I have to admit, my first hour with the game, I was heaving a great big sigh because I was - yet again - being spoon fed the plot of all the previous games, like regurgitated morsels from a bird's mouth. But then you find out where the challenge lies - unlocking the star doors and the dives become satisfying. Even at its most annoying (Hollow Bastion three times? Really?), you can't get mad at what is essentially a new Elite Beat Agents game.
Amazing introduction to the rhythm game genre for me. A love letter to the series and possibly the best recap game in the series in that it just presents simple bullet points and does the rest with its music and presentation alone. Definitely not a good first introduction to the series itself, though!
The new story content at the end is uh... not really remarkable but it was fun
The new story content at the end is uh... not really remarkable but it was fun
The game is fun but honestly the song selection is lacking. It's missing so many KH3 songs and the ones they have are pretty boring. Other than that it was overall solid.
This game is a delight to play!
Story: The first thing that needs to be noted is that all of the new story content clocks in at around 24 minutes. So if you're just here for the story don't expect to much (and don't forget the $60 price tag). With that said, this new story is so exciting. This game is meant to be a way to celebrate the Dark Seeker Saga and set up the new story arc and it does that perfectly. (There are a few frustrating aspects to the story that I wont discuss to avoid spoilers.)
Gameplay: The gameplay is simple and super satisfying and with 143 songs there is plenty for you to do. Field battles and memory dives are a joy to play through and just filled me with nostalgia. Boss battles are super cool but super underutilized. I'm baffled by the fact that there are only 4 bosses in this game. The songs of so many more are here and to just have those be field stages feels like a missed opportunity.
Song Selection: As mentioned there are 143 songs in this game. That includes songs from across every kingdom hearts game as well as a few Disney songs that have never been present in game before. And while it feels hard to complain with 143 songs there are a few things that disappoint me. While we knew Tarzan songs wouldn't be present (do to Disney losing the rights years ago) I was not prepared for there to be no sign of Pirates of the Caribbean. I'm assuming this is due to some kind of legal issue but is disappointing none the less. But the biggest issue is the shocking lack of KH3 songs. Even without pirates there should be way more than 8 songs from the game. Every world form the other games gets at least 2 songs but the KH3 worlds all have just one song and I cannot understand why.
Final Verdict: Play the demo and see if its for you. If you enjoy the rhythm gameplay even half as much as I do then you'll have a blast. The amount and quality of the songs in this game more than make up for the short story and lack of KH3 representation.
Story: The first thing that needs to be noted is that all of the new story content clocks in at around 24 minutes. So if you're just here for the story don't expect to much (and don't forget the $60 price tag). With that said, this new story is so exciting. This game is meant to be a way to celebrate the Dark Seeker Saga and set up the new story arc and it does that perfectly. (There are a few frustrating aspects to the story that I wont discuss to avoid spoilers.)
Gameplay: The gameplay is simple and super satisfying and with 143 songs there is plenty for you to do. Field battles and memory dives are a joy to play through and just filled me with nostalgia. Boss battles are super cool but super underutilized. I'm baffled by the fact that there are only 4 bosses in this game. The songs of so many more are here and to just have those be field stages feels like a missed opportunity.
Song Selection: As mentioned there are 143 songs in this game. That includes songs from across every kingdom hearts game as well as a few Disney songs that have never been present in game before. And while it feels hard to complain with 143 songs there are a few things that disappoint me. While we knew Tarzan songs wouldn't be present (do to Disney losing the rights years ago) I was not prepared for there to be no sign of Pirates of the Caribbean. I'm assuming this is due to some kind of legal issue but is disappointing none the less. But the biggest issue is the shocking lack of KH3 songs. Even without pirates there should be way more than 8 songs from the game. Every world form the other games gets at least 2 songs but the KH3 worlds all have just one song and I cannot understand why.
Final Verdict: Play the demo and see if its for you. If you enjoy the rhythm gameplay even half as much as I do then you'll have a blast. The amount and quality of the songs in this game more than make up for the short story and lack of KH3 representation.
This is a perfectly fine game that I liked playing, enjoyed mastering, and regret paying $60 for.
I don't have any experience with rhythm games, so I have no idea how this compares with some of the best of the genre like osu or thumper, but I can say that it at the very least works and this is some of the best music this medium has so it's hard to complain about the game at its core.
But even with my lack of experience I can really easily tell that this was a pretty low priority project for Square. It feels really lazy. They didn't make any new models or animations, there are some baffling song exclusions (nothing from Pirates of the Caribbean, Fantasia, or much from Kingdom Hearts III), I'm pretty sure they didn't use the final mix recordings of a lot of songs (especially from Kingdom Hearts II), they didn't even bother trying to render the Kingdom Hearts III worlds, and there's like 30 minutes of new story scenes.
I like to think of this game more as a celebration of Yoko Shimomura's work than anything else. Like I said, this is some of the best music video games have to offer, and considering this industry's terrible history of mistreating its employees, it's so refreshing to see a product that celebrates someone's work. I highly doubt this was Square's intention when they decided to green light this project, but viewing it from that lens helps the laziness sting a bit less (or maybe it stings a bit more since they didn't consider this work worth pouring a lot of effort into).
Credit where credit is due though, they did not skimp out on the new cutscenes. While there aren't many of them they look just as great as Kingdom Hearts III.
Anyway, yea. Fun game. Not much more than that. This is the closest thing to a spinoff the series as stooped to yet, and I worry about what that means for the future. Wait for a price drop. You're not missing much right now.
I don't have any experience with rhythm games, so I have no idea how this compares with some of the best of the genre like osu or thumper, but I can say that it at the very least works and this is some of the best music this medium has so it's hard to complain about the game at its core.
But even with my lack of experience I can really easily tell that this was a pretty low priority project for Square. It feels really lazy. They didn't make any new models or animations, there are some baffling song exclusions (nothing from Pirates of the Caribbean, Fantasia, or much from Kingdom Hearts III), I'm pretty sure they didn't use the final mix recordings of a lot of songs (especially from Kingdom Hearts II), they didn't even bother trying to render the Kingdom Hearts III worlds, and there's like 30 minutes of new story scenes.
I like to think of this game more as a celebration of Yoko Shimomura's work than anything else. Like I said, this is some of the best music video games have to offer, and considering this industry's terrible history of mistreating its employees, it's so refreshing to see a product that celebrates someone's work. I highly doubt this was Square's intention when they decided to green light this project, but viewing it from that lens helps the laziness sting a bit less (or maybe it stings a bit more since they didn't consider this work worth pouring a lot of effort into).
Credit where credit is due though, they did not skimp out on the new cutscenes. While there aren't many of them they look just as great as Kingdom Hearts III.
Anyway, yea. Fun game. Not much more than that. This is the closest thing to a spinoff the series as stooped to yet, and I worry about what that means for the future. Wait for a price drop. You're not missing much right now.
Ay Nomura, Nomura... Como nos has colado este prólogo a la nueva entrega de Kingdom Hearts en un juego de ritmo. Aún así he disfrutado mucho de este viaje musical por una de las bandas sonoras más especiales del videojuego. Eso sí, como resumen se ha quedado bastante corto. Con ganas de saber más de todo esto.
way more fun than i expected it to be!! i've seen a lot of complaints about the price, but compared to a lot of rhythm games that make you pay for dlc tracks, this is great. it has a lot of fun modes, including online pvp which is my favorite (i love playing with tricks on for an extra layer of challenge). It also has great difficulty customization, with everything from a one button mode for people who aren't great at rhythm games to a performer mode that adds in extra presses for an even more intense challenge. important note do NOT pick this game up on switch. the joycons are so weak that it fails to pick up a lot of proud mode inputs completely. it doesn't make hte game unplayable, but its super annoying. as far as i've heard though, this isn't a problem in the other versions of this game, so pick one of those up instead if you can!
Made me feel Simple and Clean, just like I felt when I was 14 and I put the KH1 game disc in my ps2 just so I could listen to that song over and over and over.
Very nostalgic for me, having been a stalwart fan of the series since the release of the original. Little disappointing that KH3 saw so little representation overall, but in general a fun rhythm game for my one of my favorite series'.
why would you market a game as the kairi game and then do that to her... yeah that's all
Never played a rhythm game before but I very much enjoyed this! The Switch does have some delayed responses, which made it difficult to tell whether a mistake was my fault or not. I didn't expect much from the story so what we got was fine, but if Kairi doesn't get a real turn in the spotlight soon I Will start a riot.
Fun as hell, mixing two of my favorites things: rhythm games AND KH soundtrack. The game is a recap for those who played the other games (with short scenes and Kairi's narrating what happened), with a little of plot development at the end of the game.
For those who don't like rhythm games, just watch the final cutscenes and you're good to go.
It also has Mickey with his other costumes (in Team DAYS, he has the black coat, for example) AND you can play One Winged Angel.
The only downside? It doesn't have the Simple and Clean remix from 0.2 opening. STILL A GREAT GAME NONETHELESS! (i'll probably raise the rate after play a lot more tho)
For those who don't like rhythm games, just watch the final cutscenes and you're good to go.
It also has Mickey with his other costumes (in Team DAYS, he has the black coat, for example) AND you can play One Winged Angel.
The only downside? It doesn't have the Simple and Clean remix from 0.2 opening. STILL A GREAT GAME NONETHELESS! (i'll probably raise the rate after play a lot more tho)
Pretty fun, but has some baffling choices.
They added an RPG system on a rhythm game that makes it so it's not 100% skill.
You can take damage on the breaks of boss fights (is actually RNG, sometimes you don't take damage and others you get hit twice, reducing the number of mistakes you can make).
Some of the charting is kinda wack (it has this problem where it can't stay too long without notes so it puts an arbitrary one even tough the is no beat in the music to match it).
And added an item that can boost your score at random notes.
that is more than just that, but the game really does end up being great by his other merits, even though the number of hard songs is way too small.
They added an RPG system on a rhythm game that makes it so it's not 100% skill.
You can take damage on the breaks of boss fights (is actually RNG, sometimes you don't take damage and others you get hit twice, reducing the number of mistakes you can make).
Some of the charting is kinda wack (it has this problem where it can't stay too long without notes so it puts an arbitrary one even tough the is no beat in the music to match it).
And added an item that can boost your score at random notes.
that is more than just that, but the game really does end up being great by his other merits, even though the number of hard songs is way too small.
Guitar Hero de Kingdom Hearts!
Pretty run of the mill as far as games go, but if you're a fan of the Kingdom Hearts series it's a lovely, musical trip down memory lane. Plotwise it's totally skippable, since the next game is sure to recap what little did happen. But if you love the KH OSTs, I recommend grabbing it on sale.
fun and accessible rhythm game that's been caked with kh fanservice. wish there were more boss fights though
Fun celebration of the series. Music contributes much to the atmosphere of Kingdom Hearts, which I find to be the series' most indelible appeal across so many entries. Melody of Memory successfully utilizes this appeal within its core gameplay, with levels built to stimulate the reminiscing of the player while also offering greater challenge for those that desire a more involved playthrough. Perhaps not too approachable for newcomers, but perfect for dedicated fans.
why was there no dlc that would've been such a layup
once again the Kingdom Hearts series achieves the impressive playfeel of the experience of purgatory!! Love you a lot Yoko Shimomura but turns out Theatrhythm doesn't work so well when 70% of the content is bumbling farty leitmotifs of other licensed music!
Love how tedious and plodding almost all of the Disney zone tracks are, and with some weird priorities--they included the Neverland tracks literally no one could possibly crave revisiting but left out certified panflute bop™ Deep Jungle? WHAT? Annoying that they didn't bother with a fun Persona: Dancing all Night style "let's ship these tracks out to cool upcoming musicians and remix artists for a varied new take!" thing (especially when there are zillions of weeb producers who would probably trample one another to death to participate), or even END THE TRACKS BEFORE THE JERKY LOOPS RESET come ON you guys!!! Also the snubbing of "swim this way" is erasure and a war crime!!!!!
my chains 2 this series are fully self-imposed but I can never escape. I am an eager piggy at Nomuras trough and I like it I love it I want some more of it!!
Love how tedious and plodding almost all of the Disney zone tracks are, and with some weird priorities--they included the Neverland tracks literally no one could possibly crave revisiting but left out certified panflute bop™ Deep Jungle? WHAT? Annoying that they didn't bother with a fun Persona: Dancing all Night style "let's ship these tracks out to cool upcoming musicians and remix artists for a varied new take!" thing (especially when there are zillions of weeb producers who would probably trample one another to death to participate), or even END THE TRACKS BEFORE THE JERKY LOOPS RESET come ON you guys!!! Also the snubbing of "swim this way" is erasure and a war crime!!!!!
my chains 2 this series are fully self-imposed but I can never escape. I am an eager piggy at Nomuras trough and I like it I love it I want some more of it!!
A rhythm game is a no brainer for a series filled to the brim with incredible music like Kingdom Hearts. Melody of Memory delivers. Over 140 tracks that really set off my nostalgia sensors, it reminds me of why I love this series and how good it's been all the way through. The missions provide nice replay value and most of the songs on higher difficulties are challenging but satisfying to pull off once you've practiced. I do think the charting isn't as easy to understand as it is in Theatrhythm, for example. So it definitely takes a while for one to get a hang on the controls, even if you're familiar with rhythm games. A smaller gripe I have is that I wish KH3 had more tracks. There are some really good songs that were left out for some reason. Overall, it's a fun and unique rhythm game made for die-hard fans of the series like myself to relieve its best moments. If that sounds like your thing, this game's made just for you. Closest I can compare it to is Final Fantasy's Theatrhythm series, which I would say I prefer (gameplay-wise), even though they're still fairly different games.
This might be my favorite rhythm game I've ever played! Not saying much as I haven't played a lot of them, but this was surprisingly solid. The story developments are also interesting, and have made me extremely excited for the future of the franchise!
As a KH fan, I'm biased toward liking this game. As a rhythm game fan, I can tell you that the systems here look more complex than they actually are. Beatmaps are interesting, and unless you want to flex and turn on the optional Performer Mode, you shouldn't have much trouble following the beat. Though the perspective can make it a bit hard to grasp at first, this is a great nostalgia trip through some classic songs.
If you come for the story, you're going to leave disappointed. But if you stay for the gameplay, I promise there's something to love in here.
If you come for the story, you're going to leave disappointed. But if you stay for the gameplay, I promise there's something to love in here.
I have completed each entry of the franchise (except for Kingdom Hearts 3) multiple times. I have ingrained in my brain all the songs and soundtracks. For a period of time, when I was younger, I BREATHED this music.
This mediocre rhythm game is my fucking pit. My fucking dying hill. It was made for me.
This mediocre rhythm game is my fucking pit. My fucking dying hill. It was made for me.
im just glad i finished this at 3:50am so my neighbours wouldn't listen to me pressing (not so) precisely buttons to frozen's song "let it go"
As a fan of music rhythm games I'm very disappointed. Probably for a kid's first music game but not for someone who plays music games regularly as it is way too easy that I didn't have to pay close attention to the screen like Project Diva Miku Hatsune. If you want story bits just look it up on YouTube because the "story" of this game is literally saved to the last segment of the game while 90% of the game are just story recaps of previous games narrated by Kairi. The tracklist could have been better. Also... no "Swim This Way"?
man, I wish I could get confused on the go!
Best KH game in years.
A rhythm game that is more dependent upon your familiarity with Kingdom Hearts controls than anything else, which serves to its detriment. The entire game can be breezed through by just pressing X on standard. The game is laughably easy on the lower two difficulties, and artificially difficult on proud. The one saving grace of this game is the music, which shines brilliantly. Yoko Shimomura's score has never sounded better, and it's a shame that it has to be a part of a game that is so horribly average.
This game has the Re:Coded problem where you play through a fucking highlight reel only to get like 5 minutes of information that you actually care about at the very end but unlike Re:Coded this game is good!
They cucked KH3 so hard though, good Lord. Playing the Let It Go stage took 20 years off my life. The game also just randomly ate my inputs? Like I would hit a button, and still completely miss the note, it was really weird. Nothing is wrong with the buttons on my Switch controller, this is the only game that does this.
They cucked KH3 so hard though, good Lord. Playing the Let It Go stage took 20 years off my life. The game also just randomly ate my inputs? Like I would hit a button, and still completely miss the note, it was really weird. Nothing is wrong with the buttons on my Switch controller, this is the only game that does this.