Day One:
I started Birth By Sleep last night, on Critical difficulty, which may have been a mistake. The game has an install feature, which I have never seen before on PSP. (I would have loved an install feature on Midnight Club LA.) There were three choices for how much to install to the memory card, the biggest being around 600mb. The load times have been very short, but I don’t know how long they would be without it either. I tried not to look up to much information about the game before I started playing, even though it has been out in Japan for quite a while. I watched the opening cut scene for the first time, and it was remarkable. I was surprised to see how smooth and detailed the images were. I have never seen any cut scenes like in on a PSP before. The quality also made me yearn for a Kingdom Hearts game on a current console.

I chose to play the first segment of the game as Aqua, because she was the character I was least interested in. I’m not much of a mage, but I figured this would keep me excited to play the other characters. I think it has been a little to my disadvantage. I might have liked a player with stronger attacks in the beginning so it would be easier to learn the basics of the game. However, not being able to breeze thorough will likely help me dominate with Terra and Ventus later.

Because I did not respect the difficulty of critical mode, I have already died about 15 times. Yep. 15. I really like to just run headstrong into the game, and was defeated by some measly little Heartless (or Unversed, I guess).

I like the D-link ability, especially because I can briefly embody fighting styles more comfortable for me. Since I don’t have a cure spell, d-linking is a great way to heal mid fight. I also like that the spells, or commands, are time based. I don’t fully understand how the spell caster and thunderbolt specials are triggered, but I like having enriched powers.

I have a lot of meaningless leveling up to do in order to stay somewhat matched with enemies, which is a little disappointing. I’m sure this would not be the case on easy mode, and I’m not to upset. I thought about restarting, but I’m enjoying the game so much that I don’t mind. The menus and options are a little complex, but I think that is something I will appreciate as I continue the game.