History VideoGame / KingdomHeartsChainofMemories

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/khcom_6929.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300: Not to be confused with the [[Franchise/YuGiOh other card-game playing kid]] with AnimeHair.]]

* RememberTheNewGuy:
** As Sora climbs the castle, he talks about how previously unmentioned Naminé used to live at Destiny Islands as part of his friend group before moving away. [[spoiler:Subverted. They've never met before, Sora just thinks they know each other because of Naminé's ability to alter memories.]]
** Vexen mentions Twilight Town as a place that exists in Sora's "other side of his memory", implying that it is a place Sora forgot he had visited. Unlike Naminé, even Sora has to wring his hand and give up remembering that he ever visited a place called Twilight Town. Indeed, he has never been. [[spoiler:Naminé's memory altering ability has nothing to do with it, too. The "other side" that Vexen mentioned is actually his Nobody, Roxas, as revealed in [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII the following game]].]]

''Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories'' is the second game in the ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' series, and the only one on the UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance. Released in 2004, it's a sequel to ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI'' that bridges the gap between it and ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII''.f

''Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories'' is the second game in the ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' series, and the only one on the UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance. Released in 2004, it's a sequel to ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI'' that bridges the gap between it and ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII''.

** In the same vein, Naminé mentions at one point in Riku's campaign that she is a shadow of Kairi. [[spoiler:Nobodies are established as beings without hearts in this game, but it's not until ''II'' that we learn they are remnants of existing people. By shadow, Naminé means that she is Kairi's Nobody.]]

** King Mickey is Riku's helper in his campaign, just as Donald and Goofy are Sora's, and appears from start to finish (although until the 10th Floor, he communicates from long distance). One can say that he makes his proper debut in this game, since he only appears as a cameo at the end of the previous game.

** Sora's memory [[spoiler:has been tampered by Naminé since he set foot within Castle Oblivion. Not only did she remove his memories of the events in the previous game, she replaced all of his memories of Kairi with her own]]. The reason why it happened is because [[spoiler:Naminé was ordered by Marluxia to do it as part of his plan to turn Sora into a weapon he could use to topple the Organization]].

''Chain of Memories'' was later remade as a UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 game (titled ''Re:Chain of Memories'') as part of the [[NoExportForYou Japan-only]] release of ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII: Final Mix+''. It was (much later) released as a standalone [=PS2=] game in North America. [[NoExportForYou Europe and Australia never got it]], but did get ''Kingdom Hearts HD I.5 Re[=MIX=]'', which contains ''Re:Chain of Memories'' remastered in HD. The remake replaces the 2D sprite art with 3D graphics, has voice acting in the Castle Oblivion cutscenes[[note]]Otherwise, this version still uses pure text, although small voice clips can still be heard during the battles, which mainly consist of voice grunts, and other battle clips that previously appeared in both VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI, and VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII.[[/note]], adds a new form for the FinalBoss, includes some new Attack Cards based off of Keyblades and Enemy Cards based off the Organization XIII members that appear in ''Kingdom Hearts II'', makes small tweaks to the battle system such as adding or removing some sleights, and completely removes the PlayerVersusPlayer mode. The ''HD I.5 Re[=MIX=]'' version is mostly identical to the the [=PS2=] remake, but has higher graphics resolution, UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 trophy support, and replaces the Attack Cards of the ''II'' Keyblades with some from ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts358DaysOver2''.

* RememberTheNewGuy:
** As Sora climbs the castle, he talks about how previously unmentioned Naminé used to live at Destiny Islands as part of his friend group before moving away. [[spoiler:Subverted. They've never met before, Sora just thinks they know each other because of Naminé's ability to alter memories.]]
** Vexen mentions Twilight Town as a place that exists in Sora's "other side of his memory", implying that it is a place Sora forgot he had visited. Unlike Naminé, even Sora has to wring his hand and give up remembering that he ever visited a place called Twilight Town. Indeed, he has never been. [[spoiler:Naminé's memory altering ability has nothing to do with it, too. The "other side" that Vexen mentioned is actually his Nobody, Roxas, as revealed in [[VideoGame/KingdomHheartsII the following game]].]]

%%** The Riku Replica.
** Vexen. Sora hated the guy for what (he thought) he did to Riku, and even he was horrified by the cruel way Axel dispatches him (while he's begging for mercy, no less!). Not helping matters is the fact that he was [[spoiler:trying to warn Sora about the trap he was walking into, shortly before Axel showed up]].
%%** Lexaeus.

** Zexion. Possibly the most brutal death of all the Organization members. Everyone else just died (some were more vicious than others; here's looking at you, Vexen). Zexion? He was strangled to ''death'', his life force ''slowly sucked out of his body'' as he lost consciousness. What makes this sad is that Zexion showed himself to be [[UndyingLoyalty highly devoted to the Organization's cause]], even up to his final moments, where he's absolutely ''mortified'' by the prospect of his death. That doesn't excuse his actions, mind you, but when you put him in comparison to the behind-the-scenes backstabbing game of hot potato that approximately half of the remaining members played, it's a bit depressing.
%%** Larxene, which doubles as a VillainousBreakdown.
%%--->[[SoreLoser "I'm... fading? No, this isn't the way I... I won't ALLOW...!"]] (Especially sad when delivered by Creator/YukoMiyamura.)

%%* ArtificialHuman: Vexen made one, [[spoiler:Riku Replica.]]

** Riku Replica has noticeably more 0 cards than most bosses, particularly when he appears near the start of each route, allowing him to easily break your sleights. He also has the Shadow enemy card, which increases the value of all cards by 1. Using the card horribly nerfs him, and he does it ''in every fight''.
* AscendedExtra: Jiminy Cricket has a significantly bigger role in this game compared to others, appearing in almost all scenes.

* AwesomeButImpractical: Zig-Zagged. The Lexaeus card's Warp Break ability has a high chance of instantly eliminating enemies with a combo finisher. However, it doesn't work on bosses for obvious reasons.

* BatmanGambit: Marluxia, Larxene, and Axel are using Namine to [[spoiler:rewrite Sora's memories and turn him into a weapon against the Organization's leader, Xemnas]]. However, this plan requires cooperation among people who fundamentally dislike each other and [[spoiler:the rest of the Organization not catching on]]. The plan nearly falls apart a few times, but luckily Axel is there to bail them out. [[spoiler:Vexen, a MadScientist Marluxia is both using for the scheme and openly disrespecting, attempts to reveal everything to Sora but ends up killed by Axel]]. The basement members are highly suspicious and [[spoiler:try to control Riku in a similar way, but Axel makes sure they all die as well]]. Of course, the plan does fail in the end, and how could it not? [[spoiler:Axel was actually working for Xemnas the whole time (sort of, see GambitPileup below), looking for a reason to kill off Marluxia's group]]. And manipulating Sora had little chance of going right when [[spoiler:the plan revolved around [[DeclarationOfProtection making him obsessively protective of Namine]] but the most clear and present dangers to her were Marluxia and Larxene]]. They could, of course, [[spoiler:rewrite his memories to get around that too, but they pick fights with him before they get the chance and end up dead]].

* BoringButPractical: Sleights can easily trivialize several bosses, especially Sonic Blade and/or Lethal Frame in the remake.
** Alternatively, sleights are largely unnecessary. It is entirely possible (and not too difficult) to simply pump your deck filled with 8's, 9's, and a couple of 0's. This allows you to essentially button mash until you need to heal or break an enemy sleight, and then rinse repeat.

* BraggingRightsReward: Any cards you get during a new game [[spoiler: after completing Reverse/Rebirth mode once]] such as the Ultima Weapon and Ansem cards are these, because you've already beaten every challenge the game has to offer at that point.

* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Goofy in Olympus Coliseum:

** This is repeated later in this same world, after Hades is defeated:
--->'''Sora:''' The games are canceled? How come?\\

* DarkerAndEdgier: Compared to the first game. Sure, you're not saving the universe full of beloved Disney characters from being destroyed by the legions of hell this time, but ''Chain of Memories''[='=] continuously oppressive tone and seeing [[TheHero Sora]] becoming more and more of a jerkass as the game progresses is pretty dark when held up next to the optimistic and adventurous tone of most of the first game.

* DiscOneNuke: The Maleficent Enemy Card (increases damage for the next 30 attacks at the cost of deck reload speed) is obtained extremely early in ''Reverse/Rebirth'', as Maleficent is the first boss of that mode. Since ''Reverse/Rebirth'' doesn't have the card reload speed mechanic and all Enemy Cards are permanently part of your deck after being obtained, the Maleficent card can be used from the get-go without any real penalty.

* DreamworksFace: Donald and Goofy sure look smug about something.

* EvilCannotComprehendGood: Even though it's part of their plan, the Organization members seem genuinely confused as to why Sora would strive so hard to protect Naminé even though [[spoiler: his memories of her are fake.]] [[JustifiedTrope Justified]], since they have no hearts and therefore have only a theoretical understanding of emotions. [[spoiler: [[VideoGame/KingdomHearts3DDreamDropDistance The latter turns out not entirely true though.]] ]]
* FaceDeathWithDignity: [[spoiler:Riku Replica dies peacefully after being mortally wounded by Riku in battle, and the two share words about death and what it means to him.]]
* FakeMemories: As Sora climbs the castle, Naminé injects him with false memories of his past. He forgets about Kairi and thinks that Namine is the one he's supposed to be protecting.

* FightLikeACardPlayer
* FireIceLightning: While you slowly obtain them, three of the six villains have an element each [[spoiler:at least until Axel kills Vexen.]]
* GambitPileup: Let's see... First off, there's the main one--Marluxia, Larxene, and Axel [[spoiler:attempt to use Namine to rewrite Sora's memories so they can use him as a weapon against their Organization's leader, Xemnas]]. Eventually [[spoiler:Vexen, another member the three are using to further this goal, feels left out one time too many and tries to reveal the plan to Sora]]. All along, however, [[spoiler:Axel is actually a double agent--he's spying on the traitors for Xemnas and ends up sabotaging both Marluxia's plot ''and'' Vexen's ''own'' attempt to sabotage it, since Vexen was planning on telling Sora ''too'' much]]. Meanwhile, [[spoiler:a group of Organization loyalists and associates of Vexen in the basement levels is trying to capture and use Riku due to their own suspicions about Marluxia's group]]. [[spoiler:Axel sabotages ''them'', too]]. Later games add ''further'' facets to this: [[spoiler:Xemnas sent the traitors to Castle Oblivion on purpose, and Axel was given a second mission to find Ven's body--and Axel only took on these missions to get on Xemnas's good side, because he and Saix were planning to betray Xemnas themselves eventually (which also belatedly provides a reason for Axel killing the basement group--to get rid of other members loyal to Xemnas)]].
* {{Glamour}}: Naminé's power to insert herself as a trusted friend of Sora's.

* GreaterScopeVillain: The leader of the Organization (i.e. Xemnas), who serves as the BigBad in the next game. If you played ''KH: Final Mix''/''I.5 HD Remix'', you can encounter him as [[BonusBoss the Unknown]].

* HotBlooded: Riku [[spoiler:Replica]] is overly passionate about protecting Namine, challenging Sora to fights over Sora not remembering her.

* {{Jerkass}}: Most of the villains, but particularly Larxene and Vexen. No wonder they get on each others' nerves...

* MindScrew: The scene in Destiny Islands when Sora talks to the two Naminés. Just look at this beauty of a line:

** Also counts as {{Foreshadowing}}, given that [[spoiler: one of the Naminés transforms into Kairi.]]

* MookChivalry: Since the battle system is reminiscent of TabletopGame/{{War}} and beating opposing cards by having higher values, only one foe can play an attack card at a time.

* MyRulesAreNotYourRules

* NonDubbedGrunts: The Organization members in the [=GBA=] version.

* RandomEffectSpell: The Black Mushroom card will randomly apply another Enemy Card effect when used.
* RecurringBoss: Riku-Replica is fought 6 times over the course of the two story modes: 4 times for Sora and twice for Riku. [[LampshadedTrope Lampshaded]] after Sora gets through Floor 9 as Goofy and Donald look around, wondering where Riku is and assuming in the end that he got tired of fighting Sora.
* RememberTheNewGuy: As Sora climbs the castle, he talks about how previously unmentioned Naminé used to live at Destiny Islands as part of his friend group before moving away. [[spoiler:Subverted. They've never met before, Sora just thinks they know each other because of Naminé's ability to alter memories.]]

* SecretAIMoves: In the remake, [[spoiler:Ansem, Seeker of Darkness's]] Sleightbind, which hides his stocked Cards and Sleights until he uses them. As the result of the lack of a multiplayer feature, the boss's Enemy Card gets a new effect for Sora in his EndgamePlus that reduces elemental damage, but when the boss uses it in Reverse/Rebirth, it still has its original effect.

* TheStarscream: Marluxia plans to overthrow the Organization by using Sora as his puppet.

* TwoWordsAddedEmphasis: Phil in Olympus Coliseum, and he keeps getting the number of words wrong, as pointed out by Goofy ComicallyMissingThePoint:

--->'''Sora:''' The games are canceled? How come?\\

* TheUnfought: Despite being the secondary antagonist of ''Reverse/Rebirth'', Zexion is never fought; he's finished off in a cutscene. {{Averted|Trope}} in the UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 remake, where he's fought after attempting to corrupt Riku at Destiny Islands.

* UselessUsefulSpell: Zantetsuken in the remake. It breaks Cards and renders them unable to be used for the rest of the fight. However, it has a horribly high cost (27 or 0) and does barely any damage at all, making it worthless compared to using the three stocked Cards individually. Furthermore, since the remake has no multiplayer, Card Breaks against enemies is really only significant against bosses, who lose a Card permanently if it's broken, and even then you can just use normal 0 Cards instead for the same purpose.

** [[spoiler:Zexion]].
** Also, Larxene after Sora defeats her once and for all, causing her to fade away (see both AlasPoorVillain and SoreLoser above).

-->'''Phil:''' Two words: [[PunctuatedForEmphasis You! Ain't! Heroes!]]\\

* {{Catchphrase}}: This game was the progenitor of Axel's famous line, which was then translated as "Commit it to memory." ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts2'' streamlined the line to "Got it memorized?", which carried over when the game was remade.

After the events of ''Kingdom Hearts I'', Sora, WesternAnimation/{{Donald|Duck}}, and WesternAnimation/{{Goofy}} are wandering the worlds in search of [[Disney/MickeyMouse King Mickey]] and Riku. Eventually they are led by a cloaked figure to a strange place called Castle Oblivion, where memories come to life within its walls as illusions. As they climb the floors and partially relive the events of their previous adventure, they learn about the strange girl known as Naminé from Sora's past and are antagonized by a strange group of people called the Organization (Organization XIII in later games). Though not everything is as it appears in the castle, as memories can be tricky things...

** Destiny Islands in Reverse/Rebirth. [[spoiler: It's where it's revealed to Riku that it was ''him'', not Ansem that opened the door back at Destiny Islands, causing it to be lost to darkness.]]

* LovableTraitor: Axel.

* MadScientist: Vexen, the Chilly Academic.

* MinigameZone: In the remake, The 100-Acre Wood gets promoted to this, complete with a new set of minigames.

** The Ansem card had its unique effect--hide your stocked cards--removed in the single player-only remake, since this only had a use in the GBA version's multiplayer battles. It now has little use for Sora beyond giving him resistances. [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard The card works normally for Ansem, though.]]

* {{Nerf}}: The Ansem card had its unique effect--hide your stocked cards--removed in the single player-only remake, since this only had a use in the GBA version's multiplayer battles. It now has little use for Sora beyond giving him resistances. [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard The card works normally for Ansem, though.]]
** In the GBA version, both destructable and indestructable field obstacles respawned Moogle Points and health every time Sora re-enters a given room. In the remake, destructable obstacles stayed destroyed while indestructables only yield prizes the first time as long as Sora stays on that floor.
** Also related to Moogle Points, their value scaled with every successive ring of worlds in the GBA version. In the remake, Moogle Point orbs stay the same value [[note]]2 small, 10 big[[/note]] for the whole game. Together, both Moogle Point nerfs make it more difficult to build a deck in the remake.

* NoSell: [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII Luxord]]'s Omni Break in the remake, which lets Sora Card Break any 15 Attacks and/or Sleights regardless of whatever card he throws out.

* NotQuiteDead: [[spoiler:Part of Ansem, Seeker of Darkness survives in Riku's heart, though he lacks a physical form.]]

* PetalPower: Marluxia.

* PowerParasite: Zexion's gimmick in the remake. Whenever he attacks Riku, the player loses a card from their Deck and it goes to Zexion. Once Zexion has amassed a large enough collection, he'll summon duplicates of himself, each wielding Riku's Soul Eater, and use your Attack Cards against you.

* PsychoElectro: Larxene. One of the most out and out CRUEL people in the series. Even Maleficent comes across as more sympathetic [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII in the next game]], and she's the freaking "Mistress of all evil!"

* RecurringBoss: Riku [[spoiler:Replica]] is fought 6 times over the course of the two story modes: 4 times for Sora [[spoiler:and twice for Riku]]. [[LampshadedTrope Lampshaded]] after Sora gets through Floor 9 as Goofy and Donald look around, wondering where Riku is and assuming in the end that he got tired of fighting Sora.

* SoreLoser: Larxene, after Sora defeats her for the second and final time.
* TheStarscream: Marluxia is this with regards to Xemnas, Axel is this with regards to ''everybody''.
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: In an inverted case of JapaneseRanguage gone wrong, the Sleight "Lethal Frame" was accidentally mistranslated as "Lethal F'''l'''ame" in the original [=PS2=] release of the remake. The ''HD I.5 [=ReMIX=]'' release fixed it.

* ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks:
** The four Raid sleights, where Sora throws the Keyblade... and it returns. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] due to the Keyblade having a SummonToHand power.
** In the remake, Riku's Barrage Sleight.

** [[spoiler:He's slightly better in the manga adaptation, and explains to Jiminy on why he abandoned them as opposed to telling him to shut up]].

** The Riku Replica.

** Lexaeus.

** Larxene, which doubles as a VillainousBreakdown.
--->[[SoreLoser "I'm... fading? No, this isn't the way I... I won't ALLOW...!"]] (Especially sad when delivered by Creator/YukoMiyamura.)
* AlphaBitch: Larxene, very much so.
* AnotherSideAnotherStory: Beating Sora's story unlocks the ''Reverse/Rebirth'' campaign, where you play as [[spoiler: Riku]].

* ArtificialHuman: Vexen made one, [[spoiler:Riku Replica.]]

* BatmanGambit: First off, there's the main one - Marluxia, Larxene, and Axel attempt to use Namine to rewrite Sora's memories so they can use him as a weapon against their Organization's leader, Xemnas. Eventually Vexen, another member the three are using to further this goal, feels left out one time too many and tries to reveal the plan to Sora. All along, however, Axel is actually a double agent as he's spying on the traitors for Xemnas and ends up sabotaging ''both'' Marluxia's plot and Vexen's ''own'' attempt to sabotage it, since Vexen was planning on telling Sora too much. Meanwhile, a group of Organization loyalists and associates of Vexen in the basement levels is trying to capture and use Riku due to their ''own'' suspicions about Marluxia's group. Axel sabotages ''them, too''. Later games add further facets to this: Xemnas sent the traitors to Castle Oblivion on purpose, and Axel was given a second mission to find Ven's body - and Axel only took on these missions to get on Xemnas's good side, because ''he'' and Saix were planning to betray Xemnas themselves eventually (which also belatedly provides a reason for Axel killing the basement group - to get rid of other members loyal to Xemnas).
** They're literally playing hopscotch with one another - and [[spoiler:judging by DDD, Axel and Saix came out on top! Even if one of them is half Xemnas and probably entirely mad...]]

* GambitPileup: Let's see... First off, there's the main one--Marluxia, Larxene, and Axel [[spoiler:attempt to use Namine to rewrite Sora's memories so they can use him as a weapon against their Organization's leader, Xemnas]]. Eventually [[spoiler:Vexen, another member the three are using to further this goal, feels left out one time too many and tries to reveal the plan to Sora]]. All along, however, [[spoiler:Axel is actually a double agent--he's spying on the traitors for Xemnas and ends up sabotaging both Marluxia's plot ''and'' Vexen's ''own'' attempt to sabotage it, since Vexen was planning on telling Sora ''too'' much]]. Meanwhile, [[spoiler:a group of Organization loyalists and associates of Vexen in the basement levels is trying to capture and use Riku due to their own suspicions about Marluxia's group]]. [[spoiler:Axel sabotages ''them'', too]]. Later games add ''further'' facets to this: [[spoiler:the Superior sent the traitors to Castle Oblivion on purpose, and Axel was given a second mission to find Ven's body--and Axel only took on these missions to get on Xemnas's good side, because ''he'' and Saix were planning to betray Xemnas themselves eventually (which also belatedly provides a reason for Axel killing the basement group--to get rid of other members loyal to Xemnas)]].

* GreaterScopeVillain: [[spoiler:The leader of the Organization (i.e. Xemnas), who serves as the BigBad in the next game. If you played ''KH: Final Mix''/''I.5 HD Remix'', you can encounter him as [[BonusBoss the Unknown]].]]

* ItOnlyWorksOnce: Premium Cards. You can identify them by their shiny coat and gold number. They cost much less CP to add to your Deck, but if you use it in battle for any reason, it's gone for the rest of the fight. The only way to skirt around this is with the remake-exclusive Gold Card, but by the time you get this thing, [[BraggingRightsReward you won't have much else to do anyways.]]

** Like Sora, the Organization members, as well as other bosses with set decks, have a limited number of cards in their decks, and when they run out they have to reload. This makes it a perfectly viable strategy to focus on breaking their cards instead of depleting their HP. Of course, many of them carry Hi-Potions and Mega-Ethers so even broken cards can be reloaded, but then, Sora can do that too. The one advantage they have is the ability to reload their decks while moving.
** [[spoiler: Inverted in a few ways with Riku. Unlike Sora, Riku's reload card doesn't have a count, and you only need to hit the button to reload instantly every time. Bosses with decks of their own are still limited by their reload-counter. This might be compensate for the fact that Riku's decks are pre-set.]]

* TheStarscream: [[spoiler:Marluxia is this in regards to Xemnas.]]

''Chain of Memories'' was later remade as a UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 game (titled ''Re:Chain of Memories'') as part of the [[NoExportForYou Japan-only]] release of ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII: Final Mix+''. It was (much later) released as a standalone [=PS2=] game in North America. [[NoExportForYou Europe and Australia never got it]], but did get ''Kingdom Hearts HD I.5 Re[=MIX=]'', which contains ''Re:Chain of Memories'' remastered in HD. The remake replaces the 2D sprite art with 3D graphics, has voice-acted cutscenes instead of pure text with small voice clips, adds a new form for the FinalBoss, includes some new Attack Cards based off of Keyblades and Enemy Cards based off the Organization XIII members that appear in ''Kingdom Hearts II'', makes small tweaks to the battle system such as adding or removing some sleights, and completely removes the PlayerVersusPlayer mode. The ''HD I.5 Re[=MIX=]'' version is mostly identical to the the [=PS2=] remake, but has higher graphics resolution, UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 trophy support, and replaces the Attack Cards of the ''II'' Keyblades with some from ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts358DaysOver2''.

** For Sora players, Simba. Simba is very useful in the game boy advance version because he hits everyone "in front of" him (which, in the game boy advance's view, is basically "In the direction he's facing"). Thus with good positioning you'll have an attack that can't miss and can knock enemies around. By the time you fight Larxene the first time, you'll have to put him in a sleight for him to hold up though.