Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep Famitsu Demo Impression

The two playable parts of "Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep" were Tera's chapter in the world of Sleeping Beauty, and Ventus (Ven)'s chapter set in Cinderella's world. In previously released info we've seen Tera, and Ventus who has been called "Ven" to this point, as the main characters. It would appear "Ven" is a nickname and Ventus is the character's official name. Though, from his appearance we want to call Ventus "Roxas"...

Putting name discussion aside, first we played Tera's chapter. In a world of wide rolling green plains, we're abruptly attacked by enemies. They're a new type of enemy, neither Heartless nor Nobody, never before seen in the Kingdom Hearts games. It appears they're named Unbirths. With a design that's a fusion of curves and sharp points, we get the impression they're like a middle ground between Heartless and Nobodies. Here we'll introduce a summary of the new features and game elements. Tera, with a large physique and impressive attacks, is a Power Type character, though he can use magic. However, unlike the MP system from the [Kingdom Hearts] series so far, once you've used a magic attack you are unable to use it again for a set amount of time. You do need to use a variety of magic, and we get the feeling strategy and tactics will play a bigger part...but, will we lose the ability to just charge our enemies and rely on Cure to see us through? Also, basic attacks have been majorly changed. If you repeatedly choose "Attack" the command changes from "Attack" to "Blitz" to "Barrage", and the action gets more and more furious. Also if you continue to attack, the attack attribute type changes. There's a time limit, and we're reminded of the Form transformations from Kingdom Hearts II. This time, the attack types seem to be called "Command Style". Among the Command Styles it appears there are quite a few, like the fire-type "Fire Blazer". Because the attack type changes naturally as you fight, there's a ton of variation even in normal battles, and we had a lot of fun with the large number of possible moves.