Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories is a video game for the Game Boy Advance and the second installment in the Kingdom Hearts series, bridging the gap between Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II.

This game was released in the United States on December 7, 2004. It is further scheduled to be released in Europe sometime in March 2005.

Plot summary

The story of Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories takes place directly after the ending of the first installment, Kingdom Hearts. We find Sora, his two friends Donald Duck and Goofy, as well as Jiminy Cricket, walking down a seemingly never-ending path, when suddenly a mysterious voice tells Sora that "someone he holds dear is nearby". As they continue down the path, Sora and his companions find a massive castle called Castle Oblivion. When they enter, they find a mysterious figure in a black trenchcoat.

When Sora and his companions attempt to engage the figure, they find that their abilities seem to have no effect. The figure then explains that at the moment our heroes entered the castle, they forgot every ability they had known. This figure continues by creating a deck of cards made from Sora and his friends' memories, and tells them that everything they encounter in this castle will be based on their memories. But the higher they go, the more memories they lose in the process.

Characters

Sora

With the Keyblade and his pals, Donald Duck and Goofy, he defeated Ansem and saved all the worlds from eternal darkness. In Castle Oblivion, Sora was targeted by the Organization, who tried to erase his memories so that they could use the Keyblade's power in their evil plans. Ultimately, Sora traveled through worlds created from his memories of his previous adventure and met many old friends and enemies. After he conquered the worlds of his memory and defeated several members of the Organization (Vexen, Larxene, and Axel) and made it through to the top floor of Castle Oblivion, he engaged Marluxia, the one in charge of the Castle, in a final showdown. Upon Marluxia's defeat, Naminé informed Sora that none of his memories had actually been lost. Instead, she told him, they had been rearranged to suit the Organization's plans. Naminé said that she could repair his memories, but everything that he had experienced while in the castle would be forgotten in exchange.

Riku

One of Sora's best friends who lived with him on Destiny Islands until the Heartless came, due to the darkness in Riku's heart. After being used by Maleficent and Ansem, Riku helped King Mickey and Sora seal Kingdom Hearts. Unfortunately, in order to seal it he and the king were forced to stay in the world of darkness. But due to being "half-dark", Riku somehow escaped the World of Darkness and appeared in Castle Obilivion, where he had to overcome the darkness within him and what remained of Ansem in him once and for all. He is avaliable to play in the "Reverse/Rebirth" mode of the game.

Naminé

A girl with mysterious powers, Naminé can rearrange memories at will and "draw" new ones when the need arises. She was forced by the Organization to alter Sora's memories in an attempt to gain control of the Keyblade. She restored Sora's memories in the end, though he would not remember the events in Castle Oblivion. She even tried to help Riku with his darkness, though he turned her down so that he could defeat it on his own.

Riku Replica (Nisemono in the Japanese version)

He was created by Vexen using data from his battle with Riku. He is first sent to dispose of Riku, only to retreat. Afterward, his memories are manipulated by Naminé, beleving that he is the real Riku and that Sora will hurt Naminé. After Sora's final battle with 'Riku', Larxene reveals the truth, which Riku Replica overheard. He returned later to save Naminé from Marluxia and vanishes at the end of Sora's story. He is picked up by Axel (who appears after he fakes his death) and is sent to kill Zexion so that he could become "real". Riku Replica understood, however, that the only way he could become real was by killing the original. He was eventually defeated by the real Riku, and died with his last thoughts being where someone like him (having a fake heart) would end up.

The Organization

The villains, these 13 black-trenchcoat figures are those who walk the "Path of Twilight", neither of light nor of darkness. The known members are Axel, Larxene, Vexen, Marluxia, Lexaeus, Zexion, and DiZ, who is referred to by the other members as "the Superior". There appear to be some issues among its members. The numbers imply both rank and the order that the members joined, with lower numbers indicating older members and lower rank. This is assumed when Vexen tells Marluxia rather smuggly the difference of their numbers and when the D Report calls Marluxia a "neophyte" to the Organization. They all wear the same black cloaks, except for Diz, however, who wears a red cloak with black down the center.

• Vexen:

No. 4 in the Organization He is a boss fought twice by Sora (between Floors 10-11 and during Floor 11) and once by Riku (between Basements 10-9). He wields a large blue shield as well as ice magic as his weapon in battle, and his card has the Auto-Life ability on it.

He appears to help in Marluxia's plot but is really siding with Zexion and Lexaeus. At first he can be easy to mistake him for a woman, due to his long dirty-blond hair. After giving Sora the card to access Twilight Town, Marluxia decides that Vexen is a traitor and sends Axel to kill him. Just after Sora defeats him in Twilight Town, Axel arrives and finishes him off. Vexen created Riku Replica from data he obtained while fighting the real Riku.

• Lexaeus:

No. 5 in the Organization
He is a boss fought once by Riku (between Basements 4-3). He wields a massive tomahawk and earth magic as his weapon in battle, and his card has the ability to instantly destroy any heartless in front of the user at the final attack of a combo.

He and Zexion join forces to try to stop Marluxia from claiming Sora to overthrow the Organization. He is a born warrior who does the dirty work of his alliance. He intends to claim Riku to combat Sora, and challenges him in battle. Riku, however, defeats and kills him. With his death he expels a great tide of dark energy, hoping it would swallow Riku.

• Zexion:

No. 6 in the Organization
He is a loyal member of the Organization and seeks to stop Marluxia from toppling it. He creates an alliance opposing Marluxia with Lexaeus and Vexen. Later on he even sides with Axel for a short time. He is quite cunning and never fights in battle himself. During Basement 3 he appears before Riku and attempts to beat him with mind games and even disguises himself as Sora and attempts to kill him with a beam of light. Riku, however, finally accepts the darkness as his own and uses it to fend off Zexion. Afterward, Axel sends Riku Replica (a.k.a. Nisemono in the Japanese version) to kill him, which Riku Replica accomplishes quite easily.

• Axel:

No. 8 in the Organization
He is a boss fought twice by Sora (between Floors 1-2 and during Floor 13). He wields two shuriken like objects as well as fire magic as his weapon (though his only source of it is his sleights). His card allows the user to use cards even while being attacked.

Axel tricks a lot of members in this game. Larxene and Marluxia let him in to their mutinous plans after he kills Vexen. He quickly betrays them by suggesting to Naminé that she explain the situation to Sora. Later on he attempts to kill Marluxia, only to be stopped by Sora because Marluxia was using Naminé to protect himself. Afterward, he assists Zexion somewhat, picks up Riku Replica (Nisemono), and then orders Riku Replica to kill the real Riku as well as Zexion. He claims he and Sora have something in common, but as to what he means is still unclear. He vanishes after sending Riku Replica to kill Riku. Of all the members in Chain of Memories, Axel appears to be the most loyal to the Organization's cause, as evidenced by his interest in the uniqueness of Sora's heart and his work to eliminate all traitors within the Organization. Axel is still alive and will appear in Kingdom Hearts II.

• Marluxia:

No. 11 in the Organization He is a boss fought once by Sora (Floor 13) in his normal form and once in his Redux form, in which he appears to be riding a battle mech (Floor 13 as Sora). He wields a scythe and cherry blossoms in battle, and his card allows the user to use sleights twice before the cards are recycled.

Blossom-loving Marluxia is the leader of the side attempting to overthrow the Organization. He plans to use Naminé to rewrite Sora's memory so that Sora would do anything to protect her, even join Marluxia. He also appears before Sora at the beginning of the game (he has his hood up at that time) and instructs him how to navigate Castle Oblivion. Sora kills him at the end of his game. Though both Axel and Vexen aid him for a time, his only true ally is Larxene, a thunder user. Only one other known member (Larxene) has a lower number than him.

• Larxene:

No. 12 in the Organization
She is a boss fought twice by Sora (Floor 6-7 and Floor 12-13). She uses small spikes as well as thunder magic as weapons. Her card grants the user increased movement speed.

She sides with Marluxia and is the only person (other than Riku and Ansem) who doesn't seek to bring him down. Her way of using her spikes is very interesting and is similar to that of Volgin from Metal Gear Solid 3. She places three between her four finger and holds one against her index fingers with her thumbs. This is meant to charge electricity into them so she can use her natural lightning more effectively. She likes to insult and put others down, especially Sora, but is eventually killed by him in battle. She is the second member to be revealed and sort of introduces Axel to Marluxia.

• DiZ:

Not much is revealed about him. He is the one known as "the Superior", but this rank might not imply that he is No. 1 in the Organization. He is Ansem's body and soul that was discarded when Ansem plunged into Darkness. He uses Riku to destroy Ansem and then presents him with the choice to walk the path of Darkness or Light. Riku takes the middle path, to which DiZ responds "the twilit road to nightfall". Riku says no, and responds that he plans to take "the road to dawn". DiZ is one of the few new characters in Chain of Memories that reappears in Kingdom Hearts II.

Gameplay

This game's gameplay is a fairly even combination between a computer role-playing game and a computer card game. Every action you do (except moving and jumping) is based on cards (for example, a physical attack, offensive/defensive magic, using items, etc.). An aspect more unique to this game is the synthesis of new rooms: to advance through the game, you must utilize cards you have found to create rooms and everything in them, from enemies to items. Each card has a specific effect, ranging from creating a room with more enemies or slower moving-enemies to save rooms and treasure-containing ones.

The graphics are excellent for Game Boy Advance. Its cinema-quality cut scenes look very similar to the normal gameplay graphics of Kingdom Hearts.

Sequel

A sequel to Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories and Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts II for the Sony PlayStation 2, is in the works. Its planned release dates in both Japan and the United States are confirmed to be in Q3 2005.