Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories (2024)

Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories is the second title in the Kingdom Hearts series, and the only title playable on the Nintendo Game Boy Advanced. The direct sequel to the 2002 original Kingdom Hearts, it picks up with Sora, Donald Duck, and Goofy after closing the Door to Darkness, as they set out to find King Mickey and Riku.

The title was first announced at Tokyo Game Show 2003 on September 26, 2003, alongside Kingdom Hearts II.^[1][2] Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories released in Japan on November 11, 2004, with a North American release the next month and releases in Europe and Australia the following May.

While searching for Riku and King Mickey after closing the Door to Darkness, Sora, Donald, and Goofy are confronted by a man in a black hood, and find themselves at a mysterious fortress called Castle Oblivion.

Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories was developed as an intermediary title that would bridge the one year-long gap between the original Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II. Originally, Director Tetsuya Nomura intended to leave the events between the two a mystery. However, in consideration of the demand for children to be able to play a Kingdom Hearts game on the Game Boy Advance, Nomura decided to create a game on the platform that would connect the two stories.^[3][4] The main theme of this title would revolve around "memories";^[4] initially, it was called Kingdom Hearts: Lost Memories. Chain of Memories was later adopted for its style and resemblance to the outline of the story.^[5] Chain of Memories was developed alongside Kingdom Hearts II^[6], in collaboration with Japanese developer Jupiter.^[7] As the GBA was less powerful than the PS2, a 3D environment akin to that of the first game would not be possible for this title; instead, Chain of Memories was set on a 2D plane and centered on a card-based system.^[4] The gameplay began as a simple card game, but evolved into incorporate action components, such as a jump button, so as to not alienate fans of the original Kingdom Hearts. The Reverse/Rebirth campaign was planned from the start of development, which would follow Riku's story and follow different gameplay rules compared to Sora's story.^[6] The technology for the FMVs present in the game was produced by AM3.^[4] Due to the limited ROM space of a GBA cartridge, content was cut in accommodation for the FMVs.^[8]

Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories was announced alongside Kingdom Hearts II at Tokyo Game Show 2003 on September 26, 2003. A playable demo for the game was made available later that year at Jump Festa.^[9] Upon release in Japan on November 11, 2004, December 7, 2004 in North America, and 2005 in the PAL region, Chain of Memories received positive reception. Within two days of its Japanese release, it had sold 104,000 units, a record for GBA titles at the time.^[10] As of August 2009, the game has shipped over 1.55 million copies worldwide, including 410,000 in Japan, 940,000 in North America, and 200,000 in Europe.^[11]

Re-releases and Remakes[edit | edit source]

Chain of Memories was remade in 3D as Re:Chain of Memories for PlayStation 2, originally releasing alongside Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix in Japan on March 29, 2007.^[12] The remake was given a standalone release in North America on December 2 the following year.

• A special disc given to retailers that features an unreleased Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories trailer.