Nerds That Geek Gaming Flashback - 'Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep'

​Written by Shae

So, if you didn't know I'm a huge Kingdom Hearts fan. I'm not saying I'm a gamer by any means, however I do like to play the occasional game now and then. It just takes me forever to finish one. Once upon a time I could fly through a game and play them in a week! Now, Kingdom Hearts was the reason I got a PlayStation 2. I begged my parents, and they came through the Christmas the game had been released. I played that game for three weeks solid until I was done. Eventually I did the same with Kingdom Hearts II. Another entry in the story I loved, Birth by Sleep was originally made for the PSP, but thankfully it and the other games have been re-released for the Play Station 3, which also made for a lovely Christmas gift by my family. 

Birth by Sleep gives you the option to play as three different characters. The story arc is different with one main similarity. We start with Terra who is struggling with the Darkness. When a visiting Keyblade Master goes missing, we run off to find him. This is where we choose our path. It took me years, but I finally know the right order to play. Terra has to be the first. His story is sad. You play through different worlds, visit them, save princesses with Pure Hearts from the clutches of evil, and fight pre-Heartless Heartless. Terra is being slowly manipulated until he's given into the Darkness. The evil missing Keyblade master takes over his body, because the guy wanted to be legit younger.

Ventis is the next up. Having been the experiment of the evil antagonist, Ventis was the first to ever be split into two. Venitas is the other half of Ventis. The two are tugged around in a twisted game of chase before its revealed who Venitas really is. Sadly, Ventis can't handle the news, and Venitas wins out, leaving Ventis a hollow shell, left to await being put back together. Aqua has no idea what's happening to either of her friends. She believes she's doing the right thing. She was asked by their Master to watch out for Terra. Later, he sees this as a betrayal. Aqua is the strongest original female character Kingdom Hearts has so far. She's tough, fair, and true to her friends. She ends up trapped in the realm of Darkness after fighting Terra. Unable to help them, she waits there in exile....

The game lacks a happy ending, but sets up everything for Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II. Hopefully our characters get some resolution in the third installment of the game. Until then, I'm just going to replay this and cry.

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