Kingdom Hearts 0.2: Birth by Sleep - A Fragmentary Passage
PlayStation 4
Nostalgia Factor:
I didn’t even know this game existed until I picked up Kingdom Hearts 2.8 for the PlayStation 4 last month. I did some research on the game before I played it and discovered that it is little more than a glorified tech demo for Kingdom Hearts III. It’s only a few hours long and isn’t generally considered a main game in the series. That said, I am still going to treat it as one. It’s relevant to the Kingdom Hearts storyline, it has its own set Trophy list, and it is also longer than many old NES and Genesis games that you can beat in the same amount of time. Good enough for me!
Story:
This game is all about Aqua and her journey through the realm of darkness. You walk around, you explore, you fight creatures, and you do your best to keep yourself alive, all while looking for a way to get back to the real world. At first I thought that the game took place in the “present day” Kingdom Hearts timeline and that Aqua had been there for a long time, but towards the end of the game you discover that it actually ties into the events of the very first Kingdom Hearts game, notably its ending. Aqua runs into Mickey, who is there to save Riku from the darkness. Mickey makes it a goal to save Aqua as well, but when his escape is cut off, Aqua sacrifices her escape to ensure that Mickey and Riku can get out safely.
Aqua doesn’t die. Instead, she remains trapped in the realm of darkness. In the “real world” Mickey reveals that he never told Sora about Aqua being trapped, because he knew that Sora would rush off without a plan to try and save her. Now that things have settled down in the Kingdom Hearts universe, the time to save Aqua finally arrives. Sora and crew head off to Olympus Coliseum, which is where Sora is hoping to regain some of his lost power (that happened at the end of Dream Drop Distance). Once he “levels up” so to speak, he will finally be ready to jump into action. I have heard that Olympus Coliseum is the first stage in Kingdom Hearts III, so I assume that that game picks up where this one leaves off.
All in all, the story for this game isn’t too overly complicated. It does work to serve as an introduction or a prologue to Kingdom Hearts III, and I would say it succeeds in that goal.
Gameplay:
If you’ve played any of the kingdom Hearts games, you won’t have any trouble jumping into this one. Running, jumping, attacking, casting spells, traveling on grind rails, all that stuff will come second nature to you. This game in particular doesn’t do anything to push the formula of the Kingdom Hearts series. If you have played Birth by Sleep, however, you should be happy to see the Command system make a return. Basically, if you physically attack enemies and mix in magic attacks, you fill up the Command gauge. When this gauge fills up, you can activate a style change where you take on the properties of the magical attacks you’ve been using. Your strength will increase, and you will also gain access to new combo attacks.
Due to the game’s short length, things are very linear this time around. You have a very straightforward path in front of you, with your goals very clearly and easily mapped out. I like how there are little bonuses thrown in (kill 50 enemies with your lightning spell to earn extra armor, for example). This adds a little bit of needed variety to the game, especially when you consider its length. There are also a few puzzles to solve, but they aren’t very tough. The only one that gave me any problems is where there is a big room full of mirrors, and you have to enter each mirror and battle a bunch of Heartless until you’ve killed them all. For some reason, I didn’t know what I was supposed to be doing and lost track of which mirrors I had been in and which I hadn’t (even though a big crack goes through the ones you’ve already completed).
Really, though, this game isn’t about puzzles. It is very action-oriented. You’re going to be fighting A LOT of Heartless. And I mean a lot of Heartless. And then before you know it, the game is over.
Graphics:
This is easily the best looking Kingdom Hearts game to date (that I have played, at least). That shouldn’t be a surprise considering this is the first true next-gen KH title in the series. Most of the other games in the series were released for the PS2 or mobile devices like the Game Boy Advance or the PSP. Everything is clear and crisp, and the special effects in this game completely annihilate anything seen before in a Kingdom Hearts title.
Still though, I don’t think things look quite as good as they could have. This game did come out two years ago after all. Technology has changed so much in just that time alone. It’s also possible I wasn’t as impressed because I’ve recently played games like Horizon Zero Dawn and Red Dead 2, which look truly stunning. This game does not compare to either one of those titles.
That said, it still looks really good. It was a pleasure to see so many of my beloved KH characters brought to life in HD using the Unreal Engine. It got me super pumped to see what Kingdom Hearts III has in store, graphics-wise.
Sound:
I don’t know if they are still using the same voice actor to play Aqua, but if they are, she did a much better job in this game than she did in Birth by Sleep, where her voice was super stiff and robotic.
Everything else sounds fine here. The sound effects are good. I can’t say I got super jazzed for any of the game’s music, however. But seeing as how this entire game takes place in the realm of darkness, there really wasn’t any room to include any iconic Disney tunes or jingles. While it is hard for me to get excited for the game’s musical score, I can’t and won't say it sucked. It fit the tone of the game perfectly and made the realm of darkness come to life. No complaints from me.
Overall:
Due to this game’s length, it is hard for me to judge it based on previous Kingdom Hearts titles. It looks good, it sounds good, it handles well. I can safely say that I had a fun time playing it. It wasn’t very challenging (I didn’t die once as I played) but it was still pretty enjoyable.
Is it worth paying the price of a full Kingdom Hearts game just to play this title? Hell no. Luckily, this game comes on a collection disc that also includes Dream Drop distance and a Kingdom Hearts prequel movie. This collection is kind of weak compared to the previous batch of KH collections, but I am not going to judge this particular game based on the merit of the other games it came with. I have to judge it as its own separate entity.
Its merits are strong, but at the same time I can’t help but feel that its length is holding it back from getting a good score. It feels very incomplete. There is some key component, some spark that is missing that I can’t quite put my finger on. Sure, for the most part this is a fast paced, fun, and enjoyable game. But as a Kingdom Hearts title, it feels lacking. I read somewhere that this was made to give people a taste of what Kingdom Hearts III was going to be like, and that it was never meant to be taken as its own serious entry to the series.
I hate to cop out and give it a B grade, which is what I usually give games that I enjoyed but didn’t love. But I feel a B- would be a disservice because I did have a fun time with the game. I can’t really justify the “minus” part of the grade. But a B+ indicates that I thought the game was really good, as opposed to just plain old good. I can’t say I am that excited about it to justify the “plus” part of the grade.
So B it is. The good ole’ standby B. So original. Cheers!
Final Score:
B
That's it! Next game up in the Kingdom Hearts series is the one I've been waiting for for almost 15 years now: Kingdom Hearts III. If you'd like to read my reviews of previous entries to the KH series, you can read them here:
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