It’s been an interesting ride in my “Summer of Kingdom Hearts” series so far. I’ve reviewed both the original game and Chain of Memories in their “upgraded” forms, with different results. Then, per the collection’s suggestion, I dove into what was the Nintendo DS entry into the franchise, only to find out something that puts my Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days Review into an entirely different light. If you seriously don’t know what that “twist” is, you might want to just experience it for yourself.
Still here? Okay. My Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days Review will be short because I was able to beat this “upgraded” version of the DS game…in just about three hours. How is that possible for a franchise that’s famous for being around 20+ hours every time? That’s simple, they didn’t upgrade the game fully! Instead, they cut out all the gameplay and put in three hours of cutscenes instead! Yes, really. This (and another title I’ll get to later) “game” is just a three-hour cutscene movie! It’s not a bad one…but it’s not what I expected…or wanted.
For those who didn’t play the original DS title, 358/2 Days is the tale of Roxas leading up to KH2. We meet him in his earliest days in Organization XIII, all the way up to his battle with Riku where he gets…well…spoilers!
As we find out, it’s during this time that he becomes good friends with Axel and the “newest member,” a young girl named Xion. What follows is a journey about friendship and the evils that the Organization put on these three “members” to try and make their “true goals” come true.
The joy of this game in the DS form, even with not-the-best graphics, was that we got to see more of Organization XIII and learn what its members were like. True, we still get that here, but we don’t get to team up with them because there’s no gameplay…at all. You literally read text scenes over still shots from the original game and then head to the next cutscene.
To be fair, the cutscenes look great outside of a few shots, and it will be nice for some of you to just breeze through this game to get to KH2…but it’s not very sporting, now, is it?
Just as important, you could argue that 358/2 Days is where the series truly started to “go off the rails” with its story. There are numerous storytelling beats that don’t make sense within this tale, including the creation and fate of Xion, the “memories” of her, and how the Organization talked about things like Castle Oblivion. Things only got more complicated after this, and it shows.
If you have never played the DS version, then don’t let my Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days Review dissuade you from trying it out. You’ll likely want that backstory, especially given how things progress in the “following period” after Roxas fights Riku. However, for those who wanted to enjoy the DS title in its “best form,” you’re not going to get that, and my review score reflects that sad truth.
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days Review
Summary
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days may have been a “unique entry” in its DS form, but the “upgraded version” only shows you one half of the game, and that’s not quite as satisfying, wouldn’t you say?
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Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days Review
