Kingdom Hearts II improvement upon the previous installment absolutely promises to be enjoyable in spite of a few gameplay flaws.
	.: Story: 9/10 .: Gameplay: 8/10 .: Graphics: 9/10 .: Music: 9/10 .: Value: 9/10 .: Replay Value: 9/10	Overall: 8.8 Excellent
Category: Action Role-Playing Platform: PlayStation 2 Tech Information: 1 Player.		Publisher: Square Enix Developer: Square Enix Release Date: Mar 28, 2006

Story:
Kingdom Hearts II begins one year after Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories. Sora, Donald and Goofy have been asleep for the past year to regain their lost memories. After a series of event Sora managed to awake all thanks to someone named DiZ. After his awakening Sora, Donald and Goofy found themselves to be in Twilight Town and King Mickey Mouse and Yen Sid send them on another journey. Their goal is to find Riku and stop the plans of Organization XIII, who control the Nobodies a new type of monster in Kingdom Hearts II. Sora also receives a new set of clothes that allow him to fuse with party members to gain special abilities, known as Drive Form. Along their Journey they will find more about the Nobodies and the Organization XIII…

Artistic Elements:
There has been quite a change in the graphics area for the game compared to the previous installment. Sora has obviously grown up and with new clothes which serves as a gameplay purpose as well as definitely a plus in the appearance area. Though the graphics of the game might not be the best seen to date on the PlayStation 2, the variety of everything to be seen and the world environments are highly beautiful and extraordinarily well detailed that makes the whole thing impressive. With so much at hand, from battling to going from tightly knit environments, there will always be something attracting you.

The music is just fantastic. Yoko Shimomura once again takes this role and performs the task splendidly. The music that you hear in the game blends perfectly with the situation and scenery creating, which is truly a credit to the game itself. The main vocal theme for the original Japanese release was "Passion", written and performed by Utada Hikaru once again. Large portions of Disney songs--from The Little Mermaid, make their way into the rhythm games on the Atlantica level. English version of "Passion", "Sanctuary", was used in the Western releases being performed by Utada Hikaru once again.

Gameplay:
The gameplay of Kingdom Hearts II is actually very similar to that of Kingdom Hearts. There has been vast improvement in the camera angles by the developers as the camera angle in the gameplay is one of the major issues in the last series. The player will directly control Sora from a third person camera angle, though first person perspective is available. As this is an Action RPG game, Kingdom Hearts II will be included an experience point system which will determine the characters development. As more monsters are being defeated, experiences points will be gain and thus enabling characters to level up and to gain new abilities and skills.

Combat in Kingdom Hearts II is in fast pace and involves button presses which will initiate certain special features attacks by the on-screen character. Similar to Kingdom Hearts the usage of summoning beings and Magic spells will be included too. A new feature in combat will be the Reaction Command, much similar to the game God of War; but however God of War did a much better job on this area. By mashing the triangle button at the correct time during the battle the on-screen character will perform special enemy-specific attacks. Reaction Commands can be used to avoid heavy damage or defeat regular enemy with ease and are sometimes a must to complete a boss battle.

Like Kingdom Hearts, two party members will be usually present who will assist you in battle. Though these characters are computer controlled, the player is allowed to customize on how they will behave though a certain extent in battle though the menu screen. Apart from all this, the “Gummi Ship” being criticize heavily on the last game has made quite tremendous change. The whole system have been completely recreated to make it seems more enjoyable than the previous game. The purposes of it have remained the same which is a must for players to travel from one world to another.

Replay Value:
The variety of side-quests and mini-games on Kingdom Hearts II are not to be taken lightly. In each world you’ll find something new to do, something you’ve missed and want to go back to get. Much like the previous installment there will be a place called Hades Chamber, where you can proclaim your title as champion and fight previous enemies. With so many great sidequest and a fantastic storyline you will definitely be playing the game again.

Value:
This is definitely a game you want to own and a plus if you have already played or own Kingdom Hearts. You’ll spend a long time playing this game making sure you got everything completed. This is definitely worth your money, for both Adults and Children alike.

Overall:
Kingdom Hearts II have a great story that will definitely be worth playing and its improvement upon the previous installment absolutely promises to be enjoyable in spite of a few gameplay flaws.

~ Review Written by : Fantasy ~