I 100% understand why so many people seem to dislike this title as it's held back by the DS in various areas.

However, I personally see alot more good than bad in this title and I think nobody gives it the credit it deserves.

The panel mechanic is super interesting and led to me actually strategizing before each mission thus making the game more RPG-esce than a typical KH game would be.

(edited version of earlier review)

Came back to play this briefly and checked out the 1.5 cutscenes for funsies.

In terms of character and the sheer emotion of the story it's definitely on the upper end for the series, but the gameplay's so basic that it's not really a good one to play. Still, I wouldn't call the gameplay particularly bad per se, just mediocre or decent for a handheld. Honestly I prefer the mission-based system to the more JRPG-esque structure of its cohorts (especially since it means Disney stuff is more like settings for interactions than stories to play through). I'd generally recommend watching the movie version of this from 1.5, BUT do note that you'll be missing out on some random smaller interactions and moments between Org XIII members and Roxas that you'd otherwise be completely unaware of.

Anyway, this's kinda hard to rate for me because I really like everything they were going for, but it seems that a lot of the problems arose from it being relegated to an underpowered handheld. Had it been on PS2 or even PSP at the time it probably could have been in the running for being actually properly good without any strings attached. Unfortunately, that isn't so. Even so, it's got enough nice elements that I'd say it's above average as a game, but only barely. Obviously the emotional impact and writing also tend to be pretty nice in this as it explores a lot of the simpler sides of friendship and relationships in a way I find cute.

In terms of overall plot, 358 is honestly somewhat lacking until the final third of the game. Most of the game is spent doing tedious and menial missions for the organization, though we do get to watch Roxas's relationships develop, which is most of the reason one would play this game. I think the tedium of this game is somewhat intentional, as it is meant to depict what Roxas's life was like at the time.

I actually really enjoy the panel system, which is used to determine what abilities, items, and spells Roxas will bring to combat. Speaking of which, combat in this game is pretty good, but not great. Some of the bosses are quite tough, like Leechgrave and Ruler of the Sky. But they are not the enjoyable kind of challenging. They are the annoying kind.

Despite all that, 358 is still a must-play for a fan of the series. It stars one of the series's best characters and has an ending that might just make you cry.

Fool Reviews Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
"Three Hundred and Fifty-Eight Days Experienced In Just One":

So, for context on this one, this review isn't going to contain anything on the gameplay. Having seen various reviews on this game's original release and having just played Re:Chain of Memories, I had no interest to play the DS Original as that would just take up more time and I want to get to KH2 already. So this review will be strictly about my enjoyment of the story and how it is presented in the Final Mix collection.

You may be asking why I decided to watch 358/2 before playing KH2, since the former released after the latter. The reasons are kind of simple: The first being that I already know the general plot of these games, and so the twist of Roxas being Sora's Nobody doesn't have an impact on me at this point. The second being that in the collection, this is actually ordered before KH2, making me believe that the developers wanted me to experience this game first. And the third being that this game might give additional context for KH2's story.

So, as for the overall enjoyment of this... It was alright. The cutscenes are really nice, and the plot basically just being "Friends: Anime Edition" was a nice change of pace from the last game. I really like the dynamic between Roxas, Axel, and Xion. They feel like actual coworkers, which I find rather endearing at the end of the day. A realistic feeling relationship between characters that develops into an actual friendship, I'm all down for that.

As for the rest of Organization XIII... well, Xemnas has a cool voice but I don't really know much else about him. Xigbar was actually relatively fun to watch whenever he would show up, which wasn't often but it was enough to be entertaining. He gives me Larxene vibes to be honest. Saix... I didn't really care for him. I like that he and Axel were friends in the past, and that creates conflict between them when Axel gets more and more attached to Roxas and Xion, but outside of that he's got the personality of a wet piece of cardboard. The rest of the Organization barely gets any spotlight at all besides our main trio and these three, and because of that they don't come off as very interesting.

As for the plot, I will say one of the things that genuinely surprised me was the fact that Xion is introduced basically at the beginning of the story. I was not expecting that at all. From what I had heard, I was thinking she wouldn't be joining the plot at all until like a quarter of the way through the story. It felt a little weird given she only arrives within a week of Roxas' induction. The beginning of the story mostly focuses on building up Roxas' and Axel's relationship, and it's very entertaining. Quinton Flynn does a great job making Axel, who's normally a very active personality, feel down to earth and chill. The way he repeats "Got it memorized" in a calm, almost sibling like tone makes he have to give praise for the performance. Through Axel, Roxas begins to learn about life and his own feelings and goes from a barely talking zombie to a person with emotions and goals.

Good things aren't meant to last for Roxas though, and eventually Axel has to go to Castle Oblivion so that Chain of Memories can happen. During this time Roxas does missions... I do not like how these are presented. Occasionally when there isn't a cutscene for a particular part of the story, they just show images with text. It feels very stilted in comparison and kind of feels a little lazy. I know they're not as important as the main plot, but I would've liked to genuinely see Roxas interacting with the other members of the Organization.

Anyways eventually Roxas befriends Xion, and they eat ice cream together. It turns out Xion, like Roxas, can also use the keyblade, which is a neat turn of events. Then Roxas goes into the first coma of the game. This game has multiple moments where characters go into comas... it does feel a little repetitive after the first one and I don't think it serves much of a purpose other than making that character unavailable in the original DS release. Xion takes on the missions in Roxas' stead, until he wakes up.

Eventually Axel returns after being M.I.A. after Chain of Memories and starts to hang out with Roxas and now Xion. Xion eventually forgets how to use the keyblade, resulting in Roxas pulling double duty until he teaches her to remember. The Three Musketeers enjoy ice cream and sunsets, hoping it will last forever.

Then Xion starts having memories of Sora's past, and eventually goes into a coma. From there a bunch of things wind up revealed. One, Saix and Axel are working together on something. Two, Xion is actually a Replica meant to copy Roxas' powers in case he ever went AWOL. Three, because Xion is siphoning Sora's memories from Roxas, the memories being trapped within her are delaying Sora's awakening, something Namine cannot fix on her own, and something DiZ won't tolerate. So DiZ has Riku go out to kill both Xion and Roxas. Riku actually fights Xion earlier in the game, giving her the hints that she isn't who she believes herself to be... but also says like the weirdest line "I must be the biggest nobody of them all." It's very weird.

Eventually Riku convinces Xion more or less to return to Sora's memories so he can recover, and after a bunch of chasing, capturing, running away, and recapturing, Xion finally faces off with Roxas, while looking exactly like Sora. Roxas, despite having been weakened by Xion's presence for the entirety of the game, manages to land the killing blow. As she dies, Xion asks Roxas to release Kingdom Hearts. Unfortunately for her, because her existence was built upon false memories or whatever, she becomes completely forgotten.

Roxas then promptly quits the Organization, but not before chastising Axel for keeping information about Xion a secret from him. Then he encounters Riku, and the two fight it out. It looks like Roxas may get the upper hand but then Riku turns into Ansem and bodies the man, which leads us into the beginning of Kingdom Hearts 2.

Overall, I much enjoyed the story. It's definitely not perfect, there are some lines that are... questionable. "Who else will I have ice cream with?" in particular. The stilted presentation at a few points though can be a bit distracting. I would definitely say I enjoyed it more than the last story or KH1's story. It's surprisingly not as loaded with the pseudo-Shakespearean writing like those two, which I find kind of refreshing.

Either way, it's time for Kingdom Hearts 2, so I'll see you all when that's over with.