First Impressions
Melody of Memory is a loving homage to the legacy of Kingdom Hearts, aiming to honour nearly twenty years of absurd excellence while additionally forging a brand new path ahead. If any franchise goes to make a rhythm sport an integral a part of its total plot, it is Kingdom Hearts, and I would not have it some other approach.
Key Specifications
Review Price: £39.99
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Release Date: November 13, 2020
Developer: Square Enix/indieszero
Genre: Rhythm
Kingdom Hearts has established a legacy not solely due to its melodramatic storytelling and absurdly convoluted internet of worlds and characters, but in addition due to its transcendent authentic rating and downright lovely strategy to making sure that it performs an integral half in how we hook up with Tetsuya Nomura’s beloved crossover.
Now, a rhythm journey has come alongside which can act as a rhythmic celebration of the franchise, bringing collectively nearly twenty years price of gaming experiences and selecting out their easiest music to be highlighted. I not too long ago hung out with a short but wonderful demo that confirmed precisely what Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory is all about, and it’s one thing that I’m positive hardcore followers will completely adore.
Sadly, I haven’t seen practically sufficient to elucidate what you possibly can count on past the essential mechanics and moment-to-moment rhythm motion, however Square Enix has promised that that is excess of a aspect distraction. In truth, it’s set to discover a deeper a part of Kairi’s character and tackle the lingering plot threads left behind by Kingdom Hearts 3 and its notorious growth’s cliffhanger.
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Developed by the identical studio behind Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy, Melody of Memory has rather a lot in widespread with this franchise, taking the identical strategy to gameplay as you deal with notes from the bottom, air and throughout a number of gorgeously rendered worlds from the Kingdom Hearts universe. Levels are available in three varieties: Field Battle, Memory Dive and Boss Battles, with the playable demo solely that includes the very first alongside a quartet of tracks.
You and three characters, who will change relying on the place the track you’re taking part in originates from, mechanically dash ahead as a barrage of notes and enemies strategy alongside the music. It’s your job to slash, soar and forged spells to remove them, accruing oodles of factors alongside the way in which. It offers off an aura of being simple to be taught however deviously tough to grasp, which is my favorite kind of rhythm sport.
On PS4, notes are locked to L1, R1 and one of many face buttons, which took a bit of little bit of getting used to, however shortly establishes itself as a easy but intuitive approach of dancing together with every track. Knowing precisely which lane every enemy occupies as they cost in direction of you may be complicated at first, because you’ll want to make use of the best button to dispatch them or threat taking injury, though I think about mastering it will include time I didn’t have in only a handful of songs.
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The full sport may even have a marketing campaign mode often called “World Tour” which goals to retell The Dark Seeker Saga from the attitude of Kairi, lastly giving the heroine an opportunity to shine past being a glorified damsel in misery. She will narrate the occasions of every sport for the participant, offering a brand new perspective that can bear in mind her personal private experiences that we’ve by no means had an opportunity to see earlier than.
As a Kingdom Hearts fan with a gentle spot for Kairi, that is the kind of narrative I’ve all the time wished to see from the sequence, increasing upon a convoluted sequence of occasions that many gamers might have by no means seen earlier than. Given that the sport goals to retell the whole franchise’s occasions with minimal fluff, this is also a worthwhile entry level for newcomers earlier than the inevitable arrival of Kingdom Hearts 4, or no matter Tetsuya Nomura decides to name it.
You aren’t simply passively tapping away at a trio of buttons to realize victory, a variety of deeper fight mechanics have been woven into every track which offer an additional layer of welcome problem. Some foes would require a number of button presses to take down, making it mandatory to trace their very own particular person place within the rhythm to keep away from lacking a notice, when you’ll typically must fly into the air and deal with a observe of notes while additionally making certain different characters on the bottom are protecting themselves busy.
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The true attraction of Melody of Memory will come from revisiting your favorite worlds, characters and occasions from earlier video games, though I hope they’re capable of carry the same stage of emotional affect, which truthfully is perhaps not possible for newcomers. But that doesn’t actually matter, the music is great, and it’s extremely satisfying to see Yoko Shimomura’s catalogue of sensible orchestral work being highlighted right here. We simply hope the Atlantis karaoke tracks aren’t being included.
Melody of Memory may even characteristic a co-op mode, though I’ve it’s sadly not a part of the demo. It can have two gamers taking up the roles of Sora and Riku as they compete for the best rating throughout a sequence of various songs. The Nintendo Switch model may even characteristic an unique battle royale mode, making it the one to purchase for many who need the whole bundle alongside the chance to play on the transfer. I’ll doubtless go for the PS4 launch, being a sequence purist and having an irrational love of incomes digital trophies.
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First Impressions
Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory is truthfully sitting alongside Cyberpunk 2077 and Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales as my most anticipated video games of the yr, which speaks volumes to how a lot I genuinely adore this franchise and the tales it has managed to inform through the years.
Melody of Memory is a loving homage to this legacy, aiming to honour nearly twenty years of absurd excellence while additionally forging a brand new path ahead. If any franchise goes to make a rhythm sport an integral a part of its total plot, it’s Kingdom Hearts, and I wouldn’t have it some other approach. If you fancy attempting the demo out for your self, it arrives on October 15 throughout PS4, Xbox One and Switch.
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Jade is the Gaming Editor at TechSwitch. She handles all issues gaming whether or not it’s information, opinions, occasions or foolish options. Seen at retailers similar to MTV UK, Kotaku and TechSwitch (clearly…
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