Hope you guys enjoyed the second video in this KH Critique series, let me know what you think below and if you enjoyed then hitting the like button would be huge help for the channel! (Important Note: I had the mic settings a bit too high during the recording apologies if it’s very noticeable)
I actually like Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories' story. The combat at first was iffy for me, but I am starting to get the hang of the card combat. Like I only just recently realuzed that, if played right, 0 cards can break other cards. I never knew that but now that I do, I'll be sure to use that the next time I play. One thing I have problems with is the Card Collecting? Like how does the game expect me to collect all of the Attack & Room Cards? Most of the times, I don't get any drops & I try and battle ever enemy in a room/world for some extra EXP.
I finally found a review where someone LIKES Chain of Memories! I seriously think this game is way too overhated by the community just for the sole purpose of a new gameplay style. I personally didn’t mind the card system and I loved how adult and great the story and even expanding the progression from KH1 was. This game clearly had a lot of love and ambition put into it and why people keep bashing on this game is beyond me. Although COM is a good game, I would be lying if I didn’t say it wasn’t the worst in the original trilogy
I enjoy the game too. I think a lot more people would have liked this battle system if it wasn’t attached to Kingdom Hearts. Sadly, I kind of agree. I wish that Chain of Memories was like all of the other Kingdom Hearts games. Just because you like something doesn’t mean it should have happened the way it did.
so agree with you about riku's gameplay. the switch from sora's gameplay to riku's really read to me like the game saying "so you've mastered the card deck, huh? prove it."
@@c0mplex_Ale lol I just spammed Blizzaga (with blue rhapsody card) and Firaga (with red nocturne card) just switched off when needed but I do use lethal frame as well. Magic in rechain is strong as hell
Aerith's warning about not letting his emotions get the better of him echoes through the rest of the series. In Re:Coded they mention as long as Sora has his allies he'll be able to handle the secrets held within his heart, but in Dream Drop Distance the first thing that happens is that he's cut off from everyone, and with no one to aid him his memories and emotions take him down the path to darkness.
I always felt like Riku’s part was a lot easier than Sora’s since the game always provides you what you need to make it through. With Sora, the end game can be a struggle if you don’t get some of the more powerful cards. You don’t have that issue with Riku.
Re: Chain of Memories is as different from Kingdom Hearts I, as it is quirky, as it is… good! Were it a standalone game, I’m sure it would be a cult classic of sorts
The sleight that carried me through the game and almost every boss (including final bosses) was Lethal Frame. I was actually surprised not as many people use it as Sonic Blade.
You need good Stop RNG (for Sonic Blade, just need high cards or a Shadow card for increase). For my current playthrough, I'm surprised I got 4 stops at the halfway floor.
ReCOM is also in my top 3 KH games story wise. I don't care much for the gameplay, but I do feel like the challenge amplified the story experience for me - I felt rewarded when I got a *very good* story for putting up with the boring parts/different mechanics. Also Namine and Larxene are two characters I really enjoy and I feel this game is the one they are shining the most in, so that's another reason for me to like it. Looking forward to the next video in the series!
CoM is beautiful story! I recently finished both Sora's and Riku's stories (since I only made it about halfway through when I originally played as a teenager), and I found it to be quite impactful. Dare I say I even loved Riku's story more than Sora's? The overworld map events certainly didn't add much to the experience, but i was heavily invested in each and every white hallway.
I do think playing the Gameboy game works a bit better at emphasising the time jump between KH1 and KH2 where you can hear and see Sora has physically aged. His actor's voice broke between KH1 and KH2 but the original COM only used voice clips from KH1 where Sora still sounded young. Re:Com was recorded after KH2 so it's a bit jarring if you finish KH1 and jump into the next game mere minuted after the last game's ending and hear his voice so deep while still looking the same. Also while most of the Disney world visits are a bit pointless to the overall story I do like some of the foreshadowing some worlds provide using the theme of memories. In Wonderland Alice tricks the Queen into believing she ordered them to deal with the Heartless instead of her believing Sora and Alice stole her memories. The Queen is too arrogant to admit she would forget giving such an order and then commends them before leaving. This is a bit of foreshadowing for both Sora and the Replica Riku being deceived by false memories and feelings about those memories as their motivation for acting the way they did. Oogie Boogie in Halloween Town drinoing the memory potion was also interesting. The Dr claimed it was to help find someone's true memories buried within but when Oogie drank it he just went into a state of terror and panic. I always wondered what Oogie saw. Was the potion just a failure and caused him to be scared? Did it reveal his "true memories" and show he was infact an illusion inside the castle who didn't actually exist? Did it just show him a dark void of nothing because he wouldn't have memories of his own as an illusion? You could probably read into it too for how the truth can be terrifying similar to Sora finding out Namine's friendship with him was all fake and that he completely forgot about Kairi.
I pretty much agree with everything you said. Its a guilty pleasure of mine aswell and I totally understand if someone cannot get into the game. Its really only how you progress through the game that is the big problem. Same worlds, enemies and bosses from KH1 and on top of that very similar rooms makes the game repetitive outside of combat. But if you can get into the combat of the game, I think the game has more good to offer then bad.
I first got into the series through Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories (bought it from a garage sale in 2007/08) and I fell in love with the game and into the series. Replayed the original game 5-6 times already. Played re:com thrice, but struggling to get through the original KH a second time. I loved experimenting with the different sleights available in both versions. Tornado to me was by far the most effective way of clearing battles! Hated how they nerfed moogle points dropping by re-entering a room in re:com though. Made the game wayyy more grindy
Whenever I play through this game, I never touch the hp upgrade until it's the only one left. I think as early as world 2 or 3, I almost exclusively fight through sleights. The game changes from a hack n slash to a deck workshopping kinda game where you balance wave clearing with what sleights you find the most fun lol
Please keep this up, these videos are fantastic, I can't wait to see you talk about the next games (especially 2 and 3). And I enjoyed the card system much more than I expected, but as you said, it eventually got pretty tedious, for the reasons you stated out. Plus, I agree about the story, easily one of the most captivating in the series, though it doesn't have moments as emotional and impactful as other games.
I like Chain of Memories. The card combat is a bit jank and could use some fixing, for sure, but the story is pretty great. I don't think Kingdom Hearts has ever really managed to tell a story like CoM again with the steady sense of foreboding knowing that Sora and Pals are losing their memories with Sora even gradually gaining new memories of someone and becoming increasingly obsessed with them, even to the point of ignoring Donald and Goofy. It's also the culmination of Riku's shift from asshole to good guy, which is given a capstone in KH2 when he and Sora fight together again for the first time since Monstro.
I remember as a kid skipping chain of memories on the GB. Then in high school I finally attempted it on the ps2 and fell in love. I think this is game is heavily underrated and is in my top 3 for the series. Would love to see a reworking of this game on next gen.
KH Chain Of Memories will always be a special game to me. Playing it on the Gameboy Advance was actually my first chance to play anything in this franchise which I so desperately wanted to enjoy. These videos are so enjoyable thank you!
Great video! I’m glad I discovered your channel since this is one of my childhood franchises that I always love to revisit. Can’t wait to see the next one! Keep up the great work!
This video is great man. I'm a new fan and I've been really enjoying all of the content! Take as long as you'd like, your videos are high quality and worth waiting for!
I honestly feel like CoM was essentially the prototype for the "Command Deck" system. You can clearly see some of the same ideas that would eventually solidify in games like BBS or DDD, but in CoM they feel very rough and unpolished, while also cluttered by a bunch of other related mechanics that were scrapped in the future. This is probably *my* main reason for still enjoying CoM; I honestly like the command deck system more than I do the mainline games' combat.
Thank you for commenting this. This game has an impact on the series and people don’t realize it. It’s obvious the command deck was inspired from the card system
I got into Kingdom Hearts recently and I've been loving it. I agree with a lot of points you've made in this video about the story and it's one of my favorite stories. I'm currently playing through KH2 Final Mix. Once I finish, I'll definitely watch your next video about KH2. Take as much time as ya need.
I played through the main story only to get to Riku‘s story. Since this was (at the time) the only opportunity to officially play as him. And boy, was I satisfied.
In it's on way, I like Chain as much as KH1 and KH2. It was part the original trilogy back on the ps2, and never thought less of it. Didn't have much experience with the original GBA (nice pixel art, tough).
The last time I played this, I lost to Vexen 6 or 8 times in a row and then figured out that he can't escape back-to-back Lethal Frames in either of his fights, so I made that my whole deck.
I used to upload smaller content (and worse by far haha) on my YT account haha. So I feel the need to relax and enjoy something before burning through KH2, which is a super dense game. Super happy to see your quality still so good after the crazy blow up of your KH1 vid, so kudos on that my friend. Honestly, you seem like a cool guy, so any video on a game you release will just seem like a conversation about a specific game, regardless of my opinion on it. I'll look forward to your next video, regardless of which game. Take your time and enjoy my guy, I'm here for the ride haha
Shout-outs to Mega Flair. It's not as useful in the Castle Oblivion end-game fights due to the shadows always ducking into the ground, but in Destiny Island it one-shots multiple waves of enemies, ending fights with literally one attack.
KHCOM was my first KH game as a kid, and as ironic as it is eerie, the best thing about that is that Sora's memory loss was something i actually got to 'experience' as a player, because i've never played KH1, and i didnt know who was who, or which relationships had/didnt have significance. I didnt know who Kairi was. So when namine started showing up in sora's memories, those scenes felt as real to me as it did to the rapidly-amnesiac-ting Sora - and his descent into confusion, anger, and eventual dedication to namine , were, for all intents and purposes from my perspective, real, warranted and relatable. That's some powerful sht, and looking back, im glad KHCOM was my first kh game, because it gave me an experience truly unlike any other, even among most of the other fans in the franchise.
the game that you can start on extreme difficult mode with no problem beating it. The only frustrating “i-dont-want-to-play-this-anymore-after-platinum” is grinding Riku’s level to max. Like finishing the game within or less than 4 hours PLUS 10 hours for the level grinding of Riku.
Currently on my first playthrough of ReCoM :)) took a bit to get used to the card system, not sure how I’ll handle the apparent difficulty spike later on as I’m on 9F rn, but absolutely loving this game!
This is my favorite Kingdom Hearts game. This is what got me into card-based games and I still play it a lot and love it. Glad to see someone liking it too
A few months ago, I bought the GBA game and decided to play it simultaneously with the remake; doing one or two levels in the original and then in the remake. I don't know why some people like the GBA one better because I found a lot of it to be clunky. The camera makes it hard to see if you're lined up with enemies, the Organization members whoosh around really fast, I won the Vexen fights by having nearly run out of cards, and the final boss is really bad. Although, I do like seeing the original script, like Axel saying, "Commit it to memory," instead of his catch phrase.
Very nice work! One little tidbit I find cool is that Riku's route is nearly devoid of other characters because he was alone in his original adventure. Pursuing his goal through darkness, he had no friends, just allies by circumstance. Also Sora would be so much deadlier if he remembered Castle oblivion, Imo. He was able to briefly utilize time magic.
I had a lot of fun in my second playthrough of this game recently in forcing myself to try out new sleights. Especially ones that have fun dynamics. For example, using Quake does decent damage to all ground-based enemies, but misses flying ones. Freeze puts all enemies, including flying ones, on the ground and doubles(?) the damage on the next hit. So the freeze -> quake combo grounds all enemies around you and then deals insta death to almost everything but the very highest HP enemies. While still kinda OP, thinking outside the box in constructing a deck made it fun even when I was destroying stuff with sleights on the hardest difficulty. And I haven't seen your comments on riku yet, but I think forcing you to use pre made decks made the (possibly intended) gameplay shine. The end bosses for me having not spent much time grinding as Riku were quite intense and satisfying to beat. It also forced me to use the enemy cards I previously neglected and not sleight spam.
Hey heads up, if you are going for plat trophies, there is a video on getting the enemy cards with consistency!! it saved me at least 5 hours grinding them out!
Chain of memories is not as bad as people make it out to be. I will say the card based combat is bit rough to get used to, well for me it took some time to adjust to it. But when I did thats when I really enjoyed the game. The story is amazing and the ost of this game is freaking awesome. My favorite track has to be "Graceful assassin". It just sounds so nice man. I will defend this game until the end of time because I don't think this game is bad at all.
TL; DR: You did an amazing job once again, Prez! 😁 Take as much time between videos as you need. Mental health is a precious thing, especially during times like these. Long version: On one hand, this video made me feel kinda sad that I played CoM without paying much attention to many of the details that make it special. On the other hand, however, you explained those details so clearly that you actually managed to make me appreciate them in hindsight! The same thing happened when I watched your KH1 critique, so, in my opinion, both videos were just as good, no matter how many likes this one ends up receiving. I'll wait patiently for your next video (KH-related or not) no matter how long it takes to be done! 🤗
I applaud Square for trying to switch up the gameplay and trying something different, but it definitely killed it for me for a long time. I will say, Chain of Memories' plot is in my top 3 for the whole series and if it wasn't for the gameplay, it would be my favorite game in the whole series
This game is so underrated, if you haven't played it, or you gave up on it, please give it a shot, and remember to play it more like a card game than a Kingdom Hearts game
I played Chain of Memories for the first time right after finishing the first KH back when KH3 was launching. I think the card system its a little messy to adapt to for me. For this reason couldn't pass the 3rd Riku fight for the life of me, then I tried to grind to see if Riku stops kicking my ass. It got so frustrating that I leveled up for months, almost 20 levels, because I had school and other manners to attend to and STILL couldn't beat Riku that I gave up on it completely. While I was still intrigued by the story line and all the characters, I couldn't bring myself to get through it until the end. So to resolve my issue, I bought some second hand copies of the manga for KH1 (So I could recap some details) and Chain of Memories. It was a very pleasant experience, the art is simple but detailed, the dialog conveys the plot on a nice way and the fights are cool too! So if you want to get a taste of this game without the game side, the manga is a pretty good source.
I played both GBA and PS2 of this game and honestly enjoyed it, both its gameplay and its story (which over the years has only gotten better esp with the jpn version). It may not have the best battle system, but you can tell they put a heck of a lot of charm in it. Not only that, CoM has my favorite set of Organization members, my favorite personalities and best girl. Until KH3 (which didn't fix it but better than nothing), I was pretty annoyed that these Org characters never got an additional screentime to fully flesh them out. I wanted to see how they all interacted with each other outside of life-and-death. That said, your idea of having the Disney worlds allowing Sora and Riku introspection for us is such a GOOD idea, I dunno how they missed it. Good video, man.
@@lpfan4491 Depends how subtle you like it. In Japanese, there's no gender pronoun attached to the person Sora couldn't remember. It's a rough "you" so it could have been male or female; the game having both a "fake" Riku and a "fake" Kairi, adds a layer on top of that, allowing the player to choose whoever they want. So for most of the game you have no idea who Sora is remembering and even Sora can be seen as unreliable. I love it when stories let me interpret the material while having it make sense either way.
Absolutely loved and enjoyed this game when I was younger. Even when I played it recently I found that the real time card combat was quite unique and fun! I'm constantly curious if anyone would ever make a game with a similar system, since I have yet to see a new game that runs with these mechanics.
If I can suggest something for people, CoM as well as Days have very very enjoyable manga! Pretty engaging and hits the story beats with a lot less clutter and a lot more enjoyment. Great job with this video man, you got my sub
Not only different from the other games in Kingdom Hearts, but so different from other square Enix fighting mechanics. Cards were genuinely frustrating to work with, but if there was any game to keep you on your toes for it’s duration, it’s CoM. Take that for better or worse.
so, when i was younger, i kinda just stuck to whatever worked out in the first place and offered little resistance. i used to use just my starter and 2-3 other pokemon to avoid having to level any others, i beat bayonetta without ever switching off the starter weapons because i didn't want to learn new combos, and in CoM, i vehemently refused to learn new sleights because i hated how they'd remove cards from my deck and run me out. so i just kinda... beat the game with normal attacks. and magic combos, and what have you, but mostly just the regular attacks. and let me tell you, that was one hell of an accidental challenge mode. i can't even remember how long i was stuck on replica riku 4. it definitely DID force me to git gud, though, like you were saying. it was honestly a lot of fun!
Rechain of memories is one of those games that just need a bit of retooling and would be even better than it already is. Just balance the sleights a bit more, change the lvls you gain them at, and a bit more adjustment to the enemy design and bam, it's even better. Theres already a lot of depth within the game, such as the first card in a sleight being gone from the battle unless you use a high tier item card, the idea that theres no defense stat so all attacks will deal a set amount of dmg on each difficulty could be given more depth, theres a lot of potential here with this game. There are issues with it yes, but it will always hold a place in my heart and will always love coming back to it when playing through the games all over again.
Very underrated entry. I never liked the dull and hollow level design, but the card system is definitely something worth talking about and it's the only game within the series that focuses on more strategic planning. It's a shame it became one of the more controversial entries where it usually ends up lower to the list for many people just because the combat system is different.
I was on a mission to obtain the platinum trophy for every game. I did 1 then 2 as I didn't have the energy to attempt CoM yet. After 2 I did go to CoM. I got all the way to floor 11, I think it was, without the Pluto card. I would stay on each floor and grind until I got all the heartless cards for that world, attempting to make end game grinding easier. I think I put something like 30 hours into the game at this point. So, I watch the cutscene where Beast joins my team. After the cutscene the game tells me that I obtained the Beast card. However, the game glitched and gave me the Pluto card. Making it impossible to get the Cardmaster Sora trophy. I haven't played since.
I'm glad you addressed the tedium of the game, though I think, as someone who dreads this game every time I do a series playthrough, a large part of it comes down to that RNG factor. While other games in the series have that, too, of course, everything in CoM is determined by RNG. What cards you get, their number values, if you get any Moogle Points, etc. You can do everything in your power and still end up coming up short. It's not helped by Re:CoM having this bizarre system where if you touch an enemy before the card or Moogle Points officially register on screen then it doesn't count. You could get a 50 point MP spot (which is huge for getting resources) and it's all flushed down the drain if you touch a Heartless a second later. That, for me, is what makes CoM such an unfortunate slog, where the story simply isn't enough to hold my interest through that long, drawn-out gameplay where too much is out of my control. But that's my two cents. Ultimately a great video on the game, and KH2's should be fascinating, given it's the golden child of the series.
Technically the memories are still there etched in his heart just like when the Xehanorts go back in time and lose their memories when they return to their original places. Perhaps the Lost Masters saga will do something with the memories from CoM
I adore Chain of Memories, I cannot say the same for Re:Chain of Memories. Chain was one of the best GBA games I've played and is one of my favorite videogames ever, I personally find Re:Chain unbearable though
@@majoratwili7312 It either pisses you off cause you just wanted to hit shit with x, or you try to learn it and you eventually break the system and it gets tedious. And then comes Riku's part in which only the former happens, so yeah, not exactly a highlight of the series in terms of gameplay.
@@c0mplex_Ale Actually no. I played it legitimately and went along with it without trying to break it and still hated it with a burning passion to the point that I have no desire to replay Re Chain ever again
I used to be part of the: "I'm gonna skip this one, I can't get past Larxene." I'm happy I got to beat it, it's an amazing game for sure and I'm sad people put this one to the side making it a more obscure game even though it has a rather deep and interesting combat system, it's super fun! This however, it's kind of giving me the urge to replay it, but Imma wait though, if I'm gonna replay KH, I'm gonna do it right!
Play "Easy Mode" just for the extra likelihood of Joker cards, so you don't have to grind to open doors. Makes the game much smoother and still a challenge if you don't grind.
Funny enough I am currently playing through the original on gba, I will have to finish it up and come back. I wanna see what the upgrade of it looks like
I remember when I got the game on ps2. I had recorded the boss fights and cutscenes. They're on my youtube. But I could only beat Sora's campaign. Either I was too dumb to work with the system or something, because I found Riku's, not being able to change my cards be a rougher experience. And it sucks because I like the idea of going into Dark Mode and stuff.
It could have been fascinating if the Disney worlds had altered more and more as Sora lost his memories, or if Org XIII members appeared more often in them. It's my favorite KH game in terms of story, but the Disney segments got pretty boring, even more than in other KH games.
This game was my first one on the series , and it was weird . I enjoyed it at the time , but I didn't knew that you can't always spam the triangle button. It was confusing because I didn't understand english at the time. I played the 1.5 version on ps3 and my biggest criticism is that the cutscenes are too blurry (it looks like the ps4 version still is) , and Holy Burst with Riku and Mickey are broken , they do it for 2 seconds and it stops , Inverse Burst still the same as the ps2 era. I skipped all the Disney worlds scenes , it didn't matter to me.
The main part of the story is the best from the series. The gameplay, however... The nicest I can say is that made dark firaga usable and the basic idea behind the battle system was improved on with Dream Drop Distance and Birth by Sleep.
"Many people who are trying to get into the series would rather watch a cutscene compilation instead" I feel called out. Don't get me wrong it's a unique style and I'd be willing to play. If it wasn't so heavy on RNG. Seriously I hate games that heavily incorporate RNG into them and that's the only reason I'm not willing to play Re CoM
The RNG in chain of memories is fair in comparison to other games depending on what you're trying to do. I haven't had anything halt the experience of story and deck building out of the 6 times I've played it (including the GBA one) but some other games can be brutal when it comes to RNG.
@@reivunrantington9425 You're lucky then. For the GBA version, I was locked out from the room for the Axel fight for AGES. It took hours of on and off grinding at Traverse twin to finally get the map card I needed to progress the story. And that not even a rare occurrence.
Gameplay wise, I think Re: Com is underrated. Story wise, I actually like the Castle Oblivion sections and the characterization in it. Org 13 actually felt like threatening bad guys to me. Its a shame we couldn't get more Castle Oblivion sections because the story is bogged down by the worlds you go into having the exact same story of the previous KH game.
ReCoM is actually my favorite KH game lol. Well, maybe behind KH3 haha. I don't prefer using sleights (at least in the traditional way). I level up CP a bunch and when I can't level it up any more, I choose sleights. I construct my deck primarily with 3,4, and 5 cards with a couple 0s and items. The low numbers are easier to get, cost fewer CP, and will still beat every normal heartless (just make it so that your sleights total at least 10) because they don't use sleights. Spam Triangle, profit.
The reason Riku's journey is so empty and sparse is simple. Sora is meeting all the people he connected with, all the people he made friends with, all the people he came to care about on his journey through the worlds. And so is Riku. But yes, it also does feel like that was just an excuse to not program in more content for him there.
My only wish is for the mouth movements to actually fit the English language. Whenever i see Riku meet Riku Replica in Twilight Town, one says "Because i'm you" and the other says "No, i'm me" i don't see the meme everyone laughs at. I only see their lips flap 30 times to say 3 words. Also just an opinion: I would've liked to see more focus on how insanely tragic Repliku's story is in this game. Nothing but manipulation and forced change is thrust upon him, and in his last desperate attempt to change he meets his end. Oh and for me: Riku's max level trophy was the absolute worst. My primary goal in games is to enjoy playing it. I simply had a good time collecting all the cards...But to have to fight the same enemies in a room over and over with no super-quick way to kill them like Sora can with Mega Flare...Ugh. Love the game though, one of my absolute favorites, definitely my #4 favorite KH game.
Re:CoM is honestly one of my favorite games of all time, It's sad because I know we'll most likely never get a card based KH game anymore because the card system only really makes sense in the context of Castle Oblivion. That said, I do prefer the command deck of BBS and Re:coded (and DDD I guess, but overall DDD is my least favorite game in the series and it sucks) And I will say that Re:CoM is better in my opinion than KH2 and I'm not kidding. ps. Lethal Frame is the most broken slight in Re:CoM, It will carry you until Marluxia, and it only falls off because it can't hit him cuz he's too high up.
While there are good things about Re:CoM, I still firmly believe that the gameplay systems are mostly hot garbage outside of the flashy attacks. One glaring issue is the controls of having to manage an entire deck of cards with various rules in a real-time action game, most players aren’t going to bother with cycling through a whole deck to find a single 0 or higher number card against a boss who is moving far too quickly for such a combat framework. Luckily OP sleights are there to make it bearable, but it’s also an Achilles heel because players will naturally gravitate very hard towards them as they more or less disregard the card number system entirely, making the game just as “press triangle to win” as if it more than BBS.
I played this game for the first time on the gba at my cousins and emulated the gba version in 2010ish to revisit but dropped it. Then I played the game again on ps2 emulator and while I beat it, I didn't really enjoy it so much. Then I Played the ps4 version all the way through both stories and I enjoyed it way more. I think the cards being random can hurt early game progression because the difficulty is basically random depending what cards you end up getting. My friend's experience he got all low numbered cards and had a miserable time playing. I definitely enjoyed riku's playthrough better but I'd be more likely to revisit this than DDD or BBB. I speedran KH2 in 2019 and it's still my favorite game in the series but I'd probably pick chain of memories as my 3rd favorite.
I honestly prefer the gba version. The card system makes more sense on the weaker hardware, grinding moogle points is way faster & easier since the boxes & bins that drop them refresh every time you re-enter a room, no need to re-make the room entirely with new enemies & all. More of the card combos are worth using in isometric as well. The game was also designed with portable play in mind, able to make concrete progress in relatively short play sessions, and the story progression of each floor following the same story room pattern helps you jump right in if you set it down for a few days. This makes the game play much better with short inconsistent play sessions, & it can get boring or repetitive when played in long sessions as is more typical on home console. You do lose the voiced cut scenes, which is a shame, and the scenes that hint at games after KH2, which is less of a shame, but still a better experience overall on the go with a gba or ds lite, at least imo.
I think chain of memories was way better then I expected. I went into the game with the taught: "Do i really have to play all the same Disney worlds again?" For me the game was mostly carried by the organization 13 members and the combat card system. I didnt care much about how the cards were used in the overworld. Will I play it again anytime soon? probably not but I am very curious how different the gba game is so ill probably play it on emulator or something.
imo the storylines of all these games arent the best, but i do really love the card based battle system in this game. ill always skip the cutscenes just to get to the fighting
Hope you guys enjoyed the second video in this KH Critique series, let me know what you think below and if you enjoyed then hitting the like button would be huge help for the channel!
(Important Note: I had the mic settings a bit too high during the recording apologies if it’s very noticeable)
I actually like Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories' story. The combat at first was iffy for me, but I am starting to get the hang of the card combat. Like I only just recently realuzed that, if played right, 0 cards can break other cards. I never knew that but now that I do, I'll be sure to use that the next time I play. One thing I have problems with is the Card Collecting? Like how does the game expect me to collect all of the Attack & Room Cards? Most of the times, I don't get any drops & I try and battle ever enemy in a room/world for some extra EXP.
I finally found a review where someone LIKES Chain of Memories! I seriously think this game is way too overhated by the community just for the sole purpose of a new gameplay style. I personally didn’t mind the card system and I loved how adult and great the story and even expanding the progression from KH1 was. This game clearly had a lot of love and ambition put into it and why people keep bashing on this game is beyond me. Although COM is a good game, I would be lying if I didn’t say it wasn’t the worst in the original trilogy
I enjoy the game too. I think a lot more people would have liked this battle system if it wasn’t attached to Kingdom Hearts. Sadly, I kind of agree. I wish that Chain of Memories was like all of the other Kingdom Hearts games. Just because you like something doesn’t mean it should have happened the way it did.
so agree with you about riku's gameplay. the switch from sora's gameplay to riku's really read to me like the game saying "so you've mastered the card deck, huh? prove it."
Except I been spamming Sonic Blade and Lethal Frame all the way through, so I didn't learn shit lmao.
I didn't fully understand the combat until literally Castle Oblivion... As Riku.
@@c0mplex_Ale lol I just spammed Blizzaga (with blue rhapsody card) and Firaga (with red nocturne card) just switched off when needed but I do use lethal frame as well. Magic in rechain is strong as hell
**Dragon Maleficent and Genie Jafar have entered the chat**
@@trevian1227 The Jafar fight as Riku was horrendous haha
Aerith's warning about not letting his emotions get the better of him echoes through the rest of the series. In Re:Coded they mention as long as Sora has his allies he'll be able to handle the secrets held within his heart, but in Dream Drop Distance the first thing that happens is that he's cut off from everyone, and with no one to aid him his memories and emotions take him down the path to darkness.
Aerith's warning about his memories lying to him literally told the whole of Sora's chain story in 1 sentence.
Hi, I am Yuffie. This is Leon.
"Get out."
And this is a bad voice actor.
Same in KH3 when everyone got Thanosed before Sora did his timey wimey shenanigans. Once everyone was gone he lost the will to even fight.
I always felt like Riku’s part was a lot easier than Sora’s since the game always provides you what you need to make it through. With Sora, the end game can be a struggle if you don’t get some of the more powerful cards. You don’t have that issue with Riku.
Re: Chain of Memories is as different from Kingdom Hearts I, as it is quirky, as it is… good! Were it a standalone game, I’m sure it would be a cult classic of sorts
The sleight that carried me through the game and almost every boss (including final bosses) was Lethal Frame. I was actually surprised not as many people use it as Sonic Blade.
I ran a mix of lethal frame and sonic blade for bosses.
You need good Stop RNG (for Sonic Blade, just need high cards or a Shadow card for increase). For my current playthrough, I'm surprised I got 4 stops at the halfway floor.
ReCOM is also in my top 3 KH games story wise. I don't care much for the gameplay, but I do feel like the challenge amplified the story experience for me - I felt rewarded when I got a *very good* story for putting up with the boring parts/different mechanics. Also Namine and Larxene are two characters I really enjoy and I feel this game is the one they are shining the most in, so that's another reason for me to like it.
Looking forward to the next video in the series!
CoM is beautiful story! I recently finished both Sora's and Riku's stories (since I only made it about halfway through when I originally played as a teenager), and I found it to be quite impactful. Dare I say I even loved Riku's story more than Sora's? The overworld map events certainly didn't add much to the experience, but i was heavily invested in each and every white hallway.
I do think playing the Gameboy game works a bit better at emphasising the time jump between KH1 and KH2 where you can hear and see Sora has physically aged. His actor's voice broke between KH1 and KH2 but the original COM only used voice clips from KH1 where Sora still sounded young. Re:Com was recorded after KH2 so it's a bit jarring if you finish KH1 and jump into the next game mere minuted after the last game's ending and hear his voice so deep while still looking the same.
Also while most of the Disney world visits are a bit pointless to the overall story I do like some of the foreshadowing some worlds provide using the theme of memories. In Wonderland Alice tricks the Queen into believing she ordered them to deal with the Heartless instead of her believing Sora and Alice stole her memories. The Queen is too arrogant to admit she would forget giving such an order and then commends them before leaving. This is a bit of foreshadowing for both Sora and the Replica Riku being deceived by false memories and feelings about those memories as their motivation for acting the way they did.
Oogie Boogie in Halloween Town drinoing the memory potion was also interesting. The Dr claimed it was to help find someone's true memories buried within but when Oogie drank it he just went into a state of terror and panic. I always wondered what Oogie saw. Was the potion just a failure and caused him to be scared? Did it reveal his "true memories" and show he was infact an illusion inside the castle who didn't actually exist? Did it just show him a dark void of nothing because he wouldn't have memories of his own as an illusion? You could probably read into it too for how the truth can be terrifying similar to Sora finding out Namine's friendship with him was all fake and that he completely forgot about Kairi.
I pretty much agree with everything you said. Its a guilty pleasure of mine aswell and I totally understand if someone cannot get into the game. Its really only how you progress through the game that is the big problem. Same worlds, enemies and bosses from KH1 and on top of that very similar rooms makes the game repetitive outside of combat. But if you can get into the combat of the game, I think the game has more good to offer then bad.
I first got into the series through Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories (bought it from a garage sale in 2007/08) and I fell in love with the game and into the series. Replayed the original game 5-6 times already. Played re:com thrice, but struggling to get through the original KH a second time.
I loved experimenting with the different sleights available in both versions. Tornado to me was by far the most effective way of clearing battles! Hated how they nerfed moogle points dropping by re-entering a room in re:com though. Made the game wayyy more grindy
Whenever I play through this game, I never touch the hp upgrade until it's the only one left.
I think as early as world 2 or 3, I almost exclusively fight through sleights.
The game changes from a hack n slash to a deck workshopping kinda game where you balance wave clearing with what sleights you find the most fun lol
Please keep this up, these videos are fantastic, I can't wait to see you talk about the next games (especially 2 and 3).
And I enjoyed the card system much more than I expected, but as you said, it eventually got pretty tedious, for the reasons you stated out. Plus, I agree about the story, easily one of the most captivating in the series, though it doesn't have moments as emotional and impactful as other games.
Thanks a lot, glad to see you guys enjoying it
I like Chain of Memories. The card combat is a bit jank and could use some fixing, for sure, but the story is pretty great. I don't think Kingdom Hearts has ever really managed to tell a story like CoM again with the steady sense of foreboding knowing that Sora and Pals are losing their memories with Sora even gradually gaining new memories of someone and becoming increasingly obsessed with them, even to the point of ignoring Donald and Goofy. It's also the culmination of Riku's shift from asshole to good guy, which is given a capstone in KH2 when he and Sora fight together again for the first time since Monstro.
I remember as a kid skipping chain of memories on the GB. Then in high school I finally attempted it on the ps2 and fell in love. I think this is game is heavily underrated and is in my top 3 for the series. Would love to see a reworking of this game on next gen.
KH Chain Of Memories will always be a special game to me. Playing it on the Gameboy Advance was actually my first chance to play anything in this franchise which I so desperately wanted to enjoy. These videos are so enjoyable thank you!
Someone else whose first game in the franchise was GBA Chain of Memories! It honestly holds such a special place in my heart
Great video! I’m glad I discovered your channel since this is one of my childhood franchises that I always love to revisit. Can’t wait to see the next one! Keep up the great work!
Thank you for making this video! Can’t wait for the next one!🔥
This video is great man. I'm a new fan and I've been really enjoying all of the content! Take as long as you'd like, your videos are high quality and worth waiting for!
I appreciate that support
I honestly feel like CoM was essentially the prototype for the "Command Deck" system. You can clearly see some of the same ideas that would eventually solidify in games like BBS or DDD, but in CoM they feel very rough and unpolished, while also cluttered by a bunch of other related mechanics that were scrapped in the future.
This is probably *my* main reason for still enjoying CoM; I honestly like the command deck system more than I do the mainline games' combat.
Thank you for commenting this. This game has an impact on the series and people don’t realize it. It’s obvious the command deck was inspired from the card system
Keep doing the good work man, these series are so amazing!
More Critiques to come through the year!
finally, someone understands the enjoyment i had with this game so much and i still do after all these years, thank you, amazing video
Would absolutely adore seeing more KH videos from you, im subscribing now in hopes ill see more
100% will cover the whole series, these will take time but you can expect KH 2 later this year for sure
Excellent stuff again lad! Looking forward for the next in the series and the Bioshock video as well. Keep up the great work!
I got into Kingdom Hearts recently and I've been loving it. I agree with a lot of points you've made in this video about the story and it's one of my favorite stories. I'm currently playing through KH2 Final Mix. Once I finish, I'll definitely watch your next video about KH2. Take as much time as ya need.
I played through the main story only to get to Riku‘s story. Since this was (at the time) the only opportunity to officially play as him. And boy, was I satisfied.
In it's on way, I like Chain as much as KH1 and KH2. It was part the original trilogy back on the ps2, and never thought less of it.
Didn't have much experience with the original GBA (nice pixel art, tough).
The last time I played this, I lost to Vexen 6 or 8 times in a row and then figured out that he can't escape back-to-back Lethal Frames in either of his fights, so I made that my whole deck.
I felt that lethal frames was wayyy more OP than sonic blade! Esp fighting Larxene and Axel
I used to upload smaller content (and worse by far haha) on my YT account haha. So I feel the need to relax and enjoy something before burning through KH2, which is a super dense game. Super happy to see your quality still so good after the crazy blow up of your KH1 vid, so kudos on that my friend.
Honestly, you seem like a cool guy, so any video on a game you release will just seem like a conversation about a specific game, regardless of my opinion on it. I'll look forward to your next video, regardless of which game. Take your time and enjoy my guy, I'm here for the ride haha
Eyyy appreciate that, many more longer videos to come this year not just KH related
Nice vid. Good luck with 100%
Shout-outs to Mega Flair. It's not as useful in the Castle Oblivion end-game fights due to the shadows always ducking into the ground, but in Destiny Island it one-shots multiple waves of enemies, ending fights with literally one attack.
KHCOM was my first KH game as a kid, and as ironic as it is eerie, the best thing about that is that Sora's memory loss was something i actually got to 'experience' as a player, because i've never played KH1, and i didnt know who was who, or which relationships had/didnt have significance. I didnt know who Kairi was. So when namine started showing up in sora's memories, those scenes felt as real to me as it did to the rapidly-amnesiac-ting Sora - and his descent into confusion, anger, and eventual dedication to namine , were, for all intents and purposes from my perspective, real, warranted and relatable. That's some powerful sht, and looking back, im glad KHCOM was my first kh game, because it gave me an experience truly unlike any other, even among most of the other fans in the franchise.
the game that you can start on extreme difficult mode with no problem beating it. The only frustrating “i-dont-want-to-play-this-anymore-after-platinum” is grinding Riku’s level to max. Like finishing the game within or less than 4 hours PLUS 10 hours for the level grinding of Riku.
Currently on my first playthrough of ReCoM :)) took a bit to get used to the card system, not sure how I’ll handle the apparent difficulty spike later on as I’m on 9F rn, but absolutely loving this game!
This video has made me rethink the plot and all its virtues
This is my favorite Kingdom Hearts game. This is what got me into card-based games and I still play it a lot and love it. Glad to see someone liking it too
A few months ago, I bought the GBA game and decided to play it simultaneously with the remake; doing one or two levels in the original and then in the remake. I don't know why some people like the GBA one better because I found a lot of it to be clunky. The camera makes it hard to see if you're lined up with enemies, the Organization members whoosh around really fast, I won the Vexen fights by having nearly run out of cards, and the final boss is really bad. Although, I do like seeing the original script, like Axel saying, "Commit it to memory," instead of his catch phrase.
Very nice work!
One little tidbit I find cool is that Riku's route is nearly devoid of other characters because he was alone in his original adventure.
Pursuing his goal through darkness, he had no friends, just allies by circumstance.
Also Sora would be so much deadlier if he remembered Castle oblivion, Imo.
He was able to briefly utilize time magic.
except he had time magic in KH1. and technically in DDD with one of the spinning attacks you get.
I had a lot of fun in my second playthrough of this game recently in forcing myself to try out new sleights. Especially ones that have fun dynamics. For example, using Quake does decent damage to all ground-based enemies, but misses flying ones. Freeze puts all enemies, including flying ones, on the ground and doubles(?) the damage on the next hit. So the freeze -> quake combo grounds all enemies around you and then deals insta death to almost everything but the very highest HP enemies. While still kinda OP, thinking outside the box in constructing a deck made it fun even when I was destroying stuff with sleights on the hardest difficulty. And I haven't seen your comments on riku yet, but I think forcing you to use pre made decks made the (possibly intended) gameplay shine. The end bosses for me having not spent much time grinding as Riku were quite intense and satisfying to beat. It also forced me to use the enemy cards I previously neglected and not sleight spam.
Hey heads up, if you are going for plat trophies, there is a video on getting the enemy cards with consistency!! it saved me at least 5 hours grinding them out!
Chain of memories is not as bad as people make it out to be.
I will say the card based combat is bit rough to get used to, well for me it took some time to adjust to it.
But when I did thats when I really enjoyed the game.
The story is amazing and the ost of this game is freaking awesome.
My favorite track has to be "Graceful assassin". It just sounds so nice man.
I will defend this game until the end of time because I don't think this game is bad at all.
If KHCOM is Critically overlooked,
then KHCoded is Infinitey Zeta Thanos Levels Overlooked
Coded/Re:Code are up there in my favorite list. Shame it's not talked about much.
TL; DR: You did an amazing job once again, Prez! 😁 Take as much time between videos as you need. Mental health is a precious thing, especially during times like these.
Long version:
On one hand, this video made me feel kinda sad that I played CoM without paying much attention to many of the details that make it special. On the other hand, however, you explained those details so clearly that you actually managed to make me appreciate them in hindsight! The same thing happened when I watched your KH1 critique, so, in my opinion, both videos were just as good, no matter how many likes this one ends up receiving. I'll wait patiently for your next video (KH-related or not) no matter how long it takes to be done! 🤗
Really appreciate the support on these thanks
I applaud Square for trying to switch up the gameplay and trying something different, but it definitely killed it for me for a long time. I will say, Chain of Memories' plot is in my top 3 for the whole series and if it wasn't for the gameplay, it would be my favorite game in the whole series
I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS!!!
This game is so underrated, if you haven't played it, or you gave up on it, please give it a shot, and remember to play it more like a card game than a Kingdom Hearts game
I played Chain of Memories for the first time right after finishing the first KH back when KH3 was launching. I think the card system its a little messy to adapt to for me. For this reason couldn't pass the 3rd Riku fight for the life of me, then I tried to grind to see if Riku stops kicking my ass.
It got so frustrating that I leveled up for months, almost 20 levels, because I had school and other manners to attend to and STILL couldn't beat Riku that I gave up on it completely.
While I was still intrigued by the story line and all the characters, I couldn't bring myself to get through it until the end. So to resolve my issue, I bought some second hand copies of the manga for KH1 (So I could recap some details) and Chain of Memories.
It was a very pleasant experience, the art is simple but detailed, the dialog conveys the plot on a nice way and the fights are cool too! So if you want to get a taste of this game without the game side, the manga is a pretty good source.
I played both GBA and PS2 of this game and honestly enjoyed it, both its gameplay and its story (which over the years has only gotten better esp with the jpn version). It may not have the best battle system, but you can tell they put a heck of a lot of charm in it.
Not only that, CoM has my favorite set of Organization members, my favorite personalities and best girl. Until KH3 (which didn't fix it but better than nothing), I was pretty annoyed that these Org characters never got an additional screentime to fully flesh them out. I wanted to see how they all interacted with each other outside of life-and-death.
That said, your idea of having the Disney worlds allowing Sora and Riku introspection for us is such a GOOD idea, I dunno how they missed it. Good video, man.
The story is better in japanese?
@@lpfan4491 Depends how subtle you like it. In Japanese, there's no gender pronoun attached to the person Sora couldn't remember. It's a rough "you" so it could have been male or female; the game having both a "fake" Riku and a "fake" Kairi, adds a layer on top of that, allowing the player to choose whoever they want. So for most of the game you have no idea who Sora is remembering and even Sora can be seen as unreliable.
I love it when stories let me interpret the material while having it make sense either way.
Great critique this is the only kingdom hearts i didnt finish but it was intresting seeing you talk about it
Absolutely loved and enjoyed this game when I was younger. Even when I played it recently I found that the real time card combat was quite unique and fun! I'm constantly curious if anyone would ever make a game with a similar system, since I have yet to see a new game that runs with these mechanics.
If I can suggest something for people, CoM as well as Days have very very enjoyable manga! Pretty engaging and hits the story beats with a lot less clutter and a lot more enjoyment. Great job with this video man, you got my sub
Days manga is the real reason Xion is so beloved. She had more personality in 4 manga volumes than she did in her two major game appearances
Not only different from the other games in Kingdom Hearts, but so different from other square Enix fighting mechanics. Cards were genuinely frustrating to work with, but if there was any game to keep you on your toes for it’s duration, it’s CoM. Take that for better or worse.
Awesome video and I enjoy this game too!!
this is literally the only "postive" review of this game...in existence
Honestly I still prefer the gba version of chain of memories but the remake is definitely impressive considering it was made in less than a year
so, when i was younger, i kinda just stuck to whatever worked out in the first place and offered little resistance. i used to use just my starter and 2-3 other pokemon to avoid having to level any others, i beat bayonetta without ever switching off the starter weapons because i didn't want to learn new combos, and in CoM, i vehemently refused to learn new sleights because i hated how they'd remove cards from my deck and run me out. so i just kinda... beat the game with normal attacks. and magic combos, and what have you, but mostly just the regular attacks. and let me tell you, that was one hell of an accidental challenge mode. i can't even remember how long i was stuck on replica riku 4. it definitely DID force me to git gud, though, like you were saying. it was honestly a lot of fun!
Rechain of memories is one of those games that just need a bit of retooling and would be even better than it already is. Just balance the sleights a bit more, change the lvls you gain them at, and a bit more adjustment to the enemy design and bam, it's even better.
Theres already a lot of depth within the game, such as the first card in a sleight being gone from the battle unless you use a high tier item card, the idea that theres no defense stat so all attacks will deal a set amount of dmg on each difficulty could be given more depth, theres a lot of potential here with this game.
There are issues with it yes, but it will always hold a place in my heart and will always love coming back to it when playing through the games all over again.
Very underrated entry. I never liked the dull and hollow level design, but the card system is definitely something worth talking about and it's the only game within the series that focuses on more strategic planning. It's a shame it became one of the more controversial entries where it usually ends up lower to the list for many people just because the combat system is different.
I was on a mission to obtain the platinum trophy for every game. I did 1 then 2 as I didn't have the energy to attempt CoM yet. After 2 I did go to CoM. I got all the way to floor 11, I think it was, without the Pluto card. I would stay on each floor and grind until I got all the heartless cards for that world, attempting to make end game grinding easier. I think I put something like 30 hours into the game at this point.
So, I watch the cutscene where Beast joins my team. After the cutscene the game tells me that I obtained the Beast card. However, the game glitched and gave me the Pluto card. Making it impossible to get the Cardmaster Sora trophy. I haven't played since.
I felt second hand pain after reading this...bruh
@@reliableprez It's the only card I need. I kept playing just too get the rest of the trophies and come back later but I couldn't beat Axel.
Recom Is my favorite after then numbered games. I didn’t play ddd enough to like it as much
Funny enough chain of memories was the first kingdom hearts game I ever played for the GBA
I'm glad you addressed the tedium of the game, though I think, as someone who dreads this game every time I do a series playthrough, a large part of it comes down to that RNG factor. While other games in the series have that, too, of course, everything in CoM is determined by RNG. What cards you get, their number values, if you get any Moogle Points, etc. You can do everything in your power and still end up coming up short.
It's not helped by Re:CoM having this bizarre system where if you touch an enemy before the card or Moogle Points officially register on screen then it doesn't count. You could get a 50 point MP spot (which is huge for getting resources) and it's all flushed down the drain if you touch a Heartless a second later.
That, for me, is what makes CoM such an unfortunate slog, where the story simply isn't enough to hold my interest through that long, drawn-out gameplay where too much is out of my control.
But that's my two cents. Ultimately a great video on the game, and KH2's should be fascinating, given it's the golden child of the series.
Great video!
Chain of Memories is my favorite main story. I really felt for Naminé and to this day, I still wish there was a way to give Sora his memories back
Technically the memories are still there etched in his heart just like when the Xehanorts go back in time and lose their memories when they return to their original places. Perhaps the Lost Masters saga will do something with the memories from CoM
I adore Chain of Memories, I cannot say the same for Re:Chain of Memories. Chain was one of the best GBA games I've played and is one of my favorite videogames ever, I personally find Re:Chain unbearable though
Do grown adults really find the combat confusing? Middle school me was able to play Chain of Memories just fine.
it's not so much confusing as it is incredibly obnoxious
@@majoratwili7312 It either pisses you off cause you just wanted to hit shit with x, or you try to learn it and you eventually break the system and it gets tedious. And then comes Riku's part in which only the former happens, so yeah, not exactly a highlight of the series in terms of gameplay.
@@c0mplex_Ale or both! my experience was both lol
@@occamsaturn Yeah, kinda true for me as well ngl
@@c0mplex_Ale Actually no. I played it legitimately and went along with it without trying to break it and still hated it with a burning passion to the point that I have no desire to replay Re Chain ever again
I used to be part of the: "I'm gonna skip this one, I can't get past Larxene."
I'm happy I got to beat it, it's an amazing game for sure and I'm sad people put this one to the side making it a more obscure game even though it has a rather deep and interesting combat system, it's super fun!
This however, it's kind of giving me the urge to replay it, but Imma wait though, if I'm gonna replay KH, I'm gonna do it right!
I'm gonna come back when im done with the game, seems like a good video
Play "Easy Mode" just for the extra likelihood of Joker cards, so you don't have to grind to open doors. Makes the game much smoother and still a challenge if you don't grind.
Funny enough I am currently playing through the original on gba, I will have to finish it up and come back. I wanna see what the upgrade of it looks like
I remember when I got the game on ps2. I had recorded the boss fights and cutscenes. They're on my youtube. But I could only beat Sora's campaign. Either I was too dumb to work with the system or something, because I found Riku's, not being able to change my cards be a rougher experience. And it sucks because I like the idea of going into Dark Mode and stuff.
Hey Prez what is the song in the introduction?
"KH La Pace"
It could have been fascinating if the Disney worlds had altered more and more as Sora lost his memories, or if Org XIII members appeared more often in them. It's my favorite KH game in terms of story, but the Disney segments got pretty boring, even more than in other KH games.
This game was my first one on the series , and it was weird . I enjoyed it at the time , but I didn't knew that you can't always spam the triangle button. It was confusing because I didn't understand english at the time.
I played the 1.5 version on ps3 and my biggest criticism is that the cutscenes are too blurry (it looks like the ps4 version still is) , and Holy Burst with Riku and Mickey are broken , they do it for 2 seconds and it stops , Inverse Burst still the same as the ps2 era.
I skipped all the Disney worlds scenes , it didn't matter to me.
The main part of the story is the best from the series. The gameplay, however...
The nicest I can say is that made dark firaga usable and the basic idea behind the battle system was improved on with Dream Drop Distance and Birth by Sleep.
Was it?
"Many people who are trying to get into the series would rather watch a cutscene compilation instead"
I feel called out. Don't get me wrong it's a unique style and I'd be willing to play. If it wasn't so heavy on RNG. Seriously I hate games that heavily incorporate RNG into them and that's the only reason I'm not willing to play Re CoM
The RNG in chain of memories is fair in comparison to other games depending on what you're trying to do. I haven't had anything halt the experience of story and deck building out of the 6 times I've played it (including the GBA one) but some other games can be brutal when it comes to RNG.
@@reivunrantington9425 You're lucky then. For the GBA version, I was locked out from the room for the Axel fight for AGES. It took hours of on and off grinding at Traverse twin to finally get the map card I needed to progress the story. And that not even a rare occurrence.
Gameplay wise, I think Re: Com is underrated. Story wise, I actually like the Castle Oblivion sections and the characterization in it. Org 13 actually felt like threatening bad guys to me. Its a shame we couldn't get more Castle Oblivion sections because the story is bogged down by the worlds you go into having the exact same story of the previous KH game.
alright, I'll come back when I'm done, maybe in 2 weeks? im' just gonna play on standard or beginner mode
ReCoM is actually my favorite KH game lol. Well, maybe behind KH3 haha. I don't prefer using sleights (at least in the traditional way). I level up CP a bunch and when I can't level it up any more, I choose sleights. I construct my deck primarily with 3,4, and 5 cards with a couple 0s and items. The low numbers are easier to get, cost fewer CP, and will still beat every normal heartless (just make it so that your sleights total at least 10) because they don't use sleights. Spam Triangle, profit.
Chain of Memories was a special part of my time with PS3 🙂
What’s the name of the song you open with , it sounds so familiar
Great breakdown
Love your KH videos!
The reason Riku's journey is so empty and sparse is simple. Sora is meeting all the people he connected with, all the people he made friends with, all the people he came to care about on his journey through the worlds. And so is Riku.
But yes, it also does feel like that was just an excuse to not program in more content for him there.
My only wish is for the mouth movements to actually fit the English language.
Whenever i see Riku meet Riku Replica in Twilight Town, one says "Because i'm you" and the other says "No, i'm me" i don't see the meme everyone laughs at.
I only see their lips flap 30 times to say 3 words.
Also just an opinion: I would've liked to see more focus on how insanely tragic Repliku's story is in this game.
Nothing but manipulation and forced change is thrust upon him, and in his last desperate attempt to change he meets his end.
Oh and for me: Riku's max level trophy was the absolute worst.
My primary goal in games is to enjoy playing it.
I simply had a good time collecting all the cards...But to have to fight the same enemies in a room over and over with no super-quick way to kill them like Sora can with Mega Flare...Ugh.
Love the game though, one of my absolute favorites, definitely my #4 favorite KH game.
@O C I know that.
Re:CoM is honestly one of my favorite games of all time, It's sad because I know we'll most likely never get a card based KH game anymore because the card system only really makes sense in the context of Castle Oblivion.
That said, I do prefer the command deck of BBS and Re:coded (and DDD I guess, but overall DDD is my least favorite game in the series and it sucks)
And I will say that Re:CoM is better in my opinion than KH2 and I'm not kidding.
ps. Lethal Frame is the most broken slight in Re:CoM, It will carry you until Marluxia, and it only falls off because it can't hit him cuz he's too high up.
you can actually, but just barely and it requires luck/setup. its how I beat the beautiful bastard. Firaga Burst is better for that phase anyways.
Hated this game as a kid, but I love it now ❤️
The card system kicked my ass. I managed to get through the gba version, but this is the only kingdom hearts game I will probably never replay.
I'm sure half my playtime in the 1.5 Remake came from leveling up Sora and Riku to Level 99.... gugh
While there are good things about Re:CoM, I still firmly believe that the gameplay systems are mostly hot garbage outside of the flashy attacks. One glaring issue is the controls of having to manage an entire deck of cards with various rules in a real-time action game, most players aren’t going to bother with cycling through a whole deck to find a single 0 or higher number card against a boss who is moving far too quickly for such a combat framework. Luckily OP sleights are there to make it bearable, but it’s also an Achilles heel because players will naturally gravitate very hard towards them as they more or less disregard the card number system entirely, making the game just as “press triangle to win” as if it more than BBS.
See you after I finish it!
looking forward to it
I played this game for the first time on the gba at my cousins and emulated the gba version in 2010ish to revisit but dropped it. Then I played the game again on ps2 emulator and while I beat it, I didn't really enjoy it so much. Then I Played the ps4 version all the way through both stories and I enjoyed it way more. I think the cards being random can hurt early game progression because the difficulty is basically random depending what cards you end up getting. My friend's experience he got all low numbered cards and had a miserable time playing. I definitely enjoyed riku's playthrough better but I'd be more likely to revisit this than DDD or BBB.
I speedran KH2 in 2019 and it's still my favorite game in the series but I'd probably pick chain of memories as my 3rd favorite.
My cousin who didn't like RPGs played the GBA original and we link battled like crazy
I honestly prefer the gba version. The card system makes more sense on the weaker hardware, grinding moogle points is way faster & easier since the boxes & bins that drop them refresh every time you re-enter a room, no need to re-make the room entirely with new enemies & all. More of the card combos are worth using in isometric as well.
The game was also designed with portable play in mind, able to make concrete progress in relatively short play sessions, and the story progression of each floor following the same story room pattern helps you jump right in if you set it down for a few days. This makes the game play much better with short inconsistent play sessions, & it can get boring or repetitive when played in long sessions as is more typical on home console.
You do lose the voiced cut scenes, which is a shame, and the scenes that hint at games after KH2, which is less of a shame, but still a better experience overall on the go with a gba or ds lite, at least imo.
I think chain of memories was way better then I expected. I went into the game with the taught: "Do i really have to play all the same Disney worlds again?" For me the game was mostly carried by the organization 13 members and the combat card system. I didnt care much about how the cards were used in the overworld. Will I play it again anytime soon? probably not but I am very curious how different the gba game is so ill probably play it on emulator or something.
3:53 recoded shows, it’s what kicks off 3D, unless it came out 10 years after recom, in that case, good one lol
I still want another game like this :(
Glad someone did bring up how fucking boring Disney stories were this time around. Most offensive part is that they are retreads.
imo the storylines of all these games arent the best, but i do really love the card based battle system in this game. ill always skip the cutscenes just to get to the fighting