Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories (Game Boy Advance) Review

The first adventure involved a young boy by the name of Sora who was whisked away to a mysterious place called Traverse Town one night during a freak storm. Here, much to his incredulity, he met Donald Duck and Goofy and joined them in the search for the missing King Mickey Mouse, as well as looking for his absent friends Riku and Kairi. Upon finding Riku and the King, the door to the strange world is locked and the troupe head off on another adventure. However, a mysterious man approaches Sora and tells him there is something ahead that he needs, but to obtain it something must be lost. Disappearing, all that is left is a path to a place called 'Castle Oblivion', so off Goofy, Donald and Sora go on what could be their strangest adventure yet...

Looking at the Game Boy Advance you would not imagine that it could do much more than the Super Nintendo. However, time and time again the system has surprised the world, with the likes of Golden Sun, Final Fantasy Tactics and Zelda: The Minish Cap looking so impressive that they could easily pass as PSone games or even first

Kingdom Hearts on the PlayStation 2 was a traditional action role-playing game, akin to the Zelda series. However, there were many flaws with the actual gameplay and control aspect of the title, with several complaints being aimed at the way jumping was more than a little erratic and the camera seemed to just lose itself completely at times. Therefore, when it was heard that the game was coming to the GBA, the thought of those problems on a less capable system sounded a recipe for disaster. However, Square Enix off-loaded the development duties to none other than Jupiter, a company that has worked with Nintendo in the past on the Pok

And this control continues with how you play through the game itself, with World Cards being available, so you can choose openly what place you want to visit first. So say you want to do Aladdin's world before The Night Before Christmas or Wonderland, then you can do! Then there are certain special cards you get that give you access to doors that further the story, as well as some other 'secret' cards that let you go back through all the older levels and find some treats. The game is a real pleasure to play through and due to the quick battle mechanic nothing grows too boring, especially when the action is broken up so well with story interludes or off the beaten track play like trying to find Winnie the Pooh's friends in 100-Acre Wood by guiding the podgy bear around. This is a true triumph and far better than the first PS2 game thanks to a completely different approach being taken.

The game starts off quite easily, with many probably being able to make their way through the first few levels by simply bashing the attack button as much as possible, then simple dodging enemies whilst they refill their card base. However, this really does not work when you get further into the game. Some stages require enemies to be dealt with as quickly as possible, meaning that combination moves are required, others bosses have players having to follow a particular sequence before being able to even get near the bad guy. A lot of thought must go into battles, despite their quick nature, and the same goes for the collection of cards and how they are used throughout the whole game. Certain ones can open doors, others determine the order of worlds you visit and the rest can be used for health, as weapons or to call friends to help you out. With so many possibilities scattered in Chain of Memories and the increasing difficulty as you progress, you are getting more than enough value for money!