Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories |ROM-DOWNLOAD

Following the events of the original Kingdom Hearts, Sora, Donald, and Goofy continue their search for their missing friends. On their way, they run into a mysterious person who tells Sora that something important is waiting for him in a strange castle called Castle Oblivion. Sora and his friends enter the castle, thinking they may find answers about their missing friends. But Castle Oblivion is a strange place for memories. Sora’s memories begin to shift and change as he climbs the floors of the Tower. The castle is governed by members of Organisation XIII, a secretive organisation that controls Sora and his memories. Sora travels to familiar worlds based on places from his last adventure, including Disney worlds. But these are worlds made again from memory, not the same worlds he had visited before. Cards are a big part of how these memories are made. Sora acquires World Cards, which let him create rooms and travel to different worlds. Each world has its own enemies, characters, events, and story sequences. As Sora travels through Castle Oblivion, he meets characters connected to his past, as well as the mysterious Organisation XIII. The organisation attempts to control him by manipulating his memories and his relationship with key characters. Naminé is one of the most important characters introduced in the story. She has strange powers connected with memories and becomes the key to solving the mystery of Sora's past. Sora slowly begins to realise that some of his memories may not be what they seemed at first. The story addresses topics such as memory, friendship, identity and sacrifice. Sora will have to find out how much he is willing to sacrifice to regain the memories that have been taken from him. The game also features a separate scenario with Riku. When players have completed Sora’s main story, they can play through another story that follows Riku’s journey through Castle Oblivion. Riku's story gives us more insight into Organisation XIII, as well as his inner struggle between darkness and light. Chain of Memories thus has an important role in the story, as a bridge between Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II. It introduces characters, events and concepts that become important in later games.

Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories mixes action RPG exploration with a card-based combat system. Players control Sora, who explores rooms, fights Heartless enemies, collects cards, gains experience, and moves through different worlds. The biggest gameplay change from the original Kingdom Hearts is the card system. Each attack, magic spell, item, and special ability is a card. Players create a deck before a battle . Then , for each battle , players use cards from that deck . The cards have numbers, which are their values. These values decide whether your attack can beat your opponent’s card. More valuable cards generally beat less valuable cards and players can use special techniques to manipulate the normal rules. Sora can also merge cards into powerful combinations called Sleights. Sleights are able to use multiple cards simultaneously and can create more powerful attacks, magic spells, summons, or special abilities. The deck-building system encourages players to try out different combinations. For example, a player might build a deck specialising in physical attacks, or one that specialises in magic, or a balanced deck aimed at different types of enemies. Outside of combat players explore rooms created with Map Cards. Different Map Cards will generate different layouts of rooms and will influence the enemies, treasures, save points or special events that appear. You earn experience points when you defeat enemies. Sora is able to level up, letting players increase his stats or unlock new abilities. The game also has a few familiar Disney worlds. Every world features its own unique environments, characters, enemies, and story events. This gives the adventure some variety while still keeping the crossover style that makes the Kingdom Hearts series what it is.

Play through the opening events to control Sora, then head into Castle Oblivion. As you advance, you will get cards that allow you to build rooms and explore different areas. Exploration involves moving Sora around each room, interacting with objects, treasure chests, doors, and other important locations. While exploring, you may encounter enemies and participate in real time card based battles. Before you head into the big battles, pack a deck with a good mix of attack, magic, item and special cards. Different enemies need different tactics, so if you only rely on one type of card, you could end up struggling in tough fights. Steal cards from your deck in battle and attack enemies with them. Watch the numbers on the cards, because an enemy can cancel a card with a lower number with a higher number card. The Sleights are for when you want powerful attacks or special abilities. But remember that combining cards will remove those cards from normal rotation temporarily, so deck management is important. Collect Map Cards by defeating enemies and use them to construct new rooms. Different cards create different types of rooms, so you have some control over what your exploration experience will be. Upgrade Sora and choose abilities that fit your play style. With a well-designed deck and some useful abilities later areas become much easier. After finishing Sora’s main story, players can access more gameplay in the form of Riku’s scenario, allowing them to see what happens inside Castle Oblivion from his point of view.

D-Pad: Move Sora / Navigate Menus A: Confirm / Interact / Use Selected Card B: Cancel / Jump L: Cycle Cards / Card Selection R: Cycle Cards / Card Selection Start: Pause / Menu Select: Deck / Status-related Menu Functions