Copy of Kingdom Hearts 2 Intro 1 (2005, Square Enix/Disney Interactive)
3Looks like this video was blocked worldwide until the song was removed because BMG decided to block the song Passion by Utada Hikaru. It was integral to the video and BMG only stood to gain from monetizing it... too bad they won't get that opportunity now as I support artists claiming their work and getting paid.
Kingdom Hearts II (Japanese: キングダムハーツII Hepburn: Kingudamu Hātsu Tsū) is an action role-playing video game developed and published by Square Enix in 2005 for the PlayStation 2 video game console. The game is a sequel to Kingdom Hearts, which combines Disney and Final Fantasy elements. The game's popularity has resulted in a novel and manga series based upon it and an international version called Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix, released in March 2007.
Kingdom Hearts II is the third game in the Kingdom Hearts series. It picks up one year after the events of Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories. Sora, the protagonist of the first two games, returns to search for his lost friends. Like the previous games, Kingdom Hearts II features a large cast of characters from Disney films and Final Fantasy games. Organization XIII, a group introduced in Chain of Memories, reappears to impede Sora's progress.
The game was well-received and earned year-end awards from numerous video gaming websites. In Japan, it shipped more than one million copies within a week of its release. One month after its North American release, it had sold over one million copies and was the second best-selling game of 2006. By April 2007, the game had shipped over four million copies worldwide.
The game was actor Pat Morita's final voice role before his death in November 2005. The Final Mix version of the game was re-released in high definition for Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix for the PlayStation 3, along with Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep Final Mix and Kingdom Hearts Re:coded.
Kingdom Hearts II begins one year after the events of Kingdom Hearts and Chain of Memories. The game's setting is a collection of various levels (referred to in-game as "worlds") that the player progresses through. As in the first game, the player can travel to various Disney-based locales, along with original worlds specifically created for the series. While Disney-based worlds were primarily derived from the Disney animated features canon in the first game, Kingdom Hearts II introduces worlds that are based on Disney live-action films as well. 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 18th-century-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 Lands, a great savannah from The Lion King; and Space Paranoids, a digital world based on Tron within Hollow Bastion's computer network. 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.
The three protagonists of the game are: Sora, a 15-year-old boy chosen as a wielder of the Keyblade, a mystical key-shaped weapon that can combat darkness; Donald Duck, the court magician of Disney Castle; and Goofy, the captain of the Disney Castle guards. Both Donald and Goofy were ordered to find and stay with the "key", which was revealed to be Sora and his Keyblade. They befriended Sora during Kingdom Hearts, and draw strength from this friendship. Other original characters include Riku and Kairi, Sora's friends from his home world of Destiny Islands; Roxas, a boy who can also wield the Keyblade playable in the beginning; and DiZ, a man in red robes with a vendetta against Organization XIII.