When the first Kingdom Hearts video game came out in 2002 on the Sony PlayStation, quite a few people wondered if the folks at Square-Enix had gone out of their minds. A role-playing game showcasing sunny Disney characters along with the angst-ridden figures of the company’s Final Fantasy games? The idea seemed cheesy at the time. However, Kingdom Hearts as well as Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories (released on the Game Boy Advance) were runaway hits, appealing to both young and older gamers in the East and West. Now, with the release of Kingdom Hearts II, PS2 players can continue to explore old and new magical worlds with familiar and endearing characters.
It’s not necessary for a person to have played the previous installments of the game to enjoy Kingdom Hearts II, but it would be helpful. The adorable Sora is still the main character (although you’ll start the game as a guy named Roxas, but enough of that — I don’t want this to become a spoiler). Sora and his intrepid buddies Donald Duck and Goofy go on a quest to stop new enemies known as the “Nobodies,” in addition to fighting old foes known as the...