Your childhood fights back

By Nick Elmer
Collegian Staff
April 12, 2006

It took four long years. Four years of speculation, arguing with fellow fans and waiting were endured by Role Playing Game fans. That’s enough time to go to school, get a degree in a well-paying field and get out of their parents’ home. Luckily, video gamers didn’t have to resort to that, thanks to the release of Kingdom Hearts II. One of the most anticipated games of those four years, the game has a lot of expectations riding on it.

The first Kingdom Hearts still puzzles many people who have not played it. The game blended Disney movie-inspired levels with characters from the popular Final Fantasy video game franchise for a story about battling soul stealing monsters alongside Donald Duck and Goofy. There is no way that game should have worked. Yet it did, and all the elements swished together to form a delicious tonic of storytelling and game play.

Thankfully, the sequel is practically identical to the original, but fans have been responding to it in a very cold fashion. A major complaint is that the game doesn’t actually start with the player in control of the main character Sora. Instead, players gain control of Roxas, who is spending the last days of summer vacation with his best friends. Roxas stars for about three hours until Sora makes his appearance.

Your time playing as another character is not lost, though, because your experience and items are then passed to Sora as Roxas disappears. This whole introduction adds to the mystery that lasts most of the game. The anticipation of Sora’s return also creates a very nice awe-faction when the boy’s whereabouts are unveiled.

Kingdom Hearts II is an RPG, so the quality of its story is very important, and this story does manage to grab players’ interest. A constant need to know what happens next can turn a one-hour gaming session into a deadly six-hour excursion into sleep deprivation.

Disney has also apparently flashed some of its “Mickey Mouse Fun Bucks” in front of the faces of some impressive celebrity voice talents. Haley Joel Osmond, Christopher Lee and the doe-eyed Rachael Leigh Cook are some of those who join many of the original voice actors from the original Disney movies.

Combat has also been improved greatly from the first game. Abilities let you customize how Sora, Donald and Goofy fight to fit any style of play. I personally enjoy diving upon my enemies from above and then juggling them up into the air with a large number of swings from my weapon, while Goofy backs me up and Donald plays the medic.

Others might enjoy using more magic spells, which can now do more than shoot things. Totally new summons have been introduced and are actually useful this time around. There is something very comforting about hearing Zach Braff yell encouraging words to you while Chicken Little bombards opponents with baseballs.

The drive function adds another form of play. By joining with Donald, Goofy or both, Sora can become more powerful. Finally, the most different feature of Kingdom Hearts II combat is the use of reaction commands during battle. When the green triangle flashes up your screen you need to press it quickly in order for Sora to perform a special attack.

There are some negatives about the game, though. For one thing, most gamers will find some parts entirely too easy. Boss battles almost never take a second attempt to complete, and most of the enemies can be swept away with simple button mashing.

The beginning with Roxas, though mysterious, forces the player to partake in a large amount of “busy work” in order to earn enough money to buy a train ticket, find someone’s cat, etc. The fourth time you find yourself fighting bees (BEES!) for some old lady, you are going to yawn pretty hard. It gets boring.

Then there’s the lack of really intimidating enemies. Sorry, but six guys with black robes and Pete from Goof Troop just do not make me nervous. This also attributes to a lack of direction at times. In the first game you knew what Sora was trying to achieve when visiting each world, but with Kingdom Hearts II, the only real reason to go anywhere is because the game says so.

Be sure to kick your friends out of the room during the Little Mermaid rhythm-based musical mini-game. It will test your heterosexuality.

All in all, the game is a great experience. The story is fueled by emotion and nostalgia, the combat is varied and intuitive, and you get to hear Rachael Leigh Cook say things. A gamer couldn’t want anything more.

elmern1@lasalle.edu