Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days (2009)

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days holds a special place in my heart due to its compelling storyline. Featuring some of my favorite characters and delivering a tragic narrative, the game is further enhanced by the brilliant music composed by Shimamura. The unique day-by-day structure adds a refreshing dimension to the series.

However, the overall experience is marred by certain drawbacks. The graphics are somewhat unimpressive, and the camera controls can be awkward, affecting the immersive feel of the game. Additionally, the lack of quality cutscenes and the repetitive mission structure detract from its overall appeal.

While some argue the repetitiveness serves a purpose in highlighting the lives of the main characters and providing a pick-up-and-play feel, I find it to be a drawback when comparing the game to others in the series and broader modern gaming landscape. The game's structure, while catering to the DS's usage style, ultimately hinders its standing in comparison to contemporaries.

A potential solution lies in a modern remake with adjustments to the filler content. This could elevate Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days to new heights, aligning it more seamlessly with the standards of both the series and newer games.

I started this again last night. While I don't think it's been a decade since I played the first time, it might be close! I originally loved this back then! I was super impressed by a fully fleshed out action RPG on the Nintendo DS. While the story is touching, it originally didn't have much consequence upon the overall arc. I still remember this game as a favorite in the series particularly because of what it does with the platform it's on. (I remember being impressed by the drawing distance of the treasure chests.) However, nostalgia can be incredibly misleading. I can't wait to see how I feel after this playthrough (going for a 100% run).

[I am still of the opinion that I would have loved a remake/remaster of this game with the original Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix.]

Whenever Nomura has his B-team out, I'm always incredibly skeptical that the game is going to deliver anything at all and yet this game still managed to make every hour of gameplay excruciating. It's a boring clunky mess, combat is riffed from KH1 but the tedium and repetition is put to an 11, and without the solid ingenious design of the bosses in KH1 there is really nothing here. Yet, you're going to spend a solid 30+ hours to finish everything and 80% of it will be this trash combat.

The story isn't anything better. Sure, it has its moments especially with Xion's arc and Yoko Shimomura still going hard on that soundtrack, but the storytelling is so sparse. Yes we are friends who eat ice cream together do you see how good friends we are such good friends. I understand that Nomura is more an emotional writer that works off simple characters to thematically bring home this idea of humanity but it's so undercooked here to such a great degree. The movie version even cuts half of the already poor characterization. There's no winning here.

I recommend skipping it entirely, or go watch the final scene on YouTube as that ends up being the only important segment unless you care about the lore (why would you though?)

(2/10)