As someone who was extremely disappointed with Kingdom Hearts, I wasn't expecting much with this sequel. I expected more of the same--poorly voiced FF characters combined with Disney characters and worlds, in a mess of a story. Thankfully, Square-Enix redeemed itself by creating a sequel with brilliant gameplay improvements. Almost every single problem from the original Kingdom Hearts was fixed. For me, playing the original Kingdom Hearts was more of a chore than a fun experience, but this sequel completely surpassed my expectations. Everything from the story to the gameplay is well-done.
A common complaint among reviewers of the original Kingdom Hearts was that the camera was a mess. The camera made certain boss fights excruciatingly difficult, and sometimes caused you to plummet off the edge of a cliff, while fighting enemies. Thankfully, Square-Enix dealt with this problem, and the game is much more enjoyable because of it. I never realized what an accomplishment companies such as Nintendo achieved with their camera systems until I played Kingdom Hearts. KH2 plays great just like titles such as Zelda and Mario. Enemies are easy to track, and when you attack enemies, you will no longer jump off the edge of the cliff like lemmings. It also helped that many of the annoying boss fights from the previous game, where you had to switch spells on the fly and target multiple parts were removed.
The improved camera makes fighting battles a breeze. There are many new moves to perform: limits, magic, regular attacks, and summons. I never really felt the need to use magic during the game; it was easy enough on normal difficulty where I used regular attacks for the most part. The limits and summons were fairly useful, however, when fighting bosses or powerful enemies. The combat system is repetitive and requires little strategy, but it is a huge improvement over the first Kingdom Hearts. Maybe Square-Enix could take a page from Namco Bandai's Tales series and include learnable special moves that are executed through button combinations. Still, I look at combat as more of a means to an end in an RPG, and what is here could use improvement, but overall it isn't bad.
One area in which Kingdom Hearts II makes a vast improvement over its predecessor is in its story. Despite the unique pairing of Disney and Final Fantasy in the first Kingdom Hearts, the story never held my interest. It felt disjointed and awkward. I mainly completed the game to find out what I was getting into before I played its heavily hyped sequel. Kingdom Hearts II starts out a little slow, but it hooks you soon enough. In a surprise twist, you begin the game as Roxas instead of Sora. You begin the game by completing menial tasks, and you are fed bits and pieces about Roxas, Sora, and other Kingdom Hearts characters. Eventually, you are back in control of Sora, Donald, and Goofy, and you find yourself up against (surprise!) the Heartless, and a mysterious group called Organization XIII. Much of the story is predictable, but there are always enough interesting things going to keep you interested. Also, the game feels much more cohesive than the original. It feels like the idea of mixing Final Fantasy and Disney actually does work.
Kingdom Hearts II brings back some Final Fantasy characters that were featured in the first one, but it also adds fan favorites including a cocky gambler, a dead guardian, and a shy black mage. Squall's nemesis also makes an appearance, and uses classic lines like "chicken-wuss". The Final Fantasy characters' voices were fairly disappointing, as in the first Kingdom Hearts, but nostalgia definitely kicks in when you see them.
Besides meeting Final Fantasy characters, you'll also traverse a variety of Disney worlds, as in the first game. The Disney worlds feel like they have a higher level of polish than the first game, and the characters that inhabit these worlds are expertly voiced. KHII has you traveling to new worlds such as Mulan, Tron, and Pirates of the Carribbean, and all of them are faithful to the movies. In addition to these new worlds, most of the worlds from the first Kingdom Hearts return. You would expect these repeat worlds to be boring, but many of them feature new areas, and one of them, Atlantica (from The Little Mermaid), features a music mini-game that you complete part-by-part after you've completed certain sections of the game. The old worlds feel much more authentic than their counterparts in the first game. In the first KH, I was disappointed to see that Hercules wasn't voiced by his voice actor in the movie, but in KHII, you get the real thing. You also get to explore the depths of the underworld, and optional coliseums make a repeat appearance.
One issue which may divide Kingdom Hearts fans is the linear nature of the game. Most of the game is very straightforward, and it is difficult to get lost. Some fans may complain that it is too linear in comparison to the first game, but personally I liked it. After getting lost in the first KH multiple times, I resorted to online FAQs, because I didn't want to waste my time exploring aimlessly, or fulfilling some random objective. Thankfully, KHII plays out in a linear fashion, but it still gives you the choice of when you want to tackle certain worlds. Most of my time spent in the various worlds of KHII was a thrill, because I didn't have to worry about getting lost; it allowed me to breathe in the various Disney environs.
Not only does KHII have beautifully crafted worlds and characters, but it is accompanied by an excellent soundtrack. The tragic original score and the classic Disney songs provide an impactful experience. The score really makes you feel for certain heroes and even villains as the story is told.
I was expecting KHII to be another one of my least favorite PS2 RPGs, but I was pleasantly surprised. If companies want to know how to do a sequel right--this is the game to look at. The camera and story were the biggest issues that needed fixing, and Square-Enix did a marvelous job solving these issues. With its amazing environments, plot, and music score, KHII will keep you hooked to the end. Here's hoping for a great part three.