Kingdom Hearts is a franchise that needs little introduction. The unity between Final Fantasy and Disney has spawned something entirely new, creating one of the most beloved action-RPG series in the last two decades. So, it was a surprise when fans learned that the next installment in the series would be a rhythm game with seemingly no story significance. Plenty of gamers were less than enthused at the prospect of missing out on the next chapter of Kingdom Hearts for what was shaping up to be a complete spin-off. That all being said, let’s take a closer dive into this title and see what it has to offer.

Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory is a rhythm action game developed by Square Enix and Indieszero and published by Square Enix. The game highlights the many musical arrangements in the Kingdom Hearts series as players take control of teams of three to battle heartless and other monsters to the beat of these songs.

Battle to the Beat

Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory has some of the most addicting gameplay seen in recent memory. Each stage’s objective is relatively simple, reaching the end by hitting all manner of obstacles to the rhythm of the song. However, this simple premise requires the player to listen fairly closely to music, hearing the subtle changes in tempo so as to not miss a note. Furthermore, the ranking system of getting either a full chain and hitting all excellent scores on the beats further highlight this title’s biggest strength. 

This game is extremely replayable with easy to understand but hard to master gameplay that is beyond satisfying to become good at. With multiple difficulties, players have complete freedom to decide at what pace they want to tackle each melody. Beginner if the song sounds complicated or proud if you’re looking for the greatest challenge. Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory boasts even more variety in the different styles of play.

Two additional gameplay styles exist alongside the standard mode. One button mode, which has every action controlled by one button instead of the multi-button presses required in standard and performer mode, is a more challenging mode with extra notes that will chain together their combo. Both game modes are a nice bit of variety but, neither is as enjoyable as the standard style. One button style must be commended though as that level of accessibility is appreciated in a high budget title. Overall, the standard game of Melody of Memory is engaging, satisfying, and extremely addicting.

Sora, Donald, and Goofy in a Feild Battle

A Musical World Tour

The single-player campaign in Melody of Memory takes the form of the world tour mode. Players will fly between worlds in the iconic Gummi ship, stopping in each of the Disney and original locations Sora and his friends have visited in the Kingdom Hearts series. Melody of Memory once again highlights its strength of replayability through the star achievements earned by completing certain tasks in each stage. Players may be required to earn a certain score on a particular difficulty or have a limited number of mistakes they can make. Perfecting your skills is what makes this title incredibly enjoyable.

The world tour is separated into music from each of the titles, going in order of their release. Starting with Kingdom Hearts, players will work through each title’s music until they reach the music of Kingdom Hearts 3. Along the way, new teams will be unlocked, letting players choose their favorite set of characters. Starting with team classic consisting of Sora, Donald, and Goofy; players will also have access to Roxas, Axel, and Xion from 358/2 Days, Aqua, Ventus, and Terra from Birth by Sleep and Riku, Meow Wow and Komory Bat from 3D. All the teams play identically but with unique attacks for the lead character.

The freedom to use whichever team you’d like to tackle the world tour mode is much appreciated. Allowing these other characters to shine after their single starring role is a fair bit of fan service that adds to this title’s charm. This even includes during the boss battles, showing entire fight scenes playing out in the background while players fight along to the song’s rhythm. At any point in time, players are even able to change the difficulty between beginner, standard, and proud, offering a level of freedom that allows anybody to tackle this game however they desire.

The World Tour Mode

Diving into the Music

Alongside the standard track stages, players will occasionally be involved in boss battles or memory dives. Both games play types deviate heavily from the standard play. Boss Fights will require button and directional inputs to attack, block, and dodge as a fight plays out between the boss and your selected team. Memory dives, however, are much more simplistic. Your chosen team glides forward as you time button presses to a song and watch a sequence of cinematics.

Boss Battles are done fantastically in this title. It is quite satisfying to land each button press as players have the added pressure of a boss who punishes mistakes much harder. Though this incentivizes that replayability more. Perfecting each song and watching as your chosen team destroys the enemy in your way makes for an incredible reward.

Memory dives aren’t nearly as rewarding, however. While on paper, they function similarly gameplay-wise. As a mode on its own, they’re effectively cinematics with characters gliding over them. In that case, one could simply go to the theater and watch the scene this song was attached to. While not awful, memory dives simply lack real engagement to them. This is why it’s extremely disappointing that nearly every song from Kingdom Hearts 3 is only limited to being a memory dive instead of offering the option for at least the standard stages.

Sora Performing a Memory Dive

The Band is all Here

Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory features different multiplayer modes, and they’re some of the most exhilarating parts of this game. Allowing players to battle each other both locally and online, was an amazing way to take further advantage of this title’s addicting nature and allow the competitive types to put their skills to the test in online matches. Players will play along to the same song but try to outperform the other. Doing well will grant players a Mario Kart-like item they can even use to mess with their opponents, such as false markers for notes or making the markers disappear entirely. 

The co-op mode is where the real action is, however. Two players will perform during the same song as they each hit different beats, needing to coordinate with each other in order to be successful. This mode is one of the most exhilarating local multiplayer modes that one can experience. Players need to genuinely rely on each other and keep an ear open for their partner, keeping to the same tempo. It’s a test in teamwork and adds another reason as to how Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory keeps players coming back.

With all that being said, it’s perplexing then that Square would opt not to allow online play with friends. The Kingdom Hearts community is a tightly knit one, and thus, it’s baffling that they’d decide to choose and limit online play to randoms only. This choice limits the player pool a gamer has for this title by not allowing them to play with friends beyond locally.

Multi-player mode

Symphony of Style

Despite the drastically improved visuals displayed in Kingdom Hearts 3, Melody of Memory makes the decision to use the PlayStation 2 graphics present in the previous title. Naturally, then, the game doesn’t look quite as good as it could. However, this is by far the best these models have ever looked. There is a crisper look to their textures and animations with vibrant coloring and musical note effects flying off each swing of the character’s weapon. Environments look beautiful as players get a full look at each of these iconic worlds while they race through them.

The sheer variety of tracks players can play in is staggering. With over 140 different tracks from various Kingdom Hearts titles beyond, you’re bound to find your favorite here. The tunes are quite crisp, with each instrument clearly defined and each arrangement expertly done. Yoko Shimomura’s excellent work is put on full display as players battle to hundreds of her amazing work. Given the gameplay’s precise nature, it is recommended to play this title while wearing headphones on the Switch version or even turning the sound effects of characters’ attacks down.

Riku, Meow Wow and, Komory Bat

Overall, Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory is an addicting, satisfying, and remarkably polished rhythm title that celebrates the absolutely amazing music of the Kingdom Hearts and Disney franchise. The story wasn’t touched on much in this review, and that is simply because it will be getting its own discussion, so tune back in for that. Thank you very much for reading and until next time…

If you’re interested in more thoughts on games then check out my first impressions of Hyrule Warriors Age of Calamity