(no subject)
Huh. Aside from informing everyone I was not dead, I haven't posted in quite a while.
I'm boring. =)
I have beaten Kingdom Hearts II the first time. As in, didn't bother synthesizing all the items, didn't bother getting the Ultima weapon, probably missed most of the optional bosses, ignored Phil's training, didn't get Jimminy's journal completely done (89%, I think) and didn't work my way above level 50. The ending definately depends on what you complete. I say this because the PS2 loaded about eight scenes in the course of five minutes instead of showing me one solid cutscene, so I'd say a good portion of the conversations Sora has with other characters at the end depend on what you completed in the game.
And yes, there's a generic "Holy cow! The journey will continue in KHIII!" part at the very, very end.
Everything is tied up by the credits except Maleficent and Pete, and Cloud and Sephiroth. I expect if I'd bothered to hit Hollow Bastion (aka Radiant Gardens) before I took on the main boss I'd probably have had the option of dealing with Cloud or Sephi or both. I think Maleficent's behavior depends on what you complete in the game as well. Either she got eaten by a metric assload of Heartless or she won and took over Organization XIII's castle. Which means she disintegrated. I was a little disappointed that particular plotline wasn't tied up, considering you spend a ton of time dealing with Pete.
It's awfully pretty. And you get to spend about thirty seconds fighting as Riku. But the boss fights are not as nifty as they were in KHI. They're long and have lots of pretty combos, but the combos are a bit too pretty, and there's too much emphasis on them. I'd prefer to see scrapping than pretty slow-mo acrobatics with funny whizzy lights around them. One of the boss fights is ridiculously hard, while the others are ridiculously easy. This one has the same main boss setup as the previous game. You have to kill the head of O. XIII at least four times. In a row. With no save points. You get Riku, who really has no cool combo moves (at least nothing as cool as Auron's or Mulan's). He does appear to do decent damage, however.
All in all, it's a fun game. I'm glad I own it, and I will definately play it again. The cutscenes and voiceacting stayed absolutely true to the first game. (Give me a break. Haley and Christopher Lee ALONE could have held it together even if everyone else sucked donkey balls.) Drive and Limit are cool, but I don't like the fighting system as much. I found it more difficult to use items and magic, I found certain menus were disabled in certain instances and I didn't understand why, and I disliked some of the challenges in the game. The gummi ship combat system was significantly better, though. The worlds were just as interesting and engaging, but a bit too short and a bit too small.
But. Hot men. I could have done without the new Cid voice, I could have REALLY done without the Aeryth voice, but I loved just about everyone else. Especially that one scene with Cloud and Leon in HB facing off against Maleficent's army of Heartless. It was just extremely well-done.
I agree with the ratings on the main gaming sites. I love the game, but it's not as good as the original.
So. Other than that, picked up Bleach thanks to a coworker and watched all the eps, I'm about halfway through the manga. I really need to make an animated LJ icon of Kon farting at Yoruichi. Going to IL this weekend briefly for a birthday party. An 80th birthday party, complete with surprise guests (like my family) and the taking over of a nice Italian restaraunt.
Started studying Spanish.
That's all I got, guys.
I'm boring. =)
I have beaten Kingdom Hearts II the first time. As in, didn't bother synthesizing all the items, didn't bother getting the Ultima weapon, probably missed most of the optional bosses, ignored Phil's training, didn't get Jimminy's journal completely done (89%, I think) and didn't work my way above level 50. The ending definately depends on what you complete. I say this because the PS2 loaded about eight scenes in the course of five minutes instead of showing me one solid cutscene, so I'd say a good portion of the conversations Sora has with other characters at the end depend on what you completed in the game.
And yes, there's a generic "Holy cow! The journey will continue in KHIII!" part at the very, very end.
Everything is tied up by the credits except Maleficent and Pete, and Cloud and Sephiroth. I expect if I'd bothered to hit Hollow Bastion (aka Radiant Gardens) before I took on the main boss I'd probably have had the option of dealing with Cloud or Sephi or both. I think Maleficent's behavior depends on what you complete in the game as well. Either she got eaten by a metric assload of Heartless or she won and took over Organization XIII's castle. Which means she disintegrated. I was a little disappointed that particular plotline wasn't tied up, considering you spend a ton of time dealing with Pete.
It's awfully pretty. And you get to spend about thirty seconds fighting as Riku. But the boss fights are not as nifty as they were in KHI. They're long and have lots of pretty combos, but the combos are a bit too pretty, and there's too much emphasis on them. I'd prefer to see scrapping than pretty slow-mo acrobatics with funny whizzy lights around them. One of the boss fights is ridiculously hard, while the others are ridiculously easy. This one has the same main boss setup as the previous game. You have to kill the head of O. XIII at least four times. In a row. With no save points. You get Riku, who really has no cool combo moves (at least nothing as cool as Auron's or Mulan's). He does appear to do decent damage, however.
All in all, it's a fun game. I'm glad I own it, and I will definately play it again. The cutscenes and voiceacting stayed absolutely true to the first game. (Give me a break. Haley and Christopher Lee ALONE could have held it together even if everyone else sucked donkey balls.) Drive and Limit are cool, but I don't like the fighting system as much. I found it more difficult to use items and magic, I found certain menus were disabled in certain instances and I didn't understand why, and I disliked some of the challenges in the game. The gummi ship combat system was significantly better, though. The worlds were just as interesting and engaging, but a bit too short and a bit too small.
But. Hot men. I could have done without the new Cid voice, I could have REALLY done without the Aeryth voice, but I loved just about everyone else. Especially that one scene with Cloud and Leon in HB facing off against Maleficent's army of Heartless. It was just extremely well-done.
I agree with the ratings on the main gaming sites. I love the game, but it's not as good as the original.
So. Other than that, picked up Bleach thanks to a coworker and watched all the eps, I'm about halfway through the manga. I really need to make an animated LJ icon of Kon farting at Yoruichi. Going to IL this weekend briefly for a birthday party. An 80th birthday party, complete with surprise guests (like my family) and the taking over of a nice Italian restaraunt.
Started studying Spanish.
That's all I got, guys.