Metal Gear 2 is a huge improvement from its predecessor with its setting, gameplay mechanics (while dated, it works surprisingly well), the writing is more fleshed out, and how the story connects to Metal Gear Solid. There are some moments in the game that would appear in Metal Gear Solid as if the game is a remake of MG2. While the game is difficult without a guide, it's still beatable since some portions of the game can either be trial and error. Very excited to revisit Policenauts since that's basically Lethal Weapon but futuristic with advanced technology written by Kojima (and with more torturous shooting portions like Snatcher!)

After being disappointed with the original Kingdom Hearts and Chain of Memories, I was a bit hesitant to start on Kingdom Hearts 2 even though that was the game everyone was praising heavily. After finishing it in 3 days, the game deserves the praise it gets.

The first hours of the sequel is one of the strongest in the series so far, introducing Roxas and his days through Twilight Town. While it can be considered as "slow-paced", it provides so much characterization on both Roxas and his gang of friends. Playing through the first hours gave me the same feeling when I played through the Plant chapter in Metal Gear Solid 2, the feeling that something is off with the story and how out of place it is. Roxas's character arc in the first hour is a tragedy, and it's incredible how it was pulled off in such a short time allowing him to be memorable. Especially with how the first hour ends when you leave the first world of the game.

I hated the gameplay in KH1, but it's hugely improved in the sequel. It gives the player more freedom, allows you to open chests during battle (because you weren't even allowed to do anything in battle in the previous), combat is fluid with some boss battles being more strategic, and the world is much bigger. The boss battles are improved in the sequel, while some battles are straight-up hard but rewarding when beating them (looking at Roxas and Xaldin). The music is amazing as always while being a huge improvement from the first.

After finishing the game, I realized that the series should've ended off at 2. The game ends off beautifully connecting the ending with KH1 thematically, while there are some loose ends. The loose ends aren't an issue because they can be easily connected by thinking about it further, especially the mysteries that were shown in the game. Sadly, I will have to play the other entries since I own the other games with the KH collection.

Would highly recommend playing through Kingdom Hearts just for the sequel, which is how and why I decided to get into the series in the first place. Kingdom Hearts 2 was a fun journey from beginning to end.

Since I plan on replaying through the Metal Gear Solid series for the 3-4th time (and checking out Kojima's other work such as Snatcher and revisiting Policenauts), I decided to play the MSX Metal Gear games.

The OG Metal Gear is a bit hard to recommend since it hasn't aged very well. The narrative is simple but can be easily summarized, the gameplay is a hit or miss, the soundtrack is perfect but gets repetitive since you hear the same track 90% of the time, and the characters are just... there. However, some characters do have a prominent role in the MGS series since the series uses elements from the MSX Metal Gear. It was fun playing Metal Gear since I did have fun with it, but I wouldn't play it again sadly.

Looking forward to Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake since I heard it's a huge improvement.