My directors over at the site I work for had me write up an import review for KH2 since the knew I picked up the import copy. Heres a link: Kingdom Hearts 2 Import Review-Clubskill.com Lets put it like this....KH2 is going to be the must have title for the PS2 in 06 In December the Japanese gaming community got a late Christmas gift in the form of the Kingdom Hearts 2 release. The game was an instant hit getting rave reviews and selling over 700,000 copies within the first 3 days. Now while the Japanese gamers are enjoying their stay in Disneyland, we US and UK gamers are still on the edge of our seats awaiting the release of this immensely anticipated title. At Club Skill, we recently conjured up a Japanese copy of Square-Enix’s RPG sequel and come to you today with our full-blown review of all the game has to offer. Japanese may not be the most commonly-spoken language amongst the CS crew, but some of us here can still piece the dialog together enough to give you a basic summary of the story. Be warned however, as the following review does contain some [highlighted] spoilers. They may not be anything huge that would ruin the entire game for players, but they are still spoilers nonetheless. :SPOILER: Taking place a year after the events of the GBA title, Chains of Memories, we find our heroes Sora, Donald, and Goofy still sealed away in the flower pods asleep while their memories are slowly being rebuilt after the effect from the battle at Castle Oblivion. The story opens up in Twilight Town, a place familiar to those who played Chains of Memories - but this time you are not playing as Sora. Instead we find ourselves playing through the role of a young boy names Roxas. Roxas is the infamous mysterious blonde-haired kid (often referred to as the BHK) who appeared in many of the Kingdom Hearts 2 trailers without showing his face until one of the final trailers that appeared around the Tokyo Game Show period. It seems that Roxas has been having some strange dreams lately, as well as flashbacks of memories he has never had before - in fact, these memories seem to be Sora’s. Roxas now sets off on a path to uncover the truth behind these false memories and why he has them. Along the way he’ll come across new faces and foes such as Diz and then enigmatic 13th Order as well as the mysterious white heartless-like creatures known as the Nobody. All this leading him to the shocking truth and the reawakening of Sora who once upon waking up comes to realize all is still not well even after the defeat of Ansem, which sets these two characters on their own paths to seek the truth that lies within their hearts. :END: It is important to note that much of the storyline found here in Kingdom Hearts 2 is very much linked to the previous titles. Namely the Deep Dive trailer found in the Japanese exclusive Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix as well as pretty much the entire story from Chains of Memories. So while it is not “necessary” to have played the GBA title it does help you greatly in understanding what is going on here in KH2. Once you start the game you will go through the obvious tutorial we’re you will learn how the controls and mechanics of the game work. The tutorial zone is very helpful in teaching newcomers and refreshing those returning to the game with a useful guide. Like in the previous game the tutorial will progress through the actual story so the further you continue to learn the controls, the further the plot will proceed. Just be ready for a long tutorial as you’ll find yourself playing a good three hours before the opening title even appears. Fans of the previous console title will be happy to know that everything that was great about the previous game makes a comeback with some nifty new upgrades as well. Your team A.I. has improved this go around which in return makes them all the more useful in combat. Though the upgrade in AI isn’t much, it means that instead of Goofy wasting a potion the second you or Donald loses a point of health, he will waste it when you lose about five points. The further you progress through the game the stronger you will become as well since with each victory in combat you come out with experience points. The leveling system from the original returns in KH2, which is not a bad thing since it was a very simple yet easy-to-use and highly effective way to level up in the game. Once you reach a new level your stats will increase making you obviously stronger. Each level increases a different stat, but you strength is usually the exception as it mostly increases with every new level. At the same time when you reach a new level you will be given a certain number of action points. These action points are used to help you obtain new powers unique to each character so once you have enough AP you can purchase such abilities like dodge rolls, combo upgrades, and even some cool special attacks. The combat has been given a bit of an enhancement as well and has become much more enjoyable than in the previous titles. You still have your basic controls such as attack and jump, but your magic has been placed in a more battle-friendly menu that can open up on the fly with the press of a shoulder button. A new feature is the Context Sensitive Command and has been placed on the triangle button. What the Context Sensitive Command will do is allow you during combat to pull off some very powerful finishing moves to certain enemies and bosses when the icon appears on screen. The combo system has been given a re-work as well and is much more effective this time around than in the original. Sora still has his basic three hit combo, but by later on in the game you will find yourself smacking an enemy into the air and finishing him off mid-air only to dash towards your next foe and repeat this deadly process. The biggest and most noticeable new feature to the combat is known as the “Drive” form. Many may notice the new black outfit Sora is wearing this time around; his new clothing is actually a special suit that allows him to fuse with either Goofy or Donald thus allowing Sora to become even more powerful than before. So far we’ve reached a point in the game to use the Valor form, the combat empowered fusion between Sora and Goofy, and the Wisdom form, the magically empowered fusion between Sora and Donald. There are many other Drive forms to be used in the game, each offering their own special abilities and powers to help fight the Heartless and the many other enemies you will come across. The combat has been given a bit of an enhancement as well and has become much more enjoyable than in the previous titles. You still have your basic controls such as attack and jump, but your magic has been placed in a more battle-friendly menu that can open up on the fly with the press of a shoulder button. A new feature is the Context Sensitive Command and has been placed on the triangle button. What the Context Sensitive Command will do is allow you during combat to pull off some very powerful finishing moves to certain enemies and bosses when the icon appears on screen. The combo system has been given a re-work as well and is much more effective this time around than in the original. Sora still has his basic three hit combo, but by later on in the game you will find yourself smacking an enemy into the air and finishing him off mid-air only to dash towards your next foe and repeat this deadly process. The biggest and most noticeable new feature to the combat is known as the “Drive” form. Many may notice the new black outfit Sora is wearing this time around; his new clothing is actually a special suit that allows him to fuse with either Goofy or Donald thus allowing Sora to become even more powerful than before. So far we’ve reached a point in the game to use the Valor form, the combat empowered fusion between Sora and Goofy, and the Wisdom form, the magically empowered fusion between Sora and Donald. There are many other Drive forms to be used in the game, each offering their own special abilities and powers to help fight the Heartless and the many other enemies you will come across. The visuals and sound in the game are simply fantastic and really help make the game even more amazing. Many of the settings and characters from previous titles have been polished up to look even better than before while the new settings and characters look equally fantastic. This game is pushing the PlayStation 2 to its graphical limits and does a fantastic job at presenting a well-developed and beautiful looking game. The sound is no exception and in some cases is an even better offering than the visuals here in KH2. The soundtrack is nothing short of spectacular and really pulls the story and conflict together with its epic score, while the voice acting and sound effects are just as well-done. All in all the game is simply amazing and is an excellent follow up to an already incredible game. Every second of playing the import makes us even more anxious to play the English version upon its release later this year. The visual and audio factor is incredibly well put together, offering an epic presentation with gameplay that is just as great as before. The additional new features, like the drive forms and the Context Sensitive Command, put a great amount of depth into the game and make everything even more enjoyable than before. All this on top of an amazing and well-developed story that shows off the best of Tetsuya Nomura’s abilities as a director and story teller, coming to make what could possibly be the must-have RPG of 2006. US gamers can expect this title in late March and while a European release has yet to be confirmed judging by the time it has taken for this game to come out between the Japanese and US release, expect KH2 to hit UK stores sometime in mid-to-late summer. Check back in the coming months for the full in-depth review of the English version later this year, only here at Club Skill.
Wow, I seriously might buy a PS2 again for this game.. cuz the original KH was one of the only 3 games I even liked for PS2, and didn't know if the sequel was ever comin out so I sold my PS2... but yea, thanks for letting me know the game owns
Thanks for the comments guys I kept a lot of detail out though for my final review come March but I'm glad to see its been useful for a lot of people
