Not the reason I played the game

Earlier today I completed my playthrough of the HD remastered version of Kingdom Hearts 2. This edition of Kingdom Hearts 2 is the Final Mix version of the game, which was previously only available in Japan. Though largely the same as the original, it contains additional items, boss battles and various other tweaks from the original game. Having not played Kingdom Hearts 2 since sometime around 2009, I felt like I was overdue to replay one of my favorite games from the PS2 era, and the HD remastered version seemed like the perfect way to do it.

Like my time with the HD remastered version of Final Fantasy 10, I played through the game knowing what to expect but also taking note of the new features. Towards the end of my time, I decided to look more into some of the extra boss fights. I completed a few of them, but then one boss fight stopped me dead. I took a second try at it, and failed again. Then a third attempt, still no success. At this point I was scratching my head trying to figure out how to best counter the boss’s attacks and getting a bit aggravated at what, from my irritated perspective, were some game mechanics that needed adjustment. But then I remembered something important, moved on and went back to finishing up the main storyline of the game. What I remembered was the original reason I had rented the game. I wasn’t playing to defeat every boss and collect every hidden item. Maybe one day in the future I’ll do that. All that extra stuff that’s part of the HD remastered version is cool, but it’s not the reason I played the game. I played the game to relive that story and remember why I love the Kingdom Hearts series so much, and I wasn’t going to let some optional boss fight take away my enjoyment of the experience.