Story: Great Idea, Poor Execution

The basic ideas in this game's story (particularly those that related to Roxas) are amazing. But sadly, they were very poorly presented. The moment when Roxas and Namine look at each other through Sora and Kairi's eyes at the end was really sweet (though it doesn't quote top the scene where Kairi drew the second paopou fruit in the first game), but it could have been heart-wrenching if the Twilight Town sequence had been decently written (or perhaps translated?). The idea of a fading world and friends it turned out were never real and that he never belonged to in the first place is an extremely poignant idea (Truman Show-esque, though I thought the emotional subtect of that movie was underplayed), but it never really played out in a way that was satisfying. We never really got the feeling that Roxas also had a family, people he grew up with, scores of memories that turned out to be false. I think flashbacks of his "early life" there and poignant memories of his friends could have made the sequence much better. The dialogue is abysmal, the plot ruined by awkward twists and technicalities that made it difficult to follow and harder to believe. And worse, the emotional potential is severely compromised because of the way they chose to do things. The scene where Sora revisits Twilight Town and gets this "I think I've been here before" feeling (and the unexpectedly tearful farewell) is sort of ruined because it isn't even the one Roxas lived in. It is such a shame, because not only is this a really fun game but an awesome story almost ruined by awkward and convoluted presentation (not completely for me, because I just imagine it the way I think it should have been presented...and I imagine your mileage may vary).