While we've patiently waited for the inevitable Kingdom Hearts III, Square Enix has kept our appetites at bay with a steady stream of prequels, spin-offs and sort-of sequels. From 2009's 358/2 Days, to last year's Birth by Sleep, followers of the Final Fantasy/Disney mash-up have had ample opportunities to revisit its bizarre, but successful collision of emo-spouting pretty-boys and anthropomorphic theme park stars. Kingdom Hearts Re:coded, a DS remake of an episodic Japanese mobile phone entry, mostly succeeds in continuing to distract us while we wait for that full-on sequel to finally arrive.
Given its phone-to-DS porting, I wasn't exactly dying to wield a Keyblade again in Re:coded. However, despite some camera-crippled platforming and other minor annoyances, it managed to suck me back into the series' imaginative world. Sure, it revisits many of the locales from the 2002 original -- damn, has it been that long? -- but it also incorporates enough new tricks to put a fresh spin on the at-first familiar-feeling settings. Additionally, it reunites us with series star Sora, the spiky-haired hero who's sadly been absent from the last two titles.
While we've patiently waited for the inevitable Kingdom Hearts III, Square Enix has kept our appetites at bay with a steady stream of prequels, spin-offs and sort-of sequels. From 2009's 358/2 Days, to last year's Birth by Sleep, followers of the Final Fantasy/Disney mash-up have had ample opportunities to revisit its bizarre, but successful collision of emo-spouting pretty-boys and anthropomorphic theme park stars. Kingdom Hearts Re:coded, a DS remake of an episodic Japanese mobile phone entry, mostly succeeds in continuing to distract us while we wait for that full-on sequel to finally arrive.
Given its phone-to-DS porting, I wasn't exactly dying to wield a Keyblade again in Re:coded. However, despite some camera-crippled platforming and other minor annoyances, it managed to suck me back into the series' imaginative world. Sure, it revisits many of the locales from the 2002 original -- damn, has it been that long? -- but it also incorporates enough new tricks to put a fresh spin on the at-first familiar-feeling settings. Additionally, it reunites us with series star Sora, the spiky-haired hero who's sadly been absent from the last two titles.
A portion of a 1up review…
While Re:coded never does anything that’s particularly groundbreaking, it does what it sets out to do very well and adds some fun and interesting twists on the standard formula. As enjoyable as it is, however, I hope this is the last time Kingdom Hearts revisits the same levels again — [...]
If you pre-order Kingdom Hearts Re:Coded from GameStop or Amazon, you can kind of make your DS look like the Japan-exclusive Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days DSi. Kind of.
Square Enix announced that pre-orders of the DS jaunt through Jiminy's memories will include the above sticker sheet, containing 32 2mm-thick stickers with various emblems from the series. The offer has yet to show up on either retailer's site, but if you wish upon a star (or wait a bit) we're confident it will appear.
Now you can get a bunch of stickers to plaster all over…well…anything you want! Let’s just hope the game is worth a purchase, because a sticker bonus isn’t going to cut it when you get a poor-quality title!
Within the span of a year, Kingdom Hearts fans are experiencing three different games in the series: 358/2 Days, Birth by Sleep, and now, Re:Coded. While each game continues the franchise's penchant for high production values, we can't help but wonder if the series is overstaying its welcome.
Re:Coded isn't a new game per se, but it's the first time American fans will be able to experience this side-story (minus the few of you that own a Japanese mobile phone). The revamped DS version bumps up the graphical quality considerably, matching the fidelity of 358/2 Days, while throwing in a number of new features, such as an leveling up system and Tag Mode. However, the side-story origins of Re:Coded are still very clear. This is not the Sora you've played as in Kingdom Hearts 1 & 2. Instead, it is a digital copy of Sora that traverses through an infected "datascape." The demo felt entirely disconnected from the canon, and the lack of any voice acting makes its low-budget cell phone roots that much more obvious. (Cutscenes are instead shown as conversations between character portraits.)
Gameplay is what you've come to expect from a Kingdom Hearts title: an accessible, RPG-inspired hack 'n slash. Those that have played 358/2 Days on DS will find themselves in familiar territory here, with the controls being nearly identical. However, the infected dungeon I played through wasn't particularly inspiring. There were only two enemy types to fight against, and the blue and green color palette of the stage wasn't very attractive. The dungeon design wasn't interesting, either, with Sora simply having to bash through various boxes to progress forward.
North America and Europe both have release dates for Kingdom Hearts Re:coded, but what about our friends down under? Don’t they deserve a little Mickey fun? Of course they do, which is why Square-Enix has confirmed a January 14th, 2011 release for Australia as well. Nice to know that our Aussie DS-owning [...]
Square Enix has announced the release date of Kingdom Hearts Re: Coded, for those of you who have devoured Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep already and are eagerly awaiting your next fix of spiky haired Disney fanfic. The publisher will release the prettied-up DS port of the mobile game on January 11, 2011.
New Yorkers will be able to get their hands on Jiminy Cricket's journal (or, rather, inhabit it as Sora) this weekend. Re: Coded will be playable at Square Enix's New York Comic-Con booth, #1823.
Platform: Nintendo DS
Rating: Everyone 10+
Content descriptors: Fantasy Violence
Rating summary:
This is an action role-playing game in which players control a character named Sora, who must navigate a series of virtual fantasy worlds to decipher a hidden message. Players mostly use magic spells and a large key-shaped sword to strike and slash at creatures and classic Disney [...]
Riku and King Mickey
- Riku is infested with bugs
- Sora is going to clear the bugs
- Sora receives kind words from King Mickey that state, “The friends who always fight alongside you are here.”
Hollow Bastion
- control Sora here
- Sora has lost his keyblade
- issue commands such as “Destroy blocks,” “Attack enemies,” and “Follow Sora” to [...]
L: Cycle Through Deck Commands
L (Hold) + A: Execute Shortcut Command
L (Hold) + X or B: Cycle Through Deck Commands
R: Camera Reset
R (Hold) D-Pad: Camera Control
L+R: Lock-on/Lock-off of enemy
D-Pad: Character Movement
Touch Screen: Rotate Camera and switch between Clock Ability and Navi Map
Y: Use Ability
X: Use Deck Command
A: Use Fight Command / Confirm Selections
B: Jump
Start: Pause [...]
