Crazy... KHII was my first game. Everyone who started with the first KH has the choice of either appreciating or dismissing the first hours of KHII. But I didn't have that choice; I always saw Roxas as my first protagonist, and identified with him the most. Most people felt like "things have gone back to normal" when Sora came back in, but for myself, instead, I felt like something important came to an abrupt bitter end, and that left a really melancholic feeling within me rather than a feeling of relief. I really sympathized with Roxas. I mean, just imagine if your whole life was just a simulated reality that wasn't whole, and that it belonged to a 'real' version of you and your existence was just a fake. I don't know how to describe such a feeling...
I liked Roxas and very much enjoyed that first part with him. I started with KH1 and prefer KH2 over it. Especially because Namine is in it. (My fav character). I also prefer the starting game play in KH2 over kh1. Can't even remember how KH1 starts and I have both games but played KH2 much more.
You described my experience perfectly :( Same thing happened to me and I played KH 1 first, but decided to try out 2 instead since 1 had way too many dead ends with no direction. Ended up loving the second one so much more and feeling comfortable easing into the experience with Roxas, felt pretty displaced when his segment came to an end :c
"He wasn't just Nobody." My lord, that actually hit me hard. Kind of a pun, but much more of a gutwrenching reference to the nature of his existence. Great line.
I always get chills when Roxas says his summer is over and when Sora cries over Roxas' friends because he can't be with them and they don't even KNOW Roxas and those were his best friends! Its so tragic and unfair... The music really sells all of the performances too I might add.
@@mauriciogarcia4795i mean, you SHOULDNT blame Diz because if it wasnt for what Diz did, Sora would probably not be able to awaken and defeat Org 13. His plan needed to come to fruition
The opening of KH2 always left me upset about the way people treated Roxas. There was something beautifully Melancholic about the opening that made me care about a character I didn't even know Then after playing Chain of Memories and 358/2 Days and getting to know more about him and ORG.XIII, I became even more upset about the opening
I recently played KH2 after playing Days. Bawled my eyes out when Roxas returned to Sora. And I was still mourning when Sora jumped out and danced around with Donald and Goofy. So upsetting. But a good juxtaposition though, when the scenes play out right after the other.
I personally love Roxas more than Sora b/c (358/2 days was my first KH game) and the fact of him just going through with his life. I hope we get to play as Roxas in KH3 (might not even happen but 🤷♂️)
This was literally the first time in my life I felt the sensation of “bittersweet”. I was happy to get the game started but I was still sad watching Roxas basically die.
I like it all except for the munny grinding. Made a separate file so that I can skip it (but just that part, I actually really like replaying everything else).
I love the intro, mostly, but... It is just a bitch for replayability, so my feelings are really not super warm it, actually they're a little negative.
I appreciate the Roxas hours of KH2 WAY more after 358/2 Days. Knowing Roxas' backstory gives some meaning and drama to everything happening to him in Fake Twilight Town.
Not to mention the mystery regarding how Ansem Seeker Of Darkness is back at the beginning of KH2 and at the end you discover it's Riku. It's such an important moment to experience first time with Sora and the gang But if you play or watch Days first, you know it's Riku and it ruins the mystery and the pay off when Sora finds out in TWTNW
Playing KH3 now, I realize one of my favorite things from the series were these smaller stories/sections that aren't in the new game. I loved the opening to KH2 and was more invested in Roxas's story than the main plot
Replaying KH2 as an adult, what strikes me most about the opening is how perfectly it captures the experience of growing up. Drifting away from friends, feeling lost and trapped, killing time with jobs and homework while other people keep you imprisoned in your small town/home until that part of you dies and you become someone new. Ironically, I play this game every year to remember my childhood and what it was like.
From a narrative perspective, Roxas's story is arguably one of the strongest points of Kingdom Hearts 2. It's just a colossal slog going through the actual poorly-paced gameplay on repeat playthroughs.
Chris Chen save duplicates after completing Roxas' part. Then when you wanna replay the game, start from one of those duplicate saves. :) I do this for all parts of games I would never wanna replay in the ps2 era
The first time it'll take you around 3 hours including cutscenes, once you know what you're doing though the prologue only takes 20 minutes of gameplay, not that bad
I’m gonna disagree I always have loved playing through the beginning few hours even when I was little like a little kid I was always getting stuck in the actual story and getting angry while having a blast with the first few hours and I still love the beginning just as much to this day although I love the main game more now a days
The way Roxas accepted his fate on the last day gets me every time, and when he says that Sora is 'lucky' I remember Cloud says that about Sora too later in the game.
You know, I wasn't even aware so many people hated the intro until recently. I loved it ever since I was a kid. Sure I asked "wheres Sora????" Because like many i didn't play the entirety of CoM (i did have it tho!) but the music and ambience of twilight town always sucked me in along with the mystery of roxas and this new organization unfolding, its just the best attempt at world building in the series. also that sucker punch of "my summer vacation is over" with the logo fading was such a strong part of my adolescence. i'll always be in the small part of the fanbase who thinks this stuff was the best part of the game and the rest falters for it, despite how much i love the game still.
I don’t think people really hated it as much as they claim to. I think they’re hating it now because “all the cool kids hate it”. You should see how the sonic fanboys keep changing their options about entire games on a daily basis. Sonic Unleashed is a good example. First they loved it (because of course they would after that sonic 06 wreck), than they hated it because Sonic Colors and Generations were better and now they love it again because it’s better than Sonic Forces.
@@Hynotama yeah, just like there is a hype train, there is also the hate train. Both cases can be cancerous because of how 1-sided a.k.a. biased and thus unfair they are.
couldn't agree more. I still remember how I felt when roxas said his summer vacation was over and the Kingdom Hearts II logo showed up. My god I had to press pause and take a minute to applaud the intro of this game (notice I was like 13 years old so clapping my hands being alone is not as weird as it sounds haha), I don't think there was a way it could have been more perfect than it was. Even up to this day every time I see that scene I get goose bumps
I always loved the intro of KH2, I don't know why so many people trash on it. There's genuinely interesting story stuff that happens, Twilight Town and its music is just so memorable, and even if you're basically just hanging out with Roxas's friends and doing random stuff around the town for most of it, it's still fun! Searching for the "7 wonders of Twilight Town" was always one of my favorite bits of it. And Sinister Sundown is such a memorable battle theme, mainly because it has this mysterious vibe to it...it's hard to explain. One moment, you're living an average, fairly mundane life, when suddenly, everything is thrown outta whack. Strange phenomena begin to occur, mysterious beings show up (Nobodies) and seem to be leading you somewhere, as you are granted a mysterious weapon to combat these things... You have so many questions, and no answers. What is going on? What is happening to reality? And how are you connected to all of this? As you set out to discover the truth about this, you have no idea the magnitude of the answer you seek, and what you're about to jump into... ...Which is pretty much the feeling that the beginning hours of this game and that music together give me. It just meshes so well with the situation, as the truth of Roxas's reality is slowly revealed to him. Seriously, why is there so much dislike for this part of the game again?
I understand why because of your not invested it's confusing it's not how i personally feel I've just witness it like I've done the intro understand the verse absolutely it's not complicated but again I've spent years but my gif did not know what was going on and it makes the intro a drag
@@johnpantag472 not to mention a full understanding required three games one that did not come out till much later it's not bad but not for everyone lol it's def closer to home cause when i was a kid I ABSOLUTELY UNDERSTOOD THE LAMENT OF ENDING SUMMER now a days it doesn't matter too much
You have to look with retrospect and not nostalgia cause then you get stuck in the past hence the bad movies and political ideologies of making something great again lol not to mention the bullshit redirect of waiting thirteen years for a sequel when the other game where coming out every 5 years no like it's was the KH2 heads that could not move on that suffered so much it's nobodies fault but their own. Like there where other games lol to play i think after KH2 i played Persona 3 for the first time and fell in love hahaha
The first game changed me too man. I loved the second as well but there’s just something about the darker tone of the original’s story that I just loved. Crazy how a video game can have such an impact on our lives
BagazZ123 this series,along with other PS2 action RPGs,was what made me interested in Final Fantasy and introduced me deeper into the genre. If it wasn't for Kingdom Hearts,especially 2,i probably wouldn't have played games like Chrono Trigger,Dragon Quest 8 and the SMT series,so i'm very glad to love KH as much as i do, even if the series may seem filled with stupid and confusing plot points to an outsider to the series.
There are more way KH2 likes to come full circle with itself. In the opening you get that fight against the giant nobody with Roxas and it really sells that he isnt exactly the interplanetary fighter Sora is. During the fight when it uses the vine attack, you get the reversal reaction command and its an extremely useful tool. Then here comes end game; Sora is now fighting the most powerful nobody out of them all and Xemnas will use the same vine attack as before, only 20 hours later and with more abilities under your belt; the fight isnt potrayed as a struggle, its the largest fight in the game. The later KH series might have larger stories, but KH2 has a lot of details like that in the gameplay that make it just the bit more of a coesive game.
Peter Grauer honestly. Roxas is probably my favorite character. I pllayed kingdom hearts 2 first and loved the intro. I was sad when I found out that roxas wasn't the main character.
When I first played KHII as a kid, I really liked Twilight town. At that point I had only played the first game and I really liked both relaxed starting areas, and the skate board was neat. Then 2.5 came out... I had played every Kingdom Hearts game, some to completion (except for GBA CoM) and now I knew the full story of Roxas and everything that happened. Holy crap, the new context made me love the intro, and then to have it capped out with the Roxas battle near the end of the game was amazing. Couple that with the scene in 3D where Roxas gives his memories to Sora and one of the few rare instances where Sora gets truly pissed. Roxas is my favorite character from the series, with Riku in second.
I didnt mind playing as Roxas at some point. My question the whole time though, was, who the hells roxas and where is Sora....then it ended and it the story went on. Also.....Kh2...has THE BEST version of Soras outfit.
Tyler people dislike kh because they only see the goofy outside they have to look past that and than they will discover a very emotional moving story (with a shit ton of confusion i admit it) But you know for that alone you have to respect these games they are bassically saying " thats who i am and i dont care what you think" i admire so much confidence
I feel like people who say it's just goofy haven't really paid attention to the story. I mean yeah, some parts are goofy but the games have a really emotional story. KH2 not so much because it wasn't that sad other than Goofy "dying", but moreso the non - number titles show more emotion. But if people don't want to take time to learn the clusterfuck of a story, that's fine. I just don't see the point of having an opinion on something when you've never really taken time to experience it yourself instead of just seeing a gif with Sora, Donald, and Goofy making a funny face for example and just declaring it something.
It's got some very teenager-y sensitivities, I totally agree (like most JRPG, to be fair). But it's still a pretty moving story. And what the hell, what's wrong with wanting to feel like kids again every now and then?
The opening of this game is probably one of, if not the greatest opening to any game ever. But it is funny i definitely remember as a kid playing this game and thinking to myself "dammit when's this game gonna start already??"
I remember absolutely hating everything about the first game and then being blown away by the first few hours of KH2 and being seriously pissed that I couldn't keep playing as Roxus.
I think Roxas is for sure a way more interesting character, but Soras personality type just fits for a main protagonist. From a gameplay perspective though, Roxas felt clunky and bad compared to Sora (with the exception of the Axel fight).
Honestly I don’t understand why everyone loves the first so much compared to others in the series I have just as much nostalgia for it as everyone else but still just can’t have that much fun with it now a days
I didn't mind the slow opening of the game. I have no patience with games that waste your time, but I never felt that the Roxas part was a waste. Maybe it's because of how varied the tasks you're given are? There's only one point that drags IMO, and that's when you have to do the minigames to earn money. Other than that, there's no point that goes on too long or doesn't involve the core gameplay. I guess part of the dislike could be because a lot of people just dismissed Roxas as a throwaway character at first or was worried Nomura had done a massive MGS2-style fake-out and Sora wasn't going to be playable. When I started the game as someone other than Sora I just thought: "Oh cool, there are multiple playable characters in the game". If anything I was more disappointed that this wasn't really the case and there was no way to switch characters during the main part of the game.
I think it is more about that after the intro, we don't really get to know more about Roxas. His character arc is almost done instantly and then game kinda forgets him bit too long to make player just lose interest. It is not intro, it is how it fits into whole game. I know many people like him, but I personally didn't feel either way, I wanted to see where the story takes me. Of course I was excited to play as Sora again, but then Roxas kinda disappears. For many years before reading days manga Roxas was kinda bland char who just was happened to be Sora's nobody and had an intro. Other thing which kinda annoys me is that Roxas being Sora's nobody does not really carry dramatic weight upon Sora's character.
The opening of KH2 was amazing if you were one of the 10% of people who actually played Chain of Memories. For everyone else it was so monumentally confusing that of course they had no chance of picking up on any of the good stuff about it. A real shame.
Yea I still haven't played it XD. But it never confused me. The "Sanctuary" music video alone gives you enough information about what might be going on, the Roxas bits of the game lightly display the raw existential horrors that are the Nobodies, Amnesia Sora, and Ansem Rikku perfectly, and most everything else is teased out as a mystery that keeps you interested in the game. Literally, all the remaining details of Chain of Memories are needless complications of the core idea of "Sora and Riku never made it home", complications of the sort that, frankly, drag the series's later games down, IMHO
I don't think any critic comes close to the professionalism and honesty you demonstrate on this channel. Like really game critics are expected to kind of just shout how stupid things are at the screen now adays while brining up some points that we all already knew. You really give credit where it's due and nail things that you didn't like, and I really am glad to see that this hasn't changed for you, Keep up the great work man :)
SHADE that's assuming said critics actually have any analytical skills to begin with. Most "reviews" that bring up micro transactions are just incessant bitching videos, they don't actually analyze the micro transactions and how they truly affect the gameplay (case in point: The Battlefront 2 controversy last year). If you can't analyze anything properly OR understand what you are talking about, don't try to say that they are objectively bad for the gameplay. Am I saying that the micro transactions in the new Battlefront are good or bad? No. I'm just saying that *reviews these days aren't reviews but instead they are just opinion pieces* with non-arguments, no analyzing and no objective criticism (the criticism is actually based feelings and opinions, leading back to the opinion piece part of my argument). At best this means the mere mention of "micro transactions" is not analytically criticized, but used as a means for *gamer propaganda.*
Everyone ever who played this right after KH1 wanted Sora, me included. Nobody picking KH2 up liked Roxas on their first playthrough. But when Sora wakes up, it's probably one of the only "Holy shit we can start the game now" bits done right, the game being slow enough to teach you things without being too hand-holdy. Even on repeat playthroughs it's not bad since skipping cutscenes is a thing but goddamn it I still get a little emotional when Roxas opens that pod. The game sacrifices little to nothing for the payoff because on repeat playthroughs you start to like this not-Sora guy and feel for him, because he lives in Sora's shadow, and is treated as such by everyone, even in the Organization (except Axel). Goddammit why can't we have more games like this
I liked roxas on my first play through he was even preferred over sora for me and still is my favorite characters are vented and roxas sora falls in like 3 or fourth for me I prefer roxas from a story standpoint and if you meant by gameplay I like it because it’s kinda meant to be slow and sluggish because he’s not sora he’s not skilled
Salman Muqeet combat is better vibe and nostalgia is just priceless kh3 was the biggest disappointment of 2019 like damn it couldn’t even beat a ps2 game
I started with Kingdom Hearts 2 (was a dumb kid at the time and assumed order didn't matter). I thought Roxas was going to be the main protagonist and the that the flash backs where going to lead up with Sora passing the torch. I really liked Roxas, his build up and his relationship with his friends. When he was going through the mansion and started getting and explanation on the virtual reality he was in I thought he was going to break out of it like in the matrix and the game would final open up to him. Up to this point the game had been setting up plot points tied directly to Roxas, Namine, Ansom, Diz and Axil. There was enough there for the plot to be about him. So image my surprise when Sora took over and Roxas was goon never to be seen again. The first thing I did when I saw Sora was think "Where's Roxas, give him back!" and stopped playing. To this day I can not think of a game that has done something so drastic, made me "feel" so strongly about a moment in a game like this. Roxas being such a well of potential only to be snuffed so unexpectedly has fascinated me no end. The bold move to remove him, a character who I thought would be with me through the entire game gave me a bizarre sense of lost that no other game has yet to emulate and cemented Roxas as my favorite character in this franchise. I adore this franchise for being so out there that they're willing to make big risks in there story and I hope in that department, it never changes.
Technically, Birth By Sleep 0.2 was supposed to be the prologue for KH3 based on it's design. But SE's like... yo we need to re release 3D, but.. ugh, no one would buy that, hey let's tie a tech demo into a re-release and sell it for 60 bucks
I'm so glad to see someone else that feels this way! Every time I revisit KH2, I really feel like the opening is genius. It's only later that KH2's narrative starts to show the cracks, sadly (even though the ending is really good). I miss the tone of the early games haha, but you brought me right back to 2006. Amazing video as always =) Would love to see more Kingdom Hearts from you in future!
OniLink99999 could you tell me what you liked of the ending? Honestly I think it's kinda boring and full of clichés like the rest of the game's plot. I mean, It's about: all good characters(including Diz/Ansem) meet and go against Organization XIII. They could use Riku in a more interesting way ( a Riku /Ansem partly absorbed by darkness and not just Riku 's voice which sounds kinda gay in Ansem's body); Mickey goes against Diz who has still bad Intenctions and eventually changes his mind. almost we understand why he literally does a fuck in all the game but randomly appears in the cutscenes; Organization wanted to take darkness out of sora. Ok, you have Kairi, use her as a hostage to accomplish this. Nomura, deepen her personality. Don't just leave her in a hidden prison we don't even visit unless you mod the game. Moreover cutscenes are repetitive, they sound like "FRIENDSHIP-SORRY-THANKS-DARKNESS". Organization ones are good, though. I felt guilty for killing them, except xemnas and xigbar they really wanted just to be people. I'm just interested in your opinion, cause I really don't see good points in all this but only a bunch of lost opportunities. I would like to appreciate the ending in some way
@@giordanaquino4338 Spoilers warning for this comment, because I'm a nice guy! And then you play KH3 and realize apparently killing these characters actually DID make them into people again. How I have no fucking idea lol.
I played the Kingdom Hearts series for the first time last year, and I was expecting to hate this opening, but I liked it and wouldn’t skip it in a replay even if I could. Maybe bc I knew what to expect so I wasn’t confused and knew most of the game was with Sora or bc I didn't have to wait for the sequel, but I really liked Twilight Town, the characters, and the story. I was really sad when Roxass’s story was over, it was like it’s own contained story about friendship, identity, choice, etc. And it was beautiful
Interesting take. I was in my mid 20s when Kingdom Hearts 2 released in Australia & I've always said the best parts of the game were the opening & ending. The middle was fine, but seemed empty by comparison to the emotional value of them. Man, shocked to hear anyone could ever consider the opening just an empty tutorial.
u could consider that for roughly any game but these get better as u have more emotional attachment to the key npc’s that in kh u get to catch up w at the beginning of each game
Strangely enough I'd say the days manga is the best piece of storytelling in the series. To quote video game legend David Cage, I think the fact everyone can make emotions with their faces helps alot.
I never liked Xplay, nor Adam Sessler, nor Morgan Webb. They act like smarmy, pretentious twats with a hit or miss sense of humor. Their review of RE:CVX and RE:DS are terrible.
I've seen many gaming anyalysts, and they're all great. I guess it's just Brit's cynicism (I hope I spelled that shit right.) and his unpopular opinions about a lot of crap that makes him my favorite UA-camr. But of course, everyone's different. And you're right. I think I should watch more analysts. It's interesting to see all sides and opinions.
@TheGamingBritShow - This was an extremely well-made video, cheers. I appreciate the effort you made to assemble & show relevant clips from the 3+ games. Your analysis is well-thought-out, especially the analogy between the prologue and our time waiting for KH2 - mind blown!
I started the series with KH2. I loved the Roxas bit. He's still my favourite. The other amazing thing about the intro section is i didn't play KH1 till it was released on ps3 but i felt like i knew the story because of the roxas dreams and flashbacks. Those flashbacks are still some of my favourite moments when i play kh1.
KH2’s opening is a strange case. On one hand, it is even more bittersweet and amazing once you play 358/2 days. Unfortunately it’s a chore to go through when replaying the game. It’s a bit like MGSV with the hour long opening tutorial that is interesting from a storytelling and cinematic perspective, but is a drag to replay through
It's a lot shorter if you just skip the cutscenes but I really enjoy most of them since it's like a revisit to something I looked forward to playing when I was still like 13 or 14 and had unreal excitement about when it released.
I don't think a game should be evaluated on the basis of how good a replay of the game is. Game devs who make more narrative games are inherently at a disadvantage in this regard. I think that's unfair. I don't think it would work if the tutorial of KH2 was skippable.
I started with kh2 and i loved the tutorial, it made me like roxas a lot more than sora, sora is the chosen one who everyone likes and has no flaws, he has a destiny to fulfill while roxas is an outcast that no one wants around and his only friends get killed, i was mad how in the end he doesn't get a chance to live it's own life and has to settle with existing in sora's body, hopefully that will change in the next game
Choncino all of roxas' friends never existed and was just being kept safe for sora. He is his own person in bbs though so check it out when you get a chance.
Choncino well sora is far from flawless, as he is notoriously naiive and is impulsive which continues to screw himelf and his friends over. The problem at hand is that no one calls him out for his shit except for yen sid and riku.
+False Caim The character in BBS is Ventus, not Roxas. He just looks exactly like Roxas. Well, I guess it would be more accurate to say that Roxas looks like him.
Sigh another person thinking the main. Character is flawless because he's the main character and the character with the obvious sappy story is "better".
This is genuinely really, really cool. It's really fun seeing someone who also has a bit of an emotional connection to KH, and you wrapped up the weird, beautiful melancholy of the opening extraordinarily well. Nice work, dude.
I never played chain of memories. All my experience with the game is in the form of high definition cutscenes years after fact. My first impression of the begging KH2 when I was younger. I admit... I was a little apprehensive. But as Roxas' story progressed I was struck with empathy for this character. All Roxas ever wanted was to go to the beach with his friends and by the end of his soul crushing story he probably wishes he could go back to the mundanity of it all. The posters, the summer jobs. The lazy afternoons. Robbed of a childhood that he never actually had because he was never supposed to exist in the first place. The Cruel reality of Sora's selfless act to save Kairi in KH one.
I can’t agree with this enough (well, the title, at least, I’m only just starting the video). It’s downright it’s own short story, full of bizarre mysteries and climaxes and anticlimaxes and the fucking loopiest ending, in the best way. It’s perfectly melancholy, magically weaponizing that extraordinary bittersweet feeling of a dwindling summer vacation. This is one of those games I wouldn’t be surprised to find holds up even better than I remember once I finally revisit it. The series has a fucking kooky ass plot, which I love about it, but it’s always had an incredible talent for slamming right into the heart of powerful emotions, something that this is one of its shining examples of.
I just revisited it and I can confirm the magic is still there, I appreciate the music and design and gameplay on a level I couldn't process 12 years ago, and with the Final Mix it's even better.
please cover this whole series. it’s my favorite, and i’d love to see you pick these (mostly) amazing games apart like you do so well. i wanna hear what you have to say about the series’ downfall, and what made the first few games work so damn well. fantastic work as always, man
"It contextualizes the wait and the anticipation for the sequel Kingdom Hearts 2 within the game itself, essentially making you wait for the game to be finished, built, and be put together _within_ the opening as Sora is being constructed throughout this prologue." ...you know what this means for Kingdom Hearts 3?
Huh, you’ve made me look at this part and made me realize that this opening bit is actually better than even I thought. And I am the most massive fan of Kingdom Hearts II. Biggest influencer of my childhood. But you made me see so much symmetry and symbolism I had missed. Thanks for this, makes me love this series even more! If I could, I would donate to you. Because I’d love to see your thoughts on the series. I’m a big fan but even I know it’s got its faults. But I’d love to see what you think of it all. :) Hope your day has been great and keep making awesome videos!
I always found the “looks like my summer vacation is over line” to be metaphoric for the end of a chapter in my life. It happened when I played in 2005 as a 7 year old. Then again a few times later in life as I played the game multiple times during teenhood to adulthood. I found that scene to be so deep and it broke my heart every time, even to this day.
I played the first Kingdom Hearts, but wasn't good or old enough to beat tarzan's level. Yet I never minded the tutorial of KH2, especially my first time. And Roxas story even as a solo character, as long as it was back by the right music, was enough pull at my heartstrings with ease. I'm not ashamed to say completing kingdom hearts 2 was the reason i completed kingdom hearts 1 and subsequently dug myself into the series.
I started my journey in KH with KH2 and I must say, the prologue must be one of my favorite, if not my most favorite, part of the game. Roxas slowly being forgotten by his friends and his return to sorrow could possibly be the most gut wrenching, tear-jerking moment for me. I keep going back to Twilight Town frequently even after I've finished the game just to get the whole feel of being Roxas again. Also, talking with Twilight Town's Trio and their vague memory of Roxas just give me that bittersweet taste in my mouth that I won't be seeing Roxas in the game any longer. Which is why that brief encounter with him at The Place that Never Was so meaningful to me because I really missed playing as Roxas. Dang, KH2 was a great first time experience with playing KH for me. I kept a save file in our old 8mb PS2 memory card of Roxas because who would want to forget that brief existential moment of being him, right? (also, the dual wielding part where you fight Axel with the Oathkeeper and Oblivion was a big plus for me.) Anyway, that's it for my loooong take on KH2's prologue.
its been long enough to finally hear your take on this franchise. Im so glad you covered this topic because its something I always believed to be part of why kh2 is one of the best games I've ever played
2:45 OMG i actually teared up, there's an actual another human being who understands this indescribable feeling of the kh2 title screen thing T^T I'm too tired of hearing whiny "gamers" bash at small things and not appreciate such magical things kh brings
In retrospect, it is funny to play KH2 Final Mix with new voice acting for the new scenes, and hear how some characters like Xaldin sounds completely different from how he did 12 years ago, or Namine with an entirely new voice.
Mind sharing the names of other videos/UA-camrs doing such retrospect videos? I'm a thirsty, desperate fan who would eat up that content while waiting for KH3.
Hey, man! I've been a huge fan of Kingdom Hearts since i was 8, and now that i'm reaching 21, gotta say your videos made me emotional. Recently bought the 1.5 + 2.5 version for PS4 and boy oh boy, it's been a complete joy rediscovering all these little things that made me love the game in the first place. I completely agree with you even though i've started with KH2 back at 2007, the opening was fantastic. Even though i don't think i'll subscribe because i'm not THAT much into gaming nowadays, but i'll check your channel regularly for any Kingdom Hearts (or a couple of other franchises). Thanks a lot for the video, your work is fantastic!
The prologue on a meta level also does something sneaky: most players will be (at least the first time) impatient to get a move on and go to the part where you finally play as Sora. So you could say that even the player wants Roxas to stop existing in favour of Sora. I can imagine that for a lot of players (at least it was for me) part of the emotional gut punch that is Roxas' final moments is guilt over that. And now everytime I play the prologue the sense of time running out is in the back of my head, knowing that I only have limited time with this character. Truly brilliant.
@@insertnamehere3271 I thought the gameplay was just fine as well. But I also like games like Persona where the first several hours are absent of gameplay altogether. I think this kind of thing is fine for a story driven game such as this.
i want to take a moment to thank you for not spoiling the end of kingdom hearts 2, i haven't played it fully, i got to the tron stage and then my ps2 lagged and my save data was erased. Most youtubers would say the spoiler and then say "oh sorry for spoiling this ten year old game" I'm still planing on playing KH2, maybe on ps4
Pick up the 1.5+2.5 remix right away, not only do you get the Final Mix version of the game (which contains many hours of extra content, which was absent from the original release), but you also get KH1 and Birth by sleep on a console which has so fast load times you barely even notice the loading screens. I might be a bit of a fan boy, but they are just such great games, and so cheap now.
It's so nice to see someone stick up for this part of KH2, I like you waited years after the first game for the sequel and this introduction drew me in more than I could have ever expected, it was a brilliant slow burn back in to the magic of KH.
Awesome, awesome stuff. When I got back into KH (the PS4 rereleases), it had been so long since I had played the originals that I had forgotten that KH2 starts off with a week of Roxas' life. I had just finished going through KH1 and was DYING to travel to the Disney worlds again. At first, I was offput by the Roxas storyline but it develops so beautifully that by the 6th day, we almost feel just as close to Roxas as we felt to Sora. It's heartbreaking to see him go away and watch Sora enter the scene, completely oblivious to what had happened. I really wish more video games would risk cinematic 'drama' like this in place of just standard quest-objective mindless go-do-this-come-back-reward (i'm looking at you Skyrim). A wonderful story, a wonderful game, a wonderful experience.
I started with KH2 and to me the intro set a great tone. It was incredibly sad to see Roxas just lose his friends and reality to never having been 'real'. It also gave me as a new player a really solid plot device to figure out what exactly is going on and wishing to find out more about Roxas.
i was only 8 days old when kh1 came out and like 4 when kh2 came out so i dont really have that whole "aaah nostalgia" thing going on for this series but i still absolutely adore it, and i loved the opening of kh2. thank u so much for putting what i felt into words!
Kingdom Hearts 2 is one of my favorite games of all time mostly because of the first 1 hr or 2 with Roxas and that beginning segment always fills me with satisfaction, i remember how much i was in awe when i heard Christopher Lee voiced DIZ.
I sorta have a problem with the opening of KH2, but it's more from a retroactive perspective. Yes, in the time and moment it was released, the prologue was set up to be confusing for the audience on purpose, and that the player shouldn't know who/what Roxas is for the sake of a mystery. But with the expanded story of KH as a whole... really, the prologue to KH2 is basically the *end* of Roxas' character arc that started with Days. And in a way, the story itself kinda flows better if people have played/watched Days before KH2. I know some fans think of that is heresy, but it works so well in my opinion. If a person starts from Days after CoM but before KH2, they know that the Organization exists, but basically have no idea what a Nobody is. The opening sees that there's some connection between this "Roxas" kid being connected to Sora, but it's vague and him being in the Org. raises some curiosity because of how they were the villains in the previous game. You then basically play through his entire life, seeing his character become more defined from this zombie-like thing into his own person, making friendships with Axel and Xion, yet everything starts to go array. Roxas realizes that the Org. is just using him, and Xion's death is the catalyst for him to want to fight against them. But just like how KH1 ends without Sora's journey really having a conclusion, Days ends in a similar fashion, with Roxas stopped and trapped. If you then pick up KH2, you start with Roxas and he's completely mind-wiped of everything. It sorta parallels what happens with Xion, her dying and nobody being able to remember her existence. Well now, Roxas can't even remember his own existence. It's heartbreaking for the player that had seem him grow and watched him for (literally) every day in his life. But as elements from the games slowly start bleeding in, it gives some sort of hope for Roxas. In a way, the player is actually being somewhat put into the shoes of Axel; someone who knows and is very close to Roxas, who desperately wants to be able to go back to the way things used to be, only for that to be impossible. And in the very end, when Roxas finally remembers most of everything, he is confronted by DiZ, the man who is pretty much entirely responsible for his situation, he lashes out, strikes him with the Keyblade... and it doesn't do anything. Roxas *can't* do anything to him, he's completely trapped. After everything he went through in Days, becoming his own person, rebelling, and then being forced into this confinement, he is finally able to recover himself... only for it to not matter. In the end, he *can't* be his own person, he *can't* go back to the way things were. He's a part of Sora and there's nothing he can do about it. Even in DDD, during those weird moments in TWTNW, Roxas laments about his lack of personhood while literally giving Sora memories of his own life, not acknowledging Sora's declaration of him being his own person, as he says; "Sora, it has to be you". (Of course this'll not really matter considering KH3 is going to bring back EVERYONE anyways, but whatever). The Kingdom Hearts story can be very... not well put together at times (being very generous here), but I honestly think that 'the tragedy of Roxas' is a legitimately well-written part of the series, and it's something you don't really experience in a linear, "character arc" way if you start KH2, play through that whole game, and then go back and experience the beginning/rest of Roxas' story later. I almost feel like Days either should've come out before KH2, or the prologue of KH2 didn't exist and was more an epilogue to Days... or something. But this is just the rantings of a Kingdom Hearts fan who cares WAY too much about this dumb, convoluted story for some reason, so... I don't know! Maybe I just wasting my life typing all that up.
To be honest, even after playing KH2 and Days, I felt Roxas' backstory in KH2 alone was explained really well. They did a pretty good job with "Show, don't tell", and it was enough to get the point across: - Roxas kept having dreams about someone he doesn't know. He learns a lot from these dreams, but he has no idea what it means. - We find out that the mysterious Nobodies are chasing him for whatever reason because they're clearly ignoring everyone else and going after him. Thus, we can infer that there has to be some connection. - You meet a mysterious girl who knows a little too much, especially about him. This makes him question things and move towards the truth. - You meet a guy who says he knows you and hints that the world you're living in is not as it seems. Now Roxas is questioning the things around him. - All of sudden, more weird stuff keeps happening to him that he cannot explain. Yet no one else seems to notice. - On the final day, some of his memories are actually coming back, and it seems that Namine's and Axel's words hold some truth. Everything seems to become clearer, and he accepts that when he joins with Sora. But it doesn't stop there. As this video mentions, his story was still unfolding throughout the rest of the game, especially with the Final Mix cutscenes added: - We learnt that when Xemnas first found him, he was confused as if he had no purpose. Yet when he decides to leave, he's more aware of himself and seems to have a purpose. - Xemnas hinted to Roxas that he had some connection to Sora. - We could see Axel hesitate on eliminating Roxas. Why would he though unless some of his words had some truth to it? Not to mention that he soon goes rogue and tries so hard to get Roxas back. - We could infer that the organization needed Roxas because he could wield the Keyblade to collect hearts, which they needed. It was perfect since they had the Nobody of Sora, who was clearly not going to help them. Then we could infer that they were pissed when Roxas left because the one who could help them and was easily turned into an ally decided to walk out on them. - We get Riku and DiZ's side of the story of when they met Roxas near the end of the game. TL;DR From the little information that we got in KH2, it's pretty clear that Roxas' life from start to finish was pretty messed up. Yet it adds salt to the wound when you remember that he "lived" a normal life in the virtual world only to have him face the reality that he's not really supposed to exist in the first place.
I loved the opening section of KH2. It held so much weight once you understood who Roxas was and how he basically got robbed of having a life of his own.
Agree with almost everything, exept for the fact that I absolutely adored 358/2 Days. It hooked me from the very begining and, despite the slow start - that I think was perfect for setting the mood of the entire game - is, for me, the best "stand alone" experience in the series (I know it's not stand alone, it's just that I think the game has a tone of its own that really sets it apart from the rest of the bunch)
“Looks like my summer vacation is over”
Damn gets me every time
yea it sucks when summer vacation is over
THE SUMMER VACATION IS OVER!
Yeah tomorrow’s gonna be my first day of my last high school year.. this shit hits in the right place
@@bignies today is the first day on school.
everytime! haha
Roxas accepting his oblivion is the saddest part in the series for me. The music and the acting really seals the deal.
Katie Jones its not oblivion just time for his much needed nap.
ikr
The acting, in a Kingdom Hearts game lol
He accepts his oblivion for accomplishing his Oath to Xion :)
Ventus' story ending is the saddest part of the series for me.
Crazy... KHII was my first game. Everyone who started with the first KH has the choice of either appreciating or dismissing the first hours of KHII. But I didn't have that choice; I always saw Roxas as my first protagonist, and identified with him the most. Most people felt like "things have gone back to normal" when Sora came back in, but for myself, instead, I felt like something important came to an abrupt bitter end, and that left a really melancholic feeling within me rather than a feeling of relief.
I really sympathized with Roxas. I mean, just imagine if your whole life was just a simulated reality that wasn't whole, and that it belonged to a 'real' version of you and your existence was just a fake. I don't know how to describe such a feeling...
Me too
Wow I never thought about that. That must've been crazy!
Right there with you that was my introduction as well
I liked Roxas and very much enjoyed that first part with him. I started with KH1 and prefer KH2 over it. Especially because Namine is in it. (My fav character). I also prefer the starting game play in KH2 over kh1. Can't even remember how KH1 starts and I have both games but played KH2 much more.
You described my experience perfectly :( Same thing happened to me and I played KH 1 first, but decided to try out 2 instead since 1 had way too many dead ends with no direction. Ended up loving the second one so much more and feeling comfortable easing into the experience with Roxas, felt pretty displaced when his segment came to an end :c
"He wasn't just Nobody."
My lord, that actually hit me hard. Kind of a pun, but much more of a gutwrenching reference to the nature of his existence. Great line.
When he said that I legit just went "He was somebody" and hss
Hit hard man
HE WAS SOMEBODY TO ME!
I mean techinally the nobody's in org 13 had hearts all along
I always get chills when Roxas says his summer is over and when Sora cries over Roxas' friends because he can't be with them and they don't even KNOW Roxas and those were his best friends! Its so tragic and unfair... The music really sells all of the performances too I might add.
I blame DiZ. 😒
@@mauriciogarcia4795 DiZ nuts
@@insertname4337 Ey! 😝
@@mauriciogarcia4795i mean, you SHOULDNT blame Diz because if it wasnt for what Diz did, Sora would probably not be able to awaken and defeat Org 13. His plan needed to come to fruition
The opening of KH2 always left me upset about the way people treated Roxas.
There was something beautifully Melancholic about the opening that made me care about a character I didn't even know
Then after playing Chain of Memories and 358/2 Days and getting to know more about him and ORG.XIII, I became even more upset about the opening
I recently played KH2 after playing Days. Bawled my eyes out when Roxas returned to Sora. And I was still mourning when Sora jumped out and danced around with Donald and Goofy. So upsetting. But a good juxtaposition though, when the scenes play out right after the other.
I cried just reading both of yalls comments
I felt bad for Roxas but then again Namine and Roxas never truly went away.
I personally love Roxas more than Sora b/c (358/2 days was my first KH game) and the fact of him just going through with his life. I hope we get to play as Roxas in KH3 (might not even happen but 🤷♂️)
Looks like my summer vacation is over
This was literally the first time in my life I felt the sensation of “bittersweet”. I was happy to get the game started but I was still sad watching Roxas basically die.
Die? :D
"you do some pretty ordinary everyday shit"
I don't know about you all, but I don't try to go smacking bees with a plastic baseball bat.
coward
Me neither, but that's no excuse.
Just the beginning part of KHII alone made Roxas my favorite character.
ikr
Same here
Same
Grizzly Melon oh shit I remember you. You told me to kill myself last year. What’s up man ?
@@Arthur-ex4yj loooooool
Surprised how positive it was
And surprised that someone else likes the opening too
people don't like the opening? That's shocking. Personally it's the best one.
I like it all except for the munny grinding. Made a separate file so that I can skip it (but just that part, I actually really like replaying everything else).
Not Frank Jack Gamer Not gonna lie I thought I was the only one who liked it, glad to here there are others who do too
I love the intro, mostly, but...
It is just a bitch for replayability, so my feelings are really not super warm it, actually they're a little negative.
Not Frank Jack Gamer honestly, it's not as SLOW as many people like to say. I have nothing bad to say about it.
the kh2 prologue is and has always been one of my favorite game experiences, in any game. i had no idea anyone hated it.
em I hate it and Roxas.
Same
Takes too long, nobody knew him when first playing
@@TheSkypetube not knowing him is what makes the opening work though
@@rowdyrobgaming8726 tbh
I appreciate the Roxas hours of KH2 WAY more after 358/2 Days. Knowing Roxas' backstory gives some meaning and drama to everything happening to him in Fake Twilight Town.
I feel like everyone should play Days after KH2, tho.
The order of the 1.5 ReMIX is just not the way it's meant to be experienced.
@Repo man Nomura wanted the player to be confused on KH2's prologue, and it was masterful
Not to mention the mystery regarding how Ansem Seeker Of Darkness is back at the beginning of KH2 and at the end you discover it's Riku. It's such an important moment to experience first time with Sora and the gang
But if you play or watch Days first, you know it's Riku and it ruins the mystery and the pay off when Sora finds out in TWTNW
I only liked the first hours of kingdom hearts 2 because... Roxas
...Did he just call me Roxas??
Do you mean kingdom hearts 2?
Same
Same
Same
"he wasn't just Nobody" HAHAAA I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE
Playing KH3 now, I realize one of my favorite things from the series were these smaller stories/sections that aren't in the new game. I loved the opening to KH2 and was more invested in Roxas's story than the main plot
Well there was gonna a beginning like that in KH3. But they split it and became what we know as 0.2 Birth By Sleep.
Same tbh
The entirety of Dearly Beloved never fails to stir up emotion in me.
Replaying KH2 as an adult, what strikes me most about the opening is how perfectly it captures the experience of growing up. Drifting away from friends, feeling lost and trapped, killing time with jobs and homework while other people keep you imprisoned in your small town/home until that part of you dies and you become someone new. Ironically, I play this game every year to remember my childhood and what it was like.
From a narrative perspective, Roxas's story is arguably one of the strongest points of Kingdom Hearts 2. It's just a colossal slog going through the actual poorly-paced gameplay on repeat playthroughs.
Chris Chen save duplicates after completing Roxas' part. Then when you wanna replay the game, start from one of those duplicate saves. :) I do this for all parts of games I would never wanna replay in the ps2 era
Second best part besides drive forms
The first time it'll take you around 3 hours including cutscenes, once you know what you're doing though the prologue only takes 20 minutes of gameplay, not that bad
Chris Chen just skip the cutscenes and don’t waste time lol it’s not that bad to repeat unless you make it so
I’m gonna disagree I always have loved playing through the beginning few hours even when I was little like a little kid I was always getting stuck in the actual story and getting angry while having a blast with the first few hours and I still love the beginning just as much to this day although I love the main game more now a days
The way Roxas accepted his fate on the last day gets me every time, and when he says that Sora is 'lucky' I remember Cloud says that about Sora too later in the game.
When Roxas says “Looks like my summer vacation is over” and the title comes up it always gives me goosebumps. Like it’s so sad and it really hurts:(
You know, I wasn't even aware so many people hated the intro until recently. I loved it ever since I was a kid. Sure I asked "wheres Sora????" Because like many i didn't play the entirety of CoM (i did have it tho!) but the music and ambience of twilight town always sucked me in along with the mystery of roxas and this new organization unfolding, its just the best attempt at world building in the series. also that sucker punch of "my summer vacation is over" with the logo fading was such a strong part of my adolescence. i'll always be in the small part of the fanbase who thinks this stuff was the best part of the game and the rest falters for it, despite how much i love the game still.
smellmeister you can in some way piece together the plot without COM which i had to do back than something that in later games isnt possible anymore
just play KH2 1st and you'll love it. Probably.
I don’t think people really hated it as much as they claim to. I think they’re hating it now because “all the cool kids hate it”. You should see how the sonic fanboys keep changing their options about entire games on a daily basis. Sonic Unleashed is a good example. First they loved it (because of course they would after that sonic 06 wreck), than they hated it because Sonic Colors and Generations were better and now they love it again because it’s better than Sonic Forces.
@@Hynotama yeah, just like there is a hype train, there is also the hate train. Both cases can be cancerous because of how 1-sided a.k.a. biased and thus unfair they are.
couldn't agree more. I still remember how I felt when roxas said his summer vacation was over and the Kingdom Hearts II logo showed up. My god I had to press pause and take a minute to applaud the intro of this game (notice I was like 13 years old so clapping my hands being alone is not as weird as it sounds haha), I don't think there was a way it could have been more perfect than it was. Even up to this day every time I see that scene I get goose bumps
Holy shit an analysis video on Kingdom Hearts and it's not just shouting memes like other UA-camrs? Huh never thought I would see this.
d a r k n e s s ?
HEY GUYS HEARTLESS AND NOBODY AMIRITE? WAITING 15 YEARS FOR KH3 THAT HAS BEEN CONSTANTLY DELAYED AMIRITE?
Because he ran out of good memes.
KelvinBelmont Damn that smack to superbutterbuns
Winston Bush Butterbuns I respect because she can at least balance it
I always loved the intro of KH2, I don't know why so many people trash on it. There's genuinely interesting story stuff that happens, Twilight Town and its music is just so memorable, and even if you're basically just hanging out with Roxas's friends and doing random stuff around the town for most of it, it's still fun! Searching for the "7 wonders of Twilight Town" was always one of my favorite bits of it. And Sinister Sundown is such a memorable battle theme, mainly because it has this mysterious vibe to it...it's hard to explain. One moment, you're living an average, fairly mundane life, when suddenly, everything is thrown outta whack. Strange phenomena begin to occur, mysterious beings show up (Nobodies) and seem to be leading you somewhere, as you are granted a mysterious weapon to combat these things... You have so many questions, and no answers. What is going on? What is happening to reality? And how are you connected to all of this? As you set out to discover the truth about this, you have no idea the magnitude of the answer you seek, and what you're about to jump into...
...Which is pretty much the feeling that the beginning hours of this game and that music together give me. It just meshes so well with the situation, as the truth of Roxas's reality is slowly revealed to him.
Seriously, why is there so much dislike for this part of the game again?
Why we hate it? Because we come to kh2 to see what happened after kh1 and we play ad a nobody. Someone that we don't even know.
I understand why because of your not invested it's confusing it's not how i personally feel I've just witness it like I've done the intro understand the verse absolutely it's not complicated but again I've spent years but my gif did not know what was going on and it makes the intro a drag
@@johnpantag472 and don't get to play again as ever again
@@johnpantag472 not to mention a full understanding required three games one that did not come out till much later it's not bad but not for everyone lol it's def closer to home cause when i was a kid I ABSOLUTELY UNDERSTOOD THE LAMENT OF ENDING SUMMER now a days it doesn't matter too much
You have to look with retrospect and not nostalgia cause then you get stuck in the past hence the bad movies and political ideologies of making something great again lol not to mention the bullshit redirect of waiting thirteen years for a sequel when the other game where coming out every 5 years no like it's was the KH2 heads that could not move on that suffered so much it's nobodies fault but their own. Like there where other games lol to play i think after KH2 i played Persona 3 for the first time and fell in love hahaha
KHII was my first game in the series, so I knew Roxas before Sora. Roxas is undoubtedly my favorite character and I wish they did more with him.
Someone other than me actually finds this prologue brilliant? I knew there was a reason I liked your vids, keep it up brit
Platinum_Strawhat
*Cheers*
it was a masterpiece
Platinum_Strawhat quite easily amazing
Man... my life would be different if I never found these 2 games on the ps2, there are some damn good things in life.
BagazZ123 you can get them on ps3 and ps4 as well on the hd remasters
If the credits for the third game roll than i will cry some manly tears
The first game changed me too man. I loved the second as well but there’s just something about the darker tone of the original’s story that I just loved. Crazy how a video game can have such an impact on our lives
Me too.
BagazZ123 this series,along with other PS2 action RPGs,was what made me interested in Final Fantasy and introduced me deeper into the genre.
If it wasn't for Kingdom Hearts,especially 2,i probably wouldn't have played games like Chrono Trigger,Dragon Quest 8 and the SMT series,so i'm very glad to love KH as much as i do, even if the series may seem filled with stupid and confusing plot points to an outsider to the series.
"He wasn't just nobody" I'M CRYING
The begining of KH2 has made me loves Roxas more than Sora
Yep! Days also made him even more likeable
I would of played KH2 through if Sora never replaced Roxas that's how much I love him. Crazy that a 2 hour sequence can do that to me.
I feel like everyone who says this started the series with KH2 so they’re biased
@@Nay089I started with BBS.
There are more way KH2 likes to come full circle with itself. In the opening you get that fight against the giant nobody with Roxas and it really sells that he isnt exactly the interplanetary fighter Sora is. During the fight when it uses the vine attack, you get the reversal reaction command and its an extremely useful tool. Then here comes end game; Sora is now fighting the most powerful nobody out of them all and Xemnas will use the same vine attack as before, only 20 hours later and with more abilities under your belt; the fight isnt potrayed as a struggle, its the largest fight in the game. The later KH series might have larger stories, but KH2 has a lot of details like that in the gameplay that make it just the bit more of a coesive game.
Peter Grauer honestly. Roxas is probably my favorite character. I pllayed kingdom hearts 2 first and loved the intro. I was sad when I found out that roxas wasn't the main character.
Peter Grauer i noticed that small detail to and i remember how i thought that thst was a clever detail
And then the fucking reversal command doesn't work when you play as Sora :////
When I first played KHII as a kid, I really liked Twilight town. At that point I had only played the first game and I really liked both relaxed starting areas, and the skate board was neat. Then 2.5 came out... I had played every Kingdom Hearts game, some to completion (except for GBA CoM) and now I knew the full story of Roxas and everything that happened. Holy crap, the new context made me love the intro, and then to have it capped out with the Roxas battle near the end of the game was amazing. Couple that with the scene in 3D where Roxas gives his memories to Sora and one of the few rare instances where Sora gets truly pissed. Roxas is my favorite character from the series, with Riku in second.
Saaaaame. I played it yesterday! :D
Kingdom Hearts II was my first KH game. It has a special place in my heart.
I always thought it to be...
*Simple and Clean*
Nah, the title of "Simple and Clean" goes to Kingdom Hearts I. Kingdom Hearts II is "my sanctuary."
Exactly. People that their first game was kh2 have no opinion about the series.
Cringe
I didnt mind playing as Roxas at some point. My question the whole time though, was, who the hells roxas and where is Sora....then it ended and it the story went on. Also.....Kh2...has THE BEST version of Soras outfit.
RaginDXDemon definitely not that goes to kh1
@@antoniorodriguez162 Doofy looking red shorts and laughable big ass shoes? Yeah sure....
@@UnifiedEntity in a world where disney characters exist along with final fantasy ridiculous fashion
@@itsjustvin7630 yes and that outfit was the prime example of ridiculous.
@@UnifiedEntity did it fit with the rest if the ridiculousness tho
I wouldn't mind some more KH content. The game's are goofy as all hell but people really don't give their positive points a fair shake.
Tyler people dislike kh because they only see the goofy outside they have to look past that and than they will discover a very emotional moving story (with a shit ton of confusion i admit it)
But you know for that alone you have to respect these games they are bassically saying " thats who i am and i dont care what you think" i admire so much confidence
why, yes. The game is Goofy. I mean, Goofy smash is OP as heck, Valor form is great...Goofy is the MVP
I feel like people who say it's just goofy haven't really paid attention to the story. I mean yeah, some parts are goofy but the games have a really emotional story. KH2 not so much because it wasn't that sad other than Goofy "dying", but moreso the non - number titles show more emotion. But if people don't want to take time to learn the clusterfuck of a story, that's fine. I just don't see the point of having an opinion on something when you've never really taken time to experience it yourself instead of just seeing a gif with Sora, Donald, and Goofy making a funny face for example and just declaring it something.
It's got some very teenager-y sensitivities, I totally agree (like most JRPG, to be fair). But it's still a pretty moving story. And what the hell, what's wrong with wanting to feel like kids again every now and then?
Finally someone else who knows the true brilliance of the kingdom hearts two prologue
The opening of this game is probably one of, if not the greatest opening to any game ever. But it is funny i definitely remember as a kid playing this game and thinking to myself "dammit when's this game gonna start already??"
You know that’s how a lot of people felt when they were kids but for me it was always the opposite I’ve always loved the beginning
that was my dad watching me play kh2 for the first time 😭 he was so confused as to when sora would appear
Probably one of the best Prologues/Intros/Tutorials ever
I remember absolutely hating everything about the first game and then being blown away by the first few hours of KH2 and being seriously pissed that I couldn't keep playing as Roxus.
Why even get the second game if you absolutely hated everything about the first? LOL
+MCTV Chris Yeah, that is pretty weird. Still though, I also prefer Roxas over Sora, and was sad when our time with the character came to an end.
I think Roxas is for sure a way more interesting character, but Soras personality type just fits for a main protagonist.
From a gameplay perspective though, Roxas felt clunky and bad compared to Sora (with the exception of the Axel fight).
MCTV Chris that was kinda the point
Honestly I don’t understand why everyone loves the first so much compared to others in the series I have just as much nostalgia for it as everyone else but still just can’t have that much fun with it now a days
I didn't mind the slow opening of the game. I have no patience with games that waste your time, but I never felt that the Roxas part was a waste. Maybe it's because of how varied the tasks you're given are? There's only one point that drags IMO, and that's when you have to do the minigames to earn money. Other than that, there's no point that goes on too long or doesn't involve the core gameplay.
I guess part of the dislike could be because a lot of people just dismissed Roxas as a throwaway character at first or was worried Nomura had done a massive MGS2-style fake-out and Sora wasn't going to be playable. When I started the game as someone other than Sora I just thought: "Oh cool, there are multiple playable characters in the game". If anything I was more disappointed that this wasn't really the case and there was no way to switch characters during the main part of the game.
But you don't even have to do the jobs. You can go straight to the train station with little money and move on.
I think it is more about that after the intro, we don't really get to know more about Roxas. His character arc is almost done instantly and then game kinda forgets him bit too long to make player just lose interest. It is not intro, it is how it fits into whole game. I know many people like him, but I personally didn't feel either way, I wanted to see where the story takes me. Of course I was excited to play as Sora again, but then Roxas kinda disappears. For many years before reading days manga Roxas was kinda bland char who just was happened to be Sora's nobody and had an intro. Other thing which kinda annoys me is that Roxas being Sora's nobody does not really carry dramatic weight upon Sora's character.
It’S UPSETTING WHEN YOU’RE NINE I relate
The opening of KH2 was amazing if you were one of the 10% of people who actually played Chain of Memories. For everyone else it was so monumentally confusing that of course they had no chance of picking up on any of the good stuff about it. A real shame.
It’s nice that now chain of memories is actually easily accessible
It's also nice that I apparently didn't need to play chain of memories to appreciate the intro to KH2
Yea I still haven't played it XD. But it never confused me. The "Sanctuary" music video alone gives you enough information about what might be going on, the Roxas bits of the game lightly display the raw existential horrors that are the Nobodies, Amnesia Sora, and Ansem Rikku perfectly, and most everything else is teased out as a mystery that keeps you interested in the game. Literally, all the remaining details of Chain of Memories are needless complications of the core idea of "Sora and Riku never made it home", complications of the sort that, frankly, drag the series's later games down, IMHO
I hated the gba version. Of chain of memories so much that I didnt finish it. So when kh2 came along picking up from there wasn't any trouble.
HammerspaceCreature I rushed through this part like a dumbass and didn’t appreciate it when I was a kid
I don't think any critic comes close to the professionalism and honesty you demonstrate on this channel. Like really game critics are expected to kind of just shout how stupid things are at the screen now adays while brining up some points that we all already knew.
You really give credit where it's due and nail things that you didn't like, and I really am glad to see that this hasn't changed for you, Keep up the great work man :)
calm down fuck boy
SHADE what do you think about the reviews from somecallmejohnny
Thank you SHADE 😭😭😭
this is my opinion too ..
I hate it when people criticize something & focus on negative aspects only ignoring positive points .. 😔
SHADE that's assuming said critics actually have any analytical skills to begin with. Most "reviews" that bring up micro transactions are just incessant bitching videos, they don't actually analyze the micro transactions and how they truly affect the gameplay (case in point: The Battlefront 2 controversy last year). If you can't analyze anything properly OR understand what you are talking about, don't try to say that they are objectively bad for the gameplay.
Am I saying that the micro transactions in the new Battlefront are good or bad? No. I'm just saying that *reviews these days aren't reviews but instead they are just opinion pieces* with non-arguments, no analyzing and no objective criticism (the criticism is actually based feelings and opinions, leading back to the opinion piece part of my argument).
At best this means the mere mention of "micro transactions" is not analytically criticized, but used as a means for *gamer propaganda.*
well i guess you haven't heard of matthewmatosis
Everyone ever who played this right after KH1 wanted Sora, me included. Nobody picking KH2 up liked Roxas on their first playthrough. But when Sora wakes up, it's probably one of the only "Holy shit we can start the game now" bits done right, the game being slow enough to teach you things without being too hand-holdy. Even on repeat playthroughs it's not bad since skipping cutscenes is a thing but goddamn it I still get a little emotional when Roxas opens that pod. The game sacrifices little to nothing for the payoff because on repeat playthroughs you start to like this not-Sora guy and feel for him, because he lives in Sora's shadow, and is treated as such by everyone, even in the Organization (except Axel).
Goddammit why can't we have more games like this
I liked roxas on my first play through he was even preferred over sora for me and still is my favorite characters are vented and roxas sora falls in like 3 or fourth for me I prefer roxas from a story standpoint and if you meant by gameplay I like it because it’s kinda meant to be slow and sluggish because he’s not sora he’s not skilled
D MAS facts bro I hated the first few hours and I couldn’t wait to go out and explore
KH2> KH3 the vibes for kh2 are untouchable
KH3 was a huge let down. Almost wish it never happened
I adore III, but II will always be nostalgic for me.
@@krazyq00 we all wished it hadn't....
Salman Muqeet KH2 felt more like a conclusion to the Xehanort Saga than KH3 did.
Salman Muqeet combat is better vibe and nostalgia is just priceless kh3 was the biggest disappointment of 2019 like damn it couldn’t even beat a ps2 game
I started with Kingdom Hearts 2 (was a dumb kid at the time and assumed order didn't matter).
I thought Roxas was going to be the main protagonist and the that the flash backs where going to lead up with Sora passing the torch. I really liked Roxas, his build up and his relationship with his friends.
When he was going through the mansion and started getting and explanation on the virtual reality he was in I thought he was going to break out of it like in the matrix and the game would final open up to him. Up to this point the game had been setting up plot points tied directly to Roxas, Namine, Ansom, Diz and Axil. There was enough there for the plot to be about him. So image my surprise when Sora took over and Roxas was goon never to be seen again. The first thing I did when I saw Sora was think "Where's Roxas, give him back!" and stopped playing. To this day I can not think of a game that has done something so drastic, made me "feel" so strongly about a moment in a game like this. Roxas being such a well of potential only to be snuffed so unexpectedly has fascinated me no end. The bold move to remove him, a character who I thought would be with me through the entire game gave me a bizarre sense of lost that no other game has yet to emulate and cemented Roxas as my favorite character in this franchise. I adore this franchise for being so out there that they're willing to make big risks in there story and I hope in that department, it never changes.
But Roxas is a relevant in 356/2 days and Birth by sleep
Damn if KH2 prologue was 3 hours after waiting 4 years how long is going to be the prologue for KH3? 3 days?
Technically, Birth By Sleep 0.2 was supposed to be the prologue for KH3 based on it's design.
But SE's like... yo we need to re release 3D, but.. ugh, no one would buy that, hey let's tie a tech demo into a re-release and sell it for 60 bucks
Argarsan I'm still praying that they won't pull some 2.9 crap. Hell I feel like they wanted too with what the last cutscene in 0.2
gamelegend alpha They said that 0.2 was going to be the last
MrVince329 Wasn't really a re release since we didn't see what happened for Aqua behind the Doors of Darkness
is going to be 358/2 days (HAHAHA that sick reference, pls kill me)
I'm so glad to see someone else that feels this way! Every time I revisit KH2, I really feel like the opening is genius. It's only later that KH2's narrative starts to show the cracks, sadly (even though the ending is really good). I miss the tone of the early games haha, but you brought me right back to 2006. Amazing video as always =) Would love to see more Kingdom Hearts from you in future!
OniLink99999 could you tell me what you liked of the ending? Honestly I think it's kinda boring and full of clichés like the rest of the game's plot. I mean, It's about:
all good characters(including Diz/Ansem) meet and go against Organization XIII.
They could use Riku in a more interesting way ( a Riku /Ansem partly absorbed by darkness and not just Riku 's voice which sounds kinda gay in Ansem's body);
Mickey goes against Diz who has still bad Intenctions and eventually changes his mind. almost we understand why he literally does a fuck in all the game but randomly appears in the cutscenes;
Organization wanted to take darkness out of sora. Ok, you have Kairi, use her as a hostage to accomplish this. Nomura, deepen her personality. Don't just leave her in a hidden prison we don't even visit unless you mod the game.
Moreover cutscenes are repetitive, they sound like "FRIENDSHIP-SORRY-THANKS-DARKNESS".
Organization ones are good, though. I felt guilty for killing them, except xemnas and xigbar they really wanted just to be people.
I'm just interested in your opinion, cause I really don't see good points in all this but only a bunch of lost opportunities. I would like to appreciate the ending in some way
@@giordanaquino4338 Spoilers warning for this comment, because I'm a nice guy!
And then you play KH3 and realize apparently killing these characters actually DID make them into people again. How I have no fucking idea lol.
I played the Kingdom Hearts series for the first time last year, and I was expecting to hate this opening, but I liked it and wouldn’t skip it in a replay even if I could.
Maybe bc I knew what to expect so I wasn’t confused and knew most of the game was with Sora or bc I didn't have to wait for the sequel, but I really liked Twilight Town, the characters, and the story.
I was really sad when Roxass’s story was over, it was like it’s own contained story about friendship, identity, choice, etc. And it was beautiful
kingdom hearts 2's intro is still one of my favorite moments in the series and made roxas one of my favorite charcters
Interesting take.
I was in my mid 20s when Kingdom Hearts 2 released in Australia & I've always said the best parts of the game were the opening & ending. The middle was fine, but seemed empty by comparison to the emotional value of them.
Man, shocked to hear anyone could ever consider the opening just an empty tutorial.
u could consider that for roughly any game but these get better as u have more emotional attachment to the key npc’s that in kh u get to catch up w at the beginning of each game
I been rereading the kingdom hearts 2 manga, and the roxas part is way better than I remembered
Strangely enough I'd say the days manga is the best piece of storytelling in the series. To quote video game legend David Cage, I think the fact everyone can make emotions with their faces helps alot.
The kingdom hearts manga is so much better than the games
Klonoahedgehog sadly the Artist has quit and we are left with only the first 3 games in manga form
Oh well let see how far the book series will go
"Looks like my summer vacation is...over" AND THEN TEARS, SO MANY TEARS
People say that the intro to Kingdom Hearts 2 takes too long
My argument to that is: It's a JRPG. Everything takes too long in these games lol
2:05 that Xplay reference brings a tear to my eye. Rip G4
Miss that channel.
It was fine until it turned into the cheater/cops channel...
G4 was awful. ZDTV/TechTV was radical.
Apparently the company of the channel wanted to focus on a different group of people and decided to alienate their nerd fan base.
I never liked Xplay, nor Adam Sessler, nor Morgan Webb. They act like smarmy, pretentious twats with a hit or miss sense of humor. Their review of RE:CVX and RE:DS are terrible.
I swear yo, you're one of the greatest gaming analysts on this damn platform. Been subbed since the Metroid days, and have seen every video.
Same.
I'd also like to add, that it's dope that you never add intros in your videos. Just straight to the point. Fuck intros.
You should watch more game analysts.
I've seen many gaming anyalysts, and they're all great. I guess it's just Brit's cynicism (I hope I spelled that shit right.) and his unpopular opinions about a lot of crap that makes him my favorite UA-camr. But of course, everyone's different. And you're right. I think I should watch more analysts. It's interesting to see all sides and opinions.
@TheGamingBritShow
- This was an extremely well-made video, cheers. I appreciate the effort you made to assemble & show relevant clips from the 3+ games. Your analysis is well-thought-out, especially the analogy between the prologue and our time waiting for KH2 - mind blown!
I started the series with KH2. I loved the Roxas bit. He's still my favourite. The other amazing thing about the intro section is i didn't play KH1 till it was released on ps3 but i felt like i knew the story because of the roxas dreams and flashbacks. Those flashbacks are still some of my favourite moments when i play kh1.
KH2’s opening is a strange case. On one hand, it is even more bittersweet and amazing once you play 358/2 days. Unfortunately it’s a chore to go through when replaying the game. It’s a bit like MGSV with the hour long opening tutorial that is interesting from a storytelling and cinematic perspective, but is a drag to replay through
It's a lot shorter if you just skip the cutscenes but I really enjoy most of them since it's like a revisit to something I looked forward to playing when I was still like 13 or 14 and had unreal excitement about when it released.
I don't think a game should be evaluated on the basis of how good a replay of the game is. Game devs who make more narrative games are inherently at a disadvantage in this regard. I think that's unfair. I don't think it would work if the tutorial of KH2 was skippable.
@ParyProductions Hours, not minutes.
I started with kh2 and i loved the tutorial, it made me like roxas a lot more than sora, sora is the chosen one who everyone likes and has no flaws, he has a destiny to fulfill while roxas is an outcast that no one wants around and his only friends get killed, i was mad how in the end he doesn't get a chance to live it's own life and has to settle with existing in sora's body, hopefully that will change in the next game
Choncino all of roxas' friends never existed and was just being kept safe for sora. He is his own person in bbs though so check it out when you get a chance.
I agree, roxas is more more compelling, sora is lame
Choncino well sora is far from flawless, as he is notoriously naiive and is impulsive which continues to screw himelf and his friends over. The problem at hand is that no one calls him out for his shit except for yen sid and riku.
+False Caim The character in BBS is Ventus, not Roxas. He just looks exactly like Roxas. Well, I guess it would be more accurate to say that Roxas looks like him.
Sigh another person thinking the main. Character is flawless because he's the main character and the character with the obvious sappy story is "better".
This is genuinely really, really cool. It's really fun seeing someone who also has a bit of an emotional connection to KH, and you wrapped up the weird, beautiful melancholy of the opening extraordinarily well. Nice work, dude.
I never played chain of memories. All my experience with the game is in the form of high definition cutscenes years after fact. My first impression of the begging KH2 when I was younger. I admit... I was a little apprehensive. But as Roxas' story progressed I was struck with empathy for this character. All Roxas ever wanted was to go to the beach with his friends and by the end of his soul crushing story he probably wishes he could go back to the mundanity of it all. The posters, the summer jobs. The lazy afternoons. Robbed of a childhood that he never actually had because he was never supposed to exist in the first place. The Cruel reality of Sora's selfless act to save Kairi in KH one.
I can’t agree with this enough (well, the title, at least, I’m only just starting the video). It’s downright it’s own short story, full of bizarre mysteries and climaxes and anticlimaxes and the fucking loopiest ending, in the best way. It’s perfectly melancholy, magically weaponizing that extraordinary bittersweet feeling of a dwindling summer vacation. This is one of those games I wouldn’t be surprised to find holds up even better than I remember once I finally revisit it. The series has a fucking kooky ass plot, which I love about it, but it’s always had an incredible talent for slamming right into the heart of powerful emotions, something that this is one of its shining examples of.
I just revisited it and I can confirm the magic is still there, I appreciate the music and design and gameplay on a level I couldn't process 12 years ago, and with the Final Mix it's even better.
please cover this whole series. it’s my favorite, and i’d love to see you pick these (mostly) amazing games apart like you do so well. i wanna hear what you have to say about the series’ downfall, and what made the first few games work so damn well. fantastic work as always, man
This was a beautifully done video. Very well put together, quick and concise.
This was incredible! Your passion for the series is clear, and you can tell that you really know the game.
"It contextualizes the wait and the anticipation for the sequel Kingdom Hearts 2 within the game itself, essentially making you wait for the game to be finished, built, and be put together _within_ the opening as Sora is being constructed throughout this prologue."
...you know what this means for Kingdom Hearts 3?
TomScreamo Punkcore you been playing for 3 months as Riku in the dark realm, “restoration at 4%”
I mean, there's almost 10 games between the titles so not much
40hour prologue here we come
Huh, you’ve made me look at this part and made me realize that this opening bit is actually better than even I thought. And I am the most massive fan of Kingdom Hearts II. Biggest influencer of my childhood. But you made me see so much symmetry and symbolism I had missed. Thanks for this, makes me love this series even more!
If I could, I would donate to you. Because I’d love to see your thoughts on the series. I’m a big fan but even I know it’s got its faults. But I’d love to see what you think of it all. :)
Hope your day has been great and keep making awesome videos!
Fantastic video. Earned yourself a sub, well done man!
I always found the “looks like my summer vacation is over line” to be metaphoric for the end of a chapter in my life. It happened when I played in 2005 as a 7 year old. Then again a few times later in life as I played the game multiple times during teenhood to adulthood. I found that scene to be so deep and it broke my heart every time, even to this day.
I'm so glad you finally made a video on kingdom hearts
I played the first Kingdom Hearts, but wasn't good or old enough to beat tarzan's level. Yet I never minded the tutorial of KH2, especially my first time. And Roxas story even as a solo character, as long as it was back by the right music, was enough pull at my heartstrings with ease. I'm not ashamed to say completing kingdom hearts 2 was the reason i completed kingdom hearts 1 and subsequently dug myself into the series.
Vernon Benton I couldn’t explain it any better
Same here, expect I was stuck on Alice the Wonderland
Vernon Benton dude I was stuck on fuckin hurc with the barrels as a kid so I just moved on to KH2 lol llllll
Exactly
I started my journey in KH with KH2 and I must say, the prologue must be one of my favorite, if not my most favorite, part of the game.
Roxas slowly being forgotten by his friends and his return to sorrow could possibly be the most gut wrenching, tear-jerking moment for me. I keep going back to Twilight Town frequently even after I've finished the game just to get the whole feel of being Roxas again. Also, talking with Twilight Town's Trio and their vague memory of Roxas just give me that bittersweet taste in my mouth that I won't be seeing Roxas in the game any longer. Which is why that brief encounter with him at The Place that Never Was so meaningful to me because I really missed playing as Roxas.
Dang, KH2 was a great first time experience with playing KH for me. I kept a save file in our old 8mb PS2 memory card of Roxas because who would want to forget that brief existential moment of being him, right?
(also, the dual wielding part where you fight Axel with the Oathkeeper and Oblivion was a big plus for me.)
Anyway, that's it for my loooong take on KH2's prologue.
"he wasn't just nobody" DUDEEEEEEEE MY FEELSSSSSS
This video speaks to my child heart. I always felt Roxas’s storyline was really well executed and I Iove the beginning of KH2.
its been long enough to finally hear your take on this franchise. Im so glad you covered this topic because its something I always believed to be part of why kh2 is one of the best games I've ever played
2:45 OMG i actually teared up, there's an actual another human being who understands this indescribable feeling of the kh2 title screen thing T^T I'm too tired of hearing whiny "gamers" bash at small things and not appreciate such magical things kh brings
I Feel the same way man
201% with you :)
dang it, this brings back some beautiful sadness old memories, thank you.
In retrospect, it is funny to play KH2 Final Mix with new voice acting for the new scenes, and hear how some characters like Xaldin sounds completely different from how he did 12 years ago, or Namine with an entirely new voice.
I guess everyone's doing KH retrospect videos
DrakeVagabond how do you get that idea? "Slowly points at own channel"
Because of the KH3 hype
is that really a bad thing tho?
Mind sharing the names of other videos/UA-camrs doing such retrospect videos? I'm a thirsty, desperate fan who would eat up that content while waiting for KH3.
Hey, man! I've been a huge fan of Kingdom Hearts since i was 8, and now that i'm reaching 21, gotta say your videos made me emotional.
Recently bought the 1.5 + 2.5 version for PS4 and boy oh boy, it's been a complete joy rediscovering all these little things that made me love the game in the first place. I completely agree with you even though i've started with KH2 back at 2007, the opening was fantastic.
Even though i don't think i'll subscribe because i'm not THAT much into gaming nowadays, but i'll check your channel regularly for any Kingdom Hearts (or a couple of other franchises). Thanks a lot for the video, your work is fantastic!
The prologue on a meta level also does something sneaky: most players will be (at least the first time) impatient to get a move on and go to the part where you finally play as Sora. So you could say that even the player wants Roxas to stop existing in favour of Sora. I can imagine that for a lot of players (at least it was for me) part of the emotional gut punch that is Roxas' final moments is guilt over that. And now everytime I play the prologue the sense of time running out is in the back of my head, knowing that I only have limited time with this character. Truly brilliant.
For those who wonder why people don't like the prologue, it's not because of the story, it's because of the gameplay.
I like the gameplay and I’m gonna disagree I hear lots of people complain about the story not being about sora
@@insertnamehere3271 I thought the gameplay was just fine as well. But I also like games like Persona where the first several hours are absent of gameplay altogether. I think this kind of thing is fine for a story driven game such as this.
i want to take a moment to thank you for not spoiling the end of kingdom hearts 2, i haven't played it fully, i got to the tron stage and then my ps2 lagged and my save data was erased. Most youtubers would say the spoiler and then say "oh sorry for spoiling this ten year old game"
I'm still planing on playing KH2, maybe on ps4
Pick up the 1.5+2.5 remix right away, not only do you get the Final Mix version of the game (which contains many hours of extra content, which was absent from the original release), but you also get KH1 and Birth by sleep on a console which has so fast load times you barely even notice the loading screens.
I might be a bit of a fan boy, but they are just such great games, and so cheap now.
I know!! i've played and finish KH1 and birth by sleep, and yes i do want the 1.5+2.5 hd remix!
It's so nice to see someone stick up for this part of KH2, I like you waited years after the first game for the sequel and this introduction drew me in more than I could have ever expected, it was a brilliant slow burn back in to the magic of KH.
Dude this video was dope! Looking forward to more videos in the future 👍🏽
Awesome, awesome stuff. When I got back into KH (the PS4 rereleases), it had been so long since I had played the originals that I had forgotten that KH2 starts off with a week of Roxas' life. I had just finished going through KH1 and was DYING to travel to the Disney worlds again. At first, I was offput by the Roxas storyline but it develops so beautifully that by the 6th day, we almost feel just as close to Roxas as we felt to Sora. It's heartbreaking to see him go away and watch Sora enter the scene, completely oblivious to what had happened. I really wish more video games would risk cinematic 'drama' like this in place of just standard quest-objective mindless go-do-this-come-back-reward (i'm looking at you Skyrim). A wonderful story, a wonderful game, a wonderful experience.
I started with KH2 and to me the intro set a great tone. It was incredibly sad to see Roxas just lose his friends and reality to never having been 'real'. It also gave me as a new player a really solid plot device to figure out what exactly is going on and wishing to find out more about Roxas.
Enjoyed your perspective a lot, good job!
i was only 8 days old when kh1 came out and like 4 when kh2 came out so i dont really have that whole "aaah nostalgia" thing going on for this series but i still absolutely adore it, and i loved the opening of kh2. thank u so much for putting what i felt into words!
"his whole life is a lie" that depressing tho
NUEVA PARTIDA
Kingdom Hearts 2 is one of my favorite games of all time mostly because of the first 1 hr or 2 with Roxas and that beginning segment always fills me with satisfaction, i remember how much i was in awe when i heard Christopher Lee voiced DIZ.
You hit the nail right on the head. That was a beautifully implemented story segment that gets better the more you think about it.
I sorta have a problem with the opening of KH2, but it's more from a retroactive perspective. Yes, in the time and moment it was released, the prologue was set up to be confusing for the audience on purpose, and that the player shouldn't know who/what Roxas is for the sake of a mystery. But with the expanded story of KH as a whole... really, the prologue to KH2 is basically the *end* of Roxas' character arc that started with Days. And in a way, the story itself kinda flows better if people have played/watched Days before KH2. I know some fans think of that is heresy, but it works so well in my opinion.
If a person starts from Days after CoM but before KH2, they know that the Organization exists, but basically have no idea what a Nobody is. The opening sees that there's some connection between this "Roxas" kid being connected to Sora, but it's vague and him being in the Org. raises some curiosity because of how they were the villains in the previous game. You then basically play through his entire life, seeing his character become more defined from this zombie-like thing into his own person, making friendships with Axel and Xion, yet everything starts to go array. Roxas realizes that the Org. is just using him, and Xion's death is the catalyst for him to want to fight against them. But just like how KH1 ends without Sora's journey really having a conclusion, Days ends in a similar fashion, with Roxas stopped and trapped. If you then pick up KH2, you start with Roxas and he's completely mind-wiped of everything. It sorta parallels what happens with Xion, her dying and nobody being able to remember her existence. Well now, Roxas can't even remember his own existence. It's heartbreaking for the player that had seem him grow and watched him for (literally) every day in his life. But as elements from the games slowly start bleeding in, it gives some sort of hope for Roxas. In a way, the player is actually being somewhat put into the shoes of Axel; someone who knows and is very close to Roxas, who desperately wants to be able to go back to the way things used to be, only for that to be impossible. And in the very end, when Roxas finally remembers most of everything, he is confronted by DiZ, the man who is pretty much entirely responsible for his situation, he lashes out, strikes him with the Keyblade... and it doesn't do anything. Roxas *can't* do anything to him, he's completely trapped. After everything he went through in Days, becoming his own person, rebelling, and then being forced into this confinement, he is finally able to recover himself... only for it to not matter. In the end, he *can't* be his own person, he *can't* go back to the way things were. He's a part of Sora and there's nothing he can do about it. Even in DDD, during those weird moments in TWTNW, Roxas laments about his lack of personhood while literally giving Sora memories of his own life, not acknowledging Sora's declaration of him being his own person, as he says; "Sora, it has to be you". (Of course this'll not really matter considering KH3 is going to bring back EVERYONE anyways, but whatever).
The Kingdom Hearts story can be very... not well put together at times (being very generous here), but I honestly think that 'the tragedy of Roxas' is a legitimately well-written part of the series, and it's something you don't really experience in a linear, "character arc" way if you start KH2, play through that whole game, and then go back and experience the beginning/rest of Roxas' story later. I almost feel like Days either should've come out before KH2, or the prologue of KH2 didn't exist and was more an epilogue to Days... or something.
But this is just the rantings of a Kingdom Hearts fan who cares WAY too much about this dumb, convoluted story for some reason, so... I don't know! Maybe I just wasting my life typing all that up.
I agree with you. I whish Days was remade with a better gamplay system becuse I think it has one of the better arcs of the series.
as someone who played days first dont ask it just happend i have to say the opening was a real bitter sweet way to start off the game
To be honest, even after playing KH2 and Days, I felt Roxas' backstory in KH2 alone was explained really well. They did a pretty good job with "Show, don't tell", and it was enough to get the point across:
- Roxas kept having dreams about someone he doesn't know. He learns a lot from these dreams, but he has no idea what it means.
- We find out that the mysterious Nobodies are chasing him for whatever reason because they're clearly ignoring everyone else and going after him. Thus, we can infer that there has to be some connection.
- You meet a mysterious girl who knows a little too much, especially about him. This makes him question things and move towards the truth.
- You meet a guy who says he knows you and hints that the world you're living in is not as it seems. Now Roxas is questioning the things around him.
- All of sudden, more weird stuff keeps happening to him that he cannot explain. Yet no one else seems to notice.
- On the final day, some of his memories are actually coming back, and it seems that Namine's and Axel's words hold some truth. Everything seems to become clearer, and he accepts that when he joins with Sora.
But it doesn't stop there. As this video mentions, his story was still unfolding throughout the rest of the game, especially with the Final Mix cutscenes added:
- We learnt that when Xemnas first found him, he was confused as if he had no purpose. Yet when he decides to leave, he's more aware of himself and seems to have a purpose.
- Xemnas hinted to Roxas that he had some connection to Sora.
- We could see Axel hesitate on eliminating Roxas. Why would he though unless some of his words had some truth to it? Not to mention that he soon goes rogue and tries so hard to get Roxas back.
- We could infer that the organization needed Roxas because he could wield the Keyblade to collect hearts, which they needed. It was perfect since they had the Nobody of Sora, who was clearly not going to help them. Then we could infer that they were pissed when Roxas left because the one who could help them and was easily turned into an ally decided to walk out on them.
- We get Riku and DiZ's side of the story of when they met Roxas near the end of the game.
TL;DR From the little information that we got in KH2, it's pretty clear that Roxas' life from start to finish was pretty messed up. Yet it adds salt to the wound when you remember that he "lived" a normal life in the virtual world only to have him face the reality that he's not really supposed to exist in the first place.
I watched Days before playing 2 and it just made it that much more impactful.
Ah, finally part 2 of your Kingdom Hearts retrospective!
I loved the opening section of KH2. It held so much weight once you understood who Roxas was and how he basically got robbed of having a life of his own.
I think you nailed it. Thanks for the nostalgia
Agree with almost everything, exept for the fact that I absolutely adored 358/2 Days. It hooked me from the very begining and, despite the slow start - that I think was perfect for setting the mood of the entire game - is, for me, the best "stand alone" experience in the series (I know it's not stand alone, it's just that I think the game has a tone of its own that really sets it apart from the rest of the bunch)
KH2 was my first so I was incredibly confused thinking “where’s the guy from the front cover?” 😂
This video made me subscribe :) keep up the great content
You have a real knack for making my favorite video game seem absolutely nuts