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An excellent game... even better than the first!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 141 / 155
Date: March 30, 2006
Author: Amazon User

A sequel that everyone's been waiting for, for nearly four years.

When the original Kingdom Hearts was released, many gamers initially dismissed it as "childish." Upon actually playing it though, many of the naysayers were turned around, and realized that the game was actually pretty good. I was one of the group who actually was looking forward to the game from the start back since 2001, and was incredibly pleased with the results. I've been looking forward to the sequel for some time now, and needless to say, was not disappointed.

The story involves Sora, Donald, and Goofy finally returning after the events of the GBA's Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories. It seems as if the quest of finding King Mickey and Riku is nearing, which means that so is our trio's journey. However, it isn't long before they're sent on another journey, this time to not only defeat the Heartless, but also mysterious creatures called the Nobodies, led by a group called Organization XIII. It all gets crazy from there.

And how can I descripe the sound? The music for example, is once again incredibly fun to listen to, and still retains the Disney spirit like the first game. There's even a few returning themes from KH1. And the voices? Well, they're just as topnotch as always. Everyone is great, from returning regulars such as Haley Joel Osment as Sora, to new additions such as Jesse McCartney as newcomer Roxas. And let's forget the well-established cast of Disney voices, who are once again spot on.

And the battle system... hoo boy. The first one was a fairly simple one with attacks, jumps, and quick magic spells. This one ups it all with tons of more combat options. There are new reaction commands that'll help you out, for example, knocking the blast of an enemy back into them, combination attacks with other characters, and the ability to fuse into one warrior with Donald or Goofy that turns Sora into an all-out powerhouse. It makes combat become frantic and incredibly fun.

Kingdom Hearts 2 is an excellent video game, a worthy sequel, and more than worth buying. Get it! Get it now!

Kingdom of Heaven!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 22 / 23
Date: March 29, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Very rarely does a sequel out do the original, but Kingdom Hearts II manages to do it. Not only does this improve on many aspects of the original, but it utilizes the same formula that worked very well in the first game.

Once again you'll play as Sora visiting different sets of Disney worlds. Each Disney world has its own plot that is very similar to that of the movies. Some lines are even ripped straight from the movies. That's not such a bad thing, of course. At least for Disney fanatics.

There's no doubt Kingdom Hearts II definitely improves on the gameplay. Yes, it is still the same old hack and slash battle system of the original. And yes, when you go into a world you'll go with Donald and Goofy, and be given a character to substitute. There have been a few additions, however, and they're welcome. These tweaks have obviously been tuned up by Square-Enix. Aside from being able to cast numerous spells and summon other disney characters, Kingdom Hearts II introduces limit breaks. Where your entire party will perform a devastating attack. It drains all your MP (of every character) but it's pretty darn powerful, and helps out. The game also introduces drives which will have you combining with other characters to perform some devastating attacks. These additions are welcome to the universe of Kingdom Hearts, despite the fact that the game is so easy you probably won't need them. However, whenever there are small tweaks made to the gameplay they're welcome so long as it keeps the game interesting.

There is a whole new set of Disney worlds introduced in Kingdom Hearts II. Including the first Disney cartoon Steamboat Willie and Pirates of the Caribbean. Each world, as I've noted has a smiliar plot and voice over to the movies. This isn't so bad because the disney characters actually sound like their disney characters. This is another strength of Kingdom Hearts II. There's an all star voice-over cast. You'll recognize the voices of characters and they're spot on. For a game with as many voices as Kingdom Hearts, it's certainly nice to see that not a single voice is lackluster. Some of the dialogue comes directly from the movies, and this probably won't bother Disney fanatics either.

Although, for Square-Enix fans, I can't say the same for the Final Fantasy aspect of the game. Final Fantasy characters aren't nearly as well fleshed out as Disney characters. It's great that they're here and all, but they don't play an integral part in the storyline, and they're often given bad dialogue. It's the only moment where you'll question Kingdom Hearts II.

Graphically the game is solid. Being one of the best looking on the Playstation 2. Everything is vibrant and colorful and definitely has a great appeal. Especially to people who enjoy Disney. They've got the big feet, gloves and everything. The final fantasy characters also look really good. Even though some may not like that some of them look a little kiddie, it isn't really anything to be too upset about. It's only keeping with the style of the game.

Musically Kingdom Hearts II sounds great. Most tunes you'll instantly recognize from your favorite Disney movie, and it'll be no surprise if you find yourself humming these tunes. If you love Disney music, you'll love the music of this game. The outside tunes also sound really great.

Rarely is a second installment better than the first. Kingdom Hearts II succeeds by improving the gameplay, and fixing a few things that kept the first one down such as the horrible camera angles. While it could've used a bit more Final Fantasy influence, Kingdom Hearts II is a solid game. Those who loved the first one will fall in love all over again with the second one.

The Good
+Outstanding graphics
+Great Gameplay
+Music is great
+All-Star Voice Acting cast
+A longer more fleshed out game than the first one
+Several different worlds
+New summon spells

The Bad
-The game is a little too easy. Even though they've got these new, cool additions, you most likely won't need them. You can easily hack and slash through everything
-The Final Fantasy characters could've been put to better use

The game is fantastic. Fans of the first one will absolutely love it.

Kingdom Hearts Two, the Wait is Finally Over

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 14 / 16
Date: March 30, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Alright, so here's the deal. Two of the major games are coming out this year. One is Kingdom Hearts Two, which was just released, and the second is Final Fantasy Twelve. Both of them by Square Enix, and all of the series usually got into the 'Greatest Hits' selection within about three months of their release in America.

Back to Kingdom Hearts Two.

The original Kingdom Hearts was wonderfully done, wonderful graphics, awesome (but sometimes annoying) music, an awesome and original plot, and an ending that made me cry so hard I had to rebeat the game to watch it again.

This Kingdom Hearts has alot up against it, I mean. Not only does it have to follow the plot line, music, and other random stuff. It also needs to have that challenge of when stupid heartless monkies hit you on expert mode and you die instantly.

Alright, so let's get down to the basics.

Plot line*. The plot line in this story, is pretty much, there's light, there's darkness, and then there's a small medium of Twilight. Sora, the keyblade master, has set out to save the universe from heartless. Along with some formiliar Disney characters, Donald and Goofy. On his journey a number of other people come to help him and join his little band on what ever world their on. These people vary from Mulan, to Beast, Aladdin to Arieal. Of course, there is some romance along the way, and some testing the bonds of friendship in between Sora and one of his best friends Riku who was taken over by darkness (Note, in Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories for the Game Boy Advance system, Riku became a twilight member, for he has darkness with in his heart, but pure intentions.)

The graphics in the first Kingdom Hearts were wonderful, but the graphics here are alot better. I've been watching trailers for the past six months due to boredom and excitment for the game to come out. They look so awesome! They are great, a little better then the last one's and the good graphics are wonderful!

Music. Oh. My. God. Made me cry again. Last time, the hit song for this game was 'Simple and Clean'. I don't know the title to the song that stars on this game, but I listened to it on my computer once or twice through a website. One Word: Wow. Beautiful.

World Music. The world music varies from world to world. Now, it plays on about a two minute loop some of it, and in the Little Mermaid's in the last game it played in a five second loop it seemed. So, it does get annoying, but it's fun still to beat up heartless. That makes the game worth while.

Battle System. *Drools* I love it! The last battle system was 'okay' you could slice things in mid-air, and cast spell. But never together at once! Come on! It's like you have Sora jump up into the air, spin around in some combo thing, and then he casts a spell! Killing all the heartless!

Characters. Unforgetable. You have characters from Final Fantasy, Squall, Yuffie, Areith, Cloud, Cid, and the newest addition Auron from Final Fantasy Ten *fan girl scream*. Then you have Disney Characters, Donal, Goofy, Aladin, Ariel, Jack The Pumpkin King, there's to many to list! And then there's Sora, Riku, Namine, Kairi, and the Organization who are the Kingdom Hearts Crew. After them, comes the Villans, like Oogie Bogie, Pete, and the Organization, various heartless (There are many, many more.)

Worlds. Sadly, Tarzan will not be in this game due to copyright issues. But, there are a number of other worlds. Each world is special, and awesome. They all star their own disney characters, and are based on the movies, except for about two in each game. As far as I know, you have in addition to the original list, The Fabled Country Side, from Beauty and The Beast. And Ancient China, from Mulan. Pride Lands, Lion King. Something with a Steamboat, and Pirate of the Caribean (Spelt that wrong)!

Pros,
Lots of action
Music is good
Plot line is wondeful
Cloud is hot.
You get to kick alot of heartless' but.
Unforgetable characters.
Great Graphics.
Great world Set up.

Cons,
Two minute music loop.
Nothing.

*Note, in order to understand this game you may have to purchase, play, and beat, Kingdom Hearts, and Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories.

Hope you found this reveiw helpful! ^_~
-D

Two Keyblades........Giggtie Giggtie

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 12
Date: March 29, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I obviously have not beaten this game yet but what I have played is amazing. Picking up not to long after Chain of Memories, the game begins with a mystery surrounding what has happened to our main characters. I was immediately pulled into the story by the same storytelling style, compelling characters (old and new), and over all aesthetic value of the game. The overall story I won't say is better than the original so far but the sense of mystery is much greater meaning that it is hard to put the game down as you struggle to get the next piece of information in the puzzle. The biggest overhauls to the game have been implemented in the combat engine and all of them I have seen thus far have been great. Watching Sora team up with the world dependent characters for limit breaks is awesome but the coolest thing is using your drives. I have only the first drive which allows me to wield two keyblades and let me say that the idea of two keyblades sounds cool but is even cooler in use. There are also many new context sensitive moves in combat. These all require proper timing of hitting the triangle button but make for some extremely cool looking maneuvers, this gives the game a sort of god of war feel but it is not nearly as hard. All in all I would recommend this game for any fan of the original or any fan of action rpgs all together.

It's finally here KINGDOM HEARTS 2 !

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 10
Date: March 30, 2006
Author: Amazon User

It's finally here the sequel to one of the best video games ever kingdom hearts 2. After beating the first game it left me quenching for more. After four long years of waiting it's back and better than ever. You start off as a new character Roxas "who weilded two keyblades in the secret scene in the first game." You have to go through a very long tutorial in a new world called Twilight Town. But eventually you can play as Sora again. This game features a new revamped fighting system and for all you Final Fantasy Fans theres more characters from the genre. This game features new and old worlds. You can go to Port Royal and swash buckle with Jack Sparrow. Or you can go digital in the disney break through Tron. You can go all hakkuna matata with timon and Pumba in the classic lion King. Others include-Olympus Collosium "Hercules" Atlantica "Mini games" 100 Acre Wood, Hollow Bastion, Agrabah "Aladdin" Timeless River "Steamboat Willie" Beast's Castle, Land of the Dragons "Mulan" Disney Castle, Halloween-Christmas Town. Sadly there are only four summons Chicken Little, Genie, stitch, and Peter Pan. But they added a new element merging where you can merge with donald or goofy to create stronger forms of Sora. This game is longer than the first and features new villains like the organization. Sepheroth returns and he's kicking your butt again. kingdom Hearts Rules!!!!

A much improved and even a more fun sequel

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 10
Date: April 02, 2006
Author: Amazon User

A lot of sequels are based on adding a couple things to make it different it's fundamentally the same. Kingdom Hearts was an action RPG that was marred by a loathesome camera, a shifting difficulty and hack and slash battle system. While there's some camera problems, it's overall a much improved game with slight difficulty problems for some and some new additions to its battle system.

Story: Never played Chain of Memories but the game picks up afterwards. Sora's back as well as Donald and Goofy, as well as a new type of enemy called Nobodies and a group known as Organization XIII. You'll also travel to worlds with little mini-plots.

Graphics: Some improvements from the first one with slight noticeable enhancements. The Pirates of the Caribbean level looks pretty great for the facial detail and in-game graphics look more detailed than before. Sora's new moves greatly benefit from the new graphics as well.

Sound/Music: The music is always spot-on except the themes you might not like. Voice acting is kind of a mixed bag with Haley Joel Osment and Hayden Panettiere doing good jobs as always but then we have the ghastly sounding Aeris by Mena Suvari or the hick sounding Cid. Another offender is whoever did Scar's voice, it's so emotionless it was painful and funny to hear. There's also lots of sound alikes that are kind of distracting.

Gameplay: Nothing much changed except for a few new things. Added is the Drive system where Sora combines with Donald or Goofy for the Wisdom Form or Valor Form respectively. They're more stronger versions of the characters in a way. Sora's got some added combos that makes him a bit more of a powerhouse than last time. Also added is Reaction Commands, certain moves you can do against an enemy. Example is fighting Cerberus and instead of being chomped on, you press Triangle and you do some moves for some good damage. Only complaint is that quite a few enemies don't even have any.

As for difficulty, some say it's way too easy even on hard mode, others struggle through it and keep getting hit. It's kind of unbalanced at times since some enemies are no problem while others won't even let you attack and they cheap shot from the back. That last round of bosses in particular will probably make you start swearing too. Also munny personally is rather scarce. In the first one, I usually had 1000 leftover by the time I finished shopping for items and equipment, here I barely have 40 bucks by the end of everything.

It's the rare sequel that tops the original. Yes it's got extremely minor flaws and it might rear its ugly head but you end up ignoring it. Since Okami and Final Fantasy XII are quite a ways, kill time with this one.

All hail Disney and SquareEnix!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 9
Date: April 06, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This game was amazing. I've played the first game, and this game has many improvements. It has new worlds, new characters, better gameplay, better graphics, length, and one of the best storylines ever to be seen in a videogame.

First of all, I suggest you play Kingdom Hearts 1 before you play this game, because you might not understand everything's that's going on. However, you don't have to play Chain of Memories to understand it. Take it from me, I've only played the first game, not Chain of Memories.

Anyway, the game starts out with you playing as a young boy named Roxas(don't worry, you play as Sora later). He has been having weird dreams and flashbacks that don't appear to be his own. He goes on a quest to find out about the weird stuff that's happening to him, and in the end he finds Sora, Donald and Goofy. Their memories are still returning to them (from the end of Chain of Memories, when they were in those flower pods), and then they wake up, and go on another auest to defeat darkness. Of course, the storyline gets much more complicated and interesting later in the game.

The game does have a few drawbacks, though. First of all, there isn't any platforming in this game. There are still a lot of action, adventure, and RPG elements in the game, but there isn't much platforming. Sure, you do get to jump on a few ledges and stuff like that, but there aren't any long plaforming sequences like in the first game. This didn't really other me, but harcore platforming fans might be disappointed. Also, the difficulty modes are pretty easy, so unless you want to pick the hardest difficulty mode which makes the game very tough in a lot of spots, you might find it as a problem. People have also been complaining that the game is too button-mashy, and that you can get through all the buttons by simply hitting the normal attack button. However, this is not a problem, because all of the magic, reaction commands, drives, special attacks, and other things you get in the game help to distract you from simply hitting the attack button over and over again, so I don't understand why people are complaining about this.

Now, on to the good things in the game. First of all, the graphics are splendid. They have improved over the first game, and they look really great. All of the environments are very detailed, and they look awesome. Every environment has its own special theme. For example, the Tron world is one big computerized world, the steamboat willy world is black-and-white, The atlantic world is one big sea level, etc. Also, the character designs of your party members change according to the world you're in. For example, in the Tron world, everyone will look like robots, in the steamboat willy world, everyone will be black and white and cartoony, etc. Overall, everything looks really great.

The gameplay also improved over the last game. The combat is much better, and you get a lot of new combat abilities. Also, a big difference from the previous game are the reaction commands. At many specific parts in the game, a display of the triangle button on your controller will appear on the screen. If you hit the triangle button at that time, Sora will execute some really cool moves. Some can be simple moves, like spinning around and appearing behind the enemy so you can attack him, but a lot of times you will have to hit the triangle button in a certain sequence to do a very powerful and important action(mostly in boss fights). For example, in one battle, an giant enemy will try to hit you. You then press the triangle button to dodge his attack. Then he grabs you and throws you in the air. You press the button again to dodge his attack and hit him. He then tries to drop you off a ledge, so you hit the button again to save yourself. These sort of things are simple, yet very fun.

Other than the physical combat, you also get magic. Some of the spells you get are Blizzard, which shoots a bolt of ice, Thunder, ehich shoots down a bolt of thunder on your enemies, fire, which spins flames around you in a circle, and more. They're all fun to use, and they can be easily accessed through a shortcut menu in which you map your spells to buttons on your controller. There are also limit attacks in this game. These attacks consume all of your Magic Points(which, by the way, start replenishing by themselves when all of your magic drains), and in these attacks, you and another member of your party execute a very powerful attack which is very useful. You have to use the reaction commands(triangle presses)to execute these attacks, and they're very useful and fun. You also get summoning spells like in the last game, and you can summon one out of four different characters. I'll only tell you about one of them, because I don't want to spoil the rest. Anyway, this summon is Chicken Little. He can stun the enemies by using firecrackers, or go into an FPS mode in which you and him can throw baseballs at the enemies while looking through Chicken Little's eyes. All of these summons are fun, but they're pretty much useless. Another more important and fun feature are the drives. In this mode, Sora combines with one of the other members in your group, and he gets special powers temporarily. You have to keep fighting or collect special orbs in order to replenish your drive meter. There are five drive forms overall. One form is the Valor form, which lets sora wield two Keyblades(weapons) at once, makes him much stronger, lets him run faster, lets him jump higher, and gives him new abilities. There's also another form, wisdom form, which lets you shoot magic bolts out of your keyblade, improves your magic, and lets you hover around instead of walking. Another from is the Anti-From. Sora basically turns into a Heartless. His attacks are weaker but MUCH faster, and he is able to jump higher and walk faster. No one is actually sure how you get it, but there are two theories:
1.You get it from driving too much while in battle
2.You get it from being hit by heartless while in a drive, then driving again when you get the chance.
I personally go with the first theory, but that's just me.

The AI of your partners is also very good. They will heal you when you get hurt, help you defeat enemies, etc. and they feel like a big help, instead of just a distraction for the enemies to not hit you. You also get to switch Donal or Goofy with a character specific to the world you're in (for example: Mulan in her world, Tron in his world, etc.) You can also customize the way they fight, and when to use their special abilities.

By the way, if you haven't already known, the worlds in this game are worlds based on Disney movies. They're very well done, and you see characters from the movies in the game. Some of the worlds are:
Pirates of the Caribbean
Mulan
Lion King world
Tron world
Steamboat willy
and many more.
If you like Disney movies, you'll really love these worlds, and even if you don't like Disney, you'll still enjoy these worlds.
There are also many characters from Final Fantasy games like Seifer, Sephiroth, Leon, Cloud, Yuna, Rikku, Paine, Auron, and many more. They're also very cool, and the voice acting is wonderful for everyone. There are some people who didn't voice the original characters, but they imitate them extremley good. I swear, you won't know that Will Turner and Jack Sparrow aren't actually voiced by Orlando Bloom and Jhony Depp. You won't be able to tell the difference!

All of these things make the game wonderful, but the two best things in the game are its length and storyline. This game is very long, and it will probably take you about 40-50 hours to finish it. There are also a lot of distactions from the main gameplay, like the Gaummi ships, which are much better than in the first game, and the olympus coliseum, which lets you fight in many tournaments for prizes. You can also go back to worlds you already visited in order to level up. Now, the storyline is absolutely great! It's very complicated, and there are tons of twists and things that will surprise you(something very interesting about Ansem too...).

Overall, this is a great game for anyone who liked the first Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Final Fantasy, or anyone who has never played any of those. Yous should definitely buy this game if you own a PS2, and you shouldn't be discouraged by the Disney theme to the game. A lot of people complain that this is a "kiddie game", and that's just not true, so don't listen to these complaints.

Well Worth The Wait

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 10
Date: April 06, 2006
Author: Amazon User

It's been quite some time since I played Kingdom Hearts I - a game that, at first, I wasn't sure I was going to like. Of course, once into it, I found the game every bit as addictive as everyone else did. So it was a great deal of impatience that I waited for Kingdom Hearts II to come out. With a short vacation in hand I settled down to play it through, and I want to report right now that this game is not only as good as its predecessor, it is even better. Maybe even a lot better.

The game picks up about a year after the first part. It starts without Sora, Donald, and Goofy. Instead, we spend a week with Roxas (who looks very familiar) and his friends. Gradually Roxas remembers who he really is, and a huge and complex plot begins to unfold as Roxas is replaced by Sora and the old story unfolds again, but with a lot of twists. This time the bearer of the Key Blade must unlock the paths between the worlds - one at a time (and sometimes twice).

On each world there are heartless to defeat, and 'nobodies,' what's left when the heart is taken. These come in shapes both monstrous and human, and even have an 'Organization XIII' dedicated to the success of the darkness. In addition many of the old villains have returned to join with the new in a cast that must number over 100 characters, including a guest appearances of the likes of Yuna and the Gullwings. In fact, Final Fantasy characters make a much bigger showing in this game.

The game is brilliantly done. Plot and subplots, scripting, and animation are simply magnificent. This is a game that was clearly not rushed to market, and the result is that special magic that few games ever achieve. Artwork and music are equally breathtaking. The game manages the balance between violence and more positive messages beautifully. All told a credit to the director and the creative staff.

Of course, with both Square Enix and Disney involved one should expect this. But seeing and playing is believing. After some 60 hours of game play, I'm a believer. Even the fighting is carefully done to avoid monotony. Each opponent offers different challenges in a complex battle system that will take a couple of play throughs before it is fully mastered.

Simply Magical

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: May 15, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I've read a number of reviews for KH2 in magazines and the like, while all are positive, many mention a series of technical limitations the game presents. I know these folk are paid to take a game apart, but Kingdom Hearts is a fantastic game and looking back I can't now nor could I speak of flaws. If I sound like a gushing fanboy, I am.

What I will remember when I look back through the smear of nostalgia will be Sora's new moves, and new look that make him seem less like some junior hero, and more like a guy who could go toe to toe with Cloud or Squall or any of the Final Fantasy greats.

I will remember the story which somewhere between One and Two (Chain of memories, Anyone?) devolped not only a more mature tone, but a mythology all of it's own. It will be confusing to newbies, but once the breadcrumbs lead to some connections it's just pure joy.

I will rememer the graphical touches. Anyone that doesn't get to Timeless River and relish in it's Black & White simplicity that even extends to the charecters themselves, needs to get their inner child checked.

And I will remember the music that ties such a nice bow around the whole package by being perfectly suited to it's enviorment. The opening and the ending are a little too catchy. There's a good chance you'll be humming them while your working, or perhaps doing the laundry.

In closing what else is there to say? It's a game that rarely comes along in this era of imatation. Play the game and start dreaming of Kingdom Hearts III on a next gen system.

Better than the first in some ways.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 8
Date: June 05, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Like most people, I was hooked on the Disney-meets-Final Fantasy game known as Kingdom Hearts, which recieved such a huge cult following. And I was feverishly waiting for the sequel to come out, which has been considered as one of the most highly-anticipated games of the PS2.

Now that it's here, and after playing through it, let me give my thoughts on the aspects of this game:

Storyline:

The game picks up where the Chain of Memories left off as a mysterious being Roxas (Jesse McCartney)unknowingly has some sort of connection to the Keyblade bearer, Sora, who has been kept in a slumber capsule along with Donald and Goofy for almost a year, now. The first 2-3 hours of the game you'll play as Roxas, leading to flashback scenes of the first game and the COM games, which is good news for the newcomers wanting to play this game. Afterwards, the game picks up to speed as you finally play as Sora, back on his feet to find Riku and King Mickey...and Kairi, as well. At the same time, however, he has to defend the worlds by Heartless and strange creatures known as Nobodies led by a strange black cloaked group called Organization XIII.

Mickey, in particular, plays a larger and more awesome role in this game, given the fact that earlier he wears the same black cloak of the Organization.

After playing the game here, I can well say that the storyline is the game's strongest point overall. It asks the lingering questions that were running through our own minds as we played the first game. And best of all, it's all made so we can never constantly expect what's going to happen next.

Graphics:

A vast improvement over the first; more solid animations, and lesser "cheating" facial animations as well. I was shocked to see the game through my own eyes at how excellent Square Enix has done. The camera's problems, in particular, have been fixed to perfection, thereby, moving the control of the camera from the L2 and R2 buttons to the R3 analog stick, giving you the chance to move it whereever you want it to.

Levels:

There are 15 levels as followed:

Twighlight Town
Hollow Bastion (returning level from the first game)
The Land of Dragons
Beast's Castle
Olympus Coliseum (returning level)
Disney Castle
Timeless River
Atlantica (returning level)
Port Royal
Agrabah (returning level)
Halloween Town (returning level)
Pride Land
100 Acre Wood (returning level)
Space Paranoids
The World That Never Was

A few of the worlds here have returned from the first game, but are entirely redone so that they won't play exactly like the first game. Atlantica was strangely turned into a mini-game world, but Olympus Coliseum and Halloween Town are a vast improvement, because they follow directly from their own movies. 100 Acre Wood's book makes a comeback as you fetch the torn pages for it once again. Hallow Bastion becomes a BraveHeart-esque level and answers most of the questions overall from the first game. In addition, Mulan (The Land of Dragons) and Beauty and the Beast (Beast's Castle) recieve their own worlds, and surprisingly, there's a Steamboat Wille-themed world, Timeless River, which adds very well to how Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and even Sora would look like in the 1930s Disney cartoons. This ties in with the Disney Castle world, which Sora will meet Queen Minnie for the first time.

The biggest dissapointment is the Lion King-themed world, Pride Land, which grows so annoying even after the first few minutes. The best level of this whole game, however, is the Tron-themed level, Space Paranoids. This ties in wholly with the movie itself, and looks downright amazing. The trio, in particular, get to wear the cool, blue-lighted suits you see those people wear in the movie itself.

Music/Voices:

The music is on par with the first game. Some music, in the returning worlds, is still the same (except Antlantica), while the rest recieves some new orchestrations which are absolutely superb. There's plenty more where that came from.

The voices hit more than miss. The roles of Haley Joel Osment, Tony Anselmo, and Bill Farmer as Sora, Donald, and Goofy have returned, as well as the rest of the cast in the returning levels. (I still couldn't believe they didn't get Robin Williams to do the voice of Genie, and have to dig up Homer Simpson.) The Pride Land level has the worst voices overall with almost no depth from the cast in the movie whatsoever; Port Royal doesn't have the same movie cast either, but the guys here sound exactly like the movie's cast. I was really shocked.

The most surprising roll, however comes from Saruman the White himself, Christopher Lee as Diz (aka Ansem the Wise--you'll find out soon enough), the main man of Hollow Bastion. When I first watched his role as Diz, I was blown away at how well he delivered his preformance; I kept asking myself, "How the f*** did they get him to do this?!"

Gameplay/Lifespan

The gameplay, too, hits more than misses. You'll have more combo attacks than the first game, and you'll be able to do "reaction commands" with the triangle button (which seems awful similar to the context-sensitive actions in Conker's Bad Fur Day). The Drive Command is a nice touch, too; You'll mostly need it when you're fighting a boss. In some areas, when Sora bites the dust in some of the bosses, you'll play as Mickey, trying to bring Sora back to life.

The biggest flaw, however, comes from the difficulty presented in this game. What made the first game so difficult was the camera's issues which make it so hard to see where the heck you're going. Now that they're fixed, you can hack and slash anywhere you want to, which makes it a lesser challenge than before.

Luckily, thanks to the addition of an Expert mode, as well as making yourself having to come back to the worlds you've already open paths to for "second quests", this game is almost as long as the first; The first took 30 hours for me to beat and this game took me almost 29 hours. It's safe for me to say, "Close enough."

Overall:

Despite the difficulty flaws, you'll definitely have a fun time with this game. I certainly enjoyed it and I'd say KHII is definitely better than the first, despite a few of the lackluster reviews on some online sites such as IGN.com. With rumors floating around for a third game, I hope this KH franchise will be something gamers everywhere will remember for the rest of their lives.

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