Kingdom Hearts II is the third game in the Kingdom Hearts series, serving as a direct sequel to Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories. Like the two previous games, it focuses on Sora and his friends battling against the forces of darkness.
Chronologically, Kingdom Hearts II is the eighth game in the timeline, after Kingdom Hearts χ, Kingdom Hearts χ Back Cover, Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep -A fragmentary passage-, Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories, and Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days.
Story
Kingdom Hearts II takes place almost a year after Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories and immediately after Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days.
A boy named Roxas wakes up in his room at Twilight Town. Roxas has dreams of Sora’s adventures while increasingly mysterious activities begin taking place in Twilight Town during Roxas’s summer vacation with his friends Hayner, Pence and Olette. After obtaining the Keyblade to defend himself from strange white creatures, Roxas comes in contact with a young man in black named Axel. Axel appears to know Roxas, though Roxas has no recollection of him.
Roxas eventually makes his way into an abandoned mansion where a girl named Naminé informs him that he is a Nobody, like the strange white creatures, although he doesn’t understand at the time. Finally, confronted by a mysterious, red-cloaked man called DiZ, Roxas discovers Sora, Donald, and Goofy sleeping in the hidden basement of the mansion, where they have been regaining their memories since their last adventure a year ago. Roxas merges with Sora, and Sora finally awakens, alongside his friends.
Jiminy Cricket, who had previously chronicled the trio’s adventures, finds that his journal is now completely blank, save for the note: “Thank Naminé”, which Jiminy had previously left as a clue to their adventure in Castle Oblivion. The group begins their journey anew and arrive in the real Twilight Town, instead of the virtual simulation Roxas lived in. The group crosses paths with King Mickey Mouse, who orders them to board a train, before running off. In the station, the real Hayner, Pence and Olette say their farewell to Sora, who cries because of Roxas inside of him, although he does not understand it at the time.
