Atlantica

Kingdom Hearts Guide

Atlantica

Atlantica

Theme Music: Under the Sea
Battle Music: An Adventure in Atlantica

Atlantica is the level five world south-east of Agrabah.

I need remind you, you are eligible for more stuff in the Interlude section, which I strongly recommend doing.

Good level: 28
Recommended level: 31
Over-leveled: 36

Movie: The Little Mermaid, Disney 1989

Based on Hans Christian Andersen's book by the same name, the movie and book are generally similar, minus the spiritual undertones and happy ending. One thing of note is that the book gave nothing a name: people, places, nothing; things were referred to by descriptions instead (The Little Mermaid being the main character). Both center around a mermaid that longs to live among humans, particularly for the love of a dashing prince, so much so that they put their lives in danger to that end. Now, in the book, the Sea Witch is merely a supporting character, not evil. Disney, seeking a villain for the hero to fight, turns her into a main focus, the bane of Triton and would-be dark magician of the sea.

High-Tide

Enemies: Sea Neon, Screwdiver, Aquatank, Sheltering Zone, Search Ghost,
         Shark
Boss: Ursula / Flotsam & Jetsam
Items: Mythril, Mega-Potion x3, Mega Ether x4, Mythril Shard x3,
       Elixir x2, Cottage x4, Ether, Orichalcum, Crystal Trident
Save Points: 3 (2-A, 1-B)

Torn Pages: #3
Ansem's Report: #3
Keychain: Crabclaw

Notes:
- Dodge-roll and Block are disabled here, as is jumping, as those keys are taken by swimming commands of [square]= lower and (circle) = raise.

- There are a lot of clams in this area, and to get the pearls inside you'll have to defeat the Heartless guarding them (sometimes you have to examine them first as well). Note that unlike chests, once you open them the clams do not disappear. Further, you do not automatically get what's inside; you have to swim over the pearl to pick it up.

- Blizzard makes an excellent attack in this world, as it does fair damage and you don't have to be close or have perfect aim to hit anything. Combine that with the fact that all enemies drop an obscene amount of MP balls, and you've got yourself an attack to spam.

--== Atlantica: Tranquil Grotto ==--

Tag

- Get a crash course in swimming from Sebastian. It'll seem a little awkward at first, but you'll get used to it. And something he doesn't teach you: as you swim, locking on to an object will automatically raise/lower your height to it. 

Sea Neons

- Class is interrupted by the resident bullies. Defeat all the Sea Neons, while everyone is hiding.

Save Point

- After, lock onto the large shell and attack it to open it up (you'll find many shells like this). Save at the point inside and follow Arial into the Undersea Valley.

--== Atlantica: Undersea Valley ==--

This is the main area of Atlantica, you would do well to study it. Do as Arial said and start following the gold Tridents. Oh, and don't worry about the big vortex in the center of the area, that only pushes you up, not down.

Mythril Shard

- It's not long before you find the first red clam. It contains a Mythril Shard. To open it, hit it with Fire.

Mega Ether

- Into the sea wall behind the red shell is a cave with another clam inside. Break it open to claim your prize.

Mega-Potion

- Coming out of the cave, take a left and look for a clam on the sea floor.

Mythril

- Again, into the sea wall beside the clam with the Mega-Potion is a cave. This one is harder to spot, but it's there.

Elixir, Cottage

- Continue following the Tridents to the other side of the area where there are two more clams.

With the last two items in hand, follow the Tridents down into the cave.

--== Atlantica: Calm Depths ==--

First Alcove

- As you enter the torrid of water in the passage, hug the right hand wall and enter the first alcove you come across. This is the only part of this area that is not one giant geyser.

Though, the geyser in the center of the room will push you up into the Undersea Valley if you aren't careful. Anyway, enter the cave on the other side.

--== Atlantica: Undersea Cave ==--

There is a slightly hidden nook in this area that has a clam (cottage) inside. Other then that, float up to the top to enter the next area.

--== Atlantica: Undersea Gorge ==--

Mythril Shard

- There are two clams in this area as well. Hug the left wall as you exit and follow it to a dead end. Sink down, and there's your clam. Hit it with Blizzard to open it.

Mega-Ether

- The other is in the center of the area, and kind of hard to miss.

You are now supposed to follow the Tridents into the cave above the last clam that leads to Triton's Palace. But, a quick detour first. Facing the cave that leads to Triton's Palace, follow the wall left and enter the cave at the dead end.

--== Atlantica: Undersea Garden ==--

You'd be surprised at the number of people who still don't know this area exist. And for good reason, there's really nothing here but a clam with a Mega-Potion. Grab the potion and head into Triton's Palace.

--== Atlantica: Triton's Palace ==--

You'll start meeting Screwdivers now. Despite what you may have been doing, don't use Thunder magic anymore, as these guys absorb it.

Mega-Ether

Cottage

- To the left and right of the entrance, against the sea wall, are two clams.

Mythril Shard

- Near the end of the area is a yellow clam you cant miss. Hit it with Thunder to open it.

Elixir

- Opposite the yellow clam is a regular clam under the walkway.

There is a White Trinity on the walkway, but you cant use that right now, so continue to Triton's Throne.

--== Atlantica: Triton's Throne ==--

For now, there is nothing here but a cutscene. You are ejected back to Triton's Palace, and vaguely told to follow Arial. Head back to the Undersea Gorge area.

--== Atlantica: Undersea Gorge ==--

Entrance

- Arial will point out her Grotto, behind the rock. Swim over to it and you'll automatically go in.

--== Atlantica: Arial's Grotto ==--

Torn Page #3

- There are four chests in here. Use your lock-on and cycle targets to find them all: Torn Page, Mega-Potion, Cottage, Ether. Torn Page is near the top.

When you're done, leave the Grotto, and see a cutscene where the villain finally shows up.

--== Atlantica: Undersea Gorge ==--

Dolphin

New and completely un-explained goal here: clear ALL the Heartless in the area, then grab onto the Dolphin. After riding him for a bit, hop off (or when he throws you off), return to the Undersea Valley via Undersea Cave -> Calm Depths (you can ride the geyser up).

--== Atlantica: Undersea Valley ==--

Dolphin, we meet again

- Again, you have to go through the process of clearing out _pretty much_ all the enemies in the area. THEN you have to track down the Dolphin again, which is much harder this time as the area is so big. The best bet is to travel counter-clockwise, that is, against the Tridents that point back to the Palace. Since the Dolphin travels clockwise, you have a much better chance of running into him. Further, he likes to travel close to the ground.

Note that Dolphin will NOT appear in this area unless you rode him in the Undersea Gorge area.

Once you grab on again, he will take you upstream in the Calm Depths and drop you off at the Sunken Ship.

--== Atlantica: Sunken Ship ==--

Mythril Shard

Elixir

- Behind the ship's stern is some debris. One is a mostly-buried hull with a chest (yes, a real chest!) containing a Mythril Shard. The other is a smaller capsized ship with a break in it's hull. Inside the break is a chest with an Elixir.

Nothing left out here for now. Time to explore the spooky ghost ship (no time find a dog that speaks broken English)!

All keep this as part of the same room, as it pretty much is.

Inside the ship is a chest near the rear window. The chest contains the Crystal Trident. After opening the chest, a real-estate developer in a suit, I mean, a Shark burst through the window and swims off. Don't go rushing off after him yet (as I'm sure you're just DYING to, right?)

Mythril Shard

- Behind the staircase that lead down here is some boxes. Break the box beside the stairs to reveal a chest with a Mythril Shard.

Mythril

- Under the staircase are more boxes. Destroy those to reveal a hole into the hull of the ship. Down below, there is a clam in the dirt that gives up some Mythril.

Now we'll go fight Mr. Shark. Exit out of one of the many holes in the side.

He's not normally hard to find, nor is he hard to fight. Charge at him head-on with no regard for yourself or him. He will bite back, but Donald should be able to keep up with the healing, if not, swim away and left Donald/Goofy keep him distracted while you heal.

And he would have gotten away with it to, if it wasn't for... ok, I'll stop now >.>

Look for a cave opposite the area as the capsized ship, at the very bottom of the sea wall. It should lead back to the Undersea Gorge.

--== Atlantica: Undersea Gorge ==--

Note the inactive geyser ahead. Lock on and attack it to release it's bubbly goodness. Ride it up to knock the comically oversized chest out of the hole. The chest is, actually, a real chest that, upon landing, you can open for some valuable Orichalcum.

Go into Arial's Grotto behind the rock.

--== Atlantica: Arial's Grotto ==--

You don't actually do anything in here. Rather there's just a cutscene. After, head back to Triton's Palace.

--== Atlantica: Triton's Throne ==--

Why? Why would he, the King of the Sea, put down his all-powerful Trident and leave the Palace at such a time as this, when he KNEW there was someone trying to kill everyone?

That aside, you can now explore this room. There's nothing really to see, except a clam with a save point, which you should probably use at this point. When you're done, go to the Sunken Ship via the geyser we opened.

--== Atlantica: Sunken Ship ==--

Switch

- This time, near the front of the ship is the bow of another ship sticking out of the mud. Swim up and examine the wall behind said bow. Sebastian swims behind it and pushes a button that opens a new path.

--== Atlantica: Den of Tides ==--

Swim through the eerie area (explains all the geysers at least). There is a fork in the road, though you probably wont notice. One path leads to the Cavern Nook, a place where you can save your game and collect a Mega-Ether. The other leads to the Tidal Abyss, with the boss fight.

I would go to the Cavern Nook first.

--== Atlantica: Tidal Abyss ==--

A straight shot to Ursula's Lair.

--== Atlantica: Ursula's Lair ==--

--== Sub-boss: Ursula / Flotsam and Jetsam ==--

Attacks:
1) Spin attack. Ursula spins around the room randomly with her sharp tentacles. Call sign: Hahahahaha

2) Dash. Flotsam and Jetsam randomly run into you.

3) Caldron: Red Magic. Caldron glows bright red, and releases a volcanic eruption. Ursula must throw in two potions for this to happen.

4) Caldron: Blue Magic. Caldron glows bright blue, and releases a vortex. Ursula must throw in two potions for this to happen.

How to dodge:
1) She'll do this constantly. If you just kind of keep moving around the caldron you should be fine.

2) It's more a matter of luck. They'll sneak up on you, with everything else going on, they're hard to spot. They don't do much damage so it's not a big deal.

3) Stand back and away.

4) Stand back and away.

Strategy:
No one is a real threat during this fight, just an annoyance. You need to focus on the caldron with magic to make it backfire. When she tosses something into it, counter with two spells of your own. Fire and Thunder seem to work best (not necessarily in combo or damage wise, just the hit % is better). You normally have to cast them back to back. The thing is, even if you get the timing right, sometimes it still wont backfire. I guess that's the very nature of something backfiring is that it's not constant, but still, it's irritating. If you start running low on MP, attack the two eels. Their MPr is insanely high.

When it does finally backfire, Ursula will have very low defense and be stunned for a minute, long enough for you to take her down half a bar or more. Keep it up till she goes down.

--====--

After the fight, you learn Mermaid Kick ability. This will allow you to travel upstream, against geysers.

Large Clam

- Exit the room and come back in. There will be a sea urchin next to a clam shell on the wall. Attack it to make it explode, releasing the chest from inside the clam (Mythril).

Now exit for real and head back to the Calm Depths (you'll want to save along the way).

--== Atlantica: Calm Depths ==--

Equip your Mermaid Kick ability and use it to swim upstream against the current. Your goal is the cave on the right side, closest to the geyser.

--== Atlantica: ??? ==--

--==Boss: Ursula ==--

Attacks:
1) Random Thunder. Throughout the battle, thunder magic will rain down continuously. It will get more fierce as the battle rages on.

2) Windbag. She will inhale, creating a vortex that sucks you in. If you get to close to her face, she'll then bite you.

3) Bubblebeam. Spits out a stream of slow moving bubbles. Call sign: Get ready for this!

4) Royal Thunder. Late in the battle, she'll call down an almost undodgeable wall of thunder magic around her. Call sign: This wont be pretty!

How to Dodge:
1) Keep moving just a little. It gets more accurate as the battle progresses, but overall it's not too much to worry about.

2) When she starts to inhale, mermaid kick away. After she stops, she'll be out of breath for a second, long enough to get some good attacks in... if you weren't currently at the farthest possible point from here. Generally, her recovery time is just enough time for you to get back to the battle.

3) Don't be in front of her after the call sign.

4) If you're anywhere near her, it's pretty much a sure thing you're going to be hit.

Strategy:
For the most part, you'll want to just rush in and attack. The back of her head isn't as strong, and your attacks will do more damage, but it's rare that you're able to get back there. Of all your magic, Thunder has the biggest effect, so use that if you want (her MPr is high, so don't worry about wasting it).

End

--====--

After the fight, your Thunder magic is upgraded, and you get Ansem's Report #3. King Triton then reveals the Keyhole, and Arial gives you the Crabclaw Keychain.

Well, that's it for here. You can now go to either Neverland or Holloween Town. Technically, you didn't have to come here. You only need to complete either Holloween Town or Atlantica, just something to bridge the space route to Neverland. Still though, we're going to 100%, which means we need both.

Again, if you haven't completed the first part of the Interlude, now is as good a time as any.