Kingdom Hearts II: Why all the hate?

[Odjn]

I liked KH2 simply because of the badassness of Org13. I loved them. Xaldin, who is actually worse than Sephiroth if you don't level any defense skills <raises hand>, Axel who is badass incarnate and he's the weakest member for plot reasons (blargh), Saix who goes goddamn fucking insane when you fight him...

Also, please guys. Odjn. Not a mispelling. No odjin! Although that IS how it's pronounced.

[mudah.swf]

Honestly if KH2 had less filler and grinding for styles wasn't so tedious then it would have been a lot better. The battles were mostly ridiculously easy but it did well at capturing the feeling of being an incinvible anime demi-god who can hit people a million times before they hit the ground with lots of flashy moves and sparkles. And they need to let you switch into styles permanetely, DMC style, instead of having it limited by a meter. Of course they'd have to rework the styles completely otherwise it would be just overpowered.

I'm also unironically looking forward to the PSP KH games since it looks cool, the new environments shown look neat and you actually get to play as Roxas for more than three hours.

[CelesJessa]

Originally Posted by Regulus Tera in reference to Axel and Roxas

I mean, it's not difficult to guess what was going on with both of them

Buttsecks.


Anyway. My biggest problem with the game is that it was boring and repetative. Honostly, I liked the opening with Roxas a ton more than once you got back with Sora because it actually felt like a new game. Once Sora came back into the picture, we were just jumping off to worlds for whatever dumb reason I can't remember and it just felt like the first game all over again. Just not as interesting.

I got up to the 1000 Heartless fight and realised "I'm really bored" and decided that there were better ways to spend my time. I know I've heard the ending was great or something, but it doesn't really warrent me playing a game I don't care about. Which is really strange. I don't usually abandon a game halfway through (usually if I don't complete a game, it's either right at the end, or if the very beginning doesn't catch my interest) so I imagine that's a bad sign. Or maybe I was just being picky at the time.

The only thing I particularly like from KH2 is the opening song really.

[bluestarultor]

I've played a bit of both, and have seen a lot more from my brother than I've played myself, including the endings. Really, I like KH2's systems better, except for that blasted Struggle crap. Really, it's a matter of you relying on improved, but still broken, AI while you collect balls so everyone doesn't auto-die.

Aside from that, the storyline was less annoying to me than it probably was to others, minus the massive, pointless beginning. But I agree that I preferred Atlantica when I was fighting in three full dimensions, rather than singing crappy Disney original ink-spatter-on-a-music-sheet songs. And the near-total removal of guns. That was unnecessary. They should have been able to find some sort of balance.



However, I LOVED the reaction commands, and would like to see them back in KH3, if I ever get a PS3 to play it on. They were powerful, varied, creative, and added a bit of challenge without being intrusive.

Also, I liked the new move sets. For everything. That first, giant Nobody really got me in a way Darkside never did. I mean, the thing grabs you, pulls you close, and looks at you with body language that clearly says "IMPERTINENT FOOL! YOU ARE BUT A TOY!" I mean, that's just awesome.

Actually, I wouldn't have minded seeing Darkside back with a new moveset to make him more imposing that way. Heck, as hard as it would be, I'd love to fight a battle against both of them at once, just for the contrast between their appearances and attitudes. That's how much I like what they did with the movement.

[Fifthfiend]

Originally Posted by Sparkster

So basically, everyone hates KHII because of the storyline.

I hate it for the storyline and the shitty gameplay.

Like, remember in KHI, how Sora had actual cool abilities you could use, that you didn't need a stupid fucking Drive Mode to activate? Cause I do, and it was pretty great. The KHII battle system was like "Let's take away all the fuckin' cool stuff you could do in KHI, and then put it into your magic clothes, and you can use it until this little fuckin' bar runs out, as long as you have stupid fuckin' Donald and Goofy in your party, making it all totally useless for the entire last hour of the game and any other one-on-one fight that might happen to come up at any point in time."

Hell, remember roll-dodging? Remember KHII, and how it had a total absence of roll-dodging? Cause I remember thinking, man, fuck KHII, and it's total ridiculous absence of roll-dodging.

I'm not saying KHI wasn't pretty button mashey, but at least it was like, "Button-mash, roll-dodge, ability, button mash, button mash, glide, roll-dodge, button-mash, ability," and so on. KHII was just like, "Button-mash button-mash button-mash button-mash Drive mode OMGWTFBBQBUTTONMASHHOSHITSMCGEE Drive mode runs out button-mash button-mash button-mash."

But this somehow implies that everyone likes the storyline of KHI. Again, this is strange to me because, honestly, I don't think either game has a good storyline. KHI's plot is really simplistic, and the whole point behind the plot of KHII is that it makes absolutely no goddamn sense whatsoever. (Yes, I did pick up on that when I played it.)

Well, that's basically why people like the one and not the other. KHI had a basically simple save-the-world plot line that hit some nice emotional notes and told a nice little story about like, friendship and shit. Whereas KHII was like being fucked in the brain with a rusty drill bit.

EDIT: Oh! And then like the half of the plot it had that was maybe sort-of worth giving a shit about, they buried in a goddamn fucking Game Boy Advance game!!

EDIT2:

Also, how come no one went "Sora is gay! For Riku!"

Because it's like complaining about getting a shitty cherry on top of an enitre sundae made of shit.

I'd have to bitch for like an entire hour just about the shittiness of Ansem is Riku is Ansem isn't Ansem who's Xehanort who's Xemnas who isn't no but really! before I ever got around to being annoyed about Sora groping Rikanxehanort's broad, chiseled torso and crying like a girl.

[bluestarultor]

Originally Posted by Fifthfiend

I'm not saying KHI wasn't pretty button mashey, but at least it was like, "Button-mash, roll-dodge, ability, button mash, button mash, glide, roll-dodge, button-mash, ability," and so on. KHII was just like, "Button-mash button-mash button-mash button-mash Drive mode OMGWTFBBQBUTTONMASHHOSHITSMCGEE Drive mode runs out button-mash button-mash button-mash."

I'd quote that so hard, but it won't fit with what I have. XD

[Ryong]

Originally Posted by bluestarultor

I'd quote that so hard, but it won't fit with what I have. XD

It couldn't be more true, really. Drive forms always equaled "wtfisgoingoneverythingelseisdyingwhatthefuckdangb acktonormal" especially Final Form. The Drive Forms are WAY awesome.

[Regulus Tera]

Originally Posted by Red Fighter 1073

I must've heard Sora speak of love and friendship in KH1 at least a billion times, especially at Hollow Bastion.

It didn't mix badly with generic animu crap that time.

[mauve]

However, I LOVED the reaction commands, and would like to see them back in KH3, if I ever get a PS3 to play it on. They were powerful, varied, creative, and added a bit of challenge without being intrusive.

I WOULD have liked reaction commands a lot more if they weren't all assigned to the same button. Like I'd have Donald out with me and I'd be trying to enter that reaction command you need to speed-kill a Dragoon or a Samurai or something, and juuuust as I hit TRIANGLE, the icon changes to Donald's stupid limit break dealie. I'd be all ready to kick some Nobody ass with style, and the next thing I know Donald is sitting on my head hurling rockets at things. I ended up turning a lot of Donald and Goofy's triangle commands off for just that reason.

Or Riku would use his useless shield thing because the icon changed just as I was commanding him to go into Badass Special Move of Doom mode. And I would then get mauled by everything that calmly walked AROUND the shield.




And another thing! I hated how half of the bosses would only die if you used your stupid finishing move! I fought Saix for AN HOUR while he had only 1 HP because I had Sora set to do infinite chain moves whenever he ran out of MP or something. And because the finishing move only comes when your chain ends, I was screwed. I was beating the crap out of him but he wouldn't lose that stupid 1 hp because Goofy wasn't around to give me his magic points. Which he never uses.



ONE THING I HAVE TO SAY ABOUT KHII THAT IS NICE, THOUGH: I did like the fact that you could program Donald and Goofy to not be completely stupid. The one thing I disliked about KHI was that Donald and Goofy would waste all of their potions on each other every ten seconds. So when we were actually in an emergency, they had none left to give to ME. ME, the only member of the party that DOESN'T RECOVER HP AFTER BEING KO'D. And if they weren't doing that, they were stealing my kills or (in Donald's case) doing something completely stupid like rapid-casting Fire on Fire-element heartless. In KHII I could at least program them to either A) go kill something I'm NOT killing so I can get some freaking experience points, B) Focus all their energy on keeping me, the important one, alive, or C) Stop beating up the level 1 heartless and get their asses over here to help me fight the big huge centaur thing that's beating the crap out of me.

[beowulf007]

I would like to say, I found KHII to be one of the best games in a while. Kingdom Hearts was definitely great when it came out, but... well, the superbosses are a little TOO super for me. In fact, that's why I like Kingdom Hearts II so much even now; Sephiroth wasn't impossible. I have the Fenrir to prove it. That, and you get something for beating him. Anyways, enough about him. Kingdom Hearts II was a game with what I consider a very good storyline, which touched on some philosophical points that seemed relevant to me at the time, so that drew me in. There were some problems I had with it, namely Anti-Sora and the fact that you pretty much play NO ROLE in the Disney Worlds.