Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix releases a month from now.

[robvandam111]

With the anticipation of the game releasing a month from now. Let's go back to when Kingdom Hearts 2 was released of May 2006. I still remember watching the teaser trailer from May 2004 which was the same school season when I got into the first game; months before. I wasn't too aware of a release date at the time. Nor did I know about events like E3 and such. I was going to the mall one day of May. When inside the GameStop store inside which is called "Planet X". I saw the card board up and luckily I was fortunate I had my mom go inside with me just to get the game and I was informed also about a special edition hardcover guide with an artbook. I just couldn't wait to get home start playing!

So what was your story when you first got Kingdom Hearts 2? Your feelings or struggle, how was that first feeling when the game was finally released?

 

[axel95]

Kingdom Hearts 2 was the first game I played in the series. I got a PS2 one Christmas (my first console!), and my uncle wanted to get me a good game for it (I was raised by very sheltering Christian parents, and they expected me to play mostly sports games). My uncle picked out the game without knowing anything about it, and from the first time I started playing it, I was hooked. I eventually got caught up with the series, and have since beaten each game multiple times. KH2 has a ton of nostalgia for me, as it was one of my first games and my first RPG, which has become my favorite genre.

 

[Oracle Spockanort]

I remember following all of the news for KH2 when it was still in development. I was always on sites like KHUltimania tracking as much as I could. I believe I also lurked KHVids (I never used KHI and didn't like it haha look at where I am now haha) I remember the day the TVCMs started making their way online and this one had me mesmerized:

[video=youtube;CDAZzQA0fpQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDAZzQA0fpQ[/video]

I love that the 2.5 Story TVCM is kind of a throwback to it only so slightly with the line choice:

[video=youtube;g8u7qma-5NQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8u7qma-5NQ[/video]

Anyways, I tried watching what I could find online about the game, but I forced myself to forget so when I played the Japanese version I'd be surprised. I did spoil myself on "The Gathering" secret ending, though. When it finally came out in America, I was at the end of my freshman year of high school. I ordered the game from Amazon along with the hardcover guide (I hoped and prayed to get the Master Form version AND I DID I love Master Form it is so underrated) and when I came home one day from school, it had arrived. I don't think I did any homework for a week, but my grades didn't suffer so I must have did some of it.

Every day I played the game. Never took my school uniform off. I'd just plop down on the floor in the living room in front of the TV and play. I survived Xaldin and never had problems unlike others (and felt like a badass for it). I almost had a rage quit moment when I was fighting Xigbar. I think I gave myself a heartattack fighting Saix. I bawled my eyes out when Sora, Riku, and Kairi reunited.

By time I finish the game it was Saturday and I was doing laundry with my mom. Every time I came back upstairs after changing loads, I was doing different parts of Xemnas' battles. I remember I hadn't gone back down to get one of the last loads so I told myself I'd die in this one fight with Xemnas (the final one) and then come back and start over but NO I FINISHED. And I collapsed to the floor and kind of just laid there watching the cutscenes unfold and sung Sanctuary as the credits rolled and...Yeah.

About a week later I fought and beat Sephiroth (after researching a good method of fighting him online; somebody suggested equipping a bunch of Elixirs) so I did that and called one of my best friends after and cried in her ear that I beat him. (She was a KH fan too, though she only played CoM)

Even now when I think about all of that, I want to cry. I associate all those memories with "CRY SOB TEARS MY HEART" because god I loved KH2 when I played it. I wish I could recapture the same feelings I had when playing and experiencing it. I'm hoping when 2.5 comes out in a month in English, I can because I know the phantom feeling is still there. Playing it in Japanese is fun but it's not the same. I'm spending more time having emotions for other series that certain voice actors in KH worked on than I am the game itself haha.

KH2 might not be my favorite of the series, and certainly has too many flaws and makes me wish Nojima hadn't been alone doing the scenario writing for KH2 because he needed somebody like Jun Akiyama or Daisuke Watanabe to balance him out (I am convinced that SE games are better off with a team of writers than a sole writer because things are always better from team written games, bar Days), but I still have a lot of nostalgia and love for it.

 

[OathkeeperRoxas XIII]

I remember when the KH2 commercial came on playing Sanctuary, it was actually a few weeks after I finished KH for the first time, and got KH2 for my birthday. I beat the game in 3 days, but I had fun. Sure KH2 wasn't the best, but then again people say that to all the games including DDD, but it's still one of my favorite games. I can't wait to play all the FM features and see how long I can last against Terra. I say a minute, Super Bosses have been a issue for me since getting into the RPG genre.

 

[limit]

Ahh, 2006. I remember clueless little me talking to my friend about the very first video game I played a year ago (and I recently got to play again, thanks to my cousin) called Kingdom Hearts. Then all of a sudden he starts telling me about KH2 and how you play as this guy Roxas and you're fighting Axel, and all of this was just bizarre yet incredibly cool!

Anyway, I didn't get to play KH2 for a while after that until I borrowed it from my cousin again (I owe him a lot, don't I), and the sheer amount of how much it improved and how different it was was amazing for clueless little me. I remember another friend of mine got it for me for my birthday about a year later, and I thought that to be the greatest day ever. Man, good times!

Of course, I was completely clueless on the existence of CoM for a long time, so I was completely confused when Sora decided to wake up from a pod

 

[Delsan]

I didn't have to wait for the KH series like most people did. I got into KH around 2007, and by then the first two games were released, so I was able to play the first two games in succession.

But I thoroughly enjoyed KH2 more than KH1, and still do. It wasn't until I joined KHI that I recognized its many faults, but hey, nothing's perfect.

 

[robvandam111]

I remember hearing those Sanctuary commercials. They were really emotional to me and I had the song automatically playing on my mind thinking about Kingdom Hearts 2. When I got the game that day. I wasn't actually enthuse to play as Roxas nor did I understood why. I was only able to play through some of the days and did plenty of searching around Twilight Town. It was exciting the moment I got to play as Sora again although I did noticed throughout the entire game the fast pace that was introduced. I knew from there didn't HAD that Kingdom Hearts 1 feeling. Now that more about story has been expanded glad I understood more about it and Roxas too.

 

[Antar]

Wow, you guys have some of the best memories I've ever heard, especially Master Spockanort's! I could really feel the excitement in your stories! I wish I had such great memories, my experience was a bit boring.

I don't remember when and who bought KH2, but it was one of the games we had for our PS2. I ended up playing it without knowing anything about the first KH and I really liked it. I kept beating the game from start to finish multiple times without even knowing what's going on. It was only a few years later that I gained more interest in the story aspect and I found out about KH 358/2 days, which wasn't release yet. I followed the news of it, and the following entries in the KH franchise, on this site.

 

[hemmoheikkinen]

Oh my! Your stories are so wonderful! I got also excited and wanna share my memories. So I had been waiting KH2 for a really long time, and I was really excited about it. I remember we used to go into a bunch gaming stores with my dad, asking about the game. I didn`t follow any gaming media closely when I was young, so I wasn`t sure about the release date. Then one day my dad called me and said the game can be ordered to a store, in a town where he lives. He ordered it and gave it to a buss driver, and told that I am waiting for that in the bus stop.(Me and my dad lived in different towns) My mom knew how long I had been waiting for that game, so she told me not to even open the package. I had a chemistry test that day, so she thought I wouldn`t be able concentrate on the test. So I ran to the buss stop when the bus arrived, and before any of the passengers get to got out, I got my hands on Kingdom Hearts 2. I just stared at the beautiful cover art, mesmerized by Sora`s stare and Kairi`s school outfit. The cover was so beautiful! So I went to school, did my the test and came home. The I sat in my room and started KH2. I just stared the title screen listening to Dearly Beloved and the waves. Then my sister asked is it good to actually have the game now, and I just said"yeah".

So the following weeks I played the hell out of KH2 and had wonderful time. I am really excited for KH2.5. I have waited for years to challenge Roxas(and Terra and Data-Org XIII as well), and I can`t believe I can actually do it now. I still go home during weekends, and my room is still the same one, where I started my PS2 copy of KH2. So I plan to live the same nostalgia on the same room, where I first time did it all those years ago. Oh my, I might even cry for hearing Dearly Beloved and Sanctuary. December can`t come fast enough.

 

[Rau Le Creuset]

I never had a ps2 of my own. For years I would go to my friends house and we would play KH until we, as a team, beat the game. I loved the game so much that I had to have it. I asked my mom and my dad, but they didn't want to buy me another game system because we had the gamecube.

Out of pure necessity I got a paper route and made about $80 every two months, and the race for my ps2 began. Eventually I had saved the amount of money I needed and had my Mother drive me to the EB games in the mall. I was so excited, I found a ps2 slim version and I found my KH hearts. My mom pointed out KH2. I didn't even know there was a second one, I looked at it in a trance and added it to the haul.

I got home ecstatic to have a system that my brother couldn't play and brought it up to my room. I went downstairs to the Garage to grab one of our old T.V's and used all my strength to get it up the stairs and into my room. My room was now a sanctuary, it haad a tv and my own game system. I put KH in and put it on proud mode and proceeded to beat it for the first time seeing all the cutscenes and really experiencing the story and difficulty.

When it was time for KH2 I thought myself experienced enough to fight on proud and so I did. KH2 pretty much hit me so good that I barely remember it. I haven't played it in a long time and every time i think of it I get a smile and the undeniable feeling that I love it and always will, but I don't remember it well. I remember beating it at level 46 and forcing myself to use the starseeker because it was my favorite key, but I barely remember any of the cut scenes. I guess I didn't want to ruin the magic by playing it again or too much. So i haven't played it in a while. I cannot wait to see the intro of that game and experience it again.

I get my copy of 2.5 December 10th, My fingers and mind are itching.

 

[kuraudoVII]

I remember reading Tips and Tricks one day in 2004 and noticed that there were two anticipated titles that were discussed: Kingdom Hearts II (which was the main pick) and Chain of Memories for the Game Boy Advance. The instant I saw those, I became excited and begged my parents to get me the latter when it came out near Christmas that same year.

Unfortunately, it wasn't until 2011 that I came to own my own copy of Kingdom Hearts II, but I was able to play a little bit of it when a friend of mine brought it over when I was 14. We wouldn't be able to borrow it again until later that same year when I was 15 was a sophomore in high school. My brother beat it first and after that, I was able to play and beat it. At the time, it was one of the greatest games that I have ever played along the likes of Super Mario World and Sonic Adventure 2: Battle. However, we would have to give the game back and I wouldn't be able to play again until I borrowed it from another friend during my senior year in high school. I beat it again to my great joy, but something began to trouble me. While the game was great, it didn't seem as great as it did back in 2006 compared to 2009. It was a load of fun, but somehow, I felt like I got more out of the first game than I did the second.

2011 rolled by and by that point, I was a sophomore in college. I was (and still am) jobless, but I still received a steady $20 per week from my mother, so I saved up a bunch so that I could get some games from the local Gamestop. Kingdom Hearts II was the very first thing that I got (the other two being Tales of Vesperia and Devil May Cry 4). I beat it quickly again and decided that while I will always love the game, it became a sort of broken pedestal for me due to finding even more of the game's many faults.

Eventually, over the course of this summer, I decided to play the game one last time before the remaster came out. It was on this playthrough that I finally figured out how to get the Paradox Cups past the Cerberus one and won in all of the cups. While it is nowhere near the best game in the series, it was one that I still find enjoyment out of.

I'm eagerly anticipating all that I can do in the Final Mix version of the game (though I absolutely DREAD the battle against the Lingering Will).

Also, diddly the game being released on exam week.

 

[Articus]

Exams aren't important anyway. Games about friendship is.

I'm pretty sure that works as an excuse. You should try it.

 

[kuraudoVII]

Exams aren't important anyway. Games about friendship is.

I'm pretty sure that works as an excuse. You should try it.

One of my exams is supposed to be a free form "exam" where we create a project instead of taking a test, so that might actually work.

 

[gamerobber7]

Great stories everyone. Aren't KH memories the best?

With the anticipation of the game releasing a month from now. Let's go back to when Kingdom Hearts 2 was released of May 2006.

Not to split hairs but wasn't the US release of KH2 in March of 2006? I only point this out because I know I counted the days down until KH2 came out (and I mean I started counting like months in advance xD). I had played both KH1 (about a year after it came out) and CoM (right when it came out) and I was eagerly waiting for KH2. I didn't have internet at my house so I would scour the magazines for info on it. I can still remember certain articles in those magazines (like one about Land of Dragons and another on Roxas) because I thought everything I was reading about the game was amazing. Then I managed to convince my parents to get it but on the day it came out I got out of school and they proceeded to tell me it was sold out. :frown: I instantly became depressed. xD When they saw that they tried to calm me down and once we got home they pulled it out of the hall closet and I couldn't believe it. I popped it in immediately and I beat the game in 2 days. :wink: I replayed it a few more times over the next few months. I look back on the wait, anticipation, and experience playing KH2 as the best I've experienced in the series. I can't wait until next month!

 

[robvandam111]

Great stories everyone. Aren't KH memories the best?


Not to split hairs but wasn't the US release of KH2 in March of 2006? I only point this out because I know I counted the days down until KH2 came out (and I mean I started counting like months in advance xD). I had played both KH1 (about a year after it came out) and CoM (right when it came out) and I was eagerly waiting for KH2. I didn't have internet at my house so I would scour the magazines for info on it. I can still remember certain articles in those magazines (like one about Land of Dragons and another on Roxas) because I thought everything I was reading about the game was amazing. Then I managed to convince my parents to get it but on the day it came out I got out of school and they proceeded to tell me it was sold out. :frown: I instantly became depressed. xD When they saw that they tried to calm me down and once we got home they pulled it out of the hall closet and I couldn't believe it. I popped it in immediately and I beat the game in 2 days. :wink: I replayed it a few more times over the next few months. I look back on the wait, anticipation, and experience playing KH2 as the best I've experienced in the series. I can't wait until next month!

Yeah, you're right! It just felt like May with me, don't know why...lol.

 

[robvandam111]

I was wondering last night. Not leaving BBS out of the equation here but when you first saw that Kingdom Hearts 2 secret ending and then the Final Mix secret ending. What were your personal thoughts, what was going on your minds?

 

[limit]

I was wondering last night. Not leave BBS out of the equation here but what you first saw that Kingdom Hearts 2 secret ending and then the Final Mix secret ending. What were your personal thoughts, what was going on your minds?

[Keep in mind I was around 10 when I saw the FM ending]

"Ohmygod this is the coolest thing ever already"
"It's weird that that guy is old and bald though, but whatever"
"Hah, that guy[Terra] is getting wrecked"

"Oh god what did they do to Kairi"
"This looks nothing like Kairi, is it Kairi?"

"Oh god what's baldy doing to that guy?"
"Oh my god he's gonna die"
"ROXAS WHY"
"...where's Sora? Wtf Square"
"Oh hey, Riku got a transformation too! I guess it is him."

Ahh, good times.

 

[Blackdrazon]

I went into KH2 with this really mercenary attitude. I'm a completionist, I like to get 100%, and when CoM left me off with half the Organization still at large I wasn't going to stand for that. I kept a checklist in my chat screenname. There's no better way to get me riled about a game than to let me catch the one that got away. I'm still hoping they localize Ace Attorney Investigations 2 officially, because Shelley DeKiller must be put behind bars. In the end, I was more excited about KH2 than emotional. I got into the series late, so I didn't have to wait like a lot of you, and that probably helped.

I was really underwhelmed by The Gathering, it's probably Kingdom Hearts' worst secret video (though of course anything beats the weaksauce secret diaries you unlock for clearing the final challenges in Days). It's even weaker now that it's been decanonized from end to end.

On the other hand, Birth by sleep isn't just the best Kingdom Hearts secret video, it may be the series' most exciting point, period. I was a little taken aback by Master Xehanort's design at first sight but after it settled I realized he's probably the best designed final villain Kingdom Hearts is ever going to have, with his mix of Final Fantasy, Nomura and Mickey Mouse elements. Ominous setting! Powerful, realistic magic! Characters with clear and inexplicable connections to the leads! (Actually that fell a little flat with Ven, but Terra still counts) Even after clearing Birth By Sleep the game, the trailer still gets me excited.

 

[robvandam111]

I had a similar reaction to Limit's post there. When I first saw the secret ending. Seeing the three with the armor suits on and the keyblades. My mind directly thought that was Kairi, Riku and Sora all grown up and something. Seeing the text as well the moment it said "Keyblade War", Kingdom Hearts 3 Birth By Sleep is what I predicted.


Then came the Final Mix secret ending. Looking at Master Xehanort, "Who is this old geezard?" Although mesmerized by the way he raised the ground up against his attacker. Following with the other finally revealing themselves, I thought the female was Kairi with dyed hair and seeing the frozen character, "ROXASS?" I didn't think Vanitus was Riku though despite having their darkness attire similar to each other. And finally just bewildered by the old man and Terra whom presumably didn't know he was at first nor guessed any connections.

 

[kuraudoVII]

I think we ALL thought it was Roxas back when the Birth by Sleep video showed up in Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix's secret ending.

Anyway, when I first saw "The Gathering" properly on my TV screen and not on YouTube, I was somewhat underwhelmed, but somewhat hyped at the same time. "Birth by Sleep," on the other hand, mesmerized me with how awesome the action sequences were, the character designs and, most important of all, the feelings that could be conveyed without any vocal sound. If the look on Aqua's face when she held in her arms a frozen Ventus didn't make you feel anything, then the look on Terra's face and the fact that his eyes changed color as an old Geezer makes Kingdom Hearts or something along the lines of it appear in the sky probably did.