Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep Review

This new installment in the Kingdom Hearts franchise improves on many of the aspects critics found lacking while still maintaining the whimsical innocent feel of the original.

In previous KH games the combat system was usually fairly simple and many would complain that you could simply mash the X button or the Triangle button depending on whether you are playing the original or its’ sequel. With the games released for the portable systems this is not the case however. The battle-system in this iteration was multifaceted and in depth. With the use of the D-pad you could scroll through your commands which ranged from varied physical attacks to magic to restorative items. Where previous games had a mana system this version utilized a cooldown system. After each command is used it goes on a cooldown for a short period of time and could be used as long as the battle lasted thus allowing for significantly longer battles. Each command filled up a bar above the command list and when enough commands were used your character would power up (note:if mostly basic attacks were used you received your finish command which is a single powered up attack.) depending on which commands were used the power up would differ and later on if enough commands were used while powered up you would power up once more. Each form has an entirely different style and finishing move and the second tier of these power ups are drastically stronger. Another aspect to consider is the Focus meter and the shotlock commands it allows you to use. By holding both the trigger buttons you could use a targeting reticule to lock on to enemies and attack them multiple times. The final aspect of combat is the D-link or dimensional link command which gave you a moveset of a character you’ve met up with previously and healed you back to full. Sadly I didn’t find much use for this option.

Another interesting aspect of this game was its’ revamped customization system. Where as in previous games abilities and attacks were acquired over time this game treats abilities like items in a way. You can purchase and find commands and restorative items off of fallen enemies. Once commands were equipped they advanced in level over time and once fully leveled could be used to create new commands. Adding another layer was the crystals in game which, when added to a melding of commands, would offer new abilities which did everything from modify resistances to preventing one hit KOs.

Ultimately though you could go as in-depth with this customization as you wanted to. I found that on the normal difficulty setting I could make it through the game with minimal grinding and occasional melding to upgrade commands. The difficulty of this game however may surprise hardened KH fans (especially if they’re a part of the younger set) it seems that Square understood their target audience for this game and bumped up the difficulty. Some bosses were quite challenging and took me many tries to analyze their patterns and form a strategy. This was something I greatly appreciated about the game.

Now to give a bit of background to the game. You play as either Terra, Ventus, or Aqua each having their own distinct advantages and disadvantages as well as play styles. They each have their own stories which intersect the other stories from time to time. After each of their stories is completed and certain requirements met their is a final chapter that raps up the game. The story takes place before the events of the original KH and thus involves worlds which were “destroyed” at that time. These worlds which include several of the classic princess worlds gave the game a feeling of fairy-tale wonder at the start while later on the worlds started to draw from more modern Disney. What I enjoyed most however was this games original characters. They finally managed to explain any number of things including “Whatever happened to the previous Keyblade masters?” as well as filling in the much needed backstory of Xehanort and Ansem while illuminating the origins of Organization 13. They also offered a nice tie in to Sora, Riku, and Kairi who haven’t been heard of since KH 2 oh so many years ago.

In the end I really loved this game and the waves of nostalgia it brought back. It had the best aspects of the old with many new features to keep things interesting. So if you’re a returning KH fanatic or just someone who likes a game that can be as in depth as you want I’d suggest picking up or (in my case) borrowing this game from a friend.