Plot
[edit] Setting
Kingdom Hearts series fictional chronology
Birth by Sleep
Kingdom Hearts
Chain of Memories
358/2 Days
Kingdom Hearts II
coded
Further information: Universe of Kingdom Hearts
The setting of Kingdom Hearts II is a collection of various levels (referred to in-game as "worlds") that the player progresses through. As in the first game, Kingdom Hearts II allows the player to travel to locales from various Disney works, along with original worlds specifically created for the series. While in the first game, Disney-based worlds were primarily derived from the Disney animated features canon, Kingdom Hearts II introduces worlds that are based on Disney live-action films as well.[12][13] Each world varies in appearance and setting, depending on the Disney film on which it is based. The graphics of the world and characters are meant to resemble the artwork style of the environments and characters from their respective Disney films. Each world is disconnected from the others and exists separately; with few exceptions, players travel from one world to another via a Gummi Ship.
Some worlds featured in the previous games reappear, but with new and expanded areas. There are also new worlds that are introduced, including the Land of Dragons, a fictionalized version of ancient China from the film Mulan; Beast's Castle, an 1800s-style French castle based on Beauty and the Beast; Timeless River, a past version of Disney Castle that features Steamboat Willie-style animation; Port Royal from Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl; Pride Land, a great savannah from The Lion King; and Space Paranoids, a digital world within Hollow Bastion's computer network based on Tron. Twilight Town, an original world first seen in Chain of Memories, has a greater role as the introductory world. The World That Never Was is a new world that serves as the headquarters of Organization XIII.[8]
[edit] Characters
The cast of Kingdom Hearts II with their redesigned outfits. (From left to Right)
(Top Row) Roxas, Sora
(Bottom Row) King Mickey, Kairi, Donald, Goofy
Further information: Characters of Kingdom Hearts
The three main characters in the game are Sora, a 15-year-old boy who was chosen as master of the Keyblade, a mystical key-shaped weapon with the power to combat darkness; Donald Duck, the court magician of Disney Castle; and Goofy, the captain of the Disney Castle guard.[8] Both Donald and Goofy were ordered to find and stay with the "key",[14] which was revealed to be the Keyblade. They befriended Sora during their journey in Kingdom Hearts and draw strength from this friendship. Other original characters include Riku and Kairi, Sora's friends from his home world, Destiny Islands; Roxas, a mysterious boy who can also wield the Keyblade; and DiZ, a man in red robes with a vendetta against Organization XIII.
As in the previous games, there are numerous appearances of characters from both Disney and Square Enix works. While some make a return from Kingdom Hearts, new characters from Disney fiction are also introduced, such as Scar from The Lion King and Scrooge McDuck. Pete appears as a persistent enemy who works with the resurrected Maleficent. Nearly twenty characters from Final Fantasy games appear, notably, Auron of Final Fantasy X and the return of Squall Leonhart, Cloud Strife, and Sephiroth. It was stated that although the first game strictly stuck to characters Tetsuya Nomura designed, this time around they were going to "take some risks", implying that characters not directly designed by Nomura might make an appearance.[15] This led to the appearance of Vivi of Final Fantasy IX, the Moogles from several Final Fantasy games, and Setzer of Final Fantasy VI in Twilight Town.
The various worlds that Sora explores often have an optional party character from the film on which the world is based. Such party members include Fa Mulan, the woman who passes as a man in order to take her ailing father's place in the army; Jack Sparrow, a pirate who seeks to reclaim his ship, the Black Pearl; Simba, the self-exiled lion who is the rightful king of the Pride Land; and Tron, a security program in Hollow Bastion's computer network who seeks to end the dictatorship of the Master Control Program.[8]
Unlike Kingdom Hearts where Xehanort's Heartless was revealed in the final stages of the game to be the true antagonist, Organization XIII, a group of beings without hearts, was established as the main threat early on. Organization XIII controls the Nobodies, the bodies left over when a person with a strong heart is turned into a Heartless.They themselves are Nobodies. Villains unique to the worlds are still prevalent and are often presented as challenges that Sora must overcome.
[edit] Story
Kingdom Hearts II begins one day after Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days or one year after Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories. Sora, Donald, and Goofy have been asleep in suspended animation for the past year to regain their lost memories. Meanwhile, Roxas, the Nobody of Sora,[16] is trapped in a virtual simulation of Twilight Town created by DiZ so that he may merge with his original self to restore Sora's power,[17] done as part of DiZ's revenge on Organization XIII.[18][19] DiZ's plans are threatened when Organization XIII's Nobodies, led by Axel, Roxas's former friend in the Organization, infiltrate the virtual town, but Roxas finally merges with Sora. Sora, Donald, and Goofy wake up in the real Twilight Town and meet King Mickey and Yen Sid, who send them on another journey. Their goal is to find Riku and stop the plans of Organization XIII, who control the Nobodies—the body left over when a person with a strong heart is turned into a Heartless. Sora also receives a new set of clothes that allow him to fuse with party members to gain special abilities. Afterward, Maleficent is resurrected and joins with Pete to continue her quest for power.
Sora travels to many Disney-themed worlds, old and new, and resolves the troubles caused by Organization XIII, the Heartless, Maleficent and Pete, and local villains. Meanwhile, Kairi is kidnapped by Axel. During a visit to Hollow Bastion, they again meet King Mickey, who reveals the true nature of Ansem, the antagonist of Kingdom Hearts. The Ansem whom Sora defeated was actually the Heartless of Xehanort, a student of Ansem the Wise. Mickey also reveals that Xemnas, the leader of Organization XIII, is the Nobody of Xehanort.[20][21] Organization XIII's plan is revealed: they seek the power of "Kingdom Hearts", which is the sum of all the hearts that Sora released by destroying the Heartless with his Keyblade.[22] Sora then revisits the worlds to solve lingering problems and new complications, while seeking a path to Organization XIII's base of operations. He is secretly being aided by a mysterious hooded figure whom Sora believes to be Riku.
Sora, Donald, and Goofy enter a passageway through Twilight Town, where they encounter Axel, who sacrifices himself to create a passageway to the World That Never Was, the headquarters of Organization XIII; Kingdom Hearts looms overhead as a heart-shaped moon. Sora finds Kairi and Riku, whose appearance has been changed by the darkness to that of Xehanort's Heartless; he also reveals to Sora the nature of his connection to Roxas. Along the way Sora and friends fight off the remaining Organzation members. Mickey meets DiZ, who reveals himself to be Ansem the Wise.[23] Ansem the Wise uses a device that dissipates some of Kingdom Hearts' power, but a system overload causes the machine to explode and kill him; the explosion also mysteriously restores Riku to his original form.[24] At the top of Organization XIII's castle, Sora and his friends battle Xemnas, who uses the remnants of Kingdom Hearts to power his multiple forms.[25] Sora and Riku destroy Xemnas and are reunited with their friends at their home, Destiny Islands.[26] The game concludes as Sora, Kairi, and Riku read a mysterious letter bearing King Mickey's seal, its contents hidden from the player.
