Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days

Vorlage:Infobox VG Vorlage:Nihongo title is an action role-playing game developed and published by Square Enix for the Nintendo DS with assistance from h.a.n.d. It is a new installment in the best-selling Kingdom Hearts series. The story is an interquel taking place between Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories and Kingdom Hearts II. The game centers on the daily life of the main character Roxas, exploring the time from his creation during the first game, Kingdom Hearts, and leading directly into Kingdom Hearts II. It features 3D graphics, and single and multiplayer modes of play. The game was announced at the 2007 Tokyo Game Show to be released in Japan; a North American release was later confirmed as well as a European Autumn, 2009 release. Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days will have a special edition of the Nintendo DSi when it launches in Japan. The game launched in Japan on May 30, 2009. The game's official North American release was announced at E3 2009 to be September 29, 2009.

Gameplay

358/2 Days features the action role-playing game style of the previous games in the series. To accomplish this, the game makes minimal use of the system's touch screen functionality. The game includes single player and multiplayer modes of play. The single player mode is story-based, focused on Disney worlds from past games, and progresses in days. In single player mode, the player controls Roxas, the game's main protagonist, who is accompanied by other Organization XIII members. The two modes are linked in that character growth are shared between them.

Panel System

358/2 Days features a new gameplay mechanic known as the panel system which involves the customization of the character's levels, items, magic, weapons, abilities, armor and accessories. Magic in this game is mainly controlled by this system; certain spells cannot be used if their corresponding panels aren't equipped, but can be used consecutively if multiple are attached. Weapons are also equipped using panels, as well as abilities. There are also "Link Panels" with which multiple panels can be combined to form new, stronger abilities.

Multiplayer

Cooperative multiplayer was one feature on display at the 2007 Tokyo Game Show demonstrating that players can work together, in addition to the traditional use of AI-controlled partners. This is the first Kingdom Hearts game to feature cooperative multiplayer. The multiplayer gameplay is separate from the single player story and will be mission-based, which includes cooperative and competitive player battles. It allows up to four players to play as one of the fourteen members of Organization XIII, with each member having different weapons, skills, and stats. Not just the members of Organization XIII, but also, Sora, Donald, Goofy, King Mickey and Riku are featured as secret characters in the multiplayer. 358/2 Days multiplayer also features a chat system for communication between players, but will differ from PictoChat in that everyone will draw on the same screen.

Plot

Setting

Vorlage:See Like the other games in the series, the player progresses through a collection of various levels, or worlds as referred to in the game, based on various locales from the Disney animated features canon: Agrabah from Aladdin; the Beast's Castle from Beauty and the Beast; Olympus Coliseum from Hercules; Halloween Town from The Nightmare Before Christmas; Wonderland from Alice in Wonderland; and Neverland from Peter Pan (featuring an island setting new to the series rather than Captain Hook's pirate ship and Big Ben from the first game). The game also features worlds created specifically for the series by Square Enix. The most prominent world is the World That Never Was, which first appeared in Kingdom Hearts II and serves as the game's main hub, followed by Twilight Town, a frequently-explored locale. Castle Oblivion and Destiny Islands also appear in cutscenes.

Characters

Vorlage:See Vorlage:See The game revolves around Roxas, who was first featured at the beginning of Kingdom Hearts II. Roxas is the Nobody of Sora, the series' main protagonist, born when Sora's body vanished as he briefly lost his heart and became a Heartless, and joining Organization XIII, a group of powerful Nobodies who served as the main antagonists of Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories and Kingdom Hearts II. Like Sora, Roxas has the power to wield the Keyblade, a weapon normally used for battling darkness. The other members of Organization XIII play a prominent role as well, particularly Axel, Roxas's best friend who debuted in Chain of Memories. The game also introduces a new member: Xion, a girl who resembles Sora's friend Kairi and can also wield the Keyblade.

Other characters who are featured include Naminé, a girl with the power to manipulate memories; DiZ, an enigmatic man wrapped in bandages; Riku, Sora's best friend and rival; and King Mickey, Riku's ally and ruler of Disney Castle. Sora, along with his allies Donald Duck and Goofy, play substantially smaller roles, appearing as unlockable playable characters in the multiplayer mode. Also appearing are Pete, a persistent villain who first appears in Kingdom Hearts II, and Hayner, Pence, and Olette, a trio of friends living in Twilight Town who also debuted in Kingdom Hearts II. As with the other games in the series, each Disney world features several characters who appear in the films their worlds are based on; on the other hand, no Final Fantasy characters will be featured apart from Moogles, who manage shops for the Organization. This game features the most playable characters ever featured in a Kingdom Hearts title to date.

Story

When Sora turns himself into a Heartless to free his friend Kairi's heart in Kingdom Hearts, his Nobody, Roxas, is created; however, unlike most Nobodies, Roxas lacks memories of his past life as Sora. Soon Roxas is found by Xemnas, the leader of Organization XIII, and recruited as its thirteenth member. Each day he is sent to other worlds, either alone or accompanied by his fellow members, to destroy vast quantities of Heartless, releasing stolen hearts and furthering the Organization's goal to summon Kingdom Hearts and become complete beings. During his time in the Organization, Roxas is placed under the mentorship of Axel, who he quickly befriends. Shortly after Roxas's induction, the Organization sees the arrival of a fourteenth member named Xion, who resembles Sora's friend Kairi. Like Roxas, Xion has no recollection of her past and can also wield the Keyblade, and grows close to him and Axel, forming a friendly trio.

However, events that threaten to split the three friends apart soon begin to occur. As DiZ and Naminé watch over Sora while he sleeps to regain the memories he lost at the end of Chain of Memories, Roxas begins to experience the process for himself, growing increasingly curious about why he can wield the Keyblade and doubtful of the Organization's motives. Xion, meanwhile, is thrown into disarray over the nature of her existence after an encounter with Riku, and becomes torn between staying with her friends and leaving them to merge with her original self as per Riku's suggestion. Xion begins frequently attempting to escape from the Organization to find herself, causing a rift between her and Axel, who is ordered to track her down every time she escapes. Finally, she discovers the truth about herself: she is not a Nobody, but an imperfect replica of Sora created by Xemnas from Sora's memories in the event that Sora turned out to be useless to the Organization's plans; in addition, Naminé's attempts to restore Sora's memories not only affect Roxas, but also Xion to the extent that she physically resembles Sora. Horrified by this revelation, Xion vanishes without a trace. Shortly afterward, Roxas grows frustrated with his unanswered questions and defects from Organization XIII, leaving Axel dejected.

At Twilight Town, Roxas encounters Xion, who has been driven completely insane by the revelation that she is Sora's clone, and attacks Roxas in an attempt to absorb him (being Sora's Nobody) and become the "real" Sora. However, after a grueling battle, Roxas defeats Xion, who dies peacefully in his arms and merges with him; from that point on, though, everyone's memories of Xion gradually begin to fade until it is made to seem like she never existed. Continuing his journey, Roxas encounters and battles Riku, who has been dispatched by DiZ to capture him. When Riku is nearly defeated, he taps into the growing darkness in his heart, granting him the power necessary to subdue Roxas, but also giving him the appearance of Ansem, who resides in his heart. Riku subsequently brings Roxas to DiZ, who inserts Roxas into a virtual simulation of Twilight Town so that he may eventually merge with Sora and complete the restoration of his memories, setting the stage for Kingdom Hearts II.

Development

358/2 Days was developed by h.a.n.d. with Square Enix employees overseeing the process. The game was directed by Tetsuya Nomura and co-directed by Tomohiro Hasegawa. In 2007, Nomura mentioned he wanted to do a spin-off Kingdom Hearts game on a mobile platform and wanted the game to play slightly different than the other titles already in the series. 358/2 Days was announced alongside Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep and Kingdom Hearts coded at the Tokyo Game Show on September 20, 2007, where a trailer was shown in a photo-prohibited theater. New trailers were shown and a playable demo was available at the 2008 Jump Festa in December 2007 and the DKΣ3713 Private party in August 2008. Both single player and multiplayer demos were featured. Xion was also shown in the new trailer and in the multiplayer demo.

The Nintendo DS was chosen as the system before plans were decided. The development team wanted to have gameplay similar to previous Kingdom Hearts titles, but stated the number of buttons on the Nintendo DS was a problem. Some of the DS's functions, like the stylus, are not used in order to retain the similar gameplay from previous titles. Roxas seeing Sora's memories is incorporated throughout the game and has different types of gameplay for each world. The game's logo uses warm colors as a reference to the sunset in Twilight Town. The title, "358/2 Days", is a code that Nomura has stated the player will understand the meaning of at the very end of the game, though hinted in a recent trailer, and the word "day" is attached to the title as a reference to the daily life of Organization XIII. Though Birth by Sleep was the first of the three new games to begin development, 358/2 Days was released before it. The game was slated for a release at the end of 2008, but Square Enix pushed the date to February 2009. Once again the game was delayed for Japanese release until May 30, 2009. A release in North American territories was announced on December 2, 2008. The official English trailer for the title was shown at Nintendo's press conference at E3 2009, confirming a release date of September 29, 2009.

Reception

Prior to 358/2 Days release, the demonstrations have been well received. Kevin VanOrd of GameSpot praised the multiplayer mode's gameplay, calling it "fun" and citing the ease of using magic spells and items. He complimented the single-player mode as well, commenting that the artificial intelligence-controlled Organization XIII members were helpful and competent. VanOrd, however, criticized the camera controls, stating that the on-screen character ended up in one of the game field's corners often. Nintendo Powers Chris Hoffman and Steve Thomason referred to the game as highly anticipated, and considered it one of the better titles displayed at the 2008 Tokyo Game Show. They praised the graphics, calling them among the best on the system, and complimented the familiar feel of the gameplay.

Japanese gaming magazine, Famitsu, gave the game 9/9/9/9 a total of 36 of 40 and praised the graphical quality of the game which has not been seen on a DS before as well as the gameplay mechanics and missions. They were also particularly impressed in the new panel system which allowed them to customize their fighting techniques as well as the ability to customize the characters from the Organization.

The site RPGFan gave the game an 81 out of 100, praising the visual and aural quality, though expressing disappointment at the reuse of most of the music from Kingdom Hearts 1 & 2, as well as confusion about the storyline.

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days was the top-selling game during May of 2009 in Japan at 291,000 copies.

External links

• Official Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days North American site
• Official Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days Japanese site