Kingdom Hearts Primer – Kingdom Hearts 2 – Episode 14 – Dice Like Duke

We skip Timeless River in favor of Port Royal instead.

When Sam and I talk about this game’s tendency to just recycle the stories from the movies they source from, this world is one of the worst offenders. Not only is this the same exact story, but it’s also the same shot more often than not. On top of the frequency in which they repeat scenes, it’s one of the worst ones in the game. It exists only to capitalize on the popularity of the franchise back when Kingdom Hearts came out.

It’s also just a strange world in general. The “realistic” visuals looked pretty good at the time, but it just hasn’t aged well at all. By modern standards, it just looks too uncanny. And to have Sora, Donald, and Goofy is juxtaposed to the much more washed out visuals of the world and characters is even worse. Sam’s right when he says it looks like it’s from a different game entirely.

When I went through this level way back when Kingdom Hearts 2 first came out, I was impressed by it. That said, it doesn’t hold up to the test of time. Nothing here is particular well done.

Kingdom Hearts Primer – Kingdom Hearts 2 – Episode 3 – The Belt That Strangles Nomura’s Head

Today, we watch teenage children beat the stuffing out of each other in a legally sanctioned blood sport.

We erroneously say it’s been two years since the events of Kingdom Hearts 1. This is a lie, it has actually been 1 year in Kingdom Hearts time.

Aside from that, we spend most of this episode talking about the Struggle, and trying to get Sam up to speed on the many Ansem’s of Kingdom Hearts. To recap:

• There’s the original Ansem: Ansem the Wise. This man was the person who ruled Hallow Bastion with benevolence.
• He took an apprentice, who would betray him and take his name, becoming the heartless known as “Ansem, Seeker of Darkness” that Sora fought in Kingdom Hearts 1.
• When “Ansem, Seeker of Darkness” became a heartless, he left behind a nobody, who would take the name Xemnas.

Confused yet? Don’t worry, that’s normal.