Hi, I’m VentusVanitas. Some of you may know me from the Nintendo DS and PSP Sub-forums.
Beware!! There is a possibility my review may spoil bits of the game in question!!
I’m here today to give you my first ever GBATemp review. The game that gets the honor is
Here is my review system. I give my reviews out of 20, with separate sections for sound, graphics, gameplay and story. Each will get a sub-rating out of five. With each rating, I will provide my reasoning.
Ok, here goes…
Story
If you’ve ever played Kingdom Hearts 1, you’re in for a real non-treat. You’re going to be playing pretty much the same game over. I won’t spoil the story too much.
In a nutshell, the story focuses on Data Sora going into Jiminy’s Journal, to discover the origins of a message he didn’t write. In addition to this cryptic clue, the rest of the journal is blank. Sora goes across many worlds, rehashed from KH1. He is following a man in a black coat, while also trying to discover the origins of the mysterious messages.
The story doesn’t solely focus on Sora in the digital journal. We see Donald, Goofy, Mickey, Chip, Dale and Jiminy, as they attempt to help Sora.
The story starts to get good with the inclusion of Maleficent and Pete, and then the talkings with Roxas and Namine.
Rating: 3/5
I only gave this a three as, while it was good, there wasn’t enough to keep me gripped unlike Days and BBS.
Gameplay
Instead of utilizing the same play style as 358/2 Days, re:coded utilizes the Command Deck battle system from Birth By Sleep. This style translates extremely well to the DS. Here are the basic controls.
A: Attack
B: Jump
Y: Ability (Dodge Roll, Glide etc.)
X: Use command.
D-Pad: Move
L: Scroll command down
R: Center Cam
Start: Open Menu
Select: Zoom Cam In / Out
I felt that the controls were wonderfully responsive, although the game was much more fun without Auto-Jump. I played with the game switching between cam zooms, only because there were moments when I wanted to replicate, as best I could, what the original coded was like.
Rating: 4.5 / 5
The play style transfers so well to the Ds, except it was easier in BBS to go up and down commands. It is a combination button scheme in this one.
Sound
Players of the other entries in this series will recognize almost all of these sounds from previous games. At least they don’t get old now. From the calming tune of Dearly Beloved to the happy and exciting them of Welcome to Wonderland, veteran players will enjoy the series nostalgia.
Rating: 3.5 / 5
It is a shame they didn’t make new music for this game, but that is an extension of the rehashing of KH1 worlds. That being said, the music is still amazing.
Graphics
Many have said in polls and discussions around the internet, that KH: Days had the best graphics ever seen on a DS. This game takes it too the next level.
The game’s engine is an upgraded version of the one used in Days. This means that characters look better, and less pixelated.
Instead of FMVs, re:coded uses animated, 2d images on 2d backdrops for it’s cutscenes. This doesn’t hinder the game at all. The scenes are beautiful, and facial expressions are much better presented, meaning we aren’t seeing two different looks (point finger at Days).
The game experiences minor slowdown when there are multiple enemies on screen, or there are a lot of attacks happening at once. Don’t let this put you off, it takes 11-12 shadows to do this, and it is rare you’ll be fighting that many at once.
Rating: 4.5 / 5
I wanted to give this a 5, but the slowdown won me over. I don’t mind slowdown, but it affects my decision. Plus, I hate flat keyblades.
Thanks for reading this, I hope this will help you decide on your feelings!
Final Rating:
STORY: 3
GAMEPLAY: 4.5
SOUND: 3.5
GRAPHICS: 4.5
15.5 / 20
Recommended for fans
By the way, this is my classification system:
SINGLE GAMES:
1-5 – Dropped in the trash
5.5-10 – Try, but no buy
10.5-15 – Fun while it lasted
15.5-17 – Trying recommended
17.5-19.5 – Recommended for buying
20 – Need copy on launch day
SEQUELS, ETC.
1-5 – You say this is related to (insert previous game)?!
5.5-10 – Play the first again, forget this one
10.5-15 – Isn’t bad, but it’s not good
15.5-17 – Recommended for fans
17.5-19.5 – Grab one, even if you’ve never played (insert previous)
20 – Amazing, best sequel ever
Please give me feedback on what I've done right and wrong!
I'm taking requests for Ds games, but I'm not promising to do them.
I also do retro games, but no requests for them!
I'm trying to have a review each Sunday, and I will have a website up soon enough!
Keep an eye out for my review of Crash Team Racing on the ps1!!
Beware!! There is a possibility my review may spoil bits of the game in question!!
I’m here today to give you my first ever GBATemp review. The game that gets the honor is
Here is my review system. I give my reviews out of 20, with separate sections for sound, graphics, gameplay and story. Each will get a sub-rating out of five. With each rating, I will provide my reasoning.
Ok, here goes…
Story
If you’ve ever played Kingdom Hearts 1, you’re in for a real non-treat. You’re going to be playing pretty much the same game over. I won’t spoil the story too much.
In a nutshell, the story focuses on Data Sora going into Jiminy’s Journal, to discover the origins of a message he didn’t write. In addition to this cryptic clue, the rest of the journal is blank. Sora goes across many worlds, rehashed from KH1. He is following a man in a black coat, while also trying to discover the origins of the mysterious messages.
The story doesn’t solely focus on Sora in the digital journal. We see Donald, Goofy, Mickey, Chip, Dale and Jiminy, as they attempt to help Sora.
The story starts to get good with the inclusion of Maleficent and Pete, and then the talkings with Roxas and Namine.
Rating: 3/5
I only gave this a three as, while it was good, there wasn’t enough to keep me gripped unlike Days and BBS.
Gameplay
Instead of utilizing the same play style as 358/2 Days, re:coded utilizes the Command Deck battle system from Birth By Sleep. This style translates extremely well to the DS. Here are the basic controls.
A: Attack
B: Jump
Y: Ability (Dodge Roll, Glide etc.)
X: Use command.
D-Pad: Move
L: Scroll command down
R: Center Cam
Start: Open Menu
Select: Zoom Cam In / Out
I felt that the controls were wonderfully responsive, although the game was much more fun without Auto-Jump. I played with the game switching between cam zooms, only because there were moments when I wanted to replicate, as best I could, what the original coded was like.
Rating: 4.5 / 5
The play style transfers so well to the Ds, except it was easier in BBS to go up and down commands. It is a combination button scheme in this one.
Sound
Players of the other entries in this series will recognize almost all of these sounds from previous games. At least they don’t get old now. From the calming tune of Dearly Beloved to the happy and exciting them of Welcome to Wonderland, veteran players will enjoy the series nostalgia.
Rating: 3.5 / 5
It is a shame they didn’t make new music for this game, but that is an extension of the rehashing of KH1 worlds. That being said, the music is still amazing.
Graphics
Many have said in polls and discussions around the internet, that KH: Days had the best graphics ever seen on a DS. This game takes it too the next level.
The game’s engine is an upgraded version of the one used in Days. This means that characters look better, and less pixelated.
Instead of FMVs, re:coded uses animated, 2d images on 2d backdrops for it’s cutscenes. This doesn’t hinder the game at all. The scenes are beautiful, and facial expressions are much better presented, meaning we aren’t seeing two different looks (point finger at Days).
The game experiences minor slowdown when there are multiple enemies on screen, or there are a lot of attacks happening at once. Don’t let this put you off, it takes 11-12 shadows to do this, and it is rare you’ll be fighting that many at once.
Rating: 4.5 / 5
I wanted to give this a 5, but the slowdown won me over. I don’t mind slowdown, but it affects my decision. Plus, I hate flat keyblades.
Thanks for reading this, I hope this will help you decide on your feelings!
Final Rating:
STORY: 3
GAMEPLAY: 4.5
SOUND: 3.5
GRAPHICS: 4.5
15.5 / 20
Recommended for fans
By the way, this is my classification system:
SINGLE GAMES:
1-5 – Dropped in the trash
5.5-10 – Try, but no buy
10.5-15 – Fun while it lasted
15.5-17 – Trying recommended
17.5-19.5 – Recommended for buying
20 – Need copy on launch day
SEQUELS, ETC.
1-5 – You say this is related to (insert previous game)?!
5.5-10 – Play the first again, forget this one
10.5-15 – Isn’t bad, but it’s not good
15.5-17 – Recommended for fans
17.5-19.5 – Grab one, even if you’ve never played (insert previous)
20 – Amazing, best sequel ever
Please give me feedback on what I've done right and wrong!
I'm taking requests for Ds games, but I'm not promising to do them.
I also do retro games, but no requests for them!
I'm trying to have a review each Sunday, and I will have a website up soon enough!
Keep an eye out for my review of Crash Team Racing on the ps1!!
