Kingdom Hearts II

Fans of Kingdom hearts will be glad to know that the second in the best selling game series has been released.  In Kingdom Hearts II, Disney elements are combined with Final Fantasy elements to make a truly excellent game!

The story starts one year after the events of the first Kingdom Hearts in a place called Twilight Town.  You follow the actions of a young and troubled boy named Roxas.  Sora, Donald, Goofy, and more characters return.  This includes appearances by many Final Fantasy characters, along with many Disney characters that were not in the previous game.  Visit old and new locations from Disney movies including:  Mulan, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Beauty and the Beast.  Sora must look for clues as to who the Heartless are and what is behind Organization XIII.  The plot is very well written and will leave you guessing until the end… when all is finally revealed.

Kingdom Hearts II has adapted many changes.  One is an all new combat system that is probably one of the most thrilling of any game.  There are new summons, limit breaks, new combos, co-op attacks, and the ability to perform devastating attacks with the right timing of button pushes.  And yes, Donald still has hilarious tantrums and Goofy is just as dumb as ever.

Some other changes are that the new transportation system allows you to ride among famous Disney theme park attractions.  The camera system has also been redone.  The last change, Sora can now use the “Drive” ability, but you will have to play to see what that is.

The voice acting is very well done.  The musical score is also excellent, but you should expect that from anything made by Square Enix!  The character models are also very nice to look at.  The Disney characters look like they came right out of the cartoon!

The only downfall to the game is that some parts are repetitive and repeated from the last game.  One instance is that of boss fights with the same enemies.  But other than that, it is a great game and highly amusing.

Kingdom Hearts 2 is available on Playstation 2.  It has an ESRB rating of E-10.  This means it is suitable for anyone age 10 and older.  This is because the game features blood, use of alcohol, and violence.  A strategy guide is available for you cheaters out there!