[UPDATE #2] Re:Chain of Memories - More Fan Reviews

Hey everyone, more reviews for Re:Chain of Memories has been recently submitted. Make sure you check them out below. Also make sure you view the first couple of reviews by clicking HERE.

Username: SlippingStar

When I arrived home from school to see my shiny copy of Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories propped up against the TV, I just about died. But I was too happy for that. I also own a copy of the original GBA version, and in some ways it’s easier and in others it’s harder. For example; before, I never could pay attention to both the battle and the cards. Now on this larger screen, it’s easier, ironically. But some draw-backs is that it’s harder to land an actual hit on the Heartless when on the field, and some of the controls are different. Oh yes, Marluxia’s voice (that’s MAR-LOO-SHA) = sexiness. Ha. As entertaining as it was for my ADD mind to see the little sprites running around, the 3D version has its perks too. It’s easier to dodge roll and maneuver in general. Axel’s character seems a little… off. But hey, this was before KHII, which is the only place where were heard a dubbed axel. The dubbing is a little shabby, but that’s because the animators were at their peek in this game, so all the mouths form to their Japanese counterparts. So taking that into consideration, they did a fair job. I can’t wait to get to Riku’s part and see Lexeaus! -fangirl squee- Dang you, distractions….

Over all, I am enjoying my product VERY much.
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First Name: Josh
Username: :::the-real-enigma:::

Re: Chain of Memories has been rumored, for a while now, to be coming to NA. And I'm glad it finally has.
As of now I've only made it to floor 5. I've heard Marluxia's, Vexen's, Naminé's and Larxene's voice. And, I have to say that they all made me really happy to hear and the characters were portrayed amazingly. Larxene's VA probably did the best job. I was stunned. She doesn't just look and act evil, Shanelle Workman (VA for Larxene) made it really convincing. Of course, all the returning voice actor's did a really well job, i was strange at first to hear KH1 Sora with a KH2 Sora voice, but you get used to it, like you get used to the battle system. Not to mention I played KH1 directly before this game (and I'll be playing KH2 directly after).

Battle system wise, I love what they've done with it. I like how they added the reaction commands and sped everything up a little. Pooh's minigames! Those were amazing! These new minigames are probably my favorite ones yet to hit the Kingdom Hearts series. They're sorta challenging and so much fun to play. Pooh's world has always been one of those "Uggh, I don't want to do this, but I want to complete the journal and lock all keyholes" type of situations for me, but now i was sad to leave (thank god for the warp things).

If no one else had noticed, I imagine you all have, but the physics in Re: Chain Of Memories is different from KH1 or KH2. The characters move more fluently and slightly quicker. This alone made watching the smallest scenes enjoyable, (even the scene we see so often of Sora standing in front of a door and holding a card up to it). The character's fluent movements really brought out moments well.

The only thing I don't like about this game is the lack of voice acting in the worlds.
While I understand they didn't want to spend to much time/money on Voice acting for this game since it's a remake after all. But, I did miss hearing the voices for Cloud and Hades and, of course, Winnie the Pooh.

Overall, this game links KH1 and 2 together beautifully. It's true to the original for the GBA and the new things that have been added did for this game what a cherry does for the top of an ice cream sundae.

I have never rated anything before, but I believe this game easily deserves at very least a 9.5 out of 10.
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First Name: jon
Username: liljonjon94

Well I got my copy on release date, so im really happy about that. The game is a perfect remake of the original gba game. The graphics have gone from pixel graphics to 3d ps2 graphics. So thats a big +. The voice acting was a success, as the voices capture the feeling that players experience. The card system is pretty good, with multiple sleights and tons of cards. I played through the 8th floor (mine was 100 acre wood) lvl 29 54% card collection, and its already very good. The proud mode setting is difficult, compared to standard and easy but i wanted to make this playthrough really count. So far, i died 15 times from larxene #1 (she was hard!), 8 times from riku replica #1 And so far 10 failed attempts on riku #2. So hard!..

Rating:
Graphics 10/10
VA 9/10 (with a little regret)

Total: 19/20 - 95%
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Name: Julia
Username: Axelkh765

My Review:
It's about time! Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories has finally come to North America. On Decembr 2nd I immediatly went to pick up my copy of the newest game to join the KH family. When I started playing, I realized that the game was more... challenging, than previous titles. The card battle system takes a little while to get used to on the ps2 and trying to remember which cards do what adds to the challenge. As for character voices, I loved Marluxia's voice.

Yes people, it's Mar-loo-shia. When I realized his name pronounciation, I didn't feel bad because I knew that lots of people thought it was Mar-lux-ia just as I had. Axel's voice IS a little different, I'll give people that. Some of the comments I have seen have really been degrading Quinton Flynn's VA as Axel. I don't agree with those people, but realize, if Re: CoM came out before KHII, people would be saying how different his voice is just as they are now. Quinton Flynn did an awesome job as usual! Namine's new voice has also changed because of a new VA, but it's alright. Last but not least, Sora's older voice in a younger body threw me off at first, but now I don't mind it. I own the GBA title as well and so far, I am pleased with the results of the 3D rendition of this classic game, plus, being sold with Final Mix + would make any KH gamer happy! I can't wait to see what other battles come up as I complete this game.

Voices:
10/10 All of the voice actors did a great job.

Gameplay:
9/10- the card battle system takes some getting used to.

Entertainment Factor:
11/10! It's a great buy and worth the $30.00 you paid for it.
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Username: KHEnigmatic+

Well, the remake that every KH fan has been waiting fro is finally here. Originally for the GBA, this game brings a fresh new remake edition to the PS2 console, which brings back the adventures of Sora and Riku's, both different, original stories in Castle Oblivion. Now, to start off:

Voice Acting: The voice acting, I have to say, is remarkable. But besides there being only one voice actor replaced, quite a few have been replaced in this game. Hayden Panettiere, Brittany Snow, and Christopher Lee have all been replaced by new voice actors, which whom I will talk about later on. To start off, the voice actors of Goofy, Donald, and Mickey are back, again doing a remarkable job. Haley Joel Osment is back, and he did a remarkable job voice acting Sora once again, and I can understand why Haley has voiced Sora in his KH2 voice(puberty, people!). David Gallagher does an astounding job also as Riku and Repliku. Now, for the newly replacements. Let me say, Meghan Jette Martin(if that's her name spelled correctly >_>) did an absolutely amazing job with Namine, and captured her low, shy, voice correctly. Alyson Stoner (Kairi) did actually pretty good as she got the voice of KH1 Kairi perfectly, which reminded of the scene in KH1 when Sora mistook Yuffie for Kairi. Corey Burton, on the other hand, did a disappointing job with DiZ, and I want Christopher Lee's voice back, now! The only reasons why I think they replaced all these actors, especially Hayden, was:
A. They needed younger voices since this game was set one year before KH2
B. The voice actors were too busy in their time
or C. The team was low on budget for dubbing, so they couldn't bring the voice actors, whom were all much more famous than the replacements.
and Finally, is the voices of the Organization. Marluxia's voice actor captured his voice perfectly, giving him that since of beauty, leadership, and power that Marluxia should have. Axel does sound different, but he did show more of his soft side in KH2, and now he shows his more sly, tricky, and somewhat-crazy personality, so well done, Quinton Flynn. Larxene's voice actor also did a good job, capturing her self-adolescence, playfulness, and anger. Vexen's voice actor, Derek Stephen Prince, also did a great job voicing him, comparing him to the mad, old scientist that he is meant to be. Lexeaus' voice actor, I must say, was the overall best new voice of the Organization, as Dave Boat made Lexeaus sound perfectly, capturing his tough complex, wiseness, and sinister tone; Astounding job, Dave Boat. Finally, Zexion's voice actor also did a good job, capturing him as the perfect schemer who stays mostly in the shadows. Overall, great voice acting but I do hope for the greatness of KH that Hayden Panettire comes back.

Graphics: Graphics are well done once again, bringing the PS2's graphics to their fullness. Amazing, S-E.

Gameplay/New Features: The gameplay is even more enjoyable than the original, now with the 3-D environment and the Reaction Commands for sleights. The new features of the gameplay also, as I've seen playing, affects some battles differently than the original. This makes some boss battle more difficult and some more easier. Maybe they should've tone down on some of the reaction commands and raise the AIs of some bosses a bit(I have beaten both stories in Proud Mode btw). The new features of this game feature new boss battles, such as Zexion and a 2nd part of Marluxia's final boss battle, and a theater mode. I have not tried out theater mode, but from the screenshots, I believe that they also show the events that happen in the card worlds, and I mean EVERY card world. The new boss battles are remarkable and challenging at the same time, both of which I was satisfied. Overall, the Gamplay and new features were great.

So, now that you've read that, Kingdom Hearts Re:CoM is a great game. Tetsuya Nomura deserves his thanks for taking time to make this game and sharing it to both NA and Europe. I hope to see more games of the KH series, and wish for some voice actors to return (Bring Hayden back!). So now, my overall score of this game is: 8.9/10
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Username: EvilMan_89

The Culmination of All the Kingdom Hearts games

Kingdom Hearts RE: COM is the game that takes the best of all the previous games (Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories, and Kingdom Hearts II) all together in one package. This game uses the stuff that worked in the previous games, from Kingdom Hearts with it's attacks, settings, and animations. From Kingdom Hearts 2's Reaction Command System, the menus, and best of all: the camera system. And Chain of Memories' card system and story.

This is a must have game for all Kingdom Hearts fans and here's why.

STORY (10/10)
The storyline of the game takes place directly after the first Kingdom Hearts game and before Kingdom Hearts 2. It takes place in Castle Oblivion and the storyline revolves around the mysteries of the inhabitants of Caste Oblivion. There is a lot of narrative elements in this game such as mystery, suspense, and plot twists. Without revealing anything, the storyline IS the most dramatic of the whole series.

GAMEPLAY (8/10)
This game takes the battle systems from all three games. It uses the first game's attacks in the form of sleights, while also working in the Reaction Command system for players to use follow up attacks with certain sleights, and best of all: it maintains the card system from Chain of Memories. While the original game had it's flaws such as the needless hunting for a specific card to open a door, or the long time it takes a player to change Riku into his Dark Mode; these minor annoyances have been solved by adding in fixes such as a new Map card that allows Players to have more control of what cards they will get and the Rapid Break system that allows Riku to gain more Dark Points.

The game's card system allows players to have great freedom in the fighting style of Sora. You can use whichever cards you want to use the sleights you want. You can focus on using only Attack Sleights or use Magic Sleights. It's all up to you.

The card system also allows players the freedom to go to certain rooms while exploring the worlds. If a player doesn't want to get into a fight, they can simply use a card that will avoid spawning heartless like the Calm Bounty card. Or they could cause more enemies to spawn if they wish.

As for the difficulty of the game, this game is HARD. You have to constantly monitor your card, the numbers on the card, while avoiding enemy attacks and coming up with a strategy to fight back. It's a lot to do at once but it's fun. However, the game seriously lacks difficulty in Riku's side of the story (even in Proud Mode). That is simply because of the Card Duel system that is exclusive to Riku's story. Most, if not all enemies can easily be overcome with this one attack and the game sometimes seems to encourage the overusage of these attacks that result from the Card Duel.

GRAPHICS (10/10)
This game is pure eye candy, with all the colorful surroundings one would expect from a Kingdom Hearts game. It uses many of the settings from the previous game while implementing the much improved camera system from Kingdom Hearts II. All the maps are nice looking. The attacks are very beautiful and you have to see it to believe it. The game's cinematics are very appealing as well due to it's having more action in the scenes than the previous games.

SOUND (9/10)
The soundtracks are all from the previous games. Nothing new but some of them remixed. All in all, it sounds nice. However, some of the dialouge that is spoken in the game's cinematics are a bit choppy and awkward. This seems to be due to the pre-recorded scenes that were made for the Japanese version but it IS noticeable at times. I believe that Square has done the best they could with what they had but that doesn't change the awkward sentences at times.

OVERALL (9/10)
This game scores 9/10 because while it is not perfect, it is pretty close to it. However there are some negatives that prevent the score from reaching a perfect one. One issue is that the game can be a little predictable at times. After a few hours into the game, players will catch on to the whole system in the worlds of: Opening Sequence, Drama stuff, Turning Point, Boss fight, and then conclusion. Those things happen in every world in that order, in a matter of 3 rooms in most cases. It can be predictable. Also, another thing that dragged the score down was the delivery of the lines spoken during cutscenes. The lip synching is noticeably off at times and the dialouge just sounds awkward at times. Despite those negatives, this is a good game, and should at least be rented if not bought. It is a must have for Kingdom Hearts fans but gamers who are new to the series might be a little confused when playing this game.

SCORE: 9/10
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First Name: Scott
Username: Sith Scott

Gameplay: I say the hardest thing is Riku always using zeroes and doing quick moves but I beat him the 4th time (super close the 1st time) He was the only guy I had to redo boss battles. I’m only in sora’s story in castle oblivion the last floor. I wish I would of chosen easy mode so I could go directly to Reverse rebirth mode but I like challenges. Man was the 10th and above floor difficult. I didn’t die from the bosses but I had 10 hp the whole time.(Dodge roll is the best maneuver ever). I am still at the 3rd room and the neo-shadows are incredibly powerful with a handful of cards with 8’s and down. Only able to use 9’s Best way to run is diagonal. Down or sideways gets you pelted. (CURSE YOU RIKU REPLICA)

Voice Overs: The voice overs worked better than I Thought. Even with Haley Joel Osment’s voice deeper it still fits sora’s character. Riku was a lot better than I thought it was gonna be. Made him sound darker. I didn’t know what to expect with marluxia or Larxene but I thought they fit the parts.
Overall I give it 9.5/10