Why Take a Great Action Game and Make it Into a Card Battle?
The storyline in this game is very confusing, relying heavily on your knowledge of the original game. It is very slow and not nearly as compelling as its predecessor. The new characters are not well developed, and you do not end up having a lot of empathy for them.
The battle system in this game is card based, instead of hack and slash. I do not enjoy card based fighting, especially not "real-time" card based fighting, like CoM. Fortunately, the graphics in this game are some of the best on the GBA, so you are at least visually entertained.
I felt I had to play through this game so I woudl be ready when KH2 came out. Hopefully the next game will help establish CoM's place within the trilogy, much like Return of the Jedi did for Empire Strikes Back. Until then, I will continue to be disappointed in this title.