For years, Square Enix has made a name for itself in the video game industry as the king of the role-playing genre. Back in 2002, the company joined forces with another entertainment juggernaut, Disney, to create a whole new RPG experience with the first installment of its hit Kingdom Hearts franchise. Now, Square Enix is bringing the series to the PSP with a brand new prequel, Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep. But is this portable addition to the franchise big enough to carry all the wonder of the Magic Kingdom?

If you've never heard of Kingdom Hearts before now, it's best to look at it a little bit like chocolate covered bacon. In one hand, you've got the emotionally charged, angst-ridden, salty bacon that is a staple of any Final Fantasy fan's gaming diet. In the other, you've got the sweet, cutesy, sugary happiness that can only come from Disney. On the surface, these two diametrically opposed tastes seem like they have no business being mixed together. Yet somehow it all comes together, blending the salty and sweet in an unusual, but tasty, culinary treat that's hard to resist.

Birth by Sleep takes place years prior to the events of the original Kingdom Hearts game, introducing players to three Keyblade wielders from the past: Ventus, Aqua, and Terra. Through the interlaced stories of these three heroes, Kingdom Hearts fans finally get some answers to long lingering questions. From Terra's quest to understand the nature of the darkness in people's hearts, to Ventus' journey to unlock the secrets of his past, to Aqua's mission to rescue her friends from themselves, player finally get to discover how these events from the past have laid the foundation for things to come.

If it seems like I'm putting a lot of focus on the story here, that's because ... well ... there's a lot of story to focus on. Lots of exposition. Lots of cutscenes. Lots of plot. Plus, in an interesting twist, lots of viewpoints. After the initial introduction, you'll need to choose one of the three main characters to take through the campaign so you can see how events unfold from each of their unique perspectives. Only after you've essentially played through everything three times do you truly grasp the whole epic story.

Of course, you can't forget that Birth by Sleep is a game above all else. And what a game it is. Gameplay is simple to pick up and jump right into, but with a level of depth unmatched my most games on the market. Players start off with a select number of moves they can place into a "deck" for use during battles. Players can earn new moves either by through random drops from enemies, by "melding" moves together, or via the Command Board, a Monopoly-like board game players can jump into between missions. Players also gain access to "Dimension Links" (D-Links), wherein they can access the powers and abilities of characters they have developed a connection with over the course of the campaign. Admittedly, there's something about ripping through baddies armed with the power of the Mistress of All Evil, Maleficent.

The one thing that could possibly make Birth by Sleep better would be if there was some way to share the experience with your buddies. Oh wait ... you can. That's right, Birth by Sleep has ad hoc multiplayer support for 2 to 6 players. Gamers can get together for a little fast paced arena battles, pitting their deck of moves against their friends, sit back and unwind with a quick Command Board game, or put the pedal to the metal in a round of Rumble Racing.

Earlier, I described the Kingdom Hearts experience to chocolate covered bacon, and Birth by Sleep only proves my point. Both are unique tastes that might seem a little odd at first glance and a little hard to explain to someone who's never tried it. But you give 'em a chance and keep an open mind, both can turn out to be a surprisingly addictive treat. The difference is, chocolate covered bacon may not be a reason to buy a fondue pot, but Kingdom Heart: Birth by Sleep is, without a doubt, plenty of reason to rush out and buy a PSP.

Final Score: A+