Holy Moly! I've never played a PS2 game as awesome as this!
The game opens with strange guys in black coats, white enemies, and a kid named Roxas who's having weird dreams... Of another boy with a key?!?!? If that doesn't sound strange enough, things get even crazier as the days pass. Photos (and the word "photo") get stolen, time freezes, and a whole cast of creepy characters like bandage man DiZ and witchy girl Namine work their way into the plot. Not only that, Roxas finds himself bearer of the Keyblade! What the heck is going on here?!?!?
Not much gets explained even when we catch up with spiky-haired Sora and his pals, Donald and Goofy. In fact, the whole subject is pretty much tossed aside as Sora and Co. visit new and familiar worlds featuring characters from both Disney and Final Fantasy. It does get brought up again once Sora confronts a group of strange "Nobodies" called Organization XIII (Thirteen). The call Sora "Roxas" for reasons not entirely clear until near the end of the game.
The basic gameplay is virtually unchanged, but there a few cool new features like Sora's Drive Form changes and Limits. It's as fun as ever to me, but you can win virtually every battle by button mashing and using new "Reaction Commands".
The graphics have also improved, with awesome-looking cut-scenes galore. The variety of worlds has also improved, from creep Port Royal(From "Pirates of the Caribbean") to the black and white Timeless River(based on the classic Disney cartoons).
The sounds are lush, voice acting is great, and the music never seems to get old. The developers seemed to have also paid attention to small details as well as the big picture. In the Timeless River, for instance, you can actually hear this crackly sound in the background, just like in the old cartoons!
With its vast majority of minigames and hilarious and dramatic cut-scenes, KHII has tons of replay value, and encourages multiple play-throughs. Near the end, some of the cut-scenes REALLY got my heartstrings... NO!!!! I didn't cry. But I came close.
Anyways, don't miss out on this masterpiece, even if you haven't played the original Kingdom Hearts or Chain of Memories. It surpasses its predecessors in every way. It is on the easy side, but you won't even care if you're reaching for the tissues in some of the sensitive cut-scenes. Buy this game as soon as you can!!!