Why do people hate Chain of Memories?

[thatkingdomheartsguy 153]

I never particularly understood people's reasoning for this. What is it about the card battle system in CoM that people hate so much? I absolutely adore it; it's a pleasant change of pace from the button mash-y action that was KH1. It required legitimate strategy and thinking; you can't mash X to win, because every attack you do has a cost to it that you must consider the repercussions to.  Do people just not like it because it's not a button masher? And if that's the reason, does that mean these people dislike all games that aren't button mashers and require thinking?I really don't understand. People love games like Dark Souls, which forces you to fight cautiously and conservatively, which can almost be kind of compared to Chain of Memories' battle system. Yet the majority of the KH community that I've seen absolutely despises this game, and with no particular reason either. Can someone please tell me why? I really do want to know, because from what I can tell so far, it's just blind hate because the game is "different", and personally, I don't consider that as a valid reason at all.

[Hallowseve 143]

Story was great, gameplay was awful.

[Renault 29]

After finishing my first play-through on the Re:Chain PS3 release, I can DEFINITELY SEE where all the rage comes from. The gameplay is frustrating, it's mostly up to the luck of the draw, which can be a double-edged sword. Admittedly, the more you play it, the more you can build your own strategy, but not a lot of people like games that force the concept of deck-building and going up against an opponent's deck when they can use the same trump cards that you can. The all-zero card became pretty annoying halfway through the game, not to mention that most notably the final set of bosses created a pretty nasty difficulty curve. Normal strategies stop working, and it all ends up coming down to chance. I feel like some people hate this concept of "chance," because it throws a lot of irons into the fire at once. Cards are too sudden, I feel as if we're all used to the concept of "look for cues and counter when you find an opening in the pattern." Chain just...felt like "oh, here's a card that I KNOW will beat you! aaaaaaaaaaaaand Pirate heartless card, it's gone and I'm dead," or some derivative. Maybe I'm just incredibly bad at designing decks, but honestly, Sonic Blade and Lethal Flame made things much more fun later on.

Again, just my own personal experience with the game. I didn't HATE it, not by far, but it has...a learning curve of a sort. I myself didn't make very much use of zero cards during my playthrough, because I was honestly more interested in getting to my Proud/Critical run of 2FM and wanted to beat the game as soon as possible. Marluxia was pretty kickass, though.
 

[thatkingdomheartsguy 153]

After finishing my first play-through on the Re:Chain PS3 release, I can DEFINITELY SEE where all the rage comes from. The gameplay is frustrating, it's mostly up to the luck of the draw, which can be a double-edged sword. Admittedly, the more you play it, the more you can build your own strategy, but not a lot of people like games that force the concept of deck-building and going up against an opponent's deck when they can use the same trump cards that you can. The all-zero card became pretty annoying halfway through the game, not to mention that most notably the final set of bosses created a pretty nasty difficulty curve. Normal strategies stop working, and it all ends up coming down to chance. I feel like some people hate this concept of "chance," because it throws a lot of irons into the fire at once. Cards are too sudden, I feel as if we're all used to the concept of "look for cues and counter when you find an opening in the pattern." Chain just...felt like "oh, here's a card that I KNOW will beat you! aaaaaaaaaaaaand Pirate heartless card, it's gone and I'm dead," or some derivative. Maybe I'm just incredibly bad at designing decks, but honestly, Sonic Blade and Lethal Flame made things much more fun later on.

 

Again, just my own personal experience with the game. I didn't HATE it, not by far, but it has...a learning curve of a sort. I myself didn't make very much use of zero cards during my playthrough, because I was honestly more interested in getting to my Proud/Critical run of 2FM and wanted to beat the game as soon as possible. Marluxia was pretty kickass, though.

 

Yeah see, that's the thing! People say the gameplay is frustrating because of the "luck", yet so many love games like Pokemon which is HEAVILY dependent on luck. Then, you mention stuff like "looking for cues" (which I admit, I absolutely loved that about KH, most notably KH2), but the average player would play through the other KH game by mashing X or spamming commands; I rarely see players actually observing for cues and countering it to their advantage. In fact, I'd say CoM pulled off a dumbed down system of this "cues" thing you mentioned, yet no one seems to enjoy that. I just don't see their reasoning.

 

Also, I loved the learning curve the CoM had; I mean, if you played through the entire game, most players would have a good understanding of how the card system works by the end, and isn't that the important part? I'd say one of the most appealing parts of the game is how well it teaches you the battle system; you start out being completely confused, but you learn the more you use it, and the more you use it, the better you get at it.

Story was great, gameplay was awful.

Yes, this is the exact same comment I would see on thousands of KH videos, forums, etc. 

 

You think gameplay is awful, and that's fine. But what I want to know is why. People accuse KH1 of being button mashy, but I've seen the same people accuse KHCoM of not being button mashy. It's like they can't make up their mind.

Edited June 24, 2016 by thatkingdomheartsguy

[TheWayToDawn 775]

I never really saw why people didn't like it. I absolutely love it! Sora's character build up in the game was absolutely amazing throughout the game. I must say the game play is a bit frustrating, it does rely on strategy and heavily on chance. I mean it is a bit annoying on chance, but an interesting concept. I still can't see the hate on it though.

[Hallowseve 143]

I didn't like the card gameplay because it was a little crazy for me. Yes, I know it requires strategies, but I hate being restricted and having my cards break. They should have given the players two options: KH1 gameplay or the card gameplay. It would've led to more replayability.

[Ultimus Grid 546]

While CoM (or Re:CoM I should probably say) isn't my favorite in the series, I by no means hate it.  In fact, I enjoyed it quite a bit.  It involved a sense of strategy I normally wouldn't use in other games.  But I have to say, there are some parts of Re:CoM I didn't like.

 

1.  The rng.  There were several times when I was trying to get some cards (more specifically enemy cards), some other card would drop instead.  Even when using map cards that raised the drop rate wouldn't help sometimes.

 

2.  Not being able to block.  Dodge rolling is nice to have, but there are many attacks I felt you should be able to block against.  Maybe that's just a personal nitpick though.

 

3.  I can understand why, but I didn't find it fair when I can only deal one hit per attack card while an enemy could do up to 8 or 9 (looking at YOU Larxene!!!! )​.

 

4.  Freaking Larxene!  I can't stand her at all.  Her personality, her boss fights, everything about her really.

[Headphone Jack 1,147]

the card system requires a bit more strategy and preparation than other KH games. it really comes out of left field and for those who aren't expecting it, it can just suck all the fun out of a playthrough. 

 

personally, i don't mind it and at times it can be really fun to spend some time delicately constructing a deck and then going through a world with no problems. at the beginning you don't have a lot of options but as more worlds open up and you gain more cards and CP, you can start to build a deck that you're familiar with and the game becomes more enjoyable. 

 

that said, there were some annoying aspects of about the card system. it's not without it's flaws. not a terrible gameplay mechanic to put in a game, though.

 

 

2.  Not being able to block.  Dodge rolling is nice to have, but there are many attacks I felt you should be able to block against.  Maybe that's just a personal nitpick though.

gotta put some zero cards at the beginning or end of your deck to whip them out and stop an oncoming attack. a dedicated blocking mechanic would have been nice but it probably would have been too hard to work into the card system. Card Breaks are basically the equivalent of blocking in CoM. 

[Ultimus Grid 546]

gotta put some zero cards at the beginning or end of your deck to whip them out and stop an oncoming attack. a dedicated blocking mechanic would have been nice but it probably would have been too hard to work into the card system. Card Breaks are basically the equivalent of blocking in CoM. 

 

Now that I've thought about it, yeah it could've been a hassle to include blocking.  I didn't put in many zero cards in a deck due to how much cp they cost.  Although, that's my fault for focusing more on hp than cp.

Edited June 24, 2016 by Ultimus Grid

[Sendou Aichi 2,356]

Well, it is pretty much my favourite KH.

Main issue for me is the RNG. And that the game could have used more content. 

Other than that, I guess people hate it because it isn't exactly friendly to new players, or prefer gameplay that is more focused on action.

 

But what I want to know is why. People accuse KH1 of being button mashy, but I've seen the same people accuse KHCoM of not being button mashy. It's like they can't make up their mind.

That happens in lot of franchises. For example in YGO: Since 5D's, every time a new series comes out, a new summoning method comes out as well.

People complain about the new mechanic, then when a new one comes out, same people complain about the new summoning method, claiming they are broken, but say that they are completely fine with the previous, claiming they are balanced.

[thatkingdomheartsguy 153]

I didn't like the card gameplay because it was a little crazy for me. Yes, I know it requires strategies, but I hate being restricted and having my cards break. They should have given the players two options: KH1 gameplay or the card gameplay. It would've led to more replayability.

I can kinda sort of see why people would hate it if they just prefer pure button mashers, but that still wouldn't explain the large portion of the fanbase that hates the game. I refuse to believe that so many people hate CoM just because of its non-button mashing restrictions, because people love games like the Dark Souls series which is based off of restricting your attacks and finding openings; CoM is very similar in that aspect, where you can't mash a button and expect to win.

 

There has to be something else behind the negativity of CoM.

While CoM (or Re:CoM I should probably say) isn't my favorite in the series, I by no means hate it.  In fact, I enjoyed it quite a bit.  It involved a sense of strategy I normally wouldn't use in other games.  But I have to say, there are some parts of Re:CoM I didn't like.

 

1.  The rng.  There were several times when I was trying to get some cards (more specifically enemy cards), some other card would drop instead.  Even when using map cards that raised the drop rate wouldn't help sometimes.

 

2.  Not being able to block.  Dodge rolling is nice to have, but there are many attacks I felt you should be able to block against.  Maybe that's just a personal nitpick though.

 

3.  I can understand why, but I didn't find it fair when I can only deal one hit per attack card while an enemy could do up to 8 or 9 (looking at YOU Larxene!!!! )​.

 

4.  Freaking Larxene!  I can't stand her at all.  Her personality, her boss fights, everything about her really.

Once again, RNG can be quite annoying sometimes in terms of card drops, yet people also love games that have heavy RNG elements to them. For example, take Yu-gi-oh games; lots of the battle system is based off of RNG, yet so many people love it. Same can be said with Pokemon, Mario Kart, etc. So I don't think RNG is the reason either. Also ya, I'd say Card Breaking substitutes a Guard ability, but maybe that's just me.

 

It's really interesting since I absolutely love CoM, just the same way I love games like Dark Souls and Pokemon and stuff. I just don't see all this negativity. (Also as a point of reference, KH2FM is my fav KH game, followed by CoM)

[Kaweebo 3,617]

Basically, just read the novel. WAY better adaptation of the story than both the game and the manga. 

[thatkingdomheartsguy 153]

Well, it is pretty much my favourite KH.

Main issue for me is the RNG. And that the game could have used more content. 

Other than that, I guess people hate it because it isn't exactly friendly to new players, or prefer gameplay that is more focused on action.

Hey that's actually a good point I never considered. The game is very confusing to start, and especially players who've played through the first game and loved it would not have appreciated this sudden and confusing change.

 

That being said, the game does do well at teaching you the basic combats, and I'd say the majority of people who have complained about CoM have also played through a decent portion of the game, which should at least give them an idea of how the combat works. 

[awesomeinmyworld 268]

Re: CoM is my least favorite KH game because of its gameplay. And the concept that people don't like the forced "strategic" element to it I don't feel is fair to say. The game is strategic, I acknowledge that, I appreciate its depth, and I have done a very in depth strategic playthrough of it when I played through the second time. But it didn't make the game any better for me. The main issues for me are game speed and game flow.

 

All of the KH games have tried to make gameplay faster, hence the button masher feel to the game, but the faster paced games still have their own levels of strategy to them. KH2 I feel is the best in terms of gameplay: it's fast with numerous ways to do combos. The command decks were helpful in getting off powerful spells and moves quickly. while still allowing for fast normal combos. And Flowmotion made the gameplay even faster by allowing players to perform powerful moves and move away or closer extremely quickly. And while each system had their faults as well as successes, they were still fun, fast paced mechanics. Seriously, play 3D and then KH1, it's amazing how much faster the gamplay has progressed.

 

CoM, no matter how you slice it, even with sleights, is slow. You start off with a weak deck that makes it so hard to get through battles quickly. You're constantly watching the enemies cards, which takes forever, which means you're just standing there. Which would be fine if this was a turn based game, except it isn't. You're still in an action game setting where you get to move around. You're given the illusion of a fast paced game when it's basically just a waiting game. And even if you try to end the battle quickly or get the upper hand on enemies by using a card first, they'll play a card immediately that almost always seems to be higher than yours, resulting in a card break. So battles are slower, meaning moving through rooms, floors and bosses are slower. Not to mention the deck building is also tedious and slow. You can't just put random cards in. You can sort by numbers, but then you realize some cards do more damage at certain parts of a combo, so unless you have a guide, you have to figure out (slowly) which cards are best for a certain part of a combo. And if you want to include sleights, you have to make sure that they're positioned properly and that the cards won't be a hindrance later on. And even though this is the most strategic part of CoM, it's again, slow, tedious and takes even more time away from finishing the game. For a game series that strives to up the action with every iteration, while it isn't a step backwards, I feel it wasn't a step in the right direction. Again, if this was an actual turn based game, and not a pseudo-action game, I think it would have fit better, and would have been more enjoyable.

 

Going back to card breaks. I hate card breaks because when it happens, it's so jarring and sudden that it takes me, at least, out of the game space and out of game flow. Game flow is a state of play where the player is completely engrossed in the game world, but can still go out of it of their own volition. (Examples: switching from "I died" or "I couldn't jump" to "Sora didn't jump/block"). It's something you want a player to experience, you want them to be a part of the game world. But when you're so focused on trying to speed through a battle, or just getting through one, but you're character staggers, gets hit, the screen flashes for a sec and a sharp sound plays, it takes the player out of game flow. I tried to play a card and hit the enemy, but they played a card higher and suddenly I can't move or do anything for a sec. It's jarring, it's sudden and it often leaves me scrambling for a few moments. But all it takes are a few moments. I'm out of game flow, I'm distracted, I don't know what's going on, then I get hit even more. This makes me mad and frustrated at the game when I should be frustrated at myself. Mainly because enemies take forever to play a card, and when they break your card, they play a card immediately after it so I don't know what card broke mine. Plus it's hard to build a decent deck at the beginning. Even more problems with the system and mechanics when I should be the problem. Game flow is important and CoM brings be out of it so much.

 

I could go on, but it would be so long. Btw if anyone wants to know more about game flow:http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/166972/cognitive_flow_the_psychology_of_.php

[Connected 978]

Card system.

[Robbie the Wise 5,050]

Based on the responses here people wanted an easier game. But Chain of Memories was the most innovative and creative Kingdom Hearts game out there. In series that has devolved into button mashing in the later installments, it's certainly a diamond in the rough. For me it's the second best title out as of right now.

Edited June 24, 2016 by Robbie the Wise

[Felixx 6,646]

Ok, here's why I don't like Chain of Memories:

 

The gameplay is awful (in my opinion). I hate it being restricted in fights, and those cards really restricted me. I couldn't use the attacks I wanted.

The place where you fought was really small and I hate that. It felt like a FF game, and tbh I'm not a big fan of their gameplay.

Then the rooms. OMG, they were so BORING! It was always the same, you go into a room, encounter Heartless, have that awful fight in that small fighting place, open a new door and repeat the same over and over. The story in the rooms was just a joke, and bored me af.

 

The only good part, and it was a really amazing part actually, of the game were the cutscenes between the rooms. Those were awesome and intriguing. But the rest, is just garbage.

 

Again this is just my opinion, but I'm sure I mentioned some reasons why CoM isn't one of the favorite KH games among most fans.

[Setrex 1,031]

The battle system wasn't for everyone. Some find it complicated while others find it great.

 

I love Chain of Memories personally, but I have complaints regarding the PS2 remake. I don't think the battle system transitioned well into 3D. The Card system and field of view for me works a million times better in the GBA version. I loved the battle system and world gameplay, in fact the whole card system was great. Story wise I liked it too and it's definitely the most underrated Kingdom Hearts game.

 

I honestly think many people weren't willing to give the game a proper chance and hate it without really giving an actual argument. The game isn't flawless, but it doesn't deserve the hate it gets from people.

[DX- UnlimitedGamer 6]

the game is more suited to handheld systems due to the card battle style it introduced. When you try to play it with a controller then it just gets frustrating when you can't play cards fast enough. personally I liked the game and thought the cards were cool, but it just seemed too risky when you had a good stack ready to go and then if your opponent has a 0 card then you basically wasted a bunch of cards. 

[thatkingdomheartsguy 153]

CoM, no matter how you slice it, even with sleights, is slow. You start off with a weak deck that makes it so hard to get through battles quickly. You're constantly watching the enemies cards, which takes forever, which means you're just standing there. Which would be fine if this was a turn based game, except it isn't. You're still in an action game setting where you get to move around. You're given the illusion of a fast paced game when it's basically just a waiting game. And even if you try to end the battle quickly or get the upper hand on enemies by using a card first, they'll play a card immediately that almost always seems to be higher than yours, resulting in a card break. So battles are slower, meaning moving through rooms, floors and bosses are slower. Not to mention the deck building is also tedious and slow. You can't just put random cards in. You can sort by numbers, but then you realize some cards do more damage at certain parts of a combo, so unless you have a guide, you have to figure out (slowly) which cards are best for a certain part of a combo. And if you want to include sleights, you have to make sure that they're positioned properly and that the cards won't be a hindrance later on. And even though this is the most strategic part of CoM, it's again, slow, tedious and takes even more time away from finishing the game. For a game series that strives to up the action with every iteration, while it isn't a step backwards, I feel it wasn't a step in the right direction. Again, if this was an actual turn based game, and not a pseudo-action game, I think it would have fit better, and would have been more enjoyable.

 

Going back to card breaks. I hate card breaks because when it happens, it's so jarring and sudden that it takes me, at least, out of the game space and out of game flow. Game flow is a state of play where the player is completely engrossed in the game world, but can still go out of it of their own volition. (Examples: switching from "I died" or "I couldn't jump" to "Sora didn't jump/block"). It's something you want a player to experience, you want them to be a part of the game world. But when you're so focused on trying to speed through a battle, or just getting through one, but you're character staggers, gets hit, the screen flashes for a sec and a sharp sound plays, it takes the player out of game flow. I tried to play a card and hit the enemy, but they played a card higher and suddenly I can't move or do anything for a sec. It's jarring, it's sudden and it often leaves me scrambling for a few moments. But all it takes are a few moments. I'm out of game flow, I'm distracted, I don't know what's going on, then I get hit even more. This makes me mad and frustrated at the game when I should be frustrated at myself. Mainly because enemies take forever to play a card, and when they break your card, they play a card immediately after it so I don't know what card broke mine. Plus it's hard to build a decent deck at the beginning. Even more problems with the system and mechanics when I should be the problem. Game flow is important and CoM brings be out of it so much.

 

I could go on, but it would be so long. Btw if anyone wants to know more about game flow:http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/166972/cognitive_flow_the_psychology_of_.php

Hm, interesting points. It seems as if you dislike it because of the strategic element inside that I enjoy. You build your decks so that you can deal with enemies strategically. Maybe it's our different playstyles, but I don't personally wait out every battle and force a cardbreak on an enemy. You play strategically, you set up your deck with Sleights, and use enemy cards to your advantage to attack them with an onslaught of sleights. Games like DDD which have combat modeled more of an action RPG will obviously be faster paced than CoM, but I don't see that as necessarily better. I also have a very Sleight-heavy playstyle, so by late game, not many enemies have the ability to break my cards (with the exception of bosses). It really adds more strategy this way; you need to consider what to use against bosses and enemies depending on who your fighting. It's not like the system is unfair; you can Cardbreak your enemies, or your enemies can Cardbreak you.

 

I'm not too sure if I agree with you for the Card Deck and Menuing either. It felt easy to understand, and after a while, it didn't take long to remember which sleights are which, and which Card is stronger. Honestly, I found half of the fun being able to customize my own deck with my own knowledge of the game. In comparison to, say, BBS, which pretty much required that you had some form of guide for Command Melding, the Card system in CoM is very accessible and easy to learn, at least for me.

 

Regarding the flow; I don't see anything wrong with Cardbreaks. If they are able to break your cards, you strategize and come up with better methods. In fact, I'd say BBS specifically was even worse in this aspect. Bosses can randomly block your attacks and end your combos without any warning. At least CoM gave you a warning when an enemy had the potential to break your attack, and when they do, you react accordingly to counter and take as little damage as possible. That's all there is to it.

 

 

Ok, here's why I don't like Chain of Memories:The gameplay is awful (in my opinion). I hate it being restricted in fights, and those cards really restricted me. I couldn't use the attacks I wanted.The place where you fought was really small and I hate that. It felt like a FF game, and tbh I'm not a big fan of their gameplay.Then the rooms. OMG, they were so BORING! It was always the same, you go into a room, encounter Heartless, have that awful fight in that small fighting place, open a new door and repeat the same over and over. The story in the rooms was just a joke, and bored me af.The only good part, and it was a really amazing part actually, of the game were the cutscenes between the rooms. Those were awesome and intriguing. But the rest, is just garbage.Again this is just my opinion, but I'm sure I mentioned some reasons why CoM isn't one of the favorite KH games among most fans.

What I really don't understand is that people seem to hate the restrictions the card placed among them, yet they love other games that places restriction on your combat and forces you to play a certain way. What's the difference between the basic combat ideas of Dark Souls and CoM? They both place heavy restrictions, and as far fetched as a comparison these to games might be, they have a lot of similarities. Dark Souls forces you to play conservatively. Your attacks are restricted; they have lag to them, and you also need to keep into consideration factors like stamina, enemy retaliation, ect. Isn't CoM basically the same? If you strategize correctly, you can win. If you strategize incorrectly, the enemies break your cards and you get hit. You're being restricted, but that doesn't mean the game is automatically bad or not fun. So what's the difference? I don't see it.

 

The rooms can get repetitive, I wholeheartedly agree with that. Perhaps thats one of my few negative grudges against CoM.

the game is more suited to handheld systems due to the card battle style it introduced. When you try to play it with a controller then it just gets frustrating when you can't play cards fast enough. personally I liked the game and thought the cards were cool, but it just seemed too risky when you had a good stack ready to go and then if your opponent has a 0 card then you basically wasted a bunch of cards. 

Yeah I see what you mean, but isn't that kind of the strategy involved that so many people love? If you have a powerful sleight you can unleash, they are usually able to be broken really easily. This is in order to nerf them. Ars Arcanum does an insane amount of damage, but you can rarely pull it off because it's such a low value. High risk, high reward, low risk, low reward. I'd say the game does that right, and so many other games do the same and gets complimented for it. So what makes CoM different so that so many people consider it as bad?

[Felixx 6,646]

What I really don't understand is that people seem to hate the restrictions the card placed among them, yet they love other games that places restriction on your combat and forces you to play a certain way. What's the difference between the basic combat ideas of Dark Souls and CoM? They both place heavy restrictions, and as far fetched as a comparison these to games might be, they have a lot of similarities. Dark Souls forces you to play conservatively. Your attacks are restricted; they have lag to them, and you also need to keep into consideration factors like stamina, enemy retaliation, ect. Isn't CoM basically the same? If you strategize correctly, you can win. If you strategize incorrectly, the enemies break your cards and you get hit. You're being restricted, but that doesn't mean the game is automatically bad or not fun. So what's the difference? I don't see it. The rooms can get repetitive, I wholeheartedly agree with that. Perhaps thats one of my few negative grudges against CoM.

Well okay, I have to admit that the card system is not THAT bad, as I made it look like. But it gives the battles a slower pacing than the classic KH fighting system. And combined with the repetitive rooms, it gets annoying at some point. All you want is for the story to progress, and the card system is just slowing it down even more.That's why I wasn't a big fan of the FFX turn based system. I couldn't take 10 steps without an enemy appearing, and it always took some minutes to defeat them. While all I wanted was to see more of the story.And in CoM it's even worse because the story in the rooms themselves isn't really interesting, as I mentioned before. So for me it's just that combination, that doesn't make me wanna play that game ever again.I haven't played Dark Souls, so I can't say much about it. But maybe people who play a KH game are just used to the classic battle system, and the card system throws them off. Or as some other mentioned here it takes some time till you get the hang of it.

[Robbie the Wise 5,050]

Hm, interesting points. It seems as if you dislike it because of the strategic element inside that I enjoy. You build your decks so that you can deal with enemies strategically. Maybe it's our different playstyles, but I don't personally wait out every battle and force a cardbreak on an enemy. You play strategically, you set up your deck with Sleights, and use enemy cards to your advantage to attack them with an onslaught of sleights. Games like DDD which have combat modeled more of an action RPG will obviously be faster paced than CoM, but I don't see that as necessarily better. I also have a very Sleight-heavy playstyle, so by late game, not many enemies have the ability to break my cards (with the exception of bosses). It really adds more strategy this way; you need to consider what to use against bosses and enemies depending on who your fighting. It's not like the system is unfair; you can Cardbreak your enemies, or your enemies can Cardbreak you. I'm not too sure if I agree with you for the Card Deck and Menuing either. It felt easy to understand, and after a while, it didn't take long to remember which sleights are which, and which Card is stronger. Honestly, I found half of the fun being able to customize my own deck with my own knowledge of the game. In comparison to, say, BBS, which pretty much required that you had some form of guide for Command Melding, the Card system in CoM is very accessible and easy to learn, at least for me. Regarding the flow; I don't see anything wrong with Cardbreaks. If they are able to break your cards, you strategize and come up with better methods. In fact, I'd say BBS specifically was even worse in this aspect. Bosses can randomly block your attacks and end your combos without any warning. At least CoM gave you a warning when an enemy had the potential to break your attack, and when they do, you react accordingly to counter and take as little damage as possible. That's all there is to it.  What I really don't understand is that people seem to hate the restrictions the card placed among them, yet they love other games that places restriction on your combat and forces you to play a certain way. What's the difference between the basic combat ideas of Dark Souls and CoM? They both place heavy restrictions, and as far fetched as a comparison these to games might be, they have a lot of similarities. Dark Souls forces you to play conservatively. Your attacks are restricted; they have lag to them, and you also need to keep into consideration factors like stamina, enemy retaliation, ect. Isn't CoM basically the same? If you strategize correctly, you can win. If you strategize incorrectly, the enemies break your cards and you get hit. You're being restricted, but that doesn't mean the game is automatically bad or not fun. So what's the difference? I don't see it. The rooms can get repetitive, I wholeheartedly agree with that. Perhaps thats one of my few negative grudges against CoM.Yeah I see what you mean, but isn't that kind of the strategy involved that so many people love? If you have a powerful sleight you can unleash, they are usually able to be broken really easily. This is in order to nerf them. Ars Arcanum does an insane amount of damage, but you can rarely pull it off because it's such a low value. High risk, high reward, low risk, low reward. I'd say the game does that right, and so many other games do the same and gets complimented for it. So what makes CoM different so that so many people consider it as bad?

It's pretty clear a lot of people wanted an easier game. The fact that people prefer a horrible game like DDD over CoM speaks for itself. At least when you lose in Chain of Memories it's genuinely because you were outplayed, not because of glitchy and broken physics or AI that randomly break you attacks. The RNG in Chain of Memories is controllable. Yes, you can be countered randomly, but if you have set your deck up properly you can easily regroup. It's all how you arrange your deck.

[The Transcendent Key 12,109]

"In this castle to find is to lose...and to lose is to find...what will you give up in exchange?" -Marluxia

 

Lol, sorry, I just needed to put that there.  He's my favorite Organization member, after all!  But anyways, I wanted to comment on this topic, as I have obviously played Chain Of Memories, and wanted to relay my opinion on the game here!

 

I loved the game!  The story was wonderful, and honestly, like you, kingdomheartsguy, I thoroughly enjoyed CoM's battle system!  It was definitely a different beast than KHI's gameplay, and I loved it because of that!  Every move you'd make would actually have some strategy behind it, and just when you thought you'd be beat, you'd have an awesome Card Sleight or 0 card to save the day!  The satisfying loop this created during the game was awesome, and I just loved it when I got the chance to beat Heartless without even getting hurt!  Raging Storm, Reflect Raid, Ars Arcanum and Trinity Limit are among my most favorite Card Sleights! But yeah, I'm prattling on, aren't I?  My point is, the game was fun, but odds are that not every person had the patience to go through cards, so maybe that's why a lot of KH fans didn't like CoM gameplay-wise, ya know?

 

And as for the story, as I said, loved it!

Edited June 25, 2016 by The Transcendent Key

[thatkingdomheartsguy 153]

Well okay, I have to admit that the card system is not THAT bad, as I made it look like. But it gives the battles a slower pacing than the classic KH fighting system. And combined with the repetitive rooms, it gets annoying at some point. All you want is for the story to progress, and the card system is just slowing it down even more.That's why I wasn't a big fan of the FFX turn based system. I couldn't take 10 steps without an enemy appearing, and it always took some minutes to defeat them. While all I wanted was to see more of the story.And in CoM it's even worse because the story in the rooms themselves isn't really interesting, as I mentioned before. So for me it's just that combination, that doesn't make me wanna play that game ever again.I haven't played Dark Souls, so I can't say much about it. But maybe people who play a KH game are just used to the classic battle system, and the card system throws them off. Or as some other mentioned here it takes some time till you get the hang of it.

Yeah at this point, I'm just willing to accept that KH players are not accustomed to sudden change in flow of the combat. Still though, I've seen people claiming that they absolutely DESPISE the cards battle system, but they never really provide any valid reasoning as to why. Does this show something about our community? Is it just not very accepting of change in the games? 

 

Wow that got deep there for a bit.

 

Something else to notice is that BBS/DDD's command deck system is kinda like a dumbed down version of CoM's Card System, which I appreciated the effort in, but felt like it could've been executed better (in terms of balancing and stuff, you know, the usual complaints). That being said, I suppose I sort of see why combat in those games can be viewed as more fast paced and exciting than CoM, but I guess it's just personal bias that doesn't allow me to understand why people would value flash combat over specific strategy and technique. 

[KairiKeybasH 851]

To be honest my brother loves Chain of Memories, I saw him enjoying the gameplay and story, I don't know now what he thinks about it now. He might still enjoy the game until this day. I was playing the original Chain of Memories, i don't know i might be playing it wrong, because it's too hard for me.

Edited June 25, 2016 by MarieltheKeybasHGirl