Here’s a crazy thought, what if there’s a game about Final Fantasy and Disney characters? It sounds crazy and absurd since Final Fantasy is a JRPG that dives deep into tragic storytelling and is geared toward pre-teens to adults, and Disney is a family-friendly company that tells happy stories about whatever they can come up with that is geared toward kids. But just imagine if there is ever a game about them together… Oh wait, there is a game that’s like that, and it is called “KINGDOM HEARTS”!
For this entry, I will be talking about “Kingdom Hearts 2”, my favourite game in the franchise and why it is considered the peak of the story. Just a quick side note, do not confuse “2” for being a sequel to the first game, because although it is, it is a sequel to “Re: Chain of Memories”. Their spin-off games mislead people into thinking it is a spin-off when in reality, they play a vital role in the story. If it makes it any easier, think of the number of entries as chapters, and the games released between the number of entries are part of the chapter. So “Re: Chain of Memories” and “358/2 Days” (although released after Kingdom Heart 2) is part of chapter one and takes place after the first Kingdom Heart game that leads to “Kingdom Heart 2” (the second chapter). I am sorry if this is confusing because quite frankly the whole series after this game is so confusing that not even the fans can comprehend what’s going on most of the time. I recommend checking out the opening to the game as it covers the first game and “Re: Chain of Memories” to “Kingdom Hearts 2”.
The Story:
After the confusion, let’s dive deep into why this is an amazing game! In the first couple of hours, you play as someone named “Roxas”, a new character and takes place in “Twilight Town” during summer vacation (which they had 7 days left). As each day passes, Roxas notices how weird everything is and these creatures called “Nobody” are spawning in their home when he visits the abandoned mansion. He summons the “Keyblade”, which is the iconic weapon in the series, that surprises him and helps him take down the enemies. As he explores the mansion, he discovers an underground in the mansion that showcases he is actually in a simulator from the real world. Before he can leave the mansion, he is stopped by his best friend name “Axel”, but Roxas doesn’t recognize him since his memories were wiped. Axel pleaded with Roxas, but nothing was working. As a way to bring him back to his organization called “Organization 13”, he was gonna subdue him and summon his weapon, which led to Roxas summoning his dual Keyblade named “Oath Keeper” and “Oblivion”. Roxas was surprised he did that but didn’t know it was his during his time in the organization. After Defeating Axel, he discovers that he is a Nobody, and belongs to the real protagonist named “Sora”, who is asleep in the pod to regain his memories from the past games. After the discovery, Roxas said to Sora, “You’re lucky, looks like my summer vacation is… over”. Accepting that he doesn’t truly exist, but is the the Nobody that was formed when Sora sacrificed his life back in the first game before coming back alive. Roxas faded away, as Sora woke up from his slumber alongside Donald and Goofy. Overall, a bittersweet opening to the game to makes you cry right away before even starting the game.
As Sora awakens with Donald and Goofy, they explore the real Twilight Town trying to understand where they are and what happened. As he meets Roxas’s friends, and bids farewell before going to “Mysterious Tower”, he sheds a single tear but does not know why since he doesn’t know Roxas’s friend well, could it be Roxas who’s crying when he resides back in Sora? As time goes on, he is in the mysterious tower with “Yen Sid” (King Micky’s mentor), given a new outfit, and is briefed about his new mission to stop the “Organization 13”, led by “Xemnas” who is the main antagonist. But since the game is long, I will be focusing on two huge moments in the game that are relevant to the game story.
The first big moment: Radiant Garden Invasion.
As Sora travels in each Disney world, the safe area for Final Fantasy and Disney characters is attacked by Xemnas. Sora and his buddies arrive back in Radiant Garden to save the people in the town, and he isn’t alone as he is assisted by various Final Fantasy characters such as Cloud, Tifa, and Squall (who goes by Leon in the game). Not to mention, King Mickey himself. After a couple of fan services when the trios try to reach Xemnas, they are stopped by Xemnas himself. As Mickey goes to take on the antagonist, the trios are stopped by three thousand nobodies. You heard that right, three thousand! Sora tries to get them to move, but won’t budge. Sora, Donald, and Goofy separated to take on 1K each. This moment was to showcase that Sora, although a very positive and lovable character, is not to be messed with and shows how strong he is for taking on a thousand nobodies all by himself as a teenager.
The second big Moment: Sora meets his Nobody for the first time, Roxas.
Throughout the game, Sora encounters each organization member to take them down. But as he meets them, the member calls Sora by his nobody name, “Roxas”. Sora is mad each time for being called the wrong name, not knowing who he is and why he is called that. That is until he goes to the final world called “The World That Never Was” where everything goes down. As the trios travel in the world, time is stopped but only Sora can move. Across from him, is an individual in a hooded black cloak who belongs to the organization, but has no connection to it as they left the group in “358/2 days”. As the fight begins, you see the dual keyblade, the theme that belongs to the character… it is Roxas. It is a very emotional yet challenging boss fight, with Sora trying to understand who the hooded figure is, and Roxas trying to understand why Sora is the chosen one. As the fight comes to a close, Roxas understands why Sora is the chosen one, and Sora finally learns about his Nobody being Roxas. Before parting ways, Roxas gives his memories to Sora and vanishes permanently (until Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance as they reuinite again). Roxas became a fan-favourite character due to his tragic story, amazing soundtrack theme, and lovable personality.
The Gameplay:
Kingdom Hearts 2 gameplay is also considered the best in the franchise due to the variety of playstyle, the rare chance of playing as King Mickey for certain boss fights, the variety of modes such as easy to “Critical mode”, and the data boss battle which you fight the Organization 13 one by one and some having its minigame during the fights. The data boss is no joke and pushes you to the limit as some you fought in “Re: Chain of Memories” (a card game) finally having a boss fight that fits the traditional gameplay, and fighting the remainder of the members who in “Kingdom Hearts 2” again but more difficult.
The Music:
Before wrapping up, I would like to talk about the soundtrack. Kingdom Hearts as a whole is known for having an amazing soundtrack composed by Yoko Shimomura, but taken to another level of amazing in the second game. The title screen alone is iconic throughout the series for its main theme, “Dearly Beloved” playing with art showcasing the current game. It is a calming yet beautiful theme, an icon to the gaming world and an inspiration to many musical artists like XXXTentacion himself as he was a fan of the series and loved the title screen music, and J. Cole as he use Xemnas boss soundtrack for one of his earlier song. If you have the time, I recommend checking out the soundtrack as a whole and they are available to stream on Spotify as of now. But for now, if you have the time, I recommend just listening to this masterpiece of a soundtrack.
Conclusion and links to the game:
Thank you for taking the time to read this post as I go through the parts of the game stories about Roxas and Sora, the fun gameplay, and the beautiful soundtrack that is iconic to the gaming world and musicians. If you are interested in trying out the game, check out these links about where you can get the game for the platforms you are on!
Please comment down below on what you love about the game, or series, or simply share your favourite video game. I make sure to read the comments and get back to you!
Playstation 4/5 | Xbox One/Series X/S | PC
Heads up, I highly recommend getting them on a deal (either physical or digital) so you can get all of the games for a steep price. PlayStation for some reason is the only one to provide an “All in One” collection in both physical and digital.