Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days (read "Kingdom Hearts Three-Five-Eight Days over Two") is an RPG developed by Square Enix for the Nintendo DS, with aid from h.a.n.d. It is an installment in the best-selling Kingdom Hearts series. The game features the life of Roxas between the end of Kingdom Hearts and the beginning of Kingdom Hearts II, exploring the time from Roxas' creation until his confrontation with Riku that leads to his placement in the simulated Twilight Town, which is actually just a data-based Twilight Town, as shown in Kingdom Hearts II.

Square Enix, revealed at Tokyo Game Show 2007 that a new unique installment of the Kingdom Hearts Series would be coming exclusively to the Nintendo DS. In 358/2 Days, Players will learn more about Roxas's time in the Organization XIII by engaging in both exciting single-player & multiplayer modes. Many unanswered questions about Roxas's life (while Sora was sleeping for one year) will be explored alongside offering Kingdom Hearts fans a whole new way to enjoy the series in a variety of Disney Worlds. In December 2008, it has been announced that the game will come to stateside audiences as well as in Europe. A North American date of September 29, 2009 was given at Nintendo's E3 2009 press conference. The official release date for PAL regions is October 9th, 2009, which is considerably close to the NTSC release.

Characters
Like previous Kingdom Hearts titles, 358/2 Days features numerous Disney characters. All Organization XIII members are playable in multiplayer mode, as well as Riku, Donald, Goofy, King Mickey and Sora. Xion, the elusive 14th member of the Organization, has great significance in the story. The Heartless appear as the primary antagonists, including several new types. Also, some special Heartless appear as normal encounters, such as the Possessor in Beast's Castle. There are many old bosses seen like Guard Armor and Darkside. Moogles also appear in the game, they themselves wearing Black Cloaks. Pete features in various worlds such as Agrabah. However, with the exception of the aforementioned Moogles, there are no other Final Fantasy characters in the game.

Story
The game covers the story of Roxas before the events of Kingdom Hearts II. On the day he is born as Sora's Nobody when Sora transforms into a Heartless in the original Kingdom Hearts, Roxas is found by Xemnas, the leader of Organization XIII, who names him its thirteenth member. Each day he is sent on missions to other worlds, either alone or accompanied by his fellow members, to destroy Heartless with the Keyblade and release captive hearts, with which the Organization can fulfill their goal of summoning Kingdom Hearts and become complete beings. Roxas is placed under the care of Axel, who he befriends and spends his spare time with at the end of each day, sitting atop the clock tower in Twilight Town, speaking what's on their minds and eating sea salt ice cream together.

Shortly after Roxas's induction, the Organization sees the arrival of a mysterious fourteenth member, Xion. Her appearance depends from person to person, depending on their relationship with her. Later, when Axel and several other members are assigned to Castle Oblivion (setting the stage for Chain of Memories), Roxas is paired with Xion. The two begin to bond, and the reclusive Xion begins opening up to Roxas, revealing her resemblance to Sora's friend Kairi, and her ability to wield the Keyblade. A few days later, Roxas falls into a coma for several weeks, around the same time Sora is put to sleep to regain the memories he lost in Castle Oblivion at the end of Chain of Memories. When Roxas finally awakens (and finds that all the members dispatched to Castle Oblivion, except Axel, have been eliminated), he suggests that he, Axel and Xion all spend time together, and the three become close friends. However, Roxas begins experiencing Sora's memories and grows frustrated when his questions about them go unanswered, becoming increasingly curious about why he wields the Keyblade and doubtful of the Organization's motives.

Meanwhile, Sora, who is still sleeping, is moved from Castle Oblivion to Twilight Town by DiZ and Naminé, who are overseeing the restoration of his memories. Xion also has a confrontation with Riku, who brings her identity and the authenticity of her Keyblade into question and suggests she leave the Organization to merge with her original self. Xion, however, is torn between doing and staying with Roxas and Axel.

Eventually Xion discovers that she is an imperfect replica of Sora created by Xemnas from Sora's leaking memories should Sora, who Xemnas intends to use as part of the Organization's plans, turns out to be of no use. Her resemblance to Kairi is a result of Sora's strong memories of her; however, as Naminé attempts to restore Sora's memories, they affect Xion instead to the point where she begins to physically resemble Sora. Upon learning this, Xion becomes deeply confused and lost and leaves Organization XIII, desiring to become a true person, but also having a falling out with Roxas and Axel.

During a 'seek-and-capture' mission, Xigbar and Axel find Xion in Wonderland. As Xigbar prepares to fight her, he utters to himself, "You always had that smug face." Unknown to Axel, Xigbar sees the appearance of Ventus, a character who bears the appearance of Roxas who is yet to be revealed in Birth by Sleep. Suddenly, while as Xigbar was distracted, Xion disappears and takes down Xigbar easily. Axel questions what has just happened before his eyes.

Upon being reprogrammed by Xemnas, Xion attempts to absorb Roxas and become whole, though this would mean the real Sora will never awaken. However, Roxas battles and defeats Xion, who reveals Xemnas's motives and intentions to him before merging with him which, in turn, halts the restoration of Sora's memories completely. Xion then fades back to Sora. Roxas inherits Xion's Keyblade, allowing him to use two Keyblades at once (Oblivion and Oathkeeper).

Roxas defects from Organization XIII to find himself, much to Axel's chagrin. Soon afterward, he encounters and battles Riku, who had been dispatched by DiZ to capture him so that he may merge with Sora and complete the restoration of his memories. When Riku is nearly defeated, he taps into the growing darkness in his heart, granting him the power necessary to subdue Roxas, but also giving him the appearance of Xehanort's Heartless, who resides in his heart. Riku subsequently brings the unconscious Roxas to DiZ, who digitizes and places him into a virtual Twilight Town, setting the stage for Kingdom Hearts II. There is a scene called "Day 359:The New Day" showing Roxas in the virtual town thinking how everything seemed like a dream and wondering about his destiny while running and arriving at the Usual Spot.

Gameplay
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days gameplay is similar to the action-RPG style of the previous games in the series, and takes place in a 3D environment. There originally were three status bars, HP, MP and a new one labled LM, but the LM and MP bars have been removed. In recent scans, the familiar command menu from past installments of the game has returned, this time with only three visible commands. Instead of using MP for magic you will equip the spells you want to use for each mission using the Panel System. Magic has also been altered in that various forms of the same spell, such as Fire and Firaga, will actually be physically different spells instead of the same attack with a different power. A control scheme that allowed players to move the camera with the touch screen, and to move, jump, and attack using the control pad and face buttons is also present.

Another interesting point is the height of the chairs at Where Nothing Gathers. While performing Multiplayer Mode, the chairs' heights do not relate to their own preferences, but rather their rank during the missions that you go on. The members who come in lower places, out of all four members participating in the challenge, will receive lower chairs than the members who scored higher. When missions are completed, the height of the chairs will either move up or down in accordance to their previous position.

All characters also have various different forms of their weapons, each with unique stats, like the various Keyblades in the previous games.

Limit Break
Limit Breaks have been confirmed as a new feature. When the player's HP drops into a low yellow section of their HP bar, a Limit Break can be initiated by holding down the A button for a few seconds. Depending on which character the player is controlling, a powerful, element based attack will be performed (e.g. Roxas goes into a frenzy, shooting around in a aura of light while hurling light crosses on every finishing attack, or Demyx rocking out on his sitar, sending pillars of water out of the ground). A second stage of Limit Break called "Final Limit" can also be used, which increases their attacking power (e.g. Roxas sends pillars of Light out, and Demyx' water blasts are accompanied by a watery explosion).

Multiplayer
This is the second game in the series to feature multiplayer following Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories which featured the ability to fight others one on one with a feature called "Link Mode". There is a four-player non-canonical multiplayer mode, where players may choose any member of Organization XIII along with six other secret characters, which are Xion, Riku, Donald, Goofy, Mickey, and Sora, and go on missions. You can also play as Dual Wield Roxas in-game. In order to unlock him in multiplayer mode, attach Zero Gear and 3 ability panels.


 * List of primary playable characters
 * Xemnas
 * Xigbar
 * Xaldin
 * Vexen
 * Lexaeus
 * Zexion
 * Saïx
 * Axel
 * Demyx
 * Luxord
 * Marluxia
 * Larxene
 * Roxas (normal and Dual-Wielding, which is unlocked at the end of the game)


 * List of unlockable playable characters
 * Xion (reach Rookie rank on Day 117)
 * Riku (reach Agent rank on Day 172)
 * Donald (reach Expert rank on Day 225)
 * Goofy (reach Master rank on Day 296)
 * King Mickey (complete all missions in the game and purchase "The King's Return" at Moogle Shop)
 * Sora (fully complete all missions in the game and purchase "Sora's Awakening" at Moogle Shop)

Playable

 * The World That Never Was
 * Twilight Town
 * Agrabah
 * Beast's Castle
 * Olympus Coliseum
 * Halloween Town
 * Wonderland
 * Neverland

Cutscenes

 * Castle Oblivion
 * Destiny Islands

Voice acting
Unlike the previous handheld, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, 358/2 Days uses cutscenes that have voice acting.


 * All of the Organization XIII voice actors will reprise their roles.
 * Meaghan Jette Martin returns as Naminé, who voiced Naminé only in Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories.
 * Xion's North American voice actor has been confirmed in E3 trailers as Alyson Stoner, who previously voiced Kairi in Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories.
 * In the North American trailer, it was revealed that David Gallagher will return as Riku, and Christopher Lee from Kingdom Hearts II as DiZ.
 * This was Wayne Allwine's final voice role as Mickey Mouse before he died of diabetes on May 18, 2009; there is a dedication to him in the ending credits.

Trivia

 * The opening cinematic of the game uses scenes from previous appearances of the Organization, in Kingdom Hearts II and Re:Chain of Memories, and even additional scenes from Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix.
 * The Japanese version of the opening video lists each Organization member's attribute and weapon type, along with a short paragraph describing them which includes their title; the English version instead mentions their attributes within the paragraph and lists weapon types, with no mention of title. As a result, Xemnas's title still lacks an official translation.
 * Nintendo Power reported what was simply called "Pinocchio's World" to be playable. Data-mining has revealed the mugshots for Pinocchio (as a real boy), Geppetto, Gideon and Foulfellow, showing that the world had been at least partly programmed, but was removed for unknown reasons. Mugshots for Hades and Megara also exist despite not appearing in their world.
 * This is the first game to have progress with missions instead of just visiting and completeing a world in one trip.
 * This is the first game in the series to not have 100 Acre Wood or Hollow Bastion as playable worlds.
 * This game contains the most playable characters ever in the series, with a total of nineteen characters, including all of Organization XIII, Sora, Riku, Donald, Goofy, and King Mickey.
 * This is also the first time Donald and Goofy have solo playable appearances aside from hacks in the console games.