Well after three weeks of button mashing I have finished the latest instalment of the kingdom hearts series. It's been a while since I've reviewed something so please bear with me.
Story.
The story follows three young keyblade wielders, two of whom are to be tested for the mark of mastery. Their residential keyblade master and another visiting keyblade master test the two and conclude that only one shows the mark. Not long after this the visiting master mysteriously vanishes and reports of a new enemy attacking the worlds arise and it is tasked to the newly minted master and the failed hopeful to find him. Afterwards the other wielder also leaves to look for his friends after the mysterious words of a masked boy and the three of them travel from world to world setting the wrongs right in search of the master and the source of the new enemy.
What the discover changes their lives forever and lays the groundwork for the other games.
Gameplay.
The gameplay is kingdom hearts basic with a few new additions thrown in. You still have your basic combos but a new finish commands has been added where with each hit on an enemy fills a gauge which when full lets you unleash a powerful attack with varying effects, instead of reaction commands from the previous Main instalment you have a command deck where you stack commands like cure, thunder, Ars Arcanum etc which are activated by the triangle button like the reaction commands of old. After a time limit the commands are freed up to use again and depending what commands you use, when you get to your finish command you may enter a battle stance e.g. fire commands may put you in firestorm stance. You also have shot lock where you hold a targeting reticule over enemies and unleash a special attack.
There are three main paths in BBS following the stories of Terra, Ventus or Ven for short, and Aqua which when finished all paint a single picture. All the worlds are the same but the three characters visit them at different times sometimes meeting up throughout the journey. Each character has a unique fighting style and learns different commands from each other as well as common place ones. Synthesis returns but in a different way, once you have levelled your commands up to certain levels you can meld two together to make an entirely new command, for example Strike Raid and Blizzard would make Freeze Raid. Now when melding if you include a crystal in the meld your new command will come with abilities attached, e.g. the above example you may get Blizzard Boost. For as long as you have the command equipped you will reap the benefits of the ability, better yet when you master the command you no longer need it to have the ability. The last aspect of gameplay is the D Link where you take on the commands and some abilities of certain characters you meet in the game. D linking also heals your HP when you do it.
Mini Games.
Mini games in BBS are actually pretty fun with the exception of one mandatory one that anyone who has played will know which one I mean. There are three main mini games and a few little ones. The first main mini game is the command board which is a monopoly type game where you go around a board buying squares and placing commands in them to try and make a set number of GP. There are special squares that have beneficial of detrimental effects and checkpoints that you can use to develop your commands. Your commands level up depending on your performance and you can also get commands you didn't previously have.
The second main mini game is the rumble racing which as the name suggests is a simple racing mini game where you race around a track avoiding the attacks of other racers and trying to attack them yourself to secure yourself in first place. There are several different tracks to choose from and the difficulty varies.
The third main mini game is the mirage arena which takes over from the coliseum as your arena training ground. It is here you can face challenges varying in difficulty, play on the command board or rumble race. Currency at the mirage arena takes the form of medals that you acquire by doing well in challenges which is used to buy special things such as shot locks or special commands used in multi-player. What you can buy is dependent on your mirage level which you raise by successfully completing challenges in the arena.
Multi-Player.
BBS comes with a multi-Player function where you can enter the mirage arena with other people to battle them, race them or play them at the command board. You can also attempt team challenges with them and D Link with them. In addition if you play with the same person you have D linked with, the D link may level up depending on how much time has passed and modifications you may have made to you command deck.
Personal Thoughts
I personally like BBS, I find it interesting and immersive enough to hold my interest. If you are a KH1 puritan then I doubt very much that this will appeal to you. If you?re new to the series it is a good place to start (obviously as it?s a prequel) and if you?re a KH vet then it?s another excuse to run around hitting things with a giant key.
I do find myself being annoyed though because as usual in this series the Japanese have their own Final Mix version that has little to no hope of being released in the English speaking countries and has new and better content. Also
the secrete movie revealed that not only is the next game not kingdom hearts 3, that it is also a DS exclusive. So now we need Ps2, Gameboy advance, Psp, DS and possibly a ps3 in future
If I had to put a score on it, it would be 7/10
