Revisiting The Vanilla Version of Kingdom Hearts 2

The original version of Kingdom Hearts 2 is somewhat shrouded now due to Final Mix being the easiest to access, so let's take a look back on what KH2 Vanilla was like and what Final Mix added!

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[TakeTheWorld]

What the Final Mix version added to KH2 is unmatched by most DLC / definitive versions of most games made today and made an already amazing not only the best in the series, but my favorite video game of all time

[Charnel_Heart]

The reason why Xigbar has a different sniping animation in vanilla is because in og Japanese kh2 he made still the sniper rifle and then got an actual gun reticle. In international kh2 he lost the realistic reticle and just did the twirl so that it didn't look like real gun violence, and then in final mix they brought the sniper rifle back but kept the less realistic reticle.

[ne]

Damn, its so nostalgic! Back in 2015, when i had no access to consoles and was curios about kh franchise, i went along with the vanilla versions of the kh2 alongside kh1 and bbs in their respective platform emulators. Though kh2fm is far superior than vanilla, seeing the vanilla version again, espicially the original heartless colors made me tear up a bit.

[OvalPuffin]

As a kid I loved playing vanilla KH1 and KH2 on the PS2. My memories of Kingdom Hearts have always been some of my fondest ones so a few years ago I decided to pick up those games again but unfortunately discovered that KH2 was super scratched up and couldn’t load at all. I did end up getting the HD remixes to make up for this (and to be fair, they are a lot of fun) but for about the last 8 years I’ve been wanting to replay vanilla KH2 anyways. A few days ago I managed to buy a copy of KH2 and so far, I’m really enjoying my playthrough. I think the thing I missed the most was the music. They definitely made some changes to it, and I find the original songs are super nostalgic and maybe better? I might be biased, but either way it’s cool to see all the changes and all the ways I find either version is better than the other.

[Sanjixoxo]

That encounter ost in the back brings me back.

[Legoguy]

My story with Final Mix pretty much matches yours, minus the part of selling games to buy a PC. I did emulate the game, but I did so through my crappy laptop. It was playable, but definitely not the best way to play it. But I didn't care back then, because I was finally playing the mysterious Japan-only version of my favorite PS2 game, and I got to experience all of the unique content it contained first-hand (apart from the secret bosses, because that lag made doing the Nobody gauntlet in CoR impossible lol).

I do agree, it is weird to think that there used to be a time where the FM versions were so highly sought after, seeing how they're pretty much the only way to get them on modern releases these days. I'm glad that they're so accessible now, especially considering how essential they are to the overall series lore, but I also can't help but reminisce to when I played the OG PS2 version, spending time grinding to lvl 99, fighting Sephiroth and getting the Fenrir, which back then was my greatest achievement in any game I played.

[TherathxRikku]

25:01 I can explain this. The fireworks in Land of Dragons was one of the infamous farming spots for leveling up Master Form, since they dropped several drive orbs. I imagine they changed the respawn rate of the fireworks in order to give more use to the new Drive Converter ability, and now Gamblers are a MUCH faster way to level up Master Form. But you don't really get to exploit the drive converter until unlocking TWTNW, cause then four Gamblers spawn in the mysterious tower in Twilight Town. So, I imagine Square wanted to eliminate early powerleveling of Master Form, give relevance to a new ability, and make things super quick once you're in the endgame.

I know this is an older video, but I'm one of those old hats that found goofy ways to powerlevel in 2005, and I just happened to have an answer for this question.

[keybladewar]

The first time I ever discovered the final mix version of the series was back in highschool when I saw the Unknown boss fight & was like where is this boss fight at even though it was in the same area where dragon Maleficent boss took place. I was like whoa & I remember seeing Sora dodge roll a few times in the start of the fight before I was totally mine blown by Sora standing on the keyblade & spin around just to thrust himself towards him. I didn't know what ability that was until I got Re:chain of memories & saw the name sliding dash. That is what started this journey to get my hands on that game. The first final mix I was able to get was BBSFM on a costume firmware PSP but really wanted to play the main title final mix which I started to play on PCSX2 on 2012 & man that was so much fun & I never thought I get so attached to this version of the game that I would learn so much about the games mechanics. What a wonderful journey it has been. I was also happy that when KH3 got it's version of final mix content I was able to play it on day one like everyone else since I missed out on the 2007 days when it was released.

[ratface]

Let's not forget the soundtrack updates in the final mix versions. The original midi for stuff like the Pirates theme sounds totally different.

[MirageCross]

I think KH2 had the most speculation when it came to extra content because of Final Mix existing. I remember one of my friends and I found that if you 100% completed Jiminy's Journal you would get a summoning charm for Mickey. After doing it, I was slightly disappointed it wasn't true but hey full 100% on the Journal is still an accomplishment!

[pinaseraphina]

For People from France, Germany, Spain and Italy the Vanilla Version of KH2 (and 1) will always be special because it was dubbed in those languages.
It just feels so much more magical when all you childhood heroes speak with the same voices they had in there movies (or atleast the TV Series)
I myself can only speak for german dub, but this dub is generelly spoken highly off from what I heared
(And not all dubs where good)

[windowsalpha]

Now that I know that the KH II game we played in 2005 was an incomplete version of KH II, espeically in Halloween Town where Christmas Town just has Halloween Town's music and Sora doesn't even have his Christmas Town design in that version just really turns me off from playing it. I never liked knowing that I'm playing an incomplete version of a game. Feels like I'm just getting a gimped experience of the game.

[kornnelius]

I have to stop 1:15 into the video. I loved having that experience as a kid, always wanting to play the other content and thinking it was so unfair they got all that extra content.

At one point, i got a virus on my computer for trying to get a prepatched translation of it. Playing 1.5 felt good.

[ryanmulligan]

My understanding is that Xigbar’s “sniper” animation in Final Mix is the animation from the original Japanese release. It was changed in Vanilla KH2 for Western audiences, presumably to downplay the reference to it as a sniper weapon.

[Serox]

I remember thinking that final mix was somehow purchasable in my local game store but I never knew I just couldn't buy it

[SkullFace_Official]

I remember getting pissed off finding out final mix was a thing. It felt so unfair not getting all the extra features when japan did. I still held that grudge all these years later lol.

[TheRuanNascimento]

On KH2 vanilla was a way to level up very fast on pride lands, but they removed that on Final Mix version

[jacobburnette]

This game was not only my first RPG but it was also my first 100% completed game and I still have the memory card that has my 100% completed game save file on it it was the first time in a game that I actually jumped up in Joy after I had finally beaten sephiroth a fun fact because I had never played an RPG before I didn't know you could upgrade skills or change weapons and I wasn't really paying attention so I play through the game without ever equipping potions without ever upgrading my moves or switching keyblades until the demix fight right before you team up with all the Final Fantasy characters

[thepooroldsoul]

Kind of surprising you compared the 1.5/2.5 version to Vanilla, but not the PS2 version of Final Mix.

[thepooroldsoul]

I remember getting the vanilla game at GameStop months after I played Re:COM in 2010/2011.

I couldn't beat the final boss... :(