Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix Review

Onto the next game then. This was the first time I’d ever played Chain of Memories, as I didn’t fancy the GBA and the PS2 version never made it to the UK. I won’t go into the story much, as it follows on from the first game, but I can say you’re mainly visiting the same locations. Stages have been shrunk down though, often split into room-like sections to be unlocked with key cards.

There’s a 3D engine makeover replacing the original isometric GBA version. However, the combat maintains the GBA-vibe, which sadly isn’t a good thing. Rather than attack freely, you have a deck of cards with melee attacks and spells with numerical values. You can flick between them with the shoulder buttons and activate them at will. When you’ve used them all you’ll have to reload them, a process that stops you from moving, giving enemies plenty of free shots.

When using the cards, you need to take note of the value of them and make sure they are of equal or greater value to the ones being used the enemy. You can stack up to three cards together for a higher value, but this removes one of them from the deck for the rest of the fight. All of this happens in real-time, which can prove overwhelming against multiple opponents and the lock-on system is unreliable with changing targets requiring much camera wrangling and running about.

The combat’s change of pace feels like the game has had its laces tied together. What was once a fluid system has become a clunky and frustrating nuisance. There’s no desire to keep fighting beyond the bare minimum required to get through the game.

Sure, playing the game straight after KH1 made the change even more jarring, but there’s no hiding that it just doesn’t feel fun to play. If the original dev team behind the PS2 version went to all the effort to give the game full 3D graphics, you have to wonder why they didn’t change to combat to the same as the original Kingdom Hearts.

Some cards found in the world and during combat serve as keys for new areas. You’re asked to select a card of a minimum value to unlock the door and many of these cards have properties that affect the room itself. They could make the enemies slower, add extra enemies, provide treasure drops and so on. This works well and it allows you to set the pace of how much fighting you want to do. If you leave a world then the doors will be reset, so you can try something different if you return to farm some XP.

I found it hard work sticking to this game. If I was getting to visit new locations, there may have been more incentive to play. But coming onto it straight after the first game and being forced to play a stripped down version with combat that ties your hands behind your back felt like a big ask.

Chain of Memories is far from awful, it just compares poorly with the first game. Leave a decent gap between the two and maybe it’ll feel better. We’re bound to see another compilation too before KHIII, probably involving KHII and the PSP-prequel, Birth by Sleep.

At the end of the day though, the first Kingdom Hearts game alone makes this a worthy purchase for new and old players alike. An extra difficulty mode may even entice multiple playthroughs. After all, it’s going to be a while before we see Kingdom Hearts III on the PS4. Or should that be the PS5?