Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days

by Peeps

As more and more iconic RPGs are flocking to the DS we have now received Square Enix’s Kingdom Hearts title for the DS. This game is one the the prequels from the Kingdom Hearts series with some new plot developments, as well as gameplay tweaks to fit the DS nicely. The new multiplayer aspect is just one of the things Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days brings to the table, as well as a few other goodies.

Graphics.  The spiffy graphics engine is one of the bigger offerings that Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days shows to its players. The graphics of the cutscenes is on par with the PS2, and does not disappoint. The in game graphics are not nearly as crisp, as well as bringing out some texture and pop-up issues. The in-game graphics are still pretty good looking to a point for some of the weapons used, however there are some range issues, as well as some fights tend to be a tad more difficult than they should due to this. The multiplayer also suffers from this as lag is a bit of an issue on missions with 3 players and up, this again makes some fights much harder than needed.

Sound.  The sound quality overall is, quite frankly, excellent. The soundtrack has some tracks from the first and second installments, as well as some new tracks made for the game. The voice acting is pretty solid, with many return voices done in good quality. The crisp sound does carry well during battle, however as mentioned earlier there is some lag with multiplayer. The only downside for sound is, as with most RPGs, the battle fares can become tiresome, especially during repeat missions for completionists.

Gameplay & Control. The transition to the DS did not hamper gameplay much, however it does get a bit tiring on certain set ups. There are different button schemes that allow for some degree of customizing. The battle set up can be a bit wonky at first due to the shortcut access, but again this depends on setup scheme. The new leveling system brings something new to the table, and gives a new spin on level balancing. This new grid style system allows for players to choose how they want to prioritize their fighting style, but with this comes a tighter item management learning curve for fans of the Kingdom Hearts series. This new grid system does also allow for three different set-ups to allow for experimentation with different characters and their abilities. There are many weapons, as usual, to unlock, but with some twists involving the new level up system. The multiplayer is nicely done and balanced, with a few exceptions. The multiplayer does become fairly necessary during certain missions, however to have a truly balanced multiplayer session, all involved have to have the same levels unlocked, as well as generally same level range. The lag is the main hitch to multiplayer, that and the scoring system is a tad wonky, but decent overall.

Overall.  Despite some lag issues, and some graphics hitches Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days is a solid title for the DS owner. The story gives Kingdom Hearts fans a nice standby until a true sequel is made, with a much better job done than Chain of Memories in gameplay transitioning to a portable system. The sound and cutscene graphics are excellent, with fairly solid voice acting thrown in the mix. Given this it is a solid game for anybody that is a DS owner, or Kingdom Hearts fan to try.