Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep
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Preorder and launch bonuses, promotional or bonus inserts, and bundled bonus-game downloads are not guaranteed. Content supplied on the game disc or cartridge is unaffected.
About the Game
Ten years before the events in Kingdom Hearts , the universe is still how one remembers it. Maleficent from the Disney movie "Sleeping Beauty" is only a threat to Princess Aurora, Peter Pan is still fighting Captain Hook and Experiment 626 has yet to escape the clutches of the Universal Police - all enclosed in their own little worlds with no contact to the outside. In-between, on the Isle of Departure, are Terra, Ventus and Aqua, a trio of friends and Keyblade wielders who want to become masters. While Terra and Aqua are already ready to take the exam of mastery, Ventus still has a long way ahead of himself.
Story & Setting
To that end, players visit the Dwarf Woodlands to help Snow White escape the Evil Queen, fights in the Olympus Coliseum with Hercules, and helps Experiment 626 (Stitch) flee from Deep Space, while always being confronted with the forces of darkness, including boss fights against formerly inanimated and now possessed objects, other Keyblade warriors and even Disney characters like the aforementioned Maleficent.
Gameplay & Core Systems
During the exam however, it turns out that even Terra isn't ready yet, unable to control the darkness within his heart. Unknown to Terra however, Aqua has a secret mission: keeping an eye on Terra in order to find out if he can control the darkness within him. The game still mixes gameplay elements from the Final Fantasy series with characters and locations from Disney properties like Mickey Mouse. The narrative is told from the three different viewpoints of the main characters; to fully understand everything, players will need to play through the game with all three of them (the character is selected at the start of the game), each character seeing and experiencing different parts of the levels. As opposed to the previous installments in the series, players now travels the land mostly by themselves.
Standout Features
- They aren't completely alone however, thanks to a new mechanic in the overhauled combat system called "Dimension Link" (or D-Link).
- D-Link: If enough energy is available, players can activate the D-Link to a friendly character, giving them full access to that character's Command Deck, basically trading their current character for the selected one.
- Maleficent's Dragon Breath: Up to two can be collected for each character, which will not only increase the deck size, but also give players access to an additional form once both are collected, allowing them to use new abilities such as Maleficent's Dragon Breath.
- The Command Deck contains up to eight techniques, abilities and spells - all simply called commands - which allow the character to perform various actions such as healing themselves or throwing their keyblade at the enemy.
- After the current command is used, the deck automatically switches to the next one while the previous one regenerates until it can be used again.
- In other words, the game uses a cooldown system instead of mana or spell points.
- Commands will automatically level up by simply using them up to five times (depending on the command), increasing the damage they deal and unlocking additional Command Styles and finishing commands.
- ShotLock Mode: The last way to unleash hell upon enemies is the ShotLock Mode, with which players can aim at multiple enemies in first-person mode and then start a series of attacks during which they're invulnerable.
Modes & Ways to Play
A major part of the experience is a multiplayer mode for up to six players via ad-hoc Wi-Fi, allowing them to play "Command Board", fight each other in deathmatch, play the mini-game "Rumble Racing" (a Mario Kart clone) or fight side by side in Arena Mode against hordes of enemies including boss fights. Multiplayer even features additional commands not available in the normal game.
Player support includes Ad Hoc, Co-Op, and Free-for-all / One-on-one (VS).
Presentation & Atmosphere
At the same time, the universe is suddenly threatened by the Unversed, creatures of pure darkness who appeared and started wrecking havoc on the different worlds. For instance, while Terra will be sent out by the Queen to kill Snow White, Aqua will actually be the one to protect her from the Evil Queen after Terra has already left the world. Additional D-Links are automatically unlocked by successfully completing the different worlds.
More game data: releases, identifiers & technical details
Regional release records and identifiers for Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep | PlayStation Portable | PSP.
Release and technical facts
| Fact | Value | Release / platform | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Published by | Square Enix Co., Ltd. | Japan | MobyGames |
| Developed by | Square Enix Co., Ltd. | Japan | MobyGames |
| Produced by | Disney Interactive Studios Japan | Japan | MobyGames |
| Additional Graphics by | AVANT Inc. | Japan | MobyGames |
| Cutscenes by | Square Visual Works Co., Ltd. | Japan | MobyGames |
| Music Recording by | Avaco Creative Studios Inc. | Japan | MobyGames |
| Published by | Square Enix, Inc. | United States | MobyGames |
| Developed by | Square Enix Co., Ltd. | United States | MobyGames |
| Produced by | Disney Interactive Studios, Inc. | United States | MobyGames |
| Additional Graphics by | AVANT Inc. | United States | MobyGames |
| Cutscenes by | Square Visual Works Co., Ltd. | United States | MobyGames |
| Music Recording by | Avaco Creative Studios Inc. | United States | MobyGames |
| Voice Recording by | Skylark Sound Studios, Inc. | United States | MobyGames |
| Published by | Square Enix Limited | Germany | MobyGames |
| Developed by | Square Enix Co., Ltd. | Germany | MobyGames |
| Produced by | Disney Interactive Studios, Inc. | Germany | MobyGames |
| Distributed by | Koch Media GmbH (Germany) | Germany | MobyGames |
| Additional Graphics by | AVANT Inc. | Germany | MobyGames |
| Cutscenes by | Square Visual Works Co., Ltd. | Germany | MobyGames |
| Music Recording by | Avaco Creative Studios Inc. | Germany | MobyGames |
| Published by | Square Enix Co., Ltd. | Japan; Ultimate Hits release | MobyGames |
| Developed by | Square Enix Co., Ltd. | Japan; Ultimate Hits release | MobyGames |
| Produced by | Disney Interactive Studios Japan | Japan; Ultimate Hits release | MobyGames |
| Additional Graphics by | AVANT Inc. | Japan; Ultimate Hits release | MobyGames |
| Cutscenes by | Square Visual Works Co., Ltd. | Japan; Ultimate Hits release | MobyGames |
| Music Recording by | Avaco Creative Studios Inc. | Japan; Ultimate Hits release | MobyGames |
| Media Type | UMD | PSP | MobyGames |
| Multiplayer Options | Ad Hoc | PSP | MobyGames |
| Multiplayer Game Modes | Co-Op | PSP | MobyGames |
| Multiplayer Game Modes | Free-for-all / One-on-one (VS) | PSP | MobyGames |
| Number of Offline Players | 1 Player | PSP | MobyGames |
| Number of Local Players via Wi-Fi | 2-6 Players | PSP | MobyGames |
| Original game disc count | 1 | North America | MobyGames |
| Genre | RPG | North America | PriceCharting |
| Developer | Square Enix | North America | PriceCharting |
| Disc count (PriceCharting) | 1 game disc | North America | PriceCharting |
| ESRB rating | Everyone 10+ | North America | PriceCharting |
| Player count | 1 player | North America | PriceCharting |
| Publisher | Square Enix | North America | PriceCharting |
| Developer | Square Enix | Japan | PriceCharting |
| Disc count (PriceCharting) | 1 game disc | Japan | PriceCharting |
| Genre | Action & Adventure | Japan | PriceCharting |
| Model number | #ULJM-05600 | Japan | PriceCharting |
| Player count | 1 player | Japan | PriceCharting |
| Publisher | Square Enix | Japan | PriceCharting |
| Developer | Square Enix | PAL | PriceCharting |
| Disc count (PriceCharting) | 1 game disc | PAL | PriceCharting |
| Genre | RPG | PAL | PriceCharting |
| Model number | #ULES-01441 | PAL | PriceCharting |
| Player count | 1 player | PAL | PriceCharting |
| Publisher | Square Enix | PAL | PriceCharting |
Regional releases
| Release date | Region / edition | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2010-01-09 | Japan | MobyGames |
| 2010-09-07 | United States | MobyGames |
| 2010-09-10 | Germany | MobyGames |
| 2012-12-06 | Japan; Ultimate Hits release | MobyGames |
| 2010-01-09 | Japan | PriceCharting |
| 2010-09-10 | PAL | PriceCharting |
| 2010-09-07 | North America | PriceCharting |
| September 7, 2010 | North America | PriceCharting |
| January 9, 2010 | Japan | PriceCharting |
| September 10, 2010 | PAL | PriceCharting |
Catalog identifiers by release
| Identifier | Code | Region / edition | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| eBay Product ID | 1500389331 | Japan | MobyGames |
| EAN-13 | 4988601006361 | Japan | MobyGames |
| Sony PN | ULJM-05600 | Japan | MobyGames |
| UPC-A | 662248910086 | United States | MobyGames |
| Sony PN | ULUS-10505 | United States | MobyGames |
| eBay Product ID | 62864684 | United States | MobyGames |
| EAN-13 | 5021290041578 | Germany | MobyGames |
| Sony PN | ULES-01441 | Germany | MobyGames |
| EAN-13 | 4988601007702 | Japan; Ultimate Hits release | MobyGames |
| Sony PN | ULJM-06214 | Japan; Ultimate Hits release | MobyGames |
| eBay Product ID | 211989254 | Japan; Ultimate Hits release | MobyGames |
| ASIN | B009ICTHB4 | Japan; Ultimate Hits release | MobyGames |
| upc | 662248910086 | North America | PriceCharting |
| asin | B002I0GZ5Y | North America | PriceCharting |
| epid | 62864684 | North America | PriceCharting |
| upc | 4988601006361 | Japan | PriceCharting |
| model | #ULJM-05600 | Japan | PriceCharting |
| ean | 4988601006361 | Japan | PriceCharting |
| model | #ULES-01441 | PAL | PriceCharting |
Data by MobyGames.com · Catalog data: PriceCharting
