Every so often games come out, the premises of which really raise an eyebrow. The original Kingdom Hearts on the PlayStation 2 is surely one of these. Whoever could have predicted an RPG fusing the worlds of the Final Fantasy world and the characters and locations from well-known Disney feature films?

If one, why not two? The second instalment, subtitled Chain of Memories, is now set to come out on Game Boy Advance. Picking up from where the previous Square Enix game left off, the action ... more >>

Every so often games come out, the premises of which really raise an eyebrow. The original Kingdom Hearts on the PlayStation 2 is surely one of these. Whoever could have predicted an RPG fusing the worlds of the Final Fantasy world and the characters and locations from well-known Disney feature films?

If one, why not two? The second instalment, subtitled Chain of Memories, is now set to come out on Game Boy Advance. Picking up from where the previous Square Enix game left off, the action follows the continuing adventures of Sora, accompanied by Disney stalwarts Goofy and Donald. Sora must collect cards to gain access to various different worlds. Each, as in the last game, is based on a Disney franchise, so he may find himself in 100 acre wood talking to the honey-loving Winnie the Pooh, or in Akrabah, the city in the Aladdin film, or the spooky Hallowe’en town from Tim Burton’s A Nightmare before Christmas.

The combat system interestingly fuses action and card-battling gameplay. As you move, dodge and roll about your enemies, you can select attacks from your growing card deck. Four cards at a time are selectable, and you must make sure the numbers on your spell and attack cards are higher than those of your enemies. When you run out of cards, you must shuffle your deck (whilst still dodging the enemy) and begin again.

If nothing else, a pretty imaginative title, Kingdom of Hearts: Chain of Memories has an absorbing storyline, backed by some of your favourite tunes from the popular films. If you enjoyed the first game, or are a fan of Disney characters, or are merely looking for a solid card battle RPG to get your teeth into, then this is for you.
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