Kingdom Hearts Re:coded

by Square Enix

• The latest installment in the beloved Kingdom Hearts series, Re:Coded unites Sora, Mickey, Donald, Goofy and a host of familiar faces from Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy once again for an exciting new adventure
• All-new features include a new character growth system created specifically for the Nintendo DS release, building on the series' immersive blend of action and role-playing elements
• Guide Sora like never before through exciting new boss battles
• Players can design their own avatar using over 800 unlockable parts and trade playable maps with friends
• Varied gameplay inspired by side-scrolling, shooting and classic Final Fantasy games

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B002I08UPC
• Product Dimensions: 4.9 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches ; 3.8 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: January 11, 2011
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (87 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,075 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
  • #11 in Video Games > Nintendo DS > Games > Adventure

Product Description

Amazon.com

Kingdom Hearts Re:coded is a unique Kingdom Hearts adventure for play on Nintendo DS and DSi. A retelling of the earlier episodically released Japanese title, Kingdom Hearts Coded, Kingdom Hearts Re:coded contains all eight episodes of the previous game on a single game cartridge. The game is an engrossing mix of gameplay types, including turn-based RPG, RTS, action and side-scrolling platforming. Other features and functionality include: diverse and entertaining boss battles, over 800 unlockables, auto-aim functionality and more.

Rediscover episodic Kingdom Hearts adventure in a single DS title.
View larger.

Story

Following the events of Kingdom Hearts II all appears well in King Mickey's realm, but is it?

With Organization XIII defeated and order restored to the worlds, it was just another day in the Kingdom until Jiminy Cricket noticed lines in his journal that he did not write. Realizing these to be computer like "bugs" in the journal, King Mickey calls upon a digitized version of Sora for help. The only person that can be counted on to save the glitch-filled worlds, in the datascape Sora discovers a truth that not only links him to the past, but also opens the door to his next journey...

Gameplay

Kingdom Hearts Re:coded tasks you with debuging/clearing bad data from the game journal by defeating enemies and completing objectives. The journal contains several worlds which must be explored in doing this. Different, or at least varied rules exist in each of these worlds, which in turn require varied types of gameplay for success. Gameplay types encountered include: adventure play, turn-based RPG play, side-scrolling platforming and turn-based battles. Throughout these, players utilize a variety of features and functionality including Sora's Key Blade, auto-aim, special abilities/attacks and unlockables acquired through successful combo execution, which together make Kingdom Hearts Re:coded the perfect game for both longtime fans of the Kingdom Hearts franchise and those coming to it for the first time.

Key Game Features

• The future of the Kingdom Hearts series arrives on Nintendo DS. From world-renowned creator and character designer Tetsuya Nomura comes the latest installment in the beloved Kingdom Hearts series. Sora, Mickey, Donald, Goofy and a host of familiar faces from Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy unite once again for an exciting new adventure.
• All-new features include a new character growth system created specifically for the Nintendo DS release, building on the series' immersive blend of action and role-playing elements.
• An assortment of diverse and entertaining boss battles. Guide Sora like never before through boss battles inspired by side-scrolling, shooting and classic Final Fantasy games.
• Endless possibilities in the avatar menu. Players can design their own avatar using over 800 unlockable parts and trade playable maps with friends.

Additional Screenshots

A new "digital" version of Sora. View larger.

Combo driven action. View larger.

Level up to gain abilities. View larger.

Maps and special abilities. View larger.

Product Description

Sora's journey in Kingdom Hearts II has drawn to a close, and now a new tale is set to begin. Jiminy Cricket is looking over the journal he used to document his first adventure with Sora when he discovers a mysterious message. He didn't write it - so how on earth did it get there? King Mickey is determined to find out, so he and his friends decide to digitize the journal and delve into its deepest secrets. Inside this “datascape” dwells a second Sora who is about to embark on a grand adventure of his very own.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 32 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Yes, it belongs in the series, BUT it's not the greatest. February 19, 2011

By M.D.C. TOP 500 REVIEWER

Fun: 4.0 out of 5 stars   

The problem I think some are having is that this doesn't really feel like a full Kingdom Hearts game. And truth be told, it's not. It's a pale shadow of its brothers. 358/2 Days is definitely the superior. But this game belongs in the series, for one reason: it ties directly back to Birth By Sleep and extends that story slightly. You also get to see a little more of Castle Oblivion and experience more of the characters that you know and love. What holds the game back, in my humble opinion, is some of the repetitive tasks you must endure to get to the endings. There are also points that make little-to-no sense - some of which are just downright frustrating.

When you fight it's just like any other Kingdom Hearts game. You'll go to a lot of the same areas you're used to and fight Heartless as always. But the game is basically portrayed as a digital version of Jiminy's journal, where you are having to "Fix" the code to get the story back to what it should be. There are a lot of code blocks and such all over the place, and there are hidden backdoors that contain alternate worlds in which you have to fight and put things back the way they were. It's an intriguing approach, and in some ways can be fun, except that you do this a LOT. It gets rather repetitive, and in some cases it feels like you're not really making any progress.

Near the end of the game, you'll find yourself at Castle Oblivion and this is where the true frustration begins, as you will need to complete each scenario three times in order to get the best ending. This isn't hard for most of them, but the very last one, which involves Maleficent and Pete, is aggravating. It's impossible to explain how infuriating it really is dealing with this and knowing that you're forced to unlock all of the scenarios - it basically involves approaching the scenario three different ways, but with the last scenario there only appears to be two different ways of going about it. I wasted many hours trying to figure it out before I went on to Mimana: Iyar Chronicle.

IF you were expecting to fight through with Mickey, Donald, Goofy, or even Riku, don't. There is a brief bit where Donald and Goofy do help out and I believe one boss fight where Mickey shows up, but other than that you're on your own. Also, there are about a third of the Disney worlds represented here and not much depth; no Pirates, no 1000 Acre Wood, no Dalmatians, and no flying around Never Never Land. If the primary appeal to you is the ability to explore the land of Disney, you might skip this game, as it has just enough to be called Kingdom Hearts, but again, nowhere near that of its brothers.

I want to stress that the first parts of the game were extremely unfun. Later, the game got more entertaining once I powered Sora up. It was still repetitious, mind, but the fact that it tied back to Birth By Sleep appealed to me. It also allowed me to try Kingdom Hearts in an entirely different fashion with a better control scheme. Having the DSi XL helped, as the larger screen enabled me to experience the game better than the smaller one by a wide margin.

Definitely recommended you at least try the game before bashing it. Most that don't like it are comparing it to the other Kingdom Hearts games and in truth, it's pathetic if compared that way, but if you judge it as a standalone game, it's really not that bad at all. Superior to Chain of Memories in terms of the battle engine, superior to 358/2 Days in terms of graphics only.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A "Simple and Clean" game March 22, 2011

By RedJoker25

Fun: 5.0 out of 5 stars   

First, the story. The main story is interesting enough; visiting data-worlds trying to "fix" a journal makes perfect sense (not). Still, it gets the job done, and the job was to create a situation for Mickey to learn "the truth" as the characters put it. The side stories (the individual worlds') are sometimes rehashes and others not. Destiny Islands is still the same helpless place it always was, while Wonderland deals with collecting memories instead of evidence. Hollow Bastion (I) reuses the "Lost Keyblade" story, but in a different way. Olympus is still about bashing Hades, but Castle Oblivion is now relatively non-linear (there are 3 endings for each "world").

Gameplay: Admittedly, the camera took some getting used to, but once I found that I was generally too busy hacking at Heartless to care during battles and had all the time in the world afterward, I couldn't have cared less. Thundaga certainly doesn't. I also found a setting to let the camera follow Sora around, which was more than enough for my tastes. The level/"cheat" system is new, although how much cheating in your favor can really be done is debatable. Commands are decent, the Storms being my favorite. Abilities are okay as well, except you can't tell what they are until you activate them, which requires precious chips that could go towards better abilities on a different route in the Stat matrix. The range of Keys/Finishers available shows enough variety to pick a play style, especially since Keys have to be leveled through usage; you have to at least TRY (and fully level) all Keys to get one of the trophies, which means you may find yourself liking something more than your normal style. The additional game modes were fine, except for the lack of a save feature.

Music: Same old KH music, which means oldies but goodies.

Graphics: I was surprised at the general cutscenes (the stiff ones), but only because I never watched any videos/saw any pictures. As I expected, voiced scenes came in between worlds much like Re:Chain of Memories. Still, I guess what they saved in dialogue scenery was made up for in game scenery. Wonderland, Agrabah's cave, and Castle Oblivion were vastly different, but other than that, worlds largely resembled their previous counterparts, which is impressive for a DS game.

Overall: A very nice game. Simple for most of the game's plot and cleanly executed, save for a few wanted...save points. There's enough to keep perfectionists occupied for a while and KH fans happy with the plot. Even newcomers to KH would find the game decent. Even if they don't understand the big picture, most worlds have their own story that doesn't depend on it, which is the beauty of the series. I won't say anything about the Avatar section because I don't have any experience with it, but the Single Player mode is definitely worth the time, effort, and money.

Rating: 5/5

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Better Than 358/2 days March 6, 2011

By True KB

Fun: 5.0 out of 5 stars   

I admit, I loved 358/2 days. I loved all the KH games. But this game was great. There was no "go to the same level-fight the same boss" thing. Almost everything was new and original. The graphics were on par at all times.