Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep

 PSP
User Score
8.4

Generally favorable reviews- based on 551 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 452 out of 551
  2. Mixed: 49 out of 551
  3. Negative: 50 out of 551
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  1. dz9
    Jul 23, 2011
    7
    The Good: The game has improved its gameplay, has great graphics for a psp game, decent enough voice acting, and a passable story. The bad: The only bad thing I would be able to think of is the fact that the board game side quest is awful. No one really truly enjoyed the gummy ship sequences---they're gone...GOOD BYE!! However, the gummy ship sequences were good enough to endure, andThe Good: The game has improved its gameplay, has great graphics for a psp game, decent enough voice acting, and a passable story. The bad: The only bad thing I would be able to think of is the fact that the board game side quest is awful. No one really truly enjoyed the gummy ship sequences---they're gone...GOOD BYE!! However, the gummy ship sequences were good enough to endure, and the game never punished you for not going out of your way to complete them 100%. However, on "Birth by Sleep," The board game side quests are WORSE than the gummy ship but it would still be passable enough if the game never really forced you to play it. However, most of the important items in the game are only obtainable through this horrid side quests. You still don't have to truly play it, but if you're a gamer who must obtain everything in the game to get 100% completion, this will be more than an annoyance for you. The story, however not as compelling as the main series, it is still interesting enough to keep you playing. The game does its job in giving fans their fix of KH, while hyping everyone up for KH3... This game is a definite recommendation for RPG fans and KH fans that have a PSP..… Expand
  2. 7dogguy
    Feb 15, 2012
    6
    This game is good the storyline is great but not as good as kingdom hearts 2. The battle system is not even close to as good as the one in kingdom hearts 2 although its the most diverse battle system, its poorly executed. and the game storyline while fun you dont really feel like going through the game more then once unless you are a super hardcore fan
  3. frederik1478
    Sep 7, 2020
    6
    For me this is a game I played to watch TV anime in the background , Because it's more about grinding and exploits combat system In learning enemy movements and getting better at it , The characters didn't engaged kind of dole if it wasn't for the music telling me what to feel I would have felt nothing for the characters, But I cannot say I hated It kind of liked it it has a lot of flawsFor me this is a game I played to watch TV anime in the background , Because it's more about grinding and exploits combat system In learning enemy movements and getting better at it , The characters didn't engaged kind of dole if it wasn't for the music telling me what to feel I would have felt nothing for the characters, But I cannot say I hated It kind of liked it it has a lot of flaws but I like it still Even if I don't really care about the story… Expand
  4. maturene
    Dec 22, 2018
    7
    Luego escribo una review desas que ahora mismo me da pereza y tal. me cagoento
  5. OmegaChase1002
    May 28, 2022
    7
    Good game and all, but it's very unbalanced and broken so it can be frustrating to play sometimes.
    Play this one in short bursts, and don't be afraid of using moves that are "overpowered".
    Because some bosses are straight up immune to certain Commands and Shotlocks, so the player doesn't always have a lot of freedom in how they approach some situations. What's the point of giving the    Good game and all, but it's very unbalanced and broken so it can be frustrating to play sometimes.
    Play this one in short bursts, and don't be afraid of using moves that are "overpowered".
    Because some bosses are straight up immune to certain Commands and Shotlocks, so the player doesn't always have a lot of freedom in how they approach some situations.
    What's the point of giving the player so many options if the majority of those options are just flat-out wrong?
    Also the final level being locked behind getting all the Xehanort Reports is kinda dumb...    … Expand
  6. tukumalu
    May 15, 2020
    7
    The gameplay mechanic keeps the stale and confusing storyline afloat. There is not much else other than the snappy visual and good soundtrack.
  7. Frosstype
    Oct 28, 2021
    6
    This is my 4th in the list of KH games that I like cause I'm not a big fan of the Command System but its the better one out of DDD and Days. The best fight that visualizes the gameplay of this game and why i don't like it at all is the secret boss fight from the Final Mix versions which are in the 2.5 remix. Essentially what you would do is just use the commands all the time while spammingThis is my 4th in the list of KH games that I like cause I'm not a big fan of the Command System but its the better one out of DDD and Days. The best fight that visualizes the gameplay of this game and why i don't like it at all is the secret boss fight from the Final Mix versions which are in the 2.5 remix. Essentially what you would do is just use the commands all the time while spamming dodge thats it. If you get hit even once you are dead. One thing that makes this game better than DDD and Days
    is the Command Styles those are atleast enjoyable making your normal attacks actually do dmg with nice looking effects, animation and fun.    … Expand
  8. ZangBang
    Oct 30, 2022
    5
    53/100
    Birth By Sleep, story-wise, is arguably the best game in the series thus far. A somber, poignant tragedy of a troubled but affectionate group of friends as it struggles against forces bigger than all of them, with events packed with superbly directed scenes brimming with pathos and exceptional character drama. Sadly, the story fails to express the full potential of the script due    53/100
    Birth By Sleep, story-wise, is arguably the best game in the series thus far. A somber, poignant tragedy of a troubled but affectionate group of friends as it struggles against forces bigger than all of them, with events packed with superbly directed scenes brimming with pathos and exceptional character drama. Sadly, the story fails to express the full potential of the script due to the bond uniting the main cast, cornerstone of the entire plot, feeling somewhat underdeveloped. Gameplay-wise, attack and jump animations have been slowed to an unreasonable degree, resulting in base combos that now feel quite clunky and unplesantly sluggish. Even so, gameplay still manages to be undeniably fun thanks to new great mechanics such as Deck Abilities, giving players a plethora of different attacks and techniques to experiment with, select and upgrade, providing huge strategical variety, elevated by the fact that the three playable characters have significantly different combat styles, although repeating the same world can be tedious. In the same way, Shotlock and D-Links also add a new layer of depth to battles. All of this combines to create a quite rich array of options. The beauty of this wealthy system is slightly compromised by some balancing issues, as a few late game Abilities are way too overpowered and can trivialize some of the final fights. Level Design slighlty improves from KH2 with more vertical developments and platforming, but is still far from the deep heights of KH1.    … Expand
  9. MacArron23
    Jul 24, 2023
    7
    Interesting story and a good twist from the original saga. I liked the combat system, the world get quite repetitive though

Awards & Rankings

5
#5 Best PSP Game of 2010
4
#4 Most Discussed PSP Game of 2010
6
#6 Most Shared PSP Game of 2010

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
82

Generally favorable reviews - based on 62 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 56 out of 62
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 62
  3. Negative: 0 out of 62
  1. Gamer Limit
    Jan 13, 2011
    85
    Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep isn't just a spin-off; it's an evolution of the series that makes helpful tweaks to combat and introduces interesting new worlds.
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  2. Games Master UK
    Jan 13, 2011
    75
    "Quotation Forthcoming"
  3. Gaming Nexus
    Jan 13, 2011
    75
    Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep is a fun game that was almost brought down by questionable control issues and a repetitive story. If players can get past a few minor problems, they'll discover that this prequel offers a surprising amount of great content, beautiful graphics and even some fun multiplayer modes!
    Read full review
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