Strange panel system, & way too many recycled missions make this only a notch above Chain of Memories in suckitude
Okay, don't get me wrong: I LOVE Kingdom Hearts. So, when I heard about 358/2 Days, I was unbelievably excited. After playing it though, eeeeeh not so much. Let me start off with the good first. The story here, like previous games in the series, is quite a tale. You'll be sucked in by the exceptional dialogue and like the GS review said, this game has a lot of heart. Unfortunately, too many cutscenes simply involve Roxas, Axel, and Xion eating ice cream atop the clock tower in Twilight Town, and some new locals for cutscenes would have been welcome. The music is quite catchy, though there's nothing new, but that's not really a bad thing. I found myself humming along to the tune more than once, & the battle music in particular is very catchy, in my opinion. The graphics are pretty phenomenal for a handheld game (the voiced cutscenes in particular are gorgeous), though there's a few rough edges and blurry faces here and there. As far as gameplay goes, this is where 358/2 Days starts to waver. While the initial combat is still the same as previous entries, sans Chain of Memories, the equipment menu has been replaced by the new "Panel" system. Basically, you have a set number of slots in a deck, and weapons, magic, skills, accessories, and items are all assigned to panels. If you want to bring something into battle with you, you'll need to assign it to a slot first. This would be okay, except that you have to unlock 'Slot Releasers' to get more slots to assign panels to, and some panels take up more than one slot, as noted by a number inside a circle next to the name of the panel. For example, say you have 10 slots open and you want to equip the weapon (I'm making this name up here) 'Big Giant Keyblade 5'. Well, that will take up 5 slots, meaning you now only have 5 slots open. This still probably wouldn't be such a problem, but like I said earlier everything is assigned to panels, INCLUDING leveling up! Every time you level up in a battle, you obtain a 'Level Up' panel which you must assign to a slot to even level up!!!!! Plus, unlike in previous KH games, you may only equip one accessory at a time so you're pretty much going to have to get all the stat bonuses you can out of weapons & level up panels. Missions are another new idea that 358/2 Days brings to the table. Instead of having a linear story that you follow, Saix, the second-in-command of Organization XIII, will assign you missions each day (days are how the game progresses). Some days you will only have one mission, whereas others you may have five or six, but only missions that have a key beside them are required to progress through the game. This is fairly nice, as it lets you pick and choose how much time you want to waste performing optional missions, but if you really want to be able to hold your own in combat late in the game, you really are going to need to embark on side missions for the bonuses they reward you with. You can collect items in levels called 'Unity Badges' that will let you replay missions, and other items you get will let you replay missions as challenges and special challenges, which is basically the same mission as before but with restrictions, such as 'Level capped at 6', 'Enemy level +8', 'Jump as little as possible', etc etc. You can also replay missions in 'Mission Mode' which allows you to replay missions as various characters, such as any of the members of Organization XIII & the standard KH characters like Sora, Donald, & Goofy. You can play Mission Mode by yourself or with up to three additional players (each must have their own copy of the game) which is a nice change.
Well that's pretty much all I can think of. The In a Nutshell Review follows.
In a Nutshell:
Graphics: 8/10
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They're amazing considering this is a handheld game, but there are a few choppy edges & blurred faces. The voiced cutscenes in particular are quite gorgeous.
Sound: 8/10
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Good, but don't expect anything new.
Gameplay: 6.5/10
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The new panel system makes things weird, & missions are too often repeated, as are enemies & "bosses", if you can even call some of them that.
Replayability: 9/10
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Plenty of different ways to play missions, including with friends, with restrictions, and as different characters.
Multiplayer: 8/10
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Play with up to three friends, but they need a copy of the game.
Overall: 7.5/10
(Yes, this is not an average. I loved everything about it except the horrendous gameplay.)