OUR RATING: 7.3 VERY GOOD About our ratings

TANGIBLES: Gameplay: 7 Visuals: 9 Audio: 8 Value: 7 Quality: 7

Why you should buy it: Not Available Why you should rent it: Not Available

UNIQUE RATING: 7.3 SUGGESTION: N/A

Back in 2002, Disney and Square fans were in for a fantastic treat as the two companies teamed up to bring Disney and Square fans together with its magical adventure, Kingdom Hearts, on the PlayStation 2. Kingdom Hearts followed a youth named Sora as he ventured through themed stages, from both Disney movies and Square games. An area of question about the game was how the Disney characters managed to interact with the Final Fantasy characters so easily. A couple of years later, the game is looked upon as an achievement of both storytelling and character development. During the wait for Kingdom Hearts II, Square Enix has decided to deliver to the Disney and Square fans with Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories'a direct continuation of the original'on the Game Boy Advance.

As you may already know, Chain of Memories takes place very shortly after the end of the previous game. After earning the title of hero and honing his keyblade abilities, it seems all is well for Sora and his two companions, Donald Duck and Goofy. After what seems like an eternity of mindless happiness and running through green meadows, a dark being in a reaper outfit confronts Sora. "Ahead lies what you seek, but to claim it you must lose something dear." Confused, Sora follows the Unknown and ends up in a castle.

It turns out that none of that ever happened. As Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Jiminy Cricket venture into the castle, the Unknown tells the trio that the farther they venture into Castle Oblivion, the more memories they will lose. Unfortunately, Sora is left with no choice as he is forced to press on. To advance through the many floors of Castle Oblivion, Sora needs different kinds of cards, the source of the castle's power. Along the way, he'll meet up with friends that have no memory of Sora himself, but somehow remember his name.

While most of the plot in Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories is rocky, the rest of the game performs upon its premise quite well. Castle Oblivion's many floors are actually multiple worlds that Disney fans can actually make out. You'll instantly be treading your way through Monstro'the whale Pinocchio and Geppetto were in, Wonderland'of Alice and Wonderland fame, Agrabah'the mean streets where Aladdin took place, and even places like Halloween Town'the home of Jack Skellington, the protagonist from Tim Burton's dark holiday classic, The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Each world consists of multiple doors. Doors without an emblem on the top of it can easily be opened by hitting A to make Sora whack the door with his keyblade. Along with that, any kind of map card is also needed to open the door. Map cards can be obtained just by finding them in the area, or by winning a battle. Doors with an emblem on the top of it require a map card and the specific card indicated by the door. To find those special cards, you'll first need the Key of Beginnings'which is always at your possession when you first enter a new world. So with that, the most obvious thing to do is look for the first available room to enter.