Now that I've finished BBS FM, I can properly assess everything.
KH2FM
Maybe it was just coming off of being LV 100 on KHFM and having just beaten Xemnas, but going into 2 I felt incredibly underpowered and weak. It took forever to kill a couple of Heartless. When I hit a Heartless with a Keyblade in 1, I felt the kick of the Keyblade as I struck the Heartless and felt the power of the blade even at the beginning. Here, I felt like I was hitting Heartless with half a wooden sword. And I never ran away from fighting Heartless, I always fought to grind EXP. But even well into the second round of visits, I felt weak. Something I didn't feel the first time I played KH2 years ago.
Magic is a joke here compared to 1. The only useful spell is Cure and even that has to absorb all your magic. In 1 I felt powerful casting Thundaga and raining hell upon the Heartless. Thunder in 2 is just a bolt of electricity. Whoopee.
After watching the Days and Coded movies, it was jarring to watch the lip lock again that's so persistent in 2. It's like they're determined not to animate so many folks' faces, and this makes it awkward and clunky to watch. Especially for expressive characters like Scar, the hyenas, Yuffie, and Merlin. I do appreciate the addition of extras, even if there are only four or five of them.
The Cavern of Remembrance was really fun and cool to traverse. The Absent Silhouettes were fun, but only Marluxia really needed a good strategy, the others I could hack and slash easily. The Data battles are wicked, though. And the fight with Terra is insanely cool. Haven't gotten the secret ending but I don't plan to, the challenges in Olympus and elsewhere are ridiculous.
I loved the Roxas fight. Easily one of the best boss battles in the series. And the HD ReMIXed music is to die for.
BBS Final Mix
Never played BBS, but the same criticisms abound from when I watched cutscenes of it. Empty worlds, cheesy dialogue, and Jason Dohring and Willa Holland's excuses for acting. People usually drudge out the "he sounds better as he goes on" but no, that's not an excuse. As an actor, you're paid to deliver a quality performance the entirety of the time. Maybe I'm being cynical but yeesh. Jason Dohring didn't help the comparisons of Terra being KH's Hayden Blandenstian (with a terrific Emperor/Xehanort performance to counter it, mind you). Willa sounded better than Jason, but she needs work. It doesn't help that she's given some of the worst dialogue. Mark Hamill similarly is okay but his dialogue is atrocious, just atrocious. HJO and Jesse are great, however.
Even though they're empty, the worlds are still pretty to look at. It was cool to climb the path to Maleficent's castle, or glide around on the exterior of the Deep Space ship. And they really do capture the essence of each world. Dwarf Woodlands' theme is just as whimsical and fun as Snow White was, in particular. Enchanted Dominion was hauntingly beautiful. And the rest of the soundtrack is of course top-tier. Tears of the Light, Unbreakable Chains, Dark Impetus, Dismiss, Night in the Dark Dream, and Ven's theme were all standouts not just for the game but for the series. And of course Rage Awakened too.
The combat is the best it's been in the series since 1. It's fun, sleek, and exciting. Terra definitely felt super strong, Ven was fast, and Aqua felt more natural to me, so she's my default BBS character. Command Board could be frustrating at times but it got better as I learned it more. Mirage Arena beats Overdone Coliseum any day, by the way.
The secret bosses are a blast. They're all intense, fun challenges. I LOVE Mysterious Figure and No Heart. Eraqus is awesome, and Vanitas Remnant is the most challenging KH boss I've ever faced. And the fact the Secret ending and Episode are easy to get makes everything so much better. The secret episode is a haunting, tragic walk down memory lane, since it reminded me of End of the World (we gotta go back someday!) Dark Hidd was really fun too.
The story is pretty good. Jason's shit performance aside, I did see where Terra was coming from, as well as with the other two. Ven was really likable and cheerful, and Aqua is so dignified and smart and, yep, sexy.
Easily the best game besides the first. 9/10.
coded
The worst game in the series. Nonsensical rambling, repetitive cheese about friends and hearts, awful dialogue, it literally put me to sleep. The cutscenes were beautiful to look at, though. Other than that, terrible excuse for a third offering.
Consensus: 2.5 is a great, packed and fun collection of two of the series' best games.
Pros: Beautiful HD update to cutscenes and music; lots fun from FM content; BBS is a standout game.
Cons: Weak gameplay in 2; Terrible acting in BBS; Coded is a nonsensical waste of time.
