Kingdom Hearts II

"You've Got to Have Heart"

When I first heard about Kingdom Hearts II being developed, I was excited. Having just finished the first game, I couldn't help but want more. I played the GBA release Chain of Memories and was sorely disappointed with the battle system. After that, my expectations for Kingdom Hearts II really fell. I wasn't expecting much when I picked up my game. I figured the game would suffer the usual sequel let down seen in Devil May Cry 2 and other games where developers try to take what made the original so great and totally change it into something much different. For the most part, Kingdom Hearts II plays the same. The slashing with the keyblade, the magic attacks, even the menu on the bottom where you can choose to attack, summon, use magic, or even use items hasn't seen much of a change.

So where are the changes to this battle system? For starters, there is now a reaction command in certain fights. While people who played the first game might dismiss these commands as useless and go at it alone with Sora and the keyblade, you will quickly find that the reaction commands are necessary to win the battle. At times it almost seems forced that you have to use them to proceed in the game. All talk of being forced aside, some reaction commands yield amazing looking scenes and battles that would otherwise be impossible to execute otherwise. No longer does the boss have to be at ground level for Sora to be able to damage. Another new addition is the drive system. Once your drive gauge is filled, you can choose to go into drive mode, where for a time you are totally destructive and quick. You can even wield two keyblades at time allowing you to unleash double the punishment to heartless hoards you find throughout the game. As you use the drives more, you can level them up to make them stronger. One cool aspect of the drive system not related to battle itself is the clothing change you get while in drive mode. If you finish a battle and enter a cut scene during drive mode, Sora's clothes remain the same during the cut scene. I think that is a wonderful and realistic touch.

Overall, the gameplay hasn't changed much since the original. You run around and slaughter the mobs of heartless in your path. As you level up, you get new abilities, become stronger, and get more AP to use abilities. There are also certain points in the game where upon completion the gang gets upgrades too. Sora and Donald's magic is now separate, with Sora learning them as you progress through the game while Donald seems to learn them as he levels up. I like that better than the original where Donald and Goofy always seemed to be overshadowed by Sora since Sora could attack well and use magic. This time around Sora won't be casting a ton of spells from the back line of the group. Sora is still able to slash with the keyblade like a banshee. Some people view this as a button masher type of game. Action RPGs are just that: filled with action.

The gummi ship has been totally redone and now is one of the stronger points of the game. The gummi ship is now like a real world map where you point to where you go and go there. The only hindrance is when you haven't cleared the path to the new world. You go and blast your way through with the gummi ship, picking up ship parts and blueprints along the way. Compared to the original, this is a HUGE upgrade. No longer do you have those dreaded 10 minute flights to a new world. You only have to do each one once, although it is so well done you will probably find yourself doing gummi ship missions to take a break from the main game.

For what the game is meant to be, this game looks great. It's a Disney game based mainly on animated Disney movies so of course the animation is going to look cartoony. The few parts where you aren't in a world based on an animated movie, the look and feel of the people are great. I won't spoil anything here, but some memorable sequences are replicated here and they look fantastic.

Yoko Shimomura returns to do the music for this game. Once again the soundtrack is spectacular. No more will you have to mute your TV for certain levels because the music becomes so unbearable. There are remixes to a few old songs but there are largely new songs. The sound quality in voice acting is pretty well done. The only gripe here is that some voice actors are not the same as they were in the original. This is offset by the fact that it took nearly four years to develop the game. During that time, it was inevitable that some voices would change and leave their characters sounding different as well. Still, the voice acting is superb during the many scenes that involve voice acting.

The story seems to be a mix between Organization XIII and their actions and Maleficent's plans. For the early part of the game it seems like when you see cutscenes involving the revived Maleficent, Organization XIII will be quiet for a while and vice versa. Organization XII is more mysterious and therefore I want to hear from there more. Still, there is a nice balance of cut scenes.

There are still some flaws to be mentioned, however. One major gripe I have is that during certain boss fights, the camera angle gets in my way. You get that sort of feeling that you don't know which way to move the control stick because you seem to be switching between two different angles so quickly. Most of this is due to my frequency of locking on to an enemy and never locking off until the enemy is dead. I can overlook this flaw mainly because it isn't the type of thing that will really cost you from winning the fight.

Another major gripe is that throughout the game, you seem to be superimposed onto the world. Never does this get more apparent than in Port Royal, where scenes from Pirates of the Caribbean are basically taken right from the movie and put in the game, with a little more Sora, Donald, and Goofy and a little less snobby British naval officer. In the first game, it seemed like more time was taken to make a world where the movie wasn't happening. It isn't as clear everywhere, but Port Royal was by far a ripoff of the movie with our heroes involved. I'm not complaining too much for that, since I liked the movie. But it hints at a lack of creativity and originality on Square-Enix's part. Something besides the premise of the first movie could easily have been used instead.

My final gripe is that at certain and certainly numerous points of the game, you are fighting against a meter or a stopwatch in the corner. That whole concept reeks of the game not being difficult enough so artificial difficulty pieces are put in the game to give you a sense of urgency. For things such as training for the Olympus Coliseum, I can totally understand having a timer. Other parts of the game seem to just have an unneeded timer or "mayhem" meter in the corner to make the game more difficult than it seems. This is my only real gripe that I took into account for this game since it really made me mad.

In conclusion:

Gameplay: 10
Graphics: 10
Sound: 10
Lasting Appeal: 9
Story: 10
Overall: 10 (not an average)

Rent or Buy?

If you are a fan of the series and enjoyed the first one, this is a definite buy. If you haven't played the first one, play that first. It is a greatest hits game and can be bought for $20 or less. It is one of the best games on the playstation 2 right now so for $20 you are really getting a good deal. If you aren't a Disney fan, stay away. This game is dripping with wholesome Disney characters.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 03/31/06