The Kingdom Hearts Series has never been more accessible than it is now, thanks in part to the way that the entire story has seen re-releases on current gen consoles leading up to the launch of Kingdom Hearts 3. However, that hasn't always been the case over the series' 18 year history, and Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memories might be the starkest example of the leading criticism while preparing for Kingdom Hearts 4, something clearly alluded to but not officially announced.
Before the release of the Kingdom Hearts 1.5 and 2.5 remakes, one of the largest complaints about the series was the barrier of entry, which led to considerable criticism with Kingdom Hearts 3. This can be primarily attributed to the way that the series has created tons of spin-off titles, like Melody of Memories, which hold important story beats that feed into the almost two decade long narrative.
One thing to note about the specific situation that the latest spin-off brings to the series is that the upcoming rhythm-action game doesn't appear to be a soulless cash grab or a mini-game padded out in order to justify a full priced release. Any players that have played the demo or seen previews of Melody of Memories can recognize the quality and passion that went into creating this title. The issue is that, while the gameplay may be solid and the music from the series has earned its praise, this is the seventh spin-off from the main numbered series, with players already expect more lore to drop.
KH Platfoms: The Original Barrier to Entry
A high barrier to entry can make or break most series, or even individual titles, which is what made it so hard to get VR titles off the ground in the early days of the peripheral. Up until recently, this has been the case for the Kingdom Hearts series since the release of Chain of Memories released for the Game Boy Advance in 2004 and every other spin-off since has landed on every major portable platform since. While the re-released collections released on PS4 before Kingdom Hearts 3 launched, and the complete Kingdom Hearts collection hit Xbox One earlier this year, playing each of these games when they released was an investment.
Only considering the combined price of the games, buying each installment in the series at launch comes out at an arm and a leg. Combining this with the cost of a PS2, Game Boy Advance, PSP, Nintendo DS, and Nintendo 3DS, getting every game that released before Kingdom Hearts 3 was one of the most costly game series to follow. So now, as Kingdom Hearts 4 has more opportunity than its predecessor thanks to the recent collections, Square Enix is continuing to muddy the series by asking players to buy a new spin-off.
Melody of Memories Doesn't Fit With the Series
Fans of rhythm-action games, like Crypt of the Necrodancer, will likely enjoy what Square Enix has prepared for the stellar gameplay of Melody of Memories. However, while the upcoming title may excel at it's given genre, it may not exactly appeal to the Kingdom Hearts audience as a whole, thanks to the series' previous dedication to 3D platforming and fast-paced-action combat. So, even though Square Enix isn't new to rhythm spin-offs, like Theatrhythm Final Fantasy, this specific series is, and taking risks has proved to be fairly divisive in the past as well.
Players who have followed along since 2002 might remember the very first spin-off in the series, Chain of Memories, relied on a card-based system for the combat as opposed to the more simplified mechanics from the original. This turned into a situation where players either hated the new mechanics, or they loved it, but it wasn't quite as universally accepted by fans as main title entries in the series. As a result, while Melody of Memories' musical gameplay may succeed at what it sets out to do, it might not be something that all players would be completely excited to dedicate the same amount of time too as a numbered title. This is bad for those who want to know the lore but have no interested in a rhythm game.
Expanding the Kingdom Hearts Lore
This is where the core of the critique about Kingdom Hearts' spin-off titles comes from, with each new entry diving deeper into the series lore and often introducing new characters and storylines. Two of the most notorious examples of this becoming an issue came with Kingdom Hearts 3 players having no idea who Terra, Aqua, and Ventus are, or who Xion is on top of that, thanks to these characters being introduced in spin-offs. To a degree, it's hard to call these titles "spin-offs," but the way they don't share the same numbering system of the "main" titles leads many players to think of them as superfluous.
Unfortunately for anyone interested in following along with the story from the 13 year gap between Kingdom Hearts 2 and 3, they had to have invested in these extra titles that released between them. The result is that, while the capping of of events in Kingdom Hearts 3 is great for anyone who has been following along this entire time, it alienates casual players and fans that couldn't invest in multiple platforms. From the way that Melody of Memories is looking to recap the series through Kairi's perspective, some fans have already considered skipping this title, but many players are still expecting to see some important revelations.
Kairi's Story
In the same vein that Melody of Memories highlights one of the series' biggest flaws of alienating players with new spin-offs on separate consoles, it may have a chance to recover from another criticism. Even though Kairi is sleeping in Melody of Memories, she will be the center of the story while the game recaps the previous games in the series through her memories. This means that Square Enix finally has the chance to make Kairi the important, impressive character with her own agency that players have wanted to see since she first got a keyblade in Kingdom Hearts 2.
While players were excited to finally play as Kairi in Re:Mind, Kingdom Hearts really felt like it didn't know how to properly use the character. Between leaving the character out of the story for "training" and having her fail to live up to any expectations in her first combat outing, Kairi has been severely mismanaged. It's likely that this was leading up to her utilization in Melody of Memories and hopefully an expanded role in Kingdom Hearts 4 and on, but truth be told, it shouldn't take a rhythm game to establish this.
Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memories is set to release for PS4, Switch, and Xbox One on November 11 in Japan and November 13 worldwide.