom Hearts manga. The manga was released in two volumes. It is accompanied by three novels - two set during Sora's storyline, and the third during Reverse/Rebirth, Riku's game. The manga was released in English, beginning October 10, 2006, by Tokyopop.
[edit] Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories
Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories was remade for the PlayStation 2, dubbed Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories. The remake includes polygonal 3D battles and worlds using the same level of graphics as Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II, as well as voice acting, while gameplay will stay mostly the same, with the Reaction Command function from Kingdom Hearts II. The voice acting will be only in the hallways between the world floors and partly in the Destiny Islands and Twilight Town worlds. The remake also includes new cutscenes and battles that were not in the original game. It was released as the second disc of Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix+ in Japan on March 29, 2007.[1] Several independent sources state that a release in North America will occur in Fall 2007[5], with no confirmation from Square Enix.
[edit] References
- ^ a b 『キングダム ハーツII ファイナル ミックス＋』が3月29日に発売！ "dengekionline.com". URL Accessed December 29, 2006
- ^ Donald: "THUNDER! Huh? That's odd. THUNDER! THUNDER!! Umm...FIRE! Blizzard?" Jupiter. Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories. Square Enix U.S.A., Disney Interactive. Game Boy Advance. (in English). 2004-12-07.
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
- ^ Guitar Hero 80s, Half-Life 2: Orange in New EGM "1up.com". URL Accessed January, 12 2007
[edit] External links
- Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories - Square Enix's official website
- Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix+ - Japanese Final Mix+ official website
- Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories at MobyGames
- Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories at Rotten Tomatoes
- Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories at the Internet Movie Database
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Kingdom Hearts • Chain of Memories • II |
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