When Disney and Final Fantasy combine like Voltron as they did originally in Kingdom Hearts, and now with Kingdom Hearts II, what we arrive at isn't a giant robot, but a living, breathing fairy tale in the purest sense. In this tale, the magic and wonder from Disney's pantheon of worlds and characters are merged with the interactivity and excitement of an epic Square Enix role-playing adventure. The result, in theory, may seem contrived or overly convoluted. But it works. And it works beautifully. Kingdom Hearts II is one of the best games you'll play this year.

If you haven't played the original Kingdom Hearts for the PlayStation 2 and Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories for the GBA, you're not going to understand much of the storyline. And if you're like me, and you've played both games, you still won't understand some of what goes on. This appears intentional. Director Tetsuya Nomura's team has done some incredible things with the franchise, but an easy to decipher storyline is pretty far down on the list.

The basic premise of the game is that Sora is wielder of the keyblade, a magical weapon with incredible power that can unlock gates to other worlds, and as such can be used to travel between alternate realities. These alternate realities include the Disney worlds we've seen in film, such as The Nightmare Before Christmas's Halloween Town, and Winnie the Pooh's 100 Acre Wood. You'll spend an hour or more righting wrongs and helping out the hero from each particular world and then move on to the next fantasy land that needs assistance, as you search for answers, your missing friends, and the wise King Mickey.


The voice acting in Kingdom Hearts II deserves special mention, as Square Enix was able to put together an all-star cast of film and voice actors to breathe life into the game's characters. When you're hearing Ariel from The Little Mermaid sing an original tune, it's Jodi Benson, who portrayed Ariel in the film. James Woods lends his sardonic delivery to the voice of Hades, Lord of the Underworld, and the voice actors behind Disney's Mickey, Donald, and Goofy reprise their roles in this game. The complete cast of voice actors is astounding, and this spare-no-expense approach to casting is reflected in the quality of the game's dialogue and the incredible production values.

The fan service doesn't begin and end for Disney fans, though. Final Fantasy enthusiasts will find that the game strikes a delicate balance between the two, and cameo appearances by some of the series' more lively characters are frequent and well-handled. It's also interesting to note that for the first time in his games, Nomura has decided to take risks and integrate characters from Final Fantasy games where he wasn't responsible for the design, including Final Fantasy VI and Final Fantasy IX.

Visually, Kingdom Hearts II is on par with the best of Square's productions to date. The animation is absolutely wonderful, from the exaggerated attacks of Sora, Donald, and Goofy, to the fearsome prowling movements of Beast and the slick swordswomanship of Mulan. The Disney characters slide perfectly into the Square visual style. When you're first dropped into the black and white world of the Timeless River and see the redrawn character designs of Donald and Goofy in their retro original style, you'll be amazed by how things have changed since Steamboat Willie.