"Played" the ps4 powerpoint so i ain't rating it
This review contains spoilers
It's the backing of Roxas' everything. Great pacing of the story and buildup through the end
Medium. No story spoilers.
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 days, in a playable state, is only playable via the Nintendo DS, any systems with support for DS games, or via emulation of DS hardware. Alternatively, one could simply view the 358/2 days cutscene movie that is packaged with 1.5 remix. Ideally, one playing through the series should probably play the game on a DS of some sort, but the cutscene movie is fine too. Emulation is very possible and easy, but I feel that it's a little annoying to get feeling good, and it will never feel better than simply playing it on native hardware if possible. This game supports 2 player co-op, which I think makes the game more fun, but it is not a requirement.
Although in 1.5/2.5 remixes, it is positioned in between Re:Chain of Memories and Kingdom Hearts 2, you should not play or watch 358/2 days before playing 2! This game spoils many important aspects of KH2, and is also more enjoyable with the context of KH2.
Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days is the second major spin-off of the Kingdom Hearts franchise, and much like Chain of Memories, it is incredibly important and foundational for the plot. Functioning as a prequel to 2, and also taking place during the events of the first game and Chain of Memories, this game has a lot of importance to the extended plot. The game was exclusively released for the Nintendo DS, and has never received a remake or a remaster in the same way as Chain of Memories or Birth by Sleep. Instead, it was added to 1.5 Remix as a cutscene movie. While this covers most of the story beats, and is arguably more entertaining than the game itself, I do think it isn't quite as good as playing through the game itself despite its flaws. However, if you don't want to sink some teeth and time into this game, I would understand opting to watch the cutscene movie instead.
358/2 days follows Roxas, and as the name suggests, you follow nearly a year's worth of time as Roxas in the Organization XIII, performing and completing missions in order to further their goals. You team up with one other Organization XIII member, which can either be controlled by an AI or a player on another system, and fulfill the tasks to a manner you and the Organization may desire. These missions may vary in objectives, such as scouting out a location, defeating a powerful heartless enemy, etc. This mission structure is designed to allot for shorter play sessions that would be fitting for playing on the go, which differs from prior Kingdom Hearts titles which focused on lengthy exploration and longer challenges such as an Olympus Colosseum cup. This mission structure also has a narrative purpose, your role in the Organization is quite literally a job, and every day gets you new missions to do, and new events to follow in that chronological order.
And much like a job, this game is not necessarily entertaining. Out of all of the handheld releases, this gameplay system is most like the home console experiences, having the command list in which you can attack, use magic, and select an item to use. With the DS' limited buttons, however, this feels awkward at best. Combat in this game is incredibly simplistic, often boiling down to a DPS test with every enemy encounter. The only real dynamic element in action combat is the variable magic uses and the LIMIT system, which allows you to empower yourself once you reach a certain health threshold. You can change your equipment and magic, items and such using a cute little grid system, which expands as you get further in the game. You can trade off space for a weaker item, so that you can equip another potion, you can use differing levels of magic that may, in fact, not be strictly better as it goes from Fire to Firaga for example. You level up by adding, well, level tiles to this grid, which is a sweet little idea for a game like this. I actually do find this to be the most interesting element of gameplay, but in practice it often doesn't feel too good anyways, due to how simplistic the game itself is regardless.
Exploration is limited, both by the DS hardware itself, and the "barriers" sometimes put in place by the Organization so that you stay on target. This doesn't affect the gameplay too much though, as the environments are still nicely designed, and you can always revisit missions from prior days to get any items or bonuses you may have missed. So, while the game is shorter, and maybe doesn't have the same depth as other titles, the game still lets you take your time for completionism if you'd like. This all adds replay value into the game, if you desire to keep playing.
With all of this being said, why do I recommend playing this DS version of the game over watching the cutscene movie? In my opinion, 358/2 Days has one of the strongest narratives and overarching story in the franchise, and I feel that the cutscene movie doesn't convey all of that in a way I find as satisfactory. The significant bump in quality, and having higher quality voice acting is really good, and these are still some of the strongest scenes in the franchise, but the cutscene movie misses some small character details that I think adds up to a lot in the long run. Being able to see the attitude of many of the characters is really intriguing, and having to feel some of these character moments in gameplay is preferable to seeing them in a cutscene movie, at least in my opinion. While I may have a lot to criticize about 358/2 days, mostly just in the gameplay, I wouldn't prefer a 358/2 days without that gameplay, weirdly enough. Play (or watch) 358/2 days for what I think to be one of the strongest narratives the series has to offer, and as stated prior, play it after KH2.
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 days, in a playable state, is only playable via the Nintendo DS, any systems with support for DS games, or via emulation of DS hardware. Alternatively, one could simply view the 358/2 days cutscene movie that is packaged with 1.5 remix. Ideally, one playing through the series should probably play the game on a DS of some sort, but the cutscene movie is fine too. Emulation is very possible and easy, but I feel that it's a little annoying to get feeling good, and it will never feel better than simply playing it on native hardware if possible. This game supports 2 player co-op, which I think makes the game more fun, but it is not a requirement.
Although in 1.5/2.5 remixes, it is positioned in between Re:Chain of Memories and Kingdom Hearts 2, you should not play or watch 358/2 days before playing 2! This game spoils many important aspects of KH2, and is also more enjoyable with the context of KH2.
Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days is the second major spin-off of the Kingdom Hearts franchise, and much like Chain of Memories, it is incredibly important and foundational for the plot. Functioning as a prequel to 2, and also taking place during the events of the first game and Chain of Memories, this game has a lot of importance to the extended plot. The game was exclusively released for the Nintendo DS, and has never received a remake or a remaster in the same way as Chain of Memories or Birth by Sleep. Instead, it was added to 1.5 Remix as a cutscene movie. While this covers most of the story beats, and is arguably more entertaining than the game itself, I do think it isn't quite as good as playing through the game itself despite its flaws. However, if you don't want to sink some teeth and time into this game, I would understand opting to watch the cutscene movie instead.
358/2 days follows Roxas, and as the name suggests, you follow nearly a year's worth of time as Roxas in the Organization XIII, performing and completing missions in order to further their goals. You team up with one other Organization XIII member, which can either be controlled by an AI or a player on another system, and fulfill the tasks to a manner you and the Organization may desire. These missions may vary in objectives, such as scouting out a location, defeating a powerful heartless enemy, etc. This mission structure is designed to allot for shorter play sessions that would be fitting for playing on the go, which differs from prior Kingdom Hearts titles which focused on lengthy exploration and longer challenges such as an Olympus Colosseum cup. This mission structure also has a narrative purpose, your role in the Organization is quite literally a job, and every day gets you new missions to do, and new events to follow in that chronological order.
And much like a job, this game is not necessarily entertaining. Out of all of the handheld releases, this gameplay system is most like the home console experiences, having the command list in which you can attack, use magic, and select an item to use. With the DS' limited buttons, however, this feels awkward at best. Combat in this game is incredibly simplistic, often boiling down to a DPS test with every enemy encounter. The only real dynamic element in action combat is the variable magic uses and the LIMIT system, which allows you to empower yourself once you reach a certain health threshold. You can change your equipment and magic, items and such using a cute little grid system, which expands as you get further in the game. You can trade off space for a weaker item, so that you can equip another potion, you can use differing levels of magic that may, in fact, not be strictly better as it goes from Fire to Firaga for example. You level up by adding, well, level tiles to this grid, which is a sweet little idea for a game like this. I actually do find this to be the most interesting element of gameplay, but in practice it often doesn't feel too good anyways, due to how simplistic the game itself is regardless.
Exploration is limited, both by the DS hardware itself, and the "barriers" sometimes put in place by the Organization so that you stay on target. This doesn't affect the gameplay too much though, as the environments are still nicely designed, and you can always revisit missions from prior days to get any items or bonuses you may have missed. So, while the game is shorter, and maybe doesn't have the same depth as other titles, the game still lets you take your time for completionism if you'd like. This all adds replay value into the game, if you desire to keep playing.
With all of this being said, why do I recommend playing this DS version of the game over watching the cutscene movie? In my opinion, 358/2 Days has one of the strongest narratives and overarching story in the franchise, and I feel that the cutscene movie doesn't convey all of that in a way I find as satisfactory. The significant bump in quality, and having higher quality voice acting is really good, and these are still some of the strongest scenes in the franchise, but the cutscene movie misses some small character details that I think adds up to a lot in the long run. Being able to see the attitude of many of the characters is really intriguing, and having to feel some of these character moments in gameplay is preferable to seeing them in a cutscene movie, at least in my opinion. While I may have a lot to criticize about 358/2 days, mostly just in the gameplay, I wouldn't prefer a 358/2 days without that gameplay, weirdly enough. Play (or watch) 358/2 days for what I think to be one of the strongest narratives the series has to offer, and as stated prior, play it after KH2.