The world's best beat-em-up.
If you are familiar with the previous Kingdom Hearts title for PS2, it was an action RPG heavy on the dice rolling and stats calculating that occurred behind the scenes of the action. Kingdom Hearts II is not an action RPG at all, and if you are disappointed with the game, it's probably because you are looking at it like one. This game is actually a beat-em-up.
It's less Zelda, and more Final Fight. This game has a bit of puzzle solving, and a bit of platforming, but not enough to make it more than the perfect beat-em-up. The action-RPG elements of the first title have been dumbed down, to the horror of some, but it has turned the game into an accessible and addicting level growing adventure in which the focus is on dispatching a ridiculous amount of enemies in unique ways. In addition to that, it has one of the best stories to ever grace gaming.
The game makes sure not to overwhelm you with customization options or complex menus or attacks, it instead streamlines thing to one context sensitive action button for your special moves, and then basic attack and jump mapped to the face buttons. You can tap into magic by using one of the trigger buttons, and then using the face buttons. Everything is easy to figure out but also has enough depth to entertain and keep variety in the slaying of heartless. It is a very, very addicting title.
Also, the game has Gumi-Ship segments, that are extremely enjoyable and add even more variety to the game's action. In fact, the customization options to your ship are extensive, so if you enjoy the flying segments you can spend a good chunk of your time fooling around and making a ship to your liking, or you can manage fine with the ships that the game offers you.
Even on the normal difficulty, the game is rather easy. But there are multiple difficulty settings, and on higher difficulties the game can be quite punishing, making it accessible to younger or less experienced gamers, or those looking for a true challenge.
The game starts you out as Roxas, a boy seemingly unrelated to the story, facing new enemies. Although this boy somehow ends up with a keyblade. This segment does a good job with familiarizing players with the gameplay and recapping the story for those who did not play Kingdom Hearts or Chain of Memories. It also shows off the games incredible art direction.
Art direction is another thing that stands out about this game. Not only are the graphics crisp and beautiful, pushing the PS2 to it's limits, each area looks like it has come straight from a painting I would pay millions of dollars to hang in my foyer. The characters are equally well designed, with new takes on old faces and new characters that are simply a joy to look at.
The soundtrack is also beautiful, with classic tracks re-arranged to sound as magical as ever, whether you were raised on Disney classics or Final Fantasy.
Overall, this is by far the best game in the series, and if you for some reason did not enjoy the other entries in the series, you still could give this one a chance and enjoy it. I think everybody can find something to enjoy here, and that this is a game designed to appeal to all ages and all sexes, it is truly a beautiful achievement in gaming that is not to be missed.