Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories

Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories
Developer: Square Enix Publisher: Square Enix Platform: PlayStation 2 Released in JP: March 29, 2007 Released in US: December 2, 2008 This game has unused graphics. This game has regional differences. This game has a prototype article This game has a notes page

Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories is a PS2 remake of a Game Boy Advance title. It was originally released as part of Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix in Japan, before being released individually in North America over a year and a half later; Europe never got this version until a remaster was released worldwide in 2013 as part of Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX.

Full 3D graphics and full cutscenes with voice acting flesh out this tale of Sora's experience with gradual amnesia as he plays cards in order to escape from a castle. There are also many changes that range from minute to significant.

Sub-Pages

Prototype Info

Notes

Unused Difficulties

Extreme Mode

A unused difficulty known as "Extreme Mode" exists within the game. The usage of the word "Extreme" is likely a early localization attempt of "Critical", as critical mode was exclusive to the Japanese release of Kingdom Hearts IIː Final Mix at the time. Besides the unused text in the settings menu, there's a few actual differences in terms of gameplay since this mode was scrapped late into developmentː

• Sora and Riku has all of their endgame abilities from the start like High Jump. However, Sora cannot increase his CP(Card Points) and Riku cannot increase his AP nor learn Dark Mode, making the game significantly more difficult.

• Some enemies deal more damage than on Proud Mode while others deal the same damage as if they're fought on Standard Mode. This means the developers haven't fully set the proper damage output for every enemy before the mode was ultimately scrapped.

• The game doesn't start with a Moment's Reprieve card, making the game be softlocked during the room synthesis tutorial. This means either the tutorial was changed after Extreme Mode was removed or the mode originally didn't have a tutorial section.

• There's no battle report to be found. The game simply shows a black screen and ultimately softlocks, technically making the mode still beatable.

You can access this mode(and the card necessary to progress) with a save editor or use the code listed below.

[Extreme Mode]
author=TCRF
description=A scrapped difficulty with some noticeable differences.  
patch=1,EE,006096F1,extended,00000003

[Press R2 for Moment's Reprieve]
author=TCRF
description=Pressing R2 anytime gives you a Moment's Reprieve card. Useful for quick saving or to get past the softlock in the unused Extreme Mode.
patch=1,EE,E001FDFF,extended,0043B91C
patch=1,EE,0060C95D,extended,00000001

Unknown Mode

A another unused difficulty exists, although way more unfinished. It has no actual description in the settings menu and Sora & Riku starts off with their early game abilities, unlike Extreme Mode. The only noticeable change in this mode is that ever single enemy are given boss tier health and easily regenerate it back, although at the cost of dealing no damage. This leads to the game quite literally being impossible to progress due to having forced fights in the story. You can check it out for yourself with this code if you're morbidly curious.

[Unknown Mode]
author=TCRF
description=A scrapped difficulty where it's impossible to win any fight.
patch=1,EE,006096F1,extended,00000004

Regional Differences

The requirements for unlocking the Monochrome, Hidden Dragon, Follow the Wind, and Photon Debugger cards are different between the Japanese and North American versions. The former requires a completed save file from Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix, while the latter, as it was released separately, only requires the player to complete Sora's Story and the Reverse/Rebirth story.