Posted 24 November 2009 - 05:08 AM
I know I'm way behind, but I finally managed to buy a Nintendo DS and finished the game finally. I might take the time to go back to get a 100%, but I went ahead and read the Org. members' "secret" diary reports online. As far as numbers go, I agree with the 8/10s it's been getting.
Sorry for the over-long post, but I like to put all my thoughts into words when I first review something even if nobody reads them--there's always so much to say.
****SPOILERS****
Overall, I felt 358/2 Days was a very good game--definitely an improvement on Chain of Memories and Kingdom Hearts 2. I think the only problem I had was that it was overlong and monotonous. I also thought the game worked in a rather deus ex machine kind of way, with things happening the way the game wanted them to happen (like how nothing occurs for about 60-80 of those days or how people in the Disney worlds show up and vanish when necessary). Regardless, I think having this game is almost a requirement to help make up for the fact that the Organization was so bland and uninteresting in KH2. SE still didn't completely fix that problem, but by having more interaction with Org. XIII (rather than the single appearance to die they generally had in KH2) you get more of a fondness and, subsequently, sympathy for them.
The game does shorthand the CoM Nobodies (Larxene, Marluxia, et al), but they got a lot of development in CoM whereas Xigbar, Luxord and the others didn't get this in KH2. I really like Xigbar now. Xemnas also came off more fascinating than I found him before--maybe because we don't hear that awful, monotone voice. Saix seems to be the only really cruel member, which is why I think he's the only one Roxas fights (there needed to be some little justice by having Roxas wipe the floor with him). Luxord had a more interesting vibe as well, and I think it was fitting to have him in Wonderland.
I especially liked how this game dealt with the Disney worlds. While they were minimal since the Organization couldn't realistically interact very much with these characters they're trying to kill, I think the fact that the movie plots didn't dominate what we saw in the worlds was definitely a good thing. I hate playing something I've already seen in a much-better film. I also liked how they subtly filled in the gaps to KH2 plotlines, too. Like Xaldin's obsession with the Beast (I wonder if this reflects on Dilan's life pre-Nobody?) or how Jack thought of the scarecrow-thing for the next Halloween (is it me, or did this look a lot like the Experiment in KH2?--which I guess was a symbol for Roxas/the Nobodies). Some people were complaining about the lack of new worlds/designs for worlds, but I have to disagree on that point. The game doesn't really care about the Disney worlds really and, to be honest, I hate when a game uses the same world and then gives a different look for the same location (Agrabah in KH2 was especially irritating).
The game also had several funny moments, mostly from Xigbar. "Flamesilocks." lmao. I also thought the incident with Phil in the Coliseum was hilarious, when he realized Roxas wasn't the guy Hercules had been talking about. And I really loved the mission Roxas had investigating Beast's Castle with Xaldin; I was laughing forever over some of Xaldin's lines at Roxas' stupidity.
As far as Xion goes, I was a bit off. I had been guessing that she was another nobody created by Kairi's heart leaving Sora's body in the first game or maybe just by Kairi's heart leaving her own body. It was really freaky how she had Sora's face at the end. Anyway, I liked their explanation of why she was never mentioned in the other games--Saix: "Count the chairs. There were only ever 13 of us." And I'm glad they had more going on with Vexen's research in Castle Oblivion. I wonder if this will have any after-effects in future games.
There was another thing I was wondering about: what was going on with Axel and Saix? The game never fully explains what their 'plans' were in killing off Vexen and Zexion. It kind of implies that they were planning a coup, but this plot idea kind of vanishes midway through the game. Why didn't the plan go through? Maybe it was because Axel was changing, but how could just Axel and Saix have planned to take over the Organization when Saix couldn't even take on Roxas? And I didn't understand one point in the game where Roxas finishes a mission and then he's watching Riku talking to Zexion in CoM, then watches Xion and Riku talking, and then sits with Axel and Xion in the same positions as Sora, Riku and Kairi on Destiny Islands. I was totally "Wtf?" and still don't know if that actually happened or not, since the game made it seem like a dream but then other characters acknowledged it happened.
With the gameplay, I agree with Nothingness that the AI system was a lot better in this game. I think it helped that the Org. members can just travel through darkness and reappear right beside you. As for the panel system, I didn't really like it, but it was a lot less intrusive and tedious than the card system in CoM (which I eventually got used to, but still bothered me). The Challenge Missions and Mission Mode were actually more fun than I thought they would be. I especially like playing as Donald for some reason.
Anyway, I think I'll re-play the series in December (when I'm off from school) to connect everything together. KH, then CoM, then 358/2 Days, and then KH2. I would wait for Birth by Sleep to play it first, since it takes place 10 yrs prior, but school starts soon after it comes out. I won't have that kind of time.
In general, I was surprised by how much I liked this game. I really only got it to complete the KH collection and didn't expect it to be great (again, because the Organization was so terribly done in KH2). I guess under-expectation helped me to get more out of this game than I might have if I'd assumed the game would be a 10/10.
). I've so far beaten the game, almost all the mission modes, and have over 70% of the Challenge Sigils. Getting the last few is going to be a pain as some of the restrictions are simply ridiculous but hey, I love a challenge. My incentives to beat it 100% now though is somewhat wavered due to the fact that more journal entries isn't exactly what I was hoping for. I was hoping for another BBS trailer or something of the like. 
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