The original Kingdom Hearts holds a special place in my heart seeing as it not only mixed two interesting franchises together but it also made for one of the most original and brilliant role-playing games to come along in a long time. For those who thought that Disney characters and Final Fantasy characters can’t play well together, boy were you so wrong. So, two console games for the PlayStation 2 later (as well as a GameBoy Advance game), Kingdom Hearts comes to the Nintendo DS with Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days.

 
One of these three is a girl but I can’t tell which one it is.

The story takes place somewhere between the first Kingdom Hearts game and its sequel, Kingdom Hearts 2, with Roxas as the central character. With no memory of who he is and where he came from, our friend Roxas is found my members of a group calling themselves Organization XIII. Quickly accepted as one of their own thanks to the fact that they consider Roxas worthy of wielding a keyblade, we follow the young boy’s days as a member as his life is about to intersect with the events that will lead to the second Kingdom Hearts game.

You see, Organization XIII is composed of what the world calls Nobodies and their mission is to collect enough hearts to restore Kingdom Hearts. The story jumps back to key moments in Roxas’ days in the group such as how his training began and the friends he makes among the Organization’s ranks such as Axel and a mysterious fourteenth member of the group. As Roxas tries to find out who he is and why his comrades hold him in high regard.

The game, interestingly enough, plays much like the console games and that’s a really good thing. As you jump back in time when you were first discovered by Organization XIII’s leader, Xemnas, you are taken through a few simple missions that act as tutorials. You learn the jumping basics and how to swivel the camera around with Axel and then learn how to swing your keyblade at Heartless and Emblem Heartless with Marluxia. After that, you are sent on missions for the group that pit you, Axel and your new friend called Xion against foes that fight against Organization XIII.

Once again, you’ll be entering familiar Disney territory and meeting recognizable Disney characters as Roxas completes his missions in the same way that Sora has done in the other games. If the novelty of being in a Disney world like entering Agrabah’s Cave from the Aladdin movie is staring to wear thin then you aren’t alone but, then again, there’s something more unique about tackling a boss battle with an opponent who you would least expect to show up in a game with Final Fantasy characters.

 
“Sure I get fleas sometimes, Belle, but will you settle for a guy he leaves the toilet seat up?”

The good news is that the controls and the Nintendo DS are easy to digest so you’ll be performing cool combos and casting spells with the best of them. The touch screen is used for displaying the map and you can always tap said map with your finger to get Roxas to do an about-face. You can easily target enemies as well and, thankfully, the framerate remains rock steady. Unfortunately, the camera can sometimes be frustratingly annoying but not to the degree that it will make you pull your hair out of your head. The Panel System takes some getting use to but once you get the hang up if you can power up your characters. 

The missions are also quite enjoyable and even more so in the middle of the game when Roxas is involved in even more challenging quests. You are given objectives to complete and there is room for exploration but not to the point that you will find yourself dropping what you’re doing for the sake of just looking around. It’s satisfying to find a game that offers a variety in its missions and this game offers plenty of different thing to do. 

Missions Mode is the game’s multiplayer mode and it offers 90 or so missions to tackle … with up to four players total if you wish. The game allows you and your friends (with their own copy of the game, of course) to take on missions with your friends taking up the role of Organization XIII characters as well as other characters I will not mention. Sure, the framerate takes a dip or two when playing with other players but it never gets too bad. 

On the visual side, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days is actually quite visually pleasing to the eye. Like the recent Final Fantasy games on the Nintendo DS, this game sports some gorgeous animated cut scenes and visuals that look as though they came straight from the PS2 games. The game looks good in action as well, although the backgrounds don’t stand out as well. The visual effects do work well in the game, though.

 
“And now, let the Bad Hair Club for Men meeting begin!”

The sound, on the other hand, lacks voice work. Instead, we get short clips of sighs, laughs and grunts before a character’s text appears to simulate emotion. This is too bad seeing as the game has a grand anime-styled opening complete with a vocalized song. Then again, there’s the familiar soundtrack of past games in the series and who doesn’t love the beautiful orchestration of the score?

A genuinely rewarding and deeply involving addition to the series, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days should not be missed by anyone who has fallen under the spell that the Kingdom Hearts series weaves so well. With a great story, even better characters and challenging action, this game will happily steal your soul from the very start and with the added multiplayer mode you will be playing this one more than once.

Gameplay: 8.5
Combat as reminiscent of the two console games and that is a major plus but the camera can be a bit finicky in places but not to the point that it really gets in the way of the action. The missions are both challenging and diverse but, most importantly, the story is just as wonderful as the cast of characters.

Graphics: 8.0
Visually, the game is quite impressive when it comes to the cut scenes that look like they come straight from the PlayStation 2 games. The in-game action runs smoothly, although the backgrounds can look a bit on the plain side.

Sound: 8.0
The soundtrack comes straight from past Kingdom Hearts games but you won’t hear me complaining. I wish there was voice acting to go along with the dialogue instead of pre-recorded grunt and giggles. At least the sound effects are varied.

Difficulty: Medium
There are some challenging missions in this game as you attempt to complete the mission objectives. The real challenge, however, comes from the boss battles that will really give you a workout.

Concept: 8.5
Following Roxas during his days as a member of the Organization XIII, the game’s wonderfully appealing storyline is ripe with all the things we love about the console Kingdom Hearts games. On top of that, there’s Mission Mode you can play with up to three friends.

Multiplayer: 8.0
Mission Mode adds something extra for when you finish the solo game and the good news is you can tackle extra missions with three other friends taking up the roles of the available characters (include some surprises) via the DS’ wireless capabilities. It’s not the smoothest of modes but it works.

Overall: 8.5
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days for the Nintendo DS is quite an impressive package that delivers a wonderfully deep and involving portable RPG. It’s also yet another amazing Kingdom Hearts title that goes hand-in-hand with the other games in the series so missing this one would be a real shame if you loved Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Heart 2.