Kingdom Hearts II (2005)

As someone who will freely own up to being a bit of a neurotic completionist, I sometimes toe the line between satisfaction at getting all the trophies/knowing I've experienced absolutely everything the game has to offer... and getting so frustrated with this endeavor that I have to admit I'm not even having fun anymore. The latter... is kind of where I'm at with KH2 right now. (Go ahead and call it a skill issue. I'm struggling with those extra data bosses, and I think it's real dumb that, like, 5 or 6 trophies are tied in to beating them.)

So I'm making what I think is the adult decision... to shelve this one for now. (I'll go back and do my expert run later, and that should hopefully put me in a better place with that particular issue.) The whole point of going back to replay and platinum all the KH games was so I would eventually catch up to and play the games I never got to. KH2 is too early to hit a roadblock with that mission.

Recently replayed this for the first time in a long time. I have such strong nostalgic memories of this game, as I discovered it and played it right in the age where this would have been the coolest shit u've seen so far on the ps2.

Today, I remember these really cool cutscenes and final fantasy crossovers and it's awesome. However, it's just such a slogfest to get to the cool stuff and it's doing nothing for me. The narrative feels like it's been written by a 15-year-old guy who watched too much action anime and just started taking psychology classes in school for extra credits. Is it good? It gets me emotional but I've invested so much time and energy into this series since I was a kid, so it lives a lot on pure nostalgia.

So would it hold up for new players? Maybe? Probably not. It is this series living off the nostalgic bunch and people that got into it in KH3, but then how damn confused wouldn't these people be from the insane plot?

Maybe it's a hot take but for me this game is outdated and lives purely on nostalgia, that's it.

Finally accomplished a goal of mine that I've had since my friend and I found him way back in 2006, beating Lingering Will on critical without cheesing him with Fenrir strats. Took 2 hours and way too many failed escapes from the move that locks you out of your commands, but man that feeling of satisfaction when I finished was worth it. Don't think I'll ever attempt the true final boss and do it at level 1, but regardless I'm very satisfied with what I managed.

Do any of you have that white whale of video game bosses, achievements, or completion tasks that you've always wanted to accomplish?

Kingdom Hearts 2 is one of my favorite games and a part of my childhood and the first game I played through. A masterpiece from start to finish, although the beginning is boring for most people, I loved it as a kid and Roxas is to this day my favorite character in all of gaming. The game gets better and more fun from time to time, especially after the tutorial as Roxas. Things like the story and the characters and the drive form and the magic and the iconic Keyblades are one of the things that make the game so awesome (don't forget the soundtracks). There are so many reasons why I love this game, but it would be too long to list them all because I still have a life and stuff. When I played through KH2 as a child, I realized that video games were art. Games like KH2 prove this. If you want to play this game, I recommend you stick through the tutorial because after that it will simply be a masterpiece that gets better every second.

(Here is a picture of the game)

Where does one begin reviewing their favorite video game? Well, I wanted to start with the positives. This game's shining quality is without a doubt its combat. Sora's movements and animations lend weight to almost all of his actions, no matter how over-the-top they may be. And being able to blend different combat options into the combos took the combat to a whole new level from KH1. All of this, plus Sora's new combat resource, Drive Forms, are refined to such an extent that the skill ceiling is far beyond what it might appear to be on the surface. It could take years until they reach the maximum potential this game offers. I'm speaking from experience.

As for the game's story, it successfully delivers on what Kingdom Hearts 1 set up. It aimed to give a much happier ending this time around while at the same time not painting too pretty a picture on things. The new character, Roxas (my personal favorite), was a divisive one at first but stood out as the series's first genuine tragedy. That being said, the story isn't perfect, or at least not as well-structured as KH1.

Players are now able to visit worlds twice and find more to do with the cast of both Final Fantasy and Disney characters. Not to mention original elements unique to Kingdom Hearts. Unfortunately, nearly all of the second visits feel redundant and repetitive. They are significantly shorter than the first visits, most of which are abridged versions of the movies they are based on with Kingdom Hearts characters and lore sprinkled on top. Had these two concepts for the visits been combined, the pacing would've definitely improved and made the game more consistent and focused, like its predecessor.

Now, while KH2 is widely considered to be the best entry in the franchise, it's also the game that sowed the seed to many of its successors' problems. The convoluted nature of the series famously began here. On its own, this game could've served as a fantastic conclusion to a Kingdom Hearts trilogy that still left many background mysteries and lore unsolved to promote discussions and theories amongst fans. Instead, many unavoidable moments don't pay off here, as they were meant to set up elements for future games.

Along with that, there is a constant issue of not providing information up front, much of it left up to trial and error. This sounds interesting on paper but is more annoying than anything else. Not to mention the game's level design was drastically streamlined to offer more linear environments instead of the creative use of limited resources KH1 displayed. And finally, the post-game content is pretty underwhelming and offers very little for players to sink their teeth into after the credits roll.

All in all, despite its flaws, Kingdom Hearts II is still my favorite game. Its story stuck to its predecessor's foundations and its gameplay delivered in ways no one expected back then. It's a game that I can go back to over and over again (especially the updated version that came later on) and has been a comfort in difficult times. A sort of sanctuary.

A Series of My Favorite Video Game Songs with Lyrics

7. Passion

Yes. No duh.

Passion really shows what a bold and varied singer Utada is. The mix of this song focuses on their voice and percussion. Yes, there is lots of instrumentation throughout, but the overwhelming force of this song is voice. Vocalizing, crooning, howling- Just really going for it! I feel like I'm describing a Mars Volta song. But here it is poppy, catchy, and beautiful. Following up "Simple and Clean" is not an easy task, but I believe Utada succeeded.

Just enormous vibes on this one.

I traded my PSP for a PS2 slim just so I could play this game when I was a kid....I stand by my decision as an adult. I've replayed this game at least once every time there was another KH game released.

It may not hold up as well now for newcomers, but it still feels so good play now, yeaaaars later.

The game starts with you as Neo-I mean Sor--I mean Roxas, and you are in the matri- I mean Twilight Tow-- Wait, is that a skateboard? Oh hell yes, this game just got upgraded to a full on letter grade, it's even got it's own fancy menu, matter of fact it seems as if everything got it's own fancy menu, those sprite menu creators must of been well paid because it is KH2's best feature. The rest? A general improvement, but still it's like a game meant for children who really like Disney.

Let me tell you something: From the get go though unlike the first entry of series, and not just the fact that every small room has it's own menu which is an EXCESSIVE amount of effort, this game appealed to me a lot more and I found it a lot more endearing. Kingdoms Hearts 2 is still very interesting as a concept I cannot help but unload my passion onto such a thing (whenever it be this inexplicable feeling of disgust and curiosity), it’s like they learned what they had in their hands was a proper cash cow and went “Ok, now make it complicated, it's gonna get weird, we’re gonna make it weird”

The combat is still pretty stiff but allows for more input which is good, for example, now combat has more abilities to pick and choose, it isn't just SPAM KEYBLADE and jump, now it's: Attack twice and then REVERSAL (at least first), the game even gives you the option to pick EXTRA SPICY HARD MODE which begins you with unlocked movesets and abilities (which is really nice for players who wanna get into the good stuff right away), the combat being more detailed is pretty much the first thing you'll learn when jumping into this sequel, the other being that the ANIMATION IS TOO SMOOTH for it's rigid combat and also: We GOT QUICK TIME EVENTS NOW! Oh and! We actually have good looking locations that feel somewhat alive rather than limited cube shaped boxes for levels!

Well um, the gummi ships levels are certainly more engaging than holding the shoot button and a lot flashier too, in the last game you only had to hold the button, well now moving all around the place is fun and you get a constant surge of new ships as you go, no need to buy ship parts (which was in the last entry the most useless thing to do considering you don't even spend that much time with gummi ships or need to), but yes everything about Gummi ship stages has improved and actually feels like a game.

But the general idea of KH2 is that they took something too simple and dumb and made it even dumber (and paradoxially complex, you ever saw something dumb be complex rather than simple? Well it's this) and more complicated by introducing a thousand plot devices and new characters like the idea of nobodies or organisations that wanna meddle in the simple affairs of good and evil and making the overly simplified idea of black and white into layers of gray, which TEENAGERS love, teenagers love that gray morality EDGINESS.

That edginess introduced in this entry is what made Kingdom Hearts 2 famous and inspired a thousand cosplayers to fight in the parking lot while doing anime grunts and saying cheesy dialog that was written as if it belongs in a 90s PSA's idea of what a grunge teenager sounds like. Now, can a black and white morality story be well written? Yeah, sure, there's a lot of things you can do with the typical classic pre-modern aproach to stories, but of course, going into more post-modern topics usually makes a bland stupid thing into a more interesting bland stupid thing, and considering the last entry had almost nothing and this has a little more to offer even though it's argued that "IT'S THE MATRIX!! CLONES!!" is just a poor gimmick to make people project their own philosophical ponders, thus making an "artistic" experience more worthwhile... But HEY! The gimmick works for what it's worth. I'm sure there is at least one teenager out there who had an existentialist crisis because of Kingdom Hearts and thought to themselves: AM I CLONE? ARE MY MEMORIES REAL?

Kingdom Hearts 2 must of been The Matrix for kids who had only experienced Disney until this point. It's all an extra layer of crust and grass on top of something that was just mud. A lot of fertilising is going on here from the Style over Substance butts at Square Enix. I mean they’re working with what they have and adding more to the pile so it’s commendable but it’s obvious they didn’t plan this out at all from the start and went on with whatever stimulates a kid's mind (which is hard to do as the time goes and each youth generation is edgier than the last one) Kingdom Hearts 2 is TRULY a product of it's time with phrases like "WE TOTTALLY OWNED YOU LAMERS" and the early 2000 emo Skater fashion. It serves as more of a time capsule in trying to attract kids to show it's cool than KH1 did.

Square Enix looked at a fertile ground and said: LISTEN, WE GOTTA ATTRACT PEOPLE WHO ARE ATTRACTED TO THIS: Photo of a google image search of emo boys And really, you can skip Kingdom Hearts 1 entirely as it has aged terribly and just go straight to KH2, you won't lose anything, and the small amounts of plot introduced by Chain of Memories you can read a synopsis as well, KH2 literally feels like a reboot as Pete (yes Mickey's villain) un-does everything Sora did to KH1... And it seems as if all of the worlds from KH1 return to KH2, it's like they wanted to RE-DO the WHOLE game really, which means you don't get to miss out on the best song: Halloween Town Battle Theme which was remastered and made even better. Love mario and luigi sounding music.

Remember when I said Sora is a dumb poorly written character? Well now he’s a morbid interesting character because this child was literally taken away from a normal life to fight for the Disney Kingdom, frozen in the matrix, cloned and spit out only to fight again, it kinda gives you the same feeling you get when you think too much of BIG. Probably an allegory for disneyland hiring teenagers to play characters for 10 an hour.

I'm not sure if I like him a little more because every chance he gets he is beaten by Disney characters which result in very funny cutscenes, KH2 also does an extra attempt in world building with little touches, not only with Pete but like by canonically saying yen sid is mickey’s magic teacher, which is cute, I consider that to be actual world building, darkness is more of a virus now, Mushu recognises Sora... Which is kinda weird to think abut, are all summons friends with JRPG protagonists, or is Kingdom Hearts the ONLY JRPG out there that makes a connection between summons and their users? Now guaranteed that is a lot more world building than usual but I have a question: Are all worlds in Kingdom Hearts aware of the universe and this is why they do not freak out when obviously talking to alien forces (like darkness or Sora and the Disney animals)?? Plot hole! Anyways there's actual plot expositions because there is an actual plot now. They really just had mundane random shit happen in KH1 and in KH2 just went: Oh yeah remember that? That's LORE Now on the basis of what is going on.

A lot has been introduced to make the experience better but there are still moments that are plagued by "I wish this was over already", for example: the entire Valor system should be a godsend but instead, it is often used to limit the amount of fun you get at a lot of points in the game, it's like "We introduced the Valor system to make the repetitiveness of the game more tolerable, you know like a charged up power bar most beat ‘em ups had in the 90s! Which should be expected in almost every game of this genre" and you're like: ok cool but then Kingdom Hearts 2 is like: "BUT... This mechanic which should be available at all times cannot be used when you don’t have Donald and Goofy in your party." And it's like: Ok... I really hope that doesn't happen often- "And thats almost all the time so fuck you"

The hardest mode is both a benefit and a detriment to this game because a lot of enemies can kill you in one hit (like the round ball shaped guys) and a lot of combat is more engaging this way HOWEVER the parrying system kinda sucks, they work like this: Ok so... stay in this exact spot and if you’re lucky the prompt will show up for you to counter this very hitbox specific 1 hit kill. If you haven’t jumped in the precise hitbox spot then you'll have a mini heart attack and in most cases it is better to jump out of the way. Parrying shouldn't be panicking inducing all of the time, especially with the weird animations that don't quite indicate when to do so (it is parrying built on prompts and not let's say something as good as a Platinum game) and the fact that the camera isn't always able to follow these parrying prompts. Due to these prompts you'll end up spamming the primarily attack button and the prompt bottom constantly. It's better than nothing and is a great addition to KH1 having, as i said, bare bones combat but there is still much to be wanted that is introduced way too late in this entry for some odd reason.

As the plot progresses you feel as if the Organisation 13 stuff is kinda overshadowing how lame the Disney stuff is. I realized that after they introduced the other aspects the Disney shit is now even more ham fistedly inserted, it feels even more out of nowhere, especially when they start resorting to subplots from VHS sequels (like return of Jafar) just to go back to visited Disney worlds.

There's a constant surge of "What the fuck" that happens every 30 minutes to jolt your interest in a repetitive game, whenever it be nice animations, a random final fantasy character being your party member out of nowhere, actual human looking pirates talking to cartoon animals, one of the valors being Sora in shadow form, Organization 13th being one of the few characters you're interested in listening to dialog (No really, despite the voice acting being better than the last entry and sounding a little more human, during all non-Organization XII cutscenes I was still looking at my phone due to how boring a lot of them were, also what is up with Jasmine's voice acting?)

The acting for better or worse: Is laughably entertaining, a thing KH2 does is it that it doesn’t have a natural flow of characters emotions, they just... Are. They’re tropes more than 3dimensional characters. For example: Roxas is known for only 3 hours and he is over reacting after 1 simple phrase, but the thing is, you don't have any reason to get mad at this person, you don't even KNOW THEM? Emotions aren't developed, they just happen instantaneously and it's cheesy. KH2 is more active with character interaction but not more natural. It has that low-budget saturday morning cartoon feel to it.

Even with all improvements I still feel as if there is a lil ounce of mediocricity throughout, and not just the constant disregard to artistic integrity that makes this game feel like a a disgusting conglomerate of a soulless monopoly, or the fact that NOTHING in this universe has any consequences (almost as if it's the Marvel Cinematic universe) and shit just keeps being un-done and re-done over and over, thus the whole simple darkness plot DESPITE introducing nobodies still sadly has no weight, at least more to keep you wanting to play more than KH1 which I feel played it too safe, while KH2 tries to do more interesting things.

Also i have to say despite KH1's flaws, whenever KH2 gives you a horde of enemies (and I'd say that this is arguebly KH2's best aspect: the fact that it can render many enemies on the screen and you are just hacking and slashing away, it is one of the few moments this game shines) and it gets fun they interrupt it with a cutscene, which HONESTLY, every time this happens I should remove 1 star from this game if I was being fair and not giving a solid 4/5 out of pity for the dumb effort put in. Some stage gimmicks just aren't that fun either but nothing comes as close as annoying as KH1 at least.

There are many games out there that from the start you can tell if you're gonna get a 4/5 or a 5/5, Kingdom Hearts had that odd pacing that made it extremely painful at the start and later on has some enjoyable moments. Kingdom Hearts 2 on the other hand starts on a 4/5, and you get your hopes up that maybe later on it'll introduce more and more things to grow up to be a 5/5, but due to the rigid pacing, it goes on a steady 4/5 to the very end, and that's not the WORST, certainty there are many 4/5 games out there that I'd even want to replay. But despite being said to be the best in the series it is certainty more to be wished for.

After marathoning the primary series with my Xbox One Game Pass, I think it is safe to say that the Kingdom hearts as a series is a series of 6.5/10 to 8/10 games. You won't get that GOTY experience by no means, and chances are this is the hack n slash game you play when you don't know any better or you don't got any better, with that said KH2 does have the best combat of the entire series and I've heard it only gets worse and floatier from on here. Maybe I will put more time into the spin offs to review them later.

This is probably not the best game to be embracing death as COVID cases rise, no really, I just saw this on my game pass and thought "well might as well get over Kingdom Hearts before I die", but it wasn't the worst idea either as KH2 is ok.

...Also why does it take so fucking long to unlock DODGE ROLLING?

—> The following review will comment heavily on the events of 358/2 Days. Beware of spoilers for that game.

Kingdom Hearts 2 is a bigger, bolder sequel that amps up the series’ characteristics in every level, bringing a more complex narrative and a more action packed gameplay. It has its obvious faults – at this point, it wouldn’t be Kingdom Hearts without them – but the game has its heart in the right place: the story it tells, although convoluted, is tragic and moving.

The plot follows Sora’s awakening after the events of Chain of Memories, and his fight against Organization XIII, which is trying to form Kingdom Hearts by collecting hearts released from monsters. He will travel through worlds based on a variety of Disney movies to help the people that are struggling there and unlock magical gates. However, in an excellent narrative move, the game doesn’t start with him, but with his counterpart, Roxas.

Picking his story from where the brilliant 358/2 Days left off, Roxas is now living in the peaceful Twilight Town, hanging out with his friends every day, enjoying his summer vacation, with no memories of who he truly is. The story begins with his group chasing a mysterious thief who is not only stealing things but also the words for them. As in the first game, the world presented here is already strange and fantastical from the outset.

In an excellent reference to 358/2 days, Roxa has to perform jobs and the days are counted as they pass. Although 358/2 Days was originally released after Kingdom Hearts 2, as the collection now too suggests, it is better to know its story before playing this game. Not having the knowledge regarding that game has its benefits, since a connection will then be formed between the player and Roxas – for both won’t know what is happening – but the dramatic irony of knowing beforehand that what Roxas is living is a lie, that he doesn’t have a heart, and that he is being used, establishes a more powerful connection to the character.

Roxas embodies perfectly the tragic nature of the creatures called Nobodies. They supposedly don’t have hearts, and so are unable to feel love, hate and sadness. They are shadows of their originals, with no purpose to their lives. Their organization, XIII, therefore, intends to form Kingdom Hearts so that they can acquire feelings and be whole again. They are beings lost by nature, in a desperate search for direction.

However, as the events of 358/2 Days showed, things are not that simple. Nobodies are not supposed to have feelings, but yet Roxas was able to grow close to two of his colleagues, Axel and Xion. They went every day to the top of a tower and ate ice cream together. Against all odds, against their supposed nature, they started to feel love towards each other: they became friends. But because of being doubles, their destiny was out of their hand. Xion ceased to exist, and Roxas was captured by Riku, who needed him to restore Sora’s memories.

With this knowledge, the events that kick-start Kingdom Hearts 2 may lose their mysterious aura, but become filled with pathos. The player knows that Roxas is walking to his demise, but is unable to change that. That way, it’s reinforced an ambivalent feeling towards the character: he doesn’t deserve to die – far from it – but his disappearance will mean that the hero, Sora, will be able to fight once more.

Watching him hanging out with his friends, Hayner, Ollete and Pence, is now a painful experience not because everything is mundane and boring, but because that friendship – for being an illusion – is cruel to Roxas. Roxas is a simple person, content with being close to the ones he cares about. But even that simple wish is denied to him. People tell him that he is not supposed to exist, that he’s just a part of another boy’s life, that everything that he feels is a lie. They deny him his friends. And, since the importance of friendship is one of the series main themes, that makes Roxas its most tragic figure.

Starting the game with him is so crucial to the narrative because it makes the player feel a great deal of empathy for the antagonists. Organization XIII may have cold, stoic members, but that is not their fault, it’s not their choice. And they are fighting precisely to change that. Yen Sid and DiZ both claim that because they have no hearts, they are just empty shells with no right even to exist, “doomed to fade away into darkness.” They should be purged, if DiZ has any say on the matter. However, there is Roxas there, feeling pain, love, anger and loneliness. There is Axel, wanting nothing more than being reunited with his friend, saying “He made me feel like I had a heart.” There is Xion, capable of self-sacrifice for what she believes is better for everyone. Yen Sid, Mickey’s teacher, and supposedly a source of wisdom and knowledge, say these feelings are a ruse. Roxas, Axel, and Xion beg to differ.

---> Join the discussion and read the full review at: http://litonthespot.com/kingdom-hearts-2/games/review

Dado que en su día escribí mi opinión del Kingdom Hearts I, creo que es buena idea hacerlo sobre esta segunda parte. Para los temerosos por mi fría crítica con el primero, ya lo anticipo: Me ha encantado.

Mientras que en el Kingdom Hearts 1 la historia era tremendamente pobre sosa y sin justificación alguna, la historia del 2 es mágica, increíblemente mágica. Todo son misterios por descubrir que nos narran los caminos interconectados de nuestros amigos. Aunque en algunas partes flojee, el cuidado de esta historia, la banda sonora y los pequeños detalles hacen que su grandeza abarque Kingdom Hearts I.

La jugabilidad de este juego roza lo sublime y lo formidable, es un juego increíblemente divertido donde, tras mucho tiempo he disfrutado del puro acto de farmear, simplemente, porque me gustaba combatir.

Mientras que desde el principio el juego ya me conquistaba con el mundo de Mulán y de la Bella y la bestia, me he encontrado con que todos los mundos han explotado más la jugabilidad con Disney, que no se han vuelto tan ofuscados como el 1 o el Chain of Memories y que son simplemente: disfrutables.

Las interacciones con los compañeros en los mundos de este juego son absolutamente apasionantes y las cinemáticas increíblemente trabajadas. Incluso mundos que en su día estaban muy desaprovechados (por ejemplo, el de Hércules) ahora pasan a ser mundos apasionantes.

Aun así, temí encontrarme en un bucle repetitivo cuando vi que se iban desbloqueando nuevas partes de esos mundos, ¿lo mismo otra vez? Craso error. Kingdom Hearts II volví a superarse a sí mismo y sacaba lo mejor de sí llevándome a mecánicas nuevas y autocorrigiendo el peor combate de KH 1 en Atlántica.

Y no solo eso, la nave Gumi también se ha convertido en una delicia donde era un placer que se abriera una ruta nueva y ver cómo iban sorprendiéndote con las rutas.

El único punto malo que tiene este juego es que la mayoría de los bosses son facilones, con excepciones de dos o tres que requieren de un poco de habilidad o de descubrir cómo no te matan con su combo ultimate.

Sin embargo, esto no es un pero suficiente para un juego que de sobras puede superar el ranking de los diez puntos.

En resumen: Es un juego maravilloso, una espina fundamentada que tenía del pasado y que me ha hecho comprender por qué existía toda una generación marcada por estos juegos.

*This review is for the PS4 final cut version of KHII only.

Coming straight in from the first game, the heaping of new mechanics can feel a little off-putting at first. Once you pick them up though the gameplay becomes very addictive. Combined with the beautiful orchestral score and nostalgic joy of exploring the worlds depicted in Disney classics, the overall result is a pleasant and rewarding experience.

On the negative side, the storytelling is just no good. Having given the storyline the benefit of the doubt, even through the headache that was Chain of Memories, I have to say this entry does nothing to alleviate my frustration. Kingdom Hearts continues to offer plot contrivances and new elements of lore dropped in with little to no explanation, terrible jokes and most-frustrating for me: forced 'emotional' moments with waffle dialogue about hearts and the score suddenly becoming obvious and overbearing. All the character development is reserved for the first and final worlds of the game (with the Disney worlds in between serving as mindless filler, blandly retelling the respective films they pay tribute to).

It might not be so off-putting for me if they hadn't recycled a number of the Disney locations from the first game as well. Some of the new additions are ambitious and respectable (particularly the Lion King and Pirates of the Caribbean worlds); but it's really too little effort to make me feel that this chapter is a truly new experience in the franchise.

Not to mention the voice-acting either (which is mostly bad).

I also have to point out that I found the difficulty to be wildly inconsistent and highly annoying. Playing on Proud Mode, I found that (for the most part) the game was a piece of cake. When it gets hard, however, it sometimes leaps into a full on difficulty spike where boss battles involve one hit kills and attentiveness that the game does not set you up to expect. This kind of poor evolution of gameplay challenge often left me wanting to throw my controller at unexpected moments...particularly towards the last twenty hours of playing.

I know this is a particularly negative review but I did actually really like the game. And I give it extra leeway because of its age. I just feel like Kingdom Hearts II could be doing so much more than it gets away with. I love the premise of these games and the gameplay, visuals and score are just tight enough to keep me on board. But man I wish the rest didn't feel so dated and ineffective.

Obviously, you played the game before this and are wondering if this game is any good. It is. I recommend reading my Kingdom Hearts 1 and Chain of Memories reviews then coming back to this one.

KH2 is arguably better than the first. It adds new characters, worlds, keyblades, and gameplay mechanics. But what holds it back from being 100% better than the original are the things they took away. Let's go over what is new and better: FORMS. Sora can now absorb his party members to regain full health and assume a powerful new form and the ability to wield 2 keyblades at once.

This is BADASS, the combos are SO SATISFYING and make you feel incredibly powerful.

The story is a continuation of events from KH1, CoM, and 358/2 Days and adds the evil Organisation XIII and the character of Roxas, both of which I LOVE.

The plot thickens, characters grow up, some die, some are introduced, some are changed. The story feels grander than before, and MORE ANIME.

The Disney worlds are new, introducing Mulan, The Lion King, and Tron (Though they RUINED The Little Mermaid like ugh I hate it).

New bosses and enemies called Nobodies are introduced and the new Quick Time button allows for context sensitive quick time events that can be cool or useless depending on the situation. Also, you get a skateboard and its rad.

More Final Fantasy characters are brought in to please the fans. So the game sounds perfect, no?

Well, some things that were cool in the first are now missing. First: The game is WAY EASIER. The challenge of Normal Mode from KH1 is kinda gone, though some boss fights and sections can be difficult, the game is much easier than the first. Also, the game only has 1 secret boss (2 if its Final Mix) and its the same boss from the first game, except easier.

There are fewer secrets to be found, for example, the trinity marks are gone. The Gummi Ship missions are played down (which I am okay with because they are not the focus of the main game, but some people really like them so).

Other than those flaws (and the flaws mentioned in my KH1 review that they DID NOT FIX) the game is a solid A+ and may be the best entry is the series if not the first KH game.