PS2 Game Review - Kingdom Hearts II

Kingdom Hearts II

A PS2 Game Review
By Le Chupacabra

Kingdom Hearts started as a chance collaboration between the Japanese offices of SquareSoft (now Square-Enix) and Disney. Flitting between various ideas, Square finally handed the reins to a concept artist named Tetsuya Nomura. It was an unusual choice for a game director and it was certainly an unusual premise: the cutesy, iconic world of Disney colliding with the sombre realms of the Final Fantasy series. However, the game went beyond expectation: it was an imaginative, epic adventure that was a whole lot more than the sum of its parts.

Kingdom Hearts II continues a year after the ending of the original and directly after the Gameboy Advance title, Chain of Memories. Since it does so, it is strongly advised that you peruse www.gamefaqs.com and check out the game script for Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories. Otherwise, many interesting plot points will be lost on you.

One of the first things this game does as a sequel is break away from the confines of the first game and take steps into its own unique territory. As a result, we have a far more original narrative that happens to be more immersive than the first; it’s a little darker, a little more mature and it’s all very good stuff. There’s an initial MGS2-esque character twist (it’s the other way around here) that builds up the story from a different yet equally entertaining perspective. One key flaw of the plot is that after the first bit you’re essentially revisiting Disney worlds to play out their tales and their tales only. As a result, questions regarding the fierce Nobodies and enigmatic Organisation XIII are put on hold for a very long (read: around 10-12 hours!) time; as a result one’s desire to keep going starts dwindling after a while. However, once you plough through the plot-drought you are rewarded with a tale that’s quite brilliant.

Like its predecessor, Kingdom Hearts II boasts a voice-cast that rivals most Hollywood feature films. A now-matured Haley Joel Osmont reprises his role as the plucky Sora while all the classic Disney actors are back in full force. A particularly inspired addition was having Christopher Lee (you know, the guy who plays Count Dooku and Saruman… not at once, mind you) lend his authoritative tones to the enigmatic DiZ. The Organisation members get some brilliant actors too, each one matching their avatars personality quite faithfully. Axel is definitely my fave. Besides a few awkward moments, the dialogue is polished and well-written and the actors do it supreme justice.

The music is equally an aural treat with memorable tunes and an epic score that lives up to the grandeur of the game’s premise. If you’ve played the first game, you’ll recognize many of the remixed Disney tracks. There are also fresh tunes for the newly added ‘worlds’ in this game. I also liked the battle theme in this game better than in the first; it’s got a lot more tempo and it’s quite catchy! In this game, the world of the Little Mermaid - Atlantica - becomes a rhythm-based level. The first song is grating and the latter few uninspired. However it’s the second one that’s just bloody brilliant; it’s a cute remix of Under the Sea and the writers did a great job with changing the lyrics but maintaining the nostalgia this one evokes!

Visually, Kingdom Hearts II is quite pleasing. Some locations come off as rather unimaginative while others are truly awe-inspiring. Fortunately the latter holds true more often. The variety of the Heartless has been downgraded but on the other hand the individual designs surpass the artistry of the original. There are plenty of little touches that add to the immersion wonderfully. In the Pride Lands, you take the guise of a lion and have to hold the KeyBlade between your jaws! At the Timeless River, all the characters move with exaggerated motions reminiscent of the black-and-white Mickey Mouse ‘toons of old. The Pirates of the Caribbean themed world (Port Royal) looks stunning with realistic characters and animation that captures the drunken swagger and mannerisms of the Captain Jack Sparrow perfectly. And the world of Tron? Just jaw-dropping.

The gameplay is in many ways hugely improved over its predecessor while some previously great parts have been unnecessarily tinkered with; “ten steps forward and two steps backward” to quote my friend. The fighting is fast and frenetic and the combination of the fantastic graphics leads to some visually mesmerising sequences. New additions include Drive forms that let you merge with various characters, thus imbuing you with enhanced fighting prowess or magical dexterity. The forms not only look awesome but the power they afford you is amazing - you become a badass warrior of the highest degree. Reaction attacks form yet another portion of your repertoire of moves. When prompted, you have to tap Triangle and this initiates a real-time action sequence that would be otherwise impossible with standard attacks. Whether it’s slick dodge-counterattack combo or a an entire chain of flamboyant maneuvers, these scenes look fantastic. Think of God of War’s killing mini-games minus the brutality. Another addition is the Limit Break, with which Final Fantasy fans should be familiar.

However, much of the exploration that gave the first game an adventure-esque feel has been undermined to criminally disappointing proportions. The levels are more linear than Kingdom Hearts (which was also linear, but had some neat bits that rewarded curious players) and the worlds are somewhat smaller. The gameplay is also much easier mainly due to the use of the Reaction commands and Drive forms. Fortunately, playing on the ‘hard’ (called Proud) difficulty setting makes up in spades with the gratifyingly increased challenge. While Drive forms are optional, the way in which the Reaction attacks are presented seems to suggest that you should use them rather than as a possible attack variation. Minor grievances, but they tend to add up.

One thing that really deserves special mention is the Gummi Ship mode. From being a slow, headache-inducing chore (in the first game), it’s become a fast-paced, frantic shooter mini-game that’s actually fun to play. The last Gummi Ship level has a great Star Wars-esque feel and many portions of that segment recall the famous Death Star trench run from the films.

While no longer as novel as the first, Kingdom Hearts II remains a wonderfully charming experience that not only tells a beautiful story but is also chockfull of luscious graphics, evocative music and entertaining gameplay. If you have a PS2, you have no excuse to pass up such an adventure! So go get your copy and make sure you pick up the original Kingdom Hearts if you haven’t already!

Anime Review - School Rumble

School Rumble

Anime Review By
Le Chupacabra

Studio Comet
26 Episodes
Ages 15+

Harima Kenji, former delinquent and all-round street thug, returns to resume his education at school. Why the sudden change of heart? You just named the reason: his heart. Smitten by Tsukamoto Tenma after having saved her from muggers once before, Harima rejoins school so he can try to win Tenma's (incredibly short-spanned) attention. Tenma on the other hand has her eyes set on the equally oblivious top boy (and resident weirdo), Karasuma Ohto... Let's get ready to rummmbbbble!

School Rumble actually starts off somewhat seriously, making you think for a few moments that it's an intrigueing romance series under the veil of comedy. Kare Kano… eat your heart out!

Okay fine, that's a blatant lie.

It's actually the other way around. Whereas Kare Kano is a more sophisticated, thought-provoking romantic-comedy, School Rumble is its polar opposite. It's all about the laughs in a somewhat asinine, Johnny Bravo kind of way. While the love triangle between Tenma, Harima and Karasuma allows quite a lot of mirth at their expense, the individual characters inevitably steal the show. Class 2-C is comprised of a smorgasbord of (superbly exaggerated) classroom personalities. You have everyone from cup-size comparing perverts to mind readers to ultra-strong female wrestlers and all sorts of other zany characters. It's a great recipe for hilarity with any hint of normalcy being hurled out the window.

Of course, while they're not considering inane schemes to get one to notice the other, Harima and Tenma's day-to-day antics will have you splitting your sides. Harima is uncharacteristically serious about his feelings for Tenma but his IQ (or lack thereof) is what has him falling into awkward situations. His daydreams of getting Tenma's attention away from Karasuma are the highlight of the show with pop culture parodies of everything from The Matrix to DragonBall Z being liberally thrown into the mix. In fact, it's Harima that brings in most of the laughter. He usually ends up getting into trouble with many of the characters and as a result you've got some genuinely funny moments; there's the one where he has a mistaken identity crisis with a guy named Harry McKenzie (which sounds a lot like Harima Kenji in Japanese), gets into a brawl with the resident black belt Hanai (cue lots of obscure Street Fighter references; HariKen Uppercut anyone?) and of course, as a budding manga artist Harima manages to confuse the viewer with an entire episode where he essentially makes Karasuma an alien. Surprisingly, that incident actually makes sense given how peculiar Karasuma is.

So where does the romance part come into play? It takes more of a latent role since it's essentially the Harima-Tenma-Karasuma love triangle that is the catalyst for much of the insanity. There is a particular point where Harima almost gets his feelings across to Tenma but unfortunately, Eri Sawachika (one of Tenma's best friends) ends up with the message… and returns the feelings. It's an awkward beginning that leads to a pretty interesting relationship. However, events like that are somewhat rare. The problem is, once you've stopped chortling and started to follow the plot, you'll realise something: there is no real plot. The characters, save very few, also don't get developed all too well. Basically, there's a nagging lack of substance which the show covers up, sometimes barely, with the comedy.

Another issue with School Rumble is that its best attribute can also become its biggest detriment. While there is a lot of generally brilliant slapstick to go around, many of the gags are of a greatly esoteric nature while others rely on some knowledge about Japanese school culture. In the fight between Harima (as part of one of his daydreams) and Karasuma, Harima's hair turns yellow and they have a 'power' battle. If you haven't watched DragonBall Z, that bit is completely wasted. There are plenty of examples like that and it's not encouraging for casual anime viewers. Lastly, School Rumble ends up reusing many of jokes as the show wears on. What may have seemed funny at first may end up tasteless after multiple times.

However, with all that said, School Rumble was still brilliantly entertaining. It doesn't take itself seriously at all and at its best, it's outrageously funny. It's still with a bit of caution that I recommend this anime. If you don't like some of jokes initially, chances are you won't like the latter ones. Plus, this anime is quite skewed towards male viewers. If you're a casual fan of anime, you can try this out but also know that there are finer romantic-comedy anime out there. If you've been watching anime for quite some time and are willing to try something that doesn't require you to think too much, you'll certainly enjoy this one at the very least.

Fiction - Live from Baghdad

Live from Baghdad

By Le Chupacabra

The watery Sun slunk slowly over the vast dunes and crumbling ruins, bringing with it a pale twilight and a sharp drop in temperature.

Hamid let his rifle sling loose as he cupped his hands and lit a cigarette, the flame from the match illuminating alert yet blood-shot eyes; he hadn't slept in three days. Just as he began savouring the coarse graininess of the smoke from the burning tobacco, a gnarled hand deftly snatched the treat from his lips.

“You do not want to give away our position to the Americans… and especially not after what happened a week back!” barked a low voice. The speaker then took a quick puff and then flicked it downwards. The second the cigarette hit the ground, it was covered in a shower of sand kicked by the old man. Khaleef glared lividly at Hamid, his eyes looking as dangerous as the AK-47 he cradled in his wiry arms.

A scathing, nasal voice came out of the crumbling mud hut the two guards stood in front of: “Yeah, kid. Saddam Hussein will be incarcerated, held in trial and then… who knows what. However, even those Capitalist dogs need testimonies despite what he's done. Information about the subversive militant groups is also a bonus for them. I'm a man with both. So feel free to light a beacon for the Americans.” The man finished with a nasty laugh.

It was soon after Saddam Hussein's shocking capture that Hamid and his fellow militants were mobilised. They had to abscond with and protect a man who possessed much sensitive information. Hamid didn't quite understand why the man deserved to be kept at bay from the Americans; after all, whatever happened to their once-omnipotent dictator wouldn't be anything he didn't deserve. When Khaleef quietly pointed out how the man's information could reveal essential facts regarding the resistance groups to the invading forces, Hamid slowly began to appreciate the true weight of the onus upon him. Most of his friends were part of such groups, and having them captured or killed without a fair fight was a thought that greatly angered the proud young man.

With the knowledge that their risky mission would be ended the next day and the tempting coolness of the desert night beckoning him, Hamid found himself slumping lazily against the wall of the hut.

“Hamid get up you fool, we have company!” Khaleef's vice-like grip on his shoulder jerked Hamid awake.

With a sudden gasp and a violent surge of anger at himself, Hamid's eyelids flew open. He quickly bore the rifle to a firing position and made to surge forward, his heart hammering and head pounding. Khaleef had not let go and he forcibly shoved the lad back onto the ground.

“We're not supposed to have any contact with anyone yet. It's the American hounds sniffing for Yasser!” spat Khaleef into Hamid's ear.

Hamid focused his eyes towards the expanse of desert in front of him. Sure enough, there were five hazy figures cautiously making their way towards the hut. Battle lust slowly creeping into every fibre of his body, Hamid fought the urge to burst forward. He looked at Khaleef for orders. The old gaffer had puffed his cheeks and started rocking his body back and forth, his eyes glassy and distracted. He suddenly blew out the air, nodded at Hamid and quickly whispered: “Stay low and hold until I open fire. I informed Yasser and the other two of the situation while you were sleeping.” Hamid bit his lower lip at the words.

Hamid slowly crawled towards the heaped pile of sandbags in front of him and followed the stealthy progress of the soldiers with immense distaste. The tension was slowly mounting to maddening heights; Hamid's hands grew numb with his increasingly tight grip on the rifle. Despite the chill of the desert night, he was sweating profusely in anticipation.

Mere thoughts turned into reality.

The advancing soldiers stalled briefly and then without warning, shot forward spreading themselves as they did. The men on the extreme ends dispersed further and further; they were going to flank the defenders. However, seeing no opposition greet them, the oncoming Americans held their fire. Hamid found his head snapping back and forth as he glanced at Khaleef and then towards the soldiers and then towards Khaleef again. Just as the three attackers reached the sandbags, Khaleef sprang up and fired his AK-47 in a sweeping arc. The Americans quickly dropped, rolled and began retaliating with their automatic weapons. One of them remained on the ground. From the backside of the building, there came shouts and more gunfire. With the sounds of battle echoing all around him, Hamid quickly peered over the sandbags and took careful aim. The attackers had little cover and yet another fell where he stood. Just as he began to draw a bead on the second - Khaleef was reloading - Hamid heard a bloodcurdling yell behind him. It was quickly followed by more shouts and a sickening gurgling noise. He stood up, ignoring Khaleef's yell and whipped around to run towards the back. He only remembered how warm his left shoulder felt before he passed out.

Hamid awoke to find a pale light growing in the eastern sky. He made to rub his bleary eyes but found out that he couldn't move his left arm. He pushed himself to a sitting position and saw that his arm had been clumsily bandaged in a blood-sodden old rag. The events of the night came flooding back to him and as the nausea overtook him, Hamid found himself staring at a pool of his own vomit.

A dull scratching noise came from behind the hut and Hamid slowly stood up and made his way towards the source of the sound. Old Khaleef and a whipcord thin man in black were digging the ground behind the hut. Hamid trudged drunkenly towards the duo and as he reached them, they quickly whipped around. The thin man had a serrated knife in his hands which he hastily stowed away as Hamid approached; however, the young man still caught a glimpse of the dry blood on the blade.

He looked at the freshly dug ground and saw a body in military fatigues being buried in the sand. He couldn't help noticing how the pants did not match with the jacket, but the sudden question put that observation out of his head.

“You're making graves for the American dogs?” spat Hamid.

“Them and for Ali and Omar as well. In death, we are nothing but flesh and bone.” said Khaleef sombrely. “Here, Ali would appreciate it if you could return this to his family.” With that, Khaleef chucked a shiny object at the shock-stricken Hamid. Hamid bent down to pick up a blood-covered tasbih from the ground.

There was congealed blood on the chain which looked like it had snapped; there was also a deep gash on the tasbih itself. Squinting back tears, Hamid slowly stood up. As he did so, a glitter caught his eyes. There was a shiny metallic object protruding from the balaclava-clad American's neck.

“Is… is that a tasbih?” Hamid exclaimed, his brows furrowed and his face contorted.

The thin man, Yasser, turned around and as he did so, blocked Hamid's view of the corpse. He bent down and seemed to be examining the object. His head gave the briefest of flicks towards Khaleef's face.

“The bastard was probably keeping it as a battle token after killing an Iraqi brother.” he said slowly, looking at Khaleef as he did. Hamid thought his face looked quite strained, even from the side. Yasser's eyes briefly glanced at Hamid and for that fraction of time, there seemed to be an impalpably oppressive feeling of uneasiness in the air.

Khaleef turned towards Hamid and gave him a wan smile.

“They should be coming to move Yasser to a safer location soon. Our mission is a success. You go rest inside the hut, you're injured after all.”

Hamid did not return the smile and headed back.

Hamid's dreams were increasingly punctuated by a dull, rhythmic noise that slowly melded into the events of last night. In his sleep, Hamid watched as Khaleef unloaded his AK-47 on the enemies; the repetitive report of gunfire growing ever louder. In the midst of this deafening din, he heard someone shout behind the hut. It wasn't Ali, it wasn't Omar and it wasn't Yasser - it was one of the Americans. Except he wasn't yelling in English, he was yelling in Arabic. Hamid had caught one word before he passed out: traitor.

With a violent jerk, he sat awake. A dull beating noise reverberated around him, interspersed with intense whirring; the ground seemed to be rumbling slightly. A sudden fear of the unknown gripping him, Hamid looked for his rifle. Not finding it near him, he quickly crawled to the door and peered out a crack near the bottom. It was a sight beyond his wildest nightmares.

It was Yasser and Khaleef shaking hands in turn with what looked like an American soldier. Behind them was a large black helicopter with formidable looking machine gun on the left side of the cockpit. Hamid barely managed to catch the American's heavily accented English of which he understood a little.

“The President of the United States and I'm sure, the people of your country, are grateful for your hard work in order to help us bring about peace. I personally extend the hands of the White House by thanking you and your men for protecting Mr Yasser for us. He will be invaluable in leading the coalition to help secure the country for you, the people.”

Already stunned, Hamid craned his ears to hear Khaleef's lilting English: “Yaas. It was pleasure to help. Unfortunately, men from our village accidentally found out. They attack us in American army uniform. Two of my men realised it. Sadly, we had to sacrifice - sadly, brothers' blood was spilt. And…”

But he was cut off by the American who raised his hand sharply.

“Of course. You will be compensated provided you hold onto the agreement. We were never here and this never happened. Your fellow men died valiantly in a skirmish with some of our soldiers. They killed five before they died.” It was an order, not a suggestion. The man quickly called over two soldiers and whispered something urgently to them. The soldiers grasped inside their shirts and took out shiny pieces of metal and handed it over to their commander. The commander handed these dogtags to Khaleef. “There's some proof of their jee-haad!” The commander sharply saluted and barked an order to everyone. Yasser followed two of the soldiers and boarded the helicopter, a sly smile playing around his lips. The commander saluted to Khaleef once more and climbed into the cockpit. The pilot nodded and the vehicle lifted off, showering everything with a small sandstorm.

Slowly, the swirling sands settled and then there was silence.