Kingdom Hearts 2 picks up exactly where the GBA series link, Chains of Memories, left off. Sora, Donald and Goofy awaken from their long sleep, however, they have no recollection why they've been asleep or of the events that occurred in Chains of Memories. One thing leads to another and the trio now have to deal with a mysterious band of evil-doers known as "Organization XIII." The plot is as strong as ever, with many twists and revelations. In fact, the story is probably why people will buy this game, even if they didn't like the first one but still completed it. The need to see what happens next is unbearable, as it'll keep you hooked.
The game basically has you travelling from world to world encountering familiar faces, both friendly and hostile, from both the Disney universe and the Final Fantasy universe. Once you arrive at a world you are thrown into an event where you must defeat the respective villain of that world. For example, Scar in the Pride Lands and Captain Barbossa in Port Royal. If you've seen the movies, then you'll know the basic storyline for each world, as that's what they follow. In each world you must fight both the heartless, world-specific enemies and new entities known as "Nobodies." However, things quickly become more complex as the Organization starts to cause more trouble.
The battle system in Kingdom Hearts 2 hasn't changed much since the original. It's still an action RPG. You run around hitting the X button in order to perform the command you have selected using the D-pad. It's all relatively simple. But now Drives, Limit Breaks and Reaction Commands have been thrown into the mix. Drives basically allow Sora to change the colour of his outfit and wield two keyblades, granting him new abilities. Limit Breaks are where Sora teams up with another member of the party and performs an impressive attack. Reaction commands are probably the coolest new feature though. When you see the triangle button appear on screen whilst fighting, you'll want to hit it, as it'll make Sora perform a solo onslaught of pain which can be both helpful and powerful. It can be especially helpful during boss battles, as it'll stun some normally difficult, or even impossible, to hit enemies, or will make them vulnerable at the very least. Reaction commands are also used during Limit Breaks.
As you travel from world to world, you have to actually fly your space-ship, called the gummi ship, through a StarFox-esquire course. This was introduced in the original Kingdom Hearts, and didn't go down very well. Mainly because it was dull, boring and slow, which was a pain when you wanted to travel far distances. However, in Kingdom Hearts 2 the gummi ship sequences have had a complete makeover and are now actually pretty damn fun to play. The sequences now usually have the screen bursting at the seems with enemy ships, you'll fly through the course within a minute or two AND there's no more having to mess around with the gummi blocks to get a new gummi ship; you get the blueprint, you've got the ship, simple. But the best part is that once you've completed a course, that's it; you never have to do it again. You can if you want to, it's entirely up to you, as once you've completed the course then new missions become available to you.
Graphically, the game doesn't disappoint. The only graphical disappointment is Port Royal. Because the world is based upon the live action film, Pirates of the Caribbean, they've tried to make the graphics look close to the film. However, all they've succeeded in is creating a very rough-looking world. But don't fret! All of the other worlds look nice and clean. Everything runs smoothly, and the character animation during cut scenes is superb. Even during battle, there never seems to be a quirky moment; all of Sora's movements string together smoothly, which helps the battles feel more fluid rather than jagged and rough.
The soundtrack to Kingdom Hearts 2 is brilliant, but then again, what else would you expect from the company who make the Final Fantasy series? Also, the voice acting is mostly spot on. There are some .awkward moments here and there where the actors seem to get the tone of the voice wrong, but other than that the speech seems pretty flawless.
Kingdom Hearts 2 is by no means a small game. It'll take at least 25-30 hours to complete without doing any of the side quests. The only let down, is that there's not as much hidden content in Kingdom Hearts 2 as there was in the original. Kingdom Hearts 1 gave us several secret bosses, whereas Kingdom Hearts 2 only seems to supply us with one Three guesses as to whom that is. Also, Donald and Goofy's ultimate weapons can now only be obtained through synthesis, which is a let down, as finding synthesis items can be too much of a chore. But, there's still a fair bit to do and a fair bit to see, so Kingdom Hearts 2 will keep you entertained for quite a while, just maybe not as much as the original.
Overall, Kingdom Hearts 2 is a great game. Not a perfect game however, but hey, not many games are. Is it as good as the original? That's a difficult question to answer, as they both have their good points and their bad points. But personally, if you were to ask me, I'd say that they were both just as good as each other.
The game basically has you travelling from world to world encountering familiar faces, both friendly and hostile, from both the Disney universe and the Final Fantasy universe. Once you arrive at a world you are thrown into an event where you must defeat the respective villain of that world. For example, Scar in the Pride Lands and Captain Barbossa in Port Royal. If you've seen the movies, then you'll know the basic storyline for each world, as that's what they follow. In each world you must fight both the heartless, world-specific enemies and new entities known as "Nobodies." However, things quickly become more complex as the Organization starts to cause more trouble.
The battle system in Kingdom Hearts 2 hasn't changed much since the original. It's still an action RPG. You run around hitting the X button in order to perform the command you have selected using the D-pad. It's all relatively simple. But now Drives, Limit Breaks and Reaction Commands have been thrown into the mix. Drives basically allow Sora to change the colour of his outfit and wield two keyblades, granting him new abilities. Limit Breaks are where Sora teams up with another member of the party and performs an impressive attack. Reaction commands are probably the coolest new feature though. When you see the triangle button appear on screen whilst fighting, you'll want to hit it, as it'll make Sora perform a solo onslaught of pain which can be both helpful and powerful. It can be especially helpful during boss battles, as it'll stun some normally difficult, or even impossible, to hit enemies, or will make them vulnerable at the very least. Reaction commands are also used during Limit Breaks.
As you travel from world to world, you have to actually fly your space-ship, called the gummi ship, through a StarFox-esquire course. This was introduced in the original Kingdom Hearts, and didn't go down very well. Mainly because it was dull, boring and slow, which was a pain when you wanted to travel far distances. However, in Kingdom Hearts 2 the gummi ship sequences have had a complete makeover and are now actually pretty damn fun to play. The sequences now usually have the screen bursting at the seems with enemy ships, you'll fly through the course within a minute or two AND there's no more having to mess around with the gummi blocks to get a new gummi ship; you get the blueprint, you've got the ship, simple. But the best part is that once you've completed a course, that's it; you never have to do it again. You can if you want to, it's entirely up to you, as once you've completed the course then new missions become available to you.
Graphically, the game doesn't disappoint. The only graphical disappointment is Port Royal. Because the world is based upon the live action film, Pirates of the Caribbean, they've tried to make the graphics look close to the film. However, all they've succeeded in is creating a very rough-looking world. But don't fret! All of the other worlds look nice and clean. Everything runs smoothly, and the character animation during cut scenes is superb. Even during battle, there never seems to be a quirky moment; all of Sora's movements string together smoothly, which helps the battles feel more fluid rather than jagged and rough.
The soundtrack to Kingdom Hearts 2 is brilliant, but then again, what else would you expect from the company who make the Final Fantasy series? Also, the voice acting is mostly spot on. There are some .awkward moments here and there where the actors seem to get the tone of the voice wrong, but other than that the speech seems pretty flawless.
Kingdom Hearts 2 is by no means a small game. It'll take at least 25-30 hours to complete without doing any of the side quests. The only let down, is that there's not as much hidden content in Kingdom Hearts 2 as there was in the original. Kingdom Hearts 1 gave us several secret bosses, whereas Kingdom Hearts 2 only seems to supply us with one Three guesses as to whom that is. Also, Donald and Goofy's ultimate weapons can now only be obtained through synthesis, which is a let down, as finding synthesis items can be too much of a chore. But, there's still a fair bit to do and a fair bit to see, so Kingdom Hearts 2 will keep you entertained for quite a while, just maybe not as much as the original.
Overall, Kingdom Hearts 2 is a great game. Not a perfect game however, but hey, not many games are. Is it as good as the original? That's a difficult question to answer, as they both have their good points and their bad points. But personally, if you were to ask me, I'd say that they were both just as good as each other.