So, I'm finally playing Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories. I've mentioned it on the boards before, but I've read the manga, so I already know the story, but I've never played the game before (I don't have a DS.) Re: Chain of Memories is for the Playstation 2 and was revamped with the same style of graphics, etc. as the original Kingdom Hearts games. It also has the stylistic innovations of KHII, such as the ability to skip any scene, etc. and also now has a spinning heart indicator during loading screens. Seems reasonably fun so far-- I'm only about an hour in. Still getting used to the card battle system.

I never finished the game because I became intolerant of the card system, it was hard to master and it really irritated me.

Re: Chain of Memories includes something called Reverse Rebirth that lets you play Riku's story once you've beaten the game. I'm not sure-- was that included in the original game?

Yeah, it was.

Too bad that I didn't get very far in the original.

Well, if you just wanna know what happened in the story, I really do recommend the manga. I like all of the KH manga; I think they're very well done. Too bad the next installment of the KHII one has been delayed indefinitely.

I've actually never never read the manga, do you have a link that leads to it?

Sure. It's in two parts -- here's a link to a boxed set (http://www.amazon.com/Kingdom-Hearts-Chain-Memories-Boxed/dp/1427806292/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241494895&sr=1-2).

I started playing it once...

didn't even made it past 20 minutes.

You know, I'm really starting to get into it. I've completed four worlds so far. I actually rather like how can't just flail the keyblade around wildly and have to apply some strategy to battles.

I managed to beat the game. Every boss made me slide off my controller, it was insane. Guy up there is right, wildly spamming spells and flailing around the keyblade does NOT work at ALL.
...However, if you stick repeated cards for um...
...
It's been awhile since I've played, but Sora shoots around -- Sonic Thrust?
...
Or something.
Makes the main O:XIII bosses kind of easier to beat.... since they're just going 'UGHN' half the time. X3

I started playing it once...

didn't even made it past 20 minutes.

What a boring franchise huh? i tried to play the first kingdom hearts, i got about 20 minutes into that and took it back to the store.

What a boring franchise huh? i tried to play the first kingdom hearts, i got about 20 minutes into that and took it back to the store.

Same here, but I just gave it back to the friend I borrowed it from.

Same here, but I just gave it back to the friend I borrowed it from.

Yea, I never found anything appealing about "Disney" and the mickey mouse club and all that kiddy shit.

keibe - you ain't just whistling Dixie. Larxene is whipping my ass...

I stopped playing after I got to the final world: Castle Oblivion (you actually run around in the castle). I needed to level up because I was taking some heavy damage. But then I moved and just finally hooked back up my PS2 yesterday.

I might play it tonight.

I actually just finished leveling in up in prep for that and am about to take on the big final battle. Well, final before Reverse Rebirth anyway.

I got close to the end of the game but chickened out because I failed to get a hold of the card system.

It seems like the enemies got ridiculously difficult after completing the first level, but could just be my inexp. with the card system.

My deal is that I started to run away from fights and avoid them when I got close to the end.

I really want to experience Reverse/Rebirth on this version. I wonder if there will be some kind of multiplayer like there was in the GBA version.

My deal was that I found things hard at first, but once I started figuring out how to use the great sleights, battles became a lot easier. Though I still often lost the first time on boss battles.


IDX -- I just beat the final boss and I have some words of advice-- whatever you do, do not allow yourself to be lulled into a false sense of security by the first two forms of the final boss! He is one tough cuss, like any other boss in the game. Also, when he uses the attack "Doom," start playing your powerful cards using "X" and reload if needed. You have to break all of his cards before the counter reaches 0, else it's Game Over.


Edit -- I have it paused right now and will shortly be watching the final scenes prior to Reverse Rebirth. That is, assuming there isn't some other form I don't know about. :D Though I really doubt it-- that battle was rough.

Reverse Rebirth was a little too easy in my opinion, but then, I still have to go through it in "Proud" mode... so, we'll see how difficult it really is.

I don't remember Marluxia being too difficult. Of course, they might have ramped up the difficulty for the port.

Well, I was playing in Proud mode starting out. :D

Anyway, I won and I started Reverse Rebirth, though I haven't gotten anywhere yet. I basically just started it, watched the opening and then saved.


Enjoyed the appearance of Roxas in the ending of the game. The ending was mostly the same as the manga, though there were a few differences.

Reverse Rebirth is the playthough as Riku, correct?

Yep, exactly. Once Sora's story ends and you get back to the load screen, you just choose New Game and you're given a character selection of either Sora or Riku. Oh, and I won't spoil what it is for those that haven't played yet, but there's also another bonus at the load screen once you've beat Sora's story.

I don't think the GBA game had difficulty levels. Someone confirm/deny, please.

I don't think the GBA game had difficulty levels. Someone confirm/deny, please.

Seems like PS2 vers. was harder but I am still a noob at the whole card system so...

Probably a stupid question but you said the game is the same style as original KH games, graphics and all, but it does have voices correct?

Voice acting is sparse and limited mainly only major scenes between worlds focusing on the main story content. In general, the Disney character voices are not heard speaking, except maybe at the beginning of each world.


Oh, speaking of which, all Kingdom Hearts fans should to take a moment to pay tribute to Wayne Allwine. We have lost the voice of the King, Mickey.

Voice acting is sparse and limited mainly only major scenes between worlds focusing on the main story content. In general, the Disney character voices are not heard speaking, except maybe at the beginning of each world.


Oh, speaking of which, all Kingdom Hearts fans should to take a moment to pay tribute to Wayne Allwine. We have lost the voice of the King, Mickey.

Yeah, I did notice that the voice of Mickey was definitely a bit different in Chain of Memories than in Kingdom Hearts II. Still did a pretty good job though.

Er, no, Allwine died maybe a couple weeks ago. It's still Allwine in Chain.

Er, no, Allwine died maybe a couple weeks ago. It's still Allwine in Chain.

Hmm... didn't sound the same to me. But then again, maybe he had some complications with his voice that caused a slight change to Mickey's.

Could be, couldn't say for sure. Can't really speak to that yet because King Mickey doesn't appear at all in Sora's story.

My deal was that I found things hard at first, but once I started figuring out how to use the great sleights, battles became a lot easier. Though I still often lost the first time on boss battles.


IDX -- I just beat the final boss and I have some words of advice-- whatever you do, do not allow yourself to be lulled into a false sense of security by the first two forms of the final boss! He is one tough cuss, like any other boss in the game. Also, when he uses the attack "Doom," start playing your powerful cards using "X" and reload if needed. You have to break all of his cards before the counter reaches 0, else it's Game Over.
In the beginning, I played it like the others; pressing X and just running around trying not to get hit (putting my highest cards first). Then after that wasn't working, I made a deck specifically for boss battles that took place on the ground to where every sleight was Sonic Blade until the first reload. I usually beat the bosses before that though (and it took a while to make it). I had some experience with the card system from the original GBA game so it wasn't too hard to get the hang of it again.

And Doom? That wasn't in the original... Damn, seems pretty tough but we'll see. Played RE5 online with a buddy all night so didn't even touch my PS2 at all yet.

Sonic Blade is all right, but the ones I really love are Firaga Burst, Raging Storm, Lethal Flame and Mega-Flare.


Edit-- King Mickey's voice does sound different, but do you think maybe that could be just because he purposely made it sound a bit different because he was speaking to Riku from another realm?

Edit-- King Mickey's voice does sound different, but do you think maybe that could be just because he purposely made it sound a bit different because he was speaking to Riku from another realm?

Not sure. Maybe. However, the voice remains consistent throughout the rest of the game.

I use Sonic Blade simply because it stuns them so they can't perform card breaks. And it does a lot of damage too.

And I don't have those sleights I'm afraid. Simply because I've never heard of them lol.

Maybe they're not in the original Chain of Memories? They don't require rare or exotic cards or anything. Lethal Flame is just Stop followed by two Attack cards. Sora deals Stop status to the enemy and then surges forward for a series of blows while the target is completely paralyzed.

In the beginning, I played it like the others; pressing X and just running around trying not to get hit (putting my highest cards first). Then after that wasn't working, I made a deck specifically for boss battles that took place on the ground to where every sleight was Sonic Blade until the first reload. I usually beat the bosses before that though (and it took a while to make it). I had some experience with the card system from the original GBA game so it wasn't too hard to get the hang of it again.

And Doom? That wasn't in the original... Damn, seems pretty tough but we'll see. Played RE5 online with a buddy all night so didn't even touch my PS2 at all yet.

I am doing this next play through.

The reason I don't like Sonic Blade is if you miss the cue to hit Triangle, you're screwed. Lethal Flame is cheap, I admit it, but it's much more reliable.

I never had a problem when it came to hitting buttons in a small time frame.

What level are you? I don't have this sleight. I usually boost the amount of cards I can have at once followed by HP.

Well, besides that, Sonic Blade has an annoying tendency to fail against aerial targets.


I was level 70 when I beat the game. So you're telling me you're not immediately choosing "Sleight" when one becomes available? That could be part of your problem. Sleights are also often found in treasure rooms.

Did you guys have any trouble with collecting every card? I can't remember the exact enemy, but there was one that took FOREVER to drop his card. Couple of others took more than my patience would allow, too.

The big fat enemies, the Aladdin variety. I can't remember what -body that was.

Neg, I haven't even tried yet. That's on the to-do list once I've beaten Reverse/Rebirth.



The big fat enemies, the Aladdin variety. I can't remember what -body that was.
Fat Bandit?

Yeah, that's the guy.

Well, besides that, Sonic Blade has an annoying tendency to fail against aerial targets.


I was level 70 when I beat the game. So you're telling me you're not immediately choosing "Sleight" when one becomes available? That could be part of your problem. Sleights are also often found in treasure rooms.
I'm not even to 50 yet... I think the last one I acquired was Ragnarok. I'll have to check.

And like I said early, I just played it like any other one. So me having enough cards and HP would keep me alive lol.

Well, whatever strategy works best for you. I liked having Sleights and normally optimized towards HP.

I beat Riku's story, Reverse / Rebirth. It only took me around 9 hours and Riku was Level 40. I thought it was pretty neat. Sorta like a dessert after the big meal-- tasty and fun. Nice ending.

I also continue to be impressed by the improvements they've made to the game engine. One of the reviews I made complained that this game has the Heartless camera similar to the original KH, but at least this one lets you rotate using the right analog stick. Also, the Theater feature is an amazing option. I wish every RPG had tihs.

As for the card battle system, I grew to really like it. I wouldn't mind if it was in every KH-- it's a nice break from the old hack-and-slash.


Next up is to fully level up both Sora and Riku and complete Sora's card collection. Not just now, though, got other fish to fry...

I didn't really mind the card battle system - it's different from what I'm normally used to, but it didn't take too long for me to get the hang of it.

I think I was around level 60-70 when I beat Sora's story mode, and around level 50-60 with Riku's story mode. I preferred Riku's story, but Sora's wasn't too bad either...

I think the only time I really had trouble in this game was against Maleficent, since I didn't level up enough before I fought her. Everything else was fine.

I found Riku's combat comparatively easy compared to Sora's and I played both on Proud Mode. I only leveled Riku up to 40 before beating the final boss. The only real disadvantage with Riku was not being able to use curative magic himself. But he could still be healed by Mickey, or play Oogie Boogie's regen card, etc. Honestly, I think if it weren't for unlimited healing with Sora, Riku could really wipe the floor with Sora. His power was amazing.

(Speaking from only playing the GBA version for Riku's story); I too felt that playing with Riku was a whole lot easier than Sora. It seems like his attacks are stronger than Sora's and I hardly had to use sleights besides one or two during boss battles.

Currently leveling Sora to 65 before fighting the final boss.

After just recently completing both Kingdom Hearts 1 & 2 for the first time, and reading what I have about this game, wouldn't mind getting hold of it myself. I've become totally addicted to these games!

Battle system is different than the others, but I'm sure you'll get the hang of it.

:) And now that it's for Playstation 2, anyone that's played the originals should theoretically be able to play it.

Battle system is different than the others, but I'm sure you'll get the hang of it.

Yeah, I reckon it'll take me a little while to get used to but at the same time am sure I'll pick it up soon enough! :-)


:) And now that it's for Playstation 2, anyone that's played the originals should theoretically be able to play it.

I'm definitely planning on getting hold of the PS2 version when I can! Only problem is it's not been released here in the UK yet. :( Still, hopefully it won't be too long until it is!

Import ftw!

Almost did that to Dissidia: Final Fantasy until it was revealed sometime later it was coming to the US in...August? Somewhere around there.

Also tried taking on the final boss at level 45. Didn't end up so good :(.

I recently read that some critics have commented that the way the card battle system is set up makes it difficult to plan strategies. Was just wondering out of curiosity if there is any truth to this?

I don't think so, of course I played on GBA, as previously noted.

I seem to recall only having one deck. It is not a game that required much of my mental reserves.

Some of the battles (most actually) seem much harder on the PS2 compared to the GBA.

I would give a spoiler (it's a boss fight) but I'd rather not. Let's just say dodging their attack was doable, but hard, on the GBA version but impossible to do on the PS2 version.

That's why we have spoiler tags. Spoil me up, homeslice!

I don't know how to do the spoiler tags...

[ SPOILER ] Text [ /SPOILER], w/o the spaces.

Oh. I'll keep that in mind for next time then!

:D

Same here! I've never used spoiler tags before either, so that's useful for me to know too :)

well you guys are lucky... in Australia KH re chain of mem isnt available..

i was soo pissed off when i found out i nearly threw my ps2 out the window :(

Well I've finished playing 1, 2, Chains of Memories, and Re: Chans of Memories. Both Chains of Memories are great. The card system is weird at first but one get's use too it. And when I got use to it, I set up my deck so well that I beat the game, GBA version now, at lvl. 49. Riku's story was way too short and easy. The PS2 version was fun to see all the 3D graphics and it seemed to me that they added more sleights for Sora. One other thing. In the PS2 version, has anyone else realized that Mega Flare (I may have the spell wrong, but it takes either two Mushu cards and a Fire card or two Fire cards and a Mushu card to cast) is a lot more powerful? It kills all heartless in any floor in one hit!!! Another thing is that the cheapest way to defeat a boss is to use Sonic Blade thourghout the entire battle, granted there on the floor. (PS2 version)