Overall 8.7 Graphics 10 Sound 9.5 Addictive 8.5 Story 7 Depth 7.5 Difficulty 7.5
9
A Portable Masterpiece yoshirulez!
A tale that goes deeper than Atlantica's depths, The Kingdom Hearts story is continued in this PSP prequel to the first Kingdom Hearts game. 10 or so years before the events of Kingdom Hearts, Birth by
Sleep features a trio of friends who share the same dream, the same laughs, the same pains, and the same misfortune. Terra, Aqua, and Ventus are three aspiring Keyblade masters who's dreamt of becoming one since as far back as they can remember. Unfortunately, no one could forsee the terrible travesty that was about to unfold. A story of hearts and heartache told from the perspective of three people, Kingdom Hearts: Birth by
Sleep provides a deeper, more emotional connection to the series. Each hero goes to different worlds, experiences it differently, and all connect once more in the end.
Some people who had the original Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II were excited for a new, fresh experience on a new console. Originally planned to be on the PS2, during development Birth by
Sleep was shifted to the PSP, and I don't think it was a bad decision at all, because the PSP was made worth buying because of such titles as this. Even people who never had any involvement in Kingdom Hearts prior praised this game for it's exciting Action-RPG gameplay and impressive depth for a PSP game. Not only was it made for hardcore fans of the game, but the difficulty
selection made it easy for even average gamers just getting into the series. As much as there is to say about this game, I'm afraid it'll have to wait until a bit later in the sections of this review.
Graphics: 10/10. Now, I know this is going to sound biased, but it isn't really. I've yet to find a game that has this much content while still keeping the graphics this good. Square Enix made sure to do it as well as possible, including their strategy of using lower quality models and animations in shots that don't focus too much on the character in question, to give an interesting depth effect. Moreover, each world is colorful and exciting, like disney games should be. I believe that this game took PSP graphics to a new level, one that can't be surpassed. In addition, you could also change the color mode to 32 bit color instead of 16 bit, which greatly enhances the game. You could adjust the clock speed to make the game run faster, install some of the data to the memstick for faster load times so the graphics looked more seamless, and so on. It's very solid and hard to be outdone as far as the PSP goes. Feel free to try and disprove me if you want.
Sound: 10/10. Again, this is going to sound biased, but hear me out. Yoko Shimomura, responsible for music in such titles as Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga, Street Fighter 2: The World Warrior etc did the soundtrack for the entire Kingdom Hearts series. It is known as her best work in the videogame industry, and even people who have nothing to do with Kingdom Hearts still praise it's soundtrack as well as the composer herself. Every song fits every scene just right, the battle themes are epic (I don't use the term epic loosely, you should know I'm serious when I say this) and overall is a soundtrack that can be enjoyed whether you've played the game or not. Birth by
Sleep introduces tons of the best songs in the series as well. If I was going to honestly recommend a few songs to represent the soundtracks, I'd have to say "Dark Impetus", "Rage Awakened -The Origin-", and "The Silent Forest" as well as "Tears of the Light". You won't regret it, it's a great listen. Most are in a sort of traditional orchestration sort of feel, even though I'm fairly certain it's synthesized. Nevertheless it still sounds good.
Addictiveness: 8/10. Now let me break down why this game is so fun to play. Firstly you have an Action RPG consisting of Attack, Block, Dodge, and Command. Now, of course, you can do combos and such to attack, sure, but let's say for instance you have a Blizzard command. You can mix the fighting style up to where you can do two attacks then follow up with a Blizzard, or if you're going to be a little more extreme, do something risky like a Quick Blitz into a full combo. Making combinations with the Command Deck is what makes this game particularly fun. But if you're not satisfied with that, let's add another way to attack. The Shotlock command turns you first person, allowing you to lock onto multiple enemies, and then unleash a flurry of fireballs or do some sort of highspeed dash attack. Want more? Take junk commands you don't need and meld them into something new! Add a fire command and a quick blitz to get a Fire Strike to have an edge against ice elemental enemies. More? Let's say you could borrow abilities and commands from the various characters you meet along the way. Well, you can, using D-Links. You'll forge D-Links with many people across your adventure and you can use the newfound power to destroy everything in your path. Now with all of that in mind, let's give you plenty of monsters to fight that only respawn when you move a few entire rooms away. None of that dumb random encounter stuff, just plain fun. If you're not satisfied even then, go to the Battle Arena to test your strength and even compete against someone else in Ad-Hoc multiplayer. Needless to say, the battle system is incredibly versatile and you can tell it to do exactly what you want it to do, unlike a lot of games. The freedom gives you a really addictive experience.
Story: 7/10. Right... so, the story I was talking about? it's not for everyone. Not only is the entire Kingdom Hearts plot incredibly difficult to understand unless you play the games that everyone deems as a "spinoff game" just because it doesn't have a number in the title, and well, if you haven't played any other then you might not understand this one. The story revolves around Terra, Aqua, and Ventus attempting to become keyblade masters. Ventus is kept grounded by his master so he will not wander off, while Aqua and Terra battle each other in the Mark of Mastery exam. However, Terra's Darkness escapes him for a moment and as such only Aqua is deemed a Keyblade master. Terra is sent to find Master Xehanort who has disappeared, and Ventus is visited by a strange boy wearing a mask who tells him Terra will be lost before he can catch up to him. Ventus then leaves despite his masters wishes, and Aqua is set out to find him. Along the way the three of them are met with many hardships, and what lies at the end of their journey... is for you to find out.
Depth: 7/10. So with one character you go to an assortment of worlds and complete those, but along the way you also find collectibles such as stickers that you can use to place in your sticker album to get cool stuff, play minigames to get cool stuff or to just casually enjoy them, they're pretty good. After collecting everything and beating the game as one character, you can re-enjoy the game as another. Doing the same thing. But the thing is, it gets a little more interesting because of the new fighting style of the character, as well as the alternate D-Links you can use. You have different abilities, visit different worlds in different situations, and overall it feels like a different experience in a familiar world. Different characters get different minigames as well. On top of all that, assuming you've completed a decent amount of side stuff as well as the main story of all 3 characters you unlock a secret episode to get further into the story. There are also optional superbosses that take some genuine skill to beat. Overall I'd have to say there's a lot to do with all three of them, it's a big adventure.
Difficulty: 9/10. So assuming that you've kept up this far, with all the battle system stuff you might be thinking this game is a little easy, right? Well, no. The bosses get incredibly difficult unless you plan your strategies accordingly, which isn't exactly easy on your first playthrough. Of course, if you're on a particularly high difficulty you won't even manage to survive long enough to toy around with the different strategies either. More or less this game is easy if you want it to be, but otherwise it's quite the hardship. Especially considering the superbosses are insanely overpowered and actually make you have to use lots of strategic healing as well as invincibility frames from dodging and Shotlock. I wouldn't worry too much about it though, because if you get a hang of the gameplay, you'll be able to overcome it.
Overall:9/10. Although the concept of Disney mashed up with Final Fantasy seems a bit odd, Tetsuya Nomura has done an amazing job of crafting one of the most interesting and touching stories in videogame history while making it a unique and enjoyable experience for all ages. The family friendly touch gives it a charm and can assure you that anyone will be safe playing the game. Now, that might be exactly why no one wants to actually play it (most people who liked final fantasy hated kingdom hearts because of how kiddish it seems) but I think that a lot of people, especially the people on here, will be able to look past that and see the game for what it really is: A really great game entry in a really great series. I honestly hope this'll make some people take a little more interest in the series, and maybe even give it a second chance. It's definitely worth the experience.
Graphics 10 Sound 10 Addictive 8 Story 7 Depth 7 Difficulty 9
Review Rating: 5/5
Submitted: 10-06-16
Review Replies: 2
8.6
Birth by Sleep: MOAR CUTSCENES NVTaks
As I'm sure most of you who know me on the board already know, Kingdom Hearts is my JAM. My favorite series of video games by far coming in first even ahead of Pokémon and Zelda. The amazing graphical detail, and the exploits of the brave protagonists create a comfortable gaming atmosphere that reaches a whole new level of immersion and Disney-filled fulfillment.
Kingdom Hearts: Birth by
Sleep is unique because there are three protagonists that are all playable characters. Ventus, Terra, and Aqua have all grown up on the Land of Departure trained by Keyblade Master Eraqus. The game revolves around their exploits and adventures in managing being responsible masters, and controlling the darkness that attempts to control them. Unfortunately while one of them, Terra, falls into darkness, the struggles of himself and his comrades prove to be effective against fighting back Xehanort in the hopes that Terra will once again be able to reclaim his true self.
Gameplay follows an identical pattern to previous games; Birth by
Sleep is largely about fighting hordes of enemies. After choosing your hero, you travel through various game worlds, most of which are based on Disney franchises. The likes of Peter Pan’s Neverland,
Sleeping Beauty’s Enchanted Dominion and Snow White’s Dwarf Woodlands are all here to explore, and while there you’ll meet up with the likes of Minnie Mouse, Winnie The Pooh, Pluto and many more familiar characters.
Let's go! Review #4!
Graphics: 10/10
I honestly bought a PSP to play this game. That being said, anything less than a 10 in terms of graphics would be a tad disappointing.
What's truly remarkable is how a portable console can have graphics that are as visually appealing as BBS. The gameplay is incredibly well designed, and the combat system improves upon that of previous KH titles, and at the same time remains true to the typical imagery and animation found in the aforementioned titles. It's classical and innovative at the same time which is partially what makes it so incredible.
Again though, Birth by
Sleep's true graphical greatness is found in it's cutscenes. With a total of 3 protagonist stories the game has a total of over 7 hours of beautifully designed animated shorts that illustrate the character's emotions and struggles more powerfully than combat or quest boxes ever could. I found that Ventus's cutscenes were especially powerful because of the struggles he underwent to escape the grasp of Xehanort and Vanitas, the game's main antagonists.
In my humble (and correct) opinion, Birth by
Sleep has presented the best graphics in any hand held Kingdom Hearts game. Easily beating out 358/2 Days, Re: Coded, and Dream Drop Distance for the title.
Sound/Music: 9/10
The music of the Kingdom Hearts: Birth by
Sleep video game series was composed by Yoko Shimumora with orchestral music arranged by Kaoru Wada. The original soundtracks of the games have been released on three albums and a fourth compilation album. The soundtracks to the Kingdom Hearts games feature several musical pieces from both Disney films and Final Fantasy games.
Arguably the most important part to any Kingdom Hearts game is it's ability to incorporate various Disney worlds into one came and watch as characters from parallel Disney universes intermingle amongst one another. It's beautiful, in a geeky, video game nerdy kind of way. But for that process to be successful, it becomes necessary to draw from a plethora of musical sources. Each individual Disney world has music that's characteristic of it's movie. Even the spaceship you adventure on with Stitch has some iconic Lilo and Stitch sounds.
And of course. When discussing music you can't leave out Sanctuary, by Utada Hikaru. Since I talked about it a lot in my first review of Kingdom Hearts, I won't go into how brilliant to music is. But know that it IS brilliant, and anyone who hasn't listened to it should. Like RIGHT now.
The only reason that Kingdom Hearts: Birth by
Sleep doesn't get a 10 is because the PSP doesn't allow for some of the tracks to come out as clearly and crisply as I'd like. It's just me being picky to be honest. Yeah, I tend to do that.
Addictiveness: 9/10
The game for me was almost impossible to put down while playing. I played BBS every opportunity I found during the day until I finally "beat" Vanitas and Xehanort.
However I've found that playing one single Kingdom Hearts game can be somewhat exhausting. It takes a lot to be able to keep up with the twisty, turny KH storyline if you're not accustomed to it. But BBS is a bit different. The dynamic of having three separate protagonists greatly boosts the game's already stellar levels of addictiveness because it allows to user to experience the same events they've progressed through from two other key perspectives. Putting these perspectives together gives the player the whole view of the game's thrilling plot. So, even after you've completed one storyline you almost feel compelled to keep playing to complete all other aspects to the other protagonists' stories.
This gives the game a score of 9.
Story: 7/10
The one unpopular opinion I'm sure to have in this review is my perception of the story's quality. It's not that Birth by
Sleep's story is bad. In
fact it's quite good.
*Setting Summary*
Birth by
Sleep is a prequel to the first Kingdom Hearts game, taking place ten years prior. Like the other games in the series, the player progresses through a collection of various worlds, based on various locales from the Disney animated features canon: Dwarf Woodlands from Snow White and the Seven Dwarves Enchanted Dominion from
Sleeping Beauty, Castle of Dreams from Cinderella, Olympus Coliseum from Hercules, Deep Space from Lilo and Stitch, Neverland from Peter Pan, and Mysterious Tower from Fantasia. The game also features various new worlds specially created for the series by Square Enix such as the Land of Departure and Radiant Garden. Disney Town, which is the town that surrounds the castle grounds of Disney Castle, serves as the game's minigame world. Worlds such as Destiny Islands and Castle Oblivion also appear in the form of cutscenes, while the 100 Acre Wood from the Winnie the Pooh franchise, which had appeared in most other games of the series, only appears as a Command Board in Birth by
Sleep. The staff first chose the worlds based on the game's scenario, leading to the inclusion of Princesses' worlds. They then added the worlds of Neverland and Deep Space to add variety to the game, while Olympus Coliseum was
selected to reflect the game's earlier setting compared to the original Kingdom Hearts.
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The story just didn't hold as much value for me because
1. As a general rule I'm not a huge fan of prequels
2. The plot line is getting even more convoluted
3. The amount of touchy feely dialogue increased dramatically.
That being said, the game's story isn't poor. It's just a bit much, presenting yet another twist in a story that could be continued without so many unnecessary plot alterations.
Depth: 8/10
Honestly there isn't much left to say for the depth category. As I said in my first KH review, the reason I rank depth lower than the rest is because the plot line of every world you visit revolves around the same three things.
Kill unversed
Kill boss
Find/don't find companions.
But Birth by
Sleep gets a slightly higher depth rating than it's predecessor because of how seamlessly it integrates characters from future/past KH games. For example, the scene where Axel fights Ventus is golden. It's one of my favorite scenes in the entire game because of how brilliantly is shows off Axel's humanity that he tried so hard to hide in KH2.
Difficulty: 6/10
The Birth by
Sleep interface is slightly different than the interface of past handheld KH games. But it's still very easy and with a three different game modes to change how hard you want the mobs to be, anyone with a basic knowledge of games could complete it.
Even without extensive knowledge of battle like most Kingdom Hearts games, you can't really go wrong with mashing the X button to attack. Keep potions handy and a Curaga ready to go and you should be fine in almost any encounter.
However I would like to add that while the difficulty may be low the option to change your difficulty does make the game significantly more interesting as it makes mobs much more durable, and in some cases even gives bosses a few extra abilities and powers to hit you with.
Graphics = 10*20% = 2
Sound/Music = 9*15% = 1.35
Addictiveness = 9*25% = 2.25
Story = 7*15% = 1.05
Depth = 8*20% = 1.6
Difficulty = 6*5% = 0.3
Overall Score : 8.6/10
GO PLAY THIS GAME. IT'S WONDERFUL.
Seriously though. This is a quality title that everyone should try at least once before deciding it isn't for them. So pick up your keyblade and jump on in!
Takz out.
Graphics 10 Sound 9 Addictive 9 Story 7 Depth 8 Difficulty 6
Review Rating: 4/5
Submitted: 04-09-14
Review Replies: 1
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