Why did KH2 suck to everyone??

[Kitten]

I don’t hate it or think it sucks, but it isn’t my favourite of the series. I think they could have done more with the story and made it a little less… cheesy. I also disliked how easy it was, but other than that, it’s a lovely game.

 

[Keystaff Master]

I could go on and on about what's wrong with KH2 when pitted against KH1 and even CoM, but it wouldn't be anything that hasn't already been described in detail. Most major critisims I agree with (gameplay, Sora, lack of character depth, etc.), but if I had to put simply what KH2 did that has earned the hatred of a good chunk of the fanbase? Well, it caused the convolution that we see in the series today.

KH1 and CoM had really simple jobs and they executed their jobs well. KH1 introduced the universe of Kingdom Hearts, the Keyblade, the heart, the realms, Heartless, the Door to Light and Darkness, Ansem, Seeker of Darkness as the antagonist and left off on finding Riku and the King. That was it. CoM introduced the concept of memories being tied to the heart, Naminé, the Organization XIII and finished with Sora, Donald, and Goofy falling asleep to have their memories repaired (while Riku, on the otherhand, fought his inner darkness to find himself a balance). Simple enough, we expected KH2 to involve Sora awakening, closure to Naminé and Riku's plots, and a continuation of Org. XIII as an antagonist.

Between CoM and KH2's release we learned of Nobodies. The Org. XIII were Nobodies, as was Roxas, who was Sora's Nobody. At this point, everything... pretty much made sense. KH2 came out, things like that were confirmed and we had no reason to argue with the facts we were presented with. But... almost right away problems started to pop up.

Some of the simplest being Roxas' duel-wielding. At this point in time we only knew of two Keyblades, KK and KKD, but suddenly there was a kid using 2 at once. That wasn't so bad, but then Riku got one, and Kairi used one for a brief time too. We went from the idea of two Keyblades, one of light and one of dark, to there suddenly being more, if not HUNDREDS due to what the secret ending showed us. Right away, something that was so simple to wrap our heads around, two all-powerful legendary Keyblades was dashed away and things would only get more complicated from there.

For me, that's when things started to go downhill. Now there are a lot of Keyblades out there and the magic of them has since faded. Even our major antagonist has one and because of this the Keyblade began to become disenchanted and Sora and Mickey's relevance has become diminished in the scope of things.

Other problems brought up: Kingdom Hearts in KH2 (how it relates to the one in KH1), Riku's "transformation", Sora's memories, how manufactured Heartless (emblems) somehow release hearts that feed a Kingdom Hearts (shouldn't these hearts be faux as well then?), etc. That's not to say other games don't do similar, but it seems KH2 is where it started.

 

[Wehrmacht]

kh2 had either bad writing in general or bad localization when it came to the dialogue, because a lot of it just sucks dicks

also the narrative structure sucks ass, the organization doesn't have enough presence because you never see them enough and the plots in the disney worlds feel dumb and irrelevant

this is a problem in almost every game of the series but it's really bad here

 

[Pratiko]

this thread again... *sigh*
kh2 couldn't match the game kh1 was. It only upgraded the graphics and lightning effects, while leaving aside the gameplay, the battles, the writting... etc... for a real kh experience, I suggest KH2FM. It's, at least, a decent challenge.

 

[blueheart]

The beginning with running up the stairs and fighting the heartless in The Twilight Tower with that music playing.....that got me all excited for the game. But it just kept faltering as it progressed. It was way to long. You're stuck with "Sora, Donald, Goofy!" forever until you reach the very rushed ending world.

 

[theboywonder]

Let me explain the amount of skill required to beat the game.


XXXXXXXXXXXXXTriangleXXXXXXXTriangleXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX The end.

 

[alexis.anagram]

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 ***.

I think it's weird when people think KH made more sense in the first installment, considering I find that to be the most confusing of them so far. Nothing was explained in-game, it made absolutely no sense why Kingdom Hearts, being made of light, was in the Realm of Darkness, we didn't know who Ansem SoD was or what he really wanted to do and why he wanted to do it, how he could possess Riku, why the Keyblade randomly appeared for Sora, why Mickey was in the Realm of Darkness...the list goes on. Sure, you could chalk a lot of that up to "magic" and superficial, presumed character motivations, but for those of us who like actual answers, KH has done a good job in subsequent installments (including and I would say especially KH2) of shedding light on existing mysteries while always maintaining a forward momentum with the plot by presenting new conflicts and questions for each game to confront. Now, if we want to talk about Dream Drop Distance, I'll agree that it looks pretty convoluted right now; but we only have so much information to go on, and it isn't very much. Whether the game will make sense in the end remains to be seen, but I think anyone who comprehended KH1 perfectly but struggled to follow KH2 is inexplicable. At the end of the first game, I had nothing but questions. Following the second, I thought it could have ended and I would have felt very satisfied with that conclusion.

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.

1. Considering most people finished the entire game in their first run-through in less than that (including my best friend at the time), I call BS. If you're talking about doing everything possible in terms of game-play in each of those worlds, sure, but all of that can be carried over; if we're talking plot-centric material, nope. And I'm only talking about the Disney worlds, to clarify.
2. Atlantica was unnecessary and I know a lot of people who didn't play through it in KH2. Don't see the problem with that.
3. I could see Halloween Town being removed, but Mulan? No. Numerous plot-heavy events take place in The Land of Dragons as well as some nice (maybe not totally necessary, but nice) character development. Also, it wasn't a repeat world.

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

Only if you'll tell me you didn't think we were supposed to observe that as anything other than motivation to get Sora angry enough to fight like he needed to. It wasn't Goofy's "death" we were meant to respond to; it was Sora's reaction to it. I thought that was very effective on those terms, yes. Similarly, I thought it was a great show of character for Goofy to place himself in harm's way in order to protect Sora. It's nice to have affirmations of the devotion these characters feel for each other every once in a while so that Donald and Goofy don't just become party members trailing along behind you.

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.

Which awkward moment? You mean the one where he expressed emotion over finally seeing his friend after a year of not knowing definitively whether he was alive or dead or whether they would ever meet again? Yeah, that was actually another great character and plot moment in my book, for Sora, Riku and Kairi. Furthermore, judging a story's quality by the interpretations (contrived or logical) of certain fans is entirely counter intuitive. They're not writing the story. Their concept of subtext has no bearing on its actual context. Lastly, I sense an underlying notion of hetero-subjectivity within that statement. Say Sora and Riku are gay. What of it?

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.

Seifer being a goofy character is absolutely justification for a goofy line. It's like complaining about Pete having a goofy line. Seifer was not meant to be threatening; he was meant to be a dickish adolescent. You were supposed to laugh at him trying to be badass, then kick his butt with Roxas. End of story.

 

[Shinjuku]

@ alexis.anagram

I don't have too much time to post, but I will tell you that

Okay people may have finished a world in less time that's fine I just through out a random number there.
I will repeat this only one time "NONE OF THE DISNEY WORLDS WERE PLOT HEAVY." Yeah you saw some Organization members here and there, but it didn't contribute that much like say a Hollow Bastion or Twilight Town.

 

[Veriun]

I suppose I can chalk my dislike of KH2 up to highly personal preferences. KH1 is like a storybook, KH2 is like an anime, and I happen to like storybooks better. KH1 also managed to be dark and creepy on a whole 'nother level than KH2, not to mention that it was hard to lose sight of the plot, unlike in KH2 where the plot basically happens at the beginning, middle, and end. Everything in-between is filler.

And Seifer's "that was undeniable proof that we totally owned you lamers" line makes perfect sense when you think about it: it's basically netspeak... and they're in a computer.

 

[Wehrmacht]

I think it's weird when people think KH made more sense in the first installment, considering I find that to be the most confusing of them so far. Nothing was explained in-game, it made absolutely no sense why Kingdom Hearts, being made of light, was in the Realm of Darkness, we didn't know who Ansem SoD was or what he really wanted to do and why he wanted to do it, how he could possess Riku, why the Keyblade randomly appeared for Sora, why Mickey was in the Realm of Darkness...the list goes on. Sure, you could chalk a lot of that up to "magic" and superficial, presumed character motivations, but for those of us who like actual answers, KH has done a good job in subsequent installments (including and I would say especially KH2) of shedding light on existing mysteries while always maintaining a forward momentum with the plot by presenting new conflicts and questions for each game to confront.

here's the thing

works of fiction don't need to answer everything to be effective

KH1 had a lot of shit that was left up in the air but that didn't mean that the game didn't make sense, it was a simple enough story at that point

Only if you'll tell me you didn't think we were supposed to observe that as anything other than motivation to get Sora angry enough to fight like he needed to. It wasn't Goofy's "death" we were meant to respond to; it was Sora's reaction to it. I thought that was very effective on those terms, yes. Similarly, I thought it was a great show of character for Goofy to place himself in harm's way in order to protect Sora. It's nice to have affirmations of the devotion these characters feel for each other every once in a while so that Donald and Goofy don't just become party members trailing along behind you.

lol are you fucking kidding me

the whole scene was just executed so fucking poorly

"DERP IM GOOFY IM DEAD"

"NOOOOOO GOOOOOOFYYYYY"

then 5 minutes later

"NAH JUST KIDDIN' IM K"

it was so stupid and awkward, it wasn't effective at all

 

[alexis.anagram]

here's the thing

works of fiction don't need to answer everything to be effective

KH1 had a lot of shit that was left up in the air but that didn't mean that the game didn't make sense, it was a simple enough story at that point

They do, however, work better when they have a functioning internal logic. Kingdom Hearts lacked that, or at least failed to identify what it was. I'm not saying it was a bad game, I'm not even saying it was ineffective because I don't think it was; in a number of ways, its storytelling was superior to KH2's. It just didn't make any more sense than KH2 did on a comprehensive basis.

lol are you fucking kidding me

the whole scene was just executed so fucking poorly

"DERP IM GOOFY IM DEAD"

"NOOOOOO GOOOOOOFYYYYY"

then 5 minutes later

"NAH JUST KIDDIN' IM K"

it was so stupid and awkward, it wasn't effective at all

Again, your argument hinges upon the notion that we were meant to invest in Goofy's non-death. We were not supposed to believe Goofy was going to die. We were supposed to believe that Sora would get as angry over his death as he did. And I thought the scene was executed very well. Sora's "This isn't happening. This can't be happening." really spoke to the chaotic nature of the moment. I hold by my opinion that that entire sequence of events leading up to the 1000 Heartless was the greatest battle number the series has ever seen. Everything was happening at once and it had this great urgent, cinematic quality to it. It felt like war.

 

[Shinjuku]

Originally Posted By alexis.anagram

I think it's weird when people think KH made more sense in the first installment, considering I find that to be the most confusing of them so far. Nothing was explained in-game, it made absolutely no sense why Kingdom Hearts, being made of light, was in the Realm of Darkness, we didn't know who Ansem SoD was or what he really wanted to do and why he wanted to do it, how he could possess Riku, why the Keyblade randomly appeared for Sora, why Mickey was in the Realm of Darkness...the list goes on. Sure, you could chalk a lot of that up to "magic" and superficial, presumed character motivations, but for those of us who like actual answers, KH has done a good job in subsequent installments (including and I would say especially KH2) of shedding light on existing mysteries while always maintaining a forward momentum with the plot by presenting new conflicts and questions for each game to confront. Now, if we want to talk about Dream Drop Distance, I'll agree that it looks pretty convoluted right now; but we only have so much information to go on, and it isn't very much. Whether the game will make sense in the end remains to be seen, but I think anyone who comprehended KH1 perfectly but struggled to follow KH2 is inexplicable. At the end of the first game, I had nothing but questions. Following the second, I thought it could have ended and I would have felt very satisfied with that conclusion.

First off how was the first game really confusing? Only speaking on the whole heartless part of it.
Had the heart we find out it's filled with both light and darkness and within every heart there is darkness, and depending how great it is said person can turn into a heartless.

You know what I don't even feel like explaining the rest too much don't feel like thinking a whole lot right now.

Originally Posted By alexis.anagram

1. Considering most people finished the entire game in their first run-through in less than that (including my best friend at the time), I call BS. If you're talking about doing everything possible in terms of game-play in each of those worlds, sure, but all of that can be carried over; if we're talking plot-centric material, nope. And I'm only talking about the Disney worlds, to clarify.
2. Atlantica was unnecessary and I know a lot of people who didn't play through it in KH2. Don't see the problem with that.
3. I could see Halloween Town being removed, but Mulan? No. Numerous plot-heavy events take place in The Land of Dragons as well as some nice (maybe not totally necessary, but nice) character development. Also, it wasn't a repeat world.

Okay like I said in my last post no disney worlds were plot heaven maybe the exception is Beast's Castle, but even then just barely at best.

As for people finishing the game in less than 15 hours my god get a life I remember the final time being somewhere around 40 hours or more finishing the game. Maybe I'll give you 30, but if it takes 15 hours that means it's much shorter by a long shot over KH1, and I should know.

Originally Posted By alexis.anagram

Again, your argument hinges upon the notion that we were meant to invest in Goofy's non-death. We were not supposed to believe Goofy was going to die. We were supposed to believe that Sora would get as angry over his death as he did. And I thought the scene was executed very well. Sora's "This isn't happening. This can't be happening." really spoke to the chaotic nature of the moment. I hold by my opinion that that entire sequence of events leading up to the 1000 Heartless was the greatest battle number the series has ever seen. Everything was happening at once and it had this great urgent, cinematic quality to it. It felt like war.

Sorry, but I'll take the entire Hollow Bastion in KH1 leading up to the battle with Maleficent and even The End of World over that piece of s***. I told you my take the 1000k battle was a huge let down that's that.

Again he's crying over Goofy GOOFY of all people not even Kairi okay maybe I'm just being mean here, but I don't give a ****.

 

[blueheart]

I actually liked how KH1 didn't explain everything. It didn't need to. It had simple concepts that were just that, simple. They could give a short explanation on how things worked and you got it. It didn't go into a bunch of detail that required paragraphs of understanding. And you could get by playing the game alone and not have to look online for others to explain it to you.

Although the RoS concept isn't too complicated, for me. If they keep data and memories out of it, that is.
As in awakening memories, floating memories, "Even if no one remembers, the memories are still there", and crap like that.


The 1000 hertless battle was too easy, they died in one hit.

 

[Lonbilly]

I think it's weird when people think KH made more sense in the first installment, considering I find that to be the most confusing of them so far. Nothing was explained in-game, it made absolutely no sense why Kingdom Hearts, being made of light, was in the Realm of Darkness, we didn't know who Ansem SoD was or what he really wanted to do and why he wanted to do it, how he could possess Riku, why the Keyblade randomly appeared for Sora, why Mickey was in the Realm of Darkness...the list goes on. Sure, you could chalk a lot of that up to "magic" and superficial, presumed character motivations, but for those of us who like actual answers, KH has done a good job in subsequent installments (including and I would say especially KH2) of shedding light on existing mysteries while always maintaining a forward momentum with the plot by presenting new conflicts and questions for each game to confront.

1) KH being in the RoD was probably to put emphasis on the theme that "within every darkness there is a light" and what-not.
2) The Ansem Reports said he was a scientist who experimented and brought the (emblem) Heartless to be and what-not, no? Plus, he wanted the Heart of All Worlds, too, so I'm guessing that's why he did everything, to gain power plus knowledge. That part was probably left open to interpretation, though I swear it was strongly hinted if not said.
3) Ansem, we knew, was basically darkness. Riku was being overtaken by darkness. It's also inferred he didn't have a proper form, what with the cloak and what-not, and needed a host. It's not really that complicated.
4) Sora was "the chosen one" and the one who would open the door, as said by Mickey in KH1. Did we need an explanation otehr than that?
5) Mickey said he was searching for the DKK in his letter and to Riku in the RoD.

Everything was explained, or just left with a simple enough explanation that was open to interpretation. Is it so bad for a story to do? I honestly don't see anything in KH1 where we didn't get an answer for something other than the secret ending + Xemnas battle or the non-cannon battles/extra's.

 

[Shinjuku]

The only couple of things that really weren't explained back in 2002 was where is Riku and where did Sora, Donald, and Goofy(sorry I know) Oh and why Mickey had a Keyblade.

Off-topic

It's really quite funny you guys remind me of the GTplanet community a lot of people feel as though we should grovel at Nomura's feet and like he doesn't do anything wrong, and you also feel as if this series is too perfect with each installment. I call BS just like a lot of people say on that site I'm glad people complain because if they didn't we'd have more games like KH2 even though 358/2 Days nor Re:coded did the series much good, but still BBS was a breath of fresh air, but as for DDD let's just say I'm tired of all these new enemies being introduced each game whatever happened to the BIG BAD HEARTLESS?

 

[Wehrmacht]

Again, your argument hinges upon the notion that we were meant to invest in Goofy's non-death. We were not supposed to believe Goofy was going to die. We were supposed to believe that Sora would get as angry over his death as he did.

i don't give a fuck about "what we were meant to invest in", obviously I didn't think Goofy really died, it was dumb and just felt entirely pointless might as well have not happened at all.

 

[shuyin_zer0]

The only problems that I had with KHII were the lack of optional bosses and that it was too damn easy. Seriously; KH1 and CoM provided me with challenge, then I end up with finishing it with maybe one game over, if that.

 

[Lonbilly]

The only couple of things that really weren't explained back in 2002 was where is Riku and where did Sora, Donald, and Goofy(sorry I know) Oh and why Mickey had a Keyblade.

And even that wasn't answered because it was left as an open ending for a sequel. So it made sense why it was left off like that.

And don't we already have a reason for Mickey having a Keyblade? Because I distinctively remember him saying he was going into the RoD for the "other key" and said something similar to Riku at the end or whatever.

It's really quite funny you guys remind me of the GTplanet community a lot of people feel as though we should grovel at Nomura's feet and like he doesn't do anything wrong, and you also feel as if this series is too perfect with each installment. I call BS just like a lot of people say on that site I'm glad people complain because if they didn't we'd have more games like KH2 even though 358/2 Days nor Re:coded did the series much good, but still BBS was a breath of fresh air, but as for DDD let's just say I'm tired of all these new enemies being introduced each game whatever happened to the BIG BAD HEARTLESS?

I agree with this. We should praise what is worth praising, but also critique what we think was bad, and honestly, if writing's bad, you can't just be all gong-ho happy over it and ask for more.

But then again, all of that is up to matter of opinions and taste and what-not.

 

[alexis.anagram]

First off how was the first game really confusing? Only speaking on the whole heartless part of it.
Had the heart we find out it's filled with both light and darkness and within every heart there is darkness, and depending how great it is said person can turn into a heartless.

But I never said the Heartless didn't make sense so I'm not sure why you're presenting an explanation on that.

The rest of your post is you simply restating your opinions. It's fine for you to have them, so I'm not going to continue trying to dissuade you.

1) KH being in the RoD was probably to put emphasis on the theme that "within every darkness there is a light" and what-not.

Thematic, but not logical. It doesn't answer WHY something composed entirely of light would be locked away in the Realm of Darkness.

2) The Ansem Reports said he was a scientist who experimented and brought the (emblem) Heartless to be and what-not, no? Plus, he wanted the Heart of All Worlds, too, so I'm guessing that's why he did everything, to gain power plus knowledge. That part was probably left open to interpretation, though I swear it was strongly hinted if not said.

It was never clear how much of the Ansem Reports could be relied on; they were anecdotal observations formed by someone who had more questions than answers. Case in point: Ansem SoD believed Kingdom Hearts was the door to a realm of pure darkness-- clearly, Sora proved him wrong. And for everything the Ansem Reports offered information on, they didn't provide a great deal of insight into Ansem's (actually Xehanort's) true goals and motivations: for instance, why he was willing to go so far as to turn himself into a Heartless.

3) Ansem, we knew, was basically darkness. Riku was being overtaken by darkness. It's also inferred he didn't have a proper form, what with the cloak and what-not, and needed a host. It's not really that complicated.

But he wasn't just darkness, he was a Heartless without a corporeal vessel. It was never explained how (or why) he possessed Riku. Furthermore, it wasn't explained how he existed without a form prior to entering Riku's body, and then it was never explained how he regained his original form after the fact. So, yes, it is actually quite complicated if you think about the process.

4) Sora was "the chosen one" and the one who would open the door, as said by Mickey in KH1. Did we need an explanation otehr than that?

Yes, we needed an explanation, because Sora wasn't the chosen one. The Keyblade left him for Riku and it was never entirely clear why until Birth By Sleep. If Sora was simply the "chosen one", the Keyblade wouldn't have rebelled against him. And it wasn't clear what "opening the door" meant. Which door? Throughout the game, Sora spent the entire time locking doors to worlds and never actually opened any. In fact, the very end of the game sees him helping to lock the Door to Darkness.

5) Mickey said he was searching for the DKK in his letter and to Riku in the RoD.

He never said anything about the DKK in his letter. The scene with Riku was only in Final Mix, although I'll concede that, for those who saw it, it did explain a lot.

Everything was explained, or just left with a simple enough explanation that was open to interpretation. Is it so bad for a story to do?

Obviously, that depends on the person (see: LOST fans). Again, I'm not arguing that KH1 made universally bad choices in storytelling; however, not everything was explained and it wasn't any easier to follow than KH2 was, not by a long shot.

 

[Lonbilly]

Thematic, but not logical. It doesn't answer WHY something composed entirely of light would be locked away in the Realm of Darkness.

True, but when has anything in KH been logical? I mean, yeah, sure that's an old excuse to use, but I think it makes sense why it was there to represent symbolism and what-not. I strongly believe that's why it was there.

It was never clear how much of the Ansem Reports could be relied on; they were anecdotal observations formed by someone who had more questions than answers. Case in point: Ansem SoD believed Kingdom Hearts was the door to a realm of pure darkness-- clearly, Sora proved him wrong. And for everything the Ansem Reports offered information on, they didn't provide a great deal of insight into Ansem's (actually Xehanort's) true goals and motivations: for instance, why he was willing to go so far as to turn himself into a Heartless.

I should probably go reread the original reports, but did we need a true, one-line goal sentence to be put in. We knew he wanted darkness, and power, etc. and wanted to blanket the worlds in darkness. And even with the new information we have now, it's entirely possible that was still Ansem SoD's goals.

But he wasn't just darkness, he was a Heartless without a corporeal vessel.

Oh no, I know that. But during the original KH did we know he was actually a Heartless for sure? 'Cuz if I had only played it without KH2/CoM I would have thought he was just darkness.

It was never explained how (or why) he possessed Riku. Furthermore, it wasn't explained how he existed without a form prior to entering Riku's body, and then it was never explained how he regained his original form after the fact. So, yes, it is actually quite complicated if you think about the process.

This is the way I see it - the same way Sora was a Heartless Shadow, perhaps Ansem was in a similar position. Hell, I've seen people theorize that what was under the robe pre-possession was actually Ansem in the form of Guardian because of the similar shaping. And when he possessed, it could just be he used his powers to manipulate Riku's body or darkness to change it or whatever until when the light "killed" him and Riku regained his body.

I dunno, I just never saw it as complicated because even now it doesn't seem complicated. I just think maybe you're looking at it a teentsy bit hard.

Yes, we needed an explanation, because Sora wasn't the chosen one. The Keyblade left him for Riku and it was never entirely clear why until Birth By Sleep. If Sora was simply the "chosen one", the Keyblade wouldn't have rebelled against him.

Lol oh yeah, forgot about him not being the original chosen one. And it's evident why the Keyblade left Riku in KH1 - his heart wasn't strong enough whereas Sora's was, so he came out the victor and the Keyblade switched to him. Some people even infer from the scene when Riku's trying to pull Sora into darkness with him that Sora touched Riku's heart (hence the single bright light speckle thing) and that's what allowed him to steal the Keyblade that was meant for Riku.

And it wasn't clear what "opening the door" meant. Which door? Throughout the game, Sora spent the entire time locking doors to worlds and never actually opened any. In fact, the very end of the game sees him helping to lock the Door to Darkness.

Again, that was probably open to interpretation. Is not bad to have things like that when it's actually good, whereas it could have been terrible like the KH2 mistranslation Riku said of someone choosing Roxas or something but meant the Keyblade, and said "he" instead of "it". And I always guessed that he meant opening the door to KH itself. Either way, it's not even remotely close to being something to even affect the game's story.

He never said anything about the DKK in his letter.

But he did say he was searching for another "key", no? Therefore it was plausible.

The scene with Riku was only in Final Mix, although I'll concede that, for those who saw it, it did explain a lot.

It still answered the question though, albeit not to the outer territory fans who never got FM/never knew of its existence.

Obviously, that depends on the person (see: LOST fans). Again, I'm not arguing that KH1 made universally bad choices in storytelling; however, not everything was explained and it wasn't any easier to follow than KH2 was, not by a long shot.

I guess it just comes with how minds work. I found KH1 a lot easier to follow than KH2 because despite some of the open ended things, they had proof and other things that could help you infer and connect the dots. KH1's story was well explained and only left things open that would lead to future titles, and even then there was only like two open-ended mysteries. I never saw any open-ended things in KH2 that bothered me that I can remember, but still, the story was, in my opinion, weaker and executed in a very bad way.