Review: Why You Should Play Kingdom Hearts 2

Kingdom Hearts 2 is an action RPG originally released for the PlayStation 2 and then remastered as the improved Kingdom Hearts 2 Final Mix version for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4. It continues the weird and wonderful combination of Disney characters with Final Fantasy characters from Square Enix’s flagship series.

Kingdom Hearts 2 continues the story from the PS2 original as well as Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories and weaves it together with new and returning Disney worlds. The action combat is expanded with many new features, more depth is added to the story and the high quality voice acting and soundtrack return to deliver a more ambitious sequel that retains the heart and spirit of the magical first game.

The story is more complex this time, starting the player off in the shoes of a different character other than Sora from the original Kingdom Hearts. You play as Roxas for the first few hours as the narrative sets up lots of mysteries that are payed off many hours later near the end of the game. When you take over as Sora as the main protagonist, he once again wields his signature Keyblade and must travel through Disney worlds from classic films such Hercules, The Lion King, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Nightmare Before Christmas and Beauty and the Beast. He learns of the plans of the Organisation XIII and must once again team up with Donald and Goofy, as well as Disney and Final Fantasy characters to rid the many worlds of the Heartless and the new enemies known as Nobodies.

Kingdom Hearts 2 is an action RPG, with the ability to have full control of Sora in battle, with two computer controlled party members from both Disney and Final Fantasy. Expanding on the solid foundation of the original Kingdom Hearts, Sora can attack with his Keyblade, cast magic spells like Thunder and Reflect, equip special abilities and technique as well as summon Disney characters for powerful attacks to help in battle. New to Kingdom Hearts 2 are the Drive Forms that allow Sora to temporarily power up and take on new forms such as Valor Form to drastically increase physical strength while dual wielding two Keyblades at once or Wisdom Form to super charge his magical attacks as well as giving him access to long range attacks. Reaction Commands also show up in normal battles and boss battles to allow time-sensitive special moves Sora can execute to deal massive damage. Kingdom Hearts 2 allows the player a bigger range of abilities to make battles engaging and thrilling throughout the entire game.

The voice acting in Kingdom Hearts 2 is again high quality utilising Hollywood and veteran voice actors with many returning to voice their original Disney characters. The soundtrack is amazing as Yoko Shimomura arranges Disney classics and delivers more great original songs like “The Other Promise” and the theme of “Twilight Town”. It also follows up the vocal theme song from the first game “Simple and Clean” with another great track called “Sanctuary” performed by Hikaru Utada.

Kingdom Hearts 2 takes the fun and heart of the original game and builds upon it with new features and a more complex narrative. If you wish to play an action RPG with exciting boss fights, an emotional story and lots of Disney nostalgia, then you should play Kingdom Hearts 2.

Why I’m Excited for Kingdom Hearts 3

When the original Kingdom Hearts was released on the PlayStation 2 over 10 years ago I wasn’t playing video games much at the time. I had completed and loved Final Fantasy X but other hobbies had taken my interest. I saw an advertisement for Kingdom Hearts on TV (it was 2002 remember!) and it enchanted me straight away. It had a great atmosphere and story, a fun combat system, a nice throwback to Disney animated films and of course cameos from Final Fantasy characters from my favourite games ever!

Fast forward over the years and I played Kingdom Hearts 2 which was also great and even the PlayStation Portable entry Birth By Sleep which I also enjoyed. There were many other side stories that have been made that I just haven’t had the same interest in compared to the original and never played. There was something about the simplicity of the first game and I hadn’t felt that way about the series since then. The development team that made Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2 have been working on Final Fantasy Verses XIII (newly changed to Final Fantasy XV) for at least the last five years so a new mainline entry seemed forever away. That all changed with the recent announcement of Kingdom Hearts 3 in development by the studio that made Birth By Sleep overseen by original director Tetsuya Nomura.

For whatever reason, the announcement trailer has got me excited all over again about Kingdom Hearts. Whether it was the new graphics engine that looks fantastic, new worlds to explore or just the promise of the conclusion to the storyline of the mainline trilogy my imagination quickly thought of all the things I hoped Kingdom Hearts 3 could be.

Firstly, getting back to playing as Sora on the big screen with an evolution of the crazy action battle system the series is known for. I have always enjoyed turn-based RPGs more, but the Kingdom Hearts real-time battles have delivered some tense fights and I clearly remember the amount of effort and attempts it took to best Sephiroth in the original or the epic battle against the 1000 heartless with the aid of Cloud and Squall in the sequel.

Then I thought about all the returning and hopefully new Final Fantasy characters they could include and to see them in the new updated, but still stylised graphics. I’m sure Cloud will return (hopefully more in line with his original appearance, with the hair flick and more cheery personality intact) and maybe the introduction of characters from other games not originally designed by Nomura such as Terra from Final Fantasy VI, Zidane from Final Fantasy IX or even Ramza and Delita from Final Fantasy Tactics.

Lastly, with the storyline focusing on searching for the “Seven Guardians of Light” I hope it can get back to a more straightforward narrative like the first game, travelling from world to world (with new appearances from Disney films) and just piece each part of the story together to end in a massive final keyblade battle between Sora and the forces of light, against series antagonist Master Xehanort and the darkness!

Anybody else excited for the possibilities?