PauseBreak: ‘Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days’ weakens the series

Imagine a place where pretty, effeminate boys team up with classic Disney characters to save the world.

Now, make it an RPG/Platformer with far too much focus on bromance, and you have "Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days" for the Nintendo DS.

The fourth game in the Kingdom Hearts series, "358/2 Days" is actually the third chapter of the story, taking place between "Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories" and "Kingdom Hearts 2."

The story focuses on the mysterious Organization XIII, a group of cloak-wearing "Nobodies" who were the main antagonists of "Chain of Memories" and "Kingdom Hearts 2."

"Nobody" is the term used for those who have had their hearts stolen by the "Heartless," demonic shadow creatures who consume hearts to get stronger, but whose will was too strong to die after having their hearts taken.

Players step into the shoes of Roxas, the "Nobody" of Sora – the protagonist of the other games in the series – as he goes on missions, destroying the Heartless and trying to remember his past life.

It is a complicated story, and this is a complicated game.

Unlike previous games, "358/2 Days" uses a new panel system to equip Roxas before a level.

This is where magical attacks, new equipment and healing items must be inserted for Roxas to be able to use them.

Also, when Roxas levels up, instead of his stats automatically improving, you must equip level panels as well to make him stronger.

It can take a little while to get the hang of it.

Like the other games in the series, this one also acts as a crossover of sorts for the Disney Universe with the Final Fantasy games.

The Disney characters in this game have all appeared in earlier parts of the series, but it is still nice to see classic characters such as Peter Pan or Aladdin show up.

However, no characters from the Final Fantasy games show up outside of a lone Moogle, a mascot of the series.

There is also a new multiplayer mode where players can hook up their games and play together as any member of Organization XIII as well as Sora, Donald Duck, Goofy or Mickey Mouse.

This is actually Wayne Allwine’s last performance as Mickey Mouse – a character he had voiced for more than 30 years – before he passed away last May.

It’s unfortunate that his last work wasn’t something more substantial.

This game is definitely the weakest in the series, mostly because of the mission system where you have to play through the same level at least five or six times, which is not doing much to advance the story.

There are also needless cutscenes of people eating ice cream after almost every level.

However, it still has the platforming gameplay combined with RPG elements the series is famous for, and it isn’t a bad game when all the chips are down.

The Kingdom Hearts series can do better, though.