Kingdom Hearts is a franchise dear to me. It was one of the first games I ever got for my PS2 and I’ve followed the franchise ever since. From the Playstation 2, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, Playstation 3, Playstation Portable, Playstation 4, and even mobile, the Kingdom Hearts franchise has seen several releases and several different genres across its 20+ year existence. Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory, the first rhythm game for the franchise, is the most recent installment and is nothing short of a celebration of the last two decades and a love letter to fans.
If you have followed along with every release in the Kingdom Hearts series since 2002 or paid attention and understood any of those 3+ hour story recap videos on YouTube, then you know the story of this game as well. The “story” of Melody of Memory is really just a rehash of all the important plot points from every Kingdom Hearts game. There is added narration by Kairi to go along with cutscenes from the prior games, since this game takes place entirely within her memories of the events of every game in the timeline, but there is little new for veteran players to get excited about. While there is an added chapter at the end of the game that sees Kairi and Riku attempt to uncover clues on Sora whereabouts due to his disappearance after the events of Kingdom Hearts 3, this does very little to move the plot along past the end of the Dark Seeker Saga.
Despite what little it adds to Kingdom Hearts storywise, Melody of Memory does provide a concise and fun way to relive a story that’s been ongoing for two decades and spans several different games and consoles. The game's ability to do this so effortlessly is one of its main selling points for longtime fans and newcomers alike. The Kingdom Hearts story, as complicated as it is, needed an official avenue for fans to experience a condensed version of its events. Melody of Memory provides this in spades. It not only gives veteran players something to do during the long wait for Kingdom Hearts 4, but also provides newcomers a means to get easily acquainted with an ever growing amount of characters, ideas, and plot threads. Does Melody of Memory give the player as much detail as playing every Kingdom Hearts game would? No, but it does provide an easily digestible and fun experience for players who can’t sink the time into playing 9 different games or watching 58 hours of cutscenes on YouTube.
As for gameplay, people who enjoyed games like Guitar Hero, will find themselves right at home here. Just replace the multicolor buttons of the Guitar Hero guitar with the X, Circle, Triangle, and L1 and R1 buttons on a PlayStation controller, and you have Melody of Memory’s control scheme. It isn’t a complicated system to understand after playing a song or two, but it is a complicated system to master. This is especially true when you get near the endgame or play the harder songs on the highest difficulties, i.e. Wave of Darkness I from Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep - A Fragmentary Passage.
Overall, Melody of Memory is a welcome addition to the already over half-dozen Kingdom Hearts games. It provides a fun reminder of all the adventures Sora has taken and gives us a slight glimpse at the adventures to come.
If you have followed along with every release in the Kingdom Hearts series since 2002 or paid attention and understood any of those 3+ hour story recap videos on YouTube, then you know the story of this game as well. The “story” of Melody of Memory is really just a rehash of all the important plot points from every Kingdom Hearts game. There is added narration by Kairi to go along with cutscenes from the prior games, since this game takes place entirely within her memories of the events of every game in the timeline, but there is little new for veteran players to get excited about. While there is an added chapter at the end of the game that sees Kairi and Riku attempt to uncover clues on Sora whereabouts due to his disappearance after the events of Kingdom Hearts 3, this does very little to move the plot along past the end of the Dark Seeker Saga.
Despite what little it adds to Kingdom Hearts storywise, Melody of Memory does provide a concise and fun way to relive a story that’s been ongoing for two decades and spans several different games and consoles. The game's ability to do this so effortlessly is one of its main selling points for longtime fans and newcomers alike. The Kingdom Hearts story, as complicated as it is, needed an official avenue for fans to experience a condensed version of its events. Melody of Memory provides this in spades. It not only gives veteran players something to do during the long wait for Kingdom Hearts 4, but also provides newcomers a means to get easily acquainted with an ever growing amount of characters, ideas, and plot threads. Does Melody of Memory give the player as much detail as playing every Kingdom Hearts game would? No, but it does provide an easily digestible and fun experience for players who can’t sink the time into playing 9 different games or watching 58 hours of cutscenes on YouTube.
As for gameplay, people who enjoyed games like Guitar Hero, will find themselves right at home here. Just replace the multicolor buttons of the Guitar Hero guitar with the X, Circle, Triangle, and L1 and R1 buttons on a PlayStation controller, and you have Melody of Memory’s control scheme. It isn’t a complicated system to understand after playing a song or two, but it is a complicated system to master. This is especially true when you get near the endgame or play the harder songs on the highest difficulties, i.e. Wave of Darkness I from Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep - A Fragmentary Passage.
Overall, Melody of Memory is a welcome addition to the already over half-dozen Kingdom Hearts games. It provides a fun reminder of all the adventures Sora has taken and gives us a slight glimpse at the adventures to come.