Editing Kingdom Hearts II

|ratings = {{w|ESRB}}:[[File:Ratingsymbol e10.gif|12px|Everyone 10+]]Everyone 10+<br> {{w|PEGI}}:[[File:PEGI 12.png|12px|12+]]12+<br> USK: 6+<br> {{w|OFLC}}:[[File:OFLC small PG.png|12px|PG]]PG<br> {{w|ELSPA}}: 11+

|platforms = {{w|PlayStation 2}}

}}

{{Q|The story is not over.|Tagline}}

The theme song for the game is "[[Sanctuary]]" (Japanese version: "Passion") performed by Utada Hikaru.

A boy named [[Roxas]] wakes up in his room at [[Twilight Town]]. Roxas has dreams of Sora's adventures while increasingly mysterious activities begin taking place in Twilight Town during Roxas's summer vacation with his friends [[Hayner]], [[Pence]] and [[Olette]]. After obtaining the [[Keyblade]] to defend himself from strange white creatures, Roxas comes in contact with a young man in black named [[Axel]]. Axel appears to know Roxas, though Roxas has no recollection of him.

[[Jiminy Cricket]], who had previously chronicled the trio's adventures, finds that his journal is now completely blank, save for the note: "Thank Naminé", which Jiminy had previously left as a clue to their adventure in [[Castle Oblivion]]. The group begins their journey anew and arrive in the real Twilight Town, instead of the virtual simulation Roxas lived in. The group crosses paths with King [[Mickey Mouse]], who orders them to board a train, before running off. In the station, the real Hayner, Pence and Olette say their farewell to Sora, who cries because of Roxas inside of him, although he does not understand it at the time.

[[File:The One Who Rules Over Organization XIII 01 KHII.png|thumb|left|Sora and his friends prepare to fight the army of Heartless.]]

The Heartless, led in two separate groups by a revived Maleficent and the Organization, regain power, eventually forcing Sora to [[Battle of the 1000 Heartless|battle a massive army of Heartless]] that are attacking Hollow Bastion. Along the way, they learn that the [[Ansem, Seeker of Darkness|Ansem]] they fought a year ago was actually the Heartless of [[Terra-Xehanort|Xehanort]], and that the Nobody of Xehanort, [[Xemnas]], is the leader of Organization XIII. They also learn that Xehanort was an apprentice of the real Ansem, who is missing. After the battle of the Heartless, Xemnas appears and leaves with a cryptic note that King Mickey knows where Riku is. When Xemnas leaves, another member of the Organization, [[Saïx]], appears before the group and reveals their ultimate goal: the Nobodies' plan to create another [[Kingdom Hearts]], a doorway to the heart of all worlds that will presumably allow the Nobodies to get their hearts back.

After confronting and defeating more members of the Organization including Axel, Sora goes to [[The World That Never Was]] to settle the score with the Organization for good. Sora blanks out and briefly battles Roxas in his heart. In the castle, he finally reunites with his friends Riku and Kairi, although Riku is in Ansem's body. Sora learns the truth about Roxas as well; he and Naminé are, respectively, Sora and Kairi's Nobodies, created when they lost their hearts in the original ''Kingdom Hearts'' game. The group cross paths with Mickey, Ansem the Wise and Xemnas. Ansem's [[Kingdom Hearts Encoder]] explodes, apparently killing him and returning Riku to his original form, and Xemnas has disappeared. Maleficent and Pete also appear to hold off a mass of Heartless so that Sora's group can fight Xemnas, and the duo are not seen again.

==Gameplay==

=== Combat changes compared to first game ===

''Kingdom Hearts II'' offers a number of key differences from the original ''Kingdom Hearts''. While the core gameplay remains the same, new features have been added to improve the experience.

* The player can add shortcuts for both items and magic, while in the first game, the player could only add a shortcut for magic.

* The basic combat and leveling systems have also been redesigned. In order to facilitate low-level playthroughs, bosses no longer offer experience upon defeat; rather, they reward the player with boosts to their HP, MP, or AP, or with specific abilities.

[[File:Curaga KHII.gif|thumb|The redesigned MP Gauge in action.]]

* The [[MP Gauge]] has also been retooled to ensure that the player is never left without magic. This now prevents abuse of powerful spells like [[Cure]]—instead of being a quickly refillable gauge that is difficult to refill during battle, the MP Gauge can easily be depleted by three or fewer spells, and refills automatically. Several abilities can empower Sora's offensive abilities during this period to compensate for his temporary inability to heal.

The [[Trinity Mark]]s and [[99 Puppies]] from the first game have been completely removed. For collecting, there are [[Treasure Chest]]s present in the first game, and it is now required that the player open every single chest in order to complete the Journal. If the player is playing the ''Final Mix'' version, there are 144 [[Puzzle]] pieces scattered throughout the world.

As with Treasure Chests, the Journal now tracks the player's prowess in the synthesis sidequest.

=== Gummi Ship ===

* The Gummi Ship is faster paced. Routes themselves are less uniform and monotonous, varying from space battles against a massive pirate ship, to flying through floating islands and waterfalls.

==Censorship==

Besides typical English translation and localization, the English version of ''Kingdom Hearts II'' differs from the original Japanese version in the content of gameplay and several scenes:

*When Sora battles the [[Hydra]] in [[Olympus Coliseum]], green blood gushes out whenever Sora harms it. The green blood was changed to black and purple smoke or drool in the English version. The green blood, however, is retained during the cutscene where [[Hercules]] is fighting it.

*[[Xigbar]]'s {{w|telescopic sight}} was changed from a view with a cross-hair and black shading around the sides to three glowing circles.

*[[Axel]]'s demise is slightly edited; in the original Japanese version, he bursts into flames during his {{w|suicide attack}}, and the flames are consuming his body as he fades away.

*At [[Disney Castle]], while chasing Donald around for missing a date, Daisy pounds him on the backside in the Japanese version, while she simply tells him off inaudibly in the English version.

*[[Port Royal]] contains the most content edits:

==Characters==

Most of the key characters from ''Kingdom Hearts'' return, particularly heroes Sora, Riku, and Kairi, as well as constant party members Donald and Goofy. [[Mickey Mouse|King Mickey]] also returns, having a much larger role in ''Kingdom Hearts II'' than his cameo at the end of the first game. Old foes also return, most notably Maleficent.

A number of characters first featured in ''Chain of Memories'' also make comebacks in ''Kingdom Hearts II''; most prominently involved are Naminé and DiZ. [[Axel]] of Organization XIII also makes a return appearance, the only member to appear in both games; the Organization members featured in ''Kingdom Hearts II'' are all new to the series. Also new to the series are the mysterious Roxas and Maleficent's lackey [[Pete]].

In addition to the Disney characters that return from ''Kingdom Hearts'', there are also characters from several Disney features making their ''Kingdom Hearts'' debut, most notably characters from the previously unexplored worlds of ''Mulan'', ''Pirates of the Caribbean'', and ''Tron'', as well as a world dedicated to Disney's older black-and-white works, [[Timeless River]]. New but familiar characters have also been added to all of the returning worlds.

Like the previous game, Sora can summon certain Disney characters to aid him in battle once he has attained each of their respective items. As summons use the Drive Gauge instead of the MP bar, Sora cannot Drive and summon at the same time. The summoned character will replace the two computer-controlled characters and fight alongside Sora for as long as the Drive Gauge allows. Instead of the summoned character being limited to only one action, the summoned character now has a menu of his own to perform multiple actions, some solo actions and some cooperative actions with Sora. There are four summons total in ''Kingdom Hearts II'', [[Chicken Little]], [[Genie]], [[Stitch]], and [[Peter Pan]] with additional help from [[Tinker Bell]].

World-specific party members appear in almost every world in the game; there are nine in total, offering a huge leap from the original game's six. Notable among them are [[Auron]], the first ''Final Fantasy'' character to be a party member, and Sora's best friend Riku. Also notable are assistance characters, who are not part of the party, but can fight alongside of it; they usually appear during key battles and plot moments.

|valign="top" width="25%"|

;[[Dive to the Heart]]

*[[Roxas]]

*[[Hayner]]

*[[Yuna, Rikku, and Paine]]

*[[Stitch]]

*[[Terra-Xehanort]]

*[[Donald Duck]]

*[[Goofy]]

*[[Queen Minnie]]

*[[Daisy Duck]]

;[[Timeless River]]

*[[Horace Horsecollar]]

*[[Clarabelle Cow]]

*[[Clara Cluck]]

;[[Port Royal]]

*[[Will Turner]]

*[[Elizabeth Swann]]

*[[Undead Pirate]]

*[[Oogie Boogie]]

*[[The Experiment]]

;[[Pride Lands]]

*[[Larxene]]

*[[Riku-Ansem]]

;[[Realm of Darkness]] {{note|World only appears in cutscenes}}

;[[End of Sea]] {{note|World only appears in cutscenes}}

*[[Lingering Will]] {{note|Only appears in Final Mix}}

;Other

*[[Chicken Little]] {{note|Summon only}}

*[[Peter Pan]] {{note|Summon only}}

*[[Moogle]]s

|}

==See also==

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*[http://www.kingdomhearts2.eu.com/ Official EU website]-->

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