Is chain of memories a bad game?

[AegisXIII]

Every streamer I see simply watches the cutscenes on youtube. I suspect only 10 percent of the people who own the compilations have played it.

It is different sure, but is it really that bad? I find the combat really fun once you spend 10 minutes to learn it. Then you can complete the game in 15 hours if you spend 20 minutes per world (which is quite alright).
I suspect it comes from the fact that people feel so underpowered at the beginning of chain of memories compared to the end of kh1, but if you think about it, Sora is in the same state at the beginning of kh2.
And even worst, some people play Ux and say Chain of Memories is too hard, like WTF?

 

[Xblade13]

I got the Platinum trophy in it, which was a ton of work. And I played both the original GameBoy Advance version and the Remake. I think it's a fine game, and totally unique. The story is concise and actually decently written, Marluxia was a nice change of pace as a villain, Sora getting angrier and they climbed the castle felt like he was actually having emotional growth.

I think the repeated Disney worlds was the only real downside of the game.

 

[Elysium]

I always loved CoM. Although I admit the Disney levels can be a bit of a chore to go through sometimes because there are so many of them--not in the sense that they're bad, but they're largely isolated from the main story--I think the game is well-written and I've always enjoyed the combat. It's strange to me that I had no problem with either the card combat in CoM or the swimming in KH1 unlike so many people since I don't consider myself a good gamer. Especially back then, it was harder for me to understand equipment, accessories, abilites, etc.

 

[Zettaflare]

CoM is great. Easily one of the better games in the series. As others mentioned the Disney worlds being more or less filler is its only glaring flaw. Though I guess it's foreshadowing to how the Disney content would be handled in future games

 

[AdrianXXII]

It took me a really long time to beat the GBA version, I don't think I managed to do it until Days released. I like the game's story, but the combat never really was for me. I think CoM is probably one of the better written entries in the series, though I wish they managed in utilize the Disney Worlds a bit better and have the subplot of memories in them become more overt warnings from Sora's subconcious.

 

[Vulpes XIII]

I don’t think Chain of Memories is a bad game it’s actually my favourite game in the series and although I wouldn’t say it’s the best game in the series I do think the game is underrated and I think people tend to give up on the game too quickly and don’t give it a proper chance as it can be a lot of fun when you get into it.

However I can see how people might find the whole card system annoying as the combat system can be infuriating at points especially at certain boss fights such as Jafar and Trickmaster as at that point if you haven’t had much luck with RNG mechanics your going to struggle especially if you picked Wonderland as the first world as your cards will be extremely limited, physical sleights are pretty much useless due to the how high the Trickmaster hit box is and if you haven’t found a magic card your in for a tedious fight especially if you wasted your cards throughout the fight. Also if you haven’t figured out the card system before the increase in difficulty later in the game it’s definitely not going to be fun. However figuring out the best deck setups and strategies for each boss is part of the fun for me and when you do eventually win it’s definitely a satisfying win.

It’s definitely a good story and definitely one of the darker plots in the series. As it’s clear to see just how much Sora’s messed up memories and his encounters with the Organization members as he progresses through the castle is affecting him and honestly it probably one of the few times Sora displayed that much anger towards other characters. Also In my personal opinion I think there was some really good characters introduced in this game.

Overall it’s a great game but I can understand how gameplay wise some people might of not liked such a big change from KH1 plus i think another thing that might of made people dislike the game even more than they already did is when it was revealed it’s wasn’t a spin-off it was actually plot important.

 

[Soldier]

It's not a BAD game, just a little.... flawed?
This primarily is coming from someone who only played the remake by the way, both original and PS4 versions (I even platinumed it, may god have mercy on my soul). The ideas that cards are what you need to use to get the upper hand in the castle floors is smart both thematically and literally. It also introduces the organization in an interesting way, as if you didn't play KH 2 you would know very little about them, but the bits and pieces they throw at you make it interesting to figure out. I watch a KH Youtuber called Regular Pat, and his analysis of their dynamic is spot on. Given that the members we see are 4,5, 6,7 11 and 12 we'd assume that there are other members of numbers 1-3, and 8-10 which cleverly leaves out Roxas and someone whose name escapes me at the moment. They reference their superior being similar to Ansem (having the same "scent") and that they are very interested in the key bearer for a ulterior motive separate from what they're supposed to do. Then with KH 2's knowledge you get the clearer picture, but I can imagine to someone back in the day it must've been an interesting thought excercise.

Then there's the fact that this game is clearly made with GBA multiplayer in mind, as that was a feature you could do back in the day. A lot of enemy cards still have uses that suggest this by the way. Case in point; The hook card, which grants you second chance, a very good ability to use in this game especially for those that don't enjoy grinding. But it also has a secondary effect that gives you the strength and weaknesses of Hook himself (weak to fire, immune to thunder). This makes the card great against Larxene, terrible against Axel and nothing else (and no, I don't count mage heartless or the wizards, they're minor obstacles that can be easily dealt with). but after you finish their fights..... why use it if it gives you only second chance and nothing else. Against another person who constantly spams thunder raid you can make good use of this card, but in regular gameplay all you get is a second chance, and that's it. I hate when games are remade with multiplayer features removed, but aspects of them still remain (I'm looking at you Birth By Sleep). And i imagine that I'm not the only one who shares that sentiment.

 

[Elysium]

CoM is one of the only games in the series that I have the Platinum for (thanks to the accursed Gummi ship). I thought its Plat was easy...

 

[AegisXIII]

CoM is one of the only games in the series that I have the Platinum for (thanks to the accursed Gummi ship). I thought it's Plat was easy...

You did the riku level 100?

 

[HakaishinChampa]

You did the riku level 100?

That wasn't necessarily hard, I just remember grinding for hours from 4 AM to 7 AM in the morning for a few days

 

[NEOFuddyDuddy]

I always have a dandy time playing CoM, or at least, Re: CoM. I got up to Marluxia in the GBA version before I was faced with the harsh reality I couldn't Lethal Frame my way out of this one, so I got stuck there. But either way, I find CoM to be a solid entry. Sure, repeating Disney worlds was tedious, but there's a good story there and the battle system was fun to mess around with. AND GETTING TO PLAY AS RIKU?! That's not something I pass up lol.

 

[Oracle Spockanort]

Re:CoM is a bad game.

CoM is a wonderful game.

 

[MATGSY]

CoM totally could've been a top down action RPG on GBA, but no they had to get gimmicky with it because it was a handheld game. This is what makes the spin-offs truly spin-offs: Nomura treats them as a playgrounds for gimmicks that would never past mustard in the main games.

 

[Somnus cealum]

tbh idc what other people think about kh com. i personally love com. one of my favorites. i like it when kh have dif battle system sometimes. reminded me of a board game like monopoly.