It's really not. Unpopular opinion, but KH2's ending is stupid. It really is. Kairi's ONE character moment in the whole game was her deciding she didn't just want to sit around and wait for Sora and Riku to come home anymore. And then the ending just sends her back to Destiny Islands to wait for Sora and Riku anyway. Lol, what was even the point of having her be in the World that Never Was in the first place? She gets a keyblade, but then she doesn't do anything with it. They may as well have just left her on Destiny Islands, if they were just going to shove Kairi to the side to focus on the Sora/Riku shit anyway. And then there's the whole bullshit about how KH2 tries to pretend that Roxas and Namine are like these super good friends who will get solace from being able to see each other through Sora and Kairi, when in reality they barely knew each other. Not only that, but Namine was fully willing to sacrifice Roxas to wake up Sora. Like wow, so romantic?
If you go back and look at the kh1 secret ending it subtly spoils the ending to kh2. Towards the end of the video when roxas and riku are approaching on the side of the building , there is a count down with a bunch of quoted phrases and other sentences. At the end of that count down the last phase says were back and one if the final shots is a girl standing on the beach watching 2 lights drop from the sky into the ocean.
@@meteornome2556 so? Most of the middle is the shit filler cutscenes in Disney worlds, with some of the least fun bosses in the game. The game really doesn't pick up again until second visits
I have always found the endings KH1 and KH2 something special in a metaphorical way; In KH1, Three children want to leave their home to experience the world and get separated but save the world and eventually get seperated once more, bittersweet. In KH2, The three kids, now grown up, and together once more and want to return home. Like us children, we wanted to grow up and leave our own Destiny Islands to see the rest of the worlds, Just like KH1 but once we have grown we realize we long for that little island home we all have played on. Simply bittersweet but something so blissful. I love this game so much. This is not just my favorite ending, but also my favorite game ever made.
To me the part where Roxas smiles always brought me down to Earth. As a kid I couldn't simply feel completely happy because whenever I saw that part with Roxas smiling, it always felt wrong that he only got to be a ghost seeing through Sora. Three years later, now as a teenager, after playing 358/2 Days, and to this day, I simply can't see this ending as completely happy ever again. Everytime I would see Roxas smile I would see an innocent boy who lost absolutely everything and everyone he had in life, simply accepting life wasn't gonna get any better than this, and that idea always makes me cry. Now I'm not saying the ending is bad because of it. On the contrary, I think it's maybe even more powerful due to the duality of it. Back in 2010, before all the DDD and KH3 retcons (which I never liked one bit because you can't force happy endings through the power of retcons), this was the end of Roxas story. 358/2 Days didn't have a secret ending so there wasn't any promise of him ever coming back and the story was going in another direction after BBS. So having Roxas end his story in such a bittersweet note was a really huge juxtaposition to the incredibly happy Disney ending Sora was having on-screen. It always made me think about the fact that not everyone gets a Disney ending in real life, and sometimes while we are so happy enjoying all things life has provided, there are others who are simply counting their blessings and being happy with what little they have left. Maybe that's another reason why this ending is so perfect to me. It reminds me that no matter how good or how bad your life has been, finding your own form of happiness will always be up to you.
Exactly it teaches everyone in a hidden message "You don't always get what you want, but be happy with what you have now." I love 3 and the games after 358/2, but my issue with them is they take a massive dump on that message. Like wanna bring Xion back cool she deserves to be her own person as she was nothing but an innocent replica girl emotionally abused by Xehanort and his ambitions. Roxas and Naminé not so much I preferred if they played a spiritual guardian role to Sora and Kairi as they face trials those two give em advice in a spiritual form.
Thanks! Finally someone who thinks the same. Kh2 is my favorite ending but i will never be satisfied with the ending that Roxas and Namine got. I know they where happy and accepted their fate in the end but if they had a choice they would definitely choose to live in their own body.
I couldn't agree more, have been saying this for a long time. I'll paste a comment I made on a video playthrough a few years ago, before KH3 had come out. KH2's ending is perfect imo. It's the only truly happy ending so far in the series and I think it came at the right time. It takes you on such a journey, so I think that the happy ending is warranted. +The way it was handled, Riku and Sora ready to stay in the dark, and then the letter with the text from KH1 (which at the time was already ingrained in my brain from watching that start menu cutscene so many times), the door to the light, the way they fell in the water (calling back to KH1's opening and secret movie), Donald, Goofy and the King showing up with the music cue, Mickey hugging his friend Riku, Sora holding Kairi's gift to him from KH1, and finally, "you're home"
I agree with you! The happy ending is 100% warranted after everything the characters had to go through just because they wanted to explore the outside worlds
While we all agree that KH2 has the happiest ending lets not forget that Aqua was walking around that darkness and probably would have been found by Sora and Riku had they stayed a while longer. :/
I have a feeling like this was originally the ending of the series since I just realized that this ending was supposed to reflect the opening of KH1 but I feel like square enix as well as Nomura wanted to continue it after finishing this which is where we get the final scene
KH2 iirc is technically the only KH game that has a happy ending that isn't bittersweet in some way or another. The Destiny Island Trio reunited, Sora kept his Promise, etc etc. Best way to end the game.
I guess the only bittersweet thing about it is the organization never truly gaining a heart and all having been destroyed except for Roxas, but that also adds to the emotion of the whole scenario so I think it's a plus. I know DDD retcons this stuff but at this point in the game I don't really think that was much of an idea.
i totally feel you in not being able to describe how incredible the ending of this game is. it honestly would have been the PERFECT ending to the series, just everything being wrapped up so so well. i’m not ashamed to say as a 21-year-old lifelong fan of the games that i cry every single fucking time i watch the ending and credits roll. getting to see everyone happy but having seen that effort gone through to earn it just feels SO satisfying. it personally feels more complete of an ending than 3 just because the first “trilogy” of games (1, CoM and 2) have such a focused and relatively understandable arc that all culminate in this game and this ending. it just makes it so so sweet. you remember all of the hardship and it just makes me feel like no matter what, it’ll all be alright. i’m so glad you made this video, you did an excellent job man.
Yeah I wouldn’t have been upset if they ended it there and didn’t drag it all out. Cause I ain’t feel as connected to the story after kh2...could have just remakes of kh, com, and kh2🤷🏾♀️
This game altogether is most definitely my favorite of all time. Its not without flaw for sure, but after going through every aspect of the game as an adult, I love it just as much as when I used to play it time and time again as a kid. From the prologue to the bulk of the story to the ending (and even the secret boss), is hard for me to say I strongly dislike anything about the game.
I remember when I first beat this game and I didn’t really understand the ending all that much but when I eventually played the ps3 collection I beat the game and cried right there. Replaying the game brought be back to a simpler time in my life where I could just run around my back yard wearing gloves with the fingers cut off so I could be sora. I remember where I was actually when I was fighting the final boss of KH2 it was during the summer and it was hot out, I was sitting on my bedroom floor playing my brothers PS2 which I stole from him because I loved kingdom hearts so much. When I heard about the ps3 collections I was super excited to get to replay my childhood on a new system that I finally got to get on Christmas, I threw the 2.5 disc into my new ps3 and started my journey re visiting a childhood favorite. Eventually thanks to the collections I got to finish kh1 and give bbs a second chance because when I first played it I wasn’t the biggest fan. And then I remember where and what I was doing when I got my copy of kh3, I sat eagerly waiting for my package to come only for me to find it sitting on my doorstep. There it was the game I had waited 7 years for and it was in my hand. Putting the game into my PS4 was an amazing experience and while I might think some things of Kh3 were a disappointment for meI’m just glad I got to experience the game and even though I’m not that optimistic I look forward to what the series has in store
Welp yeah, KH2 is the only good one if we consider that: -KH1 ends with Sora separated from his friends; -CoM ends with Sora starting to sleep, and still he doesn't have his friends by his side. Although, Riku's story ends with a redeeming tone; -Days...welp. -BBS... let's move on, yeah -DDD doesn't have a "bad" ending, but neither a good one. Xehanort is back, the Organization XIII is back as well and stronger than before, and Sora failed the mark of mastery and almost got turned into a vessel. -KH3 got us in the first half, it seemed like it was going to have a happy ending, but then a certain character got snapped
A few days ago i got the urge to play the ending of kh2 again, and it’s incredible that after 10+ years of playing this game and knowing every single scene, til this day it makes me tear up
KH2 was the first video game I beat on my own. I was young when KH1 came out so my older sister needed to help me. KH2 was a game that made me feel accomplished, and with how perfect the ending was it was a magical experience.
Kingdom hearts story should have ended at 2, was such a perfect conclusion. I even like the prologue ending where they receive a letter from Mickey for their next adventure to come.
I feel the same way about the ending to KH1. Having Sora, Donald and Goofy chasing pluto was such an open-ended, bittersweet way to say things would be okay even though Sora, Kairi, or Riku were split up again.
@@pepperonicheesecake1656 Yeah, the ending was kinda hopeful, like having the feeling the trio would be reunited someday. I liked that open ending of KH1. Though I did love Chain of Memories.
@@LimitForm72 Sonic Unleashed also had this ending. Everything wrapped up perfectly after the world adventure to restore the planet. Matter of fact, Sonic Unleashed was supposed to be the last Sonic game as the reception on Sonic was down the shitter because of Shadow The Hedgehog and Sonic 06(tho this was more because it was a technical mess) so they went all out with it
@@hwanniggles187 Someone finally mentioned it! But KH2's ending is on the same level as Sonic Unleahsed's finale and Sonic Adventure 2's Shadow's Sacrfice
What I most love of this videogame is that you can play it for this time, and not understand so many things, you can play it again, and understand more, but if you play it after playing 358/2 days and chain of memories, it feels like a different history. And I loved that
This is so wonderful! One of my favorite moments that stuck with me was Riku’s saying we should be part of darkness knowing that light is safe. I remember being confused about that when I first played this (this is especially the fact I never played CoM before KH2). Riku made me re-evaluate my view of light and darkness. The ending overall is one to remember for a very very long time for me 🥰
that line sticks with me because it both shows how grown up they both are to willingly be like Aqua(even though they don't know she's there) and stay in the Realm of Darkness because they already saved the world, too much light makes way for stronger darkness, this way they could defeat Darkness in it's home turf and continue to protect the light that way
Just about everything was wrapped up in this ending, xehanorts heartless and nobody were destroyed. there was no "oh if you beat them both they return back to the original" nonsense. Roxas and Namine living on through Sora and Kairi is so romantic and heart warming, and Sora got his friends back to the island and gave back Kairi's charm like his promised, Riku had conquered the darkness in him and accepted who he was, none of this facing his past/demons for the up-tenth time. There was no want or need for a "mark of mastery exam" because to us the players; they were masters in their own right after beating xemnas and the org. Heck Sora was called a master for simply holding a keyblade because "it chose him". As for Pete and maleficent? Well even the games don't know what to do with them so they may as well have died in this game off screen otherwise they're as effective as team rocket.
Yeah everything was happy, Roxas and Naminé were content being forever with Sora and Kairi, they accept their half a complete person and will always be together as long as they are. Heck when 358/2 Days was a thing I can only guess alot of fans were hoping for a Roxas and Naminé friendship giving 2 pay off, only for Xion to come into existence, now doesn't mean I have an issue with Xion I love her character, I just felt she was an unnecessary add on to the lore.
@@aozorahaou2643 I wouldn't really call xion a character, more like a weapon, a plan B or an obstacle if not border line mary sue. I thought this when the game came out. a recolored kairi who wields the keyblade because she's connected to Sora just like Roxas and is the "14th" member of organization 13, loved by everyone, gotten rid of in such a convenient way where no one remembers her nor could they to make her oh so tragic. If anything she was just there to make Roxas's life story more miserable than it already was. I despise her.
So True The First Three or Four Games will Always be The True "Xehanort Saga" for me everything After KH Days is Just Overcomplicated Stuff. KH 1 KH COM KH DAYS KH 2 "Xehanort Saga" Boom Next Saga If you will👍🏻😉.
Yeah, I’d like to be able to do a lot of different discussion type of videos along with the other types of video series I plan to do in the near future
Very small thing, but in the ending cinematic I love the quick flash to Roxas and Namine that it does. As for Riku, I wish we could get an alternate story from Riku's POV like in chain of memories.
I recently played through Kingdom Hearts 2 again and this ending really hit me hard. Growing up, this series helped me bond with my older brother. Only recently could I realize exactly what this game makes me feel: the feeling of watching love grow. It truly is the best ending I've ever had the pleasure of seeing.
Even though a lot of the writing in KH is cringe. It’s great to see Sora and Riku having that talk, always stuck with all of us. Just two best friends telling each other how much they appreciate the other. This is what makes KH great for all of ys
The last time I truly believed that Sora, Riku, and even Kairi were all best friends. Nowadays they feel like stoic robots with hardly any sort of character. I hope KH4 at least remembers that the original trilogy of games had heart and soul by making the characters actually human
Bravo on a great video! I couldn't agree more =D I only realised how brilliant this ending was a couple of years ago, while writing an essay about Kingdom Hearts 3's approach to storytelling. KH2's ending wraps up the story of the first three games in such an effective and powerful way. When Kairi says "You're home" it never fails to make me tear up =) Honestly, hearing you talk about this sequence was basically exactly how I feel and react too XD
My favorite ending ever to a game. Altho u could argue its almost *too* good. In that the series finale, whenever that happens, probably decades from now, can never hope to top it!
KH1 killed me...I didn’t realise an ending could be so beautiful and yet not be a happy ending. As a teenager I expected sora to be reunited with Kiari and Riku and instead...nope. I will never forget my bittersweet emotions as I watched the end scene.
More than anything this ending is about closure. Sora, Riku and Kairi are reunited on Destiny Islands, Donald and Goofy with King Mickey, and Roxas and Namine are remembered by Sora and Kairi so even though they’ve lost independent existence they’re not gone completely. Ignoring the post-credits scene, this could be the final scene of the series and still work as an amazing ending. Ansem is ended, Xemnas and the Organisation are gone, so no threats on the horizon. Every game since hints at what’s to come, new challenges or factors that continue the story rather than ending it.
I played the series blind as a newcomer three years ago so I had no nostalgia for KH despite being of the generation who grew up with it (I'd never got the chance to play due to only having Nintendo consoles as a child). Even with no childhood memories of the series, KH2 became my favourite and its ending did too. That remains true to this day. It speaks volumes that the ending of this game still strikes a chord today when fans new and old see it. It is emotional, uplifting, satisfying, fulfilling, conclusive and in my opinion, well-earned after all of the events which precede it.
This ending is such a masterpiece, I’ve never played a game that ended so beautifully more than KH2, and this is a “kids” game and it had me bawling my eyes out and it still does every time I see it, especially when Sanctuary starts playing and that final scene with Roxas and Namine having a small moment together as it then goes back to Sora telling Kairi they’re back as she replies with “You’re home” then cuts to the ending credits, like ugh it’s done so beautifully, the fact they had kids so invested in a game with a complex and emotional story is crazy, I was 8 years old when this game came out but as a kid I didn’t understand it and never got past the first world, but when KH3 was coming out I spent the last 4 months of 2018 trying to beat all the KH games in chronological order to prepare myself off KH3, and I loved every moment of it I was 20 at the time when I beat all of them, and once I got the full context of this ending I cried more than I already had before, I’m 26 now and it still hits me every single time😭😭😭
literally everything was perfect in kh2, expect Atlantis. And then KH2 version of DEARLY BELOVED aaaaahhhhhhh....gave me goosebumps the first I heard it as a kid and I still listen to it.
The piano when Sora shifts to Roxas and Kairi to Namine is just too beautiful of a moment. Kingdom hearts forever. This game series made me realised that i dont care about video game’s story being good or anything, if the atmosphere and soundtrack melody touches my heart, it’s my favourite, okay maybe i’m missing things, you get the idea.
KH2 is hands down the best game in the series and I've got a lot of fond memories playing it in the mid 2000s. The series just devolved into a nonsensical clusterfuck right after that and I'm glad I stopped at 2.The ending was literally perfect.
Dude thank you for doing a video on this I have been waiting for years for someone to make a video on this games ending. I remember playing this game for the first time thinking about how beautiful and complete this ending was compared to other kingdom hearts games
I know I sound like a broken record, but Kingdom Hearts II is lowkey the REAL ending to the series: Sora, Riku, and Kairi are finally together on the Islands The worlds are saved Roxas and Naminè are together inside Sora and Kairi and Xemnas, along with the Organization, are destroyed To me, KH2’s ending is still the best moment in the series for finishing the arc around Sora, Riku, and Kairi that began in Kingdom Hearts.
The first arc, at least in my head, of kingdom hearts consisting of 1, chain of memories and 2, was just brilliant storytelling overall! There won’t ever be anything else like it! The rest of the series afterwards just doesn’t compare but that’s only because it was trying to set up kh3. We all know how that turns out am I right? Lol
Yeah a lot of people seem to share that opinion from the comments I’ve been getting. I’m personally happy the series continued but I also can say that if they did decide to leave it off at two I wouldn’t have been mad either
@@LimitForm72 yeah exactly! A very similar situation to the Sly Cooper series. Even though it only had 4 games the series ended after 3 as that was such an amazing and truly satisfying conclusion. I used to replay all the missions in that game over again before kh2 released in here in Australia in 2006. That really changed things for me! Lol
Masterful video. I have a long story with this ending, one of my fondest memories ever is from when I was 10 years old and at that point in life I had already finished 2-3 playthroughs of KH2. It was one of my favorite games but I couldn't really understand the story that well because I didn't understand english. So, my brother used to explain the major plot points to me, it was fine and all but I wanted to be able to read the subtitles to understand the dialogue. I tried to learn english by myself through games, and eventually I went back to KH2. Tears rolled down my eyes when I finished the game again, I was crying because it was then that I realized that video games were capable of provoking strong emotions and masterful storytelling, just as movies. KH2 made me never quit gaming.
KH3 would have been the perfect game if the ending cut off just 5 seconds before it did. Maybe not the peak off KH like kh2, but definitely would have been a victory lap
I feel this....I ain’t really felt the same after kh2....only birth by sleep made me feel similar but I really wouldn’t go back to play the other games again frfr...maybe the first one but that’s it
With the world we live in becoming more cold and toxic as the days progress, I love games and stories like the Kingdom Hearts saga. Truly made my childhood, and warms my heart to play through them now.
Kh2 is literally the game I keep going back to play. Idk why but I played kh3 3 times( one normal play through, then critical mode for the oblivion key blade, then the DLC content) but I only played it to see all the content....I didn’t enjoy it the entire time. But kh2. Idk there’s sum about the game that keeps bringing me back. That kh3 just didn’t reach/surpass. Kh games after 2 just kinda felt. Different.
Someone finally made a video of what I've been saying since 2006. While I don't consider 3 a bad finale, I've always felt 2 would've been the perfect ending to the story if they had chosen to end the series at that point or even made BBS a pure prequel to answer where Xehanort came from with no future setup. 2 would've been a better finale to the story as it existed at the time than 3 was to the Xehanort Saga. It hit every point it needed to for itself, COM and 1 beautifully. It felt like we were playing the grand finale to the series in The World That Never Was because the game treated it like it was exactly that. I could ramble at utterly absurd length about it but I've gotta sleep sometime tonight.
The whole game of Kingdom Hearts 2 is a sheer masterpiece. From the start all the way to the end, you're immersed, and there's meaning behind all of the interactions.
I'm so happy to see a video where someone actually appreciates the story of the game. Is it cheesy? Yes. But my God, no game has the same level of heart (no pun intended) than this game.
KH2 ending brings a wave of nostalgia that can’t compare to the other games. Sora & Riku really paved the way to the type of person I am and the kind of friend I want to be. I love this game!!
I'm such a little bitch when it comes to KH lol. Just hearing you describe the ending got me choked up. I guess that comes from literally growing up with these characters
I loved Kingdom Hearts 2 ending and I found it the perfect ending for the series. I tried to play KH3 but just couldn't put myself through it because of how well KH2 tied everything so neatly.
Interesting that you not even manage the scene where Sora see's the painting in the secret place. This is also a scene which are buildup for this ending since KH1 i mean. In the beginning of KH1 Sora draws there the papou fruit for Kairi and in the ending Kairi draws it too which shows that she wants to build a connection with Sora. And after one year when Sora comes back to destiny island he finally saw that Kairi draw this to and it makes him cry which makes the ending from KH2 even better.
Roxas and Namine smiling at each other punches me in the gut every time. I can’t play the ending around my girlfriend because she can’t know I’m capable of being reduced to happy crying under a blanket on the floor of my living room.
"Kairi! Remember what you said before? I'm always with you too. I'll come back to you. I promise!" "I know you will!" "We're back." "You're home." She always knew and believed they'd be back, and that brings me to tears
*Major spoilers to the explanations of all three KH endings* KH1's Ending: A simple bittersweet end with only part of the journey complete. Now grown throughout the whole adventure, Sora grows from being a naive little kid to a mature young adult who actually and willingly said to Kairi to go home as he would still help his buddies find their king and rescue Riku too. Kairi returns home on the islands and knowing Sora will be okay, she goes to the secret place and finds the drawing Sora altered at the beginning of the game. Admitting his feelings to her, Kairi cries and draws back, accepting his love and affections for him. A turning point in life that can be summed up as, friends before yourself and a hero can be built from all of us. KH2's Ending: A happy and true end to the series as Sora and Riku, first actually do the mature and rather adult thing of accepting their fate of death and inevitable circumstance they were in, but having the door to light open for them to go home. Bringing Riku home, Sora reunites with everyone. Donald, Goofy and King Mickey, all now victorious and happy that their quest and adventure is over. Especially when Sora looks up to Kairi. The music comes to a slowdown with very calming piano notes as Sora pulls out Kairi's lucky charm that was given to him before the final battle in the first game. Smiling at her, the audience gets a quick vision of Roxas as Sora, and Namine as Kairi. Note that Roxas and Namine are finally smiling and being happy, an emotion neither characters had felt until they became whole. To those who say that Roxas didn't have a happy ending, this right here IS his happy ending. The whole game he wasn't willing to accept being whole and wanted to be his own person, but coming to the end, he learns to accept the change and not only restore Sora completely, but to be happy with him and to still see Namine when the two are together. With everything being at a close, Sora is astonished and happily says that they're back, to which Kairi replies "You're home." Indicating the end of the game... and the end of the story/series by presenting the motif and message as Promises To Keep and acceptance for a greater cause. KH3's Ending: An extremely underwhelming, half assed and rushed ending with an idiotic choice. Aside from the middle finger "Villain had good intentions" bullshit the writers threw out of their asses, the ending does not present anything new, creative or original for that matter of being. With the entire worlds and universe being saved now, you'd think that the heroes would go home and finally rest after an enormously large and long winded adventures, but no. Sora feels that now that he has the power of waking, he can finally be able to go to the final world and actually rescue Kairi, even if it costs him his life... WHICH IS VERY STUPID. Not once did the game vividly explain that the power of waking can bring people back from the dead. There's a difference between reawakening those who have lost their hearts, and then there is bringing people back from the dead. Kairi gets flat out killed and Sora, who never used this power by the way, just thinks to himself that he'll go ahead and get himself killed, BECAUSE GOD FORBID HE CAN'T LIVE LIFE WITHOUT KAIRI! The ending feels extremely forced with the fact that "everyone needed their happy end" and having Sora die a second time. And for the excuse that its supposed to be a reference and homage to how Sora died in KH1, it was a different scenario then for starters, and second of all, SORA HAD NO CHOICE THE FIRST TIME. Nobody told him to go after Kairi or to use the power of waking to rescue her, making his demise all the more stupid and all the more worse! I've said and written this before, but a good alternate ending to the game should've been that Sora lives and goes home, everyone has a happy ending and Sora has this bittersweet ending. Seeing Kairi's face in the setting sun or whatever and it would've been nice if a final present given away from her to him, would've been the same charm from the first and second game. A secondary conclusive ending where Sora cries and smiles, thanking Kairi for the wonderful times they had together, and how he'd never forget her. That ending would've been SO MUCH MORE POWERFUL! The message that could've been portrayed could've been a more mature and a more impactful message, that no matter all the struggles and hard times you go through, we as humans must accept our fate, but relish the time we have now. Going back to the acceptance route, it would've been so much more impactful if Sora accepted Kairi's death and continued to live on but never forget her. The game was teasing at a Final Fantasy 7 sort of approach, but it seemed that the game wanted to make that approach but make it 100 times worse. Imagine if that happened in FF7 Remake Part (whatever one is the end). But picture if the ending was not of Cloud accepting Aerith's death? What if instead, he saved the planet but was like "yeah the planet's saved, but I wanna kill myself to rescue Aerith!" It would destroy the whole meaning and message behind the entire game. Its honestly hard to believe that people can accept and like the ending of KH3 and call it "good" yet I hear people still cribbing about how "stupid" the ending of Batman V Superman is (which it is stupid, don't @ me). I can't even begin to fathom how terrible of an ending KH3 was and it honestly was the shittiest excuse for an ending because they of course need to tease the next games and more sequels we don't need. KH2's ending is perfect because of the sole factor that the game smartly and perfectly reties all the themes and messages portrayed not only from one game, but the previous ones too. I also love how the ending gives a sort of loose tease for another game. There's no confirmation of another Kingdom Hearts game after 2 and the story could've ended there. I get maybe the devs wanted to make at least a couple more games, but if they had stopped here with Sora's story... it would've been the perfect end. The BBS teaser clearly showed that the game had nothing to do with the original cast and the game should've been in a split and different timeline, away from Sora's story. The same could've been said for a lot of future games. They should've been made as seperate stories on different timelines, and not interlinked in the same plot. A lot of people love to put the blame on Normua, or Square, or Disney, but the real and true culprits behind it all... was the fans. The fans demanding for exact answers and story reasons with every new entry really screwed the timeline of Kingdom Hearts altogether. I feel Disney and Square just wanted to have a fun piece of art that they could create and relish over the years, but the fans demanding and essentially controlling the devs as to what they invision as "their Kingdom Hearts game", it honestly was the wrong call. Game devs should not be making video games or stories because fans demand it or want it their way, devs should make games for their creativity and love and passion. Which is exactly why we go back to Kingdom Hearts 2, with the final closing song being Passion/Sanctuary. Aside from its relevance to the plot and story, the song is a perfect sendoff for the game designers who made KH1, COM and KH2. These were games that were given love and passion and affection for, and now the devs can safely say that the story is over and the first three KH games are in a beautiful sanctuary. A safe place to be cherished and remembered. Will the future ever go back to this grounded formula that the first three games gave us, it may be unlikey... but we all can have hope. My hope is for one day, the devs can go back to the first three games and not realize why these games were good... but how they were so good...
I've beaten this game 14 times and counting since I was 7 (22 now) I've done all secret endings, all difficulties, critical, no death Working on my first ever level 1 and completely 100 percenting all the journal challenges (I'd do chains and KH1 but true fans know that's just some kind of impossible without practice)
Couldn’t agree more on this man. Absolutely beautiful ending for game two. And side note, I still watch the secret BBS ending sometimes just because it is just so cool. Stay well out there everybody, and Jesus Christ be with you friends.😊
You forgot the part where Sora saw the draw of him and Kairi at the cave and he's happy that Kairi love to share Paopu fruit. I want to thank my cousin to show me the world of Kingdom Hearts by watching him playing KH2 and never let me play the game. The name of game,Sora are the two things I never forgot from Kindergarten until now. I started play KH on the DS 385/2 Days,and later Birth By Sleep + Final Mix on PSP,but never played KH 1,RCOM,2, Recoded,3d,3.
![Behind the Scenes - Kingdom Hearts II Voice Actors Interview in 2005 [Rare Footage]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/sx3cJPB5M6g/mqdefault.jpg)
One of the best video game ending's to ever be created. PERIOD!
I agree
absolutely
Indubitably.
It's really not. Unpopular opinion, but KH2's ending is stupid. It really is. Kairi's ONE character moment in the whole game was her deciding she didn't just want to sit around and wait for Sora and Riku to come home anymore. And then the ending just sends her back to Destiny Islands to wait for Sora and Riku anyway. Lol, what was even the point of having her be in the World that Never Was in the first place? She gets a keyblade, but then she doesn't do anything with it. They may as well have just left her on Destiny Islands, if they were just going to shove Kairi to the side to focus on the Sora/Riku shit anyway.
And then there's the whole bullshit about how KH2 tries to pretend that Roxas and Namine are like these super good friends who will get solace from being able to see each other through Sora and Kairi, when in reality they barely knew each other. Not only that, but Namine was fully willing to sacrifice Roxas to wake up Sora. Like wow, so romantic?
I was legit about to comment "PERIOD" 😁😁
Sometimes I forget that Sora and Riku have a heart-to-heart conversation after the final battle in KH2. The game's beautiful.
No truer words have ever been spoken
I don’t know what it is about that conversation but i feel like it’s something I would listen to to calm me down or just relax and think
@@BiduBarbosaAF That is exactly what these two are doing.
@@LimitForm72the conversation they had will be continued.
"We're back"
-
"You're home"
AND YOUUUU AND I-
Goosebumps everytime
If you go back and look at the kh1 secret ending it subtly spoils the ending to kh2. Towards the end of the video when roxas and riku are approaching on the side of the building , there is a count down with a bunch of quoted phrases and other sentences. At the end of that count down the last phase says were back and one if the final shots is a girl standing on the beach watching 2 lights drop from the sky into the ocean.
Man tears flowing
Imagine a game where Both the opening and endings are masterpieces
But the middle is kinda the low point
This is peak kingdom hearts imo🙌🏼
KH2 really be like that, that’s crazy
@@ntrg3248 You're tripping, the middle of the game is the battle of Hollow Bastion, one of the most iconic moments in gaming.
@@meteornome2556 so? Most of the middle is the shit filler cutscenes in Disney worlds, with some of the least fun bosses in the game. The game really doesn't pick up again until second visits
When he slaps the charm into her hand... that gets me every time.
“You’re home”. AHHH it gets me every time
no cap
I have always found the endings KH1 and KH2 something special in a metaphorical way; In KH1, Three children want to leave their home to experience the world and get separated but save the world and eventually get seperated once more, bittersweet. In KH2, The three kids, now grown up, and together once more and want to return home. Like us children, we wanted to grow up and leave our own Destiny Islands to see the rest of the worlds, Just like KH1 but once we have grown we realize we long for that little island home we all have played on. Simply bittersweet but something so blissful. I love this game so much. This is not just my favorite ending, but also my favorite game ever made.
2 years late, but we’ll said mate, we’ll said and true
KH2 ending always gives me instant ✨serotonin✨
You LOVE to see it :)
Hey what's up
You just reminded me of why this ending is so masterful. Brings me back to when I was a little kid in 2006 and saw it for the first time.
I had to take us back to that time for a bit 😌
best opening and ending period. 15 years later and i watch it like it's new
You KNOW something is special when that happens
You can just hear the joy & smile in this video 😁. He really likes that ending alot & who wouldn't like that ending? It is a master piece 👌
I tried my best to really express how I felt about it 😊
@@LimitForm72 You & you do an amazing job with how you express yourself. Keep at dude.
@@keybladewar22 Great to see you here!
@@cloudshines812 Nice to see you as well.
I told myself I wasn't going to cry and now I can't stop. I can't get over how good Kingdom Hearts 2 is.
To me the part where Roxas smiles always brought me down to Earth. As a kid I couldn't simply feel completely happy because whenever I saw that part with Roxas smiling, it always felt wrong that he only got to be a ghost seeing through Sora. Three years later, now as a teenager, after playing 358/2 Days, and to this day, I simply can't see this ending as completely happy ever again. Everytime I would see Roxas smile I would see an innocent boy who lost absolutely everything and everyone he had in life, simply accepting life wasn't gonna get any better than this, and that idea always makes me cry.
Now I'm not saying the ending is bad because of it. On the contrary, I think it's maybe even more powerful due to the duality of it. Back in 2010, before all the DDD and KH3 retcons (which I never liked one bit because you can't force happy endings through the power of retcons), this was the end of Roxas story. 358/2 Days didn't have a secret ending so there wasn't any promise of him ever coming back and the story was going in another direction after BBS. So having Roxas end his story in such a bittersweet note was a really huge juxtaposition to the incredibly happy Disney ending Sora was having on-screen. It always made me think about the fact that not everyone gets a Disney ending in real life, and sometimes while we are so happy enjoying all things life has provided, there are others who are simply counting their blessings and being happy with what little they have left. Maybe that's another reason why this ending is so perfect to me. It reminds me that no matter how good or how bad your life has been, finding your own form of happiness will always be up to you.
Exactly it teaches everyone in a hidden message "You don't always get what you want, but be happy with what you have now." I love 3 and the games after 358/2, but my issue with them is they take a massive dump on that message.
Like wanna bring Xion back cool she deserves to be her own person as she was nothing but an innocent replica girl emotionally abused by Xehanort and his ambitions.
Roxas and Naminé not so much I preferred if they played a spiritual guardian role to Sora and Kairi as they face trials those two give em advice in a spiritual form.
K
Thanks! Finally someone who thinks the same. Kh2 is my favorite ending but i will never be satisfied with the ending that Roxas and Namine got. I know they where happy and accepted their fate in the end but if they had a choice they would definitely choose to live in their own body.
I know what mean this is what makes kingdom hearts 2 best ending ever to me it's the true ending
This one's like, the most complete and happy a KH ending ever was.
I forgot how masterful this ending is.
It’s too good man
I couldn't agree more, have been saying this for a long time. I'll paste a comment I made on a video playthrough a few years ago, before KH3 had come out.
KH2's ending is perfect imo. It's the only truly happy ending so far in the series and I think it came at the right time. It takes you on such a journey, so I think that the happy ending is warranted. +The way it was handled, Riku and Sora ready to stay in the dark, and then the letter with the text from KH1 (which at the time was already ingrained in my brain from watching that start menu cutscene so many times), the door to the light, the way they fell in the water (calling back to KH1's opening and secret movie), Donald, Goofy and the King showing up with the music cue, Mickey hugging his friend Riku, Sora holding Kairi's gift to him from KH1, and finally, "you're home"
I agree with you! The happy ending is 100% warranted after everything the characters had to go through just because they wanted to explore the outside worlds
While we all agree that KH2 has the happiest ending lets not forget that Aqua was walking around that darkness and probably would have been found by Sora and Riku had they stayed a while longer. :/
I have a feeling like this was originally the ending of the series since I just realized that this ending was supposed to reflect the opening of KH1 but I feel like square enix as well as Nomura wanted to continue it after finishing this which is where we get the final scene
I'll still play kh3 regardless i like some of the worlds ink kh3
I mean i love this series to death but they definitely over did it with KH3D onward.
KH2 iirc is technically the only KH game that has a happy ending that isn't bittersweet in some way or another.
The Destiny Island Trio reunited, Sora kept his Promise, etc etc. Best way to end the game.
Kh3s ending almost felt too forced of a happy ending
I guess the only bittersweet thing about it is the organization never truly gaining a heart and all having been destroyed except for Roxas, but that also adds to the emotion of the whole scenario so I think it's a plus. I know DDD retcons this stuff but at this point in the game I don't really think that was much of an idea.
i totally feel you in not being able to describe how incredible the ending of this game is. it honestly would have been the PERFECT ending to the series, just everything being wrapped up so so well. i’m not ashamed to say as a 21-year-old lifelong fan of the games that i cry every single fucking time i watch the ending and credits roll. getting to see everyone happy but having seen that effort gone through to earn it just feels SO satisfying.
it personally feels more complete of an ending than 3 just because the first “trilogy” of games (1, CoM and 2) have such a focused and relatively understandable arc that all culminate in this game and this ending. it just makes it so so sweet. you remember all of the hardship and it just makes me feel like no matter what, it’ll all be alright. i’m so glad you made this video, you did an excellent job man.
Yeah I wouldn’t have been upset if they ended it there and didn’t drag it all out. Cause I ain’t feel as connected to the story after kh2...could have just remakes of kh, com, and kh2🤷🏾♀️
@@amaruwilliams5455 totally agreed
This game altogether is most definitely my favorite of all time. Its not without flaw for sure, but after going through every aspect of the game as an adult, I love it just as much as when I used to play it time and time again as a kid. From the prologue to the bulk of the story to the ending (and even the secret boss), is hard for me to say I strongly dislike anything about the game.
ONE OF THE MOST GOATED GAME ENDINGS
Oh I got goosebumps. That sweet nostalgia.
😌
I remember when I first beat this game and I didn’t really understand the ending all that much but when I eventually played the ps3 collection I beat the game and cried right there. Replaying the game brought be back to a simpler time in my life where I could just run around my back yard wearing gloves with the fingers cut off so I could be sora. I remember where I was actually when I was fighting the final boss of KH2 it was during the summer and it was hot out, I was sitting on my bedroom floor playing my brothers PS2 which I stole from him because I loved kingdom hearts so much. When I heard about the ps3 collections I was super excited to get to replay my childhood on a new system that I finally got to get on Christmas, I threw the 2.5 disc into my new ps3 and started my journey re visiting a childhood favorite. Eventually thanks to the collections I got to finish kh1 and give bbs a second chance because when I first played it I wasn’t the biggest fan. And then I remember where and what I was doing when I got my copy of kh3, I sat eagerly waiting for my package to come only for me to find it sitting on my doorstep. There it was the game I had waited 7 years for and it was in my hand. Putting the game into my PS4 was an amazing experience and while I might think some things of Kh3 were a disappointment for meI’m just glad I got to experience the game and even though I’m not that optimistic I look forward to what the series has in store
Kh2 is the only Game in the Series with a True happy ending for everybody.
Instead of the fan fiction ending of KH3 where everyone comes back for literally no reason but for the glam shot at the end.
@@MrDraygoX kh3 really got no happy ending for everybody I mean Sora kind of dies In the end
@@Trxpamvs Maybe thats what everybody actually wanted lmao
@@MrDraygoX I don’t think anyone wanted Sora to die at the end of 3
Welp yeah, KH2 is the only good one if we consider that:
-KH1 ends with Sora separated from his friends;
-CoM ends with Sora starting to sleep, and still he doesn't have his friends by his side. Although, Riku's story ends with a redeeming tone;
-Days...welp.
-BBS...
let's move on, yeah
-DDD doesn't have a "bad" ending, but neither a good one. Xehanort is back, the Organization XIII is back as well and stronger than before, and Sora failed the mark of mastery and almost got turned into a vessel.
-KH3 got us in the first half, it seemed like it was going to have a happy ending, but then a certain character got snapped
A few days ago i got the urge to play the ending of kh2 again, and it’s incredible that after 10+ years of playing this game and knowing every single scene, til this day it makes me tear up
You and me both, friend.
KH2 was the first video game I beat on my own. I was young when KH1 came out so my older sister needed to help me. KH2 was a game that made me feel accomplished, and with how perfect the ending was it was a magical experience.
Kingdom hearts story should have ended at 2, was such a perfect conclusion.
I even like the prologue ending where they receive a letter from Mickey for their next adventure to come.
When you have the type of ending where you could have wrapped up the entire series if you wanted to, you KNOW it was something special
I feel the same way about the ending to KH1. Having Sora, Donald and Goofy chasing pluto was such an open-ended, bittersweet way to say things would be okay even though Sora, Kairi, or Riku were split up again.
@@pepperonicheesecake1656 Yeah, the ending was kinda hopeful, like having the feeling the trio would be reunited someday. I liked that open ending of KH1. Though I did love Chain of Memories.
@@LimitForm72 Sonic Unleashed also had this ending. Everything wrapped up perfectly after the world adventure to restore the planet. Matter of fact, Sonic Unleashed was supposed to be the last Sonic game as the reception on Sonic was down the shitter because of Shadow The Hedgehog and Sonic 06(tho this was more because it was a technical mess) so they went all out with it
@@hwanniggles187 Someone finally mentioned it! But KH2's ending is on the same level as Sonic Unleahsed's finale and Sonic Adventure 2's Shadow's Sacrfice
I cry every time sora is so excited to see kairi and he’s star struck and says “we’re back.”
What I most love of this videogame is that you can play it for this time, and not understand so many things, you can play it again, and understand more, but if you play it after playing 358/2 days and chain of memories, it feels like a different history.
And I loved that
This is so wonderful! One of my favorite moments that stuck with me was Riku’s saying we should be part of darkness knowing that light is safe. I remember being confused about that when I first played this (this is especially the fact I never played CoM before KH2). Riku made me re-evaluate my view of light and darkness.
The ending overall is one to remember for a very very long time for me 🥰
that line sticks with me because it both shows how grown up they both are to willingly be like Aqua(even though they don't know she's there) and stay in the Realm of Darkness because they already saved the world, too much light makes way for stronger darkness, this way they could defeat Darkness in it's home turf and continue to protect the light that way
You already know 😊
Just about everything was wrapped up in this ending, xehanorts heartless and nobody were destroyed. there was no "oh if you beat them both they return back to the original" nonsense. Roxas and Namine living on through Sora and Kairi is so romantic and heart warming, and Sora got his friends back to the island and gave back Kairi's charm like his promised, Riku had conquered the darkness in him and accepted who he was, none of this facing his past/demons for the up-tenth time. There was no want or need for a "mark of mastery exam" because to us the players; they were masters in their own right after beating xemnas and the org. Heck Sora was called a master for simply holding a keyblade because "it chose him". As for Pete and maleficent? Well even the games don't know what to do with them so they may as well have died in this game off screen otherwise they're as effective as team rocket.
Yeah everything was happy, Roxas and Naminé were content being forever with Sora and Kairi, they accept their half a complete person and will always be together as long as they are.
Heck when 358/2 Days was a thing I can only guess alot of fans were hoping for a Roxas and Naminé friendship giving 2 pay off, only for Xion to come into existence, now doesn't mean I have an issue with Xion I love her character, I just felt she was an unnecessary add on to the lore.
@@aozorahaou2643 I wouldn't really call xion a character, more like a weapon, a plan B or an obstacle if not border line mary sue. I thought this when the game came out. a recolored kairi who wields the keyblade because she's connected to Sora just like Roxas and is the "14th" member of organization 13, loved by everyone, gotten rid of in such a convenient way where no one remembers her nor could they to make her oh so tragic. If anything she was just there to make Roxas's life story more miserable than it already was. I despise her.
So True The First Three or Four Games will Always be The True "Xehanort Saga" for me everything After KH Days is Just Overcomplicated Stuff.
KH 1
KH COM
KH DAYS
KH 2
"Xehanort Saga"
Boom Next Saga If you will👍🏻😉.
I really love when a story is not ashamed to to talk about and show geniune feelings
Yeah I would agree it’s kinda a masterpiece. I’m glad KH1 ended the way it did too. You should make a video on KH1’s ending.
I probably will at some point!
Damn, no matter how often I've seen this ending, it always brings me to tears. Great video!
Lovely video my friend. In this time of KH drought, i enjoy these critique videos
Yeah, I’d like to be able to do a lot of different discussion type of videos along with the other types of video series I plan to do in the near future
Very small thing, but in the ending cinematic I love the quick flash to Roxas and Namine that it does.
As for Riku, I wish we could get an alternate story from Riku's POV like in chain of memories.
I recently played through Kingdom Hearts 2 again and this ending really hit me hard. Growing up, this series helped me bond with my older brother. Only recently could I realize exactly what this game makes me feel: the feeling of watching love grow. It truly is the best ending I've ever had the pleasure of seeing.
You should of talked about the credits scene in which Sora goes to the secret place and sees what Kairi drew. I love that part.
Even though kh2 is my favourite kh game and I loooooooooooooooove the ending too... But I cry everytime I see the kh1 ending 😭😭😭😭😭
SAMEEEEEEEEE
Even though a lot of the writing in KH is cringe. It’s great to see Sora and Riku having that talk, always stuck with all of us. Just two best friends telling each other how much they appreciate the other. This is what makes KH great for all of ys
The last time I truly believed that Sora, Riku, and even Kairi were all best friends. Nowadays they feel like stoic robots with hardly any sort of character. I hope KH4 at least remembers that the original trilogy of games had heart and soul by making the characters actually human
Bravo on a great video! I couldn't agree more =D I only realised how brilliant this ending was a couple of years ago, while writing an essay about Kingdom Hearts 3's approach to storytelling. KH2's ending wraps up the story of the first three games in such an effective and powerful way. When Kairi says "You're home" it never fails to make me tear up =) Honestly, hearing you talk about this sequence was basically exactly how I feel and react too XD
My favorite ending ever to a game. Altho u could argue its almost *too* good. In that the series finale, whenever that happens, probably decades from now, can never hope to top it!
Sora to Riku: Then I've something you can never imitate too
Riku Replica: I wouldn't be so sure about that!
Great game, great ending
I see Kingdom Hearts, I click
KH1 killed me...I didn’t realise an ending could be so beautiful and yet not be a happy ending. As a teenager I expected sora to be reunited with Kiari and Riku and instead...nope. I will never forget my bittersweet emotions as I watched the end scene.
I really enjoyed details and your memory of Kh2
I’m happy that it seems you enjoyed the video!
@@LimitForm72 I did enjoy LimitForm72
More than anything this ending is about closure. Sora, Riku and Kairi are reunited on Destiny Islands, Donald and Goofy with King Mickey, and Roxas and Namine are remembered by Sora and Kairi so even though they’ve lost independent existence they’re not gone completely. Ignoring the post-credits scene, this could be the final scene of the series and still work as an amazing ending. Ansem is ended, Xemnas and the Organisation are gone, so no threats on the horizon. Every game since hints at what’s to come, new challenges or factors that continue the story rather than ending it.
I played the series blind as a newcomer three years ago so I had no nostalgia for KH despite being of the generation who grew up with it (I'd never got the chance to play due to only having Nintendo consoles as a child). Even with no childhood memories of the series, KH2 became my favourite and its ending did too. That remains true to this day. It speaks volumes that the ending of this game still strikes a chord today when fans new and old see it. It is emotional, uplifting, satisfying, fulfilling, conclusive and in my opinion, well-earned after all of the events which precede it.
This ending is such a masterpiece, I’ve never played a game that ended so beautifully more than KH2, and this is a “kids” game and it had me bawling my eyes out and it still does every time I see it, especially when Sanctuary starts playing and that final scene with Roxas and Namine having a small moment together as it then goes back to Sora telling Kairi they’re back as she replies with “You’re home” then cuts to the ending credits, like ugh it’s done so beautifully, the fact they had kids so invested in a game with a complex and emotional story is crazy, I was 8 years old when this game came out but as a kid I didn’t understand it and never got past the first world, but when KH3 was coming out I spent the last 4 months of 2018 trying to beat all the KH games in chronological order to prepare myself off KH3, and I loved every moment of it I was 20 at the time when I beat all of them, and once I got the full context of this ending I cried more than I already had before, I’m 26 now and it still hits me every single time😭😭😭
To say Kingdom Hearts affected me as a child would be an understatement... especially KH2. Such potency.
Yup tears rolled on that ending sequence
literally everything was perfect in kh2, expect Atlantis. And then KH2 version of DEARLY BELOVED aaaaahhhhhhh....gave me goosebumps the first I heard it as a kid and I still listen to it.
The piano when Sora shifts to Roxas and Kairi to Namine is just too beautiful of a moment. Kingdom hearts forever. This game series made me realised that i dont care about video game’s story being good or anything, if the atmosphere and soundtrack melody touches my heart, it’s my favourite, okay maybe i’m missing things, you get the idea.
Lowkey wish should've been a trilogy instead
KH2 is hands down the best game in the series and I've got a lot of fond memories playing it in the mid 2000s. The series just devolved into a nonsensical clusterfuck right after that and I'm glad I stopped at 2.The ending was literally perfect.
Dude thank you for doing a video on this I have been waiting for years for someone to make a video on this games ending. I remember playing this game for the first time thinking about how beautiful and complete this ending was compared to other kingdom hearts games
I know I sound like a broken record, but Kingdom Hearts II is lowkey the REAL ending to the series:
Sora, Riku, and Kairi are finally together on the Islands
The worlds are saved
Roxas and Naminè are together inside Sora and Kairi
and Xemnas, along with the Organization, are destroyed
To me, KH2’s ending is still the best moment in the series for finishing the arc around Sora, Riku, and Kairi that began in Kingdom Hearts.
I don’t blame you for stating this. Nothing will ever take away how special KH2’s ending is for this franchise.
Yeah I totally understand why you would feel that way. Many people think the very same thing!
The first arc, at least in my head, of kingdom hearts consisting of 1, chain of memories and 2, was just brilliant storytelling overall! There won’t ever be anything else like it! The rest of the series afterwards just doesn’t compare but that’s only because it was trying to set up kh3. We all know how that turns out am I right? Lol
for me the series ended at 2, and im perfectly fine with that
Yeah a lot of people seem to share that opinion from the comments I’ve been getting. I’m personally happy the series continued but I also can say that if they did decide to leave it off at two I wouldn’t have been mad either
@@LimitForm72 yeah exactly! A very similar situation to the Sly Cooper series. Even though it only had 4 games the series ended after 3 as that was such an amazing and truly satisfying conclusion. I used to replay all the missions in that game over again before kh2 released in here in Australia in 2006. That really changed things for me! Lol
My thoughts as well
@@roopereimi1718 yeah for sure.
Just beat this again for the millionth time. Gets me everytime
Masterful video. I have a long story with this ending, one of my fondest memories ever is from when I was 10 years old and at that point in life I had already finished 2-3 playthroughs of KH2. It was one of my favorite games but I couldn't really understand the story that well because I didn't understand english. So, my brother used to explain the major plot points to me, it was fine and all but I wanted to be able to read the subtitles to understand the dialogue. I tried to learn english by myself through games, and eventually I went back to KH2. Tears rolled down my eyes when I finished the game again, I was crying because it was then that I realized that video games were capable of provoking strong emotions and masterful storytelling, just as movies. KH2 made me never quit gaming.
This installment was where the series was at its prime, the games that followed are either just okay or meh.
KH3 would have been the perfect game if the ending cut off just 5 seconds before it did. Maybe not the peak off KH like kh2, but definitely would have been a victory lap
I feel this....I ain’t really felt the same after kh2....only birth by sleep made me feel similar but I really wouldn’t go back to play the other games again frfr...maybe the first one but that’s it
Kh3 is actually really good...they just fucked up some things which made it suddenly meh. Even the DLC is better than KH3 base game.
With the world we live in becoming more cold and toxic as the days progress, I love games and stories like the Kingdom Hearts saga.
Truly made my childhood, and warms my heart to play through them now.
I also grew up with sora and he is my favorite character
Kh2 is literally the game I keep going back to play. Idk why but I played kh3 3 times( one normal play through, then critical mode for the oblivion key blade, then the DLC content) but I only played it to see all the content....I didn’t enjoy it the entire time. But kh2. Idk there’s sum about the game that keeps bringing me back. That kh3 just didn’t reach/surpass. Kh games after 2 just kinda felt. Different.
After playing through the snooze fest that was kh3 the ending to kh2 is now my headcanonical ending.
This is how the saga should end
*THIS VIDEO... Is a masterpiece...* 🧐
Someone finally made a video of what I've been saying since 2006. While I don't consider 3 a bad finale, I've always felt 2 would've been the perfect ending to the story if they had chosen to end the series at that point or even made BBS a pure prequel to answer where Xehanort came from with no future setup. 2 would've been a better finale to the story as it existed at the time than 3 was to the Xehanort Saga. It hit every point it needed to for itself, COM and 1 beautifully. It felt like we were playing the grand finale to the series in The World That Never Was because the game treated it like it was exactly that.
I could ramble at utterly absurd length about it but I've gotta sleep sometime tonight.
The whole game of Kingdom Hearts 2 is a sheer masterpiece. From the start all the way to the end, you're immersed, and there's meaning behind all of the interactions.
I think that Kingdom hearts 2 or Kingdom hearts 3 ending is the best.
Sora and Riku just leave the realm of Darkness not long after they got there. Meanwhile Aqua been there for years
I can't watch this ending without tearing up T^T My rokunami heart~
I’m not crying it’s allergies!
something that made me cry a little was the ending to spider man ps4 aunt may dies and it got me twice played the game twice and still got me
I'm so happy to see a video where someone actually appreciates the story of the game. Is it cheesy? Yes. But my God, no game has the same level of heart (no pun intended) than this game.
Thank you for this great video.
Kingdom hearts 2 will always be the best kingdom hearts game imo
i have nothing against BBS and onward but if the series ended with KH2FM it would've been a timeless gaming experience
6:10 AAAANNNDDDD it gets retconned in future titles among other things.
KH2 ending brings a wave of nostalgia that can’t compare to the other games.
Sora & Riku really paved the way to the type of person I am and the kind of friend I want to be. I love this game!!
The whole game is a masterpiece
Does anybody else think the CG cutscenes for KH2 looked better than KH3?
I'm such a little bitch when it comes to KH lol. Just hearing you describe the ending got me choked up. I guess that comes from literally growing up with these characters
I loved Kingdom Hearts 2 ending and I found it the perfect ending for the series. I tried to play KH3 but just couldn't put myself through it because of how well KH2 tied everything so neatly.
I will always stand by this two's ending is by far the best in series as one of the few games where gets me emotional
This is the ending to the series for me anything after Kingdom hearts 2 doesn't exist just because I don't like birth by sleep lol
Interesting that you not even manage the scene where Sora see's the painting in the secret place. This is also a scene which are buildup for this ending since KH1 i mean. In the beginning of KH1 Sora draws there the papou fruit for Kairi and in the ending Kairi draws it too which shows that she wants to build a connection with Sora. And after one year when Sora comes back to destiny island he finally saw that Kairi draw this to and it makes him cry which makes the ending from KH2 even better.
The secret ending is worth it aswelll it’s stil the best secret ending! I think I prefer the ending of KH1 above KH2 everything is so wonderful!
Roxas and Namine smiling at each other punches me in the gut every time. I can’t play the ending around my girlfriend because she can’t know I’m capable of being reduced to happy crying under a blanket on the floor of my living room.
"Kairi! Remember what you said before? I'm always with you too. I'll come back to you. I promise!"
"I know you will!"
"We're back."
"You're home."
She always knew and believed they'd be back, and that brings me to tears
*Major spoilers to the explanations of all three KH endings*
KH1's Ending: A simple bittersweet end with only part of the journey complete. Now grown throughout the whole adventure, Sora grows from being a naive little kid to a mature young adult who actually and willingly said to Kairi to go home as he would still help his buddies find their king and rescue Riku too. Kairi returns home on the islands and knowing Sora will be okay, she goes to the secret place and finds the drawing Sora altered at the beginning of the game. Admitting his feelings to her, Kairi cries and draws back, accepting his love and affections for him. A turning point in life that can be summed up as, friends before yourself and a hero can be built from all of us.
KH2's Ending: A happy and true end to the series as Sora and Riku, first actually do the mature and rather adult thing of accepting their fate of death and inevitable circumstance they were in, but having the door to light open for them to go home. Bringing Riku home, Sora reunites with everyone. Donald, Goofy and King Mickey, all now victorious and happy that their quest and adventure is over. Especially when Sora looks up to Kairi. The music comes to a slowdown with very calming piano notes as Sora pulls out Kairi's lucky charm that was given to him before the final battle in the first game. Smiling at her, the audience gets a quick vision of Roxas as Sora, and Namine as Kairi. Note that Roxas and Namine are finally smiling and being happy, an emotion neither characters had felt until they became whole. To those who say that Roxas didn't have a happy ending, this right here IS his happy ending. The whole game he wasn't willing to accept being whole and wanted to be his own person, but coming to the end, he learns to accept the change and not only restore Sora completely, but to be happy with him and to still see Namine when the two are together. With everything being at a close, Sora is astonished and happily says that they're back, to which Kairi replies "You're home." Indicating the end of the game... and the end of the story/series by presenting the motif and message as Promises To Keep and acceptance for a greater cause.
KH3's Ending: An extremely underwhelming, half assed and rushed ending with an idiotic choice. Aside from the middle finger "Villain had good intentions" bullshit the writers threw out of their asses, the ending does not present anything new, creative or original for that matter of being. With the entire worlds and universe being saved now, you'd think that the heroes would go home and finally rest after an enormously large and long winded adventures, but no. Sora feels that now that he has the power of waking, he can finally be able to go to the final world and actually rescue Kairi, even if it costs him his life... WHICH IS VERY STUPID. Not once did the game vividly explain that the power of waking can bring people back from the dead. There's a difference between reawakening those who have lost their hearts, and then there is bringing people back from the dead. Kairi gets flat out killed and Sora, who never used this power by the way, just thinks to himself that he'll go ahead and get himself killed, BECAUSE GOD FORBID HE CAN'T LIVE LIFE WITHOUT KAIRI! The ending feels extremely forced with the fact that "everyone needed their happy end" and having Sora die a second time. And for the excuse that its supposed to be a reference and homage to how Sora died in KH1, it was a different scenario then for starters, and second of all, SORA HAD NO CHOICE THE FIRST TIME. Nobody told him to go after Kairi or to use the power of waking to rescue her, making his demise all the more stupid and all the more worse! I've said and written this before, but a good alternate ending to the game should've been that Sora lives and goes home, everyone has a happy ending and Sora has this bittersweet ending. Seeing Kairi's face in the setting sun or whatever and it would've been nice if a final present given away from her to him, would've been the same charm from the first and second game. A secondary conclusive ending where Sora cries and smiles, thanking Kairi for the wonderful times they had together, and how he'd never forget her. That ending would've been SO MUCH MORE POWERFUL! The message that could've been portrayed could've been a more mature and a more impactful message, that no matter all the struggles and hard times you go through, we as humans must accept our fate, but relish the time we have now. Going back to the acceptance route, it would've been so much more impactful if Sora accepted Kairi's death and continued to live on but never forget her. The game was teasing at a Final Fantasy 7 sort of approach, but it seemed that the game wanted to make that approach but make it 100 times worse. Imagine if that happened in FF7 Remake Part (whatever one is the end). But picture if the ending was not of Cloud accepting Aerith's death? What if instead, he saved the planet but was like "yeah the planet's saved, but I wanna kill myself to rescue Aerith!" It would destroy the whole meaning and message behind the entire game. Its honestly hard to believe that people can accept and like the ending of KH3 and call it "good" yet I hear people still cribbing about how "stupid" the ending of Batman V Superman is (which it is stupid, don't @ me). I can't even begin to fathom how terrible of an ending KH3 was and it honestly was the shittiest excuse for an ending because they of course need to tease the next games and more sequels we don't need.
KH2's ending is perfect because of the sole factor that the game smartly and perfectly reties all the themes and messages portrayed not only from one game, but the previous ones too. I also love how the ending gives a sort of loose tease for another game. There's no confirmation of another Kingdom Hearts game after 2 and the story could've ended there. I get maybe the devs wanted to make at least a couple more games, but if they had stopped here with Sora's story... it would've been the perfect end. The BBS teaser clearly showed that the game had nothing to do with the original cast and the game should've been in a split and different timeline, away from Sora's story. The same could've been said for a lot of future games. They should've been made as seperate stories on different timelines, and not interlinked in the same plot. A lot of people love to put the blame on Normua, or Square, or Disney, but the real and true culprits behind it all... was the fans. The fans demanding for exact answers and story reasons with every new entry really screwed the timeline of Kingdom Hearts altogether. I feel Disney and Square just wanted to have a fun piece of art that they could create and relish over the years, but the fans demanding and essentially controlling the devs as to what they invision as "their Kingdom Hearts game", it honestly was the wrong call. Game devs should not be making video games or stories because fans demand it or want it their way, devs should make games for their creativity and love and passion. Which is exactly why we go back to Kingdom Hearts 2, with the final closing song being Passion/Sanctuary. Aside from its relevance to the plot and story, the song is a perfect sendoff for the game designers who made KH1, COM and KH2. These were games that were given love and passion and affection for, and now the devs can safely say that the story is over and the first three KH games are in a beautiful sanctuary. A safe place to be cherished and remembered. Will the future ever go back to this grounded formula that the first three games gave us, it may be unlikey... but we all can have hope. My hope is for one day, the devs can go back to the first three games and not realize why these games were good... but how they were so good...
Sora disappearing in the end of KH3 also reminds me of Tidus vanishing in the end of Final Fantasy 10, despite the lack of Final Fantasy characters.
Gonna hit pause on that I'm seeing way too many ending scenes from other games I didn't know were gonna be spoiled
FANTASTIC
Maybe it's just nostalgia but I really loved the ending of 358/2 days. Really bittersweet.
I've beaten this game 14 times and counting since I was 7 (22 now)
I've done all secret endings, all difficulties, critical, no death
Working on my first ever level 1 and completely 100 percenting all the journal challenges
(I'd do chains and KH1 but true fans know that's just some kind of impossible without practice)
One word. MONUMENTAL.
KH series could have been looked upon as 1 of greatest of all time games had the series end at KH 2
Couldn’t agree more on this man. Absolutely beautiful ending for game two. And side note, I still watch the secret BBS ending sometimes just because it is just so cool. Stay well out there everybody, and Jesus Christ be with you friends.😊
You forgot the part where Sora saw the draw of him and Kairi at the cave and he's happy that Kairi love to share Paopu fruit.
I want to thank my cousin to show me the world of Kingdom Hearts by watching him playing KH2 and never let me play the game. The name of game,Sora are the two things I never forgot from Kindergarten until now. I started play KH on the DS 385/2 Days,and later Birth By Sleep + Final Mix on PSP,but never played KH 1,RCOM,2, Recoded,3d,3.
In the japanese version, Kairi follows in and it fades to black as they kiss. Yes, they kiss in the Japanese version
Ooh a surprise! Looking forward to seeing what this is all about! Lol