This past summer, two things happened. Through various means, I was able to obtain two passes to E3 and I went with a friend of mine. And when I came back from my trip to LA, I went to an EB Games and bought a PS2. You might wonder why I am mentioning this on a Nintendo site and in a preview. Well, both of these events are important to understand why I am doing this preview. On the last day of the E3 conference I snagged a badge from the Square-Enix booth. This badge was to allow admittance into a 30 minute long presentation of up coming games. As a Nintendo fan I didn’t pay much attention to Square-Enix the first two days I was there: after all they weren’t supporting the Cube very much. But since we had seen most of the other booths around the convention arena, we figured might as well see what they have to offer. And that was the first step down the dark path.

Ok, I’m only joking but the presentation had a dramatic effect on me. I watched the movies for Final Fantasy: Before Crisis and yawned. I watched the movies for Final Fantasy: XII and wondered when I would be able to leave. Then the preview for Kingdom Hearts 2 began and I was a changed man. I saw a game that took elements from my favorite Disney movies and combined them into something that looked like an amazing adventure. Sure, I had heard of the original Kingdom Hearts but I thought it seemed like a stupid, gimmicky game from a company that I had no interest in. When I returned home, I bought a used PS2 and a used copy of Kingdom Hearts and beat it in 4 days. It was an amazing game full of life and character, with amazing graphics, voice acting and music. So, again you’re probably scratching your head and asking what this has to do with anything. Square-Enix has decided to bridge the gap that occurs between Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts 2 with an all new adventure titled Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, which is only for the GBA.

As I said, Kingdom Hearts: CoM takes place into between Kingdom Hearts and its sequel. The game begins with a minute and a half long FMV introduction in which Sora meets a mysterious hood figure as his companions, Donald and Goofy, sleep. That’s right, this game will include Full Motion Video sequences. If you have not downloaded them yet, I highly suggest you do. If you can’t find them, visit the official site and view the flash intro movie. It has music taken from the game and the still shots are all from the intro FMV. The graphics and sound that the developer was able to put on a GBA card is nothing less than amazing. Sora, Donald and Goofy follow the stranger into a castle which appears before them and realize that the power and magic they gained from their previous adventure has been stripped. Sora must traverse this castle to figure out what has happened, but he must do it alone this time. Donald and Goofy must stay behind but will appear as special “cards” when Sora enters battle.

No this isn't from the PS2 version, this is GBA footage.

Yes, this game is card based. But it isn’t like Yu-Gi-Oh, it’s more similar to Baten Kaitos. When Sora encounters an enemy, he enters a special battle arena where the actual fighting takes place. Attacking with his Keyblade, Sora performs special attacks using these cards. You can control which card you have selected by using the L and R tabs and by timing your attacks, Sora can perform special combos and air attacks. After the battle is over, Sora can find more cards to help him along during his quest.

Out of battle the game is show in a top-down, isometric view, the same used in games such as The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. Each floor of this tower is a different world from the first game and Sora will meet many of the same people. Each level is made up of separate rooms, most levels containing upwards of a dozen. To open each room, a special door card must be found. The starting room that progresses the story and the final room for each level containing the boss are the only set rooms, however. Based on the cards you have when you open a new door, different effects will occur. A certain card will cause the room to contain enemies, while another will cause the room to contain a save point. There are a variety of different possibilities, making each new room a different experience to everyone playing. By fighting his way through these levels, keys will become available to open up new areas, which eventually lead to a level boss.

Although Sora is traveling alone in this castle, he can still call on his friends to help. The cards used in battle are different from those that open doors. After engaging an enemy and beginning a battle, Sora can use Friend Cards, which can call upon Donald, Goofy or the level specific characters, such as Aladdin or Jack Skellington. Up to three cards can be combined for an even stronger attack by holding both the L and R tabs at the same time. Enemies, like Sora, attack with cards. If you counter with a card of equal or higher value, the action is canceled. But enemies can do the same to you so having a deck with a number of high cards is essential.

Sora kicks some Heartless ass with his Keyblade.

These cards can be found everywhere, from defeating enemies to destroying barrels and in chests scattered throughout the world. Your level limits the total number of cards you can carry, but as you increase so does your deck. Developer Jupiter has created a deck management system that allows you to keep track of all the cards you have, as well as allowing you to hold up to three custom card decks. This allows you to experiment with specific themes in your decks, such as defense, healing or attack.

Set for a December 7th release date, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories looks to be one of the GBAs must have titles this fall. Anyone who is a fan of the series on the PS2 should defiantly pick this game up, and even newcomers are sure to find enough gameplay and story to keep them interested.

Nick Basile