Review - Kingdom Hearts II (2005)

         Hey guys, Chuck here, and it's finally time for my review of Kingdom Hearts II, widely regarded by the Kingdom Hearts fandom as one of the best games in the Kingdom Hearts franchise. This game was released in PlayStation 2 in 2005 in Japan, and in 2006 in the United States. 

         So, it's been a year since the events of Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, and Sora is currently in stasis, whilst Naminé, acting under the orders of the mysterious DiZ, is restoring the memories in Sora's heart to how they were before she took them apart in Castle Oblivion. Now, we do see a set of montages of cutscenes from the first game, and they're also seen in the dreams of Roxas, a boy in a world called Twilight Town. And yes, this is the same Roxas that was a member of Organization XIII during the events of Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. Unfortunately, he doesn't remember those times, and he spends his days with his friends Hayner, Pence, and Olette. 

        Now, the opening tutorial segment goes on for a long time, and the player is playing the tutorial as Roxas. And over the course of the tutorial, we see Roxas and his friends investigate a series of thefts, raise money to take a train to the beach, compete in a sporting competition called Struggle, investigate the Seven Wonders of Twilight Town, and things like that. All the while, Organization XIII is trying to liberate Roxas and return him to the fold, using creatures called Nobodies and Organization member Axel to do so. Ultimately, after being summoned to the mansion at the edge of the woods, and fighting against Axel once more, Roxas learns that the Twilight Town he was in was a digital recreation of Twilight Town, and he learns of his ultimate purpose: return to Sora and complete the restoration process. 

       So, now that the process is done, Sora reawakens, and is joined by Donald and Goofy. The three, along with chronicler Jiminy Cricket, look around Twilight Town, and they meet and befriend Hayner, Pence, and Olette. Pence mentions someone looking for the trio...a little guy with big, round ears. Realizing who Pence was referring to, Sora, Donald, and Goofy head to the train station to find King Mickey. The trio fend off and attack by the Nobodies, and are given a pouch full of Munny to take a train. The pouch matches one hand-made by Olette, and is later revealed to be one from the virtual Twilight Town. 

      So, Sora, Donald, and Goofy arrive at the train's destination: the Mysterious Tower. It's here where they find Pete, an old adversary of King Mickey, Donald, and Goofy who had been banished to another dimension. Pete reveals he was set free by Maleficent, and he works for her now. Pete sends a horde of Heartless to attack Sora, Donald, and Goofy, and upon the defeat of the Heartless, Pete reveals that the Mysterious Tower is home of the sorcerer Yen Sid, who was the King's teacher. Scaling their way up to the Sorcerer's Chamber, Sora, Donald, and Goofy fight their way through the Heartless and meet Yen Sid. Yen Sid gives information to Sora, Donald, and Goofy of a new journey that they're to partake in, and the threats posed by the Heartless, as well as the Nobodies and Organization XIII. It's here where we learn that a Nobody is an incomplete being that is formed when an individual with a strong will and heart is turned into a Heartless, and the empty vessel left behind acts with a will of its own. In addition, the members of Organization XIII are special Nobodies who've retained their human appearance and intellect. Yen Sid then sends Sora to get new traveling attire from three good fairies: Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather. Yeah, Sora outgrew his outfit from the first Kingdom Hearts while in stasis for a year. This new outfit has a new power: Drive Forms with special powers, and some of which can allow Sora the power of dual wielding Keyblade while in said Drive Form. Players collect the many Drive Forms as the story progresses. In the original release, there were four, but in Final Mix (the version most readily available) there are five: Valor, Wisdom, Limit, Master, and Final. There's also Anti-Form, but that pops up randomly if the game deems that the Drive Forms are being abused by the player. Okay, so once Yen Sid returns the Gummi Ship to Sora, Donald, and Goofy, he informs them that the events of the first Kingdom Hearts have restored the World's to normal, but new pathways have been formed that can be accessed by unlocking special Gates. These Gates are Gummi routes that must be completed before proceeding to the World. 

       So with that, Sora, Donald, and Goofy go on their new journey to find King Mickey and Riku, and stop the threat of Pete, the Heartless, Organization XIII, and the Nobodies. Oh, and Maleficent is brought back as well. Whoops. And the first World they visit is a familiar one: Hollow Bastion. It's here where we see that Leon, Yuffie, and Aerith have teamed with Cid and Merlin to restore Hollow Bastion to what it once was before the Heartless invaded it. And it's here where we meet the last remaining members of Organization XIII. Now, while their identities are held off throughout the start of the game, I will take the time to introduce each one: Xemnas (the leader), Xigbar, Xaldin, Saïx, Demyx, and Luxord. Anyway, after learning how Sora unlocks the Gates, by means of objects in each visited world revealing a giant Keyhole that Sora unlocks with the Keyblade. 

        And it's here where the multitude of Disney Worlds finally come into play. Let's break them down, shall we? And, there are a number of Disney Worlds that return from the original Kingdom Hearts, but with vast redesigns. The returning Worlds are Olympus Coliseum (from Hercules), Agrabah (from Aladdin), Atlantica (from The Little Mermaid), and Halloween Town (from The Nightmare Before Christmas). And as I said, they have been redesigned. For instance, Olympus Coliseum also includes an explorable Underworld, with its own Coliseum called the Underdrome, Halloween Town includes the world of Christmas Town, and Agrabah has improved the design of both the City and the Cave of Wonders, and added an area called the Sandswept Ruins. Atlantica was shrunk in scale, and is the one world that can be skipped. Why? It's predominantly just a series of musical minigames, which include both "Part of Your World" and "Under the Sea," as well as a new villain song called "Ursula's Revenge." Cool. Also, Disney Castle is playable in this game, having not been previously. 

       The new Disney Worlds in this game include Beast's Castle (from Beauty and the Beast), The Land of Dragons (based on Mulan), Port Royal (based on Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl), and Pride Lands (based on The Lion King). In addition, there are other worlds, both new and returning, that can only be accessed within worlds in the World Map. For example, from Hollow Bastion, one can visit worlds like Hundred Acre Wood (based on Winnie the Pooh), and Space Paranoids (based on Tron). And, lastly, there's the black and white world of Timeless River (based on the classic Silly Symphonies like Steamboat Willie), which is accessible through a magic door in Disney Castle. 

        The story progresses as we continue to explore Disney worlds, and Twilight Town reemerges on the World Map. It's there where we learn that Kairi decided to go looking for Sora, found her way to Twilight Town, and was abducted by Axel, who has gone rogue from Organization XIII. Upon returning to Hollow Bastion, Sora, Donald, and Goofy are sent to the Castle Postern, where they traverse the lower corridors to Ansem's study, where they reach Ansem's computer room. Oh, and it's during this third trip to Hollow Bastion where we reunite with Cloud, who is seeking out Sephiroth, and we meet Tifa, who is searching for Cloud. Also, we meet the Gullwings Yuna, Rikku, and Paine. Anyway, it's inside of Ansem's computer where we are sent to Space Paranoids and we befriend the security program Tron, who reveals that the world is copied from the computer system made by ENCOM, and is now under the name HOLLOW BASTION OS. And the copy was made by Tron's new user: Ansem the Wise. Wait a minute! Ansem? What the hell? Wasn't Ansem the bad guy in the first game? Well, I'll do my best to explain. You see, the man we fought and defeated at the end of the first Kingdom Hearts was not really Ansem, but a Heartless claiming to be Ansem. As a human, he was originally Xehanort, one of the six apprentices to Ansem the Wise. Xehanort, along with fellow apprentices Braig, Dilan, Even, Aeleus, and Ienzo turned against their master, and conducted experiments regarding the Darkness of the Heart. These experiments led to the mass invasion of Heartless in Hollow Bastion and the numerous other worlds. These experiments also led to the creation of the Nobodies. Yikes. Now, I'm sure you can guess already, but Xehanort became a Heartless, who called himself Ansem, and the Nobody that formed is Xemnas, the leader of Organization XIII. We also learn that Organization XIII is collecting the hearts freed from the Heartless by Sora and the Keyblade to form their own version of Kingdom Hearts, which will make them complete beings. 

       So, the goal is now clear: infiltrate the Organization's base and stop them. Oh, and reunite with Riku and Kairi. This leads to a second visit to all of the Disney worlds. As each world is visited, the ranks of the Organization are thinned out, as we defeat Demyx in Hollow Bastion and we defeat Xaldin in Beast's Castle. And as we progress, a massive world,.which is initially thought as a glitch, is slowly revealed, and Chip and Dale get huge energy readings from both it and Twilight Town. In Twilight Town, Sora, Donald, and Goofy get a lead: the virtual Twilight Town created by DiZ, which is where the Munny pouch came from, and was where Roxas was at the start of the game. With the aid of a repentant Axel, who gives his last energy into opening the way to the Organization's world, Sora, Donald, King Mickey, and Goofy arrive in the Organization's world: The World That Never Was. 

       It's in this world that we have several revelations: after being intercepted by Saïx, Kairi has been brought to the castle in The World That Never Was, DiZ is actually Ansem the Wise, and a figure that resembles the Heartless known as Ansem is actually Riku. Sora, with help from Donald and Goofy, fights his way through this world, facing Organization members like Roxas, Xigbar, Luxord, and Saïx, and reunites with Riku and Kairi, who herself is shown to be able to wield a Keyblade. And it's here where we learn the truth as to why Organization XIII refers to Sora as Roxas, and why Roxas could see Sora's memories: Roxas is Sora's Nobody. Yeah, remember when Sora turned himself into a Heartless to free Kairi's heart from within his own? Well, TWO Nobodies were formed when Sora did that: Roxas and Naminé. Meaning that Naminé is Kairi's Nobody by means of Sora, hence why she had the power to manipulate Sora's memories. Jeez, Nomura, could you make things any more complicated? 

       Eventually, Ansem the Wise sacrifices himself when a device of his own creation goes critical and is destroyed, destroying the Organization's Kingdom Hearts. Riku is reverted to his normal appearance, and he joins the fight. And now, it's down to a final confrontation between the heroes of the Keyblade and Xemnas. After battle upon battle, Sora and Riku defeat Xemnas and end up at the shores of the Dark Margin. Having already sent Donald, Goofy, King Mickey, and Kairi back to the Realm of Light, Sora and Riku take solace in sticking together in the Realm of Darkness. However, a letter from Kairi opens a door to the light, and Sora and Riku return to Destiny Islands in the Realm of Light, ending the game. 

           Honestly, aside from the long and complex story, the design and gameplay are honestly the highlights. Each world feels more open by comparison to the original Kingdom Hearts, but also limited to a more linear path for players to traverse. Also, the combat is much smoother and more fluid than it was in the first game, obviously owing to the advancements in gameplay technology in the handful of years since the original game was released. In addition, I thoroughly loved being able to dual wield Keyblade in the Drive Forms that allowed it, with my favorite of the Drive Forms being Final Form. And, I will admit, the skateboard mechanic/minigame was pretty fun. 

       The theme song this time, "Sanctuary," is also really good. Honestly, I don't think Utada Hikaru has done a genuinely bad Kingdom Hearts theme song. The orchestral music in each world, as well as with each Boss fight, is absolutely fantastic and I loved it. And, as I said, Atlantica is a musical minigame world in this game, and the three original songs written exclusively for the game are pretty good, fitting in with the returning songs "Part of Your World" and "Under the Sea." 

        The Final Mix release of Kingdom Hearts II added a series of new elements, such as Puzzle Piece collecting, where collecting shiny crowns in the various worlds equates to collecting puzzle pieces, which form together to make up various pieces of artwork. Also, elements such as the Drive Form known as Limit Form, the Cavern of Remembrance, the Mushroom XIII, and a secret boss called Lingering Will are all new elements exclusive to Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix. 

        The voice cast is also fantastic. Haley Joel Osment, David Gallagher, and Hayden Panetierre are excellent as Sora, Riku, and Kairi. Unfortunately, this would be one of the last games in which Hayden would voice Kairi, as later installments would have Alyson Stoner take over the role. But, I'll get to that later. Newcomers like Jesse McCartney, Brittany Snow, and Christopher Lee are fantastic as Roxas, Naminé, and DiZ/Ansem the Wise. Steve Burton returns as Cloud, but many of the returning Final Fantasy characters are voiced by new actors. Leon, Yuffie, and Aerith are now voiced by Doug Erholtz, Mae Whitman, and Menace Suvari. And, more exciting is that Sephiroth, voiced in the original Kingdom Hearts by Lance Bass, is voiced in a much more prominent role in Kingdom Hearts II by George Newbern. And George definitely has a more menacing aura to his rendition of Sephiroth, whereas Lance sounded more like a teen who shops exclusively at Hot Topic. Heh heh. Jokes. Now, something else to note is that in the Final Mix version of the game, added scenes have Naminé and DiZ voiced, respectively by Meaghan Martin and Corey Burton. And they both do really well, but there is definitely a difference in vocalization between Brittany Snow's Naminé and Meaghan Martin's Naminé. 

         As for new Final Fantasy characters in Kingdom Hearts II, we have the trio of Seifer, Raijin, and Fujin from Final Fantasy VIII, voiced respectively by Will Friedle, Brandon Adams, and Jillian Bowen, who all pal around with Vivi from Final Fantasy IX, and is voiced by Melissa Disney. Seltzer from Final Fantasy VI also appears, and is voiced by Crispin Freeman. Auron from Final Fantasy X is featured in the world of Olympus Coliseum, and he is voiced by Matt McKenzie, whilst Yuna, Rikku, and Paine from Final Fantasy X-2 appear in Hollow Bastion, and are voiced, respectively, by Hedy Burress, Tara Strong, and Gwendoline Yeo. And lastly, Tifa Lockhart from Final Fantasy VII makes her Kingdom Hearts debut in this game, and she is voiced by Rachel Leigh Cook. 

        And, of course with the Disney characters, the voice actors from the movies all returned, and where they couldn't get the originals, suitable voice matches were brought in. For instance, Mushu is voiced by Mark Moseley, filling in for Eddie Murphy, whilst Mulan is voiced by the returning Ming-Na Wen. Also, whereas certain characters in the first Kingdom Hearts were voiced by replacements, said characters have the original voice actors back from the movies. Two examples of this are Hercules in Olympus Coliseum and the Mayor in Halloween Town. The two were voiced, respectively, in the first Kingdom Hearts by Sean Astin and Jeff Bennett. However, in Kingdom Hearts II, original movie voice actors Tate Donovan and Glenn Shaddix return to reprise their roles. Cool. 

         And, much like the first Kingdom Hearts, there are Disney character Summons in this game as well, with the Summon characters being Chicken Little from Chicken Little, voiced by Zach Braff, Stitch from Lilo and Stitch, Genie from Aladdin, and Peter Pan from Peter Pan. 

       Overall, Kingdom Hearts II is where the developers at Square Enix really took what was successful in the original game and improved on everything. However, there are two mechanics in the game that are a bit too heavily relied upon throughout the game, and those are Reaction Commands and Team-Up Combo Attacks. I mean, it's a fine mechanic, but I think that it's something that was needed only in moderation, which is something that Kingdom Hearts III did slightly better with, but we'll get to that game much later on this year. As for this game, it's still a fan favorite for many Kingdom Hearts fans, and had Nomura ended the series here, it would have been one hell of a sendoff for the franchise. Ultimately, it kept going, and here we are today. So, I'm giving Kingdom Hearts II a rating of 5/5. Definitely the best of the series, and also my favorite in the series. 

        This is Chuck signing off, and I'll see you guys on Friday with my review of the new movie Shazam! Fury of the Gods.