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Kingdom Hearts II Preview

Posted by Zonk on from the heartless-to-the-left-of-me-heartless-to-the-right-of-me dept.

1up.com has an in-depth preview of the much anticipated Kingdom Hearts II RPG. The second mashup between SquareEnix and Disney is expected in the states sometime in late Spring or early Summer. From the article: "If the first Kingdom Hearts was a crazy experiment, then the sequel is the final product, refined and polished in dozens of small-but-important ways. One of the most obvious improvements is the game's massively higher budget; though the first looked nice, Kingdom Hearts II is one of the best looking games the PS2 has ever -- or will ever -- see. From photorealistic models to 'I can't believe it's not PS3' massive battles, the game convinces the aging PS2 hardware to do things that seem nearly impossible."

3 of 40 comments (clear)

  1. 20 hour impressions by jdubois79 · · Score: 5, Informative

    So, I'm still only partway through the game, but I have to agree with most of what the reviewer said. This game is incredibly beautiful. Everything about it screams style, and it's obvious that when they made the game they did so from the viewpoint that they're making a movie. They even have crossfades within the engine (no black screen or fade out between camera changes).

    The gummi ship battles (my least favorite part of the game in I) have been completely redone in II, and are now by far my favorite part.

    However.

    After an amazing first 10 hours, I've come to realize that II is essentially just a better version of I. The plot isn't as thrilling as I hoped it would be, and although the connection between XII and Sora and Roksor are interesting, I'm fiding myself visiting the same Disney worlds that I did in 1 (nightmare before xmas, atlantis, arabian nights, olympus) with only a few additions (tron, lion king, old town). Even the winny the pooh adventure is similar.

    Perhaps I'm just jaded, but I was hoping for something more far reaching in terms of plot. So far it feels like more of the same. Hopefully that will change in the next 20 hours or so.

    That being said, I do recommend the game, because even though the plot may not have progressed as much as I would have liked, it's still an amazing game with beautiful graphics and a deep combat and custimization system. Hell, I'd buy it just for the gummi battles. ;)

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    RabidComics
  2. Re:Photorealistic? by mh101 · · Score: 2, Informative

    In KH2, they go to "real life" areas from Tron and Pirates of the Carribean. Those are likely what is being referred to.

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    Duct tape is like the Force. It has a light side, a dark side, and it holds the universe together.
  3. Re:Where's Tron? by Blackwulf · · Score: 2, Informative
    From TFA:
    New worlds include Beauty and the Beast's Beast Castle, Mulan's Land of Dragons, the Lion King's Pride Land, and Timeless River, a black-and-white world based on old Mickey Mouse shorts, like 1928's Steamboat Willie. Also new are two "live action" worlds, where a cartoon Sora, Donald, and Goofy fight alongside realistically modeled human beings: Port Royal, based on 2003's Pirates of the Caribbean, and Space Paranoids, based on 1982's Tron. Square Enix has not yet announced if "real life" actors will reprise their in-game roles, but the first Kingdom Hearts' big-name celebrity voice acting leaves us optimistic.