Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory - PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5

A fun rhythm game with the backdrop of Kingdom Hearts is a good thing to play to waste your time while listening to some classic tracks.

Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory explores the entire history--so far--of the series in a single game by introducing a rhythmic gameplay system. Players can play as favorable characters and venture through various Disney worlds to level up, obtain collectible items, and progress through a new chapter in the franchise. In my experience, Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory's rhythm-based gameplay system is unique and challenging, but the soundtrack behind it is the main highlight. The game features a massive list of resonating tracks from Yoko Shimomura, the composer of the Kingdom Hearts series, which even includes popular songs from various Disney songs. There's also two multiplayer modes, such as local co-op and online versus, which works well with the game's rhythm system. The story is also quite intriguing as it follows the events of Kingdom Hearts III and hints at what's to come in the series' future.

While the PS4 version of this game is still MUCH better than the Switch version, the game itself feels rather lacking in some regards. The amount of songs and content in the game is plentiful (though some official remixes are still missing), but the overall quality feels low. Especially in higher difficulties, many of the songs opt to put the player through a series of repeated patterns of enemies/beats without really working to match up to the actual tune of the song. There is also "zero" exposition in this game. If you're looking for a classic KH experience with some deeper meaning to what you're doing, that level of attention was very much not paid to this game. You start out in a basic Gummi Ship and travel around a flat screen, picking songs to play. No beginning cutscene, no opening cinematic explaining your motivation - nothing. Overall, this game can be fun if you're just after the KH songs. But I wouldn't recommend picking this up until it is discounted, as it does not feel like a $60 game.

got it for $8, and cant go wrong for price. KH music has always been great. Gameplay is also good

The music of KH and the entire KH story told through Kairi's perspective. Over 150 songs to play through that covers the KH story and history from humble beginnings on Destiny Island to the final chapters of KH3. Each stage has unlockables and various difficulties to play through. You even get to ream up with some classic Disney characters along the way.