Kingdom Hearts II

Game Description

The surprising collaboration between Disney and Square Enix returns in this follow-up to 2002’s sleeper hit, Kingdom Hearts. Players will guide an older and more powerful Sora along with unlikely pals Goofy and Donald Duck in multiple worlds based on classic and contemporary Disney films. The action once again follows a party of three characters as they fight enemies, solve puzzles, and explore their cinematic surroundings from a third-person perspective. New features include a retooled camera system and a revamped combat engine.

The viewpoint is set farther back than in the original game, allowing players to see more of their surroundings, with the right analog stick used to further adjust the perspective. Kingdom Hearts II no longer includes platform jumping, focusing instead on the real-time combat. Sora can now perform double-team attacks and absorb the party’s powers to transform into one of five stronger entities. Players can also swap party members during the heat of battle, perform context-sensitive attacks, and control the abilities of summoned characters like Stitch or Chicken Little.

Another adjustment is the initially playable character. Sora takes a back seat to a young boy named Roxas at the game’s start, whose dreams help relay the storyline to those new to the Kingdom Hearts saga. Yet the biggest change in this sequel is the ability to visit new worlds from the Disney universe, including environments based on Steamboat Willie, Tron, The Lion King, Mulan, and Pirates of the Caribbean. Redesigned locales from the first game are featured as well, each offering alternate objectives to complete. As in the original, Kingdom Hearts II enlists the voice talents of such Hollywood stars as Haley Joel Osment, Mena Suvari, and Christopher Lee to bring the characters to life.

Apperence of Marluxia

Appearance

A tall, elegant Nobody with feminine features, Marluxia wears the basic Organization uniform of a black cloak, black boots, and black gloves. His hair is shoulder-length and rose pink with ruffles, though in the Gameboy version of Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories this color was more muted, appearing closer to light brown. Marluxia's eyes are blue and his lips are pale pink.

Personality

Marluxia is quite deceptive in nature. He makes an attempt to rebel against the Organization by using Sora as a puppet to accomplish his goals. Personality wise, he is often portrayed as very arrogant and vain. For example, when Axel confronted Marluxia regarding his betrayal to the Organization, he only taunts Axel and leaves Sora to fight the latter. Like Xemnas, Marluxia has a habit of being overly dramatic and giving long speeches. He also takes great pride in his appearance. This is evident by the sakura petals that he often has surrounding him. He also flourishes his weapon after striking with it, occasionally leaving himself open, fitting his title in the organization. During battle, he uses unique tactics like a death counter to represent his devious personality. Also, it seems that by his tone of voice, which is dull and monotone, that Marluxia doesn't pretend to have emotions, like Xemnas or Saïx, and sticks to his true emotionless nature. However, he does smirk and laugh at some points.

Most importantly though, Marluxia seems to have an obsession with his superiority over the other Organization members. As the lord of Castle Oblivion, Marluxia has the ability to keep many members of the Organization under his own judgment. He even manipulates Vexen into fighting Sora by using Vexen's fear of Xemnas against him. Even though most of Marluxia's personality traits are negative, he does have a few positive aspects. Some of these include his devotion and persistence to succeed in his goals, continuing his plans to overthrow the Organization even after Axel's betrayal and the death of Larxene. He's a very adamant member of Organization XIII. Marluxia believes that he deserves more respect than he's given. All in all, Marluxia is a very egotistical, manipulative member of the Organization, who would stop at nothing to overthrow the Organization and become superior.

Abilities

Main article: Marluxia (Boss)

Main article: Marluxia (Second Form)

Main article: Marluxia (Third Form)

Marluxia fights using the attribute of Flower and wields a large, rose pink and dark green scythe. The petals he commands have the appearance of cherry blossoms in the Game Boy Advance release of Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories but have been changed to resemble rose petals in his console game appearances. Marluxia has two forms in the original Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, and three in the Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories remake. While in basic nobody form, he can attack with his scythe normally, or use it to slash at an enemy from across a distance using energy waves.

Despite his arrogant nature, Marluxia has proven to be quite powerful. With his command of flowers, Marluxia can create a clone made of petals, send a flurry of blossoms at his opponent, and in Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories, Marluxia uses a sleight in which he creates a powerful shockwave by hitting the ground with his scythe. Like the other Organization members from Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, Marluxia moves by levitating. In the remake, he can also teleport freely. This is also the only form which he is constrained to the use of an actual deck.

In his first final form, Marluxia makes use of his mechsuit-like Nobody to slash at Sora with its scythe arms, or charge him and cause massive damage upon impact. He can also summon three petals to fire pink rays and fire blasts of energy from the bottom of the contraption. In the remake, the Nobody is also capable of harnessing darkness with which it can shroud the whole field.

Marluxia's additional final form in the PlayStation 2 remake brings Marluxia and Sora into combat upon a larger version of Marluxia's phantom mech floating in a starry-night environment surrounded by circulating rings. A large angelic Nobody stands behind him wielding a gigantic version of Marluxia's Graceful Dahlia. Marluxia is held immobile during this fight by Nobody thorns and is, therefore, unable to dodge most attacks.

From his stationary position, Marluxia fights mainly by commanding the Nobody, who can create shockwaves, shoot a sweeping laser, blow gusts of wind that prevent Sora from moving forward, and create a whirlwind that scatters all of Sora's cards, including his reload bar. Sora must then pick up the cards in order to reclaim them, including the reload bar. Marluxia's most notable sleight however, is that in which he shoots Nobody thorns that triggers a countdown timer similar to the recurring Final Fantasy spell "Doom", in which, if the counter reaches zero, the fight is instantly lost. He can also trigger the one rotating ring around the battlefield, causing it to fire lasers from all directions in addition to reusing the ray-shooting rose petals.

In Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix, Marluxia returns in an optional battle with new tactics. He begins the battle by whispering in Sora's ear, which causes a countdown timer to appear above Sora's head based on his current level, similar to the hit point condition of the Titan Cup, and then spends most of the battle attacking Sora relentlessly with his scythe, with each hit depleting the timer by one, though causing no additional damage.

If the timer reaches zero, Sora loses the battle, but the timer can be increased by using the Reaction Command "Rob Count", in which Sora grabs Marluxia's scythe, knocks him into the air and hurls the scythe at him, adding thirteen points to the counter. Marluxia also can conjure black circles which cover most of the floor and deal damage to Sora's HP, but leave the death timer unaffected. Marluxia also wheels around the floor swinging his scythe, and can hover above Sora attacking him with his scythe while making pillars sprout up from the ground and deal damage to Sora.

The Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories manga shows Marluxia using somewhat violent plant-based powers; he uses thorny vines to restrain Naminé in a manner similar to crucifixion, and summons a Venus flytrap that captures Naminé, Donald, and Goofy and nearly devours them.

In the original Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories, the real Marluxia is only fought once, unlike most of the main antagonists like Ansem and Xemnas, who must be fought many times before they finally die.

Weapon

True to his title, the Graceful Assassin, Marluxia wields a large, elegant looking Scythe called the Graceful Dahlia in battle. The handle of the Scythe is a pastel green color, and the blade is a rose pink. This evokes an appearance of a plucked flower. The connection between them is yellow and resembles pieces of the Organization logo. Marluxia attacks with wide slashes and spins. He can also turn himself and his Scythe into a lethal pinwheel, and flies around the battlefield, causing heavy damage to anyone who cannot dodge out of the way. The names of his scythes always start with a descriptive term and follow up with the name of a flower, except for Stirring Ladle. He can use it defensively as well, twirling it around in a circle in order to block enemies' attacks

Marluxia in Kingdom Hearts

Marluxia

"As lightless oblivion devours you, drown in the ever-blooming darkness!"

—Marluxia, before the final battle in Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories

Marluxia (pronounced /mahr-loo-shuh/), the Graceful Assassin (優雅なる凶刃 Yūga-naru Kyōjin?, lit. Graceful Assassin's Blade), is Rank XI within Organization XIII, the lord of Castle Oblivion and the main antagonist of Sora's story in Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories. He controls flowers, and uses his control to command beams of destructive energy from flower-themed minions, bombard the opponent with flurries of petals, and to attack opponents with his massive scythe.

Originally discovered by senior Organization members Xigbar and Xaldin, Marluxia is the mastermind of an internal rebellion in the Organization against Xemnas. Marluxia makes an appearance in Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days and is a playable character in Mission Mode.

Story

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days

Like other members of the Organization, Marluxia aids Roxas in at least one mission. He is polite to Roxas in their mission. On the first, he teaches Roxas how to collect Hearts and explains to him about Heartless. He explains the differences between Pureblood Heartless and Emblem Heartless and to only attack Emblem Heartless to release Hearts. He also explains to Roxas that after he releases hearts, they form Kingdom Hearts, and that Roxas is the first one to accomplish this. This also shows his greed over the Keyblade. On the next, he helps Roxas fight some Dire Plants by The Old Mansion and Zip Slasher in Twilight Town. Later, he is assigned to Castle Oblivion with the other members.

Before Axel leaves for Castle Oblivion, it is revealed that Saïx knew about Marluxia's plans to overthrow the Organization. That is why he sent them and the other "suspicious" members to Castle Oblivion, along with Axel who was given orders to eliminate any of the members that planned to overthrow the Organization.

Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories

"The Keyblade's power... How I've longed to make it my own!"

—Marluxia

Marluxia, working with Larxene and Axel, plots to overthrow the Organization. They formulate a plan to use a young girl named Naminé, who has a mysterious power over memory, to deceive Sora into thinking he had sworn to protect her, and then have her use Sora to help them defeat the senior Organization members. This plot stems from a rivalry between some of the younger Organization members and the original six core members. Vexen, Larxene, and Axel all do their part to feed Sora with information and lure him further into the castle. Each of them fight him on their own, although none of them use their full strength and throw the fights. They also make use of Vexen's Riku Replica to compete with Sora for Naminé's loyalty.

Marluxia and Larxene eventually learn that Vexen has been reporting back to Lexaeus and Zexion regarding their revolt. After Vexen loses control of the Riku Replica, Marluxia pronounces his project a failure, after which Vexen arrogantly protests, claims that his mastery over Castle Oblivion allows him the authority to do so. Marluxia threatens to tell "the Superior" of Vexen's failure, but Vexen pleads with him not to do so. Marluxia agrees not to if Vexen eliminates Sora. Although confused by the order, Vexen agrees, and heads Sora off in the Twilight Town world. He fights Sora for the second time, but is again defeated. Before he can reveal Marluxia's plans to use Sora, however, Axel destroys him on Marluxia's orders, making Vexen the first Organization member to be eliminated.

Axel's assassination of Vexen allows him to gain the full trust of Marluxia and Larxene. As Sora nears the top floors of the castle, Axel is left alone with Naminé to keep watch over her. Instead of keeping an eye on her, Axel allows her to escape, freeing her from Marluxia's control and ending her continued restructuring of Sora's memories, effectively ruining the plot to manipulate Sora into fighting the Organization. This prompts Larxene to attack Sora shortly after he defeats the Riku Replica for the final time, but she is killed in the struggle, leaving only Marluxia to carry out the plot.

Axel then confronts Marluxia, who is disgusted with Axel for betraying him, to which Axel replies that Marluxia is in fact a traitor to the Organization, and that Larxene paid the price for her own disloyalty. He then threatens to kill Marluxia, but Marluxia seems unfazed by this, stating simply "You can try.". The two then engage in battle, with Marluxia displaying an eerie speed. While they both attack one another powerfully, neither takes any actual damage and appear to be equally matched.

Marluxia makes Naminé appear in front of him, apparently as a shield to prevent Axel from attacking him further, but Axel laughs it off, saying he's willing to go through Naminé to get to Marluxia. Marluxia, however, tells Sora (who had just appeared in the room, much to Axel's surprise) that Axel was willing to hurt her and vanishes with a laugh, leaving Sora and Axel alone. Axel sneers at Sora for having become Marluxia's puppet after all, but Sora resolves to eliminate Marluxia right after he finishes Axel. The two fight, and Sora comes out the victor, but Axel escapes death and vanishes.

Sora pursues Marluxia into his inner chambers. Marluxia orders Naminé to completely erase Sora's memory and destroy his heart, hoping to rebuild him into something more to his liking afterward. However, Naminé, remembering Sora's kindness towards her, flat-out refuses the order, even when faced with death. Marluxia is perplexed when Sora orders Naminé to do so for her own safety, and even more so when the revived Riku Replica attacks. Confused and irritated that Sora and the replica would accept their memories of Naminé with the full knowledge that they are lies, Marluxia attacks them. Sora destroys Marluxia, but finds that the real Marluxia had been hiding in a back room and that his opponent had only been a clone. Sora advances into the final room to confront Marluxia, who has combined with his Specter (スペクター Supekutā?) in both Grim Reaper and Angel of Death-like forms. Sora defeats him again in the storyline's final battle, with Marluxia trying to reach Sora but then fades, making Marluxia the fourth Organization member to fall.

The manga version of these battles differs from the version of the Chain of Memories games. In it, Marluxia does not use alternate forms and is easily killed by Sora in the first battle. He is also surrounded by flowers or flower petals a good deal of the time. And he is sometimes even seen holding a rose. to

[edit]Kingdom Hearts II

While Marluxia doesn't directly appear in Kingdom Hearts II, he is seen guiding Sora towards Castle Oblivion in the last of Roxas's dreams. Sora also battles Marluxia's Absent Silhouette and Data Replica once he finds them.

Good Passage Share:Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days Review

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days Review

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days is a compelling action role-playing game that successfully blends Disney elements with an original cast and an absorbing plot that will both intrigue and surprise you. The game's fun battle system is exceptionally fast-paced, while new customization options, thrilling boss fights and an entertaining multiplayer mode will further hook you. 358/2 Days offers an enjoyable, nostalgic experience that never lets its simplicity or its occasional quirks undermine its appeal.

Tackle challenging heartless with ruthless combos and limit breaks.

The game's greatest draw is its gripping and beautifully simple story of friendship, which features some dynamic characters and a number of interesting twists. Rather than playing as series protagonist Sora, in 358/2 Days you assume role of Roxas, his "nobody": a mirror image bereft of memories. With nothing to cling to but a name and a dubious group called Organization XIII, Roxas hopes to recapture his past by defeating shadow monsters known as heartless. Plenty of familiar faces and Disney locales are faithfully woven into the story, but they never steal the plot's thunder as you unravel the Organization's dark secrets.

Unlike in previous games in the series, gameplay is broken up into challenging missions that let you set your own pace while encouraging exploration. Missions are staged throughout seven classic Disney worlds that are segmented, but you'll quickly encounter new areas to explore and fun platforming elements. You're afforded a lot of control over which tasks you accept, so you have the freedom to work on those that advance the story or dabble in extra assignments for greater rewards. Key tasks are sometimes repeated, which can get a little dull, but story events and surprise mini-bosses ensure that monotony rarely has a chance to set in. Other missions, such as exploring Agrabah's Cave of Wonders, increase immersion by altering objectives while you're on the field. For example, you might have to suddenly engage in aerial battles while searching for new heartless. A detailed map makes locating heartless easy, while a useful checkpoint system saves you from repeating objectives if you slip up.

The fun, fast-paced battle system occurs in real time and offers an exhilarating combat experience accentuated by combos. Comfortable controls and a variety of camera options make it easy to keep up with the action, while a convenient targeting mode frees you from hassling with the camera by locking it on a foe. A handy shortcut menu drastically cuts down on the amount of time spent cycling through items and spells in the midst of battle, which allows combat to flow smoothly in the toughest of fights. A fun chaining system rewards you with bonus points for defeating heartless within time restraints, adding a nice element of pressure. Lengthy combos, which are quick and easy to use, enliven the gameplay along with devastating limit breaks that you strategically activate when your health is low. Spellcasting is somewhat slow to respond, which is unfortunate when you're trying to heal yourself or a companion, but the only real annoyance is the minor slowdown you'll encounter when unleashing combos against large batches of foes. Crafty enemies keep combat enticing by employing a variety of effective tactics, such as repeatedly freezing you in place. Boss fights are especially fun and intense, with most bosses implementing clever tricks to test your mettle while requiring you to outmaneuver patterned attacks. Unfortunately, some bosses are so large that the camera hinders depth perception, but it's only slightly aggravating.

Roxas' abilities are governed through a unique grid-based panel system that lets you customize abilities according to your play style as you progress. It grants you the freedom to focus on one or a variety of different talents, such as magical prowess or speed, which is a refreshing level of personalization. Numerous panel types--from accessories to magic--directly impact your abilities when inserted into panel slots. You're also able to link panels by matching them up with special counterparts, providing drastic improvements. For example, linking a fire spell to a "double cast" panel lets you cast that spell twice. Though it may sound complex, the system is relatively easy to learn and lets you save different arrangements--such as one emphasizing magic and another focusing on physical attacks--as decks, so you can easily switch between strategies. The panel system's only oddity is that you're unable to tweak your abilities during missions, but this challenges you to use your limited slots effectively.

The impressive presentation features highly detailed environments that appropriately match their Disney sources. Moonlight filters through windows and shines on elaborate statuary decorating the Beast's castle, while Twilight Town's colorful sunset is soft and stunning. The 3D character models are comparable to their PlayStation 2 counterparts, which is a notable feat for the DS; however, texturing is a little muddled for character clothing, and jagged edges are noticeable. Some gorgeous cutscenes and good voicing highlight key plot elements, while the game's powerful, though largely recycled, soundtrack provides sweet melodies and invigorating battle music. The captivating opening theme, "Sanctuary," as performed by Japanese pop singer Utada Hikaru, is pulled from Kingdom Hearts II and sounds great. Sound effects, from explosions to the swipe of your keyblade, are clear and nicely embellish combat.

You'll spend roughly 30 hours completing the story mode, assuming you take the time to play through some practice missions and to search for cleverly hidden items. Unlockable challenge missions boost replayability by presenting you with tougher objectives while simultaneously restricting your abilities, such as having you defeat heartless without jumping. If you prefer more savage battles, you can adjust the difficulty level accordingly, which dramatically increases the game's intensity. A satisfying mission mode with a bevy of playable characters from Organization XIII lets you redo missions solo, or you can join up to three friends with their own copies of the game to show off your personalized combat style in co-operative play--a fun first for the series. Replaying missions from the story with friends at your side makes them significantly easier, but there's some fun to be had racing to collect coins before your friends get them all.

Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days stays true to the series by utilizing a variety of popular Disney worlds, an enthralling plot, and classic gameplay freshened up with fully customizable abilities. Though it has a few minor faults, it remains a charming and rewarding adventure that's a real treat to play.

Kingdom hearts 1 story plot

Here's a summary of the story:

Kingdom Hearts begins on Destiny Islands, where Sora, Riku, and Kairi live. The three friends want to leave the islands to explore new worlds and have prepared a raft for this purpose. One night, the islands are attacked by darkness and shadow creatures—the Heartless. Sora seeks out his friends, finding Riku, who disappears into darkness. At the same time, Sora obtains the Keyblade. The islands are presumed as destroyed, and Sora is left adrift. Meanwhile, King Mickey has left his world to deal with the increasing darkness and left instructions for mage Donald and knight Goofy to find the "key" that will save the King and the Worlds.

Donald and Goofy use the Gummi Ship to travel to Traverse Town, to where Sora has drifted. Sora encounters the Heartless again, and meets Leon, who explains the Heartless are beings that consume hearts, and that the Keyblade is the only weapon capable of defeating them. A man named Ansem, the leader of Leon's home world, is said to have studied the Heartless. Sora meets Donald and Goofy and the three decide to travel together; Donald and Goofy to find Mickey, and Sora to find Kairi and Riku. The three go to various worlds based on Disney films, finding that the Keyblade also locks "Keyholes", passages the Heartless use to take the heart of a world. A group of Disney villains, led by Maleficent, seek out the seven Princesses of Heart to unlock the Keyhole that leads to Kingdom Hearts, a repository of knowledge and power and the source of all hearts. This group includes Riku, whom Maleficent promises she will help in finding Kairi. Maleficent sows distrust in Riku, telling him Sora has abandoned him and Kairi for new friends and the Keyblade. An increasingly antagonistic Riku finds Kairi's body, but cannot find her heart.

Sora and his friends eventually arrive at Hollow Bastion, the homeworld of Ansem and the headquarters of Maleficent. Riku takes the Keyblade from Sora, revealing him as the true Keyblade master and that Sora only received it in his absence. Donald and Goofy, taking their order to follow the "key" seriously, leave with Riku. Sora challenges Riku, stating his heart derives strength from his friends; his friends return to him, as does the Keyblade. In his shame, Riku meets a cloaked man who goads him to give into the darkness. The three engage and kill Maleficent, but then meet a strangely-behaved Riku with a Keyblade that unlocks hearts. Sora finds Kairi's body and Riku, who reveals himself to be Ansem, possessing Riku's body. Ansem explains that Kairi is a Princess of Heart and her heart was trapped within Sora's body since Destiny Islands were destroyed. After defeating Ansem, Sora uses Ansem's Keyblade to unlock his heart by impaling himself, releasing both his and Kairi's heart. Kairi's heart returns to her body, in turn completing the final Keyhole, while Sora becomes a Heartless. Sora is restored to human form by Kairi and resolves to confront Ansem.

Ansem is found in End of the World, the combined remnants of worlds taken by the Heartless. Ansem explains his belief that the nature of the heart revolves around darkness, and he seeks Kingdom Hearts, as that would be the ultimate darkness. However, upon opening the door to Kingdom Hearts, it reveals its light, overwhelming and destroying Ansem. Beyond the door are King Mickey and Riku, and they help Sora and the others close the door, as there are many Heartless beyond it. Mickey and Sora use their Keyblades to lock the door. The worlds lost to the Heartless reconstruct themselves, separating Sora and Kairi. The game concludes as Sora, Donald, and Goofy resolve to find Riku and Mickey.