Kingdom Hearts II

Kingdom Hearts II refined everything the first game only sketched out, and is considered by many fans to be the pinnacle of the entire series. Combat is noticeably faster and flashier thanks to Reaction Commands triggered at just the right moment with a single button, and so-called Drive Forms, in which Sora temporarily transforms and gains new abilities and weapons. The Reaction Commands in particular kept the action readable even in moments when dozens of enemies were flashing across the screen at once. The visited Disney worlds are more varied and elaborate, from Mulan through Pirates of the Caribbean to Tron, and the story, though even more convoluted than in previous entries due to the Chain of Memories detour, builds to a grand finale in the war against the mysterious Organization XIII.

Fluid, almost cinematic action at first glance, staggering production values, and unforgettable, visually spectacular boss fights make it one of the most dazzling spectacles on PlayStation 2. The new worlds offered more elaborate level design than the first game, and the cinematic battles showed just how far an action JRPG could be pushed on the hardware of the time. The extensive opening playing as Roxas, which takes the player away from the main hero for several hours, ranks among the series' boldest storytelling decisions. The characters of Organization XIII, especially the mysterious Roxas and Axel, earned their own cult following that persists to this day. For many players, Kingdom Hearts II remains the still-unsurpassed peak of the entire franchise.

Square Enix significantly increased production values for this entry; character animations and boss battles reached a quality comparable to the studio's film productions of the time. The presence of the theme song Sanctuary by Japanese singer Utada Hikaru heightened the emotional impact of the closing scenes and became as much a hallmark of the series as the Keyblade itself. Kingdom Hearts II still appears in remastered collections today and is considered the point where the series found the balance between action, story, and fan service that later entries have only ever tried to match.