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of powers, while Sora still swings that mighty keyblade
in KH2 he has also learned some cool new tricks, including
how to wield two keyblades at once. The battle system,
which is in real-time, unlike the Final Fantasy series
turn-based combat, has been upgraded. The first of which
is a context sensitive use of the Triangle button that
will allow Sora to improvise new battle moves at the
touch of the button. If players are fast on the draw
when the Triangle symbol appears it might help turn
the tide of battle with a special move. During battles,
enemies will drop glowing yellow spheres that Sora can
use to increase the drive form meter. Once enough spheres
have been collected, Sora can activate a 'drive form'.
There are 5 different drive forms available in KH2 and
each allow Sora to fuse with one or both of his party
members which grant him greater strength and power for
a limited time. As players progress they will acquire
the following drive forms: Brave Form (Goofy & Sora),
Wisdom Form (Donald & Sora), Master Form (Donald,
Goofy & Sora), Final Form (Goofy, Donald & Sora)
and Anti-Form (dependent on damage taken during drive
form). The powers granted during the drive forms range
include wielding two keyblades, telekinetic duel keyblade
attacks, projectile keyblade attacks, flight, increased
magic, increased physical ability, glide and double
jump to name a few. If Sora takes too much damage while
in drive form he will transmogrify into the Anti-Form
which....well, perhaps I've said too much. I'm getting
into spoiler territory.
Another
addition to the fighting engine is Sora's newfound
ability to execute a link attack with a special guest
character fighting alongside your party. These attacks
will vary widely depending on what level you are currently
playing and whom Sora is teamed up with at the time.
In
terms of actual combat, KH2 isn't that far removed
from the original. Square-Enix seemed to be reluctant
to alter it significantly so there will still be lengthy
episodes of button mashing the X button. Overall the
difficulty appears to have been lowered to accomodate
players with average skills, which is usually not
the way a sequel works, but in Square-Enix's defense,
I would advise KH veterans to play on Proud (the hardest
difficulty) which should provide a decent amount of
challenge in the long run.
Combat
is much less frustrating an experience when compared
to the original Kingdom Hearts, due to the overhauled
camera system which allows you to control the camera
with the R analog stick at any time. This should please
critics of the originals flawed camera system, which
wasn't maneuverable and often left you with the worst
possible view of the action. You'll also discover
Square-Enix is offering a new 'perspective' this time
out. While the game is generally played from a third
person view allowing the player to see the action
from a 'behind the character' position, you'll also
find yourself playing in first person view reminiscent
of FPS (first person shooters) thanks to a little
help from Chicken Little.
Summoning
Disney characters to assist Sora in battle returns
in KH2 and you'll have four to choose from. Summoning
a character is dependent on your drive meter so Sora
won't be able to use drive form and summon simultaneously.
This also means summoned characters won't be available
to help indefinitely; once the drive form meter depletes,
you'll be on your own.
- Chicken
Little: When summoned, the game switches to a first
person perspective so that Chicken can hurl baseballs
in rapid succession at enemies.
- Stitch
is the extremely destructive Disney anti-hero and
he isn't any less behaved in video game form. Once
called into action, Stitch will break through the
"fourth wall" of gaming and appear to
crawl around the screen (including the menus!) while
casually shooting enemies with his plasma blaster.
His link attack with Sora consists of a ukulele
jam session where buttons must be pressed at the
correct time to execute the ultimate in musical
destruction.
- Genie
from Aladdin has his own version of Sora's keyblade,
which he'll use with reckless abandon to smite his
enemies. He can also mimic any of Sora's available
drive forms, which can result in a devastating damaging
attack.
- Peter
Pan & Tink are quite handy. Peter will fly around
and attack enemies while Tink will heal Sora. This
summons is actually quite special as it furthers
the storyline of KH2, but sorry, I won't tell you
why!
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