Current Events > How essential is Chain of Memories to the Kingdom Hearts series?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I got 1.5 + 2.5 a while back and am finally starting on the series. Beat KH1 a few days ago and moving to Re: Chain of Memories and...I kind of hate it. Coming right off of KH1, it feels like the same game but way more limited due to the card thing.

I'm just on my first chosen world (I went for the whale to get it out of the way since it was my least favorite KH1 world), and the Parasite Cage boss is giving me hell. I start attacking it and then get beaten by 7+ cards and hit into the acid. I feel like my only actual chance of winning is to grind for a long time and maybe try to get a Moogle Shop card to buy some better cards, but I don't enjoy the game enough to want to grind.

I dunno. I kinda want to just skip it and move on to something else because I strongly dislike the battle system, but I think this is like 1 of 4 games on the collection and it seems short. Do I need this game to understand the later stuff?
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Way more essential than it initially pretended to be.
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honestly it's so important that you're gonna be lost without play it

a must play

unfortunately it's important

i also hated the gameplay. you can get by if you look up the plot online, but it might still be a little unclear in some places (but kingdom hearts in general is pretty nonsensical so dont feel bad being confused)
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TheDarkCircle posted...

honestly it's so important that you're gonna be lost without play it

a must play

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Maybe I'll restart and play on easy to breeze through it.

I don't want to scrub out on it but I don't even have the card to get to the room to buy better cards and not get beaten by anything the boss throws out. Tons of grinding doesn't sound terribly appealing either.

idk. I guess I'll power through it in some capacity if it's essential.
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Honestly I skipped it and read up on it later. Its kinda important.

Just dont listen to anyone saying to watch 358/2 Days before 2. That will ruin a lot of reveals in 2.
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The only things you can skip in 1.5+2.5 are the two "movies."

LuffySkull posted...

Honestly I skipped it and read up on it later. Its kinda important.

Just dont listen to anyone saying to watch 358/2 Days before 2. That will ruin a lot of reveals in 2.

Yeah, although it i kinda interesting watching 358/2 Days first if it's you're second time playing the games.

play the gba version instead

Kaiganeer posted...

play the gba version instead

For the non-numbered games: Birth By Sleep is pretty much Kingdom Hearts 0. Chain of Memories and Dream Drop Distance set a lot of shit up for the games that come after them and you will likely be lost without them if you actually want to seriously follow the plot. 358/2 Days is kinda pointless and definitely not worth playing, read a summary or watch that movie or something after you finish KHII. Re:coded has awesome gameplay but the story is completely pointless.

Also the 3D version of Chain of Memories on PS2/PS3/PS4 is often considered worse than the 2D one on the GBA from a gameplay standpoint.

Second_Chances posted...

Also the 3D version of Chain of Memories on PS2/PS3/PS4 is often considered worse than the 2D one on the GBA from a gameplay standpoint.

Really? Why?

Anyway, just read the plot. Not worth playing.
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I don't remember the details, I've only played the GBA one myself. But I think it was something about the balance is fucked in the 3D version due to changes in hitboxes and the like.

It's pretty easy to break, fortunately. As sora, just fill your deck like, (sonic rave) sleight x3 in such a way that even after losing the first card from each of the sleights, the 6 that remain still will turn into 2 additional uses without issue, and that destroys nearly all bosses even on hard mode. Thundaga and firaga will destroy all trash mobs besides the sorcerer hat enemies from hollow bastion and the final floor. Megaflare affects them iirc. Final boss is destroyed by some sleight that causes you to create a fire ball above your head and have the flames fall around you. That and the time stop sleight = almost guaranteed win without issue.

Riku just requires memorizing the order of your deck since it's set by floor. Winning duels is so broken and also why you should never use sleights except when you need to finish the boss off before it kills you with some bs attack.
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Sir Will posted...

Second_Chances posted...

Also the 3D version of Chain of Memories on PS2/PS3/PS4 is often considered worse than the 2D one on the GBA from a gameplay standpoint.

Really? Why?

Anyway, just read the plot. Not worth playing.

It loses the charm of the spritework and really emphasizes how much of the game is simply a retread of the first, plot and setting-wise. Gameplay wise, it just doesn't work as well in 3D (except when fighting Large Bodies).

I still love the GBA version, but the remake feels like garbage to me, and I hated playing it.

Sir Will posted...

Second_Chances posted...

Also the 3D version of Chain of Memories on PS2/PS3/PS4 is often considered worse than the 2D one on the GBA from a gameplay standpoint.

Really? Why?

Anyway, just read the plot. Not worth playing.

For me, it's worse because it's...just KH1's gameplay, but way more limited. It feels near-identical to KH1, except sometimes my attacks get interrupted due to the cards and I have to play around cards to attack. I feel like this type of gameplay would work in a slower game, IE, probably the GBA version, but for a game that feels so similar to 1, it's like continuing the same game but being weighed down.

LuffySkull posted...

Honestly I skipped it and read up on it later. Its kinda important.

Just dont listen to anyone saying to watch 358/2 Days before 2. That will ruin a lot of reveals in 2.

Yeah, I was actually wondering about that. The collection's order has 358/2 next, but from what I've heard, it seems to be better after 2. I'll wait on that one then.

Second_Chances posted...

For the non-numbered games: Birth By Sleep is pretty much Kingdom Hearts 0. Chain of Memories and Dream Drop Distance set a lot of shit up for the games that come after them and you will likely be lost without them if you actually want to seriously follow the plot. 358/2 Days is kinda pointless and definitely not worth playing, read a summary or watch that movie or something after you finish KHII. Re:coded has awesome gameplay but the story is completely pointless.

Also the 3D version of Chain of Memories on PS2/PS3/PS4 is often considered worse than the 2D one on the GBA from a gameplay standpoint.

Hmmm...I don't think this collection has anything for DDD but I may be mistaken. Should I watch a Let's Play or something for it?

I dunno how seriously I'll take the plot, but I'm at least mildly interested in trying to follow it. I've heard it gets super convoluted as the games go on though.
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I really liked GBA CoM, though it's pretty grindy. Has the closest thing to what I would consider both a good plot and story in a KH game.

Remastering it in 3D was a really dumb idea gameplay wise, but also I would argue that adding voice acting cheapened the writing.
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SmidgeIsntBack posted...

I really liked GBA CoM, though it's pretty grindy. Has the closest thing to what I would consider both a good plot and story in a KH game.

Remastering it in 3D was a really dumb idea gameplay wise, but also I would argue that adding voice acting cheapened the writing.

The voice acting is really jarring. The game takes place almost immediately after KH1, but Sora's voice is way, way different in it. I actually thought they recast him at first, but nah, it was just the original VA (who I had no idea was Haley Joel Osment until like last night, wtf) going through puberty.
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KH2 came out in 2006 and re com in 2007, so yeah he'd aged a bit.
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dotsdfe posted...

Sir Will posted...

Second_Chances posted...

Also the 3D version of Chain of Memories on PS2/PS3/PS4 is often considered worse than the 2D one on the GBA from a gameplay standpoint.

Really? Why?

Anyway, just read the plot. Not worth playing.

For me, it's worse because it's...just KH1's gameplay, but way more limited. It feels near-identical to KH1, except sometimes my attacks get interrupted due to the cards and I have to play around cards to attack. I feel like this type of gameplay would work in a slower game, IE, probably the GBA version, but for a game that feels so similar to 1, it's like continuing the same game but being weighed down.

LuffySkull posted...

Honestly I skipped it and read up on it later. Its kinda important.

Just dont listen to anyone saying to watch 358/2 Days before 2. That will ruin a lot of reveals in 2.

Yeah, I was actually wondering about that. The collection's order has 358/2 next, but from what I've heard, it seems to be better after 2. I'll wait on that one then.

Second_Chances posted...

For the non-numbered games: Birth By Sleep is pretty much Kingdom Hearts 0. Chain of Memories and Dream Drop Distance set a lot of shit up for the games that come after them and you will likely be lost without them if you actually want to seriously follow the plot. 358/2 Days is kinda pointless and definitely not worth playing, read a summary or watch that movie or something after you finish KHII. Re:coded has awesome gameplay but the story is completely pointless.

Also the 3D version of Chain of Memories on PS2/PS3/PS4 is often considered worse than the 2D one on the GBA from a gameplay standpoint.

Hmmm...I don't think this collection has anything for DDD but I may be mistaken. Should I watch a Let's Play or something for it?

I dunno how seriously I'll take the plot, but I'm at least mildly interested in trying to follow it. I've heard it gets super convoluted as the games go on though.

Oh it does but I love Roxas/Axel/Xions Story.

A lot of people really like Ventus/Terra/Aquas story too. It's alright IMO but not my preferred.

Spoilers for the series:
It gets really convulted because they use time travel and assimilation in really odd ways.
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Well, I restarted on easy. I hate easy modes in games, but I just genuinely don't like this game's battle system and would prefer not to grind heavily to progress. I got back through Traverse Town in like 20 minutes, so I'm not that far behind where I was.

Going to choose a different second world this time, too. Hopefully I can get an easier boss, or I can get a Moogle Shop card and get some solid cards.
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I like the combat in Chain of Memories, but god did I hate the room card system, the vast majority of my runs back in the day would just be stuck in place for days on end because the game would refuse to drop the cards I needed

also for DDD you can either pick up 2.8 which also comes with a little playable epilogue for Birth By Sleep in the KH3 engine or just look up the cutscenes on Youtube, I think the gameplay in that one is a pretty mixed bag