After nearly twenty years of games, the Kingdom Hearts series has dabbled in a number of different game mechanics, sometimes making slight variations on the standard formula, and other times changing things up entirely. In this nature, the recent Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory, while exploring familiar Kingdom Hearts story moments, is one of the largest departures from the series since Chain of Memories.
Now, while this is a very different game for fans of the series, Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory absolutely succeeds at what it attempts to do with the new mechanics. Whether or not this means that future games will take similar risks is still unclear, but hopefully this will at least mean that the series will continue to experiment with new ideas as Kingdom Hearts seems to continue forever.
Considering how well received the music of Kingdom Hearts has been in the past, with a video of a themed concert selling alongside a premium version of Kingdom Hearts 3 Re:Mind's extra features, a game focusing on it was inevitable. That doesn't necessarily mean that it's the type of title that will resonate with all players, which has lead to some of the game's more mixed reviews. However, while fans of the genre will be pleased by the mechanics, those that are really only there to jump into the faster paced action of Kingdom Hearts may still be pleased to see how Melody of Memories combines so many features.
Previous Departures of the Kingdom Hearts Formula
One thing that often happens with a series as long-lasting as Kingdom Hearts is that once a formula has been established, it's difficult to pull away from that formula and experiment. Square Enix does have a history of adding new mechanics to the series, but every game still follows the same basic style where players can essentially spam attack forever until they win. The songs of Melody of Memory now change up this formula in a way that only Union X and Chain of Memories have before.
It's likely that Kingdom Hearts has been reluctant to repeat the experiment with Chain of Memories, considering that it is often singled out as one of the most criticized titles in the series. While some titles like 358/2 Days and Re:Coded often get flack for being repetitive, bogged down with dozens of unnecessary filler missions, Chain of Memories had a completely different hurdle with it's card system. However, a small demographic of players did enjoy the sleight system and the more complex mathematics and strategy that went into the Kingdom Hearts' spinoff title.
Breath of Fresh Air for the Rhythm Genre
For a number of those players that enjoyed jumping into something completely new with a familiar Kingdom Hearts coat of paint on it, Melody of Memory is a solid inclusion in the series. More importantly, with rhythm party games having waned in popularity in recent years, it is a breath of fresh air for the genre itself. Up until this latest release, rhythm mechanics had either been relegated to mini-games or left up to indie titles like Crypt of the Necrodancer, which eventually led the developer Brace Yourself Games to make the Zelda-themed spinoff title Cadence of Hyrule.
Fans of the genre who have been looking for an intense rhythm action title are starting to see more games dedicated to making these mechanics shine, but 2020 is still far from the heyday of Rock Band and Guitar Hero. Breakout titles like Thumper and Beat Saber should be the clear evidence the industry needs to keep moving forward with the genre, but it's difficult to find AAA developers willing to take the dive these days. Hopefully Square Enix's success with rhythm action will inspire more developers to jump into the genre and keep these types of games coming, especially as we move into Next-Gen with its HD rumbles and haptic feedback.
The Best Way to Appreciate Yoko Shimomura's Work
An extra note about Melody of Memory, that is in no way a small part of the game or the Kingdom Hearts series, is the way that this new game highlights the work of Yoko Shimomura. Together with other musical giants like Kaoru Wada, Shimomura is often credited with a large amount of the success of Kingdom Hearts thanks to how the series' music quickly became one of the most impressive aspects of each title. The music from the series is even referred to as the Shimomura-style, and the composer absolutely deserves an entire game dedicated to the incredible music in Kingdom Hearts.
Considering how music is the center of a game's overall sound design, it's no wonder that the iconic songs and beats of Kingdom Hearts eventually found a starring role in the series. Orchestra's have even traveled around the world in past years for people to listen to Shimomura's music performed live, performing with extreme success. Square Enix and inieszero deserve plenty of recognition for the expertly crafted rhythm mechanics, but Shimomura's role in both Melody of Memory and the Kingdom Hearts series as a whole cannot be overstated.
An Incredible Combination of the Classic Formula and New Mechanics
Moving past the incredible music, however, the game itself is also a blast to play, with mechanics that seamlessly fuse the classic formula with rhythm action. With the Kingdom Hearts series often being criticized for allowing players to "spam X" until they win, forcing those same players to pay close attention to visual and audio indicators is a massive step forward. Not only should some of these rhythm mechanics make their way into future games, possibly enhancing the current builds for Flowmotion and Shotlock, they can also teach players how to better handle old encounters.
Players who tackled the seemingly impossible Yozora fight in Kingdom Hearts 3 Re:Mind might understand what this means, about Melody of Memory being a teaching tool. Avoiding attacks from the DLC's secret boss often required frame perfect timing, combined with visual indications of whether or not attacks needed to be dodged or blocked. These are the types of high-intensity fights that many veteran players love about the series, and mastering the rhythms in Melody of Memory is a similar challenge to fights like Yozora, Sephiroth, or the Lingering Will.
Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory is available now for PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
