Squareenix's Latest installation of the KH series is not only revolutionary to the series, but to all RPGs overall.
Genre: RPG-Action
Developer: Squareenix
System: Playstation 2
Total Score: 96/100
Value Score: 9.6/10
• Story: 10/10
o The storyline of the game takes place in a town called Twilight town where the player is introduced to a new protagonist , named Roxas. However if one has played 358/2 days, they would know this character immediately. The player takes Roxas over the town doing all sorts of odd jobs and solving problems within the town. Eventually, it will come to the part where Roxas finds out that the world he lives in is wrong and fake, he confronts Axel who tries to take him back to the Organization XIII who are the main antagonists of the series. Eventually Roxas finds sora, and disappears off of the world, don't want to spoil any of the juicy details. Anyways, the rest of the storyline goes back to sora, where he travels to new worlds and learns of a new threat called the Organization XIII and the Nobodies. The player is than to lead sora to new worlds, and to discover the truth of the Organization XIII and their motives.
• Characters: 10/10
o Pretty much all of the characters from the first Kingdom Hearts game appears, some from Chain of memories do make an appearance, while others are mentioned. If you have played 358/2 days, you'll notice some things are missing such as one character, due to the fact that 358/2 days was made after KH2. However that shouldn't stop you from liking the character roster. The number of disney characters in this game is almost double pretty much, as you will meet new characters and new worlds. As for the Squareenix roster, some new additions have been added such as Auron from FFX, etc. Also if that's not enough, the organization XIII and its members will enlighten you.
• GamePlay: 10/10
o Gameplay is more action oriented than the previous games, you'll be doing a lot of combos and skills, despite the fact that the game is pretty much a button masher like its first predecessor . New things added to the game include a drive system, which is kinda like the FF series limit break system, except in this, the main character sacrifices 1 or 2 characters in his party to transform into different powerful forms which give him a long list of exclusive skills and abilities. The ability system is back with the AP setup, leveling up is the same, but now you get bonus power ups after certain bosses and storylines. Another new thing they added to the mix is the ability to play as Mickey when Sora gets knocked out, though it doesn't occur all the time. Reaction commands are a new addition to the game series, which allow you to perform a set of actions depending on the situation, kind of like what you would see in a God of War game. The Gummi ship system is back, its a lot more complicated, but I didn't dwell into as much as I did in the first game, I just used the default ships, the maps you play with the gummi ship is more action arcade oriented though. There's also a lot of mini games added to the game, about twice as much as the first game.
• Graphics: 10/10
o Graphics have slightly improved over the last game, there are far more pixels in this game than the previous games, up to date, this is the best looking KH game in the series. Everything is crystal clear and perfect for a game like this. No graphical slow downs or anything, if there were any blemishes in the first game, those don't exist anymore in this game however.
• Sound: 10/10
o Pretty much the same as the first game, majority of the cast retained their voices, I believe Ansem's voice actor changed, not sure, however some of the more FF characters who didn't have voice acting like Cid have voice acting now. Sounds are a bit more crystal clearer than KH1, in terms of fighting.
• Music: 10/10
o The OST in KH2 is simply breathtaking, each disney tune is made perfectly, the new songs which symbolize the organization and the new enemies are simply incredible. There are a lot of new boss battle themes and battle themes, which makes a good addition to the series.
• Length: 9/10
o You'll spend a good chunk of time playing as Roxas in the beginning, about 3-4 hours at max, 5 if you go exploring. You'll than focus on playing as Sora who will go throughout each world and slaying each disney villain until afterwards, you will go back to each world and finish any additional storylines including the organization XIII. Pretty much, the game length for KH2 is a lot longer than KH1.
• Replay Value: 7/10
o Just like the first game, not much replay value, however you are still able to unlock mini games and compete in the Underdrome which is the KH2 equivalent to KH1's Olympus coliseum. If you play as proud mode, you can get the secret ending instantly, so there's not much to work for unlike the first game where you had to collect Dalmatians.
• Player Value: 10/10
o In my opinion , this is by far the best KH game in the series, Birth by sleep would come a distant 2nd, and than the original at 3rd. This game revolutionizes the series and all RPGs which are action oriented, if you loved classics such as Terranigma and Secret of Mana, you will love this game. Storyline is incredible, the character roster is rich with old memories if you are a disney/FF fan, music is simply breathtaking, graphics are the best in the PS2 system, If you're a die hard disney and FF fan like me, this game is worth whatever the price tag it has.