Wanted to give a better review of this game now that I have completed the post game of this one, and I feel like I know my full thoughts of II now that I really do understand it now.
Kingdom Hearts II is an anomaly of a game, almost more so than the first game. The fact Kingdom Hearts managed to warrant a big sequel I think spoke to many factors, the quality of the first game, the strange blend of Disney and Square's anime properties working surprisingly well, and just the sixth generation of consoles was the gold era for weird games to warrant sequels before budget became more of an issue. However 2 also had a unique challenge of having to create more of an identity for the series. While Chain of Memories started the trend, 2 was the moment Kingdom Hearts became more than a weird passion project, and into a fully fleshed out series. Most of the trademarks of Kingdom Hearts' reputation basically stem from this game, and you know what, I was hesitant towards them. I basically avoided the series despite this game in particular being a lot of my friend's all time favourites because I just was kind of put off by it at the time. But I'm older now, and I kind of realized I love shit like this, and playing this game, yeah I'm no different, this is unsurprisingly one of the best action games ever made.
Kingdom Hearts II as a sequel is such a big improvement in almost all the gameplay department. Everything just looks nicer, and the original was already one of the best looking games on the Playstation 2, there are so many new details such as the menu UI changing depending on the worlds, and Nomura's designs just gave the series its definitive identity. The mix of Japanese street fashion, and somewhat more edgy and free flowing garb, mixes surprisingly well with the more whimsical aspects of Disney properties, and it gives the series such a unique flavour. I do love 1's aesthetic a lot, but if the series was going to continue, it likely would've needed more of an identity to keep going so I think what they did was smart and I'm not going to lie to you, its raw, I love this dumb cheesy and somewhat edgy aesthetic now that I'm older, its perfect for what the series is going for. Also to no one's surprise, you have one of the best soundtracks ever composed for this game as well.
The story and pacing of this game is where I take a lot of gripes with this one. It starts off incredibly strong, an incredible opening act that completely sets up not only the new character of Roxas, but where Kingdom Hearts as a series is going moving forward. Slowly building into the mystery of the Organization, who Roxas really is, where Sora is (unless you played Chain of Memories first like I did), its wonderful, and gets you really excited. Then the game continues with Sora, and they completely ignore Organization XIII for the most part in the first act to mess around with Maleficent and Pete, and Maleficent is literally useless in this game, I think she should've stayed dead after 1. I get the intention with having Sora killing the Heartless to unwillingly aid in helping the Organization, and having him question himself, but it never really goes anywhere beyond the initial questioning. Then you revisit all the Disney worlds again, where much of the same as the first time you visit happens, but its a little shorter, and then you have the finale which kind of bungles the whole Roxas plotline, by having you fight him immediately in the final level, and resolving it immediately, while they try to play into the mystery with the other Organization members. Then you foil Xemnas' plan, and put an end to it all, in a genuinely sweet ending. It is really silly, and normally I wouldn't think much about it, but I do think it really hurts the pace of the game.
I think a lot of the pacing of II feels insanely bizarre, where it feels like most of the Disney worlds feel narratively useless. It is really cool seeing these worlds, they look incredible, but they're not only truncated into straight lines, but it also just feels pointless being here. They don't play into the overall plot or themes of the game, and you're basically just reliving the plots of these movies, and I don't know, something about it just doesn't sit right with me as someone who loves the first game for those reasons, even if they were jank and sometimes very confusing, it just felt everything was a lot more purposeful for those reasons.
That being said, a lot of my complaints I feel just are heavily outweighed by this games absolutely stellar combat system. It is insanely fast, and fun to rack up combos in this one, and as more options open up to you, its just an incredible feeling. It is another weird aspect of this game, that for almost the entire game, you play it a different way until you get to the Roxas fight, and it basically forces you to truly learn how to play it. Transitioning over to Final Mix's incredible post game where the game basically truly shines. Making the most of this combat system, and fighting some of the best boss fights that have ever been designed for an action game, and ending with the Lingering Will, one of the most insane and fun fights ever. And the game itself ending with Roxas and Xemnas, two spectacle filled and just undeniably cool fights to ever end a game with.
Despite my complaints, and taking some time to truly understand and finish this one, yeah this is obviously one of the best games ever made. I think I've accepted my place in this world as someone who will likely always perfer the original, something about it just speaks to me, but there is just an undeniability to this game. This game made Kingdom Hearts what it is, purely on quality alone. I think that deserves respect in its own right. It is one of the greatest sequels to ever be made, and I think I'm genuinely excited to see where these characters go in the future titles. Yeah, this series is stupid, but who cares. I denied myself of this series' greatness for far too long, and I'm glad I can say I've finally remedied that.
Kingdom Hearts II is an anomaly of a game, almost more so than the first game. The fact Kingdom Hearts managed to warrant a big sequel I think spoke to many factors, the quality of the first game, the strange blend of Disney and Square's anime properties working surprisingly well, and just the sixth generation of consoles was the gold era for weird games to warrant sequels before budget became more of an issue. However 2 also had a unique challenge of having to create more of an identity for the series. While Chain of Memories started the trend, 2 was the moment Kingdom Hearts became more than a weird passion project, and into a fully fleshed out series. Most of the trademarks of Kingdom Hearts' reputation basically stem from this game, and you know what, I was hesitant towards them. I basically avoided the series despite this game in particular being a lot of my friend's all time favourites because I just was kind of put off by it at the time. But I'm older now, and I kind of realized I love shit like this, and playing this game, yeah I'm no different, this is unsurprisingly one of the best action games ever made.
Kingdom Hearts II as a sequel is such a big improvement in almost all the gameplay department. Everything just looks nicer, and the original was already one of the best looking games on the Playstation 2, there are so many new details such as the menu UI changing depending on the worlds, and Nomura's designs just gave the series its definitive identity. The mix of Japanese street fashion, and somewhat more edgy and free flowing garb, mixes surprisingly well with the more whimsical aspects of Disney properties, and it gives the series such a unique flavour. I do love 1's aesthetic a lot, but if the series was going to continue, it likely would've needed more of an identity to keep going so I think what they did was smart and I'm not going to lie to you, its raw, I love this dumb cheesy and somewhat edgy aesthetic now that I'm older, its perfect for what the series is going for. Also to no one's surprise, you have one of the best soundtracks ever composed for this game as well.
The story and pacing of this game is where I take a lot of gripes with this one. It starts off incredibly strong, an incredible opening act that completely sets up not only the new character of Roxas, but where Kingdom Hearts as a series is going moving forward. Slowly building into the mystery of the Organization, who Roxas really is, where Sora is (unless you played Chain of Memories first like I did), its wonderful, and gets you really excited. Then the game continues with Sora, and they completely ignore Organization XIII for the most part in the first act to mess around with Maleficent and Pete, and Maleficent is literally useless in this game, I think she should've stayed dead after 1. I get the intention with having Sora killing the Heartless to unwillingly aid in helping the Organization, and having him question himself, but it never really goes anywhere beyond the initial questioning. Then you revisit all the Disney worlds again, where much of the same as the first time you visit happens, but its a little shorter, and then you have the finale which kind of bungles the whole Roxas plotline, by having you fight him immediately in the final level, and resolving it immediately, while they try to play into the mystery with the other Organization members. Then you foil Xemnas' plan, and put an end to it all, in a genuinely sweet ending. It is really silly, and normally I wouldn't think much about it, but I do think it really hurts the pace of the game.
I think a lot of the pacing of II feels insanely bizarre, where it feels like most of the Disney worlds feel narratively useless. It is really cool seeing these worlds, they look incredible, but they're not only truncated into straight lines, but it also just feels pointless being here. They don't play into the overall plot or themes of the game, and you're basically just reliving the plots of these movies, and I don't know, something about it just doesn't sit right with me as someone who loves the first game for those reasons, even if they were jank and sometimes very confusing, it just felt everything was a lot more purposeful for those reasons.
That being said, a lot of my complaints I feel just are heavily outweighed by this games absolutely stellar combat system. It is insanely fast, and fun to rack up combos in this one, and as more options open up to you, its just an incredible feeling. It is another weird aspect of this game, that for almost the entire game, you play it a different way until you get to the Roxas fight, and it basically forces you to truly learn how to play it. Transitioning over to Final Mix's incredible post game where the game basically truly shines. Making the most of this combat system, and fighting some of the best boss fights that have ever been designed for an action game, and ending with the Lingering Will, one of the most insane and fun fights ever. And the game itself ending with Roxas and Xemnas, two spectacle filled and just undeniably cool fights to ever end a game with.
Despite my complaints, and taking some time to truly understand and finish this one, yeah this is obviously one of the best games ever made. I think I've accepted my place in this world as someone who will likely always perfer the original, something about it just speaks to me, but there is just an undeniability to this game. This game made Kingdom Hearts what it is, purely on quality alone. I think that deserves respect in its own right. It is one of the greatest sequels to ever be made, and I think I'm genuinely excited to see where these characters go in the future titles. Yeah, this series is stupid, but who cares. I denied myself of this series' greatness for far too long, and I'm glad I can say I've finally remedied that.