I started KH2 having bounced off of it before a couple years ago. I had finished KH1 and while I think it's an alright game, it had a lot of really rough parts and overall just didn't gel with my sensibilities in both gameplay and story. I played KH2 for the sake of seeing if it might change my mind and at first it didn't.

Years later, I've come back to it and was unprepared for how much I enjoyed it. The formula of the original has been refined, improved, polished, and so much more smoother in every aspect. Playing it feels a lot more natural to me (although honestly I'm still not great at it) and the story, while admittedly tedious at times, also becomes a lot more engrossing, dramatic, and layered, especially in the final act. There were definitely moments in the middle where I couldn't care less about what was happening, but as soon as the actual plot started happening I was sucked in. It really feels like taking what was started in KH1 and just expanding everything to be as big and momentous as possible. And of course not enough can be said about the game's soundtrack, aesthetic design, character and enemy design, just all around top tier visually. This game's presentation really justifies the crossover of Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts, as it creates this really beautiful look that could only be accomplished by this crossover, and I say that as someone who doesn't really have that much history with or reverence for either. I've gone from being a casual observer of Kingdom Hearts to wanting to play every game in the series, it has me hooked. I even want to go back to 100% this game someday, it just won me over.