Kingdom Hearts Triumphs Over Its Sequel

If you jumped on the fusion bandwagon of Squaresoft characters, Disney worlds, and simplistic fun that was Kingdom Hearts, most likely you couldn't wait for the sequel. When the game hit shelves reviewers and players alike faced a shocking letdown. Sure there was still fun to be had in Kingdom Hearts II, but more fun? Fun worth the wait of four years since the original was released? Not a chance. The original Kingdom Hearts remains a triumph over its muddled sequel in most respects. Let's break down the facts.

The original Kingdom Hearts had a simple but entertaining story. Players learned about Sora, Rikku, and Kairi and about the keyblades. You found out you were a defender of worlds and had to close the dark forces of The Heartless from those locales. You helped the stories of the other Disney realms and learned how important friendship was to Sora, Goofy, and Donald. Everything was enjoyable and swift to follow.

Then came the convoluted sequel. Sorry to say, it fell prey to what many sequels in any medium can succumb: Kingdom Hearts II tried too hard to be different. There was no pacing; characters and plot points changed and overlapped and shifted speeds at random. Fans had to bid farewell to the simple times of yore. The first few plot points most fans were able to handle. Every Heartless killed produces a Nobody, done and done. Then the diary of Ansem came. Followed shortly by the Organization XIII and its cryptic characters and motives. After that, you discovered the bonds of Sora, Rikku, and Kairi's Nobodies. And lastly, the fact that you reopen worlds that you closed from darkness in the original made the previous game's endeavors futile.

I could go on, but the point it crystalline. If you enjoy sifting through text and inferring the complexities of a needlessly complex story, be my guest. The first game was fine and involving enough in its base revelations of character. Kingdom Hearts II was a fish gasping for air on the surface in terms of story and basic enjoyment of what you were doing, where as in the original players' missions were clear. If the game's plot and characters are not likeable or easily inferred, the player will not enjoy the experience, and millions did not.

Now, to be fair, many games have bad stories and ambiguous scenarios (Metal Gear, Xenosaga, etc.) but were saved thanks to fantastic game play. Sadly, Kingdom Hearts II failed in this area as well. Let's review. The original game could be called a button masher action-RPG with a dash of strategy. You had spells to cast and several basic attacks. You gained new abilities by leveling up and you could customize your gummi ship transport. Kingdom Hearts II was advertised as being bigger and better. The designers gave us new abilities: the power to harness two keyblades and to convert into different forms during battle. All of these additions sounded fantastic, yet none were implemented well or to the fullest. Do these additions make fighting look cooler? Absolutely. Were they necessary? No.

Every boss battle in the game can be won by mashing away on the square button without converting or using these forms. Summon spells are a waste of time: the AI of your helpers is redundant and besides, why bother using spells at all? Your repertoire or magic was nearly halved, and no longer did you need to learn to use your magic well, because no bosses or big characters required only magic to take defeat them. Most facets of inventory and powers lacked balance; you no longer had to pick and choose which abilities to give your sidekicks - if you had enough AP they could use twenty or more at the same time.

That, my friends, is lack of balance and overkill. These were very winded features that could have been put to use if the game was more challenging. Why not put some strategy into fighting bosses like in the original? If the magic systems, item selectivity, and "enhanced" new forms had been put in a more challenging context, the game would have played better. Don't even bother buying health potions: enough health orbs escape even your weakest enemies to heal you. Worlds also felt very linear, even more cramped and one-way than the original. In short, the new features were either half-finished or felt overpowering, and due to those two factors all challenge and strategy was drained from the title.

There were several pluses in Kingdom Hearts II. Voice acting and music was top notch. Graphics were beautiful and represented the Disney worlds well. The gummi ship sections were actually worth customizing and playing through thanks to a Panzer-Dragoon rail shooter feeling. And the abundance of differing keyblades was fun to find and experiment with.

That is where the fun stopped. The story was hard to follow, a far cry from the original's amiable plot. Even with new additions to combat, item collecting, and scale, the game play became an even bigger button masher then Kingdom Hearts with most additions being superfluous and unnecessary to basic play. Perhaps my descriptions seem harsh to fans of both games, but millions of players were let down on multiple levels and in imposing ways by what Kingdom Hearts II turned out to be. Was there talent to cherish and fun to be had in the sequel? Yes, but its faults and needless complexities in story and game play make it a sorry second act to the original Kingdom Hearts.