Kingdom Hearts landfalls on DS with a very good overall result.
With two episode on PS2 and the wonderful Chain of Memories on GBA (at least originally) now we got a total new episode for Nintendo DS.
Overall 358/2 Days is a good game and a fair addition to the saga, but it risks to catch unprepared old series fans.
First of all 358/2 Days sees as main character not Sora, but Roxas: his "nobody", a mere copy void of memories, void of heart. Roxas belongs to the shady Organization XIII, a mysterious group of nobodies working in the shadow to achieve the creation of Kingdom Hearts.
Game plot focus on the organization matters and on the friendship between Roxas, Axel and Xion reconnecting effectively with the stories of the others game of the saga making this game not a simple spin off, but a real frame of Kingdom Hearts continuity. About the plot itself, surely is good told and wrote and over the average in comparison to others RPG, but considering only the Kindom Hearts games is likely the less engaging and complex.
Technically the game is splendid, and I don't expected less. I still remember when I saw Chain of Memories for the first time: I thought to play on a Playstation instead a GBA. 358/2 Days gave me the same feelings thanks to polygonal models and environments worthy of a Playstation 2. Sound is also on good levels with musics and sound effects typical of the saga.
About the gameplay: the game is divided in singular missions each with a specific goal (elimination of specific enemies or bosses, collecting hearts, explorations, etc.) that once achieved will open the portal to return to organization castle and conclude the quest. Some mission will be faced only by Roxas, some with the support of others organization's members. Generally the missions presents a good mixing of fighting and exploration, with the exception of specific exploration missions that will force you to examine each inches of the levels. quests are obviously set in various Disney's worlds so you can expect a lot of cutscenes with cameos of famous characters (I love the genie of the lamp). So the missions will be set on different Disney's world each of them represented as a fair big game level, however for most of the missions some parts of the level will be inaccessible confining the actions in specific parts of them.
The mission structure of the game espouse perfectly with the portable nature of the game; missions are generally brief, but there's not any in-level save option, so if you run into a more complex missions requiring more time than usual (like the boring exploration missions) and you have only a bunch of minutes free you could be forced to quit the mission uncompleted.
Movement and combat mechanics are very similar to the two original Kingdom Hearts for PS2, though the lack of an analog stick can results a bit confusing in the beginning; once used to the directional cross the game control shows no problems.
Absolutely new the equipment and the character grow modes, both working with a panel system. Basically, Roxas has a grid where you can insert specific panels each giving a specific feature or bonus or the possibility to use items or spells. At the beginning of the game the grid is pretty small, but enlarge itself proceeding in the game allowing to use more powerful weapons, items, abilities and spells. This system is easy to learn and use, but powerful allowing to vary the strong/weak point of Roxas and his fighting abilities simply switching some panels.
The games don't disappoints neither about his longevity. Near the main quest (requiring at least 35-40 hours of play) the game offers the possibility to undertake again almost all the mission previously completed, a challenge mode consisting in re-face some missions with different conditions in order to achieve some goals prized with medal emblems and even a cooperative mode similar to the challenge mode but studied for multiplayer.
Final line
358/2 Days is a valuable piece of software and a fine addition to the franchise. Technically impressive, really well-groomed in every aspect, challenging and long-lived. In the end a game worthy of the money spent.
Normally I'll rate it wit a full 9 (plenty justified by the technical level and by the efforts of programmers), but I decided to cut a point for a personal reason.
Though being a very good game, something is missing in this title, something that others Kingdom Hearts game had and 358/2 Days don't.
It is not simple to explain, but as Cristopher Lambert said in the first unforgettable Highlander movie… it's some kind of magic.
Final score: 8