"A Biased Review From a Hardened Gamer"

Let's be honest. To be human is to be biased.

I've been playing games since Atari. Thus, it's probably not surprising that I'm at a crossroads in my life where I don't play games an awful large amount of time. I "try" games. And by try, I mean, they have anywhere from 5 minutes to an hour to capture me, depending on my mood, and I move on. But I "try" pretty much every game I hear anything decent about.

One of these games was the original KH. To be perfectly honest, I had no intention of even trying that one. Disney and Final Fantasy? These are franchises if I ever heard one. So I simply assumed all the reviewers who played the game thought too highly of those franchises. And games based on franchises normally....well.....suck. It was merely by accident that I stumbled across my friend playing it.

"This isn't at all what I expected," I found myself thinking.

Thus, I tried the game. And I was floored. In the first hour alone, they had a cutesy Disney-esque fantasy island submerged in total darkness. The music, the visuals, the mood purveyed a feeling of discomfort and despair.

"A game with Disney in it is THIS dark?!? No way!"

Yet, sure enough, darkness is a central theme of the franchise itself. And at the end of the first, I was left thirsting for more. We speculated on the awesome and ambiguous Deep Dive, and now finally, we could put all the pieces together.

And all the pieces do indeed come together.

Overall:

Kingdom Hearts II is a masterpiece.

That's a bold statement, but that's the way I feel. Are there flaws? Yes. There are major flaws in this game. There are major steps back. But there are strokes of genius present that distance this game from even the most solid and hardcore of the gaming trade.

The game is marred by simplicity and complexity. However, this disjointed feeling adds power to both ends of the spectrum while also likely to turn off many gamers. I will further delve into my intent below in each of the game's finer points.

Story:

Many of the basic premises of Kingdom Hearts have always been steeped in simplicity. A number of the Disney worlds are simply summarized retellings of the movies we all grew up with. Decent nostalgia for most of us, but upon playing them you would believe the game was intended for 6 year olds. But upon further play, I realized how mistaken this assumption is.

The Disney worlds seem to have tree very distinct purposes. One, to detract as side quests from the main story. Harsh, but in some ways, an unavoidable truth. Two, to sell off the popularity of these characters. Also harsh, but it never hurts sales to have recognizable faces show up. Third....

...to emphasize the purity of the main character. By hitting on this point over and over, the game very much steeps Sora in a pure light, placing him as an aid and savior to multiple fairy tales. This pits him directly against the darkness, setting up the pieces for his own story.

And a convoluted story it is. A friend who is still battling in that same darkness, the distinct line between darkness and evil, the role of a soul without a heart. Even though the script itself is often overly simplistic and, well, "corny", some of themes are fairly deep.

Of course, calling something like Kingdom Hearts deep would be fairly insulting to yourself, but the fact remains, that you can expel upon and delve into many of themes for hours or even days and not come upon agreed upon answers. Some of the events and what transpires will linger in your thoughts. And the telling of the story itself comes in pieces that will no doubt confuse anyone, only to come together in a fairly "Oh....NOW I see..." manner in the end.

There are pacing issues. The story seems to be the focus for hours or avoided for hours. But the disjointed pacing, and the distinctly different feel of the simple Disney stories and Sora's fairly convoluted story, are some aspects that make this game genius. It can actually provide a fairly unsettling feeling that immerses you in the despair the game tries to portray. Yet, at the same time, to say it can't turn you away with its inconsistency would be wrong. And disjointed aspects are suitably considered to be flaws by many. However, if one can immerse themselves in these stories, it can be very powerful.

Music and Sound:

The music is fairly wonderful. There are some unsettling pieces associated with the unknowns and the darkness, and at the same time, some fairly uplifting pieces unassociated to the Disney themes. As for the Disney themes themselves, they are faithful to the properties while still providing some refreshing changes.

My one qualm is with Passions aka Sanctuary. I try not to be a language purist, but I can't help but feel some of the magic of the song was lost in the conversion. Probably just a fault of me listening to the Japanese version before the English one.

The Dubbing is excellent. I've always liked that aspect of Kingdom Hearts. I can actually watch the English version, and honestly feel like the I'm getting the official version of the two. I like the emotion purveyed by the Japanese language, but with Disney and songs we grew up with involved in the game, the English version truly feels like the official one.

The script can be a little, well, hard to take seriously at times. However, the entirety of the musical pieces and acting performances overcome that transgression and really emphasize some of the game's genius.

Gameplay and Controls:

The aspect I'm most torn about. A lot of work obviously went into Sora's new abilities. The Drive system that allows for the use of not one but two keyblades is actually genius. Now I'm not talking about the idea, but the execution of the idea. The maneuvers Sora can pull of with these keyblades are CRAZY.

Whoever came up with Sora's actual movements should be in Hollywood. Sure, it's unrealistically gravity defying, but Sora will spin and slash in ways none of us could ever contemplate. It's truly amazing to watch.

Then it dawns on me I'm usually just tapping one button to do this. ONE BUTTON. Sure, I'm the one pressing the button, but part of me feels like more of a bystander then an active role with these overly simplistic controls.

To further expand, the Reaction Command, also ingenious. I don't think anyone will argue it. But once again, you just press triangle to activate it. The only trick EVER is with the timing.

I LOVE the ideas. And I don't mind the fact that I don't have to bust my behind for hours to get the controls down. But there's no doubt. The controls are way too simplistic. It's the way you fight the battles where the strategy is involved.

The difficulty is also, well, easier for each corresponding mode. I'm not into difficult games with steep learning curves myself, but I completed the game on Proud mode to more easily get the secret ending, and I was satisfied with it. I died about a total of a dozen times. Works for me. But for the more hardened crowd who are looking to spend a ton of time on this game, it is a major step back.

And to quickly comment on the other aspects, treasure chest and questing itself is pretty bad (too easy, not a lot of searching to do). But the gummi ship is better. Still, I think we're all fairly torn about whether or not the gummi ship aspect belongs in the game. It's now very well done, but it almost always seems like you're playing it at times where you'd rather skip it and get on with the game. It really should be it's own game. It'd be a blast of a pick up and play game on something like Xbox live. Get it out of Kingdom Hearts.

Execution and Conclusion:

The majority of the flaws in this game often serve to emphasize the games finer points. They are not without merit. Even the simplicity of the controls has its purpose. Anyone can pick up and play it and do phenomenal maneuvers.

Yet these very disparities, even if they were probably intended, will no doubt turn off some gamers. The wishy washy nature of the Disney worlds will leave many gamers wishing they could just get on with the "real story". And at the same time, they set Sora's pure heart in stone and serve to further jar, shock, and astound you when the game all of a suddenly completely changes tone.

What does this all boil down to?

Unlimited potential, but a final product that's same incredible nature will serve to distance some gamers. Nevertheless, you MUST give this franchise a try. I was a naysayer at one time too. However, if you can immerse yourself in this game, it can truly move you. It has all the potential to be a game that will o down as a favorite in the lives of many. I can foresee even a number of people heralding this franchise as a favorite of theirs in any entertainment format in general. Don't play this before Kingdom Hearts 1 though, they are very correlated.

PLAY KINGDOM HEARTS 1 NOW. And if you enjoy it, there's really nothing to think about. There's no review even needed (hence why some websites took it upon themselves to give their image an edge and butcher a game where a review isn't going to, well, make any difference in anyone's purchasing decision). You'll play Kingdom Hearts II merely to continue what's begun, and it might even rock your world. In fact, it probably will.

Story : 9
Graphics : 9
Sound : 9
Gameplay : 9
Controls : 6
Overall : 9
Personal Score : 11

Potential : A PRICELESS CLASSIC

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 04/14/06