Magic Carpet Riding (Kingdom Heart: Chain of Memories) in Gamer's Gaming

The Road So Far…

Sora and company, in their search for Mickey and Riku, have become trapped within the walls of Castle Oblivion, where memories are fleeting and take life within the rooms of each floor. Sora, Donald, and Goofy are learning the hard way that their memories may not be as certain and reliable as they believe. Though they have stepped inside Sora’s memories of Traverse Town, Wonderland, and the Olympus Coliseum, it seems that everyone has forgotten them and the events that happened to them before the defeat of Ansem. The refugees from Hollow Bastion could not remember Sora and company, even though it seemed as if their memories began to resonate with Sora’s. The Queen of Hearts accused Alice of stealing her memories. Even Cloud was drawn to work for Hades by a promise that his memories would be restored. And at the center of it all: a group of black robed figures who run Castle Oblivion, who have made it their job to test Sora, though the reason for this is, as of yet, unknown. So far, a pair named Axel and Larxene have shown their interest in Sora, though there seem to be others roaming around this castle. Who are the members of this Organization and what do they want with Sora? All Sora can do is press on to the fourth floor of the castle and see what surprises wait for him in his memories’ version of Agrabah…

Now…

Sora, Donald, and Goofy arrive in Agrabah’s marketplace only for Goofy to spot someone nearby in trouble. A man in a purple vest, red fez, and white pantaloons stands with his sword brandished, surrounded by a group of Heartless. Donald told Sora that they needed to act and the trio stepped in with the young man, weapons ready for battle. The man thanked them for their help and the group engaged in a battle with wave after wave of Heartless. With his new Cloud summon magic card equipped and with the help of Donald and Goofy cards, along with one that appeared to be the young man, Sora managed to take down all of the Heartless. Even though the group appeared to be victorious, Heartless continued to appear in the marketplace. Donald seemed about to lose hope as the young man suggested that they see if the legends were true. The man wished for the Magic Lamp to get rid of all of the Heartless. The man pulled the lamp from his pockets and suddenly, a giant blue Genie sprung out from the lamp. The Genie told them to stand back as he cast a spell and made all of the Heartless disappear. As the trio stood on in shock, Donald turned on the young man and asked why he hadn’t called Genie in the first place. Aladdin, the young man, was about to explain why when the Genie interrupted and offered to explain for him. Of course, Genie was limited to three wishes per master (no wishing for more wishes either). Sora told Aladdin that he should use his last two wishes carefully then. Aladdin told him that he needed to get back to the palace somehow, but all the Heartless were making that impossible. Goofy suggested that, since they were also going that way, they should tag along with Aladdin. Aladdin was thankful to the trio for their offer and headed off with them towards the palace. A sound turned Sora’s attention to his map card deck, where he found a new Key to Beginnings card ready to go. Sora proceeded into the next room and found one exit on the west side of the room. The door prompted Sora to give up one level 1 or greater map card. Sora used a level 1 Martial Waking card that would give a boost to his attack cards and proceeded into the next room. Sora fought off groups of Yellow Operas, Bandits, Fat Bandits, Shadows, Air Soldiers, and the like as he made his way to the one other exit from the room, a door in the north. The door was locked, needing a level 2 or higher map card to open it. Sora had three Calm Bounty cards and decided to use one of those to open his way into the next room. Sora was greeted with a treasure chest that gave him is first Gravity card, though it was only level 1. Sora also gained a few Three Wishes attack cards. Sora looked around the room and discovered three other doors. The one to the east required a Key of Guidance card. The ones to the west and north, however, both led to new rooms. However, a check of the world map showed that the room that Sora was looking for was southwest of his current position, so Sora decided to check out the door in the west first. The door prompted Sora to give up a level 3 or above map card. Sora used one of his level 3 Teeming Darkness cards and proceeded through the door. Sora fought through all of the Heartless groups in this room, one after the other, until finally, he stood alone. In the midst of the fighting, Sora noticed two other doors in the room. One led to a room off to the west, but the door to the south was the Key to Beginnings door that Sora had been looking for. It asked for a level 8 or above map card in addition to the Key to Beginnings card. Sora gave up the only level 8 card he had multiples of, a Moogle Room card, and used the Key to Beginnings card to enter the room, at long last.

In another part of the marketplace, the group emerges as Goofy asks why Aladdin is going to the palace. Aladdin tells him that he is going to confront the evil vizier of Agrabah, Jafar, who tricked him into getting the lamp from the Cave of Wonders. Aladdin tells the trio how the cave was crawling with Heartless and how he was lucky to make it back to Agrabah in one piece. Sora asked if Aladdin had any help and scoffed at the nerve of Jafar for giving such dangerous orders. Genie sympathized with Aladdin, saying he had been taking orders for ten thousand years without a lick of help. Genie revealed that he hoped someone would wish him out of his gig, but figured the odds of that happening were slim. Aladdin shrugged and asked how it would sound to Genie if he used his third wish to set Genie free. Genie beamed at the suggestion and asked Aladdin if he was just kidding around with him. Aladdin promised that he meant to do exactly as he had said. There was only one thing that he wanted anyway. Genie was keen to do whatever Aladdin wanted to make his wish come true. Would it be fame? Fortune? A herd of luxury camels? Aladdin explained that there was a girl named Jasmine who, unfortunately for him, was the princess of Agrabah. He just wanted to get a chance to see her. It was hard for a poor guy like him to make any headway in meeting royalty like her. He figured that if he could get the treasure in the Cave of Wonders, Jasmine would want to meet him. Sora figured that Aladdin should wish to be able to see Jasmine anytime he wanted. Genie told him that he had just the idea: to send Aladdin to see Princess Jasmine in style as Prince Ali! Aladdin was stunned that Genie could do something like that, but Genie told him that it would be no problem. With his wish in mind, Aladdin told them that they should get to the palace and took off running with the group hot on his heels. Sora reappeared in the Martial Waking room with a Key of Guidance card in his deck. Having passed that room already, Sora made his way north, then east to the proper door. The door demanded a level 1 or above map card and Sora’s Key of Guidance card. Sora used one of his three Sorcerous Waking cards and the Key of Guidance card to open the door to the next room.

Sora and company approached the ledge nearest to the door they had entered in and looked down to see Jasmine laying on the ground, unconscious and surrounded by Heartless. Goofy said that Jasmine needed their help, but Donald said that they would never make it to her in time. Aladdin, desperate, used his second wish to have Genie save Jasmine. Genie did as he was commanded and destroyed the Heartless, allowing the group to make it down to Jasmine’s side. Aladdin tried to get her attention, but Goofy pointed out that she had fainted. Sora felt the need to remind Aladdin that he only had one wish left. Suddenly, more Heartless sprang up from the ground. Aladdin was about to use his final wish to save them once more, but Sora told him not to waste his last wish. With that, Sora leaped into battle against the Heartless. Sora laid waste to the Heartless in the alleyway. Sora was happy to point out how they hadn’t needed Genie that time, but Aladdin realized that he was still down to his last wish. A bright light suddenly shone out of nowhere and Donald asked what was happening when Aladdin realized that the lamp had disappeared. He checked his pockets, but the lamp was nowhere to be found. As the group looked around the alleyway, a figure appeared on the ledge above. It was the vizier, Jafar! He said that his plans seemed to have gone amiss as he was certain that Aladdin would waste his last wish with Jasmine in distress and the Heartless to deal with. It didn’t matter, though, as Jafar still had managed to steal the lamp, giving him command over Genie. Aladdin asked why Jafar was doing this. He had the lamp, after all. What more could he want? Jafar knew that Aladdin would attempt to use the lamp to win Jasmine’s heart, but he couldn’t let that happen. Jafar meant to marry Jasmine to become the Sultan of Agrabah! Aladdin had just been a pawn in his game. Jafar then used his first wish to have Genie deliver Jasmine to him. With no choice but to obey, Genie did as he was commanded and, as Jafar left, followed the evil vizier to another part of Agrabah. Aladdin looked down, depressed that he had lost both Jasmine and the lamp. Sora told him to feel bad about it another time. If they didn’t chase after Jafar, Aladdin may never see Jasmine again. Even if he didn’t have the lamp, he could still save here entirely on his own. Sora reasoned that while losing someone was bad, never being able to get them back was far worse. Aladdin felt the truth of Sora’s words and agreed that he needed to pick himself back up and go save Jasmine. Donald reminded them both that Jafar had the lamp and they couldn’t simply walk right up to Jafar and expect to win. Aladdin thought about it for a second and figured that they might be able to with an idea he’d just had. As Aladdin revealed his plan to the group, Sora was returned to the first room he had found in Agrabah with a Key of Truth card in his possession. He made his way through the rooms once more, back to the Calm Bounty room. The door to the north was the only one left open to him. It required a level 3 or higher card to open it. Sora used one of his level 3 Strong Initiative cards to open the door and create a new room. Sora found only one door leading out of this room, far to the western part of the room. Sora took his time and mowed down all of the Heartless that appeared to block his path and made his way to the final door. The door asked for a red map card, a green map card, and the Key of Truth map card. Sora gave up a Roulette Room card, a Sorcerous Waking card, and the Key of Truth card to proceed into the final room.

Inside, the group found Jafar waiting in front of the palace gates, but Aladdin was nowhere to be found. Jafar laughed at the trio and asked if Aladdin had given up on Jasmine already. Jafar told them that he was not about to waste a wish on such unworthy opponents. He would deal with them himself. Sora put away his Keyblade and yelled out to Aladdin to act now! Aladdin leaped out from above and ran toward Jafar, but Jafar told Genie to seize Aladdin. Genie covered his eyes and hoped that he didn’t actually hit Aladdin, but he knocked the hero backwards. However, that had been part of Aladdin’s plan all along. Jafar had just wasted his second wish to have Genie attack Aladdin. Aladdin told him to go ahead and use it to win Jasmine’s heart. The group would be waiting to deal with him as soon as he did. Genie praised Aladdin’s cunning and even Jafar seemed mildly impressed, but Aladdin’s ploy had changed nothing. Jafar reasoned that he could destroy them AND have Jasmine…as soon as Genie transformed Jafar into an all powerful genie as well! Genie had no choice but to grant the mad vizier’s wish. Sora and crew leaped into action to face to Jafar in his genie form. Meanwhile, Sora noticed Iago, Jafar’s nefarious parrot, flying by with a black lamp in his talons. Knowing he was no match for an all powerful genie, Sora set out to steal the lamp from Iago. Jafar attacked with giant balls of fire and continuous laser beams while constantly moving the platforms in the chamber to keep Sora from being able to attack Iago, but Sora persisted and managed to knock Iago out of the sky and obtain Jafar’s lamp, entrapping Jafar within his own lamp. For winning, Sora received the Jafar card and returned Genie’s lamp to Aladdin. Goofy reminded Aladdin that he still had one wish left. Genie figured it was time to turn Aladdin into a prince. Sure he wanted to be free, but Aladdin deserved his wish and Genie figured the group was probably still miffed by the whole puppet-of-Jafar thing. Aladdin decided, however, that it was more important to hold true to his word and, with his third wish, he wished for Genie’s freedom. Genie’s bonds were finally broken! Genie was grateful to Aladdin for freeing him, but wondered what he was going to do about Jasmine. Aladdin told him not to worry. After all, if he had used his wish to win Jasmine’s heart, it would make him no better than Jafar. Aladdin told them all that Jasmine meant the world to him and that he wanted to show her the real Aladdin. Sora cheered him on as Aladdin wished Sora and company good luck and thanked them for keeping him going when things seemed at their worst. Aladdin realized that Sora must be looking for someone he cared about also. Genie picked up on what Aladdin was about to ask for and gave Sora a Genie summon magic card to use in the future. Genie told them to call whenever Sora and company needed his help. Sora thanked both Genie and Aladdin. Aladdin told the trio to take care and hoped that all of their wishes would come true. With that, Aladdin ran off into the city to find Jasmine. Meanwhile, Sora found himself in Agrabah’s Conqueror’s Respite room. After three other worlds, Sora knew exactly what to do, readying his deck and making his way out of the door in the northern part of the room to return to the fourth floor hallway of Castle Oblivion.

As Sora and company made their way towards the staircase to the fifth floor, Sora paused, wondering who the girl he had seen in the back of his mind had been. He knew it wasn’t Kairi, but who was she? Sora searched his mind, trying to remember what the girl’s name was, but Donald squawked at him, snapping him out of his revery. Donald told him they needed to hurry, reminding him that they needed to find Riku and Mickey. Sora felt like the name was right on the tip of his tongue, but shook it off and headed back towards Donald and Goofy, who were climbing the stairs up to the next floor. As the group made their way up to the fifth floor, in another part of the castle, a blonde girl sat in a chair and drew a picture that had Sora, Kairi, and Riku, but also herself, all holding hands. Meanwhile, the trio had reached the fifth floor. Suddenly, Sora remembered the other girl. She had lived on the Destiny Islands with himself, Kairi, and Riku. The four of them had played together all the time. Jiminy commented that it seemed like this was the first time that Sora had mentioned her. Sora realized that he had forgotten all about her. He thought that maybe she had gone away when they all were still really little. Donald asked Sora what had made him suddenly remember the girl now. Sora said he didn’t know, but that the memory of the girl had been coming back in pieces as they had made their way through the castle. Goofy asked if Sora could remember her name, but Sora still was missing that little detail. Sora felt kinda dumb. After all, they had said they were all going to remember their friends, but now he couldn’t even remember the girl’s name. Donald wanted to comfort Sora, but Goofy chimed in, telling Sora that he shouldn’t worry about it. If it had been coming back to him in pieces, Sora was sure to remember the girl’s name, just like everything else. Sora took heart and nodded, rejoining Donald and Goofy in front of the door to the fifth floors’ world. Only two more cards remained to Sora: Monstro and Halloween Town. Sora decided it was time to visit Monstro once more and pulled out the Monstro world card, activating the door and opening it to yet another world from his memories…