Replay: Kingdom Hearts 2

For this part of the blog we take a game, album or film from our past and replay it to see if it still stands the test of time. My pick was the classic PS2 game Kingdom Hearts 2. This behemoth of an RPG was the most innovative in plot, character developments and game mechanics at the time of its creation. Yet can it still live up to this almost ten years on? For me this is an easy yes.

Sora, Donald and Goofy are back with a vengeance to save worlds, find their friends and slaughter any heartless that get in their way. From Sora being a kid wanting to explore something new, to a teenager trying to find the truth, the game thankfully grows up alongside its characters. The progression from his previously naive and childish persona is refreshing and realistic and the character design is beautifully executed. The story itself is immersive from the very first cutscene and has enough mystery and intrigue to power you through the game. With character appearances from Disney and Final Fantasy the plot garners a diverse range of talent.

Additionally reintroducing past characters from the franchise such as Hercules and Beast proves to be a smart move from Square Enix. This allows them to build upon previously unexplored story lines and yet still be able to customize each world with new paths and missions. The graphics are an evident step up from the simplicity of the first although the game manages to uphold the signature vibrancy and individuality Kingdom Hearts is known for. One of its biggest strengths however lies in the new elements of the drive gauge. By allowing the user to transform into four unique forms it makes combat an incredibly visceral experience.

Now onto the less appealing parts of the game. As you may know RPG's demand a great deal of time in order to fully experience each aspect of the game play. That meant in order for me to properly replay this game I invested over 49 hours to reach the end. For some gamers this can be quite a daunting and relatively tedious task. Especially with an abundance of cutscenes which may leave you feeling like the cinematic side is too dominant for this action title. Similarly the plot for Kingdom Hearts 2 for most is considered more complex than quantum physics. Seriously there are over 20 characters featured all with an overlapping relevance to one another. If you're one to skip dialogue than this game is certainly not for you. Furthermore even on its highest difficulty setting the game can be breezed through with some serious button mashing which leaves a lot to be desired.

Overall this title has certainly grown up from its predecessor. It guarantees enjoyment for followers of the game and new players alike with its carefree attitude and transfixing storyline. Besides any game that can successfully merge Disney and Final Fantasy with an original concept deserves a lot of credit. Therefore I would give this a replay value of 8 out of 10.