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Instant Classic

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: April 19, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Kingdom Hearts is an example of a great (if bizarre) concept perfectly executed. Who would've thought that Square could make a game featuring Disney characters? The best stories are those that mature with their listeners (think Harry Potter) and Kingdom Hearts does just that. KH2 features a darker and more complex plot, a more mature Sora, a more sinister foe, and more probing moral questions, as well as a nod to the early days of Disney and Final Fantasy. The game is clearly designed for an older crowd, although it keeps the general lighthearted atmosphere of the first game. Sora, Donald, and Goofy have a great chemistry, although Mickey Mouse and Leon (Squall Leonhart from FF VIII) keep the game from being too silly. The graphics in KH2 are also a big step in the right direction, and the voice acting is top-notch as always. One highlight for me is that Square managed to get Christopher Lee to do the voice of DiZ! My one complaint is that the gameplay leaves a bit to be desired as many of the enemies (even bosses) are complete push-overs. If you have any sort of experience with action-adventure games, you should play KH2 on "proud mode" unless you just feel like button mashing your way between cutscenes. The one exception is the optional boss Sephiroth, who will kick your butt nomatter what difficulty you play. Overall, a great game with amazing graphics, likable characters, and a nostalgic trip through the worlds of Disney.

fun gameplay but weaker story this time around

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: April 20, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This sequal was anticipated by me and millions of other people for more than 3 years and once it finally arrived, I kinda wished it hadn't. First off, the battle system is miles ahead of the first mainly because of the special moves and drive forms. This is all well done and along with the the revised camera, its a dream come true.
But the story, what most of us were waiting for, let me down. Sure, I saw the openning videos and played through the 6 days and it was awesome. The story took its time and that made me believe this was going to be awesome. But as soon as you start controlling Sora, you begin to feel like your being pushed. Boom your talking to Mulan, boom your fighting in Beast's castle. The beginning is very pushy and not fun in terms of the story. Its like your showing up to new and old worlds going, "hi again! What, theres a problem? We're on it!" You might feel like a maid cleaning up everyones worlds. And don't even get me started on the seemingly pointless Little Mermaid World.
Overall, the game wants you to go to 40 hours of gameplay, maybe even to 50 but thats a massive stretch. The story is at it's strongest in the very, very beagining (when your playing as Roxas) and the very end when your battling boss after boss. If you haven't played the first dont touch this. Go buy the double pack or just rent the first then second because the beginning and ending will make no sense to you.

Beautifully done!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: April 21, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This game is amazing! It's graphics are awesome and the battle system is awesome! It is very enjoyable to visit hundreds of disney character's worlds. I am dissapointed that some of my favorite disney characters can only be summoned and so that you cannot go to their home world. A few of these characters are Chicken Little, Genie, Stitch, etc.

I am a huge Pirates Of the Caribbean fan and was dissapointed that the voices for Pirates Of the Caribbean were not the ones from the movie. The battle system is planned out carefully and has no flaws. It is very, very fast paced on some of the boss battles.

But the best part of this game is probbably the story. Seing how it unravels is suspensefull and exciting. This game has hours and hours and hours of gameplay. I have not gotten through the whole game yet but am more then 25 hours through, and I am having no trouble with the game; but that is one of the only major flaws with the game; it is too easy! The other flaw is that every different world only has two different songs; the normal song and the battle song. This game should probbably rated Teen though. As the lable says, it has some blood, and it is mostly true; but there is a part of the game where a creatures head is cut off and purple blood squirts out; and this happens to every one of it's heads! (It has a lot of heads) Overall this gmae is worth the money. It is probbably worth even more than it is! Get this game right now!

"This game is a treasure that only comes about so rarely."

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: April 23, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Sometimes, an idea for a game can seem so random, that everyone will either claim the game is a failure and never play it or think of it as a fun new experience that they have to try out. It's because the game is different from what's normally on video game store's shelves. The original Kingdom Hearts game was one of those different games. Containing a mix of Disney and Square characters, a lot of people believed the game was "kiddy" and was a low point in video games. Then there were the people that enjoyed - even loved - this game.

Kingdom Hearts ended with a cliffhanger ending and a special teaser trailer about a sequel. Kingdom Hearts 2 was confirmed some time after, but the Gameboy Advance game: Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories was released to link the original game to Kingdom Hearts 2 story-wise. Filled with deceit and betrayal, a lot of fans wondered how mature KH2 would be, considering the teaser trailer in KH1 was dark and moody.

How right and wrong they were.

Sora is The One. Neo, move over.

The gameplay is a major improvement over the original's; however, it shares the same core, but makes it better . . . possibly how it should've been to begin with. With Sora, you start off with your basic three-hit combo. Soon, your abilities will evolve into fancy light shows with Sora doing all kinds of flips and slashes. The X button is still the confirm/attack button, but you'll find yourself using the square and circle buttons in combinations in order to defeat your enemies (which are very numerous).

In addition to your combos, you have the Reaction Command. Similar to the context-sensitive actions in Resident Evil 4, you'll be able to do special attacks and events by hitting the triangle button when a Reaction Command flashes on screen. Some of these Reaction Commands trigger attacks that look just like cutscenes. In Proud Mode (KH2's hardest difficulty), its invaluable. You must use Reaction Commands to get through some events.

Your party members this time around are ready to throw themselves into a crowd of enemies literally. You can alter their AI in the pause menu, but its good already. Along with having your party fight enemies alongside Sora, you can now do Limits - Co-op attacks. You can guarantee they are powerful as they are spectacular to see, providing you have a full MP bar and that your Limit bar in the top-right corner doesn't disappear.

Magic is handled differently now. Everyone's MP bar is at 100 MP, but will recharge after all of it's drained. As mentioned above, Limits use up all your MP, regardless of how much is left. Same with the new Cure, which only heals party members within its range, meaning that you'll have to sometimes run to your KO'd friend and heal him/her. The rest of the magic, such as Fire, will only take a bit of MP from your bar, but repeated use will eventually leave you empty.

A hyped new feature in Kingdom Hearts 2 was the Drive system. Using points from the yellow drive bar, you will be able to make Sora powerful by going into Drive Forms or summoning some help, at the sacrifice of having one or both party members disappear for the moment. The Drive Forms will have Sora in colorful versions of his outfit and giving him special abilities, such as the red Valor - giving him the ability to wield two keyblades at the same time while unleashing powerful combos. In order to go into a Drive Form, you must have the needed amount of Drive points to transform. When in a Drive Form, your Drive points will deplete. Once it's at 0, you'll revert back to your original form, having lost the Drive points used to go into a Drive Form. Summoning works in the same fashion, but the summoned character will replace both your party members always and have powerful attacks that you can use from your Command Menu.

Both Drive Forms (individually) and Summon power can be leveled up in order to keep both out longer. Drive Forms will gain special abilities as they become stronger, and will pass some abilities to your standard Sora.

The first side of the Command Menu is still essentially the same as it was in the original Kingdom Hearts, but instead of the last selection being for abilities, you open up a Drive Form category to choose what Drive Form you want to use. Hitting left on the D-pad or holding L2 and tilting the Right Analog stick to the left (these are default), you'll go into the second side of the Command Menu, which still has the Attack selection, but gives you access to Limits, summons, and the function to switch party members on the fly. Holding the L1 button will open up the Shortcut menu, where you can use magic and items faster. You can change what's in the Shortcut menu in the Customize menu in the Pause menu. This is really convenient if you're about to get defeated and you need to heal fast, which happens a lot.

The camera in this game is a notch above any free-controlled camera in games. It's not perfect, but it comes very close. You'll be able to see the number of enemies around you while being able to zoom in and see dramatic visuals of your characters battling with the Right Analog stick. Clicking it will have the camera return behind Sora. There is also a First-Person mode where you can attack and move as you would in a standard First-Person Shooter, but once you lock-on with the R1 button, you'll go back to Third-Person view.

As stated before, you'll fight a lot of enemies, and the number will grow as you progress in the game. In some final areas, enemies seem almost infinite. On Proud Mode, the enemies deal stronger blows. You'll end up relying on all of the gameplay options the game gives you. There are many bosses in Kingdom Hearts 2, each one having a special Reaction Command or two (or more) that you can activate to make the battle easier. Also, you'll be thrown into special events, which can be one of the many minigames or a special battle with enemies, where you'll have to defeat them all, a certain amount, survive within the time limit, etc. If you want to just skip a cutscene and get into the action, just hit pause during the movie and select "Skip Scene."

If you are defeated in some boss fights, you may be saved by Mickey. You'll control him and your objective is to fill up his Drive gauge so he can revive Sora and friends. He is very powerful, so you can bring down a boss's HP so Sora can finish it off without much difficulty.

You get to other worlds through your Gummi Ship. In order to unlock paths to other worlds, you must go through the Gummi Courses, which are extremely fun and intense. You have the ability to make your own ship from the parts you find, but you're given completed Gummi Ships as the game progresses. It plays a bit like an intense rail-shooter, but the camera angles will switch a lot. You'll have to shoot at almost every angle around you, defeating gummi bosses and giant waves of enemies.

Also note that Kingdom Hearts 2 has some of the most amazing and memorable boss fights on the Playstation 2. This goes double for the final boss fight.

Where's Sora?

At the end of Kingdom Hearts, Sora, Donald, and Goofy save the world at the expense of being separated from the ones they were searching for the entire time. They were left in a meadow where they were running to their next adventure. In Chain of Memories, the three get their memories altered by a mysterious girl named Namin? within a castle controlled by the shady, but dysfunctional, Organization XIII. In order to regain their memories as they were before, Sora, Donald, and Goofy are put into pods for a year while Namin? fixes them. Meanwhile, in the basement floors, another character has conflicts with darkness and ends up controlling it.

You play as Roxas in the beginning of Kingdom Hearts 2, a 15-year old on summer vacation with his friends. He begins to have dreams of Sora's memories and wonders about them. Eventually, he'll come to realize the reason why he's having them. Soon after, you'll control Sora and set out on an adventure: this time trying to defeat the Heartless once more and finding out about the strange new creatures called "Nobodies" that are controlled by the Organization XIII.

The main story is well done and there are plot twists in every direction. Everything story-related is kept in the journal, so you can refer back to it if you're lost on something. Also, Kingdom Hearts 2 ends the story involving Sora, Donald, and Goofy being separated from their friends.

Sora must unlock paths with his magical Keyblade to other worlds in order to find his friends and to stop the heartless, and eventually, chasing The Organization.

You have to play the original Kingdom Hearts to understand this game, and even though it's said that you didn't have to, you should play Chain of Memories or major aspects about Kingdom Hearts 2's story won't be understood at all.

It looks as good as it sounds.

The graphics are amazing. Being able to retain the cartoony visuals of Disney, while having the breath-taking environments within worlds. Everything seems smooth and fluid, from Sora's attacks to the buildings and the various skies. Port Royal, the Pirate of the Caribbean world, is very detailed to match the look and the mood the movie presented. Space Paranoids, the Tron world, follows suit.

The voice acting in the game is great and is the scripting. Using somewhat of an all-star cast, the voices should be natural to you. However, Aeris (from Final Fantasy VII) has a horrible voice. It's so stale and dry, that it makes mold.

Disney's bandstand.

You may be compelled to buy the soundtrack to this game. There are plenty of good original scores and the several environment themes aren't annoying at all (this was a problem in Kingdom Hearts). Utada Hikaru again sings the theme song, which is Sanctuary, and it's just as good as the original's Simple and Clean.

The End Credits' music, Fantasia alla marcia for piano, chorus and orchestra is just fantastic and will probably be something you'd want to hear over and over again.

"Get Bonus!"

There are few extras in the game: a number of optional fights and a secret ending that you can unlock depending on what difficulty you're playing. You can try out the coliseum's harder challenges and gain new items. You can also try and synthesize the strongest weapons in the game. If you're a perfectionist, you can attempt to complete the Journal, max out all your stats, and try to get every weapon in the game. You'll have fun doing the extras if you decide to do them, though the little extras are very satisfying.

Conclusion

Kingdom Hearts 2 is one of the best games you'll probably ever play, and it makes the final weeks of the Playstation 2 worthwhile and possibly a reason why you shouldn't sell your Playstation 2 to give way to the next-generation of games.

This game is a treasure that only comes about so rarely.

Kingdom Hearts 2- A must have game for this season and any roleplaying fans!!!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: April 26, 2006
Author: Amazon User

After playing Kingdom Hearts 2, I was simply blown away. I must admit that the beginning is a bit boring, because you spend like 2 hours playing as the mysterious Roxas. It took that long for the title screen to show. Otherwise, the rest was magnificent. Let me tell.

There are many new features for KH2. There is a new DRIVE selection, which make Sora much more powerful than he really is. Also, the story line. Ill just let that speak for itself. Also, there are brand new worlds, like the Timeless River, Pride Lands, Land of Dragons, etc. I wont expalin more about the worlds because that would just spoil the game. Speaking of spoiling the game, I wont say anything else. Lets let the game speak for itself. All in all, I can conclude two things. This game is much better than KH, and that it is simply to die for.

Pretty Good Overall...

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: May 04, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I had tried Kingdom Hearts, the original, back then but I sadly got disinterested after a while and gave it away. But I said I'd give KH2 a chance so I did. Glad I did too.

The 3-H prologue of KH2 is actually masterfully done. It sucked me right in and I played all of it at once. It's even better if you didnt play a lot of the original (KH1). How can I put it... lots of misteries and you're always wondering what is going on, you feel as the character does which goes to show just how well-made it is. Admitingly, some parts are repetitive a bit in there, but it isn't that bad.

Then you get back to the more Disney-esque setting. Not much changed from KH1 exept the battle moves and effects; Extremly good. Multiple combat option and customisable powers makes for an interesting choice of play. As a warrior I never used magic and it was still beatable.

I give it a 4-star. I was hoping to see more Final Fantasy characters, or rather to see them more involved with the main plot. I feel that is missing, and the "mystery feel" of the prologue is sourely missed after getting back with Donald and Goofy.

The ending is pretty nice, albeit a bit confusing and a bit long (lots of fights w/out save points in the middle).

If you're willing to overlook a few minor things and the somewhat repetitive parts, go for it. It's quite enjoyable, and I do suggest the easy settings for those that wants the story more than the challenge.

A well-worth purchase, that you can play even if you dont have much time thanks to the many, MANY save points all until the ending sequences.

Looking forward to more games in the Kingdom Hearts universe.

Fun, fun game.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: July 18, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This game is very fun. Althought I first thought this game would be kinda childish. But, although there is an element of childish cut-scenes, it only adds to the overall accesability to all ages and audiences. The battle controls are fun and easy, with tons of cool colors (yea, I like colors). The programmers of this had to be in-depth, for example, in a cut-scene, if you change blade or shield or magic staff, you see it in the cut-scene. The graphics in this game are top notch, which is expected from final fantasy makers. The game takes you to places in the disney universe that you always wanted to see, like the underworld and even disney castle. The cut-scenes can be quite annoying though, including the classic disney "your my friend" speech A LOT!!! And you have to watch them to get whats going on. Battle gets really easy after awhile, so I just run away from enemies. But still, if you want a break from evil m-rated games, this is the PERFECT GAME. I hope this helped yall.

Great game.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: July 25, 2006
Author: Amazon User

It's honestly not the best game ever,but it kept me occupied for about 2 months.It's challenging with maybe 50 mini-games that you need to master to beat the game.Side bosses and extra missions so it's a lot like the first one.It's true about how stuff are re-vamped and everything.I'm happy that gummi ships MUCH easier!Fighting experience is about the same,and no more having to find Dalmations!If you played the first game,you know what I mean.It takes a bit shorter time to beat it,which I haven't entirely.It's easier with a guide,but it's a really fun,adventurous,and a HUGE plot.If you're an adult buying this for a kid,be prepared for them to be locked up wherever the PS2 is all day!The'll be happy though!

Even better than the first

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: April 15, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Just like the first, this one is a little slow and it takes ahwile before you get to all the Disney stuff. When you finally get there though it really picks up and is a very good game. It has some better gameplay than the first and more levels too. You have Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Aladdin "again", The Little Mermaid "again", Mulan, Tron, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Nightmare Before Christmas "again" and Hercules "again". All that is good but if they have a part 3 I hope they have more worlds that we haven't already seen already. I'd llike to see these worlds if there's a part 3 Narnia, Pirates of the Carribean 2, The Jungle Book, Toon Town with Roger Rabbit, A Bugs Life, Toy Story, The Incredibles, The Black Cauldron, 20000 Leagues Under the Sea and Monsters Inc.

The game starts out easier than it is when you get further in. For instance I'm on tow spots that I can't get beat now. There's annoying parts that can be hard to beat because you have to defeat a certain enemy before the time limit ends. So that's one of my only complaints. Other than that this game is a bit easier. I mean with some bosses in the first I couldn't get passed many of them without trying a few times. This time I have only lost on the time limit parts. The bosses are a lot easier.

Worthwhile sequel that adds just enough over original

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: September 19, 2006
Author: Amazon User

While the ending of the original Kingdom Hearts left you desperately waiting for more, Kingdom Hearts II does not disappoint. With just enough extra features(read: REACTION COMMANDS) a new "form" system (read: DRESS SPHERES from FFX-2) and new worlds to explore, KH2 delivers the same quality game-play while adding to the original story.

The story takes place after the events of Kingdom Hearts and Chain of Memories, and while helpful, neither are necessary to truly enjoy this game. The game play is fun and moves quickly between worlds. While some could complain that the worlds are not big enough (like they were in the original), the sheer amount of new worlds and the games pace make it worthwhile.

The story begins with a prologue of you playing a character named ROXAS in Twilight Town. The prologue is a nice way to get back used to the control mechanisms of the game while giving you a nice back story. If the prologue wasn't so integral to the story of the rest of the game, I would say it was too long... but since the main themes of the game are set up in this first act, it is important to pay attention to all the details. I found myself at the end of the game with many AH-HA moments that reached all the way back to the prologue.

Act II has you continuing the story with Sora, Donald and Goofy. The game-play here is very similar to the orginal game in that you travel between worlds in order to "open paths" and stop the Heartless and Nobodies (I will let the game explain each of those characters, as well as the mysterious Organization XIII). In addition to battling creatures from each world, working with Disney heroes like Tron, Beast, and Mulan to name a few, Sora continues to look for Kairi and Riku his lost two friends from the first game.

Much of the story elements remain the same... battle styles increase as you learn new skills, magic goes up and as experience grows so do your fighting abilities. You also gain access to special Reaction Commands that help you in battles and also additional fighting "forms" that make your battles more interesting. As these forms grow in power you grow in experience.

As far as the story goes, it does get very mystical at times and relies heavily on Japanese themes of Heart, Soul and Body. You really have to pay attention to the story to truly get everything out of it. If you blink, you might miss some of the key elements.

Overall, the gameplay is fantastic and the graphics push the envelope of the PlayStation 2. Arguably, the next version of this game (which should come out after FFXIII) will need the power of the PS3. If I was to make 1 complaint about the game is that in some spots (specifically the optional Little Mermaid section) the exposition is a bit long, leaving you longing to play the action parts again.

As a final note, where the original game absolutely REQUIRED the hint guide to do everything, this game is laid out much better that the hint guide is not required. It is very helpful and worth the investment, but not mandatory like the first Kingdom Hearts.

Have fun!!!!

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