Title: Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep

Developer: Square Enix

Publisher: Square Enix

# of Players: 1 Player

Available: NOW

MSRP: $39.99

Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep is yet another game that fills in story gaps in the Kingdom Hearts’ narrative. This game is actually the prequel to the first Kingdom Hearts game. This game tells the story of the Keyblade Masters who came before Sora, and the birth of the Heartless. It marries the new and the familiar by showcasing some worlds and characters seen in the series previously, while also introducing new ones. All, in all, it seems like the PSP, having a similar control setup to the PS2, should be the perfect portable home for Kingdom Hearts, and this game should be a slam dunk.

BUT….there are problems. However, let’s start with the positives. This game is instantly and unmistakable recognizable as a Kingdom Hearts game. Anyone who has played any of the previous games in the series will feel right at home. The visual style matches the other games in the series. The familiar graphical style is complemented by another stellar voice cast, including familiar names like Halley Joel Osment and Jeese McCartne, while adding new heavy hitters Mark Hamill and LEONARD NIMOY! I can’t reveal who either of them are playing, as it is a story spoiler, but rest assured, they are important characters. There are several new characters, joining familiar faces, though one of the new characters looks kind of familiar.  Also, you will encounter the Unversed as your major adversaries. These are the precursor to the Heartless. In a departure from past games, where the game was primarily experienced from Sora’s viewpoint, with a few exceptions, this game is experienced from the points of view of all three main characters: Terra, Aqua and Ven. While this three-pronged story approach seems an intriguing idea, it is also one of the game’s major problems.

Though, I should rephrase that. The problem isn’t that there are three plyable characters. The problem is that to finish the game with 100%, you have to play as all three of them. But, even that wouldn’t be a problem if it weren’t for the fact that you have to play as the three characters ONE AT A TIME! Which means, to put all of the pieces together, you have to play through the ENTIRE GAME THREE TIMES!

Like all Kingdom Hearts games, this game has a Secret Ending Movie. In this game, the lower a difficulty level you choose, the harder it is to unlock the Secret Ending. In fact it is IMPOSSIBLE to unlock the Secret Ending if you play on Easy. Keep this in mind, because you have to choose the difficulty at the beginning of the game, and you CANNOT CHANGE IT! To see the Secret Ending, you must play through ALL THREE STORIES in order to access the Final Level. Clearing the Final Level unlocks the Secret Ending.

As in previous games, each of the worlds in the games has a has a number of missions for the characters to complete. They range from the straitforward (Defeat all of the Unversed in a given area) to the annoying (Escort Cinderella to the ball, making sure she is not attacked by Unversed). A world is considered completed when it has been visited by all three characters and each of their parts in the story have been completed. Like the rest of the game, the worlds are a mix between the familiar, such as  Neverland, and the new, such as the Land of Enchantment and the Dwarf Woods. The new locales fit nicely in the Kingdom Hearts Universe and their graphical style ensures a smooth integration.

Controls are a strange amalgam of traditional PS2 Kingdom Hearts’ controls, mixed with the ‘deck building” mechanic of the Nintendo DS games (Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories and Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days). You are given a set amount of slots that you allot commands to. Commands include Magic Spells, Potions and Special Attacks. Your basic attack is performed outside of your deck commands by pressing the x button. Pressing x repeatedly will chain basic attacks into a combo. The commands in your deck are activated by pressing ? with the desired command highlighted. However, to use commands, you must fill the Command Gauge by attacking enemies. The ? button is the jump button. The square button is used to block, provided you have the Block or Barrier deck commands. Tapping the shoulder buttons initiates a target lock-on. Filling the Command Gauge repeatedly unlocks Finishing Attacks. As before, defeated enemies will drop health and munny. Munny can be used in the Moogle shops to purchase new commands. New to this game is the “Shotlock” command. This is meant to be used to deal with multiple enemies at once. To use this attack, hold downthe shoulder buttons with multiple enemies in sight. Move the scope around, highlighting as many enemies as possible before the timer runs out. Then, while still holding the shoulder buttons, press x. Like all other attacks and commands, Shotlock can be powered up with repeated use.

There are a couple of major Kingdom Hearts staples missing from this game. There are no summons in this game. Instead, every time you meet a character in the game, they are added to the list of the characters you can perform a “D-Link” with. Dimension Links or “D-Links” enable you to access another character’s Command Deck for a limited period of time. Also missing from this game is the Gummi ship. Travel between worlds is now accomplished using a sled made from your Keyblade. Leveling up between worlds is now handled by a new strategy game called the Command Board. It plays a bit like the Kingdom Hearts version of Mario Party, but is much more frustrating. It does, however, give you the opportunity to earn commands that would cost you a pretty penny in the shop earlier than you would normally have access to them. Just be advised that the first couple of times you try it, you will probably be extremely frustrated.

As with most of the Kingdom Hearts games, the story is a definite high point to this game. Sufficed to say, it begins several years before the first Kingdom Hearts game, fills in a lot of the missing pieces and ends by perfectly setting up the first Kingdom Hearts game.

So, the final verdict is this. there is no doubt that this game is an essential part of the Kingdom Hearts saga, I just wish it’s overly involved control scheme and uneven mission structure didn’t make it so hard to want to play over and over and over. I wanted to have fun with it, but the frustration took over. Also, the visuals in this game push the limits of the PSP, and the PSP delivers.

RECOMMENDED: SORT OF: If you are a fan of the series who wants the whole story, you have to play this game. Anyone else should give it a try, but only if you’ve played Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II.

Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep gets 4 Keyblades out of 5.