I recently beat Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days for the first time. What a weird little game, and I mean that in the absolute best way possible. As always, spoiler warning ahead for… everything.

Started: April 15th 2024
Finished: May 10th, 2024
Playing: Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days
Console: Nintendo 3DS

So I had watched the remastered cutscenes in the Remix collection before this, and I liked it! I thought it was great. I loved Roxas and Axel’s relationship especially. But, I really did not get much out of Xion. The actual game completely blows the movie out of the water in like, every aspect. WOW did the movie not do the story justice, ESPECIALLY Xion. Gameplay wise though… it has highs and very low lows… I had heard that the game purposely makes its gameplay feel long and drawn out, to help you sympathize with Roxas who feels similar things throughout the game. I can REALLY respect that. Unfortunately… I don’t think that’s exactly the case. There were plenty of times when Roxas was happy in the story but the gameplay was still just as tedious. Thus, anytime it does work, it feels more like a happy accident rather than intentional. So, if the game had been more careful about when to be fun and when to… not be, I think it could’ve pulled it off. I can see how some people might take issue with that regardless, but as someone who plays games FOR the stories and characters, I welcome the idea with open arms. I like games because they can add ONTO a story, adding another layer of depth to play with when designing one. That’s where my passion lies and I think this game does a BEAUTIFUL job at immersing me in the story, regardless of gameplay issues.



So, now to actually go over the gameplay. I’m gonna start out with my biggest issue, the thing that REALLY brought down the experience and made it feel so long and drawn out…. oh my gOSH WHY DO THE ENEMIES HAVE SO MUCH FREAKING HEALTH!?!?!? IT DRIVES ME ABSOLUTELY INSANE!!!!! EVERY SINGLE ONE TAKES SO FREAKING LONG TO DEFEAT THEY ARE DESIGNED TO BE AS LONG AND ANNOYING AND AWFUL AS POSSIBLE!!! So many enemies are just giant HP sponges. They take VERY little skill to kill, they just eat up so much of my time for NO reason. I FREAKING HATE SAPPHIRE ELEGIES WITH A BURNING PASSION!!! THE WAY THEY TELEPORT EVERY TIME YOU TRY TO HIT THEM MAKES THEM SO. FREAKING. INFURIATING TO FIGHT! THEY HARDLY EVEN ATTACK!! THEY JUST RUN AROUND ANNOYINGLY AND THE GAME SPITS SO MANY OUT AT YOU AND WANTS YOU TO KILL THEM ALL AND OH MY GOSH I HATE IT I HATE IT I HATE IT. Sorry, had to get that off my chest… But, yeah that’s how a lot of fights feel. Not all of them, but a lot. Simple, easy to defeat enemies that take ages to kill for no reason.

And the bosses, HOOH BOY THE BOSSES!! The Leechgrave and King of the Sky fights LITERALLY TOOK ME AN HOUR!! EACH!! A FREAKING HOUR!!! An hour of pure pain and suffering. Needlessly long, repetitive fights that just aren’t that interesting. The latter fight was more interesting, but also significantly longer, to the point where my FREAKING THUMB WAS HURTING!! It was also really difficult which meant I died a few times WHICH MEANT MORE REPETITIVENESS! The boss at Beast’s Castle was pretty cool though, very fun actually, and the Final boss was beautifully simple while still being somewhat difficult. It could’ve been better but the emotion surrounding it was strong so I don’t mind. It felt like I had to use all my skills to overcome it which was great!

My second biggest issue, is more of a pet peeve I suppose, but MAN do I hate how this game expects you to BACKTRACK to previous missions to 100% them. The game has a linear progression, it is day by day, it makes no sense to go back. Not to mention, it is INCREDIBLY infuriating putting in the effort to 100% a mission, only to discover that I can’t complete it because of like, one or two things out of reach. It’s even worse because the game really rewards 100%ing missions, and this aspect actively takes that away through no fault of my own. I never went back and replayed a previous mission, I just cut my losses, but I was trying to 100% them as best I could my first time through.



Now onto good stuff! I really love how Roxas feels to control. The game feels like a great mix of KH1 and KH2 in how it plays. Roxas and Sora play identically so keep that in mind. The game still keeps that simple, “underdog” feel that Sora had in KH1 which I LOVED, while adding in some new abilities like in KH2 to add a little more complexity and strategy. Roxas just feels good to attack, jump and move around as, controller issues aside. When enemies weren’t boring HP sponges, they were REALLY fun to fight, even simple ones. Aerial combat in KH is so fun and this game absolutely keeps that. I love having to do a small hop and time my attack right when trying to hit targets close to the ground, it’s so simple but satisfying to pull off.

The game also gives you a lot of REALLY great movement options and abilities outside of attacks. I freaking LOVE Air Slide in this game. Letting you slide more than once is INCREDIBLE!! OH ITS SO FUN! I can slide away to dodge an attack then slide right back to waste no time attacking! It’s SOsatisfying. Ohhh I want every KH game to have it. By far my favorite movement option in any KH game. Glide and dodge roll are still here, you can add more attributes to them which is super neat! Float was a cool ability, never got to use it but I like the idea. It’s fun to add more little abilities like that. I want more movement options instead of more attacks. cough cough KH2… I feel like I used Block a LOT more in this game than I had previously, which was really fun. Again, you can add attributes to it which is great! I’d LOVE to see future games allow you to upgrade abilities like this, rather than just “Oh it gets better/stronger.” I also loved Limit break, it feels like a more interesting version of the forms in KH2. I love the risk and reward for needing to be at low health to use it, and how you have to manage your use of it well, in case you need it later.




Some issues do come up with the actual controls though. I think it’s just because it’s on a DS (3DS in this case), but yeah it is kinda clunky trying to do… anything. The DS doesn’t grip into my hands like a normal controller does, so it feels like it’s constantly slipping out of them. The camera is also an issue. Type A controls using the touch screen gives great control over the camera (and is satisfying to do, with kid Icarus Uprising controls) but, completely impractical since I can’t swap between the buttons and touch screen while in a tense battle Type B controls using the L&R buttons fixes the practicality, but limits camera movement, and messes with Lock on, which uses the same buttons. The latter is FAR better but still.

Other than all of that though, I am IMPRESSED by how well they ported KH gameplay onto the DS! It still feels roughly the same to control, you’ve got all the same abilities. It’s really cool! That goes for every aspect. The music, the visuals, the special effects. If you blur your eyes, you almost can’t tell without comparing the two. Very neat! Very impressive too! The colors feel a teeny bit muted but other than that, it’s great! This is actually my first DS game so I don’t know the standard, but it’s better than I thought it’d be.

Another issue is that there was a big problem in the game’s combat where Roxas's combos were so long that sometimes I couldn’t dodge enemy attacks. Obviously I could preemptively guess their pattern, but, for the most part, I could ONLY guess. The attack patterns aren’t solid and repeating, there’s variation (which is good), but the issue is that, I’ll be attacking, see the enemy charge up an attack, stop attacking and try to run away, but because his combos are so long, Roxas is just stuck there, helplessly swinging before taking the hit. I should note that each Keyblade has its own attack pattern, so maybe I just needed a different one, but I wanted aerial combos, and the one I was using was the only one I could get that Enhanced that. KH is primarily aerial combat. So, combine that with how gruelingly long even simple enemies can take to kill, and the result is that, despite the INCREDIBLE amount of satisfying movement options the game gives you, I was often just tanking hits. Maybe I’m just bad, but the ability to stop your combos on command would’ve been VERY helpful. I like the idea of a ground pound. Think Sora’s down air in Smash Bros. You can use it at any time during a combo to shoot to the ground, so you can avoid attacks better. You still need the skill to use it though, it just gives you more control over Roxas!



The panel system is interesting. At first I didn’t see the point in it, but after awhile it really grew on me. I was really worried it’d just feel limiting, but they consistently gave you new slots to install panels so it really just felt like an EXP system where you’re consistently getting stronger, but you also have the option to sacrifice something for more of another. It’s not limiting, it almost feels like you have more control! It’s a lot more “what combination of panels fits best?” And a LOT less “what do I need to give up to use this new ability?” The puzzle of trying to fit the panels together most effectively is really fun! I like those sorts of puzzles. Anytime I thought I’d have to sacrifice something major for a new ability, I spent some time rearranging panels and I ALWAYS managed to fit them in. The only exception being the ability upgrades, which did kinda suck sometimes. I was particularly concerned at first about having your levels be tied to panels, but the addition of level doublers, triplers and quadruplers completely fixed that. Never did I get a level up panel I couldn’t use.

I do have two gripes with it though, one minor, one major. Gripe #1, I don’t like that they limit you to one accessory panel. If I want to sacrifice other stuff for more accessories, I feel like I should have the freedom to do that. Nerf the accessories, of course, but still. Gripe #2, the big one. Oh my gosh I hate the magic system. Magic is WAY too easy to accidentally waste. Happened SO many times, especially when fighting a speedy enemy. It was always incredibly frustrating. Making you have a VERY limited number of spells just was not fun. They basically turn into items. I think it would’ve been WAY better, if instead of magic panels, you had MP panels, and an MP bar. More MP panels, the longer your MP bar. Maybe make you equip one panel of any given spell you want to bring. That way, accidentally wasting a shot isn’t the end of the world.



Level design is mostly just taken from KH1 or 2, mostly the former (thank goodness) which does lead to some puzzles and exploration now and again, but it’s nowhere near as good as it was in KH1.But, I do enjoy the variety of missions you can get, even if some are a little infuriating sometimes. Recon missions are especially fun, having to pay attention to environmental storytelling and use logic to find answers. Trying to find that last point of interest was sometimes tiresome but the rest of it made up for it. The story aspect was particularly fun. Collect badges missions sounded REALLY fun on paper, but the backtracking thing I mentioned completely ruined it. There was never a reason to try. Shadow Globs and the various stealth sections were pretty fun, though the latter could be very tedious at times, just having to wait for something to move.And of course, boss and collect hearts missions, which suffer from the enemies issues. I think a lot of the missions could be improved by them telling you if you’ve collected everything there is to collect in any given room. Would make looking for that last heartless or point of interest far less tedious. There were also plenty of miscellaneous missions, usually tied to the story, so the missions didn’t feel too samey.

Some miscellaneous things… I like how the game has different elements based on the different Organization members. Little sad you can’t actually use them all but I get that finding uses for all 13 elements would be… tough. I was surprised by how many enemies there were when I first opened the enemy files. Eventually I realized that most were just variants of other heartlesses which was sort of lame (Especially since a lot were only color swaps with like, slightly boosted stats) but I get it, time and hardware constraints.




Now, onto the presentation! My GOODNESS is the start of this game strong. It does a BEAUTIFUL job at putting you in Roxas’s shoes. Having to get used to using a new controller (not to mention KH gameplay in general since it’s been so long since I last played) and just, game setup, made me able to REALLY feel with Roxas as he discovers… life, for the first time. All the basic controls and common sense. As they joke about, Roxas was sort of a zombie in the beginning, he just came into existence, everything was foreign to him. So they did a wonderful job letting me feel that with him

Feeling with the characters is ABSOLUTELY the game’s BIGGEST success! I remember this once scene where, after Axel and Xion had a huge, actual fight, not gonna really explain the context too much but, Xion had confronted him, and Axel started talking to her as if she were WORTHLESS! He sounded just like the other members of the organization and I was SHOCKED! I felt SO betrayed, I was APPALLED that he would be THAT CRUEL and awful to her… and then he COMPLETELY turns it around and essentially says “I know that's what people think of you, but I don’t care. You are MY best friend and nothing can come between us.” and just FSJJSJS GEEZ AXEL! YOU REALLY FREAKING HAD ME GOING THERE!! The amount of immediate relief I felt, it was insane. There were so many moments exactly like that where I really felt like I was right there with them, like I was best friends with them too. It was crazy. Be it happy or negative emotions, I felt it. That’s REALLY impressive and hard to do.

The character writing is just… so good, both in the little moments and the big picture. Conversations feel so casual and genuine, the characters have well defined personalities without being one note. They feel so real. It’s so… simple, too. Such a WEIRD contrast to the rest of the series. I’m not sure how to properly describe it. It’s just… genuine, and I feel VERY passionate about making characters genuine. I particularly loved the vacation day, and seeing how the three of them handled it differently. Particularly Axel just wanting to sleep, it adds a new layer to his slyness, I just really like it lol.



But despite the writing being simple and ‘slice of life-y’, the narrative in the game is SOOOOO deep. There is so much to talk about. I absolutely adore how innocent all three of them are, even Axel. They want simple things, just to be together, but because they’re stuck in the Organization, it’s constantly stolen from them, every step of the way. It’s REALLY tragic seeing such innocent people getting stuck in something so evil. That juxtaposition is SO well done. It’s something that’s so prevalent in the real world, too, which makes it hit particularly hard. Not to mention all the stuff surrounding Xion’s story completely throwing a wrench in things through no fault of their own. These three people do not deserve everything that happens to them, and that narrative is achieved beautifully.

I love how many times the three of them get into arguments or drama with each other, and you think “oh boy, here’s where the rift between them starts” But EVERY time (aside from the end), they forgive each other, and come back as even stronger friends. Their friendship was built up so naturally and well. I absolutely would’ve overlooked having them go through multiple arguments throughout the story to build their friendship, if I was writing this. It’s so freaking well written how the heck is this a Kingdom Hearts game?!? Seeing them trying to figure out such basic concepts as friendship or love, was both cute, funny and tragic, or them trying to figure out how to process and deal with their emotions. All of this just created a REALLY interesting atmosphere and tone that is INCREDIBLY unique.

And that’s not even mentioning CHARACTER ARCS!! All three of them are EQUALLY well done, which is INCREDIBLY impressive. I am SUCH a sucker for good character development, and WOW does this game deliver. The way their dynamics and roles shift and change, and not always for the better, was done so seamlessly.



I’m gonna start with Axel, I remember thinking he was REALLY well done in the movie, and he only got better here. I love how in the beginning, Roxas, (and thus, I the player) view him as… a mentor I guess? Any questions he has, he goes to Axel for the answer. But slowly, throughout the game, Roxas starts to realize he doesn’t know everything, and suddenly his character starts to shift from ‘the mature one’ into arguably ‘the LEAST mature one.’ As everything around him begins to crumble and fall, we get to see as his sly, cool-headed persona he puts on, crumbles right alongside it. Revealing not only his deep emotion for his friends, but also, that he’s sorta cowardly. Constantly running from confrontation and responsibility, and actively getting mad at Roxas and Xion whenever they tried to disrupt their simple life in search of a better one. It’s something that was built up to the entire game. He’s scared of the Organization deep down, and unlike Roxas and Xion, doesn’t overcome it. At least, not soon enough. Had he acted differently, he might’ve been able to prevent some stuff that happened. At the end of the game, he just completely loses it, and seeing him finally collapse out of both physical and mental exhaustion… DANG… That carried so much weight.

I also REALLY want to highlight the scene in Neverland where Roxas convinces Axel to fly. Having Axel’s belief he could fly, come from not trust in the pixie dust or tinkerbell,or even just believing he could, but from his trust in Roxas, and how he wouldn’t lie to or betray him, did so much for both his character and their relationship. It also made later when Axel refuses to trust Roxas out of fear of the organization just REALLY hit hard.



Next is Xion, who has the opposite arc. Seeing as she develops as a person through her friendship with Roxas, in the same way Roxas developed through Axel, was so sweet. Her removing her hood for Roxas for the first time REALLY hit, which was so cool. She’s just so…. Innocent. She doesn’t know much about the world, she’s just following Roxas, and he doesn’t know much either. So seeing that innocent, simple character, learn more and more about who she is and how she came to be, and seeing her MATURE, OOOO IT WAS SO WELL DONE! Seeing her seek out the truth, taking responsibility and initiative. She starts to outgrow Roxas, no longer needing his advice and instead evolving to be sharing advice with HIM. She grows brave enough to defy the Organization and sacrifice herself for the greater good. She grows into a character I can respect which is just so neat. She didn’t have to, but she did.

And then, ROXAS! Oh boy I love him even more now! He’s kinda the same deal as Xion. Seeing him develop through Axel was so sweet, and then seeing him take that and pass it down to Xion was both adorable and funny. I absolutely loved seeing him innocently try to figure out who he is, and his role in the organization. I loved seeing him learn about morals and virtues through the Disney characters, and then look back at the organization and go “huh, weird, they don’t practice these things...” And he doesn’t know which one is right so he’s just kinda confused. For the longest time he just kinda, went along to get along, not really sure what he was doing. He didn’t know what anything he was feeling meant, he just knew he enjoyed being with his friends so he kept doing that.



Then, watching as Axel and Xion pretty much outgrow him… it made Roxas seem so much like an immature kid by comparison. He just wanted to be with his friends and have ice cream, and he can’t figure out for the life of him why life isn’t that simple. I was actually kinda shocked, I remembered him being more grumpy rather than… timid I guess. I remember really feeling like Roxas was being SO left out and abandoned, that no one was telling him anything. AND THEN!! AND THEN THE GAME GOES “YUP THATS HIS CHARACTER ARC!!” AND IM LIKE YEAAAAAHHHH!!!!! No one WAS telling him anything. They were treating him like a little child at best and a slave at worst. So FINALLY Roxas freaking SNAPS and goes “WHY AM I DOING ANY OF THIS?!?” AND I'M LIKE YEAHHHH QUESTION THAT EVIL ORGANIZATION!!! MATURE AND STAND UP FOR YOURSELF!! TAKE INITIATIVE AND SEEK THE TRUTH!!. Ohhhh it was BEAUTIFUL!!! Oh so well written and conveyed, AND PACED!! Seeing him fight for what he loves and believes in, seeing him stand up to Axel who kept keeping secrets from him, it was both satisfying and tragic. I honestly wasn’t expecting Roxas to… grow that much. Mature that much. It was kind of sudden but I was FEELING that tension build up inside him and seeing it finally boil over… oh I could keep talking about it for days man…

I absolutely love how well Roxas running away from the organization was set up. The entire game they talk about how ‘no one can leave the organization or else they’ll be killed’ so finally having that moment of leaving that main room for the final time, the room you ALWAYS return to, hit very hard. Then getting to run through the castle… I was filled with both determination and anxiety, which I just KNOW is what Roxas was feeling. Beautiful! Roxas’s Diary also adds a LOT to the experience, they really help you understand his internal thought process and they all feel so naturally written. They feel like things he would realistically write down. That final note of him just writing, and I quote, “I AM DONE WITH THIS” had so much weight behind it.



I hope that the amount I’m able to analyze these characters, their relationships and character arcs, just REALLY conveys how INCREDIBLY well written this game is. These are REALLY deep and complex characters. Every aspect of them is fleshed out and ties in together. These three feel as complex as real people, which just…. GAH!! IT’S SO IMPRESSIVE! How the heck did this team go onto make freaking Birth by Sleep, which had a VERY similar set up for it’s story, yet REALLY fumbled it. And I’m yet to even mention how CLEAR they make all the crazy Kingdom Hearts lore and stuff. This is by FAR the clearest explanation of what the actual, in-lore Kingdom Hearts is. I also had no trouble following Xion’s whole plot, or the Organization’s motives, or what was going on with DiZ, Namine and Riku. It was all crystal clear to me. Aside from like, one or two scenes, I never felt lost. Wow. Again, how is this a Kingdom Hearts game!?

Some miscellaneous things to wrap up with. Other organization members were written well as always. I particularly love Demyx. Luxord also shocked me by how much I like him. He was actually pretty kind, which I wasn’t really expecting. Xemnas was still as threatening as ever, he wasn't there much but every line out of his mouth showed so much of how despicable he is. The Disney worlds were very simple but enjoyable. Loved seeing Roxas and Xion meet the Genie or try to figure out the story of Beauty and the Beast. Seeing Roxas become friends with Phil and Tinkerbell was sweet too! I actually really loved how the Cheshire Cat was used, I don’t have much to add onto that, I just really enjoyed him in this game. I also love just… the setup of the game. Going day by day, showing their daily life. It works so well to convey their internal struggles. I would love to see like, an indie game, take this same setup of the game being split up into days in order to show someone’s whole life progress. It’s super interesting and unique.



Now, to finally wrap up. Like I said to begin with, wow what a WEIRD little game this is. It feels so unlike the rest of the Kingdom Hearts series in a REALLY refreshing way. So many issues that I have with the series aren’t prevalent in this game. That mixed with the fact I managed to beat it within a month (Something I’m NEVER able to do) just came together to make it feel… surreal, like a dream. But I mean that in a good way. The humorous yet tragic undertones of watching the characters figure out emotions and life, REALLY resonated with me. Yet… I don't know why, but I struggle to put it up among my favorite games. It just… feels like a weird dream, but again I mean that in a good way. I don’t know how to describe this game man, I just have the same feeling I get when I wake up from an interesting dream. It’s as if my brain hasn’t registered that this game is even real.

That aside, to recap…
Gameplay is overall… good. Roxas feels great to control and the variety of abilities you get adds SO much. If it wasn’t for the clunkiness of being on the DS, this would be my favorite KH game in terms of how it plays. Unfortunately, enemies feel poorly designed, having WAY too much health without having interesting enough attacks to JUSTIFY such a long fight. Missions could also just be kinda aggravating, so mixing the two made the game feel like SUCH a slog at times.

Presentationally though, WHOLE other story. The amount of complexity these characters have, and the seamless, easy to follow, journey they go on is ridiculously incredible. They grow and evolve, their dynamics shift to accommodate their change, they have realistic emotions and struggles. The narrative is so well constructed, paced and executed. I might just say, this is the best story I’ve ever experienced in a video game. I struggle to say the best characters, because there’s some REALLY harsh competition, and I've found many others more entertaining (Which is NOT at ALL a dig against these three). Most impressive characters though, yeah definitely.

As for how it ranks in the series… gosh, I hate to put it below KH1 and 2, but I think I am. I don’t know why, I just think I have more fond memories with those two. It absolutely beats out BBS and CoM though, easily.

If anyone wants my notes, here's the link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/128I3Wra8-GyvedLrW6KnXb4bW6lzL755OlETm_9sY4M/edit?usp=sharing

And so, in conclusion, the final thing I have written in my notes is:
358/2 Days have passed, and I won’t be forgetting this experience or the friends I feel I’ve made ANY time soon. Onto Dream Drop Distance!