March, 28, 2006 - Square Enix, Inc. (Square Enix), the publisher of Square Enix™ interactive entertainment products in North America, and Buena Vista Games, Inc. (BVG), the interactive entertainment arm of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) announced today that the highly-anticipated role-playing game (RPG), KINGDOM HEARTS® II, has shipped to retailers nationwide. Exclusively for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, KINGDOM HEARTS II is the sequel to KINGDOM HEARTS, one of the top ten best-selling PlayStation 2 titles of all time in North America (Source: The NPD Group, Dec. 2005).

KINGDOM HEARTS II features an all-star ensemble voice cast led by Haley Joel Osment ("The Sixth Sense," "A.I. Artificial Intelligence") as the main character Sora, joined by David Gallagher ("7th Heaven") as Riku, and Hayden Panettiere ("Racing Stripes," "Raising Helen") as Kairi. KINGDOM HEARTS II will also feature the voice talents of Jesse McCartney ("Summerland," Recording artist, "Beautiful Soul" CD) as the mysterious boy Roxas, Brittany Snow ("The Pacifier," "American Dreams") as Naminé, Christopher Lee ("Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," "Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring") as DiZ; Steve Burton ("The Last Castle," "Taken") as Cloud, Rachael Leigh Cook ("She's All That," "Josie And The Pussycats") as Tifa and Mena Suvari ("American Beauty," "Rumor Has It") as Aerith, all characters from FINAL FANTASY® VII; and Hedy Buress ("Boston Common," "If These Walls Could Talk"), Tara Strong ("Fairly OddParents: Shadow Showdown," "Teen Titans"), Gwendoline Yeo ("Desperate Housewives," "24") as the popular female-trio Yuna, Rikku, Paine from FINAL FANTASY X-2. In addition, many of the original Disney film voice actors are reprising their role for this project, including Ming-Na ("ER," "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within") as Mulan, James Woods ("Be Cool") as the villain Hades and Zach Braff ("Scrubs") as Chicken Little.

Since its release in September 2002, the original KINGDOM HEARTS for the PlayStation 2 has shipped more than 2.6 million units in North America. Bridging the gap between the original and the sequel, KINGDOM HEARTS: CHAIN OF MEMORIES™ followed in December 2004 for the Nintendo® Game Boy Advance® system. With the release of the Japanese version of KINGDOM HEARTS II in December 2005 (1 million units shipped during the first three days after the release date), the series has shipped in excess of 7.5 million units worldwide.

The world of KINGDOM HEARTS joins classic Disney characters and worlds together with a new story filled with new characters and environments from the expertise of Square Enix. The result is a remarkable, innovative, original property that has captured the attention of both gamers and critics alike. In KINGDOM HEARTS II, players will travel through the worlds of Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Mulan, Pirates of the Caribbean, Steamboat Willie and Tron as well as revisit worlds from the original, including Aladdin, Disney Castle, Hercules, The Little Mermaid, Winnie the Pooh and Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas. The game features more than 100 Disney characters, including the new additions of Chicken Little, Stitch from Lilo and Stitch and one of Disney's favorite villains, Pete. The game also also introduces new, original characters such as Roxas, members of Organization XIII and the Nobodies, all designed by Square Enix's Tetsuya Nomura, director and character designer of the KINGDOM HEARTS series. Nomura is best known for his creations in the top selling titles FINAL FANTASY VII, VIII, X and X-2.

"KINGDOM HEARTS II is a perfect demonstration of what can be created when two companies with astounding resources come together," said Daishiro Okada, president and COO, Square Enix, Inc. "The result is an absolutely stunning video game that will engage gamers of all ages in multiple worlds both familiar and new."

"The creative collaboration between the Disney and Square Enix production teams has resulted in a game that is not only innovative but truly remarkable in scope," said Graham Hopper, senior vice president and general manager, Buena Vista Games. "With the addition of new worlds from Mickey Mouse's classic screen debut in 'Steamboat Willie' to the current film franchise 'Pirates of the Caribbean,' KINGDOM HEARTS II covers the spectrum of Disney properties."

KINGDOM HEARTS II follows Sora, Donald, and Goofy on their continuing quest, after the events of KINGDOM HEARTS. Sora is looking for his lost friend Riku, while Donald and Goofy are searching for their missing king. The story begins in Twilight Town, a quiet burg nestled between night and day. Sora and friends are joined by a vibrant new cast of characters, including the king himself. Together, they will encounter countless dangers in worlds both familiar and brand new.

KINGDOM HEARTS II features a new and improved real-time battle system which provides an increased selection of commands, such as performing special attacks and cooperative attacks with members of your party, adding strategy to the gameplay. Players can also perform the "Drive" to transform main character Sora into his various forms, altering his skills and abilities. Examples include the Brave Form, in which Sora absorbs the power of Goofy allowing him to use two Keyblades; the Wisdom Form, in which Sora absorbs the power of Donald allowing him to increase his magic power; and the Master Form, in which Sora absorbs the power of both Donald and Goofy and increases both his attack and magic powers. These new features bring additional challenges and excitement to players and further enhance gameplay.

About time, i'm a big fan of the first o ne, was really good, so i can't wait for the II.

Any news when it will reach Europe? A few months later?

very stunning game, graphics have improved, solid rpg, or at least, as solid as it can get with donald and goofy tagging along(no offense to donald or goofy)^^ but seriously, if you liked the first one, then this is a must get.

In Europe it seems to arrive in may 20th more or less

No, there has been no official statement as to the European releases. According to my findings, it's could be as early July, or as late as October.

But, with no official announcment of the date, it's impossible to tell for sure.

yea i always wanted to play the first one but i didnt have a ps2..im planning on getting one in time tho when i get a job lol so i was wondering if it would be wise to play the 2nd one b4 the first? or does it matter..like would i be lost and not experiencing the full effect

From what I hear, you will be very lost in the story if you have not played the first one. That's okay though becuase the first one should be easy to find and cheap. I also hear you might be a little confused if you Haven't played Chain of Memories either...

Well, if you didn't played CoM, you'll be at the same pace as Sora, because in the end, and i'm not gonna tell why and how xD, Sora, GOOfy and Donal forget all about they're adventure in CoM, meaning, it's has for them, the experience for CoM wasn't there. You also play as Riku but he doesn't forget.

Resuming, if you want to be at the same pace has Sora that doesn't remember anything from CoM, the go right ahead and play KH2, but i advise you, to atleast play and finish KH before playing KH 2

its such a cool game kingdom hearts 2 is the bomb

Kingdom Hearts 2 Europian Version will be realeased on 5/8/2006

excuse me, but kingdom hearts 2, i have already completed... which means my country already have the kingdom hearts 2 english version...

Well, he said European version not the English version, but since you live on singapore, you got the english version even before the US xD

ya... singapore sells both the japenese version, but first the japanese version and then the european version later...

Hey, im from a country, called Portugal, its next to Spain, i've played the first kingdom hearts, but here, they said the realease would be at the beggining of June, butm i dont know wich version is gonna be realeased, english or european.ive got the first version in english, but i dont know if it is the european or english version!!! can someone help me?? I Really want Kingdom Hearts 2 !!!!!

Any word on KH3, and what the hec did the secret video at the end of KH2 mean, was it referring to KH3, and was that SOra Kairi Riku or was that Square Enix way to end an awesome story

ya, it's referring to KH3 ... the keyblade that the other 3 carrying is their own sword...

If you like the first the second is for you!!

Rumors:

http://kingdomhearts.rpgplanet.gamespy.com...ts3/index.shtml

A guess of the Story:

http://kingdomhearts.rpgplanet.gamespy.com...ts3/story.shtml


Worlds:

http://kingdomhearts.rpgplanet.gamespy.com...s3/worlds.shtml

I find more info for KH3.

What is the secret video. Maybe I have seen it, but I want to make sure I have seen it.

You can see it at http://rpgdreamers.com/movie/kh2.html

really? thanks although i know it's not possible though...