Day: January 9, 2020

Retro Flashback: Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep

Another retro video game flashback, not too soon after putting out the flashback for Bayonetta.

Today’s retro game flashback is going to be on Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep.

BACKGROUND

Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep came out almost 10 years ago today in Japan on January 9, 2010, and on September 7, 2010 for North America.

There’s an international of the game that’s titled Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep Final Mix, this was released a year later after the original release, it came out in Japan on January 2011 that featured changes that were made from the non-Japanese versions of the game.

There’s another direct sequel called, Kingdom Hearts 0.2: Birth by Sleep-A Fragmentary Passage that was released in 2017 as part of a bundle of games called Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 The Final Chapter Epilogue. The HD version of Final Mi was released for both the PS3 and the PS4 in 2014 and in 2017 respectively as apart of the Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix collection.

In this game, it’s a prequel to the original Kingdom Hearts game, taking place almost ten years before first game. Birth by Sleep starts new characters, Terra, Aqua, and Ventus, these characters were also features briefly in Kingdom Hearts II. Their mission is to locate the missing Master Xehanort, and protect the worlds from creatures known as the Unversed.

Development for Birth by Sleep started back in June of 2005 with hints of the game Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix meaning to bring clues to an upcoming game, Birth By Sleep. The game was once again being directed by Tetsuya Nomura and was co-directed by Tai Yasue. Nomura even referred Birth by Sleep by even being “Episode 0” saying that the game is on the same scale and plays a big level of importance as both the original Kingdom Hearts game and Kingdom Hearts II in terms of Kingdom Hearts story.

Birth by Sleep was critically praised for gameplay, graphics, music and storytelling. Though some criticism towards the game was mostly do to level design and some characters.

GAMEPLAY

The Command Deck

Birth by Sleep is an action role-playing game with some hack and slash elements that introduces a somewhat new gameplay aspect to the series called the Command System. The Command System lets players customize a Command Deck with techniques and abilities that they can perform at will, called Deck Commands.

Performing ordinary attacks and Commands fills the gauge that’s dispayed above the Command Deck. When certain requirements are fulfilled and the gauge is full, the player’s basic attack is changed to the “Surge” Command, which racks up powerful combos depending on what Command Style is activated. Filling the gauge the second time replaces the “Surge” Command with the more powerful “Storm” Command.

Unlike most of the previous games of the series at this point, this game does not utilize Magic Points (MP) for spells or even magic casting. It uses a system called, “Focus” that’s displayed in an orange gauge on the interface. The player can perform “Focus” to perform a technique called “Shotlock” with which the player enters a first person mode where they get to target their enemies to cast homing spells that differ with each character and technique.

Another gameplay element that was introduced is the Dimension Link (or D-Link). that’s measured in the blue gauge on the interface. This is used to draw power from certain companions to whoever the player meets throughout the game. Once gauge is filled, while performing a D-Link, it will unleash a powerful finishing move that is activated to take out enemies. Each finishing move has two levels which can render a finishing move more powerful than before, similar to that of the Command System.

The Keyblade Command Board

The Command Board appears whenever the player completes a new world, and is accessed from save points and the world map once unlocked. Each world has it’s own Command Board that is unique from other worlds with their own tricks and mechanisms. Various Disney characters throughout the game will also appear in their respective Command Board to either be an aid or to even hinder the player.

Player Scenarios

In this game, its divided into three separate scenarios for each of three new characters story when you play as: Terra, Aqua, and Ventus. The first ten minutes of the story are mostly the same to whoever is chosen, the events that does follow differs from each character.

Gameplay for each scenarios is also different based on the abilities of each character: from power, speed, and magic. Terra is the most powerful in terms of physical damage. Ventus is the fastest character and Aqua specializes in magic. The players get to choose which of three characters they choose to start off with near the beginning of the game. Though Nomura has made suggestions to start with Terra first, followed by Ventus, and then Aqua so that the audience can able to understand the story. Completing all three of their scenraios, you also get to unlock the story’s final chapter.

GOING FORWARD

Birth by Sleep set the groundwork for many Kingdom Hearts games going forward. Its one of the most important games of the series in terms of it’s story. The game was developed by the same team that made Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories but used the same graphical engine from Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII. When Kingdom Hearts II was originally in development there was already a desire to eventually do a spinoff game for the series.

Development for the game began before the release of Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix with the plot being completed, but development was halted six months because of Chain of Memories. It was made as a PSP game for the systems functions such as the co-ops and competitive multiplayer aspect. As stated before Nomura already had desire for a spinoff game for the series and to do it on a mobile platform and for it to feature different gameplay elements from the other titles of the series.

FINAL THOUGHTS

If you didn’t already know, Kingdom Hearts is one of my top video game series of all time, and Birth by Sleep is actually one of my favorite games of the Kingdom Hearts series. So, I was pretty excited for this post knowing that it was the 10th Anniversary for one of my favorite games. Putting Kingdom Hearts on a mobile system was a bit weird, but also not considering we did had a Nintendo DS game before this being 358/2 Days that came a year before it.

It did the PSP pretty well with its gameplay mechanics, and if you’re into it for the story and lore of Kingdom Hearts then your in for a treat with this one. This game also introduced one of my favorite Kingdom Hearts original characters being Aqua! So, I guess you can say I have somewhat of a bias with just that factor alone.

Here’s a question, if your a Kingdom Hearts fan and have played Birth by Sleep where would you rank Birth by Sleep in your pantheon of Kingdom Hearts games? Whose route did you take within your first play through?! Please let me know in the comments!

Pokemon January Direct Recap

The Pokemon Company and Nintendo announced a good bit of new content for Pokemon Sword and Shield from this mornings direct. Pokemon Sword and Shield would be doing paid DLC with The Pokemon Sword and Shield Expansion Pass that will contain The Isle of Armor and the Crown Tundra expansions, are two new seperate adventures that will let fans be able to meet brand new characters from both versions of the games, catch new Pokemon, and explores some brand new areas within the Galar region.

Another big announcement that was presented in todays Pokemon direct was the return to the Mystery Dungeon series, with Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX. The game revists classic Pokemon Mystery Dungeon games, such as Red Rescue Team and Blue Rescue Team, which were originally released back in 2006 in Europe, almost being 14 years since.

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team D will be an exclusive Nintendo Switch title with new updated visuals with a very stunning picture-book art style, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX will launch in March 6th, 2020.

The Pokemon Sword and Shield Expansion Pass

Trainers will be able to jump right into their new adventures with the same save data they have been using to play Pokémon Sword or Pokémon Shield. They will also be able to begin exploring the Isle of Armor and the Crown Tundra at almost any point in the main games. Whether a Trainer has just started their adventure in the Galar region or is well along the path to becoming Champion, they will be able to enjoy the new content as soon as it’s released.

The Isle of Armor is scheduled to be released by the end of June 2020, and The Crown Tundra in the autumn of 2020. The Pokémon Sword Expansion Pass and Pokémon Shield Expansion Pass, which include both sets of content, will be available for prepurchase for £26.99 starting later today, January 9, 2020. Both expansions will include a new area to explore, newly discoverable Pokémon, clothing items, handy features, and more. In addition, fans can receive special bonuses when purchasing the Expansion Pass: a Pikachu Uniform and an Eevee Uniform. Fans will be able to receive the Pikachu and Eevee Uniforms in Pokémon Sword or Pokémon Shield by using codes that they will receive after they purchase the Expansion Pass.

Game Director at Game Freak, Ohmori-san, said:

“The Galar region in Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield was inspired by the United Kingdom. In the Expansion Pass, players will visit two brand new areas, the Isle of Armor and the Crown Tundra. The Isle of Armor is a location inspired by the Isle of Man, an island situated just off the coast of the United Kingdom, and the Crown Tundra is a snowy landscape inspired by Scotland.”

The Isle of Armor

In this expansion, Trainers will head to the Isle of Armor, the stage of a new adventure in the Galar region. The Isle of Armor is a giant island full of environments not seen in Galar before. There players will find wave-swept beaches, forests, bogs, caves, and sand dunes. There are also plenty of Pokémon that make this island their home, living freely amid the lush natural surroundings. There’s even a dojo here that specializes in some very particular training styles. Trainers and their Pokémon will take up an apprenticeship under the master of this dojo and train hard to become even stronger.

The Crown Tundra

This expansions set in the snow-swept realm of the Crown Tundra. The Crown Tundra features a beautiful shining, silvery landscape. In this frigid area, with its jagged winter mountains, people live in small communities where they support and rely on one another. A certain person will appoint the player as the leader of their exploration team in the Crown Tundra, where Trainers will be tasked with investigating the reaches of this frozen land. Here, Trainers will be able to explore the full depth of Pokémon Dens, which they’ve so far only been able to glimpse in Max Raid Battles.

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX is set in a world inhabited only by Pokémon. When players first open their eyes, they see a Pokémon in front of them, and they can understand what it’s saying. Upon closer inspection, players will realize that they themselves have become a Pokémon. According to the Pokémon they meet, natural disasters have suddenly started occurring all over this world, causing all kinds of problems. Players and their partner Pokémon decide to form a rescue team to go help Pokémon that are in trouble. 

Players will answer a few questions that appear at the beginning of the game to help determine which Pokémon they will be. Next, they will decide the Pokémon that will be their partner on this adventure. The main character and their partner can be chosen from 16 different Pokémon. Players will get job requests in various forms—like on the Bulletin Board at Pelipper Post Office or from letters that will be delivered to the mailbox at the player’s rescue team base. As players complete jobs, their rescue team’s rescue points will increase. When they collect enough points, their rescue team’s rank will go up. When they first form their rescue team, they’ll be Rookie Rank. Players can gain experience as a rescue team on their way to what all rescue teams aspire to—the Gold Rank.

In this world, Mystery Dungeons can be found in various places, such as mountains, canyons, forests, and more. Each time players enter a Mystery Dungeon, the layout is slightly different. They’ll need to adventure through these dungeons to complete the jobs they will receive requests for one after another.

Inside dungeons, players will find various useful items—such as Seeds, Berries, and TMs—which will help them on their adventure. As with the layout of the dungeons, the kinds of items and their locations will change each time players enter a dungeon. Players will need to use the right items at the right time to help out Pokémon that are in trouble.

Dungeons are inhabited by many Pokémon that will attack the main character. Inside dungeons, battles are turn based, meaning that for each move you make, your opponents will also make a move. Since opponents won’t move unless the player moves in these turn-based battles, the player will have plenty of time to think about what their next move should be. If the player panics and presses a button or walks a bunch of steps carelessly, they could find themselves in a scrape they weren’t anticipating. Making decisions calmly and carefully considering how the opposing Pokémon are moving are the keys to successfully navigating a dungeon.

This title can be played in any mode on the Nintendo Switch—TV mode, tabletop mode, or handheld mode. In addition, the following features have been added that can assist players with controlling their Pokémon and progressing through the game, so even if it’s their first time, they can easily adventure through a dungeon.

  • Auto mode: Starting with this title, an auto-mode feature has been added that lets players progress through their adventures more easily. By just pressing the L Button, the main character and their team will move efficiently. When a player approaches an enemy, auto mode will turn off automatically.
  • Unleash moves automatically with the A Button: Ordinarily the player would select from one of four moves to use on an enemy. When players aren’t sure which move to use, they can get the enemy right in front of them and press the A Button to automatically unleash the best move to use on that foe.
  • Up to eight Pokémon can travel with you: When Trainers depart for a dungeon, they can have three members on their team as usual, but in this title, they can also add Pokémon they encounter as they go through dungeons to get up to eight teammates walking through a dungeon with them.
  • Fainting in a dungeon: If a player is defeated in a dungeon, they can ask for other players to rescue them, or they can rescue themselves with another of their own rescue teams. Then they’ll be able to resume their adventure from where they fainted.

SOURCE via The Pokemon Company