Hands on with Kingdom Hearts II
by Vladimir Cole 
{ May 18th 2005 at 4:56PM }
Buena Vista Games is showing off Kingdom Hearts II in a big way at this year's E3. The title features a wierd mish-mash of Disney and Final Fantasy characters that's both a little unsettling and a little endearing.
The gameplay on display looked smooth and relatively well-polished for a title that's due out this Holiday season for the PlayStation II. Controls were responsive, colors vibrant, and graphics liquid. There were a few uninished rough edges, but we imagine those will be worked out in the next few months. One element of the gameplay struck me as off — the player-controlled character uses a big key (pictured in this screenshot) as his primary weapon. When one thinks of bringing death and destruction upon evil, a giant housekey is not the first weapon that comes to mind.
It appears that the game succeeds as a result of the zany mix of characters and the engaging, simple gameplay. It's good execution on a common theme that wins gamer hearts: the Kingdom Hearts franchise has sold five million units worldwide.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Rob Austin @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM
Er....uh....I guess you never played the first game.... The weapon is called a "keyblade" and that's not 'off' it's quite intentional...
--*Rob
Vladimir Cole @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM
Oh I know it's intentional, but what's good about it?
james @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM
for the first game, disney said no real weapons. no blades, swords or knives. that's why they do it that way. they didn't want disney characters weilding realistic weapons.
GamerHeaven @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM
The key sucks, the game doesn't.
Hope this makes the European shores at roughly the same time.
Karmakin @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM
The weapon actually makes sense when it comes to the story..the lead character..Sora..has to travel to various world to lock portals that lead to a negative-zone type place that is spawning ghost-like creatures called "Heartless".
KH was actually probably the best Disney-related venture in years, maybe decades. The game has a surprisingly dark feel. BTW, I'm not sure the lack of swords is due to any sort of censorship idea..it's just what fits into the story. Peter Pan, of course, wields a sword. The only strange choice is Goofy, who weilds a shield instead of a sword, but when you think of the character, it makes thematic sense.
Siaarn @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM
The Keyblade locks the keyholes to the worlds in the first game. So it's all good. And besides.. The Oblivion and Ultima Keyblades kick ass :D
chexmex @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM
can you really call Kingdom Hearts a franchise?
Shaun @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM
Just to sya, if you don't like that one... look at the Oblivion. It actually looks sharp rather than say, the Kingdom Key. Which is a big metal pole. Actually, imagine someone slamming your head with it... ouch.
Timothy Barnes @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM
Kingdom hearts is the the greatest disney formatted game.It is my favorite series in the world right now.The keyblade is perfect just the way it is and the characters sre also perfect the way they are in the game.
Job Martinez @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM
they should have made kh2 with more fusions. maybe sora and riku. that would probably be a powerful fusion. i can't wait till kh2 comes out. right now the kingdom hearts saga is my favorite game. they should make a kingdom hearts game for the psp handheld. well hope we all have fun with this next game.
later.
Isaac @ Dec 18th 2005 9:06PM
i think these games rock.Their my all time favorites so far, and not to mention the fact that its story detail is so well furnished it just tends to draw the player into the game.Well i just plain love these games.