Never did I imagine that there would be a Kingdom Hearts rhythm game and yet here I am in the year 2020 playing the preview build of Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory. The year 2020 is truly a year full of surprises and I must say that the game caught me off guard as it is better than I expected…
Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory is the next game in line for the beloved Kingdom Hearts franchise. With last year’s Kingdom Hearts 3, fans have probably already completed the third chapter a million times over and are waiting for the next adventure quest with King Mickey’s elite squad: Sora, Goofy, and Zettaflare master Donald Duck. However, this upcoming rhythm game is probably not the real adventure fans are waiting for but it will definitely ease the wait for the next part in the Kingdom Hearts story.
“The game’s setup is fairly simple but a true fan will find him/herself immediately at home…”
Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory is a rhythm game within the Kingdom Hearts universe. This game won’t have the story you would expect from the brilliant mind of the creator Nomura but it will take you back in time and re-listen the beautiful soundtrack Kingdom Hearts had and still has to offer. The game’s setup is fairly simple but a true fan will find him/herself immediately at home due to the use of colorful worlds we all know and love from the Kingdom Hearts franchise.
King Mickey’s elite squad will traverse the entire Kingdom Hearts universe in style by eliminating foes on the run with their combat/dancing shoes while the most tremendous music plays in the background. From the menu, you’re able to choose a known track from the franchise and it’s up to the player to become the most responsive Keyblade wielder in the world. When you’ve chosen a song on the menu, the game will transport Sora, Goofy, and Donald to the world that’s corresponding with this song.
“Some enemies can only be defeated by using magic…”
The party squad will traverse a melody road with different lanes while battling enemies. You battle these enemies by listening to the soundtrack and pushing the corresponding buttons at the right time. You can use your L1, R1, and the X button to respond to the QTE-events that will eventually deliver the blow to your enemies on that part of the lane upon a successful button smash. It doesn’t matter which button you use, as long as you tap it at the right time. Sometimes, the game will force you to battle 2 or 3 enemies at once and then you’ll have to push three buttons at the same time to be successful.
There are also moments during the song where you’ll have to jump over obstacles and even glide from point A to point B. Some enemies can only be defeated by using magic, this magic ability works the same as your normal smash buttons but this ability can only be activated by your triangle. So keep an eye out for these different elements.
“You’ll have to perform different successful button smashes before these enemies can be killed.”
The enemies you’re facing are the same ones we all know from the Kingdom Hearts Universe. There are Heartless everywhere and even the big guys are there as well. These big guys can’t be killed by a single button smash. You’ll have to perform different successful button smashes before these enemies can be killed. You’ll see a number appear on your screen which gives you the amount of successful button smashes needed before the big guy’s killed. Each attack you miss will lower your party’s health bar. If you’re health bar’s depleted, the song ends and you’ll have to try again.
The game also offers different options to play this rhythm game. You can choose between different game modes: standard, beginner, or proud. The beginner mode is the most simple mode you’ll be able to play. This mode allows the player to perform all actions with only one button. Standard mode delivers a decent game mode where you’ll have to perform different button smashes at the same time but it won’t happen too often. The Proud mode is a mode with the highest difficulty level which offers a playthrough of the game with lots of combinations to perform. There will also be some changed factors that’ll increase the difficulty level: increase in speed, increase in the number of enemies with not a lot of distance between them to respond successfully, … Spamming the buttons and hoping for a successful hit won’t be an option.
“From what I’ve played, I can already tell you that this will spark the interests of those veteran Kingdom Hearts players.”
From the looks of it, the game also offers a local co-op mode that allows you to tackle different songs with a buddy. When you choose to play the game cooperatively, Donald and Goofy will be replaced by another character from the universe. The melody road will be separated into 2 lanes, so you’ll have to play your own part during the soundtrack. You can also perform “VS battles” and try to overcome your opponent’s score in a song battle of your choice.
From what I’ve played, I can already tell you that this will spark the interests of those veteran Kingdom Hearts players. It’s the same universe, just another style of gaming. All the songs, colorful worlds, mechanics, … they all feel familiar and yet unknown. Hitting the queues at the right time will be a difficult task to handle since you’ll have to pay close attention to every element that’s happening during your soundtrack. There’s a great number of songs with different tempos to keep the variety on a high level.
“A couple of mistakes and the game’s over… Start Again!”
The game throws a lot of queues and mechanics at you and most of the time it also happens all at once… It’s sometimes too difficult to see what’s being expected from the player during a playthrough, especially on proud mode. The moment everything’s being thrown at you, you start to panic and you don’t know how to focus on the song to regain your balance. A couple of mistakes and the game’s over… Start Again! It will be a challenge to get that high score but it’s something a lot of players will enjoy.
Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory takes the rhythm genre and make it their own. By adding a lot of familiar elements of the Kingdom Hearts franchise, players will feel right at home, even when the game feels like a QTE-game. I’m interested to see what veteran rhythm players will do with this proud mode. At first glance, this game mode looks insane… On a side note, it’s good to see that the developers are targeting a bigger crowd than only the veteran players. You have different play modes that’ll suit your playstyle and hopefully, there are a lot of items to collect, that’ll be worth your time.
