Kingdom Hearts II
Vorlage:Infobox CVG Vorlage:Nihongo is an RPG video game developed by Square Enix and partly published by Buena Vista Games, directed by Tetsuya Nomura, character designer of several popular games such as Final Fantasy VII. Kingdom Hearts II was first released in 2005 in Japan for the PlayStation 2. After one month of availablity, it sold a million copies in North America.
Kingdom Hearts II is the followup to the 2002 PlayStation 2's Disney Interactive/Squaresoft RPG Kingdom Hearts, and its 2004 Game Boy Advance sequel, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories. The game's story centers around a group of heroes continuing to search for lost friends while trying to decipher and defeat the mysterious Organization XIII with the help of a large cast of characters from both Disney and Square Enix properties.
The in-game music is composed by Yoko Shimomura, who composed the music for the first game, and the theme song "Passion" ("Sanctuary" for the international release) is written and performed by Japanese pop music star Utada Hikaru.
Plot overview
Kingdom Hearts II begins where Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories left off. Sora and his companions have been asleep for about a year, regaining their memories. When Sora awakens, he eventually arrives in Twilight Town, the place where a mysterious boy, Roxas, lived before he left suddenly. Gaining new clothes and powers, Sora began his journey anew, unaware of the events that have taken place in Chain of Memories. Sora continues his quest by unlocking paths to new worlds, fighting the Heartless and Nobodies, as well as facing the remaining members of the mysterious Organization XIII. As the game progresses, Sora learns how much he and Roxas have in common.
Organization XIII
Sora, Donald and Goofy have been asleep for the past year in order to regain their lost memories. In order to hasten the process, Riku and DiZ plot to find Sora's Nobody, who was, at the time, a member of the Organization XIII. Roxas, meanwhile, has recently left the Organization to look for Sora. Riku confronts Roxas at the World that Never Was and is defeated. In order to defeat Roxas, Riku takes on the form of Xehanort, and uses the power of darkness to defeat him. He then takes Roxas to DiZ's hideout and sends him into a digitilized clone of Twilight Town, leaving Roxas with no memories of his time in the Organization. Naminé, under DiZ's influence uses her powers to restore Sora's memories, which, in turn, affects Roxas.
During his time in Twilight Town, Roxas has recurring dreams of Sora's adventures and increasingly mysterious activity is taking place in Twilight Town during Roxas' summer vacation. After obtaining the Keyblade to defend himself from the Nobodies, Roxas comes in contact with a young man in black named Axel. Axel appears to know Roxas, though Roxas has no recollection of him. Roxas eventually makes his way into an abandoned mansion where Naminé informs him that he is a Nobody, although he did not quite know what a Nobody was at that time. DiZ also briefly appears. Then Roxas discovers Sora, Donald and Goofy sleeping in the hidden basement of the mansion. Roxas seems to disappear at this point as Sora, Donald and Goofy awake from their year-long slumber. The three friends awaken, and search the town for the King, only to be ambushed and overpowered by Nobodies. A cloaked Mickey jumps in and saves them at the last second. He gives them instructions to board the train and runs off.
The Journey
After speaking with Yen Sid at the "Tower", the party is informed that they must once again visit many worlds to protect them from both the Heartless and the Nobodies in an attempt to stop Organization XIII. Meanwhile, Maleficent is resurrected, and joins with Pete to bring about her revenge on Sora.
Meanwhile, Kairi is still on the Destiny Islands, waiting for Sora and Riku's return. She has stopped going back to the small island where they once played. She releases a letter in a bottle into the ocean in the hopes that Sora, whose name she has forgotten, or Riku will find it and return to the Islands. Later on, she is walking along the beach and finds a dark portal used by the Organization. She relucantly steps inside and winds up in Twilight Town. Her visit is short-lived as she is kidnapped by Axel.
Eventually,Sora and co. finally meet up with King Mickey at Hollow Bastion. He reveals that Ansem, the main antagonist of Kingdom Hearts, was merely an impostor and actually Ansem the Wise's apprentice Xehanort, and that the real Ansem was still loose somewhere, but before he can reveal more, an army of Heartless storm Hollow Bastion. The four go off to fight the army.
After fighting their way through the Heartless, Sora and co. find Xemnas, the leader of Organazation XIII. Xemnas leaves through a dark portal with King Mickey in pursuit, both of them disappearing. Axel appears and tells Sora how the Organization is using Sora to slay Heartless in order to release the captive hearts inside in order to form Kingdom Hearts. The Organazation's second in command, Saïx, shows up and Axel runs for it. Saïx explains that Axel had gone AWOL and left the Organization and kidnapped Kairi, but Saïx had taken her from Axel. Sora asks Saïx to let him into the realm of darkness to find Kairi, but Saïx refuses to take him to her. Maleficent suddenly appears and defends Sora from Saïx's Nobodies, telling him to devise a way to defeat the Nobodies. When Sora refuses, Maleficent teleports him, Donald, and Goofy back to the Gummi Ship.
Sora and co. return to Twilight Town, where they meet up with Hayner, Pence and Olette, who lead them to the Mansion. They are attacked by Nobodies, but Mickey appears and fends them off. They all journey to the Mansion's basement, where use the teleporter they enter DiZ's alternate Twilight Town. Sora, Donald and Goofy find a portal that seemingly leads to the Organazation's base. They go inside and find themselves in "Betwixt and Between", where they are ambushed by an army of Nobodies. Axel steps in and defends them against the Nobodies, but at the cost of his own life. As he fades away, he says "I just wanted to see Roxas again."
Homecoming
Upon arriving at the World That Never Was, Sora is attacked by a hooded member of the Organization and the two fight alone. Sora bests him, and the figure reveals himself to be Roxas. Sora, Donald and Goofy continue towards the Organization's base, the Castle That Never Was as they make their way through "Dark City".
Kairi, meanwhile, has been in a holding cell in the castle. She is freed by Namine' who escorts her through the castle to search for Sora. Mickey and DiZ meet up and DiZ reveals himself to be none other than Ansem the Wise. He planned to use a device to encode Kingdom Hearts into data to prevent Xemnas from attaining the form of a god.
When they enter the castle, Sora, Donald, and Goofy are reunited with Kairi and Riku. But Riku has taken the form of Xehanort's Heartless so he could use the powers of darkness to fight the Organization. The company fight their way up the castle. They find Ansem and Mickey near the peak, with Ansem the Wise coming to the conclusion that hearts cannot be encoded by data and what a fool he is. He apologizes for all the pain he has caused, and especially expresses his regret to Roxas, even though he is unsure if Roxas can even hear him. The machine explodes, taking Ansem and a chunk of Kingdom Hearts with it.
After the explosion, Sora and his friends are overjoyed to find that Riku has returned to his true form. When asked why he tried to do so much on his own, Riku replies: "Because I'm not a total sap like you." Roxas and Kairi briefly appear and discuss the promise they had made before returning to their original selves, Sora and Kairi, finally complete.
Reunited, the group heads up towards the peak of the castle, where Xemnas awaits. Xemnas goes inside Kingdom Hearts and is eventually defeated, but Sora and Riku end up stranded in the Dark World as a result. The two discuss their adventures and accept the fact that they are stranded at the Dark World forever, at peace because the Realm of Light is finally safe.
Kairi's letter in a bottle washes onshoer. Sora and Riku read it and the Door to the Light suddenly appears. With newfound hope, the two friends step inside and find themselves back home at the Destiny Islands where they are greeted by their overjoyed friends. The credits roll with Sora returning Kairi's good luck charm.
Not too long afterwards, Kairi finds a letter washed up onshore. Seeing it is engraved with King Mickey's seal, Sora opens it and begins to read it. It's contents remain unknown.
Sunset Horizons
Sunset Horizons is a secret trailer that can be accessed if the player accomplishes certain goals, such as completing the Jimminy Memo or completing the game on Proud Mode.
An armored figure wielding a Keyblade stands atop the ruins of an ancient structure in the middle of a deserted battlefield somewhere in the wastelands. He approaches three Keyblades(which eerily resemble Sora, Mickey, and Riku's stuck firmly in the ground. The camera pans out to reveal that the battlefield is littered with millions of Keyblades and that there are four paths leading to the crossroads where the three 'Sacred' Keyblades are planted in the ground. Two other armored figures approach, each coming from a different road. They each select and take a Keyblade, leaving one left. The three look off towards the fourth road, where a cloaked figure can be seen approaching from the wasteland. Messages flash onscreen.
Master of Keyblade
Worlds
As in the first Kingdom Hearts game, the player can access different worlds with themes based mostly on Disney films.
Worlds based on Disney films
- The Land of Dragons, from Mulan (1998)
- Beast's Castle, from Beauty and the Beast (1991)
- Olympus Coliseum, from Hercules (1997)
- Timeless River, from Steamboat Willie (1928) and various other black and white cartoons
- 100 Acre Wood, from The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977)
- Atlantica, from The Little Mermaid (1989)
- Port Royal, from Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
- Agrabah, from Aladdin (1992)
- Halloween Town, from The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
- Pride Land(s), from The Lion King (1994)
- Space Paranoids, from Tron (1982)
Original worlds
- Twilight Town
- Destiny Islands (unplayable)
- Hollow Bastion, later the Radiant Garden
- Disney Castle
- The World That Never Was
New gameplay features
Gameplay has been revamped from the first game; there are various new features offering the potential of more interesting and diverse play than the original.
Drive Gauge
One of the new features is a meter known as the Drive Gauge that the player can use for Drive Forms and Summons. It requires a certain amount of levels to be able to use a Drive Form or Summon, and when it is invoked a separate Drive Gauge is shown where it shows how long Sora can maintain that form or summon until its power runs out. At first the player can only have a maximum of three levels for the normal drive gauge, but it can be improved to a maximum of seven levels throughout the game by defeating certain bosses. Drive is the only gauge that does not get recharged at a Save Point, as opposed to HP and Magic.
Drive Forms
Sora can "fuse" with party members to become more powerful and acquire different attributes as well. Three out of the five Forms allow Sora to use two Keyblades instead of one, and the second Keyblade may be equipped in the Items Menu for this purpose. There are five Drive Forms, all with different methods of increasing their level.
The first two Forms have Sora merge with one of his permanent party members, Donald or Goofy. Valor Form focuses on physical attacks, including wielding two Keyblades and the ability to jump higher. Wisdom Form gives priority to magic and long distance attacks, having the basic attack be a energy projectile. Bursts of running speed is Wisdom Form's ability.
The other two Forms have Sora combine with both other party members to attain greater power than in the other two Forms. Master Form increases both magic and strength, although not to the individual extent of Valor and Wisdom. Two Keyblades are utilized and Sora is able to double jump. Final Form is the most powerful of the Drive Forms, increasing all attributes, but can only be used for a short length of time as compared to the other Forms. Two Keyblades are used psychokinetically and the option to glide is available.
AntiForm is a side-effect of Driving too much in battle, turning Sora into a creature of darkness with both partners disappearing. Sora's speed is increased in both attacking and movement, to offset the weak strength and defense of this Form. Many battle options, such as healing or reaction commands cannot be used while in this Form.
Final Form and AntiForm are the two Forms which are not given to the player by a person or event in the game, and are somewhat "secret" in the sense that the player has to discover the Forms themselves.
Summons
Like the previous game, Sora can Summon a Disney character to aid him in battle when attaining each of their respective Items. As Summons use the Drive Gauge instead of the MP bar, Sora cannot Drive and Summon at the same time. The character will replace the two computer-controlled characters and fight alongside Sora for as long as the Drive Gauge allows. Instead of the Summoned character being limited to only one action, the Summoned character now has a menu of his own to perform multiple actions, some solo actions and some cooperative actions with Sora. There are four Summons.
- Chicken Little is the titular character of Chicken Little. Chicken, when Summoned, chucks baseballs and/or firecrackers at enemies when on his own. His attack with Sora, called FPS, is, as suggested, a first-person shooter-like mode where Chicken can throw baseballs and firecrackers in rapid fire from a first person view. He also has other abilities, such as healing Sora when damage is dealt to enemies.
- Genie is the blue genie in a lamp who helps the titular character of Aladdin. Genie attacks with a humorous recreation of the Keyblade, and has a command to mimic any one of Sora's Drive Forms. The Drive Form to mimic must be unlocked first.
- Stitch is the cute, but destructive antihero of Lilo & Stitch. He will climb around the menu screens as well as the screen itself (as if he were on the surface), and do various things while shooting the enemies with his plasma guns somewhat nonchalantly. His team attack with Sora is a ukulele jam session, where different buttons can be pressed to prompt different musical attacks to cause damage. He also constantly heals Sora's MP and HP bars throughout the battle.
- Peter Pan is the boy who never grows up, and the titular character of Peter Pan. Peter comes with Tinker Bell, who was a Summon by herself in the first Kingdom Hearts (while Peter was a temporary party member), and flies around attacking with a dagger, as he did in the first game. Tinker Bell constantly heals Sora at the same time, which she also did as a lone Summon. Also, Tinker Bell will revive Sora once in battle if all his health is lost. His team attack with Sora is cinematic, as Sora will be reminded of his adventures in Neverland in the first game (with pictures floating across the screen) while Pan and Sora fly around hitting anything in their path.
Leveling up
The player can level up Drive Forms or Summons throughout gameplay. Each Drive Form needs to be leveled up separately, while Summons can be leveled up through continued use by using any of them. Leveling each of these Forms can be useful for Sora's progress in the game. Each Drive Form (with the exception of AntiForm) and Summon has a maximum of seven levels. Not only does leveling the Drive Forms and Summons make them last longer, but leveling up the Drive Forms also passes on new equippable abilities to Sora that are able to be used outside of battle. Valor Form teaches Sora the High Jump ability, Wisdom Form teaches the Dash ability, Master Form teaches Aerial Dodge, and Final Form teaches Glide. Learning all of Sora's Drive Form abilities helps in combat as well as making field travel faster.
Reaction Command
The Reaction Command, similar to the Resident Evil 4, Devil May Cry 3, and God of War real time reaction commands, is used during fights, and can allow Sora to perform certain actions when timed correctly. For example, against "Dusk" Nobodies, Sora will slide behind the normally evasive opponents and set up for a combo. Reaction Commands can also trigger counter moves as well. For example, "Sniper" Nobodies shoot a red bullet at Sora, but with a well timed Reaction Command, Sora will kick the bullet back at it. Reaction Commands are often pivotal in defeating bosses and certain enemies.
Limits
A gameplay addition gives Sora a special linked attack with any of the guest characters, and the effect varies depending on the character teaming up with Sora. In the Olympus Coliseum world, for example, Sora has the option to perform a linked attack with Auron when battling enemies. Later in the game Sora will also be able to perform team attacks with Donald and Goofy individually in similar fashion and later, with both. The combination attacks cannot be used simultaneously with any of Sora's Drive forms. Using a Limit will use up all of Sora's MP.
Magic abilities
Sora's magic spells from Kingdom Hearts has been modified. MP (Magic Points) is now measured in a bar and starts at 100, with slight increases after certain story events are completed. When MP is depleted, an automatically filling pink bar appears and when it is completely filled, MP is fully restored. Fire, Blizzard, Thunder and Cure spells from the first Kingdom Hearts remain, although their effects have been changed. Gravity, Aero and Stop have been replaced by Magnet and Reflect. Magnet will pull in enemies closer to Sora, allowing him to set up for multiple combinations; and Reflect creates a temporary shield around Sora, and shatters into all directions for a limited distance. All spells also undergo the three stages of spell upgrades usually seen in Final Fantasy (e.g. Fire, Fira and Firaga). Spells also have differing effects in drive forms, usually a strength increase. They can also be used in combos.
Mickey's help
In certain boss battles, if Sora is knocked out, a second option may be available, called "I won't give up!" It allows the player to control Mickey Mouse. Mickey is fast and has a high amount of maneuverability, as his size may indicate. He also can jump twice as high as Sora and has brutal attacks and combo ability. He even has the ability to shoot blasts of magic from the tip of his keyblade, both on ground and in air. These shots can pass through multiple enemies and even hit a single enemy more than once. Mickey's MP bar also recharges very quickly if ever reduced to "zero." However, the player must revive Sora to finish off the boss; this is done by pressing the triangle button repeatedly to fill up Mickey's Drive Gauge. This can also be done by constantly attacking the opponent. After the Drive Gauge, which has a level of three, is full, pressing the triangle button will bring Sora back to life with full HP and Drive. If Mickey has his HP bar reduced to "zero", Sora will be automatically revived but with only 50% of his HP.
Different command menus
A new feature is that each world has its own Command Menu, some of which are animated. For instance, Olympus Coliseum's design shows an image of the top of the Coliseum, while Port Royal's design shows a ship's steering wheel and the Pirates of the Caribbean logo. If the player desires, the Command Menu's design can be changed to the original Kingdom Hearts design in the options menu. There are two different Command Menus; a normal one, used for attacking, accessing magic, using items, and drive, and a secondary menu, which is used to attack, summon, switch party members in and out and perform combination attacks.
Gummi Ship control
The Gummi Ship has retained its basic system of travelling from Kingdom Hearts, but major changes have been made. For instance, now in the Gummi world map, the player does not pick the world the player wants to travel to by moving the cursor to it. Instead, the player must control the Gummi Ship from a top-down view and fly to the worlds the player wishes to enter. These worlds are not open from the beginning as the player must unlock the routes that separates Sora from them. When the player enters these routes, a new level loads and the player will be controlling the ship from a third-person point of view.
Maps
It is optional to have a map in the top-right corner of the screen. In addition, mini-maps can be found in each world. On these maps, a Keyblade indicates Sora's or Roxas's location and the direction that he's facing.
Disney characters
In addition to the Disney characters that return from Kingdom Hearts, there are also characters from Disney's movies including Megara, Pegasus, Pain, Panic and the Hydra from Hercules, Lumiere, Cogsworth, Mrs. Potts, Chip, and Wardrobe from Beauty and the Beast, Eric from The Little Mermaid, and Santa Claus as depicted in The Nightmare Before Christmas. Stitch from Lilo & Stitch and the titular characters of Chicken Little and Peter Pan act as new summons. Characters from the previously unexplored worlds of Mulan, Pirates of the Caribbean, Tron and The Lion King also play parts in the game.
Yen Sid the sorcerer, Mickey's master in the movie Fantasia, makes an appearance, inhabiting a mysterious tower. Also appearing in the tower is Maleficent's pet raven, Diablo. Merlin returns in Disney Castle and Hollow Bastion, revealing the existence of Timeless River to the heroes. Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather from Sleeping Beauty give Sora his new outfit. Scrooge McDuck also makes an appearance in Hollow Bastion trying to recreate a "seasalt-flavored ice cream".
Pete is also in the game as an ever-persistent enemy to Sora, Donald and Goofy, appearing in many worlds. He works with the resurrected Maleficent, who refuses to relent in her desire for power.
Horace Horsecollar, Clarabelle Cow and Clara Cluck make appearances in the Timeless River.
Final Fantasy characters
Seventeen characters from the Final Fantasy series appear. Auron of Final Fantasy X can be Sora's partner in battle in Hercules' world. Yuna, Rikku and Paine from Final Fantasy X-2 appear as fairies at Hollow Bastion. Younger versions of Seifer Almasy, Fujin (called "Fuu"), and Raijin (called "Rai") from Final Fantasy VIII appear in Twilight Town, as a "disciplinary committee". Selphie Tilmitt, a Final Fantasy VIII character, is Kairi's classmate in a few scenes.
Squall Leonhart (Leon) of Final Fantasy VIII, and Cloud Strife, with his own side story, and Yuffie Kisaragi as depicted in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children return as cameos in Hollow Bastion. Aerith Gainsborough also appears, albeit wearing a modified version of her Before Crisis clothing. Tifa Lockhart of Final Fantasy VII also makes her first cameo in the series, wearing her Advent Children attire. Cid Highwind also returns, but he is still wearing the same attire as in the previous game; he has a speaking role this time around as opposed to caption bubbles in Kingdom Hearts. Sephiroth, Cloud's ever-present enemy, comes along as well, battling Cloud. He is an optional boss.
The Moogles, featured in many different Final Fantasy titles, serve as shopkeepers at various places in worlds. However, because of the dangers of the worlds, they only appear as holograms. As part of a longtime Final Fantasy running gag, two other shopkeepers in Twilight Town and Hollow Bastion are named Biggs and Wedge.
It had been stated by Nomura that, although the first game strictly stuck to characters Nomura designed, this time around they were going to "take some risks", which implied that characters from the Final Fantasy games without involvement from Nomura could make an appearance. One of these was Vivi Ornitier of Final Fantasy IX, who appears in Twilight Town as a member in Seifer's group. Another non-Nomura character included is Setzer Gabbiani of Final Fantasy VI, as a challenger in Twilight Town.
Changes in differing versions
Besides typical English translation and localization, the English version of Kingdom Hearts II differs from the original Japanese version, in the content of gameplay and several scenes.
The Hydra boss in Olympus Coliseum has its green blood from the Japanese version changed into black and purple smoke in the English version. An earlier cutscene retains the green blood.
The World That Never Was boss Xigbar's telescopic sight view has been edited from the Japanese version to replace its crosshair with three circles and remove the black shading around the sides that implied a telescopic sight. An attack animation was also altered; in the Japanese version, Xigbar combined his two hand-held guns to create a sniper rifle, which was used to snipe the player's party during the telescoping sight sequence. In the English version, Xigbar's animation does not combine his guns, instead twirling them around, and shooting at Sora with a single gun.
Port Royal contains the most content edits. Cutscenes have been edited to remove some of the violence such as Barbossa's sword sticking out of Jack Sparrow's chest in one scene. Another edit has William Turner not aim his gun at his head as he threatens to commit suicide. Undead pirates, who act as enemies at certain times, do not catch fire when affected by Fire magic in the English version, unlike the Japanese version.
Sales and critical response
During its first week of availability in Japan, Kingdom Hearts II sold 727,591 copies. [1] During its first month of availablility in North America Kingdom Hearts II sold over an estimated 1 million copies. [2]
The critical response of the game has been generally positive, most notably a score of 39/40 from Japanese game magazine Famitsu (the fact that Famitsu has only ever given six games 40/40 makes the near perfect score even more significant) [3] [4]. It later went on to tie with Biohazard 4 as Famitsu's Game of The Year 2005 [5] Other positive reviews include a 8.7/10 from Gamespot [6], a 4.5/5 from the Official Playstation Magazine, a 9/10 from 1up.com [7] and Gamespy [8], and a 10, 9.0, and 9.5 from Electronic Gaming Monthly [9]. IGN.com gave the game a lower score of 7.6/10 [10].
Manga
A manga series has started its serialization in the June 2006 issue (released on May 12th) of the magazine Monthly Shonen Gangan, published by Square Enix. The artist is Shiro Amano, who also did the Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories manga series.
Novel
A novel series, with Tomoko Kanemaki as the author and Shiro Amano as the illustration artist, is currently going on. The first volume titled "Roxas - Seven Days"[11] was released on April 22nd, 2006, covering Roxas' story to the part where Sora woke up and left Twilight Town. The novel holds extra scenes that were not covered in the game, such as interactions between all of the Organization members with each other, and between Axel, Namine and Riku. It is currently only available in Japanese and there is no announcement for an English translation yet.
The second book is slated to be released sometime in June 2006.
Voice cast
English language version
- Haley Joel Osment ... as Sora
- Tony Anselmo ... as Donald Duck
- Bill Farmer ... as Goofy, Tournament promoter
- David Gallagher ... as Riku
- Hayden Panettiere ... as Kairi
- Jesse McCartney ... as Roxas
- Wayne Allwine ... as Mickey Mouse
- Paul St. Peter ... as Xemnas
- Christopher Lee ... as DiZ (Ansem)
- Richard Epcar ... as Ansem & Xehanort
- Quinton Flynn ... as Axel
- Brittany Snow ... as Naminé
- Kirk Thornton ... as Saïx
- David Dayan Fisher ... as Xaldin
- Ryan O'Donohue ... as Demyx
- Robin Atkins-Downes ... as Luxord
- James Patrick Stuart ... as Xigbar
- Susan Blakeslee ... as Maleficent, Flora
- Jim Cummings ... as Pete, Ed, Winnie the Pooh, Tigger
- Eddie Carroll ... as Jiminy Cricket
- Doug Erholtz ... as Squall Leonhart (Leon)
- Steve Burton ... as Cloud Strife
- Mena Suvari ... as Aerith Gainsborough
- Mae Whitman ... as Yuffie Kisaragi
- Chris Edgerly ... as Cid Highwind
- Rachael Leigh Cook ... as Tifa Lockhart
- George Newbern ... as Sephiroth
- Matt McKenzie ... as Auron
- Will Friedle ... as Seifer Almasy
- Jillian Bowen ... as Fujin (Fuu)
- Brandon Adams ... as Raijin (Rai)
- Melissa Disney ... as Vivi Ornitier
- Crispin Freeman ... as Setzer Gabbiani, Will Turner
- Molly Keck ... as Selphie Tilmitt
- Hedy Burress ... as Yuna
- Tara Strong ... as Rikku
- Gwendoline Yeo ... as Paine
- Justin Cowden ... as Hayner
- Sean Marquette ... as Pence
- Jessica Di Cicco ... as Olette
- Adam Paul ... as Tournament announcer
- Corey Burton ... as Yen Sid, Shan Yu, Dale, The Peddler, Santa Claus, Sark, MCP
- Jeff Bennett ... as Merlin, Lumiere, Barrel
- Russi Taylor ... as Fauna, Minnie Mouse
- Tress MacNeille ... as Merryweather, Daisy Duck, Chip, Shenzi, Kanga
- Ming-Na ... as Mulan
- Mark Moseley ... as Mushu
- B.D. Wong ... as Captain Li Shang
- Pat Morita ... as the Emperor of China
- Harvey Fierstein ... as Yao
- Gedde Watanabe ... as Ling
- Jerry Tondo ... as Chien-Po
- Robby Benson ... as Beast
- Paige O'Hara ... as Belle
- David Ogden Stiers ... as Cogsworth
- Angela Lansbury ... as Mrs. Potts
- Jo Anne Worley ... as Wardrobe
- Tate Donovan ... as Hercules
- Susan Egan ... as Megara
- Robert Costanzo ... as Philoctetes
- James Woods ... as Hades
- Jodi Benson ... as Ariel
- Pat Carroll ... as Ursula
- Christopher Daniel Barnes ... as Prince Eric
- Kenneth Mars ... as King Triton
- Kevin Michael Richardson ... as Sebastian
- Parker Goris ... as Flounder
- James Arnold Taylor ... as Jack Sparrow, Timon
- Eliza Schneider ... as Elizabeth Swann
- Brian George ... as Captain Barbossa
- Scott Weinger ... as Aladdin
- Dan Castellaneta ... as Genie
- Linda Larkin ... as Princess Jasmine
- Jonathan Freeman ... as Jafar
- Gilbert Gottfried ... as Iago
- Frank Welker ... as Abu
- Chris Sarandon ... as Jack Skellington
- Kath Soucie ... as Sally, Shock
- Jess Harnell ... as Dr. Finkelstein, Lock
- Ken Page ... as Oogie Boogie
- Glenn Shadix ... as the Mayor
- Cam Clarke ... as Simba
- Jonathan Taylor Thomas ... as Young Simba (archive audio)
- Vanessa Marshall ... as Nala
- James Earl Jones ... as Mufasa (archive audio)
- James Horan ... as Scar
- Ernie Sabella ... as Pumbaa
- Robert Guillaume ... as Rafiki
- Cheech Marin ... as Banzai
- Bruce Boxleitner ... as Tron
- Travis Oates ... as Piglet
- Ken Samsom ... as Rabbit
- Gregg Berger ... as Eeyore
- Andre Stojka ... as Owl
- Jimmy Bennett ... as Roo
- Michael Gough ... as Gopher
- Zach Braff ... as Chicken Little
- Chris Sanders ... as Stitch
- Christopher Steele ... as Peter Pan
Japanese language version
- Miyu Irino ... as Sora
- Kōichi Yamadera ... as Donald Duck, Mushu, Beast, Sebastian, Genie, Stitch
- Yutaka Shimaka ... as Goofy
- Mamoru Miyano ... as Riku
- Risa Uchida ... as Kairi
- Koki Uchiyama ... as Roxas
- Takashi Aoyagi ... as Mickey Mouse
- Norio Wakamoto ... as Xemnas
- Genzo Wakayama ... as DiZ (Ansem)
- Akio Otsuka ... as Ansem (Xehanort)
- Keiji Fujiwara ... as Axel
- Iku Nakahara ... as Naminé
- Ginpei Sato ... as Saix
- Yōsuke Akimoto ... as Xaldin
- Kenichi Suzumura ... as Demyx
- Jouji Nakata ... as Luxord
- Hochu Otsuka ... as Xigbar
- Toshiko Sawada ... as Maleficent
- Toru Ohira ... as Pete, the Mayor
- Kaneta Kimotsuki ... as Jiminy Cricket
- Hideo Ishikawa ... as Squall Leonhart (Leon), Auron
- Takahiro Sakurai ... as Cloud Strife
- Maaya Sakamoto ... as Aerith Gainsborough
- Yumi Kakazu ... as Yuffie Kisaragi
- Kazuhiro Yamaji ... as Cid Highwind
- Ayumi Ito ... as Tifa Lockhart
- Toshiyuki Morikawa ... as Sephiroth
- Takehito Koyasu ... as Seifer Almasy
- Rio Natsuki ... as Fujin (Fuu)
- Kazuya Nakai ... as Raijin (Rai)
- Ikue Otani ... as Vivi Ornitier
- Ryotaro Okiayu ... as Setzer Gabbiani
- Mayuko Aoki ... as Selphie Tilmitt, Yuna
- Marika Matsumoto ... as Rikku
- Megumi Toyoguchi ... as Paine
- Kazunori Sasaki ... as Hayner
- Hayato Taya ... as Pence
- Yuka Hirasawa ... as Olette
- Takashi Inagaki ... as Yen Sid
- Junichi Suwabe ... as Tournament announcer
- Minoru Uchida ... as Merlin
- Miyoko Aso ... as Flora
- Hisako Kyouda ... as Fauna
- Masako Nozawa ... as Merryweather
- Mayumi Suzuki ... as Mulan, Ariel
- Shintaro Sonooka ... as Captain Li Shang, Lock
- Osamu Kobayashi ... as the Emperor of China
- Hiroshi Fujioka ... as Shan Yu
- Yutaka Oda ... as Yao
- Ryusei Nakao ... as Ling
- Kozo Shioya ... as Chien-Po
- Eri Ito ... as Belle
- Kazuo Kumakura ... as Cogsworth
- Masashi Ebara ... as Lumiere
- Kimiko Fukuda ... as Mrs. Potts
- Takako Kondo ... as the Wardrobe
- Yasunori Matsumoto ... as Hercules
- Ichirō Nagai ... as Philoctetes (Phil)
- Rika Matsumoto ... as Megara
- Kyusaku Shimada ... as Hades
- Yuko Mizutani ... as Minnie Mouse
- Mika Doi ... as Daisy Duck
- Roko Takizawa ... as Chip
- Minoru Inaba ... as Dale
- Kujira ... as Ursula
- Kazuhiko Inoue ... as Prince Eric
- Taro Ishida ... as King Triton, Eeyore
- Takuya Kaihoko ... as Flounder
- Hiromi Maeda ... as Ariel's Sister #1
- Shion Hino ... as Ariel's Sister #2
- Hiroaki Hirata ... as Jack Sparrow
- Daisuke Hirakawa ... as Will Turner
- Saori Yumiba ... as Elizabeth Swann
- Haruhiko Jo ... as Barbossa, Scar
- Shinichiro Miki ... as Aladdin
- Kaori Aso ... as Jasmine
- Akira Takarada ... as Jafar
- Toru Ohkawa ... as Iago
- Takashi Matsuo ... as the Peddler
- Masachika Ichimura ... as Jack Skellington
- Yuko Doi ... as Sally, Shock
- Yuji Mitsuya ... as Dr. Finklestein, Timon
- Shigeo Matsuzawa ... as Barrel
- Hiroshi Hatanaka ... as Oogie Boogie, Pumbaa
- Tomoaki Nagae ... as Santa Claus
- Mitsuru Miyamoto ... as Simba
- Riko Hanamura ... as Nala
- Shinya Owada ... as Mufasa
- Ryuji Saikachi ... as Rafiki
- Tomie Kataoka ... as Shenzi, Kanga
- Ben Hiura ... as Banzai
- Hiroshi Tsuchida ... as Tron
- Tetsuo Kanao ... as Sark
- Ikuya Sawaki ... as MCP
- Sukekiyo Kameyama ... as Winnie the Pooh
- Mitsuru Ogata ... as Piglet
- Naoki Tatsuta ... as Rabbit
- Toshiya Ueda ... as Owl
- Tessho Genda ... as Tigger
- Masaya Sugimoto ... as Roo
- Mahito Tsujimura ... as Gopher
- Keiko Yamamoto ... as Chicken Little
- Yu Hayashi ... as Peter Pan
Music
- An original soundtrack CD for Kingdom Hearts II, composed by Yoko Shimomura was released on January 25, 2006 and its catalogue number is TOCT-25871~2.
- The theme songs to Kingdom Hearts II, Passion and Sanctuary (the English version of Passion) are performed by Utada Hikaru, and according to Tetsuya Nomura it ties in even more closely with the game's story than Hikari (Simple and Clean) did with Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories.
- The CD single for Passion was released on December 14 2005, with a price of ¥1,050 (roughly 8.78 USD).
The tracklist for the single is as follows:
- Passion ~single version~ (4:36)
- Passion ~after the battle~ (5:57)
- Certain aspects of gameplay are based on music and button coordination, such as the Atlantica world and the Stitch summon.
Trivia
- A teaser for what appears to be a fourth title in the series can be seen if the player accomplishes certain tasks.
- Allusions to deceased Organization members in Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, such as Marluxia, are made in the game.
- The name of the world "Space Paranoids" is a reference to one of the games that Kevin Flynn created in Tron.
- The plot of Agrabah is loosely based on a direct-to-video movie, The Return of Jafar.
- This is Pat Morita's last work prior to his death. He provided the voice of the Emperor of China.
- The text from the intro trailers of Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II is quoting a poem written to Sora from Kairi.
- Unlike Kingdom Hearts and many Final Fantasy titles, this game does not have a soft reset feature.
- All of the character profiles in Jiminy's Journal state the first animated work or video game appearance for the characters. Yuna and Rikku are credited as being from Final Fantasy X-2 (in reality they debuted in Final Fantasy X, though the form they appear in is from X-2). Also, Tigger is listed as having debuted in Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree while Piglet is listed making his first appearance in Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day; this should be reversed. Also, Goofy's who made his first appearance in Mickey's Revue as Dippy Dawg is erroneously listed as Two Weeks Vacation in Jiminy's Journal. Mickey's and Minnie's first appearence is listed as Steamboat Willie when it was actually Plane Crazy. The release year of Mulan is listed as 1992 in the Japanese version.