Well, I'm bored so now I'll be winging this review. Just like I do with every other one.
I recently finished Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories and it was a complete hassle. If you hated the card system from the GBA system, then you probably hate it even more on the PS2. Playing the same cards over and over just isn't fun anymore when there is very little creativity put into it and the sleights are mostly a bore as well. The only sleights worth remembering are Omnislash and Trinity Limit.
The lone place where the gameplay is good is during the 3 fights with Marluxia, especially the last one. They strike the perfect balance of being challenging and fun- the only point in the game where the card system is not infuriating, but rather a good tool in the fight against the Organization.
The 3D graphics will constantly remind you that you could be playing a much better game with the other 2 PS2 entries in the franchise. The level design was mediocre at best. Paraphrasing what someone I was discussing the game with said- the rooms are all the same, just with different wallpaper.
The story starts right after the end of the first game, where, while trying to find Riku and the King, you eventually encounter a castle and enter it. The resulting story is full of convoluted plot lines that the fans of KH have grown to be fond of. Of course, this only applies to the story that unravels in between worlds and the last two levels.
Let's be honest, the only reason you'll play this game is for the story. Sadly, Square decided to only provide voice overs for the cutscenes in between worlds and during the last 2 floors. The end result is not only you reading a bunch of text to follow what's going on inside those worlds, but a completely half-hearted storyline that's a cheap rehash of what was already covered in the first game. At least they didn't back Tarzan.
Most of the music is also recycled from the first and second game, but Yoko Shimomura's score is so good that this fact can only bring about mild complaints. The new tracks added are Graceful Assasin, Scythe of Petals and Lord of the Castle, all of which are played with your 3 encounters with Marluxia and all of which are great. The 13th Struggle is also tweaked slightly (shorter run time) for this version, but you'll get used to it since it's played at almost every fight with an Organization member that you encounter. Not that it's bad, though.After you beat Sora's part of the story, you get to play as Riku, which provides some nice insights into what happened with him both in Kingdom Hearts and what lead to his condition that's shown in Kingdom Hearts 2. His side, though, can easily be passed in less than 10 hours of gameplay. That is, of course, if you can stomach it that long. Thankfully, or not depending on your viewpoint, most of the cutscenes here are voiced over. Which means that there are almost no cutscenes in the worlds you visited. You just enter it, get a card, and fight your way to the boss. No fanfare at all, except in the first level.
Overall, KH Re:COM is best left to be forgotten except the storyline involving the Organization. The card system might have been worthy effort, but it ultimately ends up flat.
Story: B+
Graphics: C+
Gamplay:D+
Music: B+
Overall: C+