Graphics
One of the more notable achievements of the Kingdom Hearts series was its ability to mix several different art forms into one game and never have them clash with each other. The character design is excellent. The characters move very well through the worlds, with smooth animations and some absolutely mind boggling attack sequences. As mentioned previously in the gameplay section, the combos in this game are incredible to watch. You simply won’t get tired of them. This game will bring out a lot of “wow” moments in a player, as they watch themselves perform or get pummeled by acrobatic gravity-defying combo after combo. It evens puts some action games to shame.

One should keep in mind that this is not Advent Children. The graphics are excellent, but they are not realistic. The graphics lack texture, instead going for a more colorful cartoon style. There are a couple exceptions, most notably the Pirates of the Caribbean level, where the characters gain more realistic skin textures.

There are also two cinema scenes in the game, one at the opening, and one at the ending. These two scenes are so beautifully rendered that you’ll wish Square Enix put in more of them. Which was a small matter of contention for me. With all the high level graphical work they’ve been doing with games lately, I really do think that Square Enix could’ve afforded at least a couple more cinema scenes. Fortunately, the character models are fluid and mobile enough that important moments and scripted action sequences still feel like cinema scenes, even if they lack the same graphical quality.

Music
Square Enix games have always boasted great music, ever since the first Final Fantasy. Kingdom Heart’s music is the work of female composer Yoko Shimomura (Parasite Eve). First of all, credit has to be given for remixing the various Disney themes into something recognizable yet new. In particular it is fun to hear the battle themes for each level, noting how music from the movies inspired them. When the music isn’t remixing Disney tunes, it is generally sweeping the player along with a wonderful orchestral quality, immediately and appropriately setting the mood for each world. The game has so many genres of music in it, it’s impractical to list them all here. Suffice it to say you’ll hear everything from jazz to classical, and all of it will be good. Well, actually, there’s one disclaimer on this. There’s a Little Mermaid world where all you do is perform musicals (again, by hitting the X button), and I have to say that the musicals were somewhat painful. But it’s a small complaint in a world of praise.

The opening song, for those of you who loved the first game’s Simple and Clean, is once again performed by Utada Hikaru, and I can pretty much guarantee that you’ll download it and listen to it about 17 times in a row.

Sound
You will be surrounded by sound during your playthrough of Kingdom Hearts. Large battles will ring with the sound of your Keyblade smashing into multiple enemies at once. Your Keyblade will make different sounds depending on what it’s hitting, too. Characters will often speak during fights, taunting you, or reacting unfavorably to you beating them into the dirt (which is understandable). Don’t be expecting much atmospheric sound, like wind rustling leaves, or water cascading gently over humble slopes. This isn’t Shadow of the Colossus, it’s Kingdom Hearts, and such sounds would’ve seemed out of place with the comical graphics. All in all, the game leaves nothing to be desired in terms of sound.