10 Greatest JRPGs Of All Time
7. Kingdom Hearts 2
Tetsuya Nomura's greatest creation saw its peak with the second instalment, considered by many to be one of the greatest sequels of all time.
Kingdom Hearts 2 is the textbook example of how to take everything the original set up, sand off what doesn't work, and improve everything else. It's also the point where the franchise got its reputation for Nomura's eccentric storytelling and character design.
The story sees Sora, Donald, and Goofy (recite their names in any other order to trigger Ragnarok) getting caught up in the conspiracies of the mysterious Organization XIII, as they search for Sora's missing friends. Along the way, twists, turns, and Disney easter eggs abound as Sora uncovers just how deep this rabbit hole he's fallen into goes.
The combat from KH1 was tighter than an airlock, taking a zoomed-out approach in the same vein as the original God of War trilogy, and removing the first game's awful platforming elements entirely (thank god).
Menu UI was subtly retooled to be more user friendly too, and magic saw a massive upgrade, to the point where spells like Reflect/Reflera/Reflega had to be removed entirely for KH3, because it broke the entire game over its knee.
When people think of Kingdom Hearts, they think of Kingdom Hearts 2, and for very good reason.