Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory it's a Rhythm action Game with RPG elements, the first for the series Kingdom Hearts. The journey of Sora, Kairi and Riku did not end with the release of Kingdom Hearts III indeed, at the end of Sora's long journey (originally started in 2002 on PlayStation 2) the player found himself beaten up in front of an ending that left open the window of a possible fourth (already confirmed) chapter. Trapped in a new bubble of doubts and perplexities about the possible evolution of the saga Square Enix, the same software house is ready to delight the player with a new spin-off before the expected fourth chapter.
While waiting for the review, we were able to try the preview demo of this musical chapter due out on November 13th.
A bridge for the fourth chapter
We have been surprised since the announcement of Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory, as the same Square Enix identified this rhythm action game as "the bridge for the fourth installment of the series". The title, to be precise the first in the series to have this rhythm game mold, sees the player retrace the Disney kingdoms that gave birth to the numerous journeys of Sora, Kairi and Riku. In Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory the player moves to the rhythm of music through long tracks on which he must defeat hordes of Heartless, unleashing blows to the rhythm of the most iconic songs of the franchise.
In this demo (compared to what Square Enix showed at the announcement of the title) we tried firsthand what this spin-off can offer. Specifically, the demo allowed you to try the following songs:
- Welcome to wonderland (passage present in the kingdom "Wonderland");
- hand in hand (passage present in the kingdom "The city of Mezzo");
- The Rustling Forest (passage present in the kingdom "The enchanted domain" in Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep);
- Wave of Darkness (passage present in Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep - A fragmentary passage);
In addition to these songs, in the demo it was possible to test three styles of play that were going to slightly modify the experience. These styles can be selected with the appropriate command only in game mode while for the “tour” - probably the main course of Melody of Memory - it is impossible to do so. The three styles present are:
- Basic (standard play style);
- Only one (a simple style that leads the player to use only one key);
- Artist (a challenging style of play, with extra extra targets);
In addition to the style, the player is able to select the game difficulty: Beginner, Standard and Hero, which leads to an increase in difficulty and requires the gamer to be more precise to obtain the perfect score within the stage.
Although it has not yet been possible to glimpse the RPG dynamics, we know that there will be given the presence of the level cap statistics and it is interesting to note how the team has managed to insert a multiplayer component within this spin-off that allows the player to face stages against other players. Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory, moreover, in its full version allows free navigation between the various Disney kingdoms thanks to the Gummi Ship. During the adventure the player can explore 47 realms, 31 of which are closely linked to the Disney universe while the remaining 16 are original locations linked to the saga. In this adventure the player is faced with a large selection of opponents, including 33 boss fights.
As for the aesthetic sector of Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory to be released on 13 November on PlayStation 4, Xbox One e Nintendo Switch, we were slightly perplexed. The software house has abandoned the use of the Unreal Engine 4, used by the Nomura team in Kingdom Hearts III, to use the graphic style of the original first Kingdom Hearts. So far nothing wrong if the team had made an effort to update the graphics sector, which has not been done. Memory of Melody presents itself to the player with an obsolete graphic detail for the current consoles, leaving a bad taste in the mouth for not using the Unreal Engine 4.
Leaving aside comments and analysis on the aesthetic component, which we will re-evaluate in detail in the review, Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory comes with a really consistent play offer, given that the game includes almost 150 songs from the universe Kingdom Hearts. C.Like most of the chapters in the series, the player can form a party of up to three elements with which to hit enemies to the beat of the music.
From a narrative point of view, as suggested by the trailer and by the software house itself, Memory of Melody will be a sort of bridge for the next potential Kingdom Hearts IV (or 4 if you prefer), since it includes a portion of the story set after the finale of Kingdom Hearts III. The events will in fact focus on Kairi, the young protagonist suspended between reality and the Final World, intent on bringing Sora (who sacrificed himself to save her) back to her world.
Despite the proof of the title, the software house has not skilfully leaked anything yet as these events of ReMind are connected with Memory of Melody, but it is interesting to understand the evolution of this long-lived and beloved saga.
Waiting for the release it is undeniable that we are faced with a further fragmentation of the Kingdom Hearts saga, but at the same time it will be interesting to understand how the journey of Kairi and Riku in search of Sora will evolve. We hope that this Memory of Melody can be an interesting appetizer of what we can expect with the arrival of the fourth chapter on next-gen.
► Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory is a Musical type game developed by Square Enix and published by Square Enix Disney Interactive Studios for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, the game was released on 13/11/2020
Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory is a beautiful game that cannot be missing from your collection: we have decided to evaluate it with a 90%, if you are interested in learning more you can read the Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory review
