So far, the game is pretty good. Its going by a bit slowly, but I'm sure It'll get better. I recommend this game for anyone who likes Kingdom Hearts 1 or 2, because this certainly brings Roxas's identify clearer. I can also understand Roxas better as I play KH2 from just playing a little bit of this game. The graphics are also really good for a DS game.

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After Getting Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days I was instantly Hooked. Roxas Has been one of my favorite Characters in the Kingdom Hearts series. Seeing him leave after just a few hours in KH2 made me sad. I always felt he had a interesting story to him. This game brought Back all that for me. Someone stated before that this game takes place after Chain of Memories, but some of it is before CoM. It's prety much Roxas' whole story. What he did in the organization, how he was personality wise, etc. It has some memorable moments through the game. Seeing Roxas show soo much emotion with everything kinda gave you the feeling he wasn't a Nobody.

Now for the game talk.

Gameplay:

Downers:Alot of repetitive things. Missions constantly in same worlds. Same goals for clears.

Pluses: Panel system( Felt alot like FFVII),Control is pretty fluid for a DS game, just was designed very well for Action RPG.

Also if anyone is wondering My Game clear time was about 31 hours, But I'm sure if you complete everything you can make it longer.

Graphics:

Graphics Wowed me, especially the Cutscenes.

Difficulty:

I played on medium mode I believe. The Game itself was not difficult that way, but some Bosses were just a pain in the rear. I think I'd get more annoyed by those bosses on harder difficulties than I would Find it hard.

Sound:

Lots of Popular music from previous Kingdom Hearts. Musical Score usually great on SE games.

Overall I game KH 358/2 a 5 simply because I love the main character and I found it delightful to see his story. I do however understand why others may have rated this game low.

Also just as stated in a previous review the game was very similar in elements to FFVII: Crisis Core.

Ultimately if you are a Kingdom Hearts Fan you should pick up this game, I found it worth my money spent and I hope you will too.

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Arrived quickly and in perfect condition, as described. LOVE this game, big geek that I am.

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Here is a game that could have been so much better than it is. Even so, it makes an entertaining, if lesser chapter into the Kingdom Hearts Series.

First the good. The game controls great. Clever use of shortcuts makes magic casting a breeze and the action for better or worse in primarily controlled by mashing on the A button, occasionally using B and Y to jump and block/roll respectively. The fighting is good for what it is, but mostly it is a bit simplistic.

Sadly the whole game is a bit simplistic. It is clear the developers wanted to focus on graphics and story. What they wound up with is a game that looks almost as good as its PS2 counterparts. The story on the other hand is a bit muddled and what starts out as a cute bromance turns into a constant irritation. My god, I don't care about them eating icecream for the 85th day in a row.

Also missing from the game is any bit of exploration. The worlds are depressingly simple and small, generally consisting of a few large rooms or spaces with few more caves/rooms opening up later in your missions. That brings me to the other big problem with the game which is the mission structure. Simply put, it is not nearly as fun as just a regular Kingdom Hearts game. 85% of the missions boil down to either kill a bunch of Heartless or kill one specific Heartless. It begins to drag with a flustering amount of sameness. Every once in a while you will come across an exploration mission which generally involves running around until a question mark pops up over Roxas's hear and you press A. There are also a few missions that you have to follow a character, which are about as dumb as they sound.

The characters from Disney and other Square series are pushed to the backburner here as well, it is mostly about Organization XIII and run parallel to the events of Chain of Memories.

The final problem with the game, as alluded to by other reviewers is the panel system, which seems to be an odd combination of a card game, the materia system from Final Fantasy VII and Diablo's loot system. You can place different panels into your inventory to do basically anything including learn moves and magic. The most irritating panel could be the level up panel. This is certainly the first game where you have to equip a level up. You get to make irritating decisions such as "Do I level up or take 'cure' into the battle" Do I want more casts of fire or to have the ability to block. It seems some things, such as new tactics and level ups should be automatic. I guess it adds in a new strategy to the game, but mostly I find it irritating.

That all being said, if you can look past the irritants, there is a lot of fun to be had here, especially for those who are already fans (for those that haven't played KH before, good luck following the story). This one is for the fans only.

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When I got this game i thought it was going to be the worst kingdom hearts game ever.

but this game was one of the best in the series its new panel system allowed a new way to make your character more better. And the Graphics in this game are AMAZING!!! compared to other ds games. The multi player mode in this game is breath taking! This kingdom hearts game is pure greatness. BUY IT NOW!!!!!!!!!

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"Kingdom Hearts" over the years has steadily grown a storyline only few are even able to comprehend perfectly, but that's what makes this story so overwhelming. The fact that it's a mash with Walt Disney & Square-Enix characters makes it all the more powerfully perspicacious. In this game, you'll be able to play as Roxas and eventually as all the characters in Organization XIII including a few others. The timeline takes place around the moment of Roxas' birth all the way down to the seven first days of "Kingdom Hearts II". Like "Chain of Memories", this spin-off shares an extremely important connection to all the other games, boosting up a thrilling plot and a devastating ending. Although it doesn't only rely on answering unanswered questions from previous installments, this game offers almost the same fighting style but with a very unique HP and MP inventory leveling status. It also includes new Keyblades, short mini-games, sidequests, and even a multi-player mode. So whether or not you're a fan of the series, surely "Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days" is worthy of being picked up and played by everyone. After all, we all share the same sky, don't we?

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Short review~

Graphics: Pretty good for a hand held system. Of course, it wont be as good as the previous two PS2 games in terms of smooth edges (anti aliasing) and good graphics, but it is only a problem if you are picky about that. However, the cut-scenes in the game are of higher quality, matching the graphics of the PS2

Sound: NO VOICE OVERS. Well, limited voice overs. The only time you get a full blow sentence out of a character's mouth is during the cut-scenes. Otherwise, the characters no longer speak in-game, with some exceptions - an occasional "Huh?" or "Haha."

Controls: Pretty good transfer from PS2 controls to the DS controls. You wont be complaining about any confusing or annoying control system.

Combat System: A return of the system from Kingdom Hearts 2, without the reaction commands.

Story: The story is seen through the eyes of Roxas during his time in Organization XIII's care. Unlike the previous games, the story is mission based: you take a mission at home, do it, come back to get your reward, do another mission. Worlds may be revisited, but it is world to world. For example, in Kingdom Hearts 2, you finish a world's story then go to the next. In 358/2, you are given a set number of missions you can do, from all different worlds.

Length: Long. I finished the game in proud mode in roughly 30 hours.

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If you're a big KH fan, who wants to know the back-story of Roxas' time in the Organization and who the 14th member is, then you might want to check this out. If you're a newbie KH player, you might survive understanding this without playing any of the other KH games. Several people's testaments say they haven't had much of a problem. It is recommended though, if you want to completely understand everything, you play the PS2 games first. But, it's not bad for stand-alone players either. I got my younger cousins hooked right away with it. (And for those who haven't touched this game but reviewed it anyways, like the one below me, I can only say that you intentionally want to lower the ratings...)

Pros:

+ Vibrant colorful transition from its PS2 predecessors. It's like you're staring at a PS2 game inside a DS. Not bad for pushing the system to its limits.

+ The difficulty level is just right, because the Panel system affects it greatly. You can be 10 hours into the game and still be level 6.

+ Platforming is back compared to KH2. You'll be doing a lot more pushing columns and jumping around.

+ Beautiful FMVs (even though, they're just a few)

+ Dodge roll is back!

+ Some new orchestrations by Yoko Shimomura. Don't expect majority of the game to have new ones because you're going back to the same worlds from the PS2 games.

+ New parts of the PS2 worlds created. Meaning, even though we go to the same worlds as before, a lot of them have new environments made for them. So, we're not always completely in the same familiar area i.e. Agrabah's marketplace area and outside Cave of Wonders.

+ This is a long DS game. At least 25 hours and up, depending on what you do. (Not including multi-player so just consider that extra.)

+ The new Panel system, which you can customize how many things you want. It also limits what you have in your inventory. You gain a new panel piece for every mission you beat. It gives you the strategy on how you want to do your battling. Picture the Chain of Memories cards but not in a card deck. Also, you'll be using potion a lot more at the beginning of the game so it'll go quickly. You have to constantly add to the Panel deck and alter it several times.

+ New Secret Reports are added for this game. I've yet to come across them so I can't wait to read them.

+ Roxas' diary entries are interesting to read.

+ The game's script is witty and good. Good enough that it makes me dislike Larxene 10 times more now.

Neutral

o The tutorial is long but it's not as long as KH2's.

o In the Panel system, they give you level-up panels, which allow you to obviously, as the name says, level up. You have to keep collecting them to increase your level but sometimes, you won't have any place to put them.

o The story will start off very slow but it gets better as you go along. Everyone recommends the 250th day and up to 300th for the story to really pick up. For me, I don't really care. It's already good as it is. I'm less than 80 days in at this point. Unfortunately, I'm playing this game already spoiled so I know what happens. Plus, the secret behind the 14th member...

o You'll only be using the stylus to control the camera to look left, right, and up. Which, I don't have too many qualms about.

o You have customizable options on your camera control and other things.

o Yes, you might find some parts of the worlds/scenes repetitive, but the ice cream eating has a somber meaning behind it.

o There is a meaning behind the title! If you still don't understand what it means, go look it up! :P

Cons

- The camera can get a bit shaky at some times when you're up against something.

- The D-pad will hurt your thumb at the beginning so please, take a break in-between playing it!

- When locking onto an enemy, I wish they allowed you to switch from one enemy to another like in the PS2 games.

That's all I really have to say about it for now. Be prepared for a slow moving story but a well-worth reward ending. :D

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I got this game the day it came out and played it for a bit before I had to go to sleep, but when I brought it to school the next day, all day i had the erge to play it. not because its new its because of the game. it amazing.

since I always loved the organization this is a great game. its easy to get the hang of and so far im on day 46 I believe, *sneaks off to play some more*

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In perfect condition- exactly what I wanted and ordered, arrived on time. My kids LOVE this game!

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the graphics in cut scenes put the ds back on the map. thats basically y i decided to buy this game. that and its kingdom hearts. the game focuses on roxas, sora's nobody, and goes all the way up until the beginning of kingdom hearts 2. its a really cool game and i wuld definetly buy it again if i had the chance

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I am a huge Axel Fan so I couldn't wait to get it to finally play Axel and be able to play multiplayer with my sister for once in the kingdom hearts series! It is a blast more fun than I thought for a DS game! The game play is wonderful and looks just like the previous games and playing story mode is awesome to! I really reccomend this to anyone even if your new to kingdom hearts!!!!

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I LOVE THIS GAME IT IS KIND OF SHORT BUT IT DOES NOT GO OUT OF THE STORYLINE.BEST OF ALL KINGDOM HEARTS IS NOW PORTABLE THANKS TO THE DS. THE GRAPHICS ARE A LITTLE ABOVE DESCENT BUT AGAIN IT IS A DS. THE CUT SCENES LOOK LIKE THE ONES ON THE PS2 WHICH I ALSO LOVE. I GIVE THIS GAME A 9.5.

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Well, this game gave me a big, wiiiide grin. And usually I don't get that.

I've played the other Kingdom Hearts games, so of course it made perfect sense to me. The whole storyline and all that. Even though it explains the history in both various parts of the game and the strategy guide, nothing can really beat ACTUALLY playing the first few games. Just a heads up.

I'm only on day ... 14 or 15, I think, but I'm addicted. I could barely get off the game to actually write this review. Yeah, I've been on it for a while cause it's pretty challenging at first, because of the controls as I'll mention in a minute.

First, Roxas starts out where he "can barely form a sentence", so don't be turned off by that first thing. It sort of goes on for a while.

Anyway, the controls are hard to use. So far. Like I said, I'm only on day ... 15, but I've had to do a few missions over and over before I got it. Also, fighting is kind of boring. All you do is press A over and over, and that's it. It tells you you have to time it just right, but I don't see how that's easy when you have heartless stuck to your character and someone else as to come and fight them off. Im-possible. And the buttons you might suddenly have to press are *very* inconvient for your fingers.

However, the graphics are im-possible, too. In a good way.

I also love this game because it explains SO much about the Organization that was hidden from you. But I won't go any further than that because I don't want to ruin anything.

The graphics are amazing. Usually Nintendo has pixelly graphics, right? YES. And it still does have pixelly graphics! But they're pretty pixels. And the parts that aren't pixels, such as cutscenes and little pictures you might see are crystal clear. It's amazing. It's the same quality as PS2, even!

Also, for my last part, this is quick. But I also love this game because it takes a good amount of time to finish. You won't finish it in a day. And *probably* not just 2 or 3 days, either. But if you do... there's other modes to play like the other KH games.

Okay, so to conclude;

I gave this a five star rating because I love this game.

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This is the first game I have played in the Kingdom Heart Series and I am hooked. I played this on a friends recommendation and I can not put it down. You are following the story of #13 Roxas. I can not wait to see what happens next.

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