Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories adds something new in the Kingdom Hearts games. This game uses a very unique battle system. These battles are 'Card Based', which means that everything you do in battle involves the use of cards. 'Sleights' are combos made using 2 to 3 cards. Sleights are more powerful than regular cards, that is way many people use them. Not only are battles card based, but the whole game is card based. You will need cards to visit the worlds in the game, and to create rooms within these worlds. Many people are turned off because of this new style, but in reality, it makes the game more strategic, and much more enjoyable.

The gameplay for this game is extremely easy, whether you are in battle or not. the 3D effect Square Enix added does make it a little difficult to hit enemies 100% of the time, but nothing to big to worry about. Looking for a card in your deck cannot be made easier, all you do is press either R or L to scroll through your deck and find the cards you need quick and easy. Making sleights, or combos, is also easy. Intead of scrolling through, all you need to do is press L and R at the same time on the cards you want and they get added to the sleight pile. Nothing complicated. Nothing you won't get used to after 5 minutes of gameplay. Right when you begin the game, you will be taught how the battle system works, so don't worry, you won't need to figure it out on your own.

The graphics in this game are amazing. During cut scenes, the graphics surpass that of normal Gameboy Advance games. The graphics pretty much match those of the Playstation 2. However, playing this game on the Gameboy Player tends to make cut scenes look pixeled and ugly. I recommend playing this game on either the Gameboy Advance SP, or Nintendo DS. The graphics during gameplay remind me a lot of that of Super Mario RPG released for the Super Nintendo. So in other words, the graphics are quite amazing, and it is way more than anyone would expect for the Gameboy Advance.

This game, at first glance does not seem like it contains much replay value, but actually, it does. After you beat the main game (Sora Mode), two new modes open up. Link Mode and Riku Mode. Link Mode allows you to challenge your friends to a dual to determine once and for all who has the better deck. This new mode may cause you to replay some areas of the game to win new battle cards. Riku Mode, allows you to play as Riku, which is a first in the Kingdom Hearts Series. You start at Basement13, and work your way up to the first floor. The story is the same, but it allows you to see the story from Riku's point of view. The worlds you visit are in a different order aswell, and the story is very much twisted. Riku Mode is also much more difficult than Sora Mode, since you will quickly learn that Riku holds whats called a 'closed deck,' which means that you are unable to edit his deck. However, the deck automatically changes throughout Riku Mode. With all this combined, you should get a good 40 hours out of this game.

One word can simply illustrate the sound value of Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories. Fantastic. Every sound fits in perfectly with what is happening. Though this game features very view vocals, as a matter of fact, the only time you will hear anything said is during battles, and during the credits. Kingdom Hearts has the best theme song known to man. It is 'Simple and Clean' written by the Japanese Music Artist 'Utada Hikaru', and during the credits, you get to actually hear the original version of this song! This song is awesome. You know what? I'm going to listen to it right now. Give me a second. Ok, all good. Now, this element in this review is going to get a perfect score because of this one song.

Sora, Donald, and Goofy travel down a long road that meanders through endless fields, and come to a crossroads. As Sora stands in the crossroads, he gazes up at the night sky and thinks of his lost friends. Just then, a mysterious man approaches from down one of the branching paths. "Ahead lies something you need," he says, "but to claim it, you must lose something dear." When the man vanishes, only a single path remains. The path leads to a mysterious fortress called "Castle Oblivion." There is something strange about this castle however, the more you progress through the castle's 13 floors, the more 'worthless' memories you lose, and the more 'important' memories become uncovered. But these important memories aren't what they seem, they are.... different.