Platform: PS3
Release: 2010 (2014 re-release)
Genre: Action, Platformer, RPG
Gameplay stats: 53 hours, 83% overall completion, 35% PS trophies
Alrighty! I finally finished this game! It's one I've been working on in bursts for several months, but I can finally say that I beat the whole thing, bonus and extra chapters included.
Visuals: This game is kind of ugly for a PS3 game, but very pretty for a PSP game. It's kind of hard to say which is a better way to characterize it, since it seems to straddle both realms. I guess you could say it looks like a PS2 game. The left the large HUD from the PSP version, where the HUD and icons actually needed to be big to be readable, so the interface and everything looks like it was almost made for a touch interface. It does keep in the same style as the KH 2 menus though, so that's nice. Overall, every character is unique and recognizable, but nothing in the game really looks very nice. It's pretty meh.
Audio: The Disney tunes are definitely here and very recognizable! I don't think anyone will be picking up this soundtrack as the best way to hear the music, but what's here is pretty solid. It doesn't sound like they updated the sounds like they did the graphics, so most everything falls a little flat. It's definitely passable. The sound effects are pretty good for the most part, with the exceptions of the relatively small amount of sounds the main characters can make. Just using a standard combo gets very tiring on the ears because of just how repetitive the sounds are. I'm sure it was great for the PSP back in the day, but the remaster could have used some improvements here. The voice acting is pretty bad.
Gameplay: For the most part, this game feels like a standard KH title, albeit a sluggish one. The biggest addition here is the Command Deck. Each of all of the character's special abilities can be changed around and equipped at will, so you can highly customize the tools at your disposal. I wanna say each character has around 140 commands (many overlap), but there are a lot of choices for sure. The gameplay is largely unchanged from KH 1, but it leaves a lot to be desired after playing KH 2. Packing it on the same disc as KH 2 really makes this title feel lacking. The game is mildly challenging when played on Critical Mode, and there were a few bosses that took me more than a couple tries. I have heard that the hidden bosses in the game are some of the hardest in the series, but I didn't like this game enough to go for the 100%, and consequently I didn't try any of the post-game bosses outside of the story ones.
Story: An interesting feature here is that the game is essentially done in triplicate. You can choose one of three characters at the start and their stories are all different parts of an overarching narrative. They all play slightly differently, and that's a really interesting inclusion! Playing through the same stages three times does tend to get a bit stale, but overall it's a very interesting story to see unfold from each character's point of view. You can see the motivations of each character in their story and that helps you understand why they act the way that they do. Being able to play through the characters makes the story choices feel more meaningful in a way, but with the characters each having their own personality, you are sure to have to spend a dozen hours with a protagonist that you can't stand. Luckily, this series isn't known for its well written plot! The inclusion of a theatre mode at the end to watch all of the cutscenes from each character arranged on a single timeline is very cool.
Overall, I thought this game was a bit lackluster. It'll scratch that Kingdom Hearts itch if you've got one, but there's not nearly as much meat in this game as there is in the mainline titles. This game was critically well received, although I couldn't tell you why. Maybe it was a better game in 2010 than it seems to be in 2016. Anyway, I'd give it a 6.5/10.
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