Kingdom Hearts is better than Kingdom Hearts II

[AnansiThePersona]

Well yes, the character development might be better. And the story was fine. But KH2's stuff with the Organization's motives, Roxas, and Riku are all incredibly intriguing. At least in the Final Mix version. The gameplay is impeccable, but that's a given. The level design is serviceable to me. They didn't go above and beyond, sure. But it beats Monstro. Or Deep Jungle. Or Wonderland.

 

[RochHoch]

KH1 is so full of jank I have no idea how this take could occur.

 

[Waggles]

Excuse me

the story in kh1 is better? The story that only pops up at the very beginning and the very end of the game? Yah no.

i do love the weighty combat of kh1, though.

 

[Zippo]

KH2:FM is one of the best games of all time.

KH1 is not even in the same dimension, it's trash in comparison.

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^

 

[Gamer17]

Slightly off topic but I m playing kh3 and it's my first game of franchise and what a ridiculous story line . Someone memory is wiped and organization 13 is responsible and now they wanna make someone puppet but they have internal battle of good and darkness and they will use 7 light and 13 darknessss to start the key war . I mean come on , couldn't you make it more straight forward lol especially when my companion is Donald Duck and goofy xD

 

[Richietto]

Gameplay always comes first for me. I love KH1, its the reason its my favorite video game series ever. But its a clunky ass game thats incredibly imbalanced and regardless its story or worlds, that alone makes it not as good for me. In regards to the worlds, some KH1's worlds are good but its a mixed bag and the clunky controls make pretty much all the platforming unfun which detracts from the worlds. KH2's are less interesting and far more linear in nature, but is made up for by being less claustrophobic which makes the combat and camera better. The story is obviously simpler in KH1 and thats probably a good thing. Easy to follow, easy to care about it, etc. I personally like all the bullshit that happens after KH1 but its understandable why people like the first games story. Also KH2's music is better, thats a fact.

And the biggest thing of all, that separates the good from the absolute pinnacle of ARPG's, and what makes KH2 the best KH game and the best in the genre, is FM+ Critical Mode. The only time in the series they ever looked back at what they had, created a difficulty mode from the ground up to create a perfectly tuned, perfectly challenging mode that makes you say:

"DAMN, THIS IS GAME DESIGN!"

 

[Strings]

Slightly off topic but I m playing kh3 and it's my first game of franchise and what a ridiculous story line . Someone memory is wiped and organization 13 is responsible and now they wanna make someone puppet but they have internal battle of good and darkness and they will use 7 light and 13 darknessss to start the key war . I mean come on , couldn't you make it more straight forward lol especially when my companion is Donald Duck and goofy xD

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This will make zero sense to you (it's from the game before KH3), but it's the funniest shit:

 

[Deleted member 437]

1 has better level design?

k...........

 

[Alfredo]

As someone who is just now playing through the series for the first time, absolutely not. I was so ready to move on to KH2 about 3/4 of the way through KH1.

The level design in KH1 is so confusing with no map, and the progression was basically randomly go through different sections of the level to trigger the next cutscene, which included backtracking to previous areas for no reason.

Platforming was also incredibly frustrating before getting traversal abilities late in the game.

The camera was always too damn close to Sora, and there were numerous times that I couldn't see what the heck was happening in battle because of it.

Also the final boss seems impossible if you didn't grind some levels at some point in the game.

 

[Dougieflesh]

Better level design when Tarzan exists!? As if. KH2 is the best game in the series.

 

[PspLikeANut]

Honestly they can go both ways for me. Doesn't really matter. They are both masterpieces compared to the train wreck that is KH3.

 

[Ascenion]

I feel like some of y'all forget the main point of a game is to be fun to play. Kingdom Hearts 1 is damn near a chore compared to KH2. Combat is 70% of the game...

 

[base_two]

I feel validated. I played KH1 last year, and thought it was much superior than anything else I've played in the series. It has that magic and charm the other games lack, and the difficulty balance is perfect. Battle system is just enough with out the over the top nonsense the the other game's battle systems feature.

 

[NHarmonic.]

Double wielding Sora > anything in 1.

 

[Strangelove_77]

Level design in KH1 is atrocious. Not even by KH standards but by videogame standards.

And add me to the people who think DDD is the worst game in the series. It's so boring and the additions to combat are dumb. It also has the worst story.

 

[Onclemol]

After revisiting both game not that long ago (HD Remixes) I think KH1 aged very poorly gameplay wise.
KH2 stay my favorite game in the serie and one of my faorite games ever.
The story may be a bit convoluted in 2 but I think it's way better than KH1's.
Battle is also largely superior.
The only thing KH1 does better (IMHO) is Ansem voice :D

 

[Jerm]

Nah. I held the opinion that the first was the better game when I was a kid but it was because I didn't understand what the fuck was going on between the first and second games.

after replaying the HD versions last year, KH2 is the superior game even though I think some of the locations are a little weaker but some are so interesting it kind of outweighs the weaker 2-3.

 

[Electricb7]

OP is correct but no one will hear the truth.

 

[Gamer17]

This will make zero sense to you (it's from the game before KH3), but it's the funniest shit:

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Lol nothing would shock me after things I heard in KH 3 . At no point someone at square Enix thought organization 13 and Donald Duck talking silly would not blend so well ? Haha

 

[AppleKid]

I agree with you OP on all points except for the ending cinematic as I prefer the first game's. For intro cinematic there is no question that KH2 is king.

Really it comes down to KH2 having more minor things I hate when compared to KH1 from a more whiny Sora to the constant grating "Sora, Donald, Goofy!". It has the higher high in Roxas' prologue though.

I actually find CoM to be the best of the original trilogy. Best dialogue in the series

 

[Trigonometrize]

Kingdom Hearts 1 vs 2 is the classic question of story vs gameplay to me. Aside from the drop in how much the levels ask of you, Kingdom Hearts 2 is a master class in action gaming. But 1 has an amazingly well done story where you connect with the characters and see them grow and change on their little journeys. By comparison, 2 did an OK job of following up, but was less focused, less human, and more trying to sell its complex world as cool.

I prefer 1.

Both games are ahead of 3 in both ways.

 

[Weiss]

KH1 is the only good Kingdom Hearts game.

 

[MrWindUpBird]

Absolutely not.

 

[Valcrist]

Some things about Kingdom Hearts 1 are superior in my opinion.

Sora's attacks have a lot more weight behind them. The deflection system feels really good. It doesn't have the best camera in the world, but I really liked the weight of everything. The Colosseum is also the best one in the series.

 

[KartuneDX]

I genuinely find KH1 to be an archaic, shit game. So hard disagree here.

 

[Mib]

Everything that made KH1 great were either awful of missing in KH2. The only thing 2 does better is it's combat, but that's only because KH2 is trying to be an action game, where KH1 is trying is trying to be a 3rd person rpg (and succeeds at it).

 

[Deleted member 14377]

I adore kh1 and appreciate it for being the first but the game is not fun to play and has aged poorly. Some nonsense triggers for cutscenes and general world advancement.

It also put me to sleep. I NEVER nap. But this game did it.

 

[Xita]

KH2 has Roxas. KH1 doesn't. KH2 wins.

i couldnt even finish kingdom hearts 1. two is alot more enjoyable

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Also this. KH1 is a drag to play, whereas 2 is a lot of fun.

 

[Weiss]

KH1 has the best story, with a cast of lovable characters on a magical journey where everything makes sense and is explained in easily understood terms. Combat is weighty and raw, with no nonsense light show spamming like in KH2. Games can be more than dispensers of immediate, visceral catharsis.

There isn't a single moment in the 17 years of KH history that matches the first visit to Hollow Bastion.

PS: Deep Jungle is underrated and I'll take it over every shitty boxy map that KH revels in with its later games.

 

[adumb]

Slightly off topic but I m playing kh3 and it's my first game of franchise and what a ridiculous story line . Someone memory is wiped and organization 13 is responsible and now they wanna make someone puppet but they have internal battle of good and darkness and they will use 7 light and 13 darknessss to start the key war . I mean come on , couldn't you make it more straight forward lol especially when my companion is Donald Duck and goofy xD

Click to shrink...

Is this serious? What year is this?

exdee

 

[Apollo]

KH1 definitely has better story pacing but I still like pretty much everything else better about KH2, especially FM

 

[silva1991]

KH2 is my favorite of the 3.

Kh2>KH>>>>>>>>



Kh3

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That's how I feel.

 

[TetraGenesis]

Unquestionably, imo.

 

[LostSkullKid]

I mean I agree with your points but the combat in KH2 FM is so good that it really invalidates everything that's better about KH1.

 

[Gamer17]

Is this serious? What year is this?

exdee

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Why ? People complained before about the plot ?

 

[Synohan]

Kingdom Hearts has an overall better story, pacing, level design and Disney integration. Kingdom Hearts 2 picks up on everything other than that. The combat keeps me coming back to KH2 more than KH.

 

[Weiss]

I mean I agree with your points but the combat in KH2 FM is so good that it really invalidates everything that's better about KH1.

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This isn't necessarily squared at you, but is stellar combat (not much of a fan but lots of people love it) worth a downgrade in every other department, especially when KH1 had pretty good combat on its own merits?

 

[Crossing Eden]

the story in kh1 is better? The story that only pops up at the very beginning and the very end of the game? Yah no

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The entire story of KH1 is how Sora reacts to new worlds and what morals those worlds teach to him. The simplicity of it was brilliant.

 

[Weiss]

Excuse me

the story in kh1 is better? The story that only pops up at the very beginning and the very end of the game? Yah no.

i do love the weighty combat of kh1, though.

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Unlike every other game in the series the KH Deepest Lore isn't the most important part of the game, it's exploring the worlds.

 

[New Username]

Edit: Deleted post

 

[Z-Beat]

Wonderland, Monstro, and Deep Jungle are nightmarish

 

[Weiss]

Wonderland, Monstro, and Deep Jungle are nightmarish

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I know Monstro and Deep Jungle have an overinflated view of being the worst, but what's bad about Wonderland?

 

[TheGhost]

If 1 had better combat I would give it to that.

 

[Radd Redd]

KH2's level design is terrible though. Hey go left or right until the next cutscene or boss. At least KH1 tried.

 

[Dougieflesh]

KH2 combat is so much better than KH1 that it makes up for any deficiencies you can find in the story.

 

[Deleted member 679]

This isn't necessarily squared at you, but is stellar combat (not much of a fan but lots of people love it) worth a downgrade in every other department, especially when KH1 had pretty good combat on its own merits?

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Since it wasn't necessarily a question to them, I'll give my take:

Not as a rule, but when every part that is supposedly better in 1 is still trash, then absolutely.

A better story that is told in embarrassingly poor cutscenes that I just want to skip is worthless. More complex map design that is just a pain in the ass with the game's platforming mechanics just makes me wish it was a corridor.

If we were losing on some Dark Souls level design for more flashy combat, then it'd be a different story. But we're losing on shit tier story and level design for some of the best boss fights in Action RPG history, so it's very much worth it.

I do agree that KH I combat is also fun, though. It's also the best thing about that game.

 

[Z-Beat]

I know Monstro and Deep Jungle have an overinflated view of being the worst, but what's bad about Wonderland?

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I realize all the maps are basically boxes but that one really hammers home the feeling that you're stuck in a box and because of the mechanics of certain rooms you can get stuck in mandatory room clearing

 

[Deleted member 13155]

I did like the story of KH1 more because there wasn't any Organization shit present. But for the rest? KH1 has worse combat, worse camera and worse level design. KH1 did try with some verticality but it just didn't work. Its a fun game if you're used to its flaws, but KH2 holds up so much better because it actually plays well.

KH2 FM also has the best combat in the franchise.

 

[Deleted member 3038]

KH2FM > KH3 > BBS > Re:CoM > KH1

The combat in KH1 sucks ass, the platforming segments are infuriating, and a lot of the worlds are flat out boring. Alice in Wonderland was a snooze fest, and Monstro & Tarzan was platforming city which was fucking awful.

 

[Deleted member 679]

I did like the story of KH1 more because there wasn't any Organization shit present. But for the rest? KH1 has worse combat, worse camera and worse level design. KH1 did try with some verticality but it just didn't work. Its a fun game if you're used to its flaws, but KH2 holds up so much better because it actually plays well.

KH2 FM also has the best combat in the franchise.

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The platforming that leads to the data fights is also by far the best platforming in the series, imo.

It would be great to have more of it, but between nothing and KH I platforming, I'll take nothing.

 

[Punchline]

op is on crack. kingdom hearts 2 blows kingdom hearts 1 out of the water in so many ways the few advantages the original does has are barely worth the trade-off.