I’m somewhat fascinated by the concept of the “demake.” Video games very frequently chase technical advancement, higher graphical fidelity, more realistic physics - but sometimes those ideals are dashed by the simple limitations of the hardware. But as Orson Welles once said, “The enemy of art is the absence of limitation.”
The Game Boy Advance occupies an interesting space in the history of gaming hardware. It was released during a time period when every major home console manufacturer had made the jump to 3D, but the technology wasn’t quite there yet for handheld devices. That meant any franchise that wanted representation both at home and on the go needed to adapt itself to a 2D design space, which led to a major wave of demakes.
The beloved PlayStation 2 action game “Kingdom Hearts,” a crossover between Square Enix’s slate of Japanese role-playing games and Disney’s revered catalog of animated films, received the 3D-to-2D treatment when it came to the Game Boy Advance. But in traditional “Kingdom Hearts” fashion, it wasn’t quite that simple.
“Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories” for the Game Boy Advance is not a straight demake of “Kingdom Hearts.” It is a spinoff that’s also kind of a sequel that’s also kind of a demake - immediately after the events of the original game, series protagonist Sora finds himself without his memories wandering through recreated settings from the PS2 classic, recreating events with nearly no deviation until the very end. It is a very roundabout, “Kingdom Hearts” way of adapting the first game for a new platform. It was one of the first video games I ever played, a very confusing experience for a small child with no familiarity with the PS2 original.
And it rules.
What “Chain of Memories'’' understands expertly is that any time you adapt a work, you will lose something, and you must compensate for that loss with an equivalent gain. “Chain of Memories” loses 3D space, which means it loses the original game’s physical navigation in combat. During fights, movement is now severely limited. “Chain of Memories'' compensates for this by introducing a new deck building mechanic that’s unlike anything I’ve seen in any other game.
In “Chain of Memories,” cards are played in real time as physical attacks, which means the game still feels like “Kingdom Hearts” at its core. You still need to position yourself relative to the enemy to unleash an effective attack, but that attack is now represented by a card in a deck that can be edited between fights. Every attack in your arsenal is one that you have to specifically unlock, then specifically choose. You can chain together three cards at a time to unleash special attacks, but you need to find those cards in your deck before you can add them to a combo, which means specifically organizing your cards is also vital to success. This makes combat feel incredibly tactical, but also strikingly personal. It’s an excellent fit for a handheld device that travels with the player - this is your moveset, so much so that it’s literally in your pocket.
“Chain of Memories” is such a well-executed take on a downscaled version of “Kingdom Hearts'' that I almost wish it had remained on handheld devices. Eventually, because “Chain of Memories” was vital to the plot of “Kingdom Hearts 2,” Square Enix elected to release it on the PS2 to avoid alienating fans without Game Boy Advances. This version, called “Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories,” is fine, but it’s a little lacking. The game is now in 3D again, which makes the deckbuilding feel redundant and annoying. When you need to devote equal thought to navigating a physical space and to customizing your deck, fights feel less tactical and more overwhelming. It’s a “less is more” situation, one in which limitations created a perfect system and creative freedom tarnished it.
Sorrel Kerr-Jung is a sophomore studying virtual reality game development at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnist do not reflect those of The Post. Do you agree? Tell Sorrel by tweeting her at @sorrelkj.
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