9-7-2010		1-29-2010
	9-10-2010		9-9-2010

A time before the Keyblade chose a new master. In times past, the worlds were protected by the True Keyblade Masters. Under one Master Eraqus, three new wielders are determined to prove that they have what it takes to become Keyblade Masters. They have trained long and hard, night and day to prove they have the mark of mastery. Their names: Terra, Aqua, and Ventus. In this time, they will find themselves in a great crisis, that affects worlds far beyond their own. They will also dsicover another master, Xehanort, has gone missing.
Three friends, each with a different porpose, march towards a uncertain grim fate.

Birth By Sleep is a prequal to the massively popular Kingdom Hearts. It takes place some ten or so years before Sora is chosen as the Keyblade Master.
This title, is fantastic in most every aspect. Good story, great characters, fun games, challenging bosses, just about everything. But lets go through it piece by piece.
The story revolves around the trio of characters seen in the secret ending of Kingdom Hearts II, Ventus, Terra, and Aqua. Each character is different, with a good deal of detail put into them. The three create a good balance fighting as well. Terra is a front-line heavy hitter, while Ventus has the quick striking agility, and Aqua is well versed in the magic department. But rather than send them on a single story together, the Square team has done something completely unique. Though they are together through the intro of the game, you will be given the option of playing one character. When you finish that game, though the credits do roll, you will have to complete all three stories to get the full plot, as well as the true ending of the game.
Before jumping to the conclusion, like most people did, you do not play the same game three times. Though each character visits the same worlds, their visits are within different points in time. Therefore you will get basically a new game with each character. Though this might seem a bit boring to some people, it was actually really a neat way of doing the Disney storylines of those worlds. Such as Terra coming when the Queen was out to kill Snow white, Ventus coming in when the dwarfs take her in, and Aqua arriving to see the Prince take Snow White off to the sunset.
Voicing was another solid point in the game as well. In the Disney realm, voice actors have been kept true to the originals as often as they could be done. If the original voices could not be used for the project, they had voice actors that sound very close to them. As for the new characters introduced, there was no lax in great casting. Perhaps the best choice in the voicing department was Leonard Nimoy (Captain Spock) in the roll of Xehanort. This being his last performance before retiring, Nimoy gave perhaps the greatest voice one could have chosen for the character.
Music is also a fantastic addition in Birth By Sleep. The "Simple and Clean" track from the original Kingdom Hearts begins the game, but other than that there is great new music, and great scoring for the different Disney worlds from their respective films. The only true let down, as with any PSP title, is the sound can only be truly appreciated through a set of ear phones. But that in itself is just a minor complaint as the sound is still great without them.
In the tradition of the main installments, there is a new type of enemy in the form of Unversed. Unversed are different from the Heartless/Nobodies as they do not require a heart to be taken in order to be created. They are a entity that springs from pure emotions. And unlike the others, these seem to be under the influence of one person. You will jsut have to see what type of relationship they do have to their counterparts for yourself.
Graphically, I must say this is just exsquisite for a hand held title. The graphics are easily on the same level as the consol titles, and both beautiful and sharp. There is as much detail in Birth By Sleep as in almost every other PSP title I have gotten to play.
The story is of Kingdom Hearts legend, and even more. This time you are playing about 10-15 years before the start of Sora's story. As you play through the game, each character has their own story that unfolds. But you will not get the entire full story of the game, until you go through all three characters. And believe me it is worth it and more. This is one of the best storylines Square has done, and it leaves the player just salavating for the next title.
With the dissapointment of Final Fantasy XIII last spring, it was great to see that there has been no laxing in the Kingdom Hearts series. This was one of the best games I have had the pleasure of playing in this year. As awesome as Birth By Sleep is, everyone is now eagerly awaiting the new Kingdom Hearts 3D! This is definitely a title worth picking up. Even if you have never played the others. It is almost better to start at the beginning right?