!!!!
Kingdom Hearts 2 is a strange game. For having come out 2 decades ago, it's still far and away the best game in the series (not that there was much competition). And then astoundingly, the final mix version makes it even better.
From the minor tweaks like new abilities or cutscene changes, to the major changes like entirely new drive forms and a dozen new bosses, Final Mix goes out of its way to make a good game even better.
Given all this praise, me giving FM the same score as the original KH2 might seem strange, but it really comes down to the fact that at the end of the day, its still just a tad too simple.
KH2's critical mode is often praised as the peak of a balanced challenge in the series. And while I admit that it's far better than 1, BBS, or 3's hardest difficulties, KH2's critical mode is still a breeze to play through. Despite being 15 levels lower than my base game playthrough, I still made it through the game with very little hair pulling. Did I die more than the original KH2? Sure. But they were all to bosses that were tougher in the original game too, like Xaldin or Xemnas. Had the numbers been scaled down, I can't say that I would've been challenged at all. Though perhaps this is my fault for having gotten so good at the series in a relatively short span of time.
KH2 FM is fantastic, and while I weep for the fact that this is where the franchise peaked, I'm still glad that it peaked at such a height.
From the minor tweaks like new abilities or cutscene changes, to the major changes like entirely new drive forms and a dozen new bosses, Final Mix goes out of its way to make a good game even better.
Given all this praise, me giving FM the same score as the original KH2 might seem strange, but it really comes down to the fact that at the end of the day, its still just a tad too simple.
KH2's critical mode is often praised as the peak of a balanced challenge in the series. And while I admit that it's far better than 1, BBS, or 3's hardest difficulties, KH2's critical mode is still a breeze to play through. Despite being 15 levels lower than my base game playthrough, I still made it through the game with very little hair pulling. Did I die more than the original KH2? Sure. But they were all to bosses that were tougher in the original game too, like Xaldin or Xemnas. Had the numbers been scaled down, I can't say that I would've been challenged at all. Though perhaps this is my fault for having gotten so good at the series in a relatively short span of time.
KH2 FM is fantastic, and while I weep for the fact that this is where the franchise peaked, I'm still glad that it peaked at such a height.
De fato, o melhor jogo da Square Enix e da Disney fácil
Meu parceiro, tudo que você viu de errado nos Kingdom Hearts anteriores, o 2 conserta! Ele aprimora o combate do jogo, aprimora os gráficos, e a história mano.. a história ta MIL VEZES melhor e tudo se encaixa perfeitamente com o que foi contado nos jogos anteriores, preenchendo até algumas lacunas que estavam vazias.
Eu gostei muito das fases de navinha desse aqui já que ficaram bem menos monotona e lenta, agora elas são mais ''fast paced'' e bem mais complicadas também, então tu consegue falhar fácil se não prestar atenção.
Os gráficos desse jogo também tão de quebrar mano, cada vez que eu entrava nele eu ficava impressionado porque é tudo muito lindinho as cores combinando sem erro nenhum, e os efeitinho as partícula que sai nas batalhas é de deixar a boca babando até mesmo nos dias de hoje. Pra um jogo antigo isso aqui é ridículo de bonito.
Mas nem tudo é perfeito, eu não gostei da parada de ficar revisitando os mundos e achei um tanto chato e monótono algumas historinhas contadas la já que não agregavam nada pra história principal do jogo, mesmo sendo os mundos principais e obrigatórios pra tu concluir o jogo. Fora isso, achei o jogo maravilhoso e COM CERTEZA vale replay já que agora ele ta bem mais linear e intuitivo nos cenários, e a regra é clara.. se o cenário é fácil de se localizar, logo o jogo é ótimo :)
Meu parceiro, tudo que você viu de errado nos Kingdom Hearts anteriores, o 2 conserta! Ele aprimora o combate do jogo, aprimora os gráficos, e a história mano.. a história ta MIL VEZES melhor e tudo se encaixa perfeitamente com o que foi contado nos jogos anteriores, preenchendo até algumas lacunas que estavam vazias.
Eu gostei muito das fases de navinha desse aqui já que ficaram bem menos monotona e lenta, agora elas são mais ''fast paced'' e bem mais complicadas também, então tu consegue falhar fácil se não prestar atenção.
Os gráficos desse jogo também tão de quebrar mano, cada vez que eu entrava nele eu ficava impressionado porque é tudo muito lindinho as cores combinando sem erro nenhum, e os efeitinho as partícula que sai nas batalhas é de deixar a boca babando até mesmo nos dias de hoje. Pra um jogo antigo isso aqui é ridículo de bonito.
Mas nem tudo é perfeito, eu não gostei da parada de ficar revisitando os mundos e achei um tanto chato e monótono algumas historinhas contadas la já que não agregavam nada pra história principal do jogo, mesmo sendo os mundos principais e obrigatórios pra tu concluir o jogo. Fora isso, achei o jogo maravilhoso e COM CERTEZA vale replay já que agora ele ta bem mais linear e intuitivo nos cenários, e a regra é clara.. se o cenário é fácil de se localizar, logo o jogo é ótimo :)
KH2 expands on the relatively simple battle system of KH1 and makes it WAYYY more complicated, to the point where you could spend another thirty hours leveling up all the forms and doing all the bosses and getting all the different weapons and accessories and whatnot. This game is DENSE.
As for what I DID play, I really enjoyed it. The combat feels smooth and fair, the majority of the bosses are fun and well-designed and unique, the lore is REALLY cool if you can piece it all together, and the story is surprisingly coherent for how much is going on. Sora isn't the most interesting protagonist in the world, but the characters that they surround him with are GREAT.
I didn't play 358/2 Days yet but I'm probably going to play it after this, considering it's supposed to be a bit of a prequel to KH2 and a sequel to the trainwreck that was Chain of Memories, and all of the main characters in 358/2 have huge implications on the storyline of KH2 (for obvious reasons)
Really fun game, gets you in your feels while also throwing 8 bosses at you in the final three hours, one of which was so challenging and demanding yet well-designed that it is now one of my favorite boss fights that I've experienced in the past year (and I played Elden Ring!). I'm not going to say what fight it is, but you will know when you play it. Holy shit.
I guess I'm a Kingdom Hearts fan now.
As for what I DID play, I really enjoyed it. The combat feels smooth and fair, the majority of the bosses are fun and well-designed and unique, the lore is REALLY cool if you can piece it all together, and the story is surprisingly coherent for how much is going on. Sora isn't the most interesting protagonist in the world, but the characters that they surround him with are GREAT.
I didn't play 358/2 Days yet but I'm probably going to play it after this, considering it's supposed to be a bit of a prequel to KH2 and a sequel to the trainwreck that was Chain of Memories, and all of the main characters in 358/2 have huge implications on the storyline of KH2 (for obvious reasons)
Really fun game, gets you in your feels while also throwing 8 bosses at you in the final three hours, one of which was so challenging and demanding yet well-designed that it is now one of my favorite boss fights that I've experienced in the past year (and I played Elden Ring!). I'm not going to say what fight it is, but you will know when you play it. Holy shit.
I guess I'm a Kingdom Hearts fan now.
Definitely better than the first game, but I think I like them equally. The first game was something special, relatively simple (and clean), and had a lot of history behind it for me, but KHII improves SOOO much of the gameplay. Also had a fantastic ending they could've ended the series on if they liked. Only real gripes were some of the worlds not feeling a little small or not fleshed out, normal difficulty being too easy and button-mashy compared to KH1, and the post-game being for Certified Freaks Only (but I also undertand lol).
Even if I'm not as reverent about 2 as other people are, I totally understand the reputation it has.
Even if I'm not as reverent about 2 as other people are, I totally understand the reputation it has.
Amazing game, just great to see all the FF and Disney characters interact with Sora as per usal. And I actually preferred this game story over the first one, can be confusing but I like it
This review contains spoilers
KH2 is the perfect follow up to everything presented in the stories of KH1 and RECOM.
The story of this game is amazing and had me interested the whole way through. They really got to utilise more of their original characters this time with the Organisation and Roxas and his group. The Twilight Town section at the beginning is such a good introduction to the game and I loved Roxas and his character a lot.
The Disney worlds were far more interesting this time and felt like they had a bit more importance in the overall story with the Organisations involvements.
KH2 expands on its main cast of characters excellently. Sora and Riku are such a great pair of characters and their chemistry together is fantastic. The supporting cast were always fun to have around and I really liked how involved they were especially with segments like Hollow Bastions swarm of Heartless.
Roxas’ character is probably my favourite in this game with Axel being close behind. Roxas’ story of wanting to fight against the fact he is Soras Nobody as he is his own person yet eventually accepting Sora as his other half is a really strong arc for his character. Even if we don’t get to see him much outside of the beginning, how he ties into the ending part of the game was amazing. Considering 358 has a lot to do with him I’m sure his character will get fleshed out even more.
Xemnas as a primary villain this time is much more compelling than KH1 Ansem was. The Nobodies in general are such a cool idea for characters that mirror that of the Heartless and the People that the Nobodies are from. Having this set of characters that reflect their counterpart in some way just without a heart is a great story point and sets up a perfect groundwork for these characters to differ from their counterparts. Having the likes of Xemnas chasing after not just some kind of power but the ability to have feelings even if it’s that of rage and anger is a lot more compelling than making him a god complex type of character.
The Nobodies are also interesting in that they may actually have hearts after all but just fragmented versions as the actions of Axel and Roxas would stem from someone who has a heart. Axel says himself that he’s “enjoying this” in COM showing that the ability to feel is still there.
The combat was leagues better than KH1, taking the base from KH1 and making it flow a lot smoother with quicker movements and combos never got dull. The introduction to Reaction Commands and the Drive forms were such an amazing addition to the combat. Enemy encounters felt unique as the majority of enemies had a Reaction Command which were all different depending on the enemy you are fighting.
Magic definitely felt that it had better utility in this game but I personally didn’t use too many offensive spells as my main key blades were physical based but it didn’t take away from anything in the combat, it’s more on me to make use of the magic more.
The limits and summons were a great way to mix up the gameplay with the different party members in each world. I know summons were in KH1 as well but they felt a lot more useful and fun in this games combat.
The boss fights in this game are for the most part so much fun to fight and managed to strike a good balance between the cinematics of the fight with the Reaction commands and the fights themselves. The highlights were obviously the Organisation fights and the final boss segment was such an amazing spectacle. Even some of the heartless fights I enjoyed as well especially some of their designs.
Gumi ship was the Gumi ship. It felt a lot more involved this time but I’m still indifferent on it. It’s nice that the game gives you pre made ships incrementally so people don’t feel the need to upgrade the base one.
Square Enix games typically will have fantastic soundtracks and KH2 is among some of the best music in a Square title I’ve heard. Every track perfectly fits the feel and mood of the area or situation you’re in and boasts some amazing boss themes. All the Organisation themes especially the Roxas fight were amazing and that latter track is probably one of my favourites in the whole game.
KH2 is a fantastic sequel and everything I expected and wanted from this series. I only hope that the highs of this games story, characters and combat continue into the rest of the series.
10/10
The story of this game is amazing and had me interested the whole way through. They really got to utilise more of their original characters this time with the Organisation and Roxas and his group. The Twilight Town section at the beginning is such a good introduction to the game and I loved Roxas and his character a lot.
The Disney worlds were far more interesting this time and felt like they had a bit more importance in the overall story with the Organisations involvements.
KH2 expands on its main cast of characters excellently. Sora and Riku are such a great pair of characters and their chemistry together is fantastic. The supporting cast were always fun to have around and I really liked how involved they were especially with segments like Hollow Bastions swarm of Heartless.
Roxas’ character is probably my favourite in this game with Axel being close behind. Roxas’ story of wanting to fight against the fact he is Soras Nobody as he is his own person yet eventually accepting Sora as his other half is a really strong arc for his character. Even if we don’t get to see him much outside of the beginning, how he ties into the ending part of the game was amazing. Considering 358 has a lot to do with him I’m sure his character will get fleshed out even more.
Xemnas as a primary villain this time is much more compelling than KH1 Ansem was. The Nobodies in general are such a cool idea for characters that mirror that of the Heartless and the People that the Nobodies are from. Having this set of characters that reflect their counterpart in some way just without a heart is a great story point and sets up a perfect groundwork for these characters to differ from their counterparts. Having the likes of Xemnas chasing after not just some kind of power but the ability to have feelings even if it’s that of rage and anger is a lot more compelling than making him a god complex type of character.
The Nobodies are also interesting in that they may actually have hearts after all but just fragmented versions as the actions of Axel and Roxas would stem from someone who has a heart. Axel says himself that he’s “enjoying this” in COM showing that the ability to feel is still there.
The combat was leagues better than KH1, taking the base from KH1 and making it flow a lot smoother with quicker movements and combos never got dull. The introduction to Reaction Commands and the Drive forms were such an amazing addition to the combat. Enemy encounters felt unique as the majority of enemies had a Reaction Command which were all different depending on the enemy you are fighting.
Magic definitely felt that it had better utility in this game but I personally didn’t use too many offensive spells as my main key blades were physical based but it didn’t take away from anything in the combat, it’s more on me to make use of the magic more.
The limits and summons were a great way to mix up the gameplay with the different party members in each world. I know summons were in KH1 as well but they felt a lot more useful and fun in this games combat.
The boss fights in this game are for the most part so much fun to fight and managed to strike a good balance between the cinematics of the fight with the Reaction commands and the fights themselves. The highlights were obviously the Organisation fights and the final boss segment was such an amazing spectacle. Even some of the heartless fights I enjoyed as well especially some of their designs.
Gumi ship was the Gumi ship. It felt a lot more involved this time but I’m still indifferent on it. It’s nice that the game gives you pre made ships incrementally so people don’t feel the need to upgrade the base one.
Square Enix games typically will have fantastic soundtracks and KH2 is among some of the best music in a Square title I’ve heard. Every track perfectly fits the feel and mood of the area or situation you’re in and boasts some amazing boss themes. All the Organisation themes especially the Roxas fight were amazing and that latter track is probably one of my favourites in the whole game.
KH2 is a fantastic sequel and everything I expected and wanted from this series. I only hope that the highs of this games story, characters and combat continue into the rest of the series.
10/10
Replaying bosses is always so fun and the 100% is pretty reasonable. Lingering will has a cheese mechanic but try to do it naturally, it is super satisfying, especially if you've played BBS.
Peak of the franchise. Played on crit. 4 hours to beat Roxas
This game has all the stuff I love about 1, particularly the comfort of the bad, embarrassing writing — now with an added, thick layer of teen angst — combined with a surprisingly fantastic combat system.
Square’s approach to real-time combat tends to be really unsatisfying imo, so I question how much of KHII’s combat is intentionally designed to be as good as it is, but everything clicks together so neatly that I’m inclined to believe it was intentional. It almost doesn’t feel like it was made by Square, as a result. The addition of Critical mode in this version of the game makes you realise how well thought out the combat is. It’s so good, I now feel that it’s the only way to play the game. The new optional content in the Final Mix version of this game is also amazing.
I’m not sure how I feel about the level design in this game compared to the first. On the one hand, KH1’s attempts at platforming and light puzzle solving are awful and not having to worry about that in 2 is nice. On the other hand, 2 doesn’t even try to be anything more than running through hallways. Progression in 2 is much more linear. Another case where 1 is maybe executed a little worse, but at least it was making an effort. Lastly, 2’s story is horribly paced. It starts off intriguing , meanders for a very long time, gets a bit more exciting in the middle, goes back to meandering, and then ends with one of my favourite climaxes in a video game. It almost rivals a Platinum games climax for me. It’s not enough to save the terrible pacing, though.
I do love this game, so.
Square’s approach to real-time combat tends to be really unsatisfying imo, so I question how much of KHII’s combat is intentionally designed to be as good as it is, but everything clicks together so neatly that I’m inclined to believe it was intentional. It almost doesn’t feel like it was made by Square, as a result. The addition of Critical mode in this version of the game makes you realise how well thought out the combat is. It’s so good, I now feel that it’s the only way to play the game. The new optional content in the Final Mix version of this game is also amazing.
I’m not sure how I feel about the level design in this game compared to the first. On the one hand, KH1’s attempts at platforming and light puzzle solving are awful and not having to worry about that in 2 is nice. On the other hand, 2 doesn’t even try to be anything more than running through hallways. Progression in 2 is much more linear. Another case where 1 is maybe executed a little worse, but at least it was making an effort. Lastly, 2’s story is horribly paced. It starts off intriguing , meanders for a very long time, gets a bit more exciting in the middle, goes back to meandering, and then ends with one of my favourite climaxes in a video game. It almost rivals a Platinum games climax for me. It’s not enough to save the terrible pacing, though.
I do love this game, so.
This shit fucks
Do yourself a favor and play the randomizer mod when you're done with everything!!
Still THAT fucking game
Critical mode is the perfect balance of kicking your ass into the dust while also making you feel like a fucking superhero with all the shit they offer you; nothing is more gratifying than getting through an intense boss fight in this game, which I did not feel in KH1 or COM; the combat in KH2 felt so fluid and satisfying compared to those games so I never really got frustrated with having to retry a lot of these fights
This game also does something no other video game could do: It often makes you forget you're playing a Disney game made for 10 year olds starring Mickey Mouse, wherein Donald Duck is thrown onto your screen while you're sobbing over Roxas' plight of nonexistence
This game also does something no other video game could do: It often makes you forget you're playing a Disney game made for 10 year olds starring Mickey Mouse, wherein Donald Duck is thrown onto your screen while you're sobbing over Roxas' plight of nonexistence
best game ever made
lowkey one of the best action rpgs ever. plot's insane, but who cares - it's extraordinarily fun and critical mode really forces you to squeeze the surprisingly large amount of depth out of the game's extremely cool combat system
Sem palavras pra descrever, foi um experiência incrível jogar esse jogo ele pega tudo q deu certo no primeiro jogo e leva tudo pra outro nível. Peak gaming
Kingdom hearts 2 is a game that always keeps me coming back even since i was little the game knows how to make the player hyped with the awesome cutsenes and moments throughout the story as well as the satisfying and addicting combat is why this game still keeps people coming back almost 20 years later as a sequel the game both is a step up and step down from the first game step down in terms of level design and little details but huge step up in terms of combat voice acting graphics kh2fm is a almost flawless game that has so many high highs and is just a treat to come back to every time.
Peak fiction.
Greatest of all time
Kingdom Hearts 2 é um dos melhores JRPGs que eu já joguei em toda minha vida, nada mais nada menos que o melhor jogo do PlayStation 2.
every time Sora didn't understand something, i really felt that
Meu jogo de infância, sempre volto pra re-jogar e tem um dos melhores combates dos jogos, historia confusa, mas, uma obra prima completa.
Another classic. Normal difficulty is definitely a little too easy and that's with me not even engaging with some core combat mechanics until the end of the game when I realized how to use them. Story is overall great, but I think suffers from some issues that the first game didn't have with the disney worlds.
The Mushroom XIII test my skills in ways I'd never thought of before, the Cavern of Remembrance redesigns every Organization boss battle, and the Lingering Will separates the masters from the arrogant.
Oh yea, this is my all-time favorite RPG and nothing else comes close.
Oh yea, this is my all-time favorite RPG and nothing else comes close.
PERFEIÇÃO DMS MELHOR DE LONGE DA FRANQUIA
It’s no secret that I love Kingdom Hearts and especially Kingdom Hearts II as it was the very first video game franchise I’ve ever became a fan of, however, there is one secret I do have: I never played the Final Mix version until now.
Crazy, I know! Played the vanilla game so many times day in and day out growing up, remembering being so jealous knowing that Japan had an exclusive (at the time) version of the game where you get to challenge all of the Organization XIII and more, and even witness the numerous re-releases of Final Mix in the West, but for some reason, I only just now recently gotten around to experiencing the game, and man I really wish I started sooner.
The same overall package is still here. The grand stories, the memorable characters, the iconic music, the worlds, and the incredible fast-paced combat, but now there’s more and it’s completely fine tuned to perfection. The changes under the hood makes the combat feel even more snappy and satisfying, the new additional boss fights feel like a dance that can overwhelm either yourself or your opponent, the inclusion of Cavern of Remembrance adds even more depth to the gameplay with its movement and enemies, and overall the entire experience is just amped up to a 10. I know the whole “power of friendship” troupe can be so overdone in a lot of media, but I think KH2 does it best while it can be as cheesy as the first game, it fully embraces it without shame and wears it proudly on it sleeves, which works so well because Kingdom Hearts overall is essentially a shonen anime with Disney and Final Fantasy characters. Even with how absurd it can get for some people, there’s so much heart in the writing to where you can’t help but to at least find it extremely endearing.
I feel like I could REALLY go on about this, but I think I wanna save a much deeper depth into KH2 for a review in the future. I think right now it’s hard to fully capture the words and things I wanna say, because this game and series left such a strong impression on me and the impact it has had on me is something that very few games or even pieces of media have ever accomplished, it really altered how I view the medium and understanding of video games and what they could be. Growing up with KH2 has left me wowed and in awe of what an amazing game looks like, and with Final Mix, it gives me another example of what a masterpiece can look like.
Crazy, I know! Played the vanilla game so many times day in and day out growing up, remembering being so jealous knowing that Japan had an exclusive (at the time) version of the game where you get to challenge all of the Organization XIII and more, and even witness the numerous re-releases of Final Mix in the West, but for some reason, I only just now recently gotten around to experiencing the game, and man I really wish I started sooner.
The same overall package is still here. The grand stories, the memorable characters, the iconic music, the worlds, and the incredible fast-paced combat, but now there’s more and it’s completely fine tuned to perfection. The changes under the hood makes the combat feel even more snappy and satisfying, the new additional boss fights feel like a dance that can overwhelm either yourself or your opponent, the inclusion of Cavern of Remembrance adds even more depth to the gameplay with its movement and enemies, and overall the entire experience is just amped up to a 10. I know the whole “power of friendship” troupe can be so overdone in a lot of media, but I think KH2 does it best while it can be as cheesy as the first game, it fully embraces it without shame and wears it proudly on it sleeves, which works so well because Kingdom Hearts overall is essentially a shonen anime with Disney and Final Fantasy characters. Even with how absurd it can get for some people, there’s so much heart in the writing to where you can’t help but to at least find it extremely endearing.
I feel like I could REALLY go on about this, but I think I wanna save a much deeper depth into KH2 for a review in the future. I think right now it’s hard to fully capture the words and things I wanna say, because this game and series left such a strong impression on me and the impact it has had on me is something that very few games or even pieces of media have ever accomplished, it really altered how I view the medium and understanding of video games and what they could be. Growing up with KH2 has left me wowed and in awe of what an amazing game looks like, and with Final Mix, it gives me another example of what a masterpiece can look like.
This is my favourite game of all time.
A good update to a great game. Critical mode and all the bosses added to this version are good challenges.
The lingering will boss fight is peak Kingdom Hearts.
Once again no real reason to play the base version over this one.
The lingering will boss fight is peak Kingdom Hearts.
Once again no real reason to play the base version over this one.
To this day there is something to crunchy about all of KH2, the pay off of a decent first game and whatever version of CoM is all worth it with how cool and expressive KH2 is in comparison. All the 2FM content is just icing on the perfect cake with Critical being a shining example of difficulty options in games