Game Changers - Other

Kingdom Hearts is an action RPG featuring characters from Disney and the Final Fantasy games, but you don't need to be familiar with either of the franchises to play Kingdom Hearts (I'm sure it helps, but I personally have never played any Final Fantasy games and had no problems with the Kingdom Hearts series). Kingdom Hearts: Re:Chain of Memories (Re:COM) is a remake on the Playstation consoles of Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories (originally available on the Nintendo DS).

Sora, Donald and Goofy (the protagonists of KH1) stumble across a mysterious castle and all have the strange feeling that they'll find King Mickey there. But when a mysterious figure meets them in the entrance hall, they realise that they've forgotten all the skills they'd learned before — they're going to have to learn some new skills if they want to traverse the castle and find what they've lost. But what they've come seeking might not be what they leave with — for in Castle Oblivion, to find is to lose and to lose is to find...

Yl;dr because this section is very long and I want to do my best to summarise why I love this game so much: this game takes a look at the Kingdom Hearts series in a way that very few others do. Questions this game raises (and leaves you to decide the answers on) include: Are Sora and his friends naive to believe that friendship overcomes all? Is Sora right to keep going when he is aware of how much he may lose? Should we let our actions be ruled by false memories and the feelings they cause in the present? Also, unlike KH1 in my view, each of the stories in the individual worlds supports and ties into the questions raised by the game.

I am aware that this game has a reputation. I am sure that it is controversial of me to say that, of the Kingdom Hearts games I have played (I, II, Re:COM and BBS), this is my favourite. Nevertheless, it is true. I actually have a lot I would like to say but do not quite have the time to write it, so most of the following is adapted from my more freeform comments I have made previously about the game.

The first thing to know about this game is that the combat system involves cards. Unlike in KH1, every time you swing your keyblade, it uses a card, which has a number associated with it.

Every time an enemy attacks, they use a card with its own number. Without going into specifics, if your card has a higher number, your attack succeeds; if it doesn't, you don't.

Many people have a reaction to the card system along the lines of 'why did you break something that didn't need to be fixed!?'. I disagree — and I disagree on both points.

Firstly, for me, KH1's battle system was... boring. I can't think of many bosses that required more thought than 'mash attack' (yes, there are some exceptions) and I certainly can't think of any enemies that required more than this. This mindless attacking was one of the worst parts of KH1 for me and I had never considered for a second that it could be fixed. And yet COM did it in one fell swoop with the card system: no longer could I (or should I!) mindlessly attack without abandon. Every swipe had to be carefully considered. Was this card likely to beat theirs? If not, was it worth making a sleight (stacking three cards together, but you lose the last two cards for the rest of the battle) to beat it? Not to mention, there was careful consideration to be had outside the battle! Should I include such-and-such a card but reduce the size of my deck as a result, or should I include such-and-such a card, which was weaker, but would allow me to keep more cards?

Secondly... I don't think the card system broke anything (at least for the reasons outlined above). I understand why these people think it did — I had a similar reaction when I started playing the game. Initially, it felt like an extra layer on top of the combat that only took away. But again, as explained above, it very much does not. And so, because I had a similar reaction when I started playing, I feel fairly confident in saying what people who have this reaction really mean is 'I don't like that I'm struggling now'. Because the learning curve of the cards is steep. I do not deny that it's steep. But when it clicks? Oh boy, when it clicks, it is SO fucking rewarding. And frankly, very rarely have I had a game so effectively teach me how to use a completely new mechanic — and use it well.

So, you're playing as Sora, walking through this building, trying to puzzle out the mysteries of this place (which, I definitely don't have time to go into but before I got hooked on the gameplay, the curiousity was what kept me going, and I think it does a great job in the story and giving you juuuust enough to come to your own conclusions before the reveal(s)), and at some point it all clicks: you know how to card break effectively, you know when to sleight, you know how to arrange your deck for maximum usage, you've learned Fatal Frame and Sonic Blade. You've mastered the cards. You beat the final boss and pat yourself on the back for a job well done. But the game's not over yet! Now it's time to play Riku's side of the story — to see all the things that Sora never even considered might be happening behind the scenes. But that's fine — you're master of the cards after all! All you have to do is build your deck and...

Oh.

You don't get to choose what cards Riku has.

The game gives you a handful of cards, often a small deck, often with very few high cards (if any) and says 'make it work'. You're master of the cards? the game says. Prove it. And I love it for that. This isn't a fake-difficulty spike where the enemies just have more health, just wasting more of your time as you mash attack. No. This requires you to truly understand the deck and use it to its full capabilities. It's beautiful.

This is not to get started on all the meta-level narrative going on here: Sora can choose his cards, but Riku gets what he's given. Sora has agency, and Riku has to struggle through with the hand he's been dealt. AHHH!!! I go insane thinking about it!!!

And this is not the only time the game pulls something like this. I've already talked way more than I intended to and I'm not going to re-write out the whole thing so just take this screenshot of a post I made about it (spoilers):

P.S. To those who may be die-hard original fans: I 100% intend to play the GBA version!! I understand that the tactics and gameplay do shift slightly on the 2D plane and I am very curious to see if or how it affects my view of the game as a whole