very good game. both the day and night stages were a lot of fun, though I prefer the day stages, going fast is fun and the day stages were really well designed. still though, the night stages were very enjoyable, especially once you get some of the later combos.

needing to collect medals was annoying, but it did give me an incentive to replay stages and get better at them.

the soundtrack is fantastic, one of my favourites (too bad the combat theme constantly interrupts the fantastic night music)

the game is a bit unpolished though. I wouldn't call it buggy, but there's definitely moments where it feels like something didn't entirely happen as intended, or where it feels like a section just wasn't tested that well.

super underrated, the game was fantastic, loved it almost the entire way through.

the combat's great and I like how gear and abilities can be customised, though the game lacks weapon variety, with each weapon type only having a few options, some of them being the exact same.

the bosses were great, and there's some really cool and creative ones in there. same for areas. music is also great.

enemy animations can sometimes be really wonky, but when they're hand animated, they're some beautiful animations.

(non specific spoilers ahead I guess)

I also like the ridiculously cryptic requirements for the secret boss, felt like a classic creepypasta.

only thing I really didn't like was the secret requirement for the ending, which can lock you out of the ending you want depending on player skill.

Before playing this, I thought people disliked this game because it was too gimmicky. (they probably do, but it's not why I dislike it)
turns out the real reason it sucks is because it's not gimmicky enough.

the combat has some great and cool ideas, but it mostly falls apart when you get access to a lot of high value cards, at which point you can ignore most mechanics for most combat encounters and basically buttonmash your way through, turning the game into a watered down version of the first game.

maybe some later bosses made it more interesting (in fact, the first couple bosses were great, when my cards were still low value. the game could have been good if more of it was like that), but that doesn't forgive 90% of combat encounters being uninteresting.

also, don't get me started on map cards. basically means you HAVE to grind to progress if you get unlucky, or used a map card you needed later without knowing.

all the worlds being from KH1 with the side stories in them also being almost copied from them doesn't help either.

the main story is great though (and important to the series), so just watch a cutscene compilation online.

for me personally, I'd say I like it about equally as the first game.

the combat is better in this game, there's more great bosses, and I prefer the music and slightly prefer this game's story over the first.

that seems like it's weighing heavily in KH2's favour, and it admittedly is, but I just can't bring myself to rank it higher than the first (or lower). it just doesn't feel right. so, I've decided that I like it equally.

plus, the first game has some pros too, like better level design. also, I just kindoff... like something about that game's vibes more.

the first game was also harder. maybe it's just because I played on proud instead of critical, but still. there were some tough bosses for sure, but it's not like KH1 where I really had to learn them all.

don't get me wrong though, KH2 is amazing, and overall more fun than the first. probably a better game, but I like them both equally.

honestly, I can't quite tell you why I feel so strongly about this game.

part of it is probably because I didn't spoil myself nearly as much on the final chapters of this game compared to other KH games. so, that ending, especially the blank points cutscene, it hit like an emotional freight train.

not to say other KH games didn't hit like emotional freight trains though. even having spoiled myself on other games, they still had hard hitting scenes. but this game's final scenes definitely left more of an impression.

as for the gameplay, that's the main part where I can't say why I rank it higher than KH1 or 2.

I mean, I kindoff can: command styles are super fun, especially blade charge and ghost drive. and aqua was definitely the most fun to play. even without the super overpowered magic she can get her hands on, the magic she gets is super fun to use. and can't forget those command styles.

but, is is better than KH2's combat? that I can't be sure of. probably not? maybe? idk.

does the game have problems? absolutely. it's grindy, you revisit the same areas multiple times (especially aqua got the short end of the stick in this regard), the bosses don't play to the game's strengths and often have that one attack that drags the fight down...

and I'm honestly glad I don't have to grind again in this game, and it's definitely not the first game I'll replay when I do replay these games...

but despite these flaws, I walked away from birth by sleep with even more positive feelings than KH1 or 2. so, I'm going by that feeling, and ranking it higher.