Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep tops the perfection that was Kingdom Hearts II in almost every way.
Plot has always been a huge part of the KH games, and is actually the biggest reason I play them. I've learned to expect great things from the plot of Kingdom Hearts and this game is no different, giving us a very deep plot to ponder. This particular game goes about it in a new, strange way, however. In Birth By Sleep, you, at the beginning of the game, choose which of the three main characters you wish to play as. These three characters are divided into three, approximately ten hour campaigns each. Total those numbers, and you get the standard 30-40 hour KH game. At first, I wasn't happy with this new method. It seemed as if you wouldn't get to spend enough time with each character, and that things would come repetitive. Plus, since each character visits the same worlds, I thought things, in a similar manner, would become stale. Once again, however, Square shows they know what they're doing. Even though each character visits the same worlds, their time spent in each is much shorter than a normal KH game. Each character participates in a different part of the story of each world. For example, Terra witnesses the taking of Aurora's heart, Ventus sets out to free her heart, and Aqua helps Prince Phillip fight for true love's kiss. Of course, each Disney story is KH-ified and incorporates main plot points into them. Given this, it's fun to play through each of the three characters, seeing how their role plays into the plot. By playing through all three, you can see how everything ties together, and can then unlock "The Final Chapter" which ties the whole shebang up.
The gameplay of BBS is possibly the greatest highlight of this particular game. The basic concepts of traversing worlds remain the same, but the battle system has been totally revamped. A complaint of the KH series has been that the battle system relies too heavily on button mashing. Even big fans, like me, knew deep down that at some point something would have to change to avoid repetivity. Now, Square's done it, and given us a battle system that's an absolute blast to use. Like in previous games, pressing X allows you to perform Keyblade combos, and nothing much has changed there, except the nifty new "finish commands" that allow you to use a special combo if you score enough Keyblade hits. It used to be that the command deck on the side of the screen functioned for magic, item, and summon use. Now, that board takes on a whole new role. In it, you can place "commands" of your choosing to use on the battlefield. Commands include magic, attacks, and items. For example, one who likes magic could fill up their deck with magic like Fire and Thunder. An all-physical player could load their deck with attacks such as Quick Blitz and Strike Raid. Mix and match, with both kinds. There are no limitations except for the number of slots you have at your disposal. On the battlefield you can use these commands by pressing triangle. When a command is used, the deck will automatically switch to the next command in line, but you can use the d-pad to search through the deck as well. The commands are all balanced by reload time. Once a command is used, it must recharge before it can be used again. An attack like Fire will recharge much quicker than a devastating giga-command (takes up two slots) such as Salvation. Using these commands in combination with standard attacks makes fighting un-repetitive and an absolute blast. You can purchase new commands from shops, but can also forge new ones by "melding." As you use commands in battle, their "level" goes up. Leveling up commands allows them to pack more punch, but also allows them to be used in melding. In melding, you can take two commands that are compatible with each other, and combine them to make one new command. Melding Sliding Dash and Fire might yield Fire Dash, for one. It's an easy and addicting system to use. To make it even better, you can attach a synthesis material as a third ingredient. Doing this will attach an ability to the command, such as Lucky Strike, or HP Prize Boost to the ability. The ability will be in effect as long as you have the command equipped. But, if you level up the command to it's highest level; the ability becomes permanent (unless you choose to toggle it off). In this way, melding can become more about earning new abilities rather than new commands, and since different synthesis materials yield different ability types, the possibilities go on and on. It's a very easy to use, yet still complex system. But the new features don't stop there. Through the game, you will unlock new "command styles." Command styles are similar to Drive Forms from KH2. They power up your standard attacks to new heights by using certain types of abilities. The command style Diamond Dust, as an example, lets you use the power of ice to freeze and shatter your opponents. You can activate it by using Blizzard-based attacks. Using magic over physical attacks activates spell Weaver. Some styles have to activate within other command styles. Command styles dramatically increase your power, and are fun to activate, as they force you to think about how your command deck is built, giving an element of strategy. Another great addition to the battle system in the "Shotlock." By holding down the L and R buttons, you switch to a first-person view with an aiming reticule. You have but few seconds to lock on to as many enemies as you can, then release a devastating honing, projectile (in most cases) attack. Shot locks are very useful when surrounded, especially since you are invincible while you are firing. They are also great against bosses, as you can put all your locks on one target if you choose. D-links are the new version of summons, and replace all your commands with a group that pertains to the character. They're just as useless as the summons of past KH games, but they're optional and offer no hindrance. Using all these new functions to take on hordes of Unversed, and great new bosses is extremely fun and addicting. Scarce will you ever want to skip out a battle, and even level grinding becomes fun.
So are there flaws in this great new system? Few. For one, the melding system can be restrictive as only certain combinations are compatible with each other. Want to see what awesomeness Sonic Blade combined with Salvation will behold? Tough, because those commands aren't compatible. Obviously, you can't just infinitely stack commands, but sometimes it seems like some combinations that aren't incorporated should have been. Then, we have Aqua. Terra, is portrayed as the character that's all brute force, and Ven is the all-arounder. Both of those characters live up to those claims. Aqua is supposed to be the all-magic girl. Instead, she excels at nothing. At all. She's no faster than Terra, her physical attacks are pathetically weak, and her magic is no better than the other two. This makes her a frustrating character to use to say the least.
If you ever get tired of the main game (might take a while), there are many extras to divert your attention. The Command Board is a board game similar to monopoly that can be accessed from any save point. In it, you choose one of the many boards, winning conditions, and you're off. The goal of the command board is to amount enough wealth to win. Wealth is measured by the amount of physical money (GP) you have in your possession and the total wealth of the spaces. While moving, if you land on a blank space, you can pay GP to own it as well as lay down a card. Every command in your inventory (not just your deck) functions as a card in-game. When players land on your spaces, they have to give you GP pertaining to the type of space. You can use cards in your decks to initiate abilities, get new commands, level up spaces, and so on. At the end of the game, any abilities you laid down get leveled up depending on the kind of activity they received. The Command Board isn't necessary to doing well in game, but it's a very fun, and surprisingly deep game of its own. Disney Town is a mini-game-centric world (comparable to the Hundred-Acre Wood of old), which sports three all-new minigames. Fruitball is a soccer-hockey-volley ball type of game that really doesn't offer much fun. Rumble Racing is an atrociously boring racing game with not so much as even a couple items to break things up. Ice-cream Beat is the best of the bunch, and is a fun, Quendan-style rhythm game with a decent amount of tracks and difficulty levels. Finally, the Mirage Arena is the multiplayer hub of the game. Here, you can do a plethora of things with your friends. Take on waves of enemies and bosses, play the Command Board, and for the first time in KH history, fight each other head on. You can also take on your friends in Rumble Racing, which, stated before, is zero fun. I haven't gotten a chance to try multiplayer, unfortunately, but it looks like a blast. You can also play the Mirage Arena solo, the only game not being available being the head to head mode.
The music and sound of the game carries on the KH tradition of greatness. There are many, many voice-acted cutscenes in BBS. All the voice-actors play their roles extremely well. There was much controversy over Terra's voice, but I can't see the problem. I think he does an excellent job. All sound effects are crisp and clean, making battles alive. The music of Birth By Sleep, I must say is a tad disappointing. Ms. Shimomura never fails to impress, of course. There are some great tracks, to be sure, such as the themes of Ventus and Aqua, Wayfinders, and possibly the best in-game rendition of Dearly Beloved yet. But there are stunning failures as well. BBS features three "final boss" themes, and none of them are very impressive. The fourth, and "true" final boss anthem is quite an improvement over the last three, but still fails to meet the masterpiece that was 358/2's final boss track. Simple and Clean is the main theme of this KH game, and it is always a pleasure to hear the great Hikaru Utada in action.
Altogether, BBS is a game for the ages. The revamped battle system makes fights an absolute joy, melding is addictive and intuitive, and the Command Board and Mirage Arena are deep, and serve well as diversions from the main game. After the game is completed, there are challenges, trophies, and treasures to collect, secret bosses to fight, and more. The sheer amount of things to do in this game is simply astounding, and yet, unlike previous games, it never feels overwhelming. Smaller worlds make for a more enjoyable hunting experience. The game took me about 35 hours to beat-that's playing through at a steady pace, pretty much fighting every Unversed encounter. Since then I've branched into the 45-50 hour area and still counting. Also, I played through the game on Proud Mode, which is the second hardest of the four difficulty settings. This could possibly account for the trouble I had with Aqua, but I've heard around that she's pretty much as weak as I say. Aside from the small flaws mentioned here, BBS is pretty much perfect. The astounding battle system, the excellent plot, the great soundtrack, and plethora of extras make this truly a game to remember, and I think, the best game in the Kingdom Hearts series to date.