Features > Chain of Memories review by Skyblade

We next see our heroes resting for the night in that strange world, but Sora awakens and finds himself face to face with the Unknown. A creature that seems to be nothing more than a tall, hooded cloak, it beckons him onward, telling him that something that he needs awaits him, but to claim it, he must lose something dear. The strange being then fades into the eerie night. Sora then sees his first glimpse of Castle Oblivion, which is the setting of this great game. Our three heroes enter the castle with one thought on their minds: Our friends are here. Jiminy Cricket is the first to suspect that something is wrong, because he had that same thought. Nevertheless, the brave band decides to press on and explore the castle, and it is then that the Unknown arrives again. Crafting a card from Sora's memories, the Unknown, whom Donald at first thinks is one of the Heartless, explains why Donald's magic no longer works: when he entered the castle, he forgot every ability he knew. The Unkown also tells the group that cards rule everthing in Castle Oblivion. Giving the card to Sora, the Unknown claims that if he uses it, he will find someone dear to him, but also cautions that in this castle, losing is finding, and finding is losing...

Proceeding forward, Sora uses the card and finds himself...in Traverse Town. The Unknown appears once again, and explains that it is not the real Traverse Town, simply a recreation that exists in his memories. The game then takes you through the worlds of Sora's memories, familiar places from the original KH (although Deep Jungle is missing), each world a different floor of the castle. Although the stories inside the worlds remain much the same as in the original KH (the biggest difference being that none of the characters in the worlds have any memory of Sora, and know nothing of the Keyblade master), between floors the game's true story unfolds.

Once he leaves Traverse Town, Sora meets another cloaked figure, the infamous red headed kid from the KH2 previews, named Axel. Axel challenges Sora to a fight to test his abilities, and leaves him with more cards crafted from his memories. As the story proceeds, the Unknown is revealed to be a member of the Organization, a group that exists in order to unravel the mysteries of the heart. However, all is not well with the secret society, and an attempted coup that hinges around Sora's memories will soon change everything. Marluxia, the Organization member entrusted with Castle Oblivion and its captive, a young witch named Naminé who has the power to manipulate memories, is planning on using Naminé to rewrite Sora's memories, dragging Sora deeper into the castle and eventually making the Keyblade master his slave. This plot is compounded with the arrival of Riku: but not the Riku we know. He once again stands against Sora, promising to stop him at all costs. Yet Ansem is gone, isn't he? So why is Riku acting this way..?

However, the members of the Organization still loyal to its proper hierarchy are aware of the plot, and are already planning to send it astray. Riku continues to fight Sora, but is eventually revealed to be merely a replica, a copy of the original made by one of the Organization members and manipulated into thinking he is the real Riku. Vexen, the Organization member that created the Riku Replica, also is the first to warn Sora that he is in danger from Marluxia, and he also hints to Sora of the mysterious "other side of the Heart"... But Sora doesn't believe him, and Axel soon takes Vexen out of the picture permanently.

However, Axel is the double agent in the conspiracy, and he frees Naminé, allowing her to warn Sora of the false memories she had been giving him, memories that had replaced his beloved Kairi with Naminé, so that eventually he would do anything for her. With his plan to overtake the Organization shattered, Marluxia tries to use threats against Naminé to control Sora, because, though he knows the feelings are misdirected, they are still there, but Naminé won't let herself be manipulated anymore, and a battle royale between Sora and Marluxia ensues. When the dust settles, Naminé reveals that Sora never forgot Kairi, and promises to rewrite Sora's memories the way they should be. As Sora goes to sleep inside a giant flower in order to let Naminé restore his memories, the stage is set for the next installment in the Kingdom Hearts series, and the game ends with the well known shot from the KH2 previews of Sora asleep, floating among a sea of white...

 

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