The technical effort implemented by the developers to make their DS game title capable of reproducing the sensations experienced during the episodes of the PlayStation 2 is remarkable. 358/2 Days is undoubtedly one of the most successful DS games. The graphics are rather thin, detailed and most importantly, very fluid, in addition to the rather simplistic cinematic using the game engine. The encoding quality is excellent, both for the image and the sound. These scenes have indeed received a remarkable English dubbing on par with the other episodes. Yoko Shimomura also composed some new soundtrack of excellent quality, with the most notable one being Xion's theme.
However, when it comes to the gameplay, 358/2 Days seems to lag behind the PS2 episodes, which we have to admit were wonderful to handle. While the scenery faithfully reproduces the originals and battle animations are impressive, the battles themselves lack in the beauty, delicacy and aesthetic that the initial Kingdom Hearts and its sequel benefited from. The extravagant management of the camera and the painful grip of the directional pad during long stretches can be especially frustrating. Trying too hard to be on equal footing for a PS2 game, 358/2 Days remained slightly disappointing despite the overwhelming sense of déjà vu players receive in the first scenes.
This déjà vu is all the more frustrating that the story of 358/2 Days is nothing more than an incomplete part of a whole. While it was interesting for the game to attempt to depthen the story of Sora and Roxas, Roxas and Xion and even Roxas and Axel, it operated on a scarce material. Kingdom Hearts fans will quickly seize references to Chain of Memories and KH II and most likely enjoy them, but these normally only show up after numerous (and insignificant) trips and dialogues. Towards the end, of course, some surprising twists spice up the plot, but nothing as stunning and exciting as in the second episode.
In conclusion, 358/2 does well in setting the stones for the plot of Kingdom Hearts II, this part of the mythology of Kingdom Hearts, be it the characters or the different worlds, is clearly exhausted, and the repetitive missions and sketchy gameplay do little to help. However, if you can play it without feeling compelled to compare it to the other episodes, it remains a great game, and even one of the best DS games.
However, when it comes to the gameplay, 358/2 Days seems to lag behind the PS2 episodes, which we have to admit were wonderful to handle. While the scenery faithfully reproduces the originals and battle animations are impressive, the battles themselves lack in the beauty, delicacy and aesthetic that the initial Kingdom Hearts and its sequel benefited from. The extravagant management of the camera and the painful grip of the directional pad during long stretches can be especially frustrating. Trying too hard to be on equal footing for a PS2 game, 358/2 Days remained slightly disappointing despite the overwhelming sense of déjà vu players receive in the first scenes.
This déjà vu is all the more frustrating that the story of 358/2 Days is nothing more than an incomplete part of a whole. While it was interesting for the game to attempt to depthen the story of Sora and Roxas, Roxas and Xion and even Roxas and Axel, it operated on a scarce material. Kingdom Hearts fans will quickly seize references to Chain of Memories and KH II and most likely enjoy them, but these normally only show up after numerous (and insignificant) trips and dialogues. Towards the end, of course, some surprising twists spice up the plot, but nothing as stunning and exciting as in the second episode.
In conclusion, 358/2 does well in setting the stones for the plot of Kingdom Hearts II, this part of the mythology of Kingdom Hearts, be it the characters or the different worlds, is clearly exhausted, and the repetitive missions and sketchy gameplay do little to help. However, if you can play it without feeling compelled to compare it to the other episodes, it remains a great game, and even one of the best DS games.
