The years we waited for the sequel of Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Heart 2 turned out to be only a shell of its former game
Firstly graphically, nothing has improved from the 2002 graphic that Kingdom Hearts had. However it is to be noted that some areas have their own style of art and atmosphere such as Port Royal (Pirates of the Caribbean) and a few others. However the overall graphics hasn’t changed much. Now don’t get me wrong, the game does look great, but if the entire game or the majority of it looked like Port Royal, the updated graphics would have been greatly noted. Kingdom Hearts has its own style of graphics; however it doesn’t mean that the game looks entirely good or bad. It’s just in between.
Gameplay wise is where this game surpasses its predecessor. The game is more action packed providing special combos to be performed at certain points of battles, both at bosses and regular. Some boss battles require button timing to perform special moves and counters (somewhat similar to God of War). This breathes new strategies and action within the battles.
The gummy ship has returned and Square-Enix has drastically improved on this part of the game. You have dozens of ship models, customize and to unlock. Routes are also unlocked as you progress through each one (optional). The gummy ship battles are really fast paced and pulse pounding. You even have bosses to fight! The variety of weapons, ships and routes make the gummy ship battles stand out in Kingdom Hearts 2.
You need to play the first Kingdom Hearts in order to understand Kingdom Hearts 2. If you’ve never played the first Kingdom Hearts, I suggest you do because it’s not only a great game, but you WILL need to play it to understand the main plot Kingdom Hearts 2. One great fault of the game is that it drags and strays too much from the main Square-Enix plot as it blends in the Disney plot. The Disney plot has little or nothing to do with the main plot. The Disney plot was used probably because of the Disney license however it does take you down memory lane and makes you feel like a child again. Most of the cut-scenes and the Disney plot was irrelevant and only add time to game, which is getting to my next point.
Kingdom Hearts 2 is a short game when compared to its prequel Kingdom Hearts. If you were to skip all the cut-scenes, you can complete Kingdom Hearts 2 from start to finish in about 15 give or take. About half of Kingdom Hearts 2 are cut-scenes. Kingdom Hearts 2 is a lot shorter when compared to the first Kingdom Hearts. There are no trinity marks, no Dalmatians and no special abilities (double jump, glide) are gained in Kingdom Hearts 2 which means there is no back-tracking to previous areas to unlock new areas with new abilities. Once you complete a world the first time, after some events, the enemies get stronger and you have to back track to the areas to access new places there, that’s it and once you complete the area, that’s it. You have little or no reason to re-visit unless you are after 100% completion of your journal. Overall Kingdom Heart 2 will take the average gamer that completes some of side quests and levels up a bit around 30 hours to complete. A disappointment really because I expected the game to be a lot more because of length of time we had to wait for it.
Ovarall Kingdom Hearts 2 is worth it and it is a really great game. It is highly recommended despite its flaws. If you are expecting a long game like the first Kingdom Hearts, you will be disappointed but the overall improvements made in gameplay makes this game far more fun than the original.