Thanks for the tip, I'll try that (I might have to buy some potions since I don't rely on sleights that well).
EDIT: www.findarticles.com/p/ar..._n16015459
The main KH2 article from EGM has been spilled. Basic information we all know, it's mainly the voice actors I was intrigued by. They didn't name it all, but it seesm Sora, Kairi, and Riku's voice actors/actresses are back, as are Hades and Cloud. Aerith gets a new one.
It's Roxas that intrigues me as apparently Jesse McCartney is playing that role. I don't like or care about Jesse McCartney, I'm just intrigued because I'm curious about the fan reaction to that piece of news.
~Neo
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Just dont tell your girlfriend that Johnny Depp and the rest of the Pirates cast wont be voicing their characters here (scheduling conflicts is what were hearing).
...
....
..... f-f-f-f-f-f-f-F--!!! *organ plays, thunder claps, birds take to flight*
Exactly how I feel, Psx.
I'm also one of those girls who find Johnny Depp to be attractive (tis my thing for older guys), but I'm not a fangirl about it.
~Neo
that hurts my soul. Real bad. But at least James Woods is back for Hades, and Aerith is getting a new VA (I didn't like the old one).
Also, Zach Braff is in it! I love Zach! ...ok... so he's playing someone I assumed was a summon, until now, but he's there!
I'm disappointed I have no idea who that person voicing Namin is. I'm a Namin fanboy (I don't care how annoying she was in CoM, I loved her!) and would have liked to have geeked out over her casting... but she's a nobody!
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but she's a nobody!
Interesting choice of words.
Chicken Little is a summon.
Firstly, I realise the irony of the statement based on the fact that the enemy faction in KH are called The Nobody, secondly I didn't mean that as cruel as it sounded, but you know, KH is an all-star cast, it sort of makes me blink when one of the biggest roles is played by someone who's best job has been Nip/Tuck.
From the KHU website:
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Over the past few days a variety of news sites and magazines have been publishing the same cast-listing that we mentioned the other day. But one stood out in particular.
In today's update over at E! Online news they mentioned the castlisting, in addition to the game being due for release in North America on March 30th.
"'TOONING UP: Also in the Reporter, Zach Braff reprising his role as Chicken Little to lend his voice to the videogame Disney's Kingdom of Hearts II, due to be released Mar. 30. Other stars aboard include James Woods, Haley Joel Osment and Mena Suvari."
Considering also today the first "English" screenshots and cover-art have been published to the press, it implies that this date could very well be true.
We'll have more later.
EDIT: More info on some of the American voice actings from the RPGfan website (and this one states the game comes out at Mar. 28...hmmm):
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Square Enix and Buena Vista Games have announced many of the voice actors for the North American version of Kingdom Hearts II. The trio of main characters, Sora, Riku, and Kairi, are played by Hayley Joel Osment, David Gallagher, and Hayden Panettiere, respectively. Jesse McCartney will take over the role of Roxas, while Brittany Snow will voice the mysterious Namine.
Christopher Lee, from the Lord of the Rings films, will lend his vocals to Diz, and Steve Burton will become Cloud. The females of Final Fantasy VII, Tifa and Aerith, will be voiced by Rachael Lee Cook and Mena Suvari.The trio of voice actors from Final Fantasy X-2, Hedy Buress, Tara Strong, and Gwendoline Yeo, reprise their roles as Yuna, Rikku, and Paine.
A couple of big-name celebrities will return to their roles from the films. Ming-Na will be playing Mulan, James Woods will be back as the diabolical Hades, and Zack Braff will see the sky falling as Chicken Little.
~Neo
The March 28th date comes from an official Square-Enix press release. Of course, depending on speed of delivery and availability some people might not get to play it until the 30th.
Disney accountants were too busy wiping their mouths of drool to comment.
Will Auron's VA from FFX be voicing him in KH2?
The Christopher Lee rumour WAS true. I didn't post it here because it sounded too far fetched and I was certain Billy Zane would be doing DiZ aswell as Ansem.
Sort of shatters alot of my belief, but on the plus side, Dooku!
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Sort of shatters alot of my belief, but on the plus side, Dooku!
Saruman pwns Dooku, Craig.Btw did anybody notice that most the VAs looks just like the character they voice?Just look at Cloud VA execept for the spiky hair he does look like him.
Just did a check for you, Ultra. No full cast list has been made, but KHii.co.uk has Matt McKenzie as Auron, so yeah, his original VA may be back in town.
Btw did anybody notice that most the VAs looks just like the character they voice?Just look at Cloud VA execept for the spiky hair he does look like him.
Yea, I noticed some similarites. I had the exact same feeling when I first read a preview of the original KH in an old EGM. They showed a pic of the three main characters and their respective English voice actors and I kind of freaked out at how Riku's smirky face looked so ungodly similar to David Gallagher's smirky face.
EDIT: KHU has scans from the latest EGM of their feature on KHII. Much showing of English translated screenshots.
~Neo
Little note on the scans: they were removed a few days later. Unless someone saved them OR someone has the copy, you missed some of the stuff in the article.
On an alternative note, the Japanese soundtrack for this game is beautiful. I'd say more but you don't need spoilers from little old me, don't you?
o.o
Kingdom Hearts II on MTV.com. A shiz-load of media from the english version, including interviews with Haley Joel Osmett, Jesse McCartney and a trailer that has the english version of Passion, "Sanctuary". Might need to update your browser to connect.
EDIT: Link updated to include all coverage of the game on MTV.com.
EDIT II: Oops. Didn't realize it at the time but there's a smidge of spoilers strewn in with the interviews. Might want to be careful 'round some of them. Use common sense to decide which ones might reveal more than you'd care to know. 🙂
MTV Overdrive is not available in your territory.
Stupid thing, I was excited and now I've been REJECTED
Watched it, came back with a wide grin and the words "sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeet" in my face.
The English version of Passion, Sanctuary...hmm...it doesn't seem to flow as good as the Japanese version, but I'll consider hearing it again sometime when a full version appears. It took me a while to fully appreciate Passion as well...
~Neo
I am sooooo excited now! That was soooooooo cool. I don't care that I got minor Riku spoilers, it was worth it to see what a sexy young man he has grown up to become.
I want his hair.
I want his body.
I want HIM.
...*Puts him next to Link in the "characters who will make me gay"*
Craig...you scare me sometimes, you know that?
~Neo
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Craig...you scare me sometimes, you know that?
He scares us all most of the time, consider yourself fortunate!
Some people are (of course) having issues with a couple voices, particular the new Aerith and Tifa who apparently sound either too sweet/rough or not sweet/rough enough. And it would seem Sora's either like an adult trying to sound like a kid or a kid trying to sound like an adult. Oy.
Roxas, naturally, is the real standout. It cannot be questioned, the voice just works. Kairi and Riku are naturally excluded because they still rock, and rightly so.
Pah, Riku...angst whiny boy.
As for the voices, well, in generally I didn't have any problems with any of them, but I'll make full judgment once I have the game in my hands.
~Neo
MTV.com now has interviews with Brittany Snow (Namine), Ming Na (Mulan), Steve Burton (Cloud) and the YRP trio Hedy Buress/Tara Strong/Gwendeline Yeo (Yuna/Rikku/Paine).
Haven't found anybody hosting those interviews off-site, yet.
I MUST hear the Namin one! I adore the character and thusly REQUIRE hearing her voice in the game.
I don't know what you'd think, Craig, but hearing Namine in KH2, I think the voice suits her well. She's got the whole, petite, fragile, and calm voice thing that fits well with Namine's personality.
Also to add, as much as it's nice to get the original English actors for the YRP group, I'm relunctant. Because of their more childish appearance, Yuna and Paine sounds just too...well, old, even if they are just fairies. Rikku's however, sounds perfect (to which I'm not surprised at).
Argh, now if I only knew Vivi's English voice actor was!
~Neo
Brittany needs a slap for spending half her interview giving major spoilers and not talking about things vaguely or about her role like everyone else did.
Okay, I need some CoM help, namely I'm getting my ass kicked by Riku that comes after Destiny's Island. A little help? Oh, and just out of curiosity, what level were all you guys in when you defeated him?
Man, it's the Riku in Hollow Bastion from KH1 ALL OVER AGAIN! *cries*
*Hugs* You wait until later, then you'll see some TOUGH bosses.
Best advice is to wait for his slights to drain out, he'll spam Dark Aura alot, but if you keep enough 0 cards and don't use slights until he's stopped using his, he's a little kitten.
If all else fails, keep some high number cure spells and 3x them.
Personal sidenote: I just ordered a swap card and pre-ordered the US version of KH2. I'll be playing from the first week of April.
Thanks, Craig. I pre-ordered KH2 also...er...what the fudge is a card swap?
The easiest way to play imports on a PS2 without opening it up.
Ahhh. Okay. On the other plus side, I officially have beaten Riku after he has kicked my arse for the 465829264th time. YAY!
and I've restarted CoM. Beat me to the end, Neo!
You're on!
EDIT: KHU website has lots of scans from the KH2 Ultimania book, including official artworks on some of the characters.
Hey guys, can I ask why you like Kingdom Hearts? I played the first one awhile ago, almost to the end, but I got bored with it. I found the gameplay to be boring, the controls clunky and the graphics lackluster compared to other Squaresoft titles. I don't have anything againts Disney characters, and I like the Final Fantasy games, but I was somewhat dissapointed by all the FF characters in the game. I thought it would be a cool idea, but it just didn't work for me.
I just wonder why people like it. I'm not knocking people who like it, just trying to understand why. I don't think it would even be nearly as popular as it is without the Squaresoft characters, but I could be wrong. It just bothers me that I don't like it and people seem to see something in it that I don't. I tried giving it a second chance, but got fed up with it again. 
The one thing I did like was James Woods as Hades. Only because James Woods is awesome! 
David Boreanez was a bit dull as Squall... and not the good kind of dull I pictured for Squall, er, Leon. It was more like a "I'm bored gimme money" dull.
Story, story and story. Let me tell you this, Spite. I HATE playing Kingdom Hearts, I hate it. It fills me with so much hate towards, well everything, but so does playing Zelda and any other game with this style of gameplay, that doesn't matter, because Squaresoft have managed to create a universe with major intrigue which we can fanfap about forever and never truly understand, characters of whom we can fall in love with (Riku, more than Sora).
It doesn't annoyingly focus around the hero, like most other Squaresoft titles, ie. all the Final Fantasy games are usually about the hero overcoming his personal demon, in KH we have a character who's heart is pure and untouchable in alot of ways, but totally vunerable in others.
The game is less about an actual story and more about characters and world building. Sure, Sora and the Disney duo are the worst protagonists ever, and the game CONSTANTLY reminds you how much better it would have been if Riku was the keyblade master, but still, it's the perfect story of friendship from two opposing view-points. Especially given that Sora and Riku meet up even after Riku is not controlled by Ansem and yet they never walk the same path together.
It's alot like Gundam SEED in that respect, except the huge differences which seperate the characters remain up throughout, Sora, Riku and Kairi are best friends, but their own personal destinies and personalities prevent them from being together.
Every character in Kingdom Hearts has two sides to themselves, even Donald and Goofy turned their back on Sora and walked away from him during Hollow Bastion, Riku actively chose to wear darkness and light like a coat, Sora even lost his heart at one point, and as mentioned, he can be a real prick.
To me, Kingdom Hearts is the perfect videogame for the whole "friendship" character developing plotline. Sod the gameplay, it's a great tale, great characters and it has Disney in it.
What could go wrong?
Oh, and the soundtrack/voice acting is the best in all videogames, ever. Though, I'm not partial to the new themesong in KH2, I'm overjoyed that "Deep Dive" is the motif.
and *whispers* James Woods <i>is</i> Hades, Disney film and all.
EDIT: Speaking of games I hate. I'm currently at Hollow Bastion in CoM. I'll have Sora's game complete within a few hours.
Now, I know some people fear fanfiction...but hey, at least give these two a chance.
Court of Souls, by FFNet author Rem-chan, is a sequel to the Kingdom Hearts game. It's long, but excellent. Instead of Disney worlds, it's the worlds of anime. And for those who don't like Donald and Goofy, you'll be glad to know that they're gone (replaced by two well-known anime characters as Sora's partners) for most of the story. And the final boss is one of the biggest surprise twists I have ever seen in a story (and it ties in with the KH game itself in an amazing way). Heck, by chapter NINE you'll see elements from Yu-Gi-Oh!, Ranma 1/2, Lupin III, Magic Knight Rayearth, Zoids, Pokemon, Outlaw Star, and Card Captors.
Also, there's Court of Souls' side-story, Of Many Hearts which focuses on Riku. Needless to say, it's shorter than Court of Souls, but that's to be expected. It's also only him on this time-travelling journey...so I'm sure Craig will be happy. It begins right after Court of Souls' tenth chapter...so yeah.
And basically, what Craig said, except I actually liked KH's gameplay. And that I like Sora more than Riku, forgot that.
Pah, you can keep your Riku, Craig. If I wanted another whiny, emo boy, I'll torture myself and lock myself in the same room as Cloud.
I personally loved and enjoy Sora 100%, more so then Riku. He's got that personality that I wish more people had instead of the damn angst people keep shoving down my throat. Sora is innocent and pure, he's kindhearted and fights for the greater good. Yes, he was naive and a little dense, but he's 14 years old, not to mention he ended up experiencing something he never has experienced before (I expect KH2 to remedy this naive nature by making him more mature considering he's older and experienced more).
Not to mention whenever he's down, he never stays that way for too long. The perfect example is during Hollow Bastion when Riku took his keyblade and gave him that wooden sword, basically shattering his confidence. Sora didn't stay down for too long though. He kept his courage and heart and just moved on, regardless of it. Frankly, I perfer Sora the better keyblade master then Riku for that reason alone.
Any who, I loved Kingdom Hearts for the story as well. I agree with pretty much all Craig said, Riku not withstanding (pretty angst boy, ugh). I didn't enjoy the gameplay as much due to the crappy camera, frustrating difficulty levels, and repetieve battle, but generally, I loved the game all the same regardless.
Judging Riku solely through what we see of him in the first game is misleading, you need Final Mix (or the manga) and CoM to see the true side of him. He's just a determined guy, with a great warmth to his heart aswell as great darkness.
You'll like him alot more after Reverse Rebirth, he's the typical male protagonist, goes through life trying to do good by himself and failing and falling to dispair and desperation through his efforts.
Reminds me alot of Blaze, more than Cloud.
Sora has a strong heart, which is why he stays strong and defiant, but there are just so many times I want to slap him silly. He's lazy, stupid.
Hell, you've seen Larxene's verbal smack down on him, right? That's totally his personality, he acts cool and in control and like he cares all the time, but really he's a selfish and narrow minded fool. Or at least he only cares about his mary sue, he leaves Donald and Goofy in the dust, he left Riku in the dust. Hell, half the story of KH1 is him getting more sidetracked by the HERO OF THE UNIVERSE thing and forgetting about Riku and Kairi all together, Riku had every right to be pissed off with him in Traverse Town.
That's the thing I love about both characters. They're both heavily flawed as friends and they do have very good reason to fight one another, but at the heart of it, they're true friends.
Sora's just more honest about his feelings.
EDIT: Speaking of Riku. I need to go and kick the crap out of that angst muffin. RAGNAROK TO THE RESCUE!!!
Ah so you all like the story. That makes sense, I've always prefered gameplay over storyline. It's the only reason I could play games such as Megaman Battle Network which feature completely underwhelming storylines. Not that I don't like a good story, but the gameplay needs to work for me first and foremost otherwise I wont stay interested.
I'll check out KH2 if I hear it's improved gameplay-wise, and the Tron and Pirates of the Caribbean world are tempting I must admit. But if not, hey I've got tons of other games I haven't even attempted to start yet.
Did everyone else hate those Gummi Ships? That was the worst part to me. The graphics were on par with Starfox on the SNES. XD
I agree about the soundtrack though. Much like Gundam SEED Destiny, it's the best part about it!
Gundam SEED Destiny didn't happen. But the second, third and Final Phase intro songs, aswell as the See-Saw one DID.
and I've yet to meet anyone who enjoyed the Gummi Ships. Even with the Final Mix additions to them, which at least make them a tiny bit fresh.
It depresses me that they bothered putting it into 2, but again, they spiced things up for KH1:FM so, hopefully they realised that it was bad and made it playable for KH2. I'd check with those who have played the Japanese, but run the risk of spoilage. So I'm hiding my head in the sand until mid April.
Judging Riku solely through what we see of him in the first game is misleading, you need Final Mix (or the manga) and CoM to see the true side of him. He's just a determined guy, with a great warmth to his heart aswell as great darkness.
You'll like him alot more after Reverse Rebirth, he's the typical male protagonist, goes through life trying to do good by himself and failing and falling to dispair and desperation through his efforts.
Reminds me alot of Blaze, more than Cloud.
I don't mean to judge him solely on KH. I have heard he was better come CoM. I've just started Riku's story and I could very well change my mind, but until then, my opinion stays (Those scene in Final Mix did nothing for me and as for the manga, I only have the first two volumes at the moment).
Sora has a strong heart, which is why he stays strong and defiant, but there are just so many times I want to slap him silly. He's lazy, stupid.
Stupid? Dense, maybe, but stupid? I just don't see it.
Hell, you've seen Larxene's verbal smack down on him, right? That's totally his personality, he acts cool and in control and like he cares all the time, but really he's a selfish and narrow minded fool. Or at least he only cares about his mary sue, he leaves Donald and Goofy in the dust, he left Riku in the dust. Hell, half the story of KH1 is him getting more sidetracked by the HERO OF THE UNIVERSE thing and forgetting about Riku and Kairi all together, Riku had every right to be pissed off with him in Traverse Town.
Funny. Sora seemed perfectly content--hell--VERY happy when he reunited with Riku in Traverse's Town that he wanted Riku on their side. He kept telling Riku to come with him and probably would have if not for Riku, being angst and running off.
Of course Sora would be sidetracked. He reminds me more of Viewitful Joe, a man who often gets sidetracked often and helps out those in need (while being a big ego about it, heh), but has a long term goal to save his girlfriend. Sora's the same here; he's sidetracked in wanting to help those in need, but his long turn goal is to get Kairi AND Riku. Sora's emphasized this so many damn times.
That's the thing I love about both characters. They're both heavily flawed as friends and they do have very good reason to fight one another, but at the heart of it, they're true friends.
This I agree on heavily.
Ah so you all like the story. That makes sense, I've always prefered gameplay over storyline. It's the only reason I could play games such as Megaman Battle Network which feature completely underwhelming storylines. Not that I don't like a good story, but the gameplay needs to work for me first and foremost otherwise I wont stay interested.
I don't play games soley for stories along. I, too judge gameplay as well, in most cases anyways.
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hopefully they realised that it was bad and made it playable for KH2.
Reviews I've read indicate that's exactly what they did. In fact, said sections are now apparantly good.
This is the only spoiler I care to know before actually playing the game, and what they gave us before its release... (Well... and voice actors... Gah.) KHII was thought to be the second 2-disk PS2 game a while back. Did that ever happen, or did they manage to fit it all on just one?
~Nytloc Penumbral Lightkeeper
One disk. And not even dual-layered.
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KHII was thought to be the second 2-disk PS2 game a while back.
What are you on about? I have 2 PS2 games with 2 discs (Star Ocean 3 and Shadow Hearts 2), and I'm pretty sure there are others...
Oh... My apologies. I was told by someone that there was only one. (Star Ocean 3)
Well... That's something of a bummer. I was looking forward to some ungodly long game. Oh well, it'll still prolly rock. ^_^
~Nytloc Penumbral Lightkeeper
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Well... That's something of a bummer. I was looking forward to some ungodly long game.
Who said it's not going to be? *looks at the 3 hour tutorial*
Practically every source I've read says that KHII will be anywhere from 2-4 times as long as the original.
Okay... this sounds awesome. According to the rest of the article, this was translated from the Kingdom Hearts 2 Ultima.
Warning: This link may contain pop ups, so unless you have a very sucure computer, I wouldn't go.
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Q. In the huge battle where we have to go through 1000 Heartless, all the staff thought they couldn't pull it off but in the end they could, eh?
A. Yes. I always estimated that "If we have to drop something, it'll have to be this part" but instead the staff demand for something higher. When it came to "No, we can't do that but if we go a little lower, that should be okay," I thought we would leave it at that but the staff would still make something of a higher level. (laugh) That is why I didn't think that huge battle would actually materialize to that point in the end.
So... that part in Hallow Bastion wasn't just a cinematic.. *drool*
I really need to buy CoM. Maybe next week I could go the EB Games and buy a used one.
