Strategy Guide Review: Kingdom Hearts 2
BradyGames' Detailed Guide for PlayStation 2 Sequel
BradyGames published the strategy guide for the first Kingdom Hearts game, so it made a little sense for the company to publish the second (or third game, counting Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories as the second game). However, whereas the first strategy guide was immensely helpful in all areas of the game -- maps, item locations, walk-throughs, fighting bosses -- the second guide is not nearly so.
It has the detailed maps and item locations as well as well written walkthroughs, but it doesn't offer as many tips for fighting bosses, which actually may have to do with how different the gameplay is for this game than the original. But one area that needs strategy advice and is thoroughly lacking in it is Jiminy's Journal requirements for the mini-games.
Kingdom Hearts 2 Walk-throughs
This game far more linear and not nearly as convoluted as the first game, but the authors still provide detailed walk-throughs, including world objectives and bosses. All of the optional objectives and bosses are detailed at the end of the chapter after the world bosses are discussed. The only caveat to this is the optional boss Sephiroth, who is found in Hollow Bastion/Radiant Garden but the guide discusses him at the end of the second Space Paranoids chapter.
Right before each world's objectives, the guide has a map of the world and tags the locations of all of the items the player can access. These maps are probably the most useful part of the guide, and may be the only thing the player uses the guide for.
The first game had many items that players couldn't access without certain abilities (such as High Jump or Glide), but this game only hides items in areas the player can't access until later in the game. The guide provides maps of these areas when the player can access them, so players won't have to backtrack through the guide to make sure they found each item or found all of the world's areas.
The Bosses of Kingdom Hearts 2
The guide is very good at discussing what attacks the boss has and suggests defensive maneuvers, but doesn't offer much help in what attacks work best against the foe. This could be partly because Kingdom Hearts 2 features Reaction Commands, special commands that are triggered by certain circumstances or enemies.
By using these Reaction Commands, Sora performs special attacks specifically designed for the enemy. Most bosses can be easily defeated by implementing Sora's Reaction Commands, so for these instances, the guide really isn't needed. For example, defeating the Hydra from the Olympus Coliseum is done using three different Reaction Commands. It cannot be defeated any other way.
Jiminy's Journal: Item Synthesis, Mini-Games, and Far More
Like the first game, Kingdom Hearts 2 has two endings: one from completing the game and one from completing certain objectives in the game. In this game, players can see the hidden ending by completing Jiminy's Journal.
The Journal has a string of requirements for players to complete, including finding all hidden treasures, completing every mini-game and tournament with certain scores, and synthesizing every possible item. One would think that with the Journal being so important in the game that the guide would be quite helpful in this department.
On the contrary, it is not, particularly with the mini-games and Underdrome Tournaments. The guide offers some strategies for the mini-games, such as the skateboarding mini-games, but virtually none on others, like the ones found in the Hundred Acre Wood.
For example, for the the Grandstander mini-game, the guide suggests using a "long weapon" but offers no suggestions on which of the many Keyblades could be considered a long weapon. The same goes for the Underdrome Tournaments. The book offers tips in fighting the bosses of the tournaments, but not much in how to complete a specific tournament with Jiminy's Journal goal.
However, the most entertaining aspect of the guide is found within the mini-game strategies, where players can see the BradyGamers' scores for the games and notice that many of them never meet Jiminy's expectations. Maybe this is why strategies aren't fully covered.
It does help with a couple of Journal items. As mentioned earlier, the guide will help players find all of the hidden treasures with the maps. It's helpful with item synthesis in only one aspect: how to find synthesis items. It lists every synthesis item and what Heartless or Nobody drops it or where to find it in a hidden chest.
In turn, the guide also lists every Heartless and Nobody, where to find them and what synthesis items they drop. So if players need Twilight Stones to complete a synthesis recipe, the guide makes it easy to find what enemies drop the items and where to find them.
Special Edition Strategy Guide
Since the first Kingdom Hearts game and corresponding strategy guide were so popular, BradyGames pushed the bandwagon a little further and produced two guides for Kingdom Hearts 2: an original guide and a special edition.
The Special Edition guide contained the original guide, a fancier cover, and a physical Jiminy's Journal for players to fill out as they completed entries in the game (excluding item synthesis). Since both guides contain the original strategy guide, there is no reason for players to seek out the Special Edition unless they are either die-hard collectors of the Kingdom Hearts franchise or they are really into completing Jiminy's Journal and want to show off their accomplishments outside of the game.
Guide Not Really Recommended
Most gamers will probably only use the guide for two reasons: the maps and finding synthesis items. They most likely will never open it for advice on fighting bosses and will give up on using it for mini-game tips after a couple of look-ups. The guide is more for those who want to complete Jiminy's Journal, but they won't need the more expensive, Special Edition for help in this task.
Guide Cover
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Special Edition Cover
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