Game profile
Kingdom Hearts II
Sora, Donald, and Goofy return with a more fluid combat system and even more Disney worlds to stop Organization XIII and its dark plans. The 2005 sequel is considered by many fans the series' high point and is part of the modern HD collections.
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What kind of game this is
At its core this is Action / JRPG, set in a fantasy world. Visually it is deliberately stylised rather than photorealistic, and the overall tone stays light and upbeat. The structure is guided rather than open, so you are moved along instead of dropped into a map. Sessions of an hour or two sit at the sweet spot here.
The difficulty is moderate and fair, demanding attention without punishing you for it. The narrative carries the whole thing, and the mechanics serve it. It is a single player experience from start to finish. It runs on 3 platforms. It sits in the mid price bracket.
What stands out
- Smoother combat system
- Organization XIII
- Fan favorite of the series
This fits you if
- you want to live through a story, not just play a system
- the writing matters more to you than the mechanics
- you play alone and want a complete experience without other people
- you want something light that leaves you in a good mood
Look elsewhere if
- you skip cutscenes and want to get to the gameplay
- you specifically want an open world to roam
- you want to play it side by side with someone
- you want something with real weight to it
How long is Kingdom Hearts II?
About 33 hours in total. At three evenings a week and two hours each, you will be busy for roughly 6 weeks, or 17 sessions.
How the rating ranks
Critics settled on 87 out of 100, which puts it above 71 percent of the 1276 games here and at rank 319 overall. That is mid-table for this database. Not a standout at the top, but solidly rated.
For comparison, Action averages 83 points across the database, so this one sits 4 points above its own genre. The figure rests on 865 collected ratings.
Released in 2005, which makes it 21 years old. A genuine classic, and worth checking how the version you buy holds up today.
The facts
- Release year
- 2005
- Genres
- Action, JRPG
- Playtime
- approx. 33 hrs.
- Difficulty
- Moderate, fair
- Story weight
- Carries the whole game
- Play with
- Solo
- Setting
- Fantasy
- Visual style
- Stylised
- Price bracket
- Mid price
- Platforms
- PC, PlayStation, Xbox
- Critic rating
- 87 / 100
Direct comparison
| Genres | Release year | Playtime | Critic rating | Price bracket |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kingdom Hearts II | 2005 | approx. 33 hrs. | 87 | Mid price |
| Granblue Fantasy: Relink | 2024 | approx. 30 hrs. | 83 | Full price |
| Kingdom Hearts | 2004 | approx. 27 hrs. | 84 | Mid price |
| Pokémon-Legenden: Z-A | 2025 | approx. 30 hrs. | 80 | Full price |
If you liked this, try these
- 83/100 Granblue Fantasy: Relink Shared: Action, JRPG, Fantasy
- 84/100 Kingdom Hearts Shared: Action, JRPG, Fantasy
- 80/100 Pokémon-Legenden: Z-A Shared: Action, JRPG, Fantasy
- 90/100 Kingdom Hearts III Shared: Action, JRPG, Fantasy, rated higher
- 83/100 Star Ocean: The Second Story R Shared: Action, JRPG, Fantasy
- 88/100 Secret of Mana Shared: Action, JRPG, Fantasy, shorter