Ranking Every Kingdom Hearts Game - From Worst To Best
4. Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep Final Mix
Birth By Sleep came around in a time where many were starting to get sick of the Kingdom Hearts series. Despite this, Birth By Sleep manages to have the best story in the series so far and features gameplay almost as unique as Chain of Memories, but far more entertaining.
It far surpassed any expectations that were set upon it, making it even more impressive that this was all achieved on the PSP, especially considering that it introduces several brand new worlds into the series. The tale of Ventus, Terra and Aqua is not just the most interesting, heartfelt and emotional in the series so far but it also allows for three different playable characters.
Although all three characters visit the same worlds, they all play completely different. Ventus is fast and plays much like Sora or Roxas, Terra is heavy and powerful and Aqua is the best at magic. This extra replay value adds a lot more to the game, as well as developing each character individually and giving each a chance to shine.
Birth By Sleep is also the introduction of the Command Deck. Rather than having every ability available to you at once, the Command Deck allows you to equip the abilities you want and make each character your own. This interesting variation of the battle system feels like a mix of Chain of Memories and Kingdom Hearts 2.
The only significant problem with the game comes from the combat. Although the Command Deck is an interesting spin on the typical gameplay and makes a lot more sense for handhelds, it also doesn't feel quite as good as prior games. It doesn't help that certain different commands are overpowered, meaning the best tactic is often just to equip and spam them.
This removes a lot of the fun of the game and means you spent most of the time running around waiting for the ability to recharge. Going through each world three times also gets quite repetitive at certain points.
Despite this, Birth By Sleep remains an essential entry into the series and introduces some of the best characters seen so far. It shouldn't be missed.