Why did KH2 suck to everyone??

[Reagan Rayden]

I really did not get why there was no penalizing for just spamming the triangle button for reaction commands. If I did that in a game like God of War I would never finish the first level.

 

[Shadow_]

I mean the reaction commands where a neat idea, but they over powered them. Plus the abilities they gave us, made itm ore faced paced, as to where in KH1 it was slower based, and felt more like a RPG.

 

[Zephyr]

What's with people using the terms "everyone", "always", "never", etc. There clearly are some people who preferred the game over the others. But personally, it's not because I hate the game, I liked it but overall it felt like it pales in comparison to its other games.

 

[Chaser]

Oh, I didn't like how you had to complete a combo or do a reaction command to finish a boss battle.

 

[alexis.anagram]

@ Chaser my point exactly that crowd seemed to have no life to it just being real about it.

@ alexis.anagram

Well be prepared to take on at least 70% or more of the KHI forum members just saying lol.

Btw the english voice actors except a couple were god awful.

Challenge accepted.

And I disagree about the voice actors (obviously, since I just said that I liked them). I accept that your opinion is that they were bad, but as I see it KH has always had exceptional voice work done and KH2 gave its actors the greatest range of material to work with thus far. I thought most, if not all, of the actors for the game gave a great performance, with the casting for the Organization, Namine and DiZ/AtW being spot on. But there's a voice actor thread to discuss this sort of thing, so I'll leave it at that.

I will say that I'm sort of astounded that people thought KH2 had a bad script. It was uneven, sure (oh my GOD all those group laughing scenes); but for every weakness it had, it also had some of the strongest writing of the series and, at least for me, some of the most iconic lines as well ("Looks like my summer vacation is over"; "You don't look like you're half the hero the others were"; "I'm back"/"You're home"; Roxas's confrontation with DiZ and his fight with Sora; every other line Demyx was given; etc.).

I mean the reaction commands where a neat idea, but they over powered them. Plus the abilities they gave us, made itm ore faced paced, as to where in KH1 it was slower based, and felt more like a RPG.

Consider, however, that the reaction commands were the first step towards a lot of the intense game play we've seen develop over the course of other games and are now seeing culminate in DDD. I can see why you wouldn't like how easy they made the game, but in the context of the overarching series, they were a necessary step in the evolution of KH's combat systems. Personally, I thought they were nice, flashy, but they were certainly overpowered and way too prevalent.

What's with people using the terms "everyone", "always", "never", etc. There clearly are some people who preferred the game over the others. But personally, it's not because I hate the game, I liked it but overall it felt like it pales in comparison to its other games.

I think everyone knows that it's all a matter of opinion (oops, there I go saying, "everyone"). :>
We could probably all do to tone down the objective language, but I don't think it's that much of a hindrance to the discussion. It's a video game, in the end. I don't see anyone getting that flustered over whether or not someone else enjoyed it as much or as little as they themselves did.

Oh, I didn't like how you had to complete a combo or do a reaction command to finish a boss battle.

I agree. I thought this worked for the Twilight Thorn, but the reaction commands on the whole should have been totally optional. I actually think the game could have benefited from an option to turn the reaction commands off entirely.

 

[Lonbilly]

And I disagree about the voice actors (obviously, since I just said that I liked them). I accept that your opinion is that they were bad, but as I see it KH has always had exceptional voice work done and KH2 gave its actors the greatest range of material to work with thus far. I thought most, if not all, of the actors for the game gave a great performance, with the casting for the Organization, Namine and DiZ/AtW being spot on. But there's a voice actor thread to discuss this sort of thing, so I'll leave it at that.

Maybe it's just me, but I liked KH2's VAing - that was one of its strong points in my opinion. The only problems I had were with Ansem SoD since SE was trying to make Epcar be Billy Zane and he isn't - when they let him have freedom in Re:CoM he sounded amazing, in my opinion.

Although, I think MJM did a better Namine as a whole than Brittany Snow. Don't get me wrong, I loved Brittany's version, too, but I prefer MJM's.

I will say that I'm sort of astounded that people thought KH2 had a bad script. It was uneven, sure (oh my GOD all those group laughing scenes); but for every weakness it had, it also had some of the strongest writing of the series and, at least for me, some of the most iconic lines as well ("Looks like my summer vacation is over"; "You don't look like you're half the hero the others were"; "I'm back"/"You're home"; Roxas's confrontation with DiZ and his fight with Sora; every other line Demyx was given; etc.).

Some of the dialogue was actually nice from KH2 (a lot of Roxas one-liners, some of Axel's stuff, Xemnas' speeches at the end, the SoRi friendship bonding) but a lot of KH2's script itself was bad. The Disney worlds, mainly, which is sad seeing as how that's where majority of KH took place. They tried to much to make the worlds like the movies and din't bother to really connect them to the overall plot, whereas KH1 did.

I think it's kind of a given that there's always something good in a KH game even if it's bad compared to the other titles. Although if we took KH2 out of the KH series and actually judged it as a stand alone game, I'd say it's pretty solid. But with the rest of the series, I find it the weakest. Most of which is blamed on the difficulty and the writing.

 

[Shinjuku]

Originally Posted by alexis.anagram
Consider, however, that the reaction commands were the first step towards a lot of the intense game play we've seen develop over the course of other games and are now seeing culminate in DDD. I can see why you wouldn't like how easy they made the game, but in the context of the overarching series, they were a necessary step in the evolution of KH's combat systems. Personally, I thought they were nice, flashy, but they were certainly overpowered and way too prevalent.

Okay problem is we're only talking about this game not the future one's for KH2 though they did a disservice to us with the implementation of the reaction commands case in point the 1000 heartless battle felt so uninspired(I want my 2 behemoth's damnit) because of the reaction commands. You could basically win the whole match using what was it two reaction commands that ticked me off very bad.

About the script while you may had great lines like Roxas's " Looks like my vacation is over." It was balance out with goofy lines like Seifer's " That was undeniable proof that we totally owned you lamers." Honest to God when I heard that I nearly jumped out a window when he said that.

As for the plot overall there's something to be said when it begins and goes on hiatus after Sora leaves Hollow Bastion for the first time, and then out of nowhere decides to pick it back up right in the middle(1000 heartless battle), and then do again only to pick back up once you reach twilight town the last time to go to TWTNW. In short it felt like a chore to complete the whole game.

 

[WaveK89]

Related to what Shinjuku said,

Beginning (Plot!!)
*In between* Nothing really important
Middle, Hollow Bastion (Plot!! OMFG Mickey/Giant Battle/FF/Sephiroth/Organization!!/asghafasdjkfgasdlfg)
*In between* Nothing really important
End (Plot!! Organzation!!/Riku!!/Final Battle!!)

Oh and Sora, Donald, Goofy

 

[alexis.anagram]

Maybe it's just me, but I liked KH2's VAing - that was one of its strong points in my opinion. The only problems I had were with Ansem SoD since SE was trying to make Epcar be Billy Zane and he isn't - when they let him have freedom in Re:CoM he sounded amazing, in my opinion.

Although, I think MJM did a better Namine as a whole than Brittany Snow. Don't get me wrong, I loved Brittany's version, too, but I prefer MJM's.

Agree about Epcar. I remember hearing him and thinking, "This is a different actor. This is definitely a different actor." But they were trying so hard to make it seem like he wasn't. He's totally grown into the role by now, though. :3

Have to disagree about MJM. She's just too sugary and unaffected for Namine. Brittany Snow always had an edge to her voice, even when she was playing happy; she captured the bittersweet nature of Namine as well as the tragic emphasis necessary to portray her correctly. I remember seeing Snow in The Vicious Kind recently and thinking, she has to come back to KH. She is just so good.

Some of the dialogue was actually nice from KH2 (a lot of Roxas one-liners, some of Axel's stuff, Xemnas' speeches at the end, the SoRi friendship bonding) but a lot of KH2's script itself was bad. The Disney worlds, mainly, which is sad seeing as how that's where majority of KH took place. They tried to much to make the worlds like the movies and din't bother to really connect them to the overall plot, whereas KH1 did.

Totally agree on the Disney worlds for the first run through. They were pointless, monotone filler. However, the second time going through all of the worlds and facing off against the Organization members I thought that Disney was incorporated very well into the story. Belle elbowing Xaldin in the gut was a favorite moment of mine. Captain Jack trying to steal the Keyblade was natural and fun. The only worlds I honestly felt didn't need to be there at all were Pride Lands, Atlantica and (though it pains me to say it) Halloween Town. And I wouldn't have minded Halloween Town being the one pointless world since it's so much fun to play around in.

Okay problem is we're only talking about this game not the future one's for KH2 though they did a disservice to us with the implementation of the reaction commands case in point the 1000 heartless battle felt so uninspired(I want my 2 behemoth's damnit) because of the reaction commands. You could basically win the whole match using what was it two reaction commands that ticked me off very bad.

Perhaps you are, but I prefer to think of KH as a series. Individual titles may have their own weaknesses, but place them in the context of the series and I think you get a more comprehensive perspective on how they tie together and that's what makes them great. After all, I'm sure when you played KH2, you weren't thinking KH1 and CoM were totally irrelevant the entire time. KH is a series that builds upon itself, game after game. It's not very practical to dismiss the relevance of its greater continuity in favor of a fixed orientation on one installment. And I've already said I agree on the reaction commands, on principle.

About the script while you may had great lines like Roxas's " Looks like my vacation is over." It was balance out with goofy lines like Seifer's " That was undeniable proof that we totally owned you lamers." Honest to God when I heard that I nearly jumped out a window when he said that.

Seifer is supposed to be a goofy kid villain. A line like that was totally in character. Not all of the characters in the game are meant to be spouting poetry. I won't deny that the script had awkward moments (see my comment on all the badly timed concert laughter), but I think the well scripted scenes far outshone some of the poor dialogue. The 1000 Heartless battle may have been disappointing in-game, but the entire sequence of events and battles leading up to it were some of the most epic and inspired KH has ever seen. Sora's huge character moment when he bows to Saix and begs to be taken to Kairi was beautiful. Sora and Riku's conversation in the Realm of Darkness, the incorporation of the "One Sky, One Destiny" poem, the revelation of the Door to Light-- there was too much great stuff in the game to just write it all off because it had uneven portions.

As for the plot overall there's something to be said when it begins and goes on hiatus after Sora leaves Hollow Bastion for the first time, and then out of nowhere decides to pick it back up right in the middle(1000 heartless battle), and then do again only to pick back up once you reach twilight town the last time to go to TWTNW. In short it felt like a chore to complete the whole game.

As I've said repeatedly, I won't deny that there was a large portion of the game that could be just as well cut out from any future remakes and would only see it improve for the lack of that portion. But I never felt like it was a chore to complete the game. If it was, I wouldn't have played it. I consistently had fun throughout the entire game, and I thought the plot, overall, was very well directed and executed. Anything else I say in response to this will just be a rehashing of other opinions I've stated, so I'll agree to disagree on that point.

 

[SuccubusAki]

It doesn't really suck to me. The camera controls were much better than in KH1. And it was fun for me too.

It did have some flaws though. It's a little too easy and most of the fillers are in other Disney worlds like Atlantica, which was totally pointless to have in the first place. And some of the characters were so damn annoying that I wanted to kill myself... including Sora. He just has this whole "I'm gonna save the world and show off my greatness, everyone pointing a weapon at me is evil" attitude.

So yes it has flaws but put them aside when playing and it is fun.

 

[Shinjuku]

Originally Posted By alexis.anagram

Perhaps you are, but I prefer to think of KH as a series. Individual titles may have their own weaknesses, but place them in the context of the series and I think you get a more comprehensive perspective on how they tie together and that's what makes them great. After all, I'm sure when you played KH2, you weren't thinking KH1 and CoM were totally irrelevant the entire time. KH is a series that builds upon itself, game after game. It's not very practical to dismiss the relevance of its greater continuity in favor of a fixed orientation on one installment. And I've already said I agree on the reaction commands, on principle.

Problem is we're only talking about one game here though and I don't think you want to put the whole series on blast cause looking at it's track record, and this might just be my opinion, and I'm fine with that, but KH as a whole looks like a cluster f*** of ideas gone wrong. While KH1, BBS, and COM were really great even they themselves seem to have created many problems that's beginning to look like Nomura just pull ish out of his ***.

Originally Posted By alexis.anagram

As I've said repeatedly, I won't deny that there was a large portion of the game that could be just as well cut out from any future remakes and would only see it improve for the lack of that portion. But I never felt like it was a chore to complete the game. If it was, I wouldn't have played it. I consistently had fun throughout the entire game, and I thought the plot, overall, was very well directed and executed. Anything else I say in response to this will just be a rehashing of other opinions I've stated, so I'll agree to disagree on that point.

I wouldn't do that if I were you as the game length will shrink massively it in the worse way. Just throwing stuff off the top of my head
1. Visiting certain worlds for the first time would be axed that's about a good 15 hours gone
2. Cutting out Atlantica entirely
3. Entire worlds could actually be removed from the game Halloween Town and Mulan come to mind.

Originally Posted By alexis.anagram
Seifer is supposed to be a goofy kid villain. A line like that was totally in character. Not all of the characters in the game are meant to be spouting poetry. I won't deny that the script had awkward moments (see my comment on all the badly timed concert laughter), but I think the well scripted scenes far outshone some of the poor dialogue. The 1000 Heartless battle may have been disappointing in-game, but the entire sequence of events and battles leading up to it were some of the most epic and inspired KH has ever seen. Sora's huge character moment when he bows to Saix and begs to be taken to Kairi was beautiful. Sora and Riku's conversation in the Realm of Darkness, the incorporation of the "One Sky, One Destiny" poem, the revelation of the Door to Light-- there was too much great stuff in the game to just write it all off because it had uneven portions.

Please tell me you don't believe the part with goofy supposedly either dying/being hurt was epic?

As for Sora's huge character moment counter that with the awkward moment near the end of KH2 before the Xemnas final fight and that pretty much tells it all. Hint it inspired yaoi for some fans of the game especially a lot of girls.

Seifer being a goofy kid villain is no excuse for a line like that no matter what if he was trying to sell himself at being a badass he failed at it pretty hard.

 

[Haeralis]

Because it is pathetically easy and lacks much of the substance seen in the original.

 

[Dabrikishaw]

I liked it more than the first game, but I can understand the criticism.

 

[Hillboy]

I love KH2, I was younger when I played it so the gameplay didnt even bother me. I didnt even know you could play as mickey until I saw it on Youtube. The story was good minus disney worlds. My only problem is when they try to dumb down the storyline (mickey explaining ansem is xehanort) it acually made it waaaay more confusing. (for me anyway) If there was one thing kh2 did that was perfect and has stuck with me all this time its the music, hands down. Last thought, if wed had gotten khfm2+ instead, people would have very different opinions

 

[Juro-Sama]

It didnt suck it was just too easy and disappointed at times. 1k heartless battle...

 

[Shinjuku]

Originally Posted By Juro-Sama

It didnt suck it was just too easy and disappointed at times. 1k heartless battle...

Wait how does that make sense?

 

[Chrono Mizaki]

both are mediocre games, but in different ways

Kingdom Hearts II sacrificed more platforming, simplified the combat and introduce new elements that broke the difficulty. Birth by Sleep, whilst haven't been able to match the heights of KH1, introduced a command deck system and haven't drowned itself in the continuity.

Birth by Sleep, as a portable title, is much better and stronger than Kingdom Hearts II.

@ Chrono Mizaki

I wouldn't be so quick to call the guy an idiot even I had my dislikes with BBS, and to be fair

I call him an idiot because I have no respect for him.

Imo I think BBS sometimes gets a pass because it's on a handheld and I can't bring myself to criticize it too much like I do with KH2 because of that fact.

As a handheld title, it's much stronger when you stack it against the other games (358/2 Days, ReCoded)

 

[Shinjuku]

@ Chrono Mizaki

At your first part then that's on you I understand people have their own gripes with others I'll stay out of that.

As for the second part yeah couldn't agree more.

 

[strugglechamp]

I love the KH series and I love KH2, but there were at least 2 things that just ticked me off every time:
1) "Sora, Donald, and Goofy"
2) "GET U ON THE HYDRA'S BACK!"

 

[Gexus]

I loved KH2 and it was the reason I fell in love with the KH series to begin with. I found Roxas to be such an interesting character and I always wanted to know more. The music and environments were so welcoming and I place it as one of my favorite games. Of course, the translated dialogue got at times way too cheezy ("THAT WAS UNDENIABLE PROOF THAT WE TOTALLY OWNED YOU, LAMERZ") and the ending got way too corny with Sora and Riku almost making out. Otherwise I loved it.