Tron in Kingdom Hearts 2

The Penny Arcade guys seem really happy about it.

Since when, EXACTLY, has Russ Ficher been defenestrating, pray tell?

Oh, and David Warner in Tron is still one of my favorite movie badguys.

This will be the first PlayStation 2 game I've bought since Kingdom Hearts 1, so yeah, I'm pretty psyched about all of this.

Come on, Matt, there have been at least 2 system-exclusive games worth getting since then. Or in my case: exactly 2.

And Warner is MY favorite villain of all time because of a hell of a lot more than Tron.

I know that Kingdom Hearts is a bit of a mish mash of lots of stuff, but to me Tron doesn't really seem to fit in. It doesn't really make a different, but I'm curious about what kind of context it will be in. I have the first one and still haven't really played it because I'm a fool, but it seems more like a fantasy to me. I don't see where the Tron sci-fi can fit in without sticking out like a sore thumb. But like I said, it's just a game, so it's all good.

I love the fact that even in the Tron computer world, Donald wears no pants.

I'm not saying there haven't, but nothing of interest to me. My X-Box gets most of my gaming dollars these days.

Am I the only one who finds the fact that someone made a Tron/Goofy crossover, disturbing?

It may be weird, but Square Enix already proved they could meld their RPGs with Disney worlds so I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt.

Fixed that for you. And if you fight with Merlin from the movie, that will be one of the coolest things ever. I still say that it is the greatest wizard's duel ever shown in any film. I love it.

LOL - I know what you mean. I still have never played the first Kingdom Hearts yet. This one seems to be teetering on crossover madness. As long as they don't jump into an episode of That's So Raven!, I think we're good.

The internet has conditioned me to believe that Tron is going to fuck Donald up the ass while Simba masturbates.

There's nothing quite like official fanfic.

Adults play this?

Isn't offcial fanfic just canon?

Yes, adults play video games. Adults also watch kids movies, read fairy tales and fables, play on swings, jump in leaves, run through sprinklers, and do all sorts of things that are considered "kids stuff." You may not be interested in it (I'm not especially interested in it either), but that doesn't mean you should belittle a whole thread full of people who obviously are. I know snarky is your thing, but seriously, doesn't it get old? Lighten up.

Adults spend 30-50 hours running through sprinklers?

Touché.

But they do apparently spend that much time per month watching LAW AND ORDER.

Call me when Goofy rapes a lion cub and Donald Duck goes nuts on him in the interrogation and Richard Belzer has to hold him back!

No! That would be so uncool.

Sorry to be a dick, but this does appear to be a role playing game with Disney characters. Take a step back and look at it from my perspective.

It is weird, yes. But is it really any weirder than enjoying a game where you skulk around in the darkness and graphically snap necks? Or run around a fictionalized Southern California shooting cops and playing pimping minigames? Ultimately, I don't think it is. A game featuring Disney characters in an action RPG (I believe) doesn't sound like my cup of tea. But the graphics are good, and supposedly it plays pretty well, so I just brush it off as being a game I don't want to play. I can't really be weirded out by it, because I've played and enjoyed several Mario games, and am likely to again in the future, and he's just as adorable and cutesy a mascot as Pluto or Stitch.

Maybe there's the aspect of branding and commercialization involved with bringing name mascots from another aspect of culture into a videogame, but again, as someone who isn't going to buy it, that doesn't really matter to me. I don't think the Disney aspect is what sold the first game to most videogamers, though I'm sure it sold more than a few to parents buying stuff for their kids. The fact that it's made by Squaresoft, a company that carries pretty heavy name recognition in gamer circles, is what clinched it for a lot of the older crowd, I'm sure. They're known for pretty sophisticated, entertaining gameplay regardless of the veneer on top of it. Some people were turned off by the Disney characters, like myself, others probably viewed it as an amusing novelty. I'm sure there's somebody out there who was waiting their whole life for Goofy to run out of mana. That person is weird. I just don't see that much of a problem with people enjoying this, regardless of their age. It looks like it's going to be a decent playing game, despite the gimmick.

I think what most people are picking up on in the thread is that it's just really weird and funny that Tron is there. You've got all these cute characters, and then BAM! Tron! Totally realistic looking and everything.

It doesn't seem like anything that wouldn't appear childish at first glance like reading Harry Potter or ignoring Pixar simply because they make animated family films. You just have to give it a chance. Personally, I was cautious before I played the first game but I enjoyed it because the gameplay was solid and I got to go through the environments of movies I enjoy like Nightmare Before Christmas and Aladdin.

I'm not even a huge Disney fan, and I despise cutesy Disney products, but Kingdom Hearts is solid game making all around and the Disney content actually enhances the product.

I find it odd that someone who proclaims to have such a broad palate for entertainmnet would judge the game solely on how it appears at first glance.

Same with me. In fact, that was basically what I was getting it. It probably would've been clearer had I not taken the low road (a poor attempt at humor).

As for Devin's comment upsetting folks: lighten up. I had to endure the scorn and ridicule by coworkers after I purchased the first KH ("When you beat it, do you get to play through again as Mickey? Oh, I'm sorry. I mean KING Mickey.), and it didn't bother me in the slightest. But when my mom sprayed me with the garden hose after I had been playing in the leaves last week (by which I mean exactly that: last WEEK), I got pretty pissed. She won't do it again.

The game (KH) is fun, but heavily flawed. Plus, I doubt too many young kids could be bothered with it as anything other than a distraction due to the game's length, learning curve and overall difficulty.

And I will NOT buy KH2 if Goofy still yelps out, "Sora, heeelp" every thirty seconds in battle.

Ive played the first KH games its pretty good. bizzare that a manga kid goes from a tropical island to hanging out with Goofy but pretty good.

No worse an idea than any other computer game.

Kingdom Hearts was an AWESOME game. The last boss in Kingdom Hearts took some skills to beat.

I welcome the sequel.

The last Boss was my bitch... Sephiroth, on the other hand.... *shudders*

Devin, I couldn't agree more.

I'm constantly surprised by adult gamers who play these offerings that seem pretty obviously aimed at children. So many Japanese games, in particular, seem to be clearly geared for adolescents, but for some reason are embraced and celebrated by people who seem to be WAY too old to be enjoying them.

Children's games can certainly be charming, but unless you're playing them with actual children you've got some 'splainin' to do.

So, anyone up for a rousing game of Chutes N' Ladders?

Barney and Sesame Street video games are intended for children. Having played some of the original Kingdom Hearts, it is far too difficult and complex for young children. However horrifying the notion may seem to you, rest assured that the Kingdom Hearts games, and every Square/Enix game that creeps you out, are intended for the people who are buying them.

I'm not about to defend the "appropriateness" of a game that is distressingly close to slash fiction with Disney characters, though personally it's nothing that keeps me up at night. It's weird; I've seen weirder. But Square is making this game for teens and adults who get a kick out of Donald Duck mixing it up with Cloud Strife.

Again, I feel compelled to make the distinction between the characters and the gameplay. I mean Jacob, don't you play and enjoy We Love Katamari? Wouldn't you also say that game is clearly designed for children?

No, I'd say it was clearly designed for people who ingest lots of psychedelic mushrooms.

And as far as 'adult' gameplay goes, I think some of you are underestimating kids' proficiency in gaming. There are plenty of twelve-year-olds who easily can kick adult ass in Halo 2. I imagine they can handle the intricacies of ferrying about Mickey and the gang.

As long as it is Strip Chutes N' Ladders.

And yet a twelve-year-old is more likely than anyone else to avoid a Disney game like the plague. I'm telling you, Jacob, the demograph Japanese-style RPGs are designed for is older than you think appropriate.

An adult playing Kingdom Hearts and enjoying it is not the same thing as an adult watching Transformers: The Movie and calling it a great film.

I think that's about as succinctly as I can put it.

I would love to start a debate about post-WWII japanese culture and infantilism but I sadly lack the background.

It's a standard action-RPG. Just because it's Disney doesn't mean the gameplay is simplistic.

I only got Kingdom Hearts because of the connections with Final Fantasy.

Gladly, I was treated with a darn good game to go along with it.

But Tron? That's stretching it a bit.

I await it's arrival though. Hopefully it doesn't take another year.

Hey, I like both the Sly Cooper and Ratchet and Clank series, neither exactly Penthouse material, so it's not like I limit myself to trenchcoats and hand grenades. But when you combine Disney and Final Fantasy? No thanks.

I don't understand how gameplay is more "adult." Do you need to smoke or fuck the controller?

Anyway, kids these days are born with game systems. I doubt they are stymied by gameplay.

Kids aren't stymied by gameplay but like most gamers, they can get bored with it if it's repititious or unimaginative. Gameplay is the most crucial element in any game and yet most developers tend to create rushed products that are simplistic and try to cover it up with fancy graphics or "edgy" material. The original Kingdom Hearts could have taken that road, but it didn't.

And if you're not a fan of either Disney or Final Fantasy, then yeah, the game probably isn't going to be for you.