So the main gimmick of this game is to try and get more points than your friends with brand new levels weekly?

Sounds good, except for the fact you added pay to win mechanics which completely drives the concept into the ground. I work hard to get a high score and then someone gets an even higher score because they bought items to win faster such as the golden slingshot.

Would have worked better as a side mode in the original Angry Birds.

Omori is a masterpiece in my eyes, I’ve never had a game before that I just instantly fell in love with until Omori. From the simple hand-drawn art style of battles and cutscenes, to the charming dialogue of the main characters and random NPCs everything is incredible. The story is a sad, emotional masterpiece with the best ending of anything I know of. The gameplay is simple enough to easily understand but still complex enough to stay interesting and allow strategizing throughout the full playthrough. The characters are(almost) all amazing(Basil is the best). The music is always fitting perfectly into the game’s events and has it does have a couple bops in it(Like the Sweetheart boss theme or Pyrefly Forest battle theme) but most of the best music comes from the atmospheric and sad songs there incredible especially in game. In terms of optional side content(which is just something I personally love in any game) there is a lot for a game as short as it, with side quests, secret bosses, and an entire extra route, it’s perfect for people who love doing optional content like me. The only small complaint that I have is that in some of the optional content there are little annoying things that are pretty much impossible to do without looking it up(btw googling Omori is just a really dumb way to spoil the game so I would recommend not doing that). Honestly, I could go on and on about Omori but I’ll leave it at a short “review”(aka me only saying good things about a game I love) and I hope whoever reads this will get to experience this amazing game for themself.

In theory, Chain of Memories has a smart way of Metroid-ing our main characters in preparation for Kingdom Hearts II. A way in which this gradual loss of memories and abilities is thematicallly relevant to the overall story. This is effective, and I can't stress this enough, ONLY in theory.

In practice, Chain of Memories is almost unbearable if not for the interesting and complex story developments that take place within it. The gameplay attempts to combine the hack-and-slash combat of the original with an obtuse, unorthodox card system that just does not do it for me at all. Although I can appreciate some balances, interesting mechanics and the great menu navigation, this game feels like a Frankenstein's monstrosity of two gameplay styles that do not mesh together, whatsoever.

Characters like Naminé, Axel and Larxene are enjoyable, with great moments that are only truly present in cutscenes. The story takes a dive for the intricate and complex, which may be incomprehensible to people who are not fully committed to it. Other than that, Chain of Memories is a slog I have absolutely no intention of going back to. I can't recommend this to anyone, despite the fact I did enjoy the story and some details in the design.

In the journey to discover my appreciation for Kingdom Hearts, this has definitely been a speed bump that I can only hope is aliviated with the next game in the series.