Best Buy Ratings and Reviews

Best Buy Ratings and Reviews

Customer Reviews for Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep - PSP

Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep - PSP

Model: 91008
SKU: 9956365
UPC: 662248910086
SynopsisLong before Sora was chosen by his Keyblade, the worlds' safety lay in the hands of Keyblade Masters. Three youths — Terra, Ventus and Aqua — have been training long and hard under Master Eraqus to prove that they, too, exhibit the Mark of Mastery. But they will soon find themselves in the middle of a crisis affecting worlds far beyond their own — just as another Keyblade Master, Xehanort, goes mysteriously missing. Three friends, three destinies. Everything will link back to the beginning. An essential piece to the Kingdom Hearts series arrives on the PSP system with Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep. From world-renowned creator and character designer Tetsuya Nomura comes the latest installment in the beloved Kingdom Hearts series. The vibrant and colorful Kingdom Hearts world comes to life through stunning graphics in 16:9 widescreen presentation, made possible by the PSP system hardware. Disney worlds and characters new to the Kingdom Hearts series include Sleeping Beauty's abode, the Enchanted Dominion, as well as Cinderella's Castle of Dreams. Take on the roles of three unique characters, Terra, Ventus and Aqua, to finally discover the truth behind the mystery surrounding the origin of the Kingdom Hearts saga.
Average Customer Rating:
4.846 out of 5
4.8
 out of 
5
(13 Reviews) 13
Open Ratings Snapshot
Rating Snapshot 13 reviews
5 stars
11
4 stars
2
3 stars
0
2 stars
0
1 star
0
100% of customers would recommend this product to a friend 
(
13 out of 13
)
Customer Reviews for Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep - PSP
Review 1 for Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep - PSP

Excellent game.

Customer Rating
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Posted by: Stillgaming
from Hudson Valley, NY
on 01/16/2012
Storyline
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Challenging gameplay
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Graphics
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Audio
5.0 out of 5
5.0
What's great about it: Everything.
What's not so great: Nothing
Great story, interesting characters, and cool graphics. Everything you expect from a KH title.
This product has... Family friendly, Like to replay, Appropriate for your kids
About me... Frequent player
I would recommend this to a friend!
+2points
2out of 2found this review helpful.
Review 2 for Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep - PSP

This will do for now

Customer Rating
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Posted by: Daveak47
from San Diego, CA
on 02/24/2011
Challenge
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Length
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Graphics & Sound
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Fun
5.0 out of 5
5.0
What's great about it: Gameplay, length, experience
What's not so great: only on PSP
While original Kingdom Hearts games on PS2 had very childish stories, I loved them because of their unique combat system and fun RPG gameplay. Therefore I had to give Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep (KH:BBS) a shot. I after finishing the story twice with two different characters, here is what I thought.
****************PROS.********************
THREE PLAYABLE CHARACTERS AND THREE SIDES TO THE STORY: KH:BBS is a unique game in the sense that you have three playable characters in this game. You get to choose which character you want to play as in very beginning of the game. Each character will visit different parts of the given worlds, will grow in a different way and experience a different facet of the main story. Thus, to experience complete story, you will have to finish the story with all three different characters.
BATTLE SYSTEM: Like KH1 and 2, the battle system is the strongest aspect of KH:BBS. While this game is on PSP, it is amazing the number of different physical and magical combos you will find yourself pulling off on enemies. Throughout the game you get many different magic and attacks and you can combine these different magic and attacks to create stronger, more stunning and vary unique moves. In addition to attacks, you will also have different finishing moves. As you use different types of attack you will develop different finishing moves and different combos. It is very difficult to explain in words, but once you play, you will have an idea about the depth of battle system in this game. I personally loved it. Furthermore, different characters starts out with different moves so the variety of attacks you will have at your disposal are simply ridiculous.
GRAPHICS, ART AND ANIMATION; The game looks as gorgeous as KH on PS2. Just like KH1 and 2, different Disney and Square-Enix characters are aesthetically animated and assuming you watched those cartoons and played square games, you will go through many nostalgic moments. Loved it!
OPEN WORLD GAMEPLAY: Throughout the games you will visit different Disney worlds and game at most times gives you freedom to choose which worlds you want to visit. You are also allowed to revisit worlds to collect treasure that you may have missed or were unable to collect on your first visit. This is one of the features I loved in original KH games and am happy they have kept it here.
RPG ELEMENT: Just like previous KH games, as you defeat more enemies, your character will level up and his or her strength, magic, health and other stats will increase. Also, as described above, in addition to your character you can also upgrade different magic, attacks, moves and finishing moves. The advantage of this system is say if you are finding a boss or enemies in certain area difficult to finish, then you can always level up and have another shot at them. RPG element is one of the biggest reasons I have been a big fan of KH games.
ENEMIES AND BOSSES: Again just like previous games, very nicely designed. Different enemies and bosses will require different strategy to beat them (especially on harder modes). Buttonmashing will only get you so far. I won’t spoil much, but I loved the fight where you fight human opponents.
MINIGAMES: In addition to main gameplay, you will also find yourself playing couple of minigames, such as racing and dice games. Fortunately most of these are optional so if you like them, play your heart out, if not, not a big necessity. Great way to kill some more time though. Also, your performance in these minigames may help you upgrade your skills in the main gameplay.
CO-OP GAMEPLAY: KH:BBS has an arena mode where you can either by yourself or with your friends fight hordes and hordes of enemies, race against each other or play dice game. While not necessary, it is an great addition to this game. I personally loved this mode. More you play, tougher arena modes you unlock (i.e. tougher horde fights etc.)
REPLAYABILITY: As stated above, you will be finishing the story at least 3 times to explore all the areas and all the aspects of the story. And at least from what I have played, you won’t get tired anytime soon.
SECRET ENDING: No spoilers. The game itself tells you that if you want to unlock secret ending, play on harder modes. To unlock it, you will have to collect certain reports. So if you are completionist like me, you will be playing this game for quite a while to unlock this.
***************CONS.************************
REMOVAL OF SOME FEATURES FROM ORIGINAL KH GAMES: Since this game is may be taking place on PSP, they removed some good things from original KH games. You no longer have any partners. In many ways this makes things easier, but I kind of miss them.
*************CONCLUSION*******************
I have personally loved this game. Unfortunately, it will take a long while for KH 3 to come out, but meanwhile this is definitely a great game to pass some time and get ready for KH3. I personally loved the gameplay and also the story in this game. Hopefully they connect this game with KH 3. I would give this 9/10.
I would recommend this to a friend!
+20points
20out of 20found this review helpful.
Review 3 for Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep - PSP

Kingdom Hearts done right on a portable

Customer Rating
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Posted by: BlueDestined
from San Francisco, CA
on 12/04/2010
Challenge
4.0 out of 5
4.0
Length
4.0 out of 5
4.0
Graphics & Sound
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Fun
5.0 out of 5
5.0
What's great about it: Faithful to its console counterpart
What's not so great: Loading...
The last portable KH I've played was Chains of Melody. It was fun and told the story but didn't feel like KH due to the limitation of GBA. I wasn't skeptical they could get that kind of action on the PSP because I've played God of War:Chains of Olympus. The presentation and gameplay are what you've come to expect from the KH franchise. Whether you've been a fan or like action/adventure games, this is a definite must-have for the PSP. There is a lot of loading but I guess it was necessary due to all the RPG elements in the game. I recommend the full download to shorten the loading. Great job overall...now if Square can make a next-gen KH, that would be awesome!
I would recommend this to a friend!
 
Other Best Buy Products I Recommend
 
0points
2out of 4found this review helpful.
Review 4 for Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep - PSP

Game

Customer Rating
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Posted by: latina1214
from pond eddy,ny
on 10/18/2010
Challenge
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Length
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Graphics & Sound
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Fun
5.0 out of 5
5.0
What's great about it: graphics
What's not so great: nothing
My son got this for his birthday and he's in love with it.
I would recommend this to a friend!
+2points
3out of 4found this review helpful.
Review 5 for Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep - PSP

Great story, fun for hours.

Customer Rating
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Posted by: Seirpinski
from Springfield, Il
on 10/08/2010
Challenge
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Length
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Graphics & Sound
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Fun
5.0 out of 5
5.0
What's great about it: Everything
What's not so great: Nothing
SO much fun, kept me entertianed for days. If you like Kingdom Hearts you will love this new title.
I would recommend this to a friend!
+2points
4out of 6found this review helpful.
Review 6 for Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep - PSP

The best handheld KH game to date

Customer Rating
4.0 out of 5
4.0
Posted by: ArkZ
from Ames, IA
on 10/06/2010
Challenge
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Length
4.0 out of 5
4.0
Graphics & Sound
4.0 out of 5
4.0
Fun
5.0 out of 5
5.0
What's great about it: Amazing story, excellent graphics, captures the console experience
What's not so great: Long load times
After the mediocrity of 358/2 and CoM I picked up this game with lower expectations than I should have. The most surprising and awesome thing about this game is that it really captures the combat system of the console games while giving it it's own twist, which adds instead of detracts from the experience. They finally have balanced cure, while adding a really neat way for allies to interact with combat despite the fact that you are a 1 man party for most of the game.
The story contained a LOT of really well done story elements. In some ways, I liked the story better than any other game, most because you get 3 seperate stories each with their own related and expectedly epic ending. Unlike 358, this story is not an irrelevant plot arc. This game explains everything you have wondered about from the other games in a way that blew my mind. Some people don't think there is a reason for a kh3, but if you play all the way through and get the secret ending, you will realize that sora still has some work to do even after kh2.
The graphics were noticeably better than 358. It looks very close to the console games. My one complaint with the game is long load times, sometimes at odd times, such as in the middle of combat. "installing" the game to memory helps some, but it's still noticeable
I would recommend this to a friend!
 
Other Best Buy Products I Recommend
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days - Nintendo DS
4.8 out of 5(9)
 
 
 
 
 
+9points
9out of 9found this review helpful.
Review 7 for Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep - PSP

Kingdom Heart Fans

Customer Rating
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Posted by: freegman
from Waverly,Va
on 10/05/2010
Challenge
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Length
4.0 out of 5
4.0
Graphics & Sound
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Fun
4.0 out of 5
4.0
What's great about it: battles, story, and graphics
What's not so great: story with three character gets a bit repetitive
The game explain alot about the kingdom hearts universe. Both excellent graphics and control. The action is a lot faster and combos are proformed better that the others in the series.
I would recommend this to a friend!
-1point
0out of 1found this review helpful.
Review 8 for Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep - PSP

Best KH since KH2!!

Customer Rating
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Posted by: waytodawn
from NJ
on 10/04/2010
Challenge
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Length
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Graphics & Sound
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Fun
5.0 out of 5
5.0
What's great about it: graphics, gameplay, story..its got it all!!
What's not so great: load times are long, but if you install it it isnt that bad at all
let me start off saying that i am a huge fan of the KH franchise. the series has started to veer off course with the ds and remake of the gba game but this game really feels like a true sequel to the original ps2 games..the graphics are great and on par with the ps2 games and the game itself plays the best out of the entire series..there is so much to do in the game, having only done all three stories and the final report, ive already logged 65 hours not including all of the sidequests and extras..if youve been waiting for the next best psp/kh game this is definately it..as a HUGE fan it answered so many questions and ties everything together which is gunna make the wait for KH3 soo hard..awesome game, BUY IT!!!
I would recommend this to a friend!
 
Other Best Buy Products I Recommend
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days - Nintendo DS
4.8 out of 5(9)
 
 
 
Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep Signature Series Game Guide - PSP
 
 
 
 
 
0points
1out of 2found this review helpful.
Review 9 for Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep - PSP

awesome

Customer Rating
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Posted by: jamoliso
from Tampa, FL
on 10/04/2010
Challenge
4.0 out of 5
4.0
Length
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Graphics & Sound
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Fun
5.0 out of 5
5.0
What's great about it: excellent characters and long game
What's not so great: the unlockable video doesn't answer any questions.
this game is amazing, much better than other handheld installments of the series and the three characters have a good story.
I would recommend this to a friend!
-1point
0out of 1found this review helpful.
Review 10 for Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep - PSP

A full game on a handheld.

Customer Rating
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Posted by: Staibdude
from Utah
on 10/04/2010
Challenge
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Length
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Graphics & Sound
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Fun
5.0 out of 5
5.0
What's great about it: Fun to play and amazing story.
What's not so great: Can't think of anything, honestly.
Birth by Sleep will give you hours of gameplay and story, and still be fun. The controls are easy to use, and you have a huge variety of techniques to use. There are also mini games that you can play with your friends.
The games looks and plays like a PS2 game with its high quality graphics. The music is extremely well done, thanks to the talents of Yoko Shimomura. For any Kingdom Hearts fan, this prequel will satisfy your taste to the fullest.
I would recommend this to a friend!
-1point
0out of 1found this review helpful.
Review 11 for Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep - PSP

One of the best KH games to date

Customer Rating
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Posted by: Metalsabe
from New York, NY
on 09/01/2010
Challenge
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Length
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Graphics & Sound
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Fun
5.0 out of 5
5.0
What's great about it: Everything
What's not so great: Will have to wait a while for the next KH game
As a big fan of the KH series, i have to say that Square-Enix got it right with BBS. They took the speedy flashy battle system from KH2 and mixed it with KH1's difficulty. Making a perfect combination. Day one purchase.
I would recommend this to a friend!
+16points
17out of 18found this review helpful.
Review 12 for Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep - PSP

A prequel that doesn't fall through as a sequel

Customer Rating
4.0 out of 5
4.0
Posted by: JPeeper
from The Home
on 06/16/2010
Challenge
3.0 out of 5
3.0
Length
2.0 out of 5
2.0
Graphics & Sound
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Fun
5.0 out of 5
5.0
What's great about it: It's fun to play, new, different, and fans will love it.
What's not so great: It's short, and the design is overall uninventive.
Like many die hard Kingdom Hearts fans I bought the Japan version of BBS upon it's release. However I bought it for entirely different reasons. After the horrible storyline, characters, and repeating game-play that was Days, my patience was growing thin with Square. Is it too much to ask for a game with a good story and game play that wont make you fall asleep mid bossfight?
Luckily Birth By Sleep lives up to the hype, and maybe a bit more.
**SPOILERS**
Story:
Pros:
It's fun and inventive, and offers three different prospectives. You cannot say you have played this game until you finish Aqua, Terra, and Ventus' stories. Prepare for worlds you haven't seen before, and old ones in whole new prospectives.
It's fun enough to play more than once.
Cons:
This game is still a victim of the overly cheesy dialogue that all Square Enix games posses.
Worlds only last around 10-20 minutes, and don't stray far from their movie's storyline. You will see the end coming from a mile away, and will often feel let down that there wasn't more to do.
This game is REALLY short. I finished it in a week, but only played for about 2-3 days give or take a few hours. Imagine CoM, only slightly longer.
Characters:
Pros:
Aqua, Aqua, Aqua, Aqua, and I cannot stress enough, Aqua. For the first time in the series we have a female lead who isn't completely worthless and even ends up (indirectly) being the main character. She pulls her weight, her magic is FANTASTIC, her personality isn't submissive or overly feminine, and her story ties the rest of the game together. Female fans rejoice, you have a female lead to be proud of.
Creepy bad guy is creepy, and fun to listen to.
For all of the FF7 fans, you are in for a treat. And this time it's not Sephiroth or Cloud.
Cons:
Recycled character designs are recycled. If you were looking for something new, you will not find it here.
Everyone looks like someone else. Terra looks like an angry Zack(FF7), Ventus looks like Roxas(and behaves EXACTLY like Sora), Aqua looks arguably a great deal like an older Kairi with blue hair.
All of the Organization characters look exactly as they did in CoM and KH2, except with different clothing. The only characters who look different are Xibar, Saix's, and Axel's others. And even then the changes are minute(Braig looks exactly like Xigbar at the end of the game, he is the only character who has a drastic change in appearance), which is to be expected because of the age difference.
The final Boss for Ventus is quite possibly the biggest character design rip-off in the history of Kingdom Hearts, because it copies two characters at the same time.
There are only two characters who have a completely new look, and you wont care about one of them at all.
Battle Mechanics:
Pros:
Speedy, and well thought out. It plays smooth and you will not find a single point in time where you want to smash your console because your character jumps or runs funny.
Has an item leveling system much like the Materia customization of FF7. Yes, it's still synthesis, but it will remind you much more of Materia. Because you can level the items you create during battle, and even create abilities, not just items. You may combine Mastered abilities to create attacks with added abilities, such as HP boosts, and exp boosts. It's almost identical to Crisis Core's Materia system.
No more magic guage. You equip your magic directly and use it as an attack. No more irritating bubble collecting or drawn out load times. You can use an attack and it will reload almost as soon as you run through the rest of the attacks on your list.
No more summons. Instead you implement your "summons" attacks in to your own arsenal and take on their magics and abilities. It sounds strange, but it's actually incredibly useful and a step up from team mates who rarely listen to you.
Limits are useful. You no longer have to fear a limit missing everyone on the field. You are given attacks with high attack power and range. Final Fantasy fans will appreciate the salute to former summons such as Shiva, as most of the limits are named after summons signature attacks. Like for the Ice Limit, it's called Diamond Dust.
Cons:
Battle range is way huge man, leik totally for realz. There is no gradual slope. The game is easy one second and the next you're roadkill every five minutes.
You'll find that it's almost impossible to die, and then....you hit Neverland. The second to last world on your trip is sure to kill you if you aren't careful, and it will likely do so even if you are. After that point, you should probably level up alot, because if Neverland gave you trouble the final boss is going to cream you.
Mini games:
Pros:
The Mini games are super addictive.
Command board is quite possibly the best. It's a die based board game in which you aim your character towards checkpoints and accumulate board points, after you accumulate enough board points it's a race to the final checkpoint.
Arena mode offers new bossfights.
The best part? Not only do you get Medals that can be used towards special items, you also get experience points for pre-existing items and attacks. That's right, you don't have to fight to level up.
Disney Town's mini games are fun as well.
You have a tennis like game that you play with giant fruit, and the goal is to smack the fruit in to the goal point with your keyblade. It's fast paced and fun.
The ice cream mini game is a music based game where you have to shoot ice cream on to the cones huey duey and luey. You may find it frustrating at first, but it steadily gets more addicting.
Cons:
Rumble racing is very reminiscent of Mario Kart, unfortunately it is incredibly lackluster, hard to control, and overall boring as hell.
Music:
Pros:
Like all of the Kingdom hearts games Yoko Shimomura puts a new twist on classic Disney themes, and her original pieces contribute greatly to the emotion of the story.
Cons:
To many recycled pieces, including the opening theme.
For pretty pictures, a full scale map of your trek, and even a Psp theme, go to the main site: http://na.square-enix.com/khbbs/#/intro/
I would recommend this to a friend!
+44points
51out of 58found this review helpful.
Review 13 for Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep - PSP

Best Prequel ever

Customer Rating
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Posted by: Zenrocks
from UT
on 05/22/2010
Challenge
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Length
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Graphics & Sound
5.0 out of 5
5.0
Fun
5.0 out of 5
5.0
What's great about it: Good price
What's not so great: takes time to learn controls
Birth by sleep is probally the best prequel ever. I bought the japanese version when it came out. I waiting for the english version because i have to get my cousin to translate it all of the time. At the end it tells you what the message in the bottle that mickey wrote says. Obiviously there will be a kh3 after this one, and I hope it doesnt take them as long as it took them to make this one.
I would recommend this to a friend!
+25points
26out of 27found this review helpful.