A mix of fun and frustration.
The first thing that stands out about 358/2 is its graphics. The game pushes the limits of the DS instead of simplifying the entire experience. With HD televisions and next-gen systems, I doubt you'll be standing around admiring the environments and animations, but I have yet to see something better on the DS. Speaking of the environments, they are almost all recycled from the original Kingdom Hearts, as is most of the music. This actually gives a nice sense of nostalgia at first, but that inevitably fades and may have you wishing the developers had done something more original. Still, they look good for the DS. There are even cutscenes that are the DS equivalent of a CG cutscene on consoles. However, these are extremely rare and are only used for the most important plot scenes. Except for these scenes, character dialogue is written, although characters will usually make an odd grunting or gasping sound as the words appear. These can get somewhat annoying, especially Roxas's over-dramatic gasps. But, as with any game, looks and sounds are not everything, and I'm sure you want to know whether those 358 days are going to feel like fun or work.
The game is presented in mission-based gameplay. You take Roxas on missions throughout the Disney worlds, sometimes with an ally, and complete specific objectives. These include fighting Heartless, collecting emblems, or taking down bosses. There are a number of optional missions, but you only have to complete a select few before you can advance the story and fast-forward twenty or so days. The Castle that Never Was serves as your HQ before going on these missions. Here you can equip weapons, items, and abilities, as "panels" on a grid. Everything you need for missions must be placed on this grid, from level up panels to weapons and magic. Finding the perfect combination of these panels on your grid can be an interesting distraction, which you just may need with this game. There is also a mission mode that lets you play with friends, but only via a local connection. It can be fun playing as other characters and doing challenge missions, but the real meat of the game is the story mode.
The combat in 358/2 is almost the same as in the original PS2 entries, with a mini menu being used to either attack, cast magic, or use items. However, you now are limited to a certain amount of magic casts instead of having a magicka bar. You are also limited to only the items you bring with you, not your entire stock. The combat is simple enough, and allows you to string together ground and air combos by mashing the attack button. But this does not work quite as well as it did on the console games. Why Square Enix decided to go with this system instead of the deck system used in Chain of Memories (which is built more for handheld systems) eludes me. Many enemies in the game have high health and require a long fight to take down. Furthermore, many of them force you to chase them around and attack, which caused a few too many hand cramps. After all, playing on a hand-held DS is not the same as holding a full controller in your hand, so movement and attack aren't always going to transfer easily. I've even had enemies warp away because our fight went beyond their spawn boundaries, thus erasing all the damage I did and making me start over. Casting magic is another problem, as most offensive spells only fire in a straight line. Unless you're right in an enemy's face when you cast it, magic misses its target nine times out of ten, because the heartless simply move out of the way. So, you will spend most of your time doing physical attacks. This can make some fights (especially boss) extremely long and repetitive. As I said, many bosses have to be defeated only one way: chase down, attack a few times, dodge their attacks, and repeat for a half hour. There are also more than a few enemies that can launch an attack that will lead Roxas to his death if it hits. I'm not against games being hard, but when the game traps and kills me in a volley of attacks that I missed avoiding by a split second or because of a camera issue, I can't help but feel like it was a little cheap, especially after 20 minutes of repetitive fighting. To be fair, the camera is mostly problem-free, but sometimes becomes very awkward when locked-on to an enemy or trying to select another enemy to lock to. There a few issues with the frame rate slowing down, but not too many.
So if this game is so repetitive and gave me hand cramps, why would I play through all 358 days? Well, that would be because of the story, of course! Being a pretty hardcore KH fan, I wanted to know everything that happened in this period of time and all the secrets the series still had to reveal. Unfortunately, the story is drawn out and progresses very slowly. It really doesn't pick up until the last hundred days, but even then your missions don't reflect what's going on in the story. Each Disney world has its own story, although these are usually short and un-inspiring because you are not really saving any worlds, as Roxas is just there to do his own business. While the story is slow, some the biggest moments in the game can be very dramatic and emotional, but it doesn't last long once you get back to the mission grind.
Overall, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days could have been one of the best games on the DS, but it falls short for a few reasons. The developers should have put more time into making the game original and made for hand-helds, instead of recycling all the environments, music, and combat system from the original KH. The story can be captivating at times, but it is very drawn-out, so you'll have to learn not to hold your breath. For the diehard Kingdom Hearts fan, this may be worth playing for the story and some nostalgia that comes with visiting the original KH worlds. For newcomers and casual fans, I would suggest staying clear of this game, or at least don't pay full price for it, because there's a good chance it will only frustrate you.