First Impressions: Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep
Welcome to a spoilers free 1st impression review of Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep (KHBbS). I’ve play the game for a few hours now and wanted to jot down a quick 1st impression on the game. If you reading this out of curiosity, or are thinking about playing the game I’m going to give you my 1st impressions on it.
I believe 1st impressions are importing. Barring any clichés about it you need the 1st of the game to draw the audience in. The same can be said about public speaking, interviews, or just about anything. I’ll be using something similar to the Buy it/Rent it/F’it system of screwattack. Why? I believe opinions are complex and it would disgrace them to be boiled down to a number, also we are on the site.
Anyway a brief paragraph then I’ll break it down.
We start with the usual Square/Enix cut scene then go into a short tutorial level. Afterwards there is another plot point and you have to choose between using three characters. The point becomes mute however as they can access each other’s abilities for most of the battles you care about. I chose generic hitter hard guy and have been having a pretty fun time with the game.
Now for the breakdown
Franchise: Newish people in the game. Disney characters are back here and actually matter. It is the sequel to KH2 I was expecting.
Story: It’s a Square/Enix story. It’s passable with a bit of intrigue thrown in at the 1st. They take a character you care about and do something with him to get you hooked before completely ignoring that plot point. I’m sure they’ll be back to it eventually, it is a KH game. The story is fine but it certainly isn’t The World Ends With You (IMO the best story they’ve come out with for years, if you don’t unlock the secret ending)
Graphics: It looks fine for a PSP.
Sound: They brought back Sanctuary and didn’t mess with the sound much. That works fine for me.
Gameplay: It plays like KH games. Closer to KH2 then other games, this is a good thing as that had the best controls. The one part I would comment on is I don’t like the whole customizing your commands list thing very much. It’s just seems so needlessly complex for a game where you mash the X (or cross) button. In KH, KH2 and KH that disaster for the DS, all you need is mash and heeling. KH 358/2 days was so complex with the grid system (just use level up and heal) and I don’t see this customization thing adding much to the game. There is also bits about combining abilities which may become important later in the game, but if it does chances are it’s just going to be a pain in the bottom.
Difficulty: I find it slightly harder than most other KH games. This isn’t anything to be celebrated as the ones I’ve played were rather easy.
Overall Experience: Overall it has come together to be what I expected, a sequel to KH2. That is good, I don’t feel like I’m playing a pointless bad dungeon crawler that forces me to play a fit the pieces puzzle game every hour. Everything works together nicely.
Rating:
Do You feel ripped off after playing this game?
No
Is this the game I buy a PSP for?
No, unless you… wait just No.
Is this game a solid addition to my PSP library?
Yes, if you have a PSP and are looking for a decent Action /RPG(ish) game.
Is this the game what will get me hooked on the series?
I would suggest tracking down a copy of KH2, but this is still a good game.
So there is my 1st impression. Feel free to leave comments/suggestions for future articles (I try on the spelling, I really do). Should I do a full review of the game when I finish/quit?
Until then a quote from Disney that can summarize the series:
All of this has happened before, and it will all happen again.
-Peter Pan
I believe 1st impressions are importing. Barring any clichés about it you need the 1st of the game to draw the audience in. The same can be said about public speaking, interviews, or just about anything. I’ll be using something similar to the Buy it/Rent it/F’it system of screwattack. Why? I believe opinions are complex and it would disgrace them to be boiled down to a number, also we are on the site.
Anyway a brief paragraph then I’ll break it down.
We start with the usual Square/Enix cut scene then go into a short tutorial level. Afterwards there is another plot point and you have to choose between using three characters. The point becomes mute however as they can access each other’s abilities for most of the battles you care about. I chose generic hitter hard guy and have been having a pretty fun time with the game.
Now for the breakdown
Franchise: Newish people in the game. Disney characters are back here and actually matter. It is the sequel to KH2 I was expecting.
Story: It’s a Square/Enix story. It’s passable with a bit of intrigue thrown in at the 1st. They take a character you care about and do something with him to get you hooked before completely ignoring that plot point. I’m sure they’ll be back to it eventually, it is a KH game. The story is fine but it certainly isn’t The World Ends With You (IMO the best story they’ve come out with for years, if you don’t unlock the secret ending)
Graphics: It looks fine for a PSP.
Sound: They brought back Sanctuary and didn’t mess with the sound much. That works fine for me.
Gameplay: It plays like KH games. Closer to KH2 then other games, this is a good thing as that had the best controls. The one part I would comment on is I don’t like the whole customizing your commands list thing very much. It’s just seems so needlessly complex for a game where you mash the X (or cross) button. In KH, KH2 and KH that disaster for the DS, all you need is mash and heeling. KH 358/2 days was so complex with the grid system (just use level up and heal) and I don’t see this customization thing adding much to the game. There is also bits about combining abilities which may become important later in the game, but if it does chances are it’s just going to be a pain in the bottom.
Difficulty: I find it slightly harder than most other KH games. This isn’t anything to be celebrated as the ones I’ve played were rather easy.
Overall Experience: Overall it has come together to be what I expected, a sequel to KH2. That is good, I don’t feel like I’m playing a pointless bad dungeon crawler that forces me to play a fit the pieces puzzle game every hour. Everything works together nicely.
Rating:
Do You feel ripped off after playing this game?
No
Is this the game I buy a PSP for?
No, unless you… wait just No.
Is this game a solid addition to my PSP library?
Yes, if you have a PSP and are looking for a decent Action /RPG(ish) game.
Is this the game what will get me hooked on the series?
I would suggest tracking down a copy of KH2, but this is still a good game.
So there is my 1st impression. Feel free to leave comments/suggestions for future articles (I try on the spelling, I really do). Should I do a full review of the game when I finish/quit?
Until then a quote from Disney that can summarize the series:
All of this has happened before, and it will all happen again.
-Peter Pan