History YMMV / KingdomHeartsMelodyOfMemory

** Kairi wants to go [[spoiler:with Riku to Quadratum to look for Sora, but both she and Riku know that she can't come as she isn't strong enough yet.]] Out of everyone, Kairi has been the one of [[spoiler:the most desperate of the bunch to find Sora again and the fact that she can't do anything is obviously frustrating to her.]]

** Kairi, despite being given ADayInTheLimelight, is underwhelming to many players who were hoping to see her shine in battle even more after showing off her fighting skills in ''Re Mind''. [[spoiler:She is used for a few select levels, but doesn't even get to fight the final boss, with that honor being given to the memory of Sora possessing her body instead. In the end, rather than brave the new world to find Sora by Riku's side, she goes back into Keyblade training (albeit under Aqua's tutelage this time). The game attempts to justify this by the fact that despite [[TookALevelInBadass the strides she's made in combat]], she's still a rookie, but many fans find it frustrating that she's ''still'' shoved to the sidelines at this point and find that the MyKungFuIsStrongerThanYours excuse no longer holds water when Sora and Riku were allowed to go on adventures in other worlds when ''they'' were just rookies, and ''Re Mind'' has shown that Kairi is skilled enough to hold her own at this point]].

* UnderusedGameMechanic: Despite the inclusion of multiple unique boss themes, the game only features four actual boss fights. Many players were left wondering why memorable bosses like Sephiroth or Roxas didn't make it even though their songs are available as Field Tracks, or lamented that the exclusion of Symphony of Sorcery meant that Chernabog was not used as a boss with "Night on Bald Mountain" for his fight.

** Judging from comments on the trailers and pre-release articles, [[NewWorkRecycledGraphics the heavy re-use of old graphics]] led some more cynical people to dismiss this game as a cheap cash grab with plot added in to force fans to spend 70 bucks on it.

** Similarly, despite Naminé having the power to manipulate memories and being Kairi's Nobody she's completely absent from the game.

* ItsEasySoItSucks: In regards to being a rhythm game, ''Melody of Memory'' is not an especially difficult one. If you are remotely seasoned with rhythm games at all the game presents relatively little challenge save for the Level 15 songs (the highest level in the game) and Performer Mode, and even then they are fairly simple to pick up and practice. There's an argument to be made for how the game appears to be made deliberately easier than the preceding ''VideoGame/TheatrhythmFinalFantasy'' games since the core ''Kingdom Hearts'' players are the target audience, but to many it feels like a faltering attempt at trying to find a middle ground at being a rhythm game and being a ''Kingdom Hearts'' game.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Kairi, despite being given ADayInTheLimelight, is underwhelming to many players who were hoping to see her shine in battle even more after showing off her fighting skills in ''Re Mind''. [[spoiler:She is used for a few select levels, but doesn't even get to fight the final boss, with that honor being given to the memory of Sora possessing her body instead. In the end, rather than brave the new world to find Sora by Riku's side, she goes back into Keyblade training (albeit under Aqua's tutelage this time). The game attempts to justify this by the fact that despite [[TookALevelInBadass the strides she's made in combat]], she's still a rookie, but many fans find it frustrating that she's ''still'' shoved to the sidelines at this point and find that the MyKungFuIsStrongerThanYours excuse no longer holds water when Sora and Riku were allowed to go on adventures in other worlds when ''they'' were just rookies, and ''Re Mind'' has shown that Kairi is skilled enough to hold her own at this point]].

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Kairi, despite being given ADayInTheLimelight, is underwhelming to many players who were hoping to see her shine in battle even more after showing off her fighting skills in ''Re Mind''. [[spoiler:She is used for a few select levels, but doesn't even get to fight the final boss, with that honor being given to the memory of Sora possessing her body instead. In the end, rather than brave the new world to find Sora by Riku's side, she goes back into Keyblade training (albeit under Aqua's tutelage this time). The game attempts to justify this by the fact that despite [[TookALevelInBadass the strides she's made in combat]], she's still a rookie, but many fans find it frustrating that she's ''still'' shoved to the sidelines at this point and find that the MyKungFuIsStrongerThanYours excuse no longer holds water when Sora and Riku were allowed to go on adventures in other worlds when ''they'' were just rookies, and ''Re Mind'' has shown that Kairi is skilled enough to hold her own at this point]].

* AuthorsSavingThrow: While the {{compilation rerelease}}s of the ''Kingdom Hearts'' series have helped make the series easier to hop into, the series' convoluted story is still one of the biggest barriers of entry. ''Melody of Memory''[='=]s story mode--up until its final song, anyway--acts as a RecapEpisode for every previous game, leaving out the unnecessary details that make the story so hard to follow. Everything that's happened so far is relayed in bite-sized cutscenes, which total just under 30 minutes in combined length, with the post-''Re Mind'' content extending it to just under 50. This benefits newcomers playing on the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch, as no previous ''Kingdom Hearts'' games had been released on the Switch at the time.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Kairi, despite being given ADayInTheLimelight, is underwhelming to many players who were hoping to see her shine in battle even more after showing off her fighting skills in ''Re Mind''. [[spoiler:She is used for a few select levels, but doesn't even get to fight the final boss, with that honor being given to the memory of Sora possessing her body instead. In the end, rather than brave the new world to find Sora by Riku's side, she goes back into Keyblade training (albeit under Aqua's tutelage this time). The game attempts to justify this by the fact that despite [[TookALevelInBadass the strides she's made in combat]], she's still a rookie, but many fans find it frustrating that she's ''still'' shoved to the sidelines at this point and find that the SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome excuse no longer holds water when Sora and Riku were allowed to go on adventures in other worlds when ''they'' were just rookies, and ''Re Mind'' has shown that Kairi is skilled enough to hold her own at this point]].

** In TheStinger, Kairi decides she will [[spoiler:continue her training under none other than Aqua herself!]]
** The credits feature Sora gliding through them accompanied by not just the main characters of the series, but also his many allies and friends he's made throughout the franchise's Disney worlds up until ''III''. Due to Disney's hardline restrictions on the amount of cross-over the franchise can do, this may be the closest we ever get to a true AvengersAssemble moment in the franchise.
** Another understated moment from the credits: previous games (even ''0.2'' despite its very short length) would list the series' original characters and those from other Creator/SquareEnix games with their voice actors, with the Disney characters instead having a list of only their names, followed by a list of additional "Disney voices" with unspecified roles. Here, all the Disney characters who have new voice lines are credited in the exact same list and syntax as the core cast, giving more respect to the people behind more important characters to the story such as Yen Sid, King Mickey and the Fairy Godmother.

----

* EndingAversion: Some players were not particularly enthused about [[spoiler:Kairi still being unable to hold her own in a fight and needing Sora to come to her aid yet again, although it's at least against one of the most powerful Keyblade wielders in existence with neither him nor Sora being technically "real" at the moment which means it makes sense that only Sora can defeat him. There's also the fact that she declines to go to Quadratum due to her inexperience and decides to stay behind to train, with fans dreading another ''Kingdom Hearts III'' scenario where she suffers from severe CantCatchUp and is almost permanently sidelined because of it.]]

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: [[WesternAnimation/{{Fantasia}} Symphony of Sorcery]], the one Disney world that has music as its central motif, is AdaptedOut of this rhythm game.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: While the {{compilation rerelease}}s of the ''Kingdom Hearts'' series have helped make the series easier to hop into, the series' convoluted story is still one of the biggest barriers of entry. ''Melody of Memory''[='=]s story mode--up until its final song, anyway--acts as a RecapEpisode for every previous game, leaving out the unnecessary details that make the story so hard to follow. Everything that's happened so far is relayed in bite-sized cutscenes, which total just under 30 minutes in combined length, with the post-''Re Mind'' content extending it to just under 50. This benefits newcomers playing on the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch, as no previous ''Kingdom Hearts'' games have been released on the Switch.

* BrokenBase: Kairi's decision to [[spoiler:[[TimeToUnlockMoreTruePotential continue her training]] instead of traveling to Quadratum with Riku]] has divided many. Some fans aren't bothered by this because she is [[spoiler:still a rookie Keyblade wielder who is obviously less experienced compared to Riku as she only recently started fighting as early as the climax of ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII'', still required Sora to rescue her from Xehanort in this game alone, and are excited to see her receive training from Aqua]]. Meanwhile, other fans aren't too happy about the idea because [[spoiler:seeing it is another example of how Kairi CantCatchUp with the rest of the cast and suspect it as another excuse for Kairi to be PutOnABus ''once again'' in favor of Sora and Riku]].

* ItsShortSoItSucks: For what it's worth the game is fairly light on content. If you're not going for HundredPercentCompletion most of what the game has to offer can be seen in a day's worth of play time. The game does bank on ReplayValue as it is a rhythm game at its core, but there's not much else to justify replaying songs besides the PlayerVersusPlayer or collecting all the cards. The general consensus is that while the game is still good, there's not enough to justify being sold at full-price unless you're a die-hard fan.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Kairi, despite being given ADayInTheLimelight, is underwhelming to many players who were hoping to see her shine in battle even more after showing off her fighting skills in ''Re Mind''. [[spoiler:She is used for a few select levels, but doesn't even get to fight the final boss, with that honor being given to the memory of Sora possessing her body instead. In the end, rather than brave the new world to find Sora by Riku's side, she goes back into Keyblade training (albeit under Aqua's tutelage this time). The game attempts to justify this by the fact that despite [[TookALevelInBadass the strides she's made in combat]], she's still a rookie, but many fans find it frustrating that she's ''still'' shoved to the sidelines at this point and find that the RealityEnsues excuse no longer holds water when Sora and Riku were allowed to go on adventures in other worlds when ''they'' were just rookies, and ''Re Mind'' has shown that Kairi is skilled enough to hold her own at this point]].

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Kairi, despite being given ADayInTheLimelight, is underwhelming to many players who were hoping to see her shine in battle even more after showing off her fighting skills in ''Re Mind''. [[spoiler:She is used for a few select levels, but doesn't even get to fight the final boss, with that honor being given to the memory of Sora possessing her body instead. In the end, rather than brave the new world to find Sora by Riku's side, she goes back into Keyblade training (albeit under Aqua's tutelage this time). The game attempts to justify this by the fact that despite [[TookALevelInBadass the strides she's made in combat]], she's still a rookie, many fans still find it frustrating that she's still shoved to the sidelines at this point and find that the RealityEnsues excuse no longer holds water when Sora and Riku were allowed to go on adventures in other worlds when ''they'' were just rookies, and ''Re Mind'' has shown that Kairi is skilled enough to hold her own at this point]].

* EndingAversion: Some players were not particularly enthused about [[spoiler:Kairi still being unable to hold her own in a fight and needing Sora to come to her aid yet again, although it's at least against one of the most powerful Keyblade wielders in existence. There's also the fact that she declines to go to Quadratum due to her inexperience and decides to stay behind to train, with fans dreading another ''Kingdom Hearts III'' scenario where she suffers from severe CantCatchUp and is almost permanently sidelined because of it.]]

** While the game presented Kairi as the main character, the rhythm game style (see above) and the heavy focus on Sora turned off many fans at first, because they were still sore of [[DamselScrappy her treatment]] in ''Kingdom Hearts III'', prior to ''Re Mind''[='=]s [[TookALevelInBadass turnabout portrayal]] of her.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Kairi, despite being given ADayInTheLimelight, is underwhelming to some who were hoping to see her shine in battle after showing off her fighting skills in ''Re Mind''. [[spoiler:She is used for a few select levels, but doesn't even get to fight the final boss, with that honor being given to Sora instead. In the end, rather than brave the new world to find Sora by Riku's side, she goes back into Keyblade training (albeit under Aqua's tutelage this time). Of course, while this is justified by the fact that despite [[TookALevelInBadass the strides she's made in combat]], [[RealityEnsues she's still a rookie]], many fans still find it frustrating that she's still shoved to the sidelines at this point]].

** Kairi has absolutely none of [[spoiler: Master Xehanort's taunting and gives it her all against his phantom, using third tier magic and displaying enough prowess that he admits she's trained well, even if she doesn't poise a threat to him.]]
** When things look bad, [[spoiler:Kairi summons the Kingdom Key as Sora, still alive in some form after his fateful confrontation with Yozora, takes control of her body. Even beyond the veil, Sora will never stop being there for the people he cares about the most.]]

** The flashback to when Kairi was abducted as a little girl. After being cornered by the Heartless at the gate to the castle, [[spoiler:Xehanort calmly appears in front of her, casually reaching out to take her. His apathy towards the danger he is likely putting the little girl in during the following cutscene is just as frightening. And just to top it off, it's revealed Kairi was placed in one of the pods in the Ark, better known as the room in the End of the World where you received the ominous prophecy about the closing of Kingdom Hearts.]]
** The characters point out that the existence of [[spoiler:Quadratum is literally something they’ve never dealt with before, and Riku is heading off into it alone, having no idea what he’ll find. If Yozora, who is not even a villain, could give Sora the fight of his life, what’s the rest of this world like? Is it possible Yozora isn’t even the strongest character from his reality? Who was it that destroyed the Nameless Star’s form? Mickey is more than within his rights to be fearful for what Riku may be facing in the unknown.]]

* UnderusedGameMechanic: Despite the inclusion of multiple unique boss themes, the game only features four actual boss fights. Many players were left wondering why memorable bosses like Sephiroth or Roxas didn't make it even though their songs are available as Field Tracks, or lamented that the exclusion of Symphony of Sorcery meant that Chernabog was not used as a boss with “Night on Bald Mountain” for his fight.

* CatharsisFactor: You can play as [[VideoGame/KingdomHearts358DaysOver2 "Team Days"]] in almost any stage, and around mid-game is a boss battle against Xemnas. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbzi2LgTpOg What must be done is both clear and immensely satisfying.]]

** Kairi has absolutely none of [[spoiler: Master Xehanort’s taunting and gives it her all against his phantom, using third tier magic and displays enough prowess that he admits she’s trained well, even if she doesn’t poise a threat to him.]]
** When things look bad, [[spoiler:Kairi summons the Kingdom Key as Sora, still alive in some form even after his fateful confrontation with Yozora, takes control of her body. Even beyond the veil, Sora will never stop being there for the people he cares about the most.]]

** The credits feature Sora gliding through them accompanied by not just the main characters of the series, but also his many allies and friends he’s made throughout the franchise’s Disney worlds up until ''III''. Due to Disney’s hardline restrictions on the amount of cross-over the franchise can do, this may be the closest we ever get to a true AvengersAssemble moment in the franchise.

* SugarWiki/AndTheFandomRejoiced: While most in the fandom weren't thrilled with [[spoiler:Kairi's decision to stay behind and train instead of journey to Quadratum with Riku]], the reveal that [[spoiler:Kairi wants to train with Aqua]] got many fans excited again. Yen Sid's response sums it up:
-->'''Yen Sid''': That is an excellent idea. I approve.