Let's just put that prologue behind us.
The reason you’ll continue playing for such a ridiculous amount of time is because you’ll find that your setting is continually changing. The Disney themed worlds have always been the attraction and selling point of Square Enix’s Kingdom Hearts franchise. You have to admit, any game with Pumbaa AND Captain Jack Sparrow in it has to be quality. The featured Disney films and cameos will not disappoint.
On the other hand, one of the series’ weaknesses was the combat system, and still that remains. Button mashing you did back then and mutton mashing you shall do now (with the odd fumbling around the opposite joystick issuing magic and summon commands). It doesn’t get in the way of anything; it’s just not as inspired as other combat systems.
But when you weigh it out with the rest of the game you can kind of see why: the RPG elements of the game are pretty solid. Character building, while simple, opens the floor to specific abilities and character ailments. Levelling up feels as progressive and meaningful as it should.
The sound is pretty fantastic. This is Kingdom Hearts so I say that in relation to the Disney license. The voice work and themes are faithful to their properties. The graphics on the other hand got mixed reactions out of me. If you’re as fastidious as I am, you’ll notice the cut scene graphics deviate (randomly) between two different qualities. Sometimes things would look remarkable and every other time things would look lame. Stuff like eyeball movement, lip syncopation and bodily gestures don’t remain constant. By that I mean sometimes these wonderful things would be present only to disappear in a few moments leaving plastic-doll, fish-mouth character models…and maybe reappear again in all their splendour by the end of the cut scene. It’s something I couldn’t help but notice and be bugged by. If you liked the first Kingdom Hearts, there’s plenty more to like here. I’m even willing to go so far as to call it an epic adventure. Considering how many worlds there are and how long the game takes to complete, it truly is.