Classic animated Disney characters meet up with popular video game denizens once again in the eagerly awaited Kingdom Hearts II from Square Enix and Disney’s Buena Vista Games. A sequel to one of the best-selling PlayStation2 titles of all time, the fantasy role playing game is now available exclusively for PlayStation2.
The first Kingdom Hearts game, which shipped more than 2.6 million units in North America, featured environments and characters from Mouse House favorites Aladdin, Hercules, The Little Mermaid, Winnie the Pooh and Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas. The sequel has players return to those settings, while adding the worlds of Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Mulan, Pirates of the Caribbean, Steamboat Willie and Tron. The game features more than 100 Disney characters, including new additions Chicken Little and Stitch from Lilo and Stitch. New, original characters introduced include Roxas, members of Organization XIII, and the Nobodies, all designed by Square Enix director and character designer Tetsuya Nomura, who is best known for his creations in the top selling titles Final Fantasy VII, VIII, X and X-2. All characters from Final Fantasy VII also show up in Kingdom Hearts II.
The game features an all-star ensemble voice cast led by Haley Joel Osment (The Sixth Sense). Other contributors David Gallagher (7th Heaven), Hayden Panettiere (Racing Stripes) recording artist Jesse McCartney, Brittany Snow (The Pacifier), Christopher Lee (Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride), Rachael Leigh Cook (Josie And The Pussycats), Mena Suvari (American Beauty) and Tara Strong (Fairly OddParents). Reprising their roles from their respective Disney features are Ming-Na as Mulan, James Woods the villain Hades from Hercules and Zach Braff as Chicken Little.
Boasting a new and improved real-time battle system, Kingdom Hearts II brings more strategy to the gameplay by providing an increased selection of commands, including special attacks and cooperative attacks with members of your party. Players can also perform the “Drive” to transform main character Sora into his various forms, altering his skills and abilities. In the ‘Master Form,’ for instance, Sora absorbs the power of both Donald and Goofy and increases his attack and magic powers.
The September 2002 release of the original Kingdom Hearts was followed by the December 2004 debut of Kingdom Hearts: Chain Of Memories for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance. The Japanese version of Kingdom Hearts II debuted this past December and shipped 1 million units shipped during its first three days at retail. Overall, the series has shipped more than 7.5 million units worldwide.
Kingdom Hearts II carries a suggested retail price of $49.99 and is recommended for everyone ages 10 and up by the Entertainment Software Rating Board. More information on the title can be found at www.kingdomhearts.com. BradyGames’ Kingdom Hearts II Official Strategy Guide retails for $19.99 and is also available online at www.bradygames.com.
Leave a Reply