 INTRODUCTION:
Kingdom
Hearts 2 is a sequel to the very unique game Kingdom
Hearts 1. Kingdom Hearts was unique in the sense that
it combined 2 very different worlds of Disney and
Square Enix and made it work. And now the sequel looks
set to expand on this original idea while keeping
intact some of the great concepts of the first game.
This in depth preview aims to cover anything and everything
that is known right now about this highly anticipated
sequel.
STORY:
KINGDOM
HEARTS 2’s story will take place one year after
the events of Kingdom Hearts I. Sora will be again
joined by a vibrant cast of characters both new and
old, including the king himself. Countless dangers
will await them in worlds both old and new. It seems
the Heartless still exist. A new villain also awaits
– but is it an old foe behind the mask, or a
new menace? This mystery and others will be solved
as the story unfolds in a grand adventure.
Anyone
who has played Kingdom Hearts 1 knows that it featured
a huge cast of characters, which included characters
from the worlds of Disney Animated Movies, the Final
Fantasy Games and some original ones. Keeping with
this tradition Kingdom Hearts 2 is will also feature
some new characters plus characters from the Disney
Animated Movies and some Final Fantasy characters.
ORIGINAL
CHARACTERS:
Sora:
The protagonist of Kingdom Hearts will reprise his
role as the main character in Kingdom Hearts 2. It’s
been 1 year and Sora is still on a journey looking
for the door to the light and in addition clean the
universe of the Heartless who have also returned.
Also in the game Sora will continue to cross paths
with The Organization and probably have his first
face-off with the leader of The Organization, Ansem.
Unknown
Character #1: This character resides in Twilight Town.
It is still very unclear as to who this character
really is. There is a scene with this character where
he shouts at Axel, "You cannot see Sora"
which show's that both characters are connected with
each other and in general this character will have
a very big role. The general belief is that this character
is the other side to Sora's heart an idea mentioned
during Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories.
Kairi: One year prior to the events of this game,
Kairi was separated from Sora and she was returned
back to her homeland of Destiny Islands. She still
resides in Destiny Islands, presumably waiting for
Sora and Riku.
Riku:
At this moment of time, I am unsure of Riku's appearance
in Kingdom Hearts 2. I only know that he is in the
game because the voice of Riku in Kingdom Hearts,
David Gallager said he was in talks about doing his
voice in this game. A big part of Kingdom Hearts 2
will revolve around whether Sora will have a chance
to see Riku again.
Final
Fantasy Characters: Just like Kingdom Hearts, the
sequel will have numerous characters from the Final
Fantasy series and will interact with Sora in some
way or another. At least 5 characters from the Final
Fantasy series have been confirmed who will make an
appearance in Kingdom Hearts 2 including Auron from
Final Fantasy X.
Disney
Characters: The following Disney characters are set
to make an appearance in Kingdom Hearts 2:
Mickey
Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Goofy, Donald, Captain Jack Sparrow,
Jack Skellington, Pete.
Mulan,
Mushu and Shang (from the movie Mulan)
Aladdin,
Jasmine, Jaffar, The Genie and Abu (from the movie
Aladdin)
Beast,
Belle, Cogsworth, Chip, Lumiere and Mrs. Potts (from
the movie Beauty and The Beast)
Hercules,
Meg, Hades, Pegasus (from the movie Hercules)
Since
there is still more than a month before the game is
released I’m sure that more characters will be
unveiled and confirmed for this sequel.
 The
Organization:
The
Organization is a group of 12 members (and possibly
more) who seek to discover the secrets of the heart.
The members of this group each have their own unique
role or power. The names of some of its members have
been unveiled and they are as follows:
1
Possibly "The Superior" aka DiZ
2 Enigmatic Man // "The Unknown"
3 Unknown
4 Vexen
5 Lexaeus
6 Zexion
7 Unknown
8 Axel
9 Unknown
10
Unknown
11 Marluxia
12 Larxene
THE
WORLDS:
Similar
to Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts 2 will feature a
wide variety of different playable area's to explore
in. Currently there are 10 confirmed worlds that will
be playable in Kingdom Hearts 2 and they are:
- Twilight
town
- Hollow
Bastion
- Disney
Castle
- Destiny
Islands
- Deep
Dive
- Olympus
Coliseum
- Fabled
Countryside
- Agrabah
- Ancient
China
- Halloween
Town
Twilight
Town:
Twilight Town will be the hub of all activity in Kingdom
Hearts 2, much like Traverse Town was in Kingdom Hearts.
Kingdom Hearts 2 will begin in Twilight Town with
Sora & Co. making there way into Town via the
train (covered in the Transportation section of this
preview). A tutorial will be on offer in Twilight
Town for new players and even for old players who
just want to refresh their memories on the basic gameplay
mechanics of the game.
Hollow
Bastion: With the supposed deaths of Ansem and
Malficient being defeated, Hollow Bastion has remained
deserted and as time has passed the Heartless have
slowly began to tear the castle apart. During Kingdom
Hearts 2, Sora & Co. hear about the amount of
Heartless now surrounding the World and decide to
return.
Disney
Castle: In the original Kingdom Hearts we were
only given a glimpse of Disney Castle, the home of
King Mickey. With no chance to play it in Kingdom
Hearts, fans longed for a chance to explore it as
a world in Kingdom Hearts. I am happy to report that
fans won’t be disappointed, as this time around
Disney Castle will be playable. There is currently
very little information on what will take place within
the world but one can presume it'll involve Mickey.
Destiny
Islands: This was the world where for the very
first time we were introduced to Sora, Riku and Kairi.
All of them used to journey to this island on little
boats where'd they play all day. On this island the
gang decided to build a raft to go out and explore
other worlds, but well you know what happened to that
plan!
Basically,
due to its huge importance in Kingdom Hearts, it was
only natural for it to return in the sequel. At the
moment very little is known about its role in-game
but the island has been featured in every Kingdom
Hearts 2 trailer to date.
Deep
Dive: Deep Dive is the infamous video that plays
at the end of Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix. Its importance
in Kingdom Hearts 2 is huge. But what is this importance?
With nothing confirmed we I only state what I see.
Within the world I have been witness to 5 members
of the Organisation.
Olympus
Coliseum: The
popular Olympus Coliseum from the animated movie Hercules
makes a return in Kingdom Hearts 2. In Kingdom Hearts,
Olympus Coliseum was the training grounds on which
Sora could become stronger by participating in competitions
and fights against powerful optional bosses. As promised
the Coliseum returns in Kingdom Hearts 2 but with
a much bigger role. The main storyline for this world
will take place in The Underworld where Hades resides.
This time around the world will feature more characters
from the original movie.
Fabled
Countryside:
A new world to Kingdom Hearts 2, based on the classic
Disney film, Beauty & The Beast. It is the world
where Belle and Beast reside. This Beast has imprisoned
the entire castle's staff in a dungeon. Belle is obviously
concerned and pretty scared, which leads Sora to offer
help. Then you head to the prison and talk to the
dresser (the only member of staff not locked up) who
tell's them where the staff are located. After some
further exploring, the demo end's with battling a
boss who prevents you from entering a door.
Within
this world will be the presence of one the Organisation
members who taunts Beast and causes him to act the
way he is when exploring the world. Beast still desires
to return to his human self and the Organisation use
this to there advantage to use Beast as they please.
Agrabah:
First
featured in Kingdom Hearts, the sequel will also have
the world of Agrabah to play in, based on the Aladdin
movies. One of the larger worlds in Kingdom Hearts
because of the fact it included the Underground and
the area surrounding the palace. But this area surrounding
Agrabah was very limited. In addition the Aladdin
trilogy gave reason for the world to return in Kingdom
Hearts 2.In Kingdom Hearts 2, Sora & Co. return
to Agrabah to catch up with Aladdin and Jasmine, but
soon find out that Pete has found Jaffar's lamp and
is prepared to bring him back. Thus Sora & Co.
try to prevent Pete from doing this. In addition we'll
see Sora & Co. join Aladdin & Abu as they
try and steal a huge diamond. But as the trailers
show, not all goes to plan.
Ancient
China: A new world to Kingdom Hearts 2, based
on the popular Disney movie. Mulan’s dark tone,
epic battles and story all set perfectly within the
Kingdom Hearts 2 storyline. Ancient China as its known
in Kingdom Hearts 2 features wide battle areas and
many areas to explore.
Due to the characters and locations based on the film
that have already been shown in Kingdom Hearts 2,
Sora & Co. apparently appear to be helping out
on Mulan's quest. In other words the storyline for
this world will be more focused on the films storyline
that a newly constructed one, but of course it has
been changed to fit more in with the Kingdom Hearts
Universe.
Halloween
Town: In Kingdom Hearts, we saw the inclusion
of Tim Burtons "The Nightmare Before Christmas"
as one of the playable worlds. The sheer quality of
it and atmosphere made it the majority of Kingdom
Hearts Fans' favorite world. This caused a lot of
hope for it to return and prayers of the fans have
been answered. Very little information is known about
Halloween Town but it is safe to say that this time
around the world's story will be more focused around
the actual film, in which Jack pretends to be Santa
Claus and brings Christmas to Halloween and "Christmas
Town".
 GAMEPLAY:
I
am excited to report that Kingdom Hearts 2 will feature
a brand new battle engine that should ensure battles
are more exciting and more engaging than those in
Kingdom Hearts 2. With the new battle engine several
new abilities have also been added to Kingdom Hearts
2 and the following is a list of confirmed new abilities:
-
Mawarikomu-This ability lets you turn behind the enemy
for a sneaky attack.
- Wall Kick – Allows you to kick off wall's to
keep in the air
- Safe Landing- With safe landing you can land safely
when hit mid-air
- Full Swing
- Teleport
- Air Juggle
THE
DRIVE SYSTEM:
Kingdom
Hearts 2’s most innovative addition in combat
has to be the Drive System. What happens is that as
you defeat enemies they drop yellow balls that fill
up the “Drive Gauge.” Once it reaches its
maximum, Sora will go through a short transformation
sequence that is in fact a sort of fusion. Throughout
the game Sora will gain the ability to fuse with various
other party members, like his ability to fuse with
Goofy called Brave Form that allows him to wield 2
keyblades. During this period, Sora will gain new
fast and furious combos to dismiss your enemies with.
However,
this mode will last only for a limited period of time.
After you transform, the drive gauge will become gray
with a 5 next to it. The gauge will gradually decrease
until it reaches 0, upon which Sora will turn back
to his own self. But while in Drive mode, if you continue
getting the yellow balls it will add to your decreasing
drive bar thus keeping you in Drive mode for as long
as you keep collecting the yellow balls.
GOOD
NEWS FOR FANS:
Fans
of the series will be delighted to know that Square
Enix has not taken a different twist with the series
gameplay wise. Given the current state of the game,
it's clear that not much has changed in the gameplay
of Kingdom Hearts 2. There are a few differences,
but none of the alterations have a severe impact on
the game mechanics. In the sequel you're on the same
kind of explorative quest, killing the enemies known
as the Heartless.
GUMMI
SHIPS:
Gummi Ship's were used as transportation in the original
game, although this way of traveling around has now
been replaced with a bunch of trains, Gummi Ships
will still be making a return in Kingdom Hearts 2,
although this time they'll be more for amusement or
an extra mini-game.
CHANGES
IN SPACE:
Personally
I think the gummi ship sequences in Kingdom Hearts
1 were boring, unexciting and a complete waste of
time. It was a section of the game that left much
to be desired. Kingdom Hearts 2 looks set to make
these sequences better with the following changes.
1.
Your ship will now have auto aiming. This will make
it easier to pilot the ship at a fast speed plus allow
you to hit enemy targets in front of you and those
behind you as well.
2.
Also available in Kingdom hearts 2 is the inclusion
of ally ships. They seem to only be extra guns, but
they could be computer controlled. It isn't known
how helpful these ships are, but they sure look cool!
3.
Another new addition to the system are 3 radars. These
could prove very helpful because enemies will be coming
at you from all directions, though it may take a while
to get used to.
4.
In Kingdom Hearts 2 you will only be able to hover
above a track (similar to a racing game like Wipeout).
However there will be multiple routes that can be
taken.
5.
Boss battles will also be a part of the Gummi ship
sequences in Kingdom Hearts 2.
6.
The original Kingdom Hearts only allowed you to use
one extra attack. In Kingdom Hearts 2 you can have
multiple attacks, which are selected by scrolling
through the Reaction Menu Wheel using the L2 and R2
buttons. Different attacks are represented by different
symbols. Once you've selected the attack you use the
attack with the Triangle button (as in the rest of
Kingdom Hearts 2)
7.
A new concept of scoring will make its debut in these
sequences too. This time around you gain points for
destroying things and collecting items. Points vary
depending on what you destroy as different enemies
have different point values. As you gain points a
meter next to the score bar fills up. Once it is completely
filled you get a ship upgrade. The upgrades may only
last for the remainder of the level.
8.
Besides the above mentioned improvements the following
changes have also been made:
-The speed of the ship's and whole pace of the mini-game
is a lot faster
- In addition to Heartless ships, you can fight Nobody
ships
- An improved score system, and the ability to pick
up mid-flight bonuses
- You can turn your whole ship around
The
HP and MP bars return in Gummi ship sequences of Kingdom
Hearts 2. If you take damage you will loose HP, loose
all of your HP and your ship is done for. MP is used
up when you use the auxiliary attacks, unlike the
original Kingdom hearts your MP reloads overtime.
How fast the MP reloads still has to be seen
TRANSPORTATION:
In
Twilight Town there will be a train station, which
will be used by the gamer to travel across the many
worlds of Kingdom Hearts 2. The game starts with the
train first traveling into Twilight Town.
With
so many new additions and the promise to bring back
elements from the prequel Kingdom Hearts 2 is shaping
up to be a worthy sequel.
|
