A giant key, Disney worlds, and an emotional punch nobody saw coming.

On gut feeling, no criterion, Kingdom Hearts II sits ahead of 87% of games. And for once the detail confirms rather than contradicts. Attachment climbs ahead of 98% of titles, the desert island pick ahead of 97%, the controller feel ahead of 98%, art direction ahead of 93%. And the soundtrack takes first place outright, ahead of every other game. On few votes, it must be said, so still to confirm, but no line really wavers. Only the immediate fun, the session that stretches to 3am, sits a notch lower, ahead of 68% of games. A game you love, more than a game you snack on.

Against the action-RPGs of the PS2 era, Kingdom Hearts II holds together on an unlikely alchemy: sharp, readable combat, a crossover that shouldn't work, and writing that takes seriously what others would have played as a gimmick. That seriousness is exactly what explains the emotional scores.

So, who's it for? For you if you love games that mix spectacle with sincerity, and music you keep long after the credits. Much less so if Disney characters make you roll your eyes before the first cutscene even ends.