Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories is a Game Boy Advance game that serves as Kingdom Hearts's direct sequel. Beginning where the original left off, something that hasn't been seen in recent entries of the series, Sora, Donald, and Goofy try to get the letter Pluto has from the King, Mickey Mouse. However, their search soon brings them to Castle Oblivion, a castle run by an enigmatic Organization. The castle has some secrets, though- As you traverse through the many floors, your memory soon wastes away, and their only way to defend themselves are cards filled with the memories of their abilities. Sora goes through the castle to gain what is dear to him as the man in black put it.
Chain of Memories wasn't meant to exist. The director wanted Kingdom Hearts II to be released and have these events a secret until he heard that younger fans wanted the game on the GBA. The gameplay has been criticized for being too different and difficult. The gameplay uses cards as the main set-up and you move around using the D-Pad. Cards unlock doors and decide what type of room you enter and also how powerful your attack is. However, the cards are numbered 0-9 and you play in a way like War except with real time action as well. The card battle system requires heavy strategy to have a useful deck against difficult bosses you will encounter.
The graphics are quite nice. You get to see your favorite characters as cute little sprites... well, except for big ones like the Beast and big bosses. There are also Full Motion Videos that signify important parts such as the beginning and end, but even though there is dialogue between characters in these scenes, no voice acting is used due to limitations of the console.(?) In fact, the only voice acting in this game is recycled sounds that are used in battle scenes.
Sadly, for this game, the replay value is relatively low. There are no optional bosses, but there are rewards after beating Sora's story- you get to play as his friend, Riku, who is trying to get out of Castle Oblivion after he was mysteriously transported there from Kingdom Hearts with King Mickey Mouse while battling his darkness. The gameplay in Riku's story is less complicated since you don't have to customize your card decks as the cards are preselected. Riku's story is also less time-consuming; you can beat it in less than a day because Riku's mode mostly consists of boss battles with the villains he had cooperated with in the prior game. There is also a link mode where you can challenge other players to see who is better with mastering cards with the GBA connector cord.
The game's music is mostly recycled from the original, but there are some new pieces. Because of the transition, the music sounds mildly 8-bit, but Final Fantasy 1 would be disappointed with the Castle Oblivion world field theme.
This video game has a spectacular final boss for Sora's story; it is one of the best I've seen in a Game Boy Advance game. This game gets a pretty high score around 8 or 9 because of some difficulties, but superb quality. This game is rated E for Everyone for Fantasy Violence and Mild Language. This is the only Kingdom Hearts game to ever include profanity. The only instance I read was towards the end, where a (literally) hot-headed Organization member says "Give me one **** of a show!" The game doesn't go any farther. (The remake for the PS2 censored that line if that's what system you use.) So that has been my review for Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Review
After all the times I've mentioned it, I figured I might as well review it!
Kingdom Hearts took a big step in many things. It could have been an epic fail or it could have been awesome. Consumers decided towards the latter.
The video game Kingdom Hearts is a Playstation 2 exclusive that combines Final Fantasy and classic Disney characters and adds a flourish of original characters and a multi-verse of Disney worlds and originals to create an amazing, complex yet understandable for the most part, story. The game chronicles the journey of Sora, a fourteen-year old boy who is mysteriously swept away from his home at the islands by antagonists donned Heartless, as he goes on a search for his friends while fulfilling his new duties as Wielder of the Keyblade with the help of Donald Duck, Goofy, and other friendly Disney characters.
Story aside, Kingdom Hearts's gameplay is a force to be reckoned with. Combining RPG elements (such as a command board that displays options the player can use such as Attack, Magic, Items, and miscellaneous, leveling up, and character customization) that mirror Final Fantasy, and combining it with real-time action to meet with modern gameplay creates a complex yet easy to use battle system. The camera is controlled using the L2/R2 shoulder buttons which has faced some criticism for some reason. I enjoyed it.
The graphics are quite superb during cutscenes. The only time the characters are blank-faced with only lips moving in CG cutscenes was only in the minor, less important ones. However, not everything triggers the well-planned CG cutscenes. You can interact with familiar characters from Final Fantasies and Disney flicks, where the speech is shown in a talk bubble like in comic books (this game was also aimed at kids). The voice acting hardly fails to disappoint. With an all-star cast with Haley Joel Osment and Billy Zane and Disney voices from old times past, it was hard to fail though.
The replay value in this game is moderate. There are treasure chests to open and items to customize to be the strongest you can be, along with mini-games and challenging optional bosses, including the notorious Final Fantasy VII villain, Sephiroth, the "One-Winged Angel." However, while the difficult Sephiroth is a reward to defeat, there is no big reason to re-challenge him, and the other bosses are inaccessible unless you choose a save file where you did not complete the other boss fights. There is also a secret ending that is easily unlockable. Other than that, once you beat everything, the game is practically done and you move onto something else unless you get nostalgic.
So I give this game a 9.4/10. It's not perfect, but it was one good experience! This game was rated E for Everyone for Violence. Keep in mind that in the Little Mermaid world that Sora is a merman. If you have seen the movie, you will notice that merman are bare chested. Also the final boss is bare chested. This game is worth a gander if you are a fan of the 2 properties used in this game.
This game was first seen in 2002.
Kingdom Hearts took a big step in many things. It could have been an epic fail or it could have been awesome. Consumers decided towards the latter.
The video game Kingdom Hearts is a Playstation 2 exclusive that combines Final Fantasy and classic Disney characters and adds a flourish of original characters and a multi-verse of Disney worlds and originals to create an amazing, complex yet understandable for the most part, story. The game chronicles the journey of Sora, a fourteen-year old boy who is mysteriously swept away from his home at the islands by antagonists donned Heartless, as he goes on a search for his friends while fulfilling his new duties as Wielder of the Keyblade with the help of Donald Duck, Goofy, and other friendly Disney characters.
Story aside, Kingdom Hearts's gameplay is a force to be reckoned with. Combining RPG elements (such as a command board that displays options the player can use such as Attack, Magic, Items, and miscellaneous, leveling up, and character customization) that mirror Final Fantasy, and combining it with real-time action to meet with modern gameplay creates a complex yet easy to use battle system. The camera is controlled using the L2/R2 shoulder buttons which has faced some criticism for some reason. I enjoyed it.
The graphics are quite superb during cutscenes. The only time the characters are blank-faced with only lips moving in CG cutscenes was only in the minor, less important ones. However, not everything triggers the well-planned CG cutscenes. You can interact with familiar characters from Final Fantasies and Disney flicks, where the speech is shown in a talk bubble like in comic books (this game was also aimed at kids). The voice acting hardly fails to disappoint. With an all-star cast with Haley Joel Osment and Billy Zane and Disney voices from old times past, it was hard to fail though.
The replay value in this game is moderate. There are treasure chests to open and items to customize to be the strongest you can be, along with mini-games and challenging optional bosses, including the notorious Final Fantasy VII villain, Sephiroth, the "One-Winged Angel." However, while the difficult Sephiroth is a reward to defeat, there is no big reason to re-challenge him, and the other bosses are inaccessible unless you choose a save file where you did not complete the other boss fights. There is also a secret ending that is easily unlockable. Other than that, once you beat everything, the game is practically done and you move onto something else unless you get nostalgic.
So I give this game a 9.4/10. It's not perfect, but it was one good experience! This game was rated E for Everyone for Violence. Keep in mind that in the Little Mermaid world that Sora is a merman. If you have seen the movie, you will notice that merman are bare chested. Also the final boss is bare chested. This game is worth a gander if you are a fan of the 2 properties used in this game.
This game was first seen in 2002.
Citation Bizarre pour Aujourd'hui (Funny Quote for Today)
"She lingers my desires, Like to a stepdame or a dowger Long withering out a young man's revenue." - Theseus, A Midsummer's Night Dream by William Shakespeare.
Translation: She [the moon (in this case)] delays my desires, like to a stepmother or a widow with inherited property long shriveling a young man's income.
Har har har! That has been today's funny quote! Merry (After) Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!
Translation: She [the moon (in this case)] delays my desires, like to a stepmother or a widow with inherited property long shriveling a young man's income.
Har har har! That has been today's funny quote! Merry (After) Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Wise Phrase of the Day
Improv. Short for improvisation. However, improv is probably true writing. No time to think and edit; you just make a story or music from the top of your head. Improv comes naturally and produces original ideas that can be a standing ovation. So spark your originality and randomness- improvise every now and then; you'll sure be a hit. At least at a party anyway.
That has been a word from my wise part of my brain. Merry Christmas everyone!
That has been a word from my wise part of my brain. Merry Christmas everyone!
Sunday, December 19, 2010
The PRIME Paragraphs: Behind the Scenes
I've received word that the preceding post has confused many. Allow me to explain myself:
The PRIME paragraphs were paragraphs I invented on SpellingCity.com. They happened to relate (okay, I made them relate), and I made a loose trilogy. The trilogy has NO depth. I posted it on here because I had no time to write a novel. Hahaha. The PRIME paragraphs are about a society set for world peace. The paragraphs are just events related to the group rather than a straight story as of now. The plot in the trilogy is this: Guy gathers CIA members to start world peace, takes a poll, gets confused about an idea, an unrecorded idea is executed and fails, thus leading the Prime Leader to shut down the society. The premise and the final say are just fictional made by yours truly. I hope that cleared things up. Happy Reading!
The PRIME paragraphs were paragraphs I invented on SpellingCity.com. They happened to relate (okay, I made them relate), and I made a loose trilogy. The trilogy has NO depth. I posted it on here because I had no time to write a novel. Hahaha. The PRIME paragraphs are about a society set for world peace. The paragraphs are just events related to the group rather than a straight story as of now. The plot in the trilogy is this: Guy gathers CIA members to start world peace, takes a poll, gets confused about an idea, an unrecorded idea is executed and fails, thus leading the Prime Leader to shut down the society. The premise and the final say are just fictional made by yours truly. I hope that cleared things up. Happy Reading!
Friday, December 17, 2010
The PRIME Paragraphs
The following paragraphs follow events that are loosely strung together. The other documents were lost in the Closing, but these were recovered. The following paragraphs follow a Prime Leader and his hope for a perfect world. His story is only kept together by these paragraphs. Historians and novelists alike have put these paragraphs in a way that seems more chronological. This is his story:
"Stop!" he interjected. He needed to conjoin the groups to make world peace. "Now stop being an impediment, Mr. Smith. You can continue the conversation of the CIA later. I am young, and I use many a malapropism, so correct me with an interjection such as, 'No!' Alright? Let's begin.
"Now we are here to devise a plan for world peace, correct?" They all nodded in agreement. "The world is an unmitigated disaster. If we don't stop it now, we'll be hanging an epitaph on the population's gravestone. So let's be frugal and come up with a master plan! Who has one?" Madame Lorange raised her hand. "Yes?" he said. "Vell," she said with an accent. "I believe all of us here should get up and perform a nuptial! If ve find ze right spouse, surely there will be peace here, leading to peace everywhere! Monsiuer Smith, I have loved you since the day I met you. That is all." The prime leader, whom has been asking the questions exclaimed, "We'll continue this another day. Farewell."
The prime leader stood adjacent to this barren wasteland that was originally the way to recompense a dynasty with a truce, that he thought would have been humdrum. He never had a foretaste that it would germinate an interminable hatred towards [the dynasty members]. He could not pretend that this was trivial; the fate of the rest of the world laid on the shoulders of him and the League. World peace may never be accomplished now. He decided to tell the League his discoveries.
The now peevish prime master began to brood; his peace society was about to culminate. He was about to present his oration to the society:
"Friends of the World Peace Society:
"Due to miscellaneous activities, our society must end. We wanted to see the world seethe with peace-loving people, but now that dream has lost its luster which we saw before; what we anticipated to shine, must now end and become dull. But even though we are gone, we must still yearn for a new possibility! Indulge yourself in faith; make yourself sick of it! For if you do, our loom of dreams shall regain to yarn of possibility. So with that, I say farewell. May peace among you forever blossom."
And with that, the society began to brood over the now lost dream from the past for the future. In despair, Miss Tupper dropped her loom and the yarn was gone.
What happened before the Closing or the whereabouts of the enigmatic World Peace Society. More documents are being searched for to understand the full story.
"Stop!" he interjected. He needed to conjoin the groups to make world peace. "Now stop being an impediment, Mr. Smith. You can continue the conversation of the CIA later. I am young, and I use many a malapropism, so correct me with an interjection such as, 'No!' Alright? Let's begin.
"Now we are here to devise a plan for world peace, correct?" They all nodded in agreement. "The world is an unmitigated disaster. If we don't stop it now, we'll be hanging an epitaph on the population's gravestone. So let's be frugal and come up with a master plan! Who has one?" Madame Lorange raised her hand. "Yes?" he said. "Vell," she said with an accent. "I believe all of us here should get up and perform a nuptial! If ve find ze right spouse, surely there will be peace here, leading to peace everywhere! Monsiuer Smith, I have loved you since the day I met you. That is all." The prime leader, whom has been asking the questions exclaimed, "We'll continue this another day. Farewell."
The prime leader stood adjacent to this barren wasteland that was originally the way to recompense a dynasty with a truce, that he thought would have been humdrum. He never had a foretaste that it would germinate an interminable hatred towards [the dynasty members]. He could not pretend that this was trivial; the fate of the rest of the world laid on the shoulders of him and the League. World peace may never be accomplished now. He decided to tell the League his discoveries.
The now peevish prime master began to brood; his peace society was about to culminate. He was about to present his oration to the society:
"Friends of the World Peace Society:
"Due to miscellaneous activities, our society must end. We wanted to see the world seethe with peace-loving people, but now that dream has lost its luster which we saw before; what we anticipated to shine, must now end and become dull. But even though we are gone, we must still yearn for a new possibility! Indulge yourself in faith; make yourself sick of it! For if you do, our loom of dreams shall regain to yarn of possibility. So with that, I say farewell. May peace among you forever blossom."
And with that, the society began to brood over the now lost dream from the past for the future. In despair, Miss Tupper dropped her loom and the yarn was gone.
What happened before the Closing or the whereabouts of the enigmatic World Peace Society. More documents are being searched for to understand the full story.
Review
Tangled may be a first in a lot of things, but it also brings back old elements of Disney classics, etc.
Tangled is a Disney twist on Rapunzel. It is probably the first CGI musical I've ever seen, so it was interesting and quite fun.
Highlights:
Cons:
Tangled is a Disney twist on Rapunzel. It is probably the first CGI musical I've ever seen, so it was interesting and quite fun.
Highlights:
- Is that Zachary Levi singing romantically?
- Great voice-overs.
- Great twist on Rapunzel.
- Instead of using magical, unexplained things (i.e. Snow White) to bring a happy ending, Disney uses logical reasoning with their mythology to make a rather satisfying ending.
- Donna Murphy does a superb job of being evil, and belts out her musical numbers to add a sensation in my heart for climatic songs. In a word: Awesome.
- Fun for all ages.
Cons:
- One musical number I thought could be rearranged, in my personal opinion. However, Disney makes a great comeback with "Mother Knows Best" and "I've Got a Dream."
- Yeah, that's about it.
- A girl wanting see a world she longs for. (This was used in The Little Mermaid)
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
What Else Could Go Wrong????
(While I've been wanting a subject for a post, this is isn't exactly what I was hoping for, but I'll go with it!)
Let's see what happened today:
Let's see what happened today:
- Friend persists that I reveal whether I like her (in that way), which was quite humorous to see how badly people want to know something. However, I feel my deadline for the answer is coming soon! (worry face)
- Normal day at school- I aced a quiz and got stuff done and learned, etc....
- It was cold.
- Finished homework.
- I ate dinner (Lean Cuisine Margherita Pizza) and my palate expander/herptz (or however you spell it) appliance breaks and had to eat soup (which, hate to tell you soup lovers, I am not a huge fan of [I need to find my fav soup still.....]) and survived with applesauce, etc....
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