Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories

The Basics:
Platform: GameBoy Advance
Developer: Square Enix
Price: $39.99
ESRB rating: E (Everyone)

Summary: Find your friends in familiar Disney locales

Note: Chain of Memories stresses the importance of true friendships and how memories play a part in our understanding of friends and friendship. While there is fighting, it is bloodless and clearly fantasy-based. Additionally, fight scenes require strategy and thinking-the player uses a carefully cultivated collection of "cards" to fight and win battles rather than shooting. This is a good game for kids who are able to understand the somewhat complex card-combat system and the storyline.

Further Breakdown:

Overall rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Best for ages: 6+
Playability: Good. Card-combat system can be somewhat complicated.
Graphics: Excellent. Well-animated and colorful imagery.
Entertainment value: Very Good. Some of the game can get a bit repetitive.
Educational value: Very Good. Combat requires strategy and thinking. The importance of friendships are stressed.
Reading Level: 7+ Some reading is required.
KidScore Rating

Ages 3-7: Green
Ages 8-12: Green
Ages 13-17: Green
Violence Amount: Yellow
Fear: Yellow
Illegal/harmful: Green
Language: Yellow
Nudity: Green
Sex: Green

Review:
KINGDOM HEARTS: CHAIN OF MEMORIES mixes well-known Disney and Final Fantasy characters together in this card-based adventure game. A proven success-the first Kingdom Hearts game was a big success-Chain of Memories also proves to be a game that is fun and challenging to play.

Chain of Memories' storyline begins shortly after the conclusion of the first game-with Sora (the hero of the story) and his two friends Donald Duck and Goofy returning from their travels of the first game. A series of animated cut scenes lay out the plotline of Chain of Memories-Sora needs to search for something or someone that is important to him. In the process, however, he may lose something very dear to him. Led by a mysterious stranger, Sora and friends enter into Castle Oblivion. Here Sora discovers that Castle Oblivion is actually the memories of friends he met and places he visited during the adventures of the first Kingdom Hearts game, including the 100 Acre Wood with Winnie the Pooh, Neverland with Peter Pan and Agrabah with Aladdin. The mysterious stranger continues to explain that Sora will need to use special "cards" to defeat his enemies as well as gain access to other areas of the castle/Sora's memories.

As the game progresses, Sora finds his enemies-"The Organization" along with its minions, known as the "heartless." These enemy creatures change depending on Sora's location. For example, they turn into palace guards when she is in Agrabah. When Sora bumps into one of the "heartless" characters a battle ensues. Once started, Sora uses a combination of real-time action (moving around and jumping) and special cards to attack and defend against the enemy. These special cards are kept in a "deck" and are selected by the player throughout the battle. Each card has a different capability or damage amount caused. Special moves can be created by grouping cards together and by using the right combinations of cards at the right time. All of this amounts to a lot of strategy. Simply wading in without a plan of attack makes victory much more difficult. A victory often allows Sora to pick up new cards from defeated enemies, which can then strengthen her deck.

There are a number of positive factors in this game. As mentioned, the combat system requires real thinking skills and it is bloodless and free of gore. Enemies simply disappear when defeated. Additionally, the game's story is uplifting and positive, focusing on the importance of friendships, of being helpful and kind and that it is good to be true to oneself and others. Finally, much of the story is told through text, which encourages reading and imagination.

There are a couple of things parents may wish to consider. First, very young players may still be frightened by "the heartless" and other enemies. Despite being blood-free, the game does contain some fantasy violence. Additionally, by using well-known Disney and Final Fantasy characters the game has instant recognition and credibility with kids; however, this also leads to some inherent commercialization concerns.

In the end, a child ages six and above will probably get the most out of the game. It is a fun game to play, and the card-based fighting is a refreshing and strategic change from the simple mayhem of first-person shooters.