Review by: Meghan Watt

The missing chapter between a heartless boy's birth and his counterpart's awakening could have made for a dark, heartfelt tale. But when the combat is the only element that keeps the game alive, you might just have to face it: Some things are meant to stay hidden.

If the Disney and Square Enix mash-up didn't suck you in the first, second or third time around, this game was not meant for you, plain and simple. The plot will confuse you, the characters will bore you, and you will spend a great deal of time wondering where the “Square” part of the deal comes in. Either turn around and immediately purchase the PS2 games or read an in-depth summary you will undoubtedly find online if you would like to proceed.

For faithful fans, allow me to offer a brief overview: When Sora stabbed himself with his Keyblade in order to save Kairi, you may remember that he created a Nobody: a poor, heartless soul named Roxas who belonged to the mysterious Organization XIII before Kingdom Hearts 2 began. Herein lay the plot of 358/2 Days, the hidden chapter of Roxas' allegiance to the dark side.

Following Roxas' first day until the day he departs, this game gives you an in-depth look of what bad guys do during their downtime. While half of the Organization has been ordered to battle Sora at Castle Oblivion (which you may have played during Chain of Memories), the other members don't have too much on their plates. You can generally spot your eccentric squadmates diddling about on a sofa with a sitar, standing stiffly in a corner or ordering you to fetch them a particular item.

You, on the other hand, are a newbie to the team and an essential one at that. As the only wielder of the Keyblade, you don't get to sit on your butt. As soon as you wake up, Saix, your menacing supervisor, will have a mission for you. These missions come in three different colors: Investigate a new world, battle Heartless or collect hard-to-reach emblems.

When I say “new” world, I actually mean “world that you have already visited twice.” 358/2 Days includes the exact same Disney worlds that both of its PS2 predecessors had: Neverland, Agrabah, Beast's Castle, Halloween Town, Olympus Colosseum and Wonderland. Most of these worlds contain similar plots as well: Jack is working to create the best Halloween, Phil is training Hercules for the upcoming games, and the Beast still wants to impress Belle. With so many Disney movies yet to be explored, it's terribly disappointing to see the same movies and plots rehashed. What about 101 Dalmatians, The Rescuers, Dumbo, The Black Cauldron or one of the other 50 Disney animated films? With only six Disney worlds in the entire game, they could have at least been new. On this note, you will also only notice one Square character: a Moogle.

When not stalking Aladdin or stealing Captain Hook's treasure, you will be ordered to kill hundreds upon hundreds of Heartless. Big ones, small ones, ones in the shapes of ice cubes – they're all game. Like before, the combat consists mostly of rapid button-mashing, interspersed with dodge rolls, glides, and the occasional burst of fire. While much of the fighting is tedious, boring, and detrimental to your fingers' bone structure, there are two particulars that keep the action exciting. First, the boss battles— some of these babies are the toughest things you will ever fight, and you will need all of your wits to live through them. On the other hand, a couple big-man battles, like Never Land's Sky Ruler, require more patience than skill.

The second, and perhaps most intriguing part of the game, is the panel system. Every magic, weapon, item, and ability you purchase, synthesize, or find come in the form of panels. These panels must be placed into a set amount of slots that grows in number as you progress. Mixing and matching these panels customizes Roxas into whatever ultimate fighting machine you want, whether that's a combo master, a thunder wielder, a brutal juggernaut or a jack of all trades. However some of these panels come in the form of Tetris pieces that can fit several panels inside of them. For instance, you can squeeze Fire, Aero and Cure into a Doublecast L-shaped panel in order to get two casts of each magic type instead of just one. The trick is to fit as many of these Tetris links into the slot window as possible. It's a puzzle and character customization in one!