Introduction: Kingdom Hearts built up a significant following after its PS2 release and it's fair to say that GBA owners were a little surprised when this RPG gem was announced for their very own handheld format. From a reviewer?s point of view the whole thing sends alarm bells ringing, not least because attempting to condense a huge PS2 game into a tiny GBA cart has to be problematic. These fears were somewhat alleviated when the first screens and details started to emerge as, rather than attempting to emulate the console?s gameplay, the developers have wisely opted for a card based title which will become apparent as you read through this review. Any fan of the original will tell you that it was the quality of story telling which made the original a hit, something that the GBA isn't actually renowned for. So, has Chain of Memories broken the spell... ?

GamePlay: Before I explain the storyline, which incidentally is one of the best and most creative seen on the GBA for some time, I have to say that this is a bridging game between the first PS2 outing and the soon to be released sequel. Don't get us wrong, this GBA is still completely self contained, it just seem to throw you into things rather abruptly on the assumption that you already know what?s going on and have been introduced to the game?s main characters. Generally though the story concerns itself with Sora's quest to discover the memories deep inside him, with the help of the Disney characters of course. It begins with a certain amount of exploration with each room you enter branching off to up to three other rooms. This is also where you'll encounter all kinds of nasties that wish to stop you in your tracks and this, along with opening locked doors, is where the cards come into play.

While I'm not a big fan of this type of battle system it actually works very well here mostly due to its simplicity and user-friendly design. As you'd expect, initially it's a numbers game and the higher the card?s value the more ferocious the attack. The same is true when defending an opponent?s attack, where if you happen to be fortunate enough to have a greater value card you'll receive absolutely no damage. Everything is built on this simple foundation and while it works very well early on in the game when you only have one or two enemies it does become less effective when a group attacks you. This is mainly due to the speeded up gameplay and rather than using a strategic battle plan (which is undoubtedly what the game?s designers wanted) the whole thing deteriorates into a mindless button basher. Finally there's a link-up feature, which allows two players to battle it out using all the skills you've acquired from the main game. On the down side it does require two copies of the game but as Chain of Memories was included as a special bundle the likelihood of you meeting someone else with a copy of the game is reasonably good.

Control: Because this is a card based adventure and not a run of the mill arcade platformer the control obviously has to be more intuitive than pixel perfect. Fortunately it is and there's a lot of on-screen help available throughout the game so even if this is your first encounter with this type of game there's a very gentle learning curve.

Graphics: Without a doubt this is where Chain of Memories really shines. Every area of this game is constructed with a very high end product in mind. Overall they've succeeded because the mixture of FMV, hand drawn sprites and isometric backgrounds complement each other perfectly. This is definitely something to show DS users that not everything is moving over to their system just yet.

Sound & Music: Chain of Memories mixes a variety of audio elements but the outcome is actually remarkably pleasing. It includes some of the sampled soundtrack from the PS2 but the humble GBA sound chip also does a fine job with the remaining music. There's also a generous amount of samples from the Disney characters, which while welcome has become a rarity of late.

Final Comments: Before you even consider the gameplay there's no doubt that the production values here are of a quality we see very rarely especially in a non-Nintendo title. Chain of Memories has a lot to celebrate in the game play too, with enough to keep both newcomers and fans of the series entertained on a variety of levels. On the downside however, you get an incredibly linear adventure, which doesn?t actually have a whole lot of adventuring going on, and lovers of the puzzling process will be sadly disappointed. Even so it's still a very enjoyable romp, and with an almost essential second play through and multiplayer bouts also at your disposal, you're also getting a fair bit of game for your money.

Pro: Looks Wonderful
Con: A Little Too Linear
Final Score: 8.1

Reviewed by: Andrew Blanchard