Why Birth by Sleep is the Next Real Mainline Kingdom Hearts Title - and Probably the Best to Date!

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Published on August 19, 2009 @ 11:28 am

Written by monkeybutt

It was about two years ago at the 2007 Tokyo Game Show that Square Enix wowed audiences with the announcement of not one, but three brand new Kingdom Hearts titles. While there was great hype for all three of the newly announced titles, Kingdom Hearts Coded had a hushed response from North American audiences due to its release on mobile phones, effectively eliminating its chances for an international release, while 358/2 Days split the fan base with its oddly worded title, as well as its focus on specific characters that fans may or may not have loved. In reality, most of the hype was concentrated on a single title - Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep - and it's obvious why. The title is clearly the true successor, or rather in this case precursor, to the series.

Take note, I am in no way insulting the relevancy 358/2 Days, please don't send me hate mail! After all, the game is a very much so needed part of the series, the Organization XIII as a group has thus far remained underdeveloped in the series, and the focus on multiplayer and the introduction of new characters is a great twist. Not only that, the title got straight 9's from Famitsu, praised for its graphical and presentation quality, as well as its game play and intricate systems. However, the title is just that, a side story, and not the fully realized title for the series fans have been waiting for, similar in vain to Chain of Memories. There are many notable reasons why Birth by Sleep is exactly what Days can't be.

For starters, unlike Days, which focuses on only a tiny aspect of the series as a whole, Birth by Sleep's subject encompasses the series as a whole. Being a prequel, Nomura has hinted that this tale would explain the origins of many of the series mysteries, such as the keyblade, and the heartless. Although Sora and the gang have come far, most of Ansem's research has been left unfinished, and Birth by Sleep looks to answer these questions. Being all about the entire franchise' roots, this tale will likely encompass the series as a whole, as well as bring up many new questions with its completely fresh cast of characters.

New characters are not the only thing Birth by Sleep should be noted for. Because 358/2 Days takes place within a specific time frame of the overarching story, Square Enix was extremely hesitant in adding new worlds, leading to rehash after rehash (how many times are we going to be forced to play through Agrahbah?!). Birth by Sleep, taking place before the series even began, gave Square Enix much more leniency. As of the publication of this article, all four of the worlds confirmed to be in Birth by Sleep have been completely new Disney locales - that of Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and Lilo and Stitch. Like Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2, Maleficent also returns as an overarching Disney villain throughout the game. No rehash - new characters, new worlds, new story, fleshed out gameplay - sounds like a full fledged title to me!

These blatant facts are mirrored by the development process of the game itself. Square Enix contracted the development of Days to a third party developer - H.A.N.D., who have been known to create Square titles before, such as the ridiculously mediocre Chocobo Dungeon. On the other hand, Birth by Sleep is developed by one of Square Enix's own internal teams. And look no further then to previous titles to realize which new KH title holds the most significance. Kingdom Hearts 1 ended with a secret trailer featuring Kingdom Hearts 2, the next big title in the franchise. And which new game was introduced at the end of KH2? Why, Birth by Sleep of course - a secret trailer featuring the new trio of heroes: Terra, Aqua, and Ven!

It's no wonder why fans hype one title much more than the other! The press having played the title, are already praising Birth by Sleep as the most well put together Kingdom Hearts title to date - it's only a matter of time until fans echo these statements.

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