The upcoming rhythm game for Kingdom Hearts got a Demo! Melody of Memory is a retelling of Kingdom Hearts series that still serves as a continuation of it and provides context for older events in the story. I posted a pre-impression along with info on the game in my previous post. I tried the Demo later the same day, and it was better than I expected!
Read my pre-impression of Kingdom Hearts MoM: [Here!]
So, my goal of downloading the Demo was to see how the gameplay of a musical Kingdom Hearts game will stack up. Because the idea of this game, and it's trailer both didn't get me hyped. I played some rhythm games before but I never lasted with them, maybe I have poor motor skills.
But this game being about Kairi. (At least in the current day portion of its story.) Made part of me want to play it. Kairi is not a bad character, she's more of unused potential and it's sad she had to fall into the sidelines in every game for the sake of the story. So, here I am, hoping that she plays her role right in this entry!
The Demo doesn't offer any story content. I believe it's a good choice by SquareEnix to hide the story for now. The story content of MoM is already small, and maybe too spoiler-y to show in a Demo. Though I hoped to see the beginning of the game's story so I was a bit disappointed, even if I think it's for the better.
For a rhythm game, the gameplay is what matters. Especially for a franchise that leans so heavily on the Action part of Action-RPG. MoM gameplay is fundamentally different than any other game in the franchise.
My opinion on the gameplay? It works!
Better than I expected actually!!
Despite being a rhythm game, playing it feels like an action game because of the enemies placement and the way Sora and his friends battle them. The background of songs included in the game/demo are from various Disney worlds, and since each song is different, every level has a fresh feel to it.
The way this rhythm game feels like an action game reminds me of how the RPG Paper Mario: The Origami King feels like a puzzle game. Though it's more obvious in the latter.
The battle gameplay system is easy, there are three buttons that you have to press: [A] [L] [R], but the action you do doesn't depend on which button, but the number of buttons you press.
But my favorite is the One Button Mode! It's a mode made for people like me who are not used for rhythm games. Instead of micro-managing three buttons, (which in this game isn't as hard as other rhythm games I played,) you have the options to make everything automatic except attacking the enemies. Pressing any 1 of the three buttons at the right time, the whole set of enemies will be attacked no matter how many of them are. The ultimate N00B mode!
The Demo offers four songs, and multiple difficulty settings for all modes. I say it serves as a perfect introduction to this entry of Kingdom Hearts franchise, but NOT to the franchise itself.
If you're new, I'd say your best bet is still to play the story from the beginning, because Kingdom Hearts games are just that connected.
As I said in my post linked above. Melody of Memory isn't meant to advance the story by much, but it will have new backstories about Sora/Kairi/Riku's past and new hints about Master of Masters.
What do you think?
Are you a Kingdom Hearts fan? Did you try this demo? A rhythm game was unexpected, but ultimately was not that bad. I still don't plan on owning the game for myself though, so I want to know your opinions~