Kingdom Hearts II: Signature Series Official Strategy Guide

Awesome walkthrough in terms of the game; does give a lot of heads up information that becomes critical, but given the content of the game, it is alot to read! Also includes awesome artwork and pics from the game, full area maps and previous gamer advice. To find EVERYTHING, I suggest picking up a copy of this.

You're not gonna find a better guide than this, but there are a couple annoying misprints I've caught. 1. The info for Lightning Gems & Lightning Crystals is swapped. 2. Crystals canNOT be bought at Moogle Shops, no matter how many you get. (I have 156 Blazing Crystals, and have never been able to purchase them.) There's also not a slot for accomplishing this on the Synthesis's "Lists," furthering suggesting it's impossible. Just lettin others know.

From reading the reviews about this guide I have to say did you get the wrong guide or something. I got the guide the same day I got the game. I think this guide is very helpful and useful, and has lots of tips like which character to pick in certain worlds. And where to find items and how to beat extremely hard bosses. it has detailed maps that really help! SO overall this guide really helps, I would tell kingdom hearts 2 gamer to buy this guide!

One thing I've always hated about strategy guides are the pointless introductory chapters that basically run through everything the booklets included with the video games run through, that being the basics (controls, character intros, game systems, etc.). And the funny thing is, these chapters are usually entitled "Basics". To me, these chapters are completely pointless and add nothing to the actual experience of the game, as strategy guides are meant to do. But the guide for Kingdom Hearts II does not have this, and I have to give it at least one extra point because of that. Beyond that, this is a massive book, highly detailed and containing almost everything needed to get the most out of this game. While yes, there is an introduction, it's only three pages long and has nothing to do with the controls of the game, but goes more into the history of the Kingdom Hearts world and story. To me, this was welcome, mainly because I was unable to complete the first game in this series, and I don't remember much about the Gameboy Advance Kingdom Hearts. It was a refresher that made it possible for me to jump right into Kingdom Hearts II. After that, it goes into the character introductions, detailing the skills and level progression of all the characters, as well as a list of abilities. Though I think this appendix-like section could have been placed at the back of the book, it does fit well here as it's a section used a lot during game play. Then comes the walk-through, which covers nearly 180 pages and doesn't miss many points. Using a kind of numbered checklist, it guides you from point to point while supplying a written walk-through as well. I liked the set-up, because it doesn't spoil much, but it does leave a little out at times. Also included in every separate world walk-through is a map showing where to find the treasures, a list of creatures that may be encountered, boss strategies, and brief character introductions. Though some of this can spoil the game, they make it easy to avoid by separating each point into its own section or space. After that is the norm of all strategy guides, that being the appendixes of secrets and strategies. First comes the "Lay of the Lands" which is a compilation of all the maps, next are lists of items, armor, accessories, magic, and summoned allies. After that comes the Gummi Ship section, detailing the more complicated mini-game which returned from the first game. Finally, it closes with a very detailed bestiary and boss index, which covers all the information the boss strategies found in the walk-through doesn't encounter. To sum up, I've included a list of pros and cons with this review: + No introductory handbook. + The intro is more of a refresher of the stories of the last two games + Massively detailed sections. + 350 pages leaves little to want. + Beautiful construction. - Hard to reference because of the size, especially during game play. - The walk-through is weak at points. - Does have a few spoil

While trying to figure out what game guide I should buy I read reviews on here for both and was left confused as ever. Just in case you don't know I'm talking about this copy and the regular cheaper copy of the Kingdom Hearts II guide books. So I bought both and did a side by side comparison. Plain and simple here's the bottom line. Both books are the same. Page for page, made by the same company, say the same thing. Only difference in the book is the cover. The cheap one has just one cover with a picture of all of the characters. The limited edition has 4 different covers that have Sora being one of 4 of his different colors. The bonus to the limited edition in the inclusion of Jiminy's Journal. In this book it gives a little more info on each of the characters you will encounter. Now when I say a little more info I mean two or three sentence giving a general history. It does go over the Heartless a bit and how to defeat them a little more then the guide. Like the first book where you collected the 101 dalmation puppies and put a sticker on a poster for everyone you found. This has a sticker for every character you meet, for things you pick up along the way, and for every world you make it too. So what one is right for you? If you want just the basic no frills stick with the lower cost one. It does have all the info you need and if you need a little more help there is plenty of sites that can help you through a difficult spot. If you wanna have a little more fun with keeping track of who you have encountered and what you have collected as well as being able to write your top scores to mini games you play along the way go for the limited, it's a bit funner. As for me I went with the Limited Edition verision just for the extra fun with the stickers and because I'm a huge Disney and Kingdom Heart fan. If you have questions feel free to contact me through here if that is possible. And remember this review contains my thoughts, ideas, and opinions on both of the books meant to help you decide which one is best for you. Hope it helped!