A very cute, simple game, that got me surprisingly invested in the just as simple and cute story. This is definitely a game that's meant for an ULTRA casual audience, with the expectation that you wouldn't be playing many, if any, other games beside it for a LONG time. This can make it feel a little tedious when you're trying to collect or unlock certain things, and the style-at-the-time motion controls definitely don't help. But there's still plenty to enjoy, and I'm glad I stuck with it! It's a game with a lot of personality, as barebones and almost Grandma Game as it can feel in a few places.

If anything, it only got me more excited to check out the 2nd game on the Wii, and the new Switch game coming out (which is why I picked this back up off the shelf). I'm looking forward to a smoother control experience, not having to do weird grinding to fill out the information on the wildlife, and a generally more "gamey" experience (what with the sequels giving you more stuff to actually do and unlock).

I've also been on a bit of a diving game kick lately, between this and b.l.u.e. Legend of Water, so it might be fun to check out the Everblue games on PS2 that this is a spiritual successor to...

Definitely better than the first game, but I think I like them equally. The first game was something special, relatively simple (and clean), and had a lot of history behind it for me, but KHII improves SOOO much of the gameplay. Also had a fantastic ending they could've ended the series on if they liked. Only real gripes were some of the worlds not feeling a little small or not fleshed out, normal difficulty being too easy and button-mashy compared to KH1, and the post-game being for Certified Freaks Only (but I also undertand lol).

Even if I'm not as reverent about 2 as other people are, I totally understand the reputation it has.