Any long-time fan of Kingdom Hearts will know that the series has gotten rather difficult to follow over the years. And I’m not just talking about the overly complicated plot. The main, numbered games in the series started on the PS2, and it makes sense that the eventual sequel would find its way onto the PS4 many years later. But if you wanted to keep up with the rest of the games, you would have needed: a GameBoy Advance, a PlayStation Portable, a Nintendo DS, and a Nintendo 3DS. Oh, and there’s a mobile game now.
Being the overly obsessive individual that I am, I played all of these games on their initial hardware (before I knew they’d re-release them on consoles later on) and finally gave up when I became aware of the existence of a mobile game, where I inevitably was forced to draw a long overdue line, surrendering to the idea that it was okay to call myself a Kingdom Hearts fan while also not playing every single game in the franchise. The most recent entry into the series is, actually, not that difficult to get, as it is available on all modern consoles, including the PC. It is, however, a rhythm game called Melody of Memories, a genre with which I am quite unfamiliar and indifferent towards. Nevertheless, I decided it couldn’t hurt to at least try the demo.
Even so, considering that rhythm games aren’t really my thing, I didn’t totally understand the point of this game. Sora, Donald, and Goofy run along a set path through locations from previous games (the demo gives us access to four songs/locations), attacking enemies, jumping, and using special attacks in time with the music. While I did feel a wave of nostalgia while revisiting some of these familiar tunes, I have to admit that I’d much rather just listen to the music without having to, you know, do anything. I’m just not coordinated enough to press buttons in time with the music, and I actually died on the third song I attempted.
Considering my preferences, it’s hard to give this demo a proper review. I just don’t enjoy this type of game, but from what I’ve read online, if you are a fan of this genre, then it sounds like you probably will like this game, which I’ve heard contains roughly 140 songs? That leaves the game’s story, which I have a feeling will introduce important new elements to an already confusing plot. But considering the gameplay doesn’t interest me, I’ll just have to watch the cut scenes online, which range from 20 minutes to an hour.
Seriously, though, leave it to Square Enix to include new story details in a rhythm game! You guys truly are mad!
This post was originally published on Virtual Bastion on August 17, 2021.
The Duck of Indeed 