Kingdom Hearts II

File:Kingdom Hearts II logo.png

Kingdom Hearts II's logo.

Kingdom Hearts II (キングダムハーツII, Kingudamu Hātsu Tsū?) is a 2005/2006 action role-playing game developed by Square Enix and published by both Square Enix and Buena Vista Games (now Disney Interactive Studios) for the Sony PlayStation 2 video game console. Kingdom Hearts II was released on December 22, 2005 in Japan, on March 28, 2006 in North America and on September 29, 2006 in PAL territories. It was later re-released in Japan as Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix on March 29, 2007.

Kingdom Hearts II is the follow-up to the 2002 PlayStation 2's Disney Interactive/Square action role-playing game Kingdom Hearts, and its 2004 Game Boy Advance sequel, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories. The story centers around a group of heroes searching for lost friends and trying to decipher and defeat the mysterious Organization XIII, along with a large cast of characters from the properties of The Walt Disney Company and Square Enix.

The game met with positive criticism and sales. It received high review ratings from critics. After one month of availability, it sold 1,000,000 copies in North America and was the second best selling game of 2006. As of December of 2006, Kingdom Hearts II had shipped over 3.5 million worldwide with over 1.7 million in North America. Kingdom Hearts II has also been adapted into a novel and manga series.

Gameplay

Kingdom Hearts II continues Kingdom Hearts' style of gameplay. Sora, the main character, is directly controlled by the player from a third person camera angle, though there is the option for a first person perspective. Most gameplay occurs on interconnected field maps where battles take place. The game is driven by a linear progression to the next story event, usually told in the form of a cut scene, though there are numerous side quests available that provide bonus benefits to the characters.

Like many traditional role-playing games, Kingdom Hearts II features an experience point system which determines character development. As enemies are defeated, the player gains experience which culminate in a level up, where the player characters grows stronger and gains access to new abilities. As in Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts II allows a certain degree of character development customization through a short tutorial found at the beginning of the game. The differences are less pronounced than the last game; instead of granting different increases to strength, magic, and defense, the choice in the tutorial only affects the order of abilities Sora receives as he levels up.

Combat in Kingdom Hearts II is in real time and involves button presses which initiate attacks by the on-screen character. Also, a role-playing game menu found at the bottom left of the screen provides other combat options such as using magic, summoning beings to assist in battle, combination attacks with other party members and items. A new addition to the series is the Reaction Command, events that are triggered then the player presses the triangle button at specific times during battle. Reaction Commands can be used to defeat regular enemies or avoid damage, and are sometimes necessary to complete a boss battle. In addition to the main character, two party members are usually present who also participate in combat. Though these characters are computer-controlled, the player is allowed to customize their behavior to a certain extent through the menu screen.

One of the new features is a meter known as the Drive Gauge. Unlike Hit Points and Magic, it is the only gauge that does not get recharged at a Save Point. The Drive Gauge serves two functions: to transform into a "Drive Form" or to summon a special character. While in Drive Form, Sora bonds with party members to become more powerful, acquire different attributes, and some Forms allow the use of two Keyblades. Drive Forms also give Sora new abilities that can be used outside of battle. At first, his Drive Forms only combine power with one party member; as he gains new ones, he can bond with both party members. When allies are used in a Drive Form, they are temporarily removed in its duration.

Like the previous game, Sora can summon a Disney character to aid him in battle. A summoned character will replace the two computer-controlled characters and fight alongside Sora for as long as the Drive Gauge allows. Also, instead of being limited to only one action, now Summoned characters have a menu of their own and are capable of performing solo actions or cooperative actions with Sora. Each Drive Form is leveled up separately while Summons can be leveled up through continued use. Both Drive Forms and Summons have a maximum of seven levels; higher levels allow Drive Forms and Summons to last longer.

Gummi Ship

The "Gummi Ship", although retaining its basic system of traveling, had its gameplay altered. In the world map, the player must now control the Gummi Ship from a top-down view and fly to the world the player wishes to enter. Worlds are no longer open from the beginning - the player must unlock the routes to them by entering a new level, controlling the ship from a third-person point of view, and battling enemy ships. After the route is unlocked, travel to the world is unimpeded, unless it becomes so due to the story line.

Plot

Setting

The world of Kingdom Hearts II is a collection of various levels that the player progresses through. Each level in Kingdom Hearts is referred to as a "world". As in the first Kingdom Hearts game, Kingdom Hearts II allows the player to travel to different locales from various Disney fiction, along with original worlds specifically created for the series. In the first game, Disney based worlds were primarily derived from the Disney animated features canon. Kingdom Hearts II introduces worlds that are based on Disney live-action films as well.

Some of the worlds introduced in the previous games are reintroduced here as well, but with new and expanded areas. There are also new worlds that are introduced and include the Land of Dragons, a fictionalized account of ancient China from the film Mulan; Beast's Castle, a 1800s-style castle based on French architecture from Beauty and the Beast; Timeless River, a past version of Disney Castle accessed through time travel; Port Royal, from Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl; Pride Land, a great area of African savanna from The Lion King; Space Paranoids, a landscape representing the digital activity of Hollow Bastion's computer network copied from the operating system seen in Tron; the World That Never Was, the headquarters of Organization XIII which is close to darkness.

As in the first game, each world varies differently in appearance and setting, depending on the Disney world that it is based on. The graphics of the world and characters were meant to resemble the artwork style of the environments and characters from their respective Disney film. Each Disney world is inhabited by characters from their respective Disney film; Jack Skellington and Dr. Finklestein inhabit Halloween Town, and Jack Sparrow and Will Turner inhabit Port Royal. Each world is disconnected from the others and exists separately; with few exceptions, players travel from one world to another via a Gummi ship.

Characters

The main playable characters in the game are Sora, a 15 year old boy who was chosen to be the master of the Keyblade, a mystical key-shaped weapon that can lock and unlock all manners of locks and destroy Heartless and Nobodies; Donald Duck, the court magician of Disney Castle; and Goofy, the captain of knights of Disney Castle. Both Donald and Goofy were ordered to find and stay with the "key", which was revealed to be the Keyblade. They befriended Sora during their journey in Kingdom Hearts and they all draw strength from this friendship.

As in the previous installments, there are numerous appearances of characters from both Disney and Square Enix, the majority of which are Disney characters. While some make a return from Kingdom Hearts, new, additional characters from Disney's fiction are also introduced, such as Scar from The Lion King, Scrooge McDuck, and Pete, who acts as a persistent enemy, working with the resurrected Maleficent. Seventeen characters from Final Fantasy games appear, notably, Auron of Final Fantasy X and the return of Leon, Aerith, Cid Highwind, Cloud Strife and Sephiroth. It was stated that although the first game strictly stuck to characters Nomura designed, this time around they were going to "take some risks"; implying characters not designed by Nomura might make an appearance. This led to Vivi Orunitia of Final Fantasy IX appearing in Twilight Town.

The various worlds that Sora explores usually have an optional party character, usually from the fiction that the world is based on. Such party members include Mulan, at first in hiding as "Ping", the woman who passes as a man in order to take her ailing father's place in the army; Beast, the tortured prince turned animal who strives for a relationship with the beautiful Belle, but his stubbornness makes this difficult; Auron, the honorable undead warrior brought to life by Hades to kill Hercules; Captain Jack Sparrow, a pirate who seeks his ship, the Black Pearl, back; Aladdin, a "street rat" commoner in the kingdom of Agrabah that has the heart of Princess Jasmine; Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town who desperately wants to get Santa Claus's job of spreading the presents to children again; Simba, the self-exiled lion who is the rightful king of the Pride Lands; Tron, a security program in Hollow Bastion's computer network who seeks to stop the dictatorship of the Master Control Program in the network; and Riku, Sora's friend from Destiny Islands who has joined with DiZ to help Sora's recovery and to end Organization XIII.

Unlike the previous game where Xehanort's Heartless was revealed in the final stages of the game to be the true antagonist, Organization XIII, a group of beings without hearts, was established as the main threat throughout the game. Organization XIII control the Heartless, corrupted hearts that have left beings, and Nobodies, the bodies left over when Heartless are created. Villains unique to the worlds are still prevalent and are often presented as challenges that Sora and the world's unique party character have to overcome. Maleficent returns in the story, but her position in the plot is less relevant than in the previous game. Nevertheless, she creates some issues for Sora to solve.

Story

Kingdom Hearts II begins one year after Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories. Sora and his companions, Donald and Goofy, have been asleep for the past year in order to regain their lost memories. In the meantime, Roxas is kept in a virtual simulation of Twilight Town created by DiZ so that Roxas, being the Nobody of Sora, may merge with his original self when he finally regains his memory. This was done as part of DiZ's revenge on Organization XIII. The invasion of the virtual town by other Nobodies threatens DiZ's plan, but Roxas is finally forced to merge with Sora. Sora, Donald and Goofy wake up in the real Twilight Town and are sent on another journey by King Mickey and Yen Sid. Their goal is to stop the plans of Organization XIII, who control Nobodies: the body and soul left over when a heart is turned into a Heartless; and find Riku. Sora also receives new clothes that allow him to fuse with party members to gain special abilities, known as Drive Form. Afterwards, Maleficent is resurrected and joins with Pete to continue her quest for power.

Sora travels to many Disney-themed worlds, both old and new, and resolves the troubles caused by Organization XIII, the Heartless, Maleficent and Pete, and local villains. In the meantime, Kairi is kidnapped by Organization XIII. During a visit to Hollow Bastion, they again meet King Mickey, who reveals the true nature of Ansem, the antagonist of Kingdom Hearts. The Ansem who Sora defeated is in fact the Heartless of Xehanort, a student of Ansem the Wise. Xemnas, the leader of Organization XIII, reveals himself and is found to be the Nobody of Xehanort. Organization XIII's plan is revealed; they seek the power of Kingdom Hearts, which is the sum total of the hearts that composed the Heartless that Sora had destroyed with his Keyblade. Sora then revisits the worlds to solve lingering problems and new complications, while seeking a path to Organization XIII's base of operations.

Through a passageway in the virtual Twilight Town, Sora, Donald, and Goofy arrive at the World That Never Was, the headquarters of Organization XIII, with Kingdom Hearts looming over as a moon. There, Sora finds Kairi and Riku, who reveals the nature of Sora's and Roxas' relationship. Mickey meets DiZ, who reveals himself to be Ansem the Wise. Ansem the Wise uses a device that dissipates some of Kingdom Hearts' power, but the overload from the infinite complexity of hearts causes the machine to explode and kill Ansem the Wise. The plot climaxes when Sora and his friends battle Xemnas, who uses the remnants of Kingdom Hearts to power his multiple forms. After Xemnas' defeat, Sora and Riku are reunited with their friends at Destiny Islands, their home. The game ends with Sora, Kairi and Riku reading a mysterious letter stamped with the King's seal.

Audio

Kingdom Hearts II incorporated Sony's "S-FORCE" ATRAC3 decoding middleware. The game is capable of monaural, stereo, and Dolby Pro Logic II audio profiles which allow it use either one, two, four, or five channel sound. Like the first installment, the game featured music by Yoko Shimomura and Utada Hikaru, and an all-star voice cast. Cover of the Kingdom Hearts II soundtrack. Cover of the Kingdom Hearts II soundtrack.

Musical score

An original soundtrack CD for Kingdom Hearts II, composed by Yoko Shimomura, was released on January 25, 2006. The main vocal theme for the original Japanese release was "Passion". The English version of "Passion," "Sanctuary," was used in the Western releases. Both versions of the song were performed by Utada Hikaru. Utada's involvement was announced on July 29, 2005. According to Tetsuya Nomura, it ties in even more closely with the game's story than "Hikari" ("Simple And Clean") did with Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories. The CD single for "Passion" was released on December 14, 2005. Sanctuary was first previewed on MTV.com early in 2006. Voice acting

A special effort was made to preserve the original voice actors from the Disney movies used in Kingdom Hearts II. Actors Ming-Na, James Woods, and Zach Braff reprised their animated Disney roles for the game. However, some voice actors from the related television series or direct-to-video sequels were chosen over original voice actors, where applicable (e.g. Robert Costanzo as Philoctetes rather than Danny DeVito). Many of the original voice actors from the first Kingdom Hearts reprised their roles; Haley Joel Osment, David Gallagher, and Hayden Panettiere return as Sora, Riku, and Kairi, respectively. Jesse McCartney, Brittany Snow, and Christopher Lee joined the cast as Roxas, Naminé, and DiZ. Some characters were given new voice actors; Aerith and Leon, who were originally voiced by Mandy Moore and David Boreanaz in the first game, are voiced by Mena Suvari and Doug Erholtz in this installment.

Development

Plans for Kingdom Hearts II began around the completion of Kingdom Hearts Final Mix, but specific details were undecided until the summer of 2003. To explain the loss of all the abilities from the first Kingdom Hearts at the beginning of this game, Tetsuya Nomura had Sora's memories get mixed around in Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories. Many aspects of the gameplay were reworked for this installment. Some additions were added due to user feedback and others were meant to be included in previous games but were omitted either because of time or technological constraints. The camera was switched to the right analog stick of the PS2 controller instead of the shoulder buttons and the Gummi Ship travel was reworked. The combat system was completely redone and did not use any animations from the first game. Nomura stated that because Sora had matured, he wanted his fighting style to reflect that. Other changes included more integration between exploration and battles. The variations in combat styles associated with each Drive Form and the addition of the Reaction Command were added to give players more choices in battles. The inclusion of worlds based on live-action Disney films was aided by technology that generated the character models from live-action pictures.

An unlockable trailer in the first Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts Final Mix hinted at the possibility of a sequel. Rumors for a sequel on the PS2 were spurred in Japan when the Japanese videogame site, Quiter, stated that "an internal (and anonymous source) at Square Japan" confirmed that development of Kingdom Hearts II had begun. It was not until Kingdom Hearts II was announced, along with Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, at the Tokyo Game Show in September of 2003 that rumors were confirmed. Initial details were that it would take place some time after Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, which takes place directly after the first game. Other details included the return of Sora, Donald, and Goofy, as well as new costumes. Information about Mickey Mouse's involvement was kept at a minimum. Aside from the game trailer and various screen shots, information regarding the game was kept secret for an extended period of time. Square Enix launched the official Japanese website in May of 2005, followed by the English website in December of 2005. The websites featured videos and information regarding characters and worlds. Though the game was announced in September of 2003, a release date for the game was not set until September of 2005. Nomura stated the game was announced too early and that information regarding the game was not released until a debut period was in sight.

Content editing

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. The Hydra boss in Olympus Coliseum has its green blood from the Japanese version (which in turn was taken from Hercules) changed into black and purple smoke in the English version. An earlier cut scene retains the green blood.

The World That Never Was boss Xigbar's telescopic sight has been changed from view with a crosshair and black shading around the sides to three glowing circles. An attack animation was also altered; in the Japanese version, Xigbar combined his two hand-held guns to create a sniper rifle, which was used to shoot the player's party during the telescoping sight sequence. In the English version, Xigbar does not combine his guns, but twirls them around and shoots at Sora with a single gun. The death of Organization XIII member Axel was slightly edited, as in the original he caught on fire during his kamikaze attack.

Port Royal contains the most content edits. Cut scenes have been edited to remove some of the violence, such as William Turner threatening to commit suicide while aiming a gun at his head. Also, undead pirates do not catch fire when affected by Fire magic and their muskets have been modified to resemble crossbows, though they still fire with an audible shooting sound effect.

Reception Review scores Publication Score IGN

7.6 out of 10 1UP.com

9.3 out of 10 X-Play

4 out of 5 Game Informer

9 out of 10 GameSpot

8.7 out of 10 GameSpy

9 out of 10 Famitsu

39 out of 40 Eurogamer

8 out of 10 Compilations of multiple reviews Game Rankings

87% Metacritic

87 out of 100

Kingdom Hearts II received overall positive reviews and met with positive sales figures. During its first week of availability in Japan, Kingdom Hearts II shipped over 1 million copies and sold 727,591 copies. By the end of March 2006, the NPD Group reported that Kingdom Hearts II was the top selling console game in North America, with 614,000 copies. During its first month of availability in North America, Kingdom Hearts II sold over an estimated 1 million copies. The game was also in IGN's "Top 10 Sellers in 2006". As of December of 2006, Kingdom Hearts II had shipped over 3.5 million worldwide with over 1.7 million in North America.

Critical response

The game has received numerous awards and high ratings among reviews. It tied with Biohazard 4 as Famitsu's Game of The Year 2005. Famitsu's readers ranked the game 29th on Famitsu's Top 100 games ever, ten places below the first game of the series. It was ranked as number one for IGN's Reader's Choice for PS2 Games. Electronic Gaming Monthly awarded it "Best sequel" of 2006. Game Rankings has it ranked as the 23rd top game of 2006. Kingdom Hearts II also received a near-perfect score, 39/40, from the Japanese game magazine Famitsu, which is well-known for its extremely harsh grading.

Critics commended many aspects of the game. GameSpy praised the quality of the voice acting and cited the graphics as "on par with the best of Square's productions to date." They also commented on the realistic and accurate character models for the characters based on the Pirates of the Caribbean. IGN rated the graphics a 9/10 and stated that the "worlds look very much like their filmed counterparts." GamePro also praised the graphics and audio quality, and rated them 4.5/5 and 5/5 respectively. GameSpot praised the voice acting and music, calling them "excellent." G4TV awarded Kingdom Hearts II "Best Voice Over" and "Best Soundtrack" in their 2006 G-phoria Awards.

Like its predecessors, Kingdom Hearts II's gameplay received mixed reviews. Many compliments were directed at the new camera controls and combat interactions between party members. GamePro stated that the beginning is "sluggishly slow," but praised the action-oriented combat. GameSpot complimented the fixed camera system and new gameplay dynamics, but stated that standard level of difficulty was far too easy and that there was too much button mashing. IGN also commented on the button mashing aspect of the gameplay and criticized the party member AI, citing it as "absolutely terrible," but praised the story, presentation, and new battle features.

Versions and merchandise

Kingdom Hearts II was released in four different versions. The first three where the normal regional releases, Japan, North America, and PAL, which only differ by minor content editing and localization. The European PAL release was reformatted to run at 50Hz and fit the definition size of PAL. The fourth version has additional content added and was released under the title Kingdom Hearts Final Mix. Like the previous titles, both Square and Disney released numerous types of merchandise before and after the release of the game. Merchandise ranged from toys and figurines to clothing items and books. The game has been adapted into a manga and novel series. Prior to the release of the game, an Ultimania book titled Kingdom Hearts Series Ultimania α ~Introduction of Kingdom Hearts II~ was released that provided information and a walkthrough of the first two games as well as provided information on the unreleased Kingdom Hearts II. After the release of the game, Kingdom Hearts II Ultimania was released and focused on the game itself. Another book, titled Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix+ Ultimania, was released after the Final Mix version was released.

Final Mix+

Because the first game was re-released, there was speculation whether Tetsuya Nomura would do the same with Kingdom Hearts II.[64] In a Weekly Shonen Jump interview with Nomura, he expressed interest in a possible international version of Kingdom Hearts II, although there were no definite plans. He said that should a "Final Mix" version arise, he has a "trump card" in mind, with such features as the Mushroom Heartless found in the first Kingdom Hearts.[24] In September 2006, Square Enix announced they would develop Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix+, featuring new scenes and gameplay elements.

Kingdom Hearts II was re-released in Japan on March 29, 2007 as a 2-disc set titled Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix+. The first disc contains Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix and the second disc contains Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories, a 3D PS2 version remake of Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories with extra scenes and voice over for particular scenes. The battle system continues the card gameplay, with the addition of using Reaction Commands from Kingdom Hearts II. Based on Amazon.com figures, Final Mix+ was the number one PlayStation 2 game in sales during the week of its release in Japan.

Literary adaptations

A manga series has started its serialization in the June 2006 issue (released on May 12) of the magazine Monthly Shonen Gangan, published by Square Enix. The artist is Shiro Amano, who also did the Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories manga series. The first volume was released in Japan in December of 2006. Tokyopop licensed the manga and will release volume one in North America in July 10, 2007. There is also a novel series written by Tomoco Kanemaki and illustrated by Shiro Amano. The first volume, titled "Roxas - Seven Days," was released on April 22, 2006 and covers Roxas' story to the part where Sora wakes up and leaves Twilight Town. The novel holds extra scenes that were not seen in the game but were added in the Final Mix version, such as interaction between Organization XIII members and between Axel, Naminé, and Riku. The second book, "The Destruction of Hollow Bastion," was released on July 16, 2006. The third book, "Tears of Nobody," revolving around Roxas' past, was released on September 29, 2006, and the fourth, "Anthem-Meet Again/Axel Last Stand," came out in February 2007.Template:Start box Template:Succession box