Another Perfect blend of Square and Disney!

Wow has it really been 4 years already? Yes, indeed it has, 4 years since the last Kingdom Hearts game has come out. If are unfamiliar with the first Kingdom Hearts then I suggest you go buy it for 20 bucks with PS2 available of course and play it through. The first one was an excellent game that surprised everyone in the gaming community with it's wild success. The Kingdom Hearts universe revolves around the two worlds of Disney and Final Fantasy. Characters from both these franchises have been plucked out and dropped into the world that is Kingdom Hearts. I really don't feel like explaining the whole concept right now but the jist is that you were a boy named Sora living on a island with his friends. One day everything goes crazy when a faction called the heartless arrive. Sora is then forced to wield the weapon called the keyblade and defeat these enemies. He teams up with Donald the duck and Goofy on his adventure. Along the way he visits Disney themed worlds from various Disney movies. Defeating the final boss in each world would yield you a keyhole and Sora would close the door to that world with his keyblade.

Again in Kingdom Hearts 2 this same formula holds true for the most part. Kingdom Hearts in my eyes is a great game, but part of my loving it is the memories that come pouring back to me from my experience with the first one. The game re uses Disney Worlds that could have been left not repeated. First off KHII begins with a two hour epilogue of you using a different hero than Sora. This is Roxas, and his part in the game is a secret until the end but this opening in a little to drawn out considering that most of it are just in game movie sequences. Beyond that small dilemma the parts of the game you do play are fun but mostly contain mini-games. The one thing I loved about this opening sequence is the anticipation of the arrival of Sora, however, if you didn’t play the first game then you’d hardly care. When Sora returns and the opening is complete the cinema is similar to the birth of Darth Vader but with a much lighter tone. This kicks off the real story about how Sora will be reunited with his lost friends Riku and Kairi. Maybe he’ll even finish off those darn heartless while he’s at it.

On to the core game play, KHII is not the typical slow paced RPG full of word boxes and complicated menus. The new era of an RPG is to have real time combat. Sora uses the keyblade as his main whoopin’ stick but he can also use some so-so magic attacks. The most effective way of taking this game on is with the melee approach, simply because that’s what this game was built around. Hammer the X button and watch in amazement as Sora flips around and dishes out the hurt on those relentless heartless. Honestly though, the combat is really just button mashing in it’s purest form. I loved it but for those strategists out there that like a real challenge, this ain’t the game. Also in the passenger seats are Donald and Goofy, your effective, yet bizarre comrades. They do a good job protecting you and dishing out their fair share of damage. Goofy is pure power based with his shield battering, while Donald is a magician who helps heal the party a lot. New to the game is Sora’s form changing abilities. He merges with Donald or Goofy to make a super warrior for more fun. These forms are just awesome ways to mash X and watch the fire works show unfold but it still a heck of a lot a fun. The point of game play is mainly combat with hack and slash focus. Magic casting is okay for easy enemies but the spells do no where near as much damage as flinging the keyblade. The platforming part this game is almost non-existent, but it’s not really a crutch to the fun game play. When your not fighting your mostly running around looking for your next fight. On the point of forms this new addition adds more depth to the rather repetitive hack and slash. You have 4 forms you can change into. Valor, a fighting form where Sora wields two keyblades. In wisdom forma he rapidly fires magic bullets at enemies, and Master, which mixes the best of both of them. At the very end of the game you also have the final form, which is mostly put to good use against the final boss.

Kingdom Hearts thrives on it’s coupling with Disney and this sequel is no exception. You’ll visit a good handful of Disney locations. The new ones are Mulan, the Lion King, Tron, Beasts Castle, Pirates of the Carribean, and Steamboat Willie. Also we see some reused world’s like Aladdin and Halloween Town but they feel very fresh. The way the creators have blended the trio into each movies story is quite clever. In each world you can also team up with one of that world’s characters. For example Johnny Depp’s captain Jack sparrow will tag along with you on the Black Pearl. Sometimes the cast even changes their look to match the setting. In the Lion King level Sora becomes a little lion cub and Goofy and Donald change into animals as well. The storyline takes the three though these locations on the journey to find Riku, Sora’s lost friend, along with his love interest, Kairi. About half way through you’ll meet up with King Mickey. Lastly, Sora must finish off the heartless and a new evil faction the nobodies. The nobodies are similar to heartless except they aren’t usually black in color but silver. The mysterious Organization XIII also steps into the fray. They are nobodies as well and are searching for a way to become human. The crummy thing in KHII is that most of the Organization’s 13 members are dead. They will finished off in the Gameboy Advance game Chain of Memories. It almost forces you to play it to piece in this small gap. I thought they should have explained all this story on the consoles because you see many characters here that were introduced in Chain of Memories.

As far as role playing games go KHII is fairly easy. You always know where to go and getting there and completing your objective isn’t very hard. The fighting is fairly easy and your not really given any tricky puzzles or hard to achieve missions. The side battle against FFVII’s Sephiroth is agonizingly difficult but that hardly counts. Even the boss battles that are cool don’t get me wrong, but aren’t really that hard.

In the category of control KHII outdoes the first two fold. The camera is very nicely reworked to allow you good control over it but it won’t get you in trouble as much as it used to. The jumping, attacking, spell casting, and whatever else all respond with excellent snap. Getting Goofy and Donald to cooperate isn’t even that difficult because of the clean and easy to understand menus. New to the controls are reaction commands that require you to hit triangle in different situations in a rapid fashion. Much like the setup in Resident Evil 4. These commands add a little more depth to the fights you have and also unlock impressive super moves.

Graphics are key in this series because you just have to see top quality recreations of Disney’s characters. Have no fear because Square has yet again captured the essence and life that are Disney’s creations. The locales look just like the animated 2D guys. Even live action movies like Tron and Pirates of the Carribean have been designed realistically enough to not distract you from the narrative. The animation is top notch. Everyone moves in a very real way, and like they would in their respective movies. The environments, although small still capture the feeling of the location perfectly. Whether your traveling through Mulan’s mountains or Christmas Town with Jack Skellington. The battle effects and combos are also dazzling in their own regard. This game shows the PS2 still has a little kick left in it before the next generation systems all arrive.

Sound of KHII is just as good as the last. The voice acting in this game has a huge presence because you’ll see a lot of cut scenes that move along the story. The Disney character also have their real voice actors, and when they didn’t find the real person the filler man does an great job giving a feel of that character. The music returns in fine fashion as well. The opening song right down to the last note in the closing is composed with care. The worlds of the game also have a tune that is from the movies soundtrack to put you there even more.

To wrap it up KHII is a game with a lot of heart. Great storyline that basically ties up the loose ends in first one but still leaves you wanting more. The presentation is top notch, even for a game on the PS2 this late in it’s life span. For those that played Kingdom Hearts one, you must buy this game. For newcomers it may be hard to understand what’s going on. Either way the fresh, fun, and exciting game play combined with Disney touch, and hint of RPG makes for a winning combo.