Title: Kingdom Hearts 2

Date: 03.19.2006

Genre: Console RPG

Platform: PlayStation 2

Developer: Square Enix

Publisher: Square Enix

Sticky Situation Surrounding Sequels

Stop. Think back on every game you’ve ever played. Now, imagine what a perfect one would be like. Try as you might, chances are you’ll fall short of Kingdom Hearts 2. Because to be honest, it’s fundamentally impossible to conjure up anything that could ever compare to this, what I dare classify as the best game ever made (to date).

Sequels are problematic, let’s face it. Whatever a company does, no matter how much effort and work went into the product, there will be a group of people inevitably disappointed, dissatisfied, and disgusted. Long has the world waited for this game since it first played KH. And waited. And waited some more. It waited because the director, Tetsuya Nomura, admitted that he jumped the gun when releasing the sequel’s PR (how totally unlike Square) and insisted that he would only declare it finished when he deemed it such. You have to admire such tenacity really; it takes a truly dedicated individual to adhere to their own standards of quality and not churn out a flawed, deficient product just to make holiday deadlines or to take advantage of consumers-even more so considering we’re dealing with *Square* here. Because of this, and because of seemingly everything else conceivable (fashion statements, quirks, books, etc), that which we’ve all waited for was worth every last second.

Clear as Crystal

Graphically speaking, Kingdom Hearts 2 represents the epitome of the Playstation 2 hardware capabilities. While it might be a visual achievement fostered primarily by unrealistic (read: cartoon) graphics, that which you see it unparalleled in the eye-candy department, hands down: Fantastic attention to detail, brand new/streamlined interfaces, giant-scale environments, colossal battles…and all with little-to-no presence of “jaggies”. It’s quite apparent Square can and will assert its’ visual aptitude when the situation calls for it. SO extraordinary is most of the game’s appearance you’ll actually question Sony’s decision to release a new console. Of particular interest is the profound attention to detail, especially in the sky and in special effects. To put it one way, there are times when the game better resembles a horror product than it does a child’s whimsical adventure (though truth be told, Konami can only dream of implementing this kind of stuff in its Silent Hill franchise).

Though it’s not really whimsical, or childish really…as hinted some time ago, KH2 is quite darker and far more mature than either the original adventure or the Disney namesake would imply. Characters scream out with lifelike facial expressions, body movements, and personality. The hero, Sora, puts forth better “acting” than many people in Hollywood, with a fantastic array of emotions, quirks, and personality-far more than he displayed in the original installment. It would seem that with the groundwork already established, Nomura and company were free to fine tune anything and everything. The result is a profound ability to define the game world and its inhabitants with better expressions, realistic emotions, and more pronounced body language.

Perhaps the most impressive visual accomplishment in the game would be Port Royal, AKA the “Pirates of the Caribbean World”, arguably the sequel’s “it” level, just as Nightmare Before Christmas was for the original. Words can’t describe just how much the game characters resemble the real life actors. Orlando Bloom looks like Orlando Bloom, Johnny Depp looks like Johnny Depp, Keira Knightley looks like Keira Knightley, and Geoffrey Rush looks like Geoffrey Rush. As in really. Real as in you’ll wonder if the actual actors went through facial scanning procedures. Most importantly, however, everyone *acts* like they should: Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow, for example, is recreated in all his flamboyant glory, complete with eye shadow, a cocky sway, and jovial hand motions. This one area alone reflects greater attention to detail and design than perhaps every movie tie-in game ever released, and it’s only ONE part of Kingdom Hearts 2.

Without spoiling anything, there comes a point half way through KH2 that will cause a truly jaw-dropping moment of awe. Never in the history of videogames have I seen so many objects on screen simultaneously (without even a hint of slowdown to boot) and been able to *interact* with them no less. Some 5 years ago, this type of thing would have been impossible outside the realm of FMV, and even now it seemed impossible given the limitations of the PS2 hardware. Suffice to say that Kingdom Hearts 2 will redefine your entire concept of an “epic” battle...that is until the final fights which will utterly obliterate it.

As a final mention in the visual category, the often infuriating camera system that plagued Kingdom Hearts is nowhere to be found, instead replaced with an incarnation that works far, far better. While there are no guarantees of a totally stress-free run through, rest assured that most-if not all-of the original’s are no longer present, ensuring a smoother, more satisfying experience.

Environmental Envy

Coming off Level 5’s sub-par Dragon Quest 8 follow up (Rogue Galaxy), it was a bit of a shock to rediscover that action-RPGs can actually be fun. After plodding through the most repetitive dungeons imaginable, romping around in KH2’s contained-yet-expansive environments is an absolute joy. As the first game offered, Kingdom Hearts 2 takes place over a multitude of “Worlds”, most of which represent different Disney movies, though a few are original entities created for the Kingdom Hearts franchise. Regardless of origin, these worlds consist of a series of “rooms” which the hero, Sora, and his two mainstay cartoon companions (Donald Duck and Goofy) explore. On the whole, everything is considerably larger this time around and as a result, the player has an optional Mini-Map feature for ease of navigation.

Far too often in action games, approaching the “boundary” separating one room from the next automatically prompts an area transition, thus putting an immediate and unwanted end to your fight. In Kingdom Hearts 2, however, you can truly go amok while fighting and not feel the slightest bit reserved. When engaged in combat, be it your attacking or getting hit by an opponent’s, the game will remain “put” even if you’re so close as to see the text indicating the next room’s name. This might seem like a trivial issue at first consideration, but rest assured that when you’re put into some intense situations, it’s truly magnificent to know you won’t be thrown out of a room by “cheap game mechanics”.

Unfortunately there are a few minor gripes and disappointments. For starters, exploration is no longer encouraged; rather everything basically adheres to the game’s pre-set “path”. While hardly a staple of the original, many fans will recall scaling previously unreachable heights (with new powers) or finding out-of-the-way treasures via sheer cunning and exploration. Think back to the “hub” world, Traverse Town, for example, and all the hidden goodies atop buildings. This time around, most every treasure chests is in plain sight. Equally disappointing is the decision to eliminate Trinity Points. Finally, on the whole, Worlds and their respective “rooms” are still far too small on the whole. It’s difficult to say if storage limitations foster this problem, or if the design members simply want to keep things simple, but it really would be nice to have more to explore.

Solid as Sora

The English dictionary is currently incapable of facilitating a suitable word describing the action contained in KH2’s fights. “Wild”, “Crazy”, “Surreal”, “Awesome”…there are bits of uncouth explanation we spit out without a moment’s hesitation. No, this game deserves a word all its own, something that can adequately sum up the situation. Consider the final areas in the original Kingdom Hearts, recalling how intense those fights were and how many kick-ass moves Sora had at his disposal. Now picture that from the start. Excited? Just wait until you get to the end of *this* game; Sora will have more acrobatic tricks and viewtiful style than all of modern Tokyo combined.

As if were possible to believe, KH2 actually plays better than the first. Through the use of a thorough Ability customization system, you can alter the two AI controlled characters. As before, Donald’s forte centres around magic, Goofy’s offense. As before, progressive “Leveling Up” awards new abilities and powers, all of which must be equipped by expending Ability Points (also earned through character growth). While some might be inclined to vent over the thought of being “picky” over what abilities to use, it’s a fair way of balancing the gameplay and preventing total exploitation and a diminished challenge (speaking of, there are three difficulty modes available from the start).

Once again, battles are “menu” driven, though truth be told the sheer simplicity makes it astounding no one thought of this sooner, or recreated it for that matter (Rogue Galaxy tries but ultimately fails). Imagine a real time RPG and you’ll get KH: The game operates on a “task bar” of sorts, that is to say a small command window on the bottom left hand side of the screen that dictates the action button’s current function. At the top is “Attack”, with options for Item use, Magic use, Summoning, Partner Attacks, (etc) falling below or in a reverse menu accessed simply by pressing Left on the control pad. Scroll through and choose in real time, no pauses or interruptions whatsoever.

Unlike the original game, however, there is now a special button (Triangle) assigned to the true-multitasking. Labeled as the “Reaction Command”, this button serves as a multi-function trigger, depending on the situation such as speaking with Non-Player Characters. During combat, a command will sometimes pop up indicating the timing of an enemy-specific action-reaction at your command. Essentially lifted directly from Zelda Wind Waker, you can execute stylish counters, dodge massive attacks, and launch ferocious combos with proper timing. The only real issue is that for many battles (especially boss-related ones), the “timing” ultimately boils down to mashing the button so that you’ll automatically hit it when the prompt appears: there are often so many things to distract your attention during intense fights that it’s distracting to pay attention to the trigger (and hence the mashing). Let it not be said, however, that these triggers aren’t amusing: watching Sora leap hundreds of feet into the air or reflect a massive shock wave is definitely eye-catching.

To throw yet another dynamic into the loop, almost every world will see the hero of said location becoming a temporary stay in the player’s party. Serving as a nod to each world’s story, a dream come true for Disney fanatics, and a general way to keep things fresh, the constantly changing party roster returns. This is truly one of the most pleasing aspects of the game, as not only do you get to traverse the various Disney locations, but you get to directly interact with their characters as well. Each character has a different reason for joining your group, usually dictated by their goals and intents in their respective movies. While in your party (it’s completely up to the player: because only 3 characters can be in battle at once, Donald or Goofy must be substituted out when a world-specific character comes in) the world-specific hero will assist with their own unique set of skills and abilities.

On Matters of Money

One major flaw with the gameplay, or perhaps “oversight” is a better way to phrase it, lies in the Item department. For starters, the game allocates mass quantities of HP and MP restorative goods, yet the overall mild difficulty and quick availability of the Cure spell renders them totally useless after a short period of time. Not surprisingly, the entire function of currency (called “Munnie”) is totally skewed: save for a scant number of equipment related products you can purchase, it’s basically pointless. All shops in the game sell the same thing, and outside of equipment that means the exact same items you’ve stockpiled (Tents, Potions, and Ethers).

One potential area ultimately fails because of its limited scope: the “Moogle Invention System”. By collecting materials (minerals, metals, rocks, etc) found in treasure chests or dropped by defeated enemies, Sora can visit a Moogle Shop and trade them in for use in item synthesis. Unfortunately, there are very few things to create, and most require a truly extensive amount of fighting to procure. The element is far better implemented than in the original-this time around you can find secret recipes-but rather pointless given the near useless utility for 95% of the game.

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