At the time, the concept of crossing over Square’s Final Fantasy series with Disney’s characters didn’t make a lot of sense. In fact, people were very skeptical about if it would even work. However, the release of the original Kingdom Hearts put every denier to shame as it turned out to be one of the greatest most ambitious crossovers in modern history. Kingdom Hearts didn’t come without issues though and the Gummi Ship mechanic left a lot to be desired, but Kingdom Hearts 2 came into our lives and fixed a lot of the issues. There also weren’t many, if any, Easter eggs for the Kingdom Hearts series up to the second one. That’s really surprising for such an ambitious crossover. In fact, this throwback title released almost two decades before the third Kingdom Hearts game is hailed as the better of the two. However, that might be because people are blinded by nostalgia and how simple Kingdom Hearts 2 was compared to the third installment. Regardless, let’s take a throwback look at what made Kingdom Hearts 2 so great.
Kingdom Hearts 2 Was Ambitious With Worlds
Kingdom Hearts 2 had twelve Disney worlds compared to the seven in Kingdom Hearts 3. You had a lot more to do in the Kingdom Hearts 2 world as well allowing you to really soak up the nostalgia. There was even reason to revisit worlds in Kingdom Hearts 2 which really helped you form a special connection with each area. They were all intertwined with Kingdom Hearts 2’s story allowing for masterful pacing compared to the third title.
Kingdom Hearts 2 had Twilight Town again. It also had Halloween Town, Agrabah, Pride Rock, 100 Acre Wood, and the Timeless River. Many should remember the Timeless River from old Mickey Mouse television shows where he’s getting into shenanigans with his rival Pete. However, the Timeless River in Kingdom Hearts 2 was a darker turn on the cartoon allowing the battle between past and future. There is just so much nostalgia when you visit these towns, especially if you were a Disney fan.
Fusing With Allies
No, this isn’t the kind of fusion form that you would think from Dragonball Z that drastically changed and mixed the appearance of two characters into one. If anything, using a drive form just allowed Sora to become a lot stronger by harnessing the power of Goofy, Donald Duck, or both. Who would have thought our favorite Disney characters that made us laugh as a kid would be used in a glorious battle against darkness someday? For example, consuming Goofy would put Sora into Valor Form. While in Valor Form, Sora is unable to use magic or any ability that consumes MP, but he could wield two keyblades while being able to attack a lost faster and jump even higher. Consuming Donald Duck’s power granted Sora the Wisdom Form, which unlike the Valor Form, allowed Sora to focus more on dealing with magic and attacking from a longer range. There’s just something so satisfying about pulling off combos, especially during boss fights to absolutely dominate your enemies.
There was just something so magical, pun intended, about Kingdom Hearts 2. A mixture of pure joy from getting to play with and see your favorite Disney characters on top of how purely epic battling through an edgy story involving relatively innocent characters was very satisfying. It really took care of some of the issues from the first Kingdom Hearts game while building upon its graphics and voice acting from the previous titles. While many were slightly disappointed in Kingdom Hearts 3; Kingdom Hearts 2 will always have a special throwback place in our hearts.
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