Kingdom Hearts is back! Sora, Donald, and Goofy are together again leading you through expansive Disney worlds. It’s a relief to see this game because it deserved a sequel badly. The original Kingdom Hearts was golden and I expected and got no less out of this game. SquareEnix working alongside Disney can do no wrong. There is just too much imagination and perfect chemistry to disappoint.

That being said, I should throw in the catch. It’s not a terrible one, but in all honesty, unless you’ve played Kingdom Hearts: Unchained Memories for the Gameboy Advance, the storyline is difficult to follow; well, for at least the first 7 hours. They do their best to recap with almost uncomfortably long, yet informative and intriguing cut-scenes. They don’t explain clearly enough that some who didn’t play Kingdom Hearts 1.5 would pick it up. Therefore, I would suggest you read a recap or play that one before you hop into this new one.

Aside from that, the storyline takes another bizarre turn right off the bat. You aren’t Sora. I had no idea what was going on, but when the ball gets rolling and you get sorted out and finally become Sora again, it gets clearer. But, when you do finally get reconnected as your original crew, it feels like you never left the first game. You are right back in familiar places with familiar faces.

You get to revisit most of your old worlds as the Heartless have come back, as well as many new worlds such as Port Royale from Pirates of the Caribbean. The graphics are flawless. It’s got a perfect edge of cartoony characteristics, but keeps very humanistic qualities. Also, the graphics for the Pirates of the Caribbean stage are crisp and clear, whereas when you play alongside Ariel under the sea, you are in what appears to be a replica of the movie The Little Mermaid. The idea of actually “playing” the movies with a twist had me sold from the beginning.

On to the sounds and music. The voiceovers, again, are absolutely excellent. Many celebrities came back to make this game. It had many original voices as it did in the real movies. Thank you, Disney. It also threw in a few original songs from the movies, not to mention a few new ones.

The controls and overall gameplay are dangerously close to the original, but with a few new ideas thrown in. Before I go further, I want to add that I am relieved they didn’t run with the card system Kingdom Hearts 1.5 was based around. So now then, the Triangle button has gotten a huge boost in the game. It’s pretty much your way of making contact with everything. Aside from that, the Square button is now a new defense mechanism, both of which are easily adaptable. Also, for a new twist are the costumes Sora has obtained. A new feature is the Limit option. Basically, when needed, you can choose to become a badass at most points in a battle and change costumes so long as your drive is full. As you play through the game, different costumes are given to you. But these are no ordinary clothes. These are your Limit clothes. For instance, the first one you get allows you to wield dual keyblades and have hyper speed temporarily. As little as I use this feature, I love it.

On a smaller note, the Gummi Ship is back. You still must go through Star Fox-esque level to get to new worlds. It’s a bit time-consuming and out of place, but some people enjoy it. I don’t see myself wasting the time to build a ship out of Gummi parts for just a small portion of the game. But it is good to see the lovable Chip and Dale in that area.

The actual fighting is as fun as before. It’s always nice to have your guests such as Aladdin or Beast to assist you destroying the Heartless. You pretty much slash up the enemies while Donald and Goofy are on the side helping you, little by little. They aren’t always necessary but are helpful.

The camera is about the same operating mode as before. It takes a little time to get a hang of the view, but it’s not a problem before you know it. There is an exception, and that’s the Atlantica level. It’s a bit tricky swimming, but not impossible.

Much like the original, it can be easy at times and can be hard at times. At the beginning of most stages, the Heartless are quite difficult, but you get the hang of killing them fast. The bosses are usually quite a challenge. They almost all incorporate precise timing with the Triangle button as a counterattack button that generally leads to their weakness.

Keep in mind at the beginning of the game, you can choose between an Easy, Medium, and Hard setting. I went with Medium and that’s about accurate. The next time I get bored, I may try the Hard as I did for the prequel.

The side-quests can be quite time-consuming and tedious, yet fulfilling. It’s worth gathering the extra stuff and creating the Ultimate Weapons. Making the most out of this game is more enjoyable than boring.

Once again, Kingdom Hearts 2 is very similar to the original. I’m still impressed with use of the D-pad as it gives you live-action options. In the middle of a battle, you may summon characters such as Stitch or Genie while shooting fire and still slashing opponents all without pausing.

It’s also back to the AP system (Ability Points). The more you level up, the more AP you get. But you must choose between the skills you want your crew to have because AP is used up before you know it. This part doesn’t seem to be nearly as critical for Donald or Goofy as it does for Sora. I’ll thank SquareEnix for this genius, classic form of RPG nature.

To gain experience, you defeat the Heartless and collect the orbs they spill out. This running around in circles to pick up every last bit can get annoying, but at least when one person picks it up, all the characters gain the experience point so you don’t have to focus on developing certain characters one at a time. That’s a relief from standard RPGism.

So, all in all, SquareEnix makes amazing video games and Disney makes incredible movies. I knew months before the original Kingdom Hearts was released, it was going to be something you couldn’t pass up. Unlike sequels to any old Disney movies, this game keeps up the beat with an outstandingly intriguing plot and complex, yet lovable characters. It will once again leave you wanting more. Don’t go rent it, go buy it.