Kingdom Hearts 2 review

It was a cold and wet December morning, and with a mixture of excitement and embarrassment I walked into my local video game store wondering whether I was becoming a Final Fantasy fanboy. Just on the strength of a couple of recommendations and my enjoyment of the Final Fantasy series I was considering splashing out my hard earned money on what can only have seemed an experimental blend of many franchises.

For some reason it really seemed to work, and despite a guilty feeling of it being aimed at a younger audience, there was enough in the game to appeal to any action RPG fan. It was a success; Enough so for a direct sequel and a GBA bridger. Finally the UK has got hold of KH2 and we can see what all the fuss is about.

Kingdom Hearts (and indeed this sequel) is an action based RPG, giving you direct control over the attacks of your enemies, and experience points for each foe vanquished, levelling up your statistics and giving you extra skills to use in and out of battle.

As you progress through the game, you become tougher, and as do your enemies, requiring more and more skill to destroy in a learning curve that seems perfectly suited to both newcomers and veterans of the genre. The basis of the game revolves around a character called Sora and his two Disney friends, Donald and Goofy who team up to restore order to the connected worlds and wipe out the heartless and nobodies.

One step at a time

Okay, the above description may sound complex, because it is a rather deep and complex plot to explain in one review, especially since it’s an extension of the first game. We learnt in Kingdom Hearts that there were enemies called the Heartless that various evil characters utilised to do their bidding, as mindless slaves.

Sora’s world was accidentally connected to a whole load of other worlds (from the Disney universe, as well as one that played host to a number of Final Fantasy characters), releasing Heartless into them all, and Sora, as the chosen Keyblade wielder had to visit these worlds and seal their connections to avoid the Heartless taking over. Phew.

Kingdom Hearts 2 begins with a fantastic plot device and execution of said plot device to remind players, or merely inform them of the events in the first game to some extent over the course of the introductory chapter (which lasted me a good few hours).

From then on, after a few clever revelations to keep you interested, and the introduction of a new form of enemies, the Nobodies, the husk of a body left over after a Heartless is created, you are off performing a similar task to the original, but under a different premise; looking for your friends Riku and Kairi, lost from the first game.

Travel agent

The bulk of the game will pleasure you in the visiting of various classic and new Disney worlds. You’ll be checking out Mulan’s universe, sailing in the Black Pearl with Jack Sparrow at your side, helping Tron defeat the MCP, fighting a huge pack of enemies with Simba in his Pride Lands, seeing the origins of Mickey in his first cartoon world; Steamboat Willy and a seemingly never ending further list of excitements.

They are all realised beautifully and in the majority of cases using the original film’s cast. James Woods, James Earl Jones and James… Arnold Taylor to name a few James's. The only notable absences are the cast of Pirates of the Caribbean, but the aforementioned James Arnold Taylor does a very respectable rendition of Jack Sparrow.

In general, the cast is superb and performs with heart and the enthusiasm you would expect from such professionals; especially welcome is the return of Haley Joel Osment and the introduction to the series of Christopher Lee.

Musically, the worlds have their own themes and most are recognisable from the associated media that spawned them, with a bit of a video game feel to them. One world in particular (Atlantica of The Little Mermaid fame) simply contains various timing minigames that let you perform 5 songs from the world, some original, and some from the movie.

Game progression

The most notable aspect of the game is the attention to detail within the generously frequent cinematics that litter the gameplay. On arrival in a world it is not uncommon to see a 5 minute Machinima sequence that seems close enough to have been ripped from the original, and serves to highlight the way you will be helping the world’s characters while achieving your own objectives; normally the plot of the film with some kind of clever extension to keep you guessing.

The length of the game and the number of worlds you will visit is quite astounding with my first play through (just the bare minimum of objectives) lasting well over 30 hours. A secret movie at the end of the finale is played if you complete all entries in Jiminy Cricket’s journal including collecting every treasure chest, fighting all secret bosses, sealing all worlds and succeeding in an astounding amount of minigames from (rather basic but still pleasant) skateboarding to manufacturing Christmas presents.

Rehash or renewal?

There is certainly a ridiculous amount to do in Kingdom Hearts 2, but some will view it as a cheap rehash of a fantastic original. Certainly there are a lot of similarities, but many things have been improved for this new episode. Cosmetically things never needed a touch up, but everything still looks outstanding, with new events such as a fight with (literally) 1000 heartless being one of the many key moments to wow audiences with.

The HUD has undergone a spicing up with each world altering it to suit the style, with animations and styles that always intrigue me when I see a new one. The battle system feels familiar, yet a new Form system has been introduced that let you transform into more powerful versions of yourself if you have progressed far enough, and performed well enough (though watch out for the Heartless form of Sora you may be unlucky enough to become if you’re overusing it!)

These form changes use up a new ‘Drive’ bar, that is added next to your HP and MP bars and can also be used to summon one of four helpers to your cause, Aladdin’s Genie and that little Stitch creature thing from Lilo and Stitch being my favourites. A questionable aspect of the original centred around the Gummi Ship sections that served as a pretty pointless minigame to transfer you from world to world.

Having undergone a little bit of a change, the new version seems a lot better, giving you a much more interesting space shooter to complete to unlock the new pathways, whereas actually having to fly them again is only necessary to unlock further Gummi Ships, their abilities and missions to collect treasure from. It really is a lot better, and I really will complete my treasure collection in the second missions before I put the game down for a while.

How hard do you want it?

Without ignoring the fact that it is at heart a Disney game, an option of how tricky you want the gameplay is presented to you right at the start, giving an easy, medium or hard mode for all levels of players. I started on the medium mode and perhaps due to my playing style it was only a problem at a couple of ridiculously frustrating boss battles (one of which just requires a certain number of enemies killed within an unforgiving time limit; it took me some time, but I have forgiven the game for it.)

It would not surprise me if Kingdom Hearts 2 had one of the largest player age range of any modern games. The story may seem a little cutesy for older gamers, but even just a short play should reveal the classic Square Enix depth put into the game, and get anyone over the hurdle that you are playing something that definitely has its sights aimed at kids. I certainly didn’t have a problem with it, despite the Disney connection, and have been amazed at how powerful the ending was, enhanced by another song by Utada Hikaru which far outreaches its obligatory Disney-Pop title to an emotional height doubled by the visuals.

Finally more good news as Mickey is given more of a spotlight, so much so that you can fight as and alongside him occasionally. Unquestionably Kingdom Hearts 2 is a worthy successor to the original and deserves a purchase for any fan of the original as a fantastically powerful and engrossing game experience. I loved the sheer amount to do within the game and hope for a next gen Kingdom Hearts 3 in the same way the Final Fantasy series never fails to engross me for an exorbitant amount of time.

Newcomers to the series would do well to start from the first game, but make sure you don’t miss out on this little gem of a game, despite what embarrassment you may feel from purchasing it in a shop. The production values and entertainment value will make you thankful you did. Besides, you can just say it’s a present for your little brother, just make sure they don’t hear you singing the theme tune on your next visit.