Gettings Started and Tips

Kingdom Hearts Guide

Getting Started

We'll look at some of the basics of the game here.

HUD

HUD

Kingdom Hearts has a good HUD overall, but like most games it is missing some stuff, the most glaring of which is a mini-map. But most of the areas in the game are pretty small.

1) Health bar. When this is drained, it's game over.
2) Magic Power. This bar lowers when you use magic attacks.
3) Friends status. These are your comrade's gauges. Don't worry about
   them to much.
4) Command Menu. This is where all your actions are at. Use the D-pad
   to select a command and X to select. Commands will change depending
   on the situation.
- Top bar is attack/action commands
- Second bar is your full magic menu
- Third is your item menu
- Last is the Open/Talk/Use/Limit Command

Controls

Controls

- D-Pad:
  Up/Down: Navigate Command Menu
  Left/Right: Command Menu Magic/Item Menu Select
- Left Thumbstick: Move
- Left Click (L3): N/A
- Select: Toggles first-Person view
- Start: Pulls up Pause Menu
- Right Thumbstick: Alternate for D-Pad
- Right Click (R3): Alternate for X
- X: Command Menu Select
- Square: Activate Special Abilities when equipped
- Circle: Jump
- Triangle: When Locked-On, command party to attack target
- R1: Toggle Lock-On
- R2: Rotate camera clockwise/switch targets when locked-on
- L1: Brings up Magic Shortcut menu
- L2: Rotate camera counterclockwise/switch targets when locked-on

Combat System

Combat is handled real-time. Enemies appear out of no-where and attack without warning, and you can do the same.

During combat your command menu will turn red and the game music will change. These act like a crude radar to let you know when an enemy is nearby.

Red Command Menu

Attacking is as simple as highlighting the Attack command and pressing X repeatedly. Alternately, you can use magic attacks by selecting magic, or by using magic shortcuts by holding L1 (assuming you set up a magic shortcut using the pause menu).

As you progress through the game, you will receive some combat Abilities that can be equipped through the pause menu. These Abilities will grant special powers, like the ability to see your enemies health, block incoming attacks, or instantly counter an attack with well-timed X presses. Remember that these Abilities MUST be equipped to use.

At the end of a battle (or even after you defeat one enemy), in addition to gaining Experience Points, enemies often drop Health, Magic, and Munny orbs. Some drop items as well such as potions, Synthesis items, and even Accessories.

Different Enemy Drops

- Green orbs are health
- Blue bubbles are magic
- Red chests are rare items
- Gray chests are common items

The bigger the better.

Pause Menu

Pause Menu

Pressing START will bring up the Pause Menu. This menu allows you to equip equipment, equip Abilities, check items, add magic shortcuts... it's a pretty standard RPG menu.

This menu can ONLY be used OUTSIDE of combat. During combat you cannot access this menu and therefore cannot use certain items or equip different weapons/abilities.

Items

Here you equip the items that will appear in the Item shortcut on the Command Menu. If you do not equip an item to Sora, no items will appear in the Command Menu (sometimes it will auto-equip a new item though).

Donald and Goofy should only be given items if it is going to be a hard battle and you think you will need the extra help. Otherwise they'll just waist them.

Also, you can see all the items in your Stock (every item you have total) and Gummi parts. Stock items with green jars can be equipped, yellow triangles have to be used outside of combat, and purple orbs are used in Synthesis or are other quest-type items.

Equipment

The Equipment section has two parts: Weapons and Accessories. The weapon a person is using is the first slot, and all below it are Accessories.

Weapons are what you use to attack with and therefore modify your attack. I'll go over the different attributes in the Weapon section.

Accessories are a different story. They modify your defense. You might want to change accessories depending on the planet you're on and the enemies you face, as most accessories will provide a certain % decrease when hit with an attack of a particular element. I'll go over these more thoroughly in the Accessories section.

Abilities

Abilities unlock a whole bunch of new stuff for you and are a great help throughout the game. Abilities cost AP (ability points) to equip. I'll go over these in the Abilities section. Some abilities cost MP to use. I like to call these Limit Abilities, though that's not what they actually are (Limits appear in KHII and drain all your MP in exchange for a very powerful attack).

Customize

Here is where you equip Magic Shortcuts for yourself and edit the characteristics of your partners. Magic shortcuts are used in and out of combat by holding L1 and pressing the corresponding button.

Character combat modification will aid greatly in keeping your comrades from doing something stupid in battle or otherwise using an inappropriate attack. Most of the stats are pretty self-explanatory. I'll list my preference.

Donald:
- Regular Attacks: Frequently (bashing people with staff)
- Offensive Magic: Constantly (Thunder, Fire, Blizzard)
- Defensive Magic: Frequently (Cure, Aero)
- Advanced Magic: Occasionally (Gravity, Stop)
- HP Items: Only in emergency (use equipped HP healing items)
- MP Items: Frequently (use equipped MP items)

Goofy:
- Regular Attacks: Frequently (bashes with shield)
- Special Attacks: Constantly (uses attacks that consume MP)
- Shield Techniques: Constantly (uses shield to block)
- Support Actions: Frequently (uses abilities that help allies)
- HP Items: Frequently (use equipped HP healing items)
- MP Items: Only in emergency (use equipped MP items)

Status

This shows the stats of all your party members.

First page is base stats.
- HP is health (Hit Points)
- MP is Magic Power
- AP is Ability Points
- STR is Strength (how much damage is done per hit)
- DEF is Defense (how much is subtracted from the enemies STR,
  resulting in damage dealt)
- LV is current level
- EXP is total Experience
- EXP to next level is how much it will take to level up again.

Second page onward is just equipped stuff.

Journal

Your journal is a record of your game. You can check recent events for clues of where to go next, or check your progress on side quests.

Config

These are basic game configuration settings.
- Auto Lock. This will automatically soft-lock you onto the nearest
  enemy. It is very handy and should be turned on.
- Target Lock is whether you want the lock-on to be on/off cycle when
  pressing R1 or if you hold down R1 to stay locked.
  I prefer Auto, as it makes switching targets easier.
- Camera controls whether the camera automatically adjusts itself
  behind Sora after a few seconds or not. I prefer Auto.
- Vibrations is straightforward.
- Sound is also straightforward.
- Difficulty can be changed in-game, but the Expert-only unlockables
  can only be obtained by choosing Expert from game's start and not
  changing it. Other then that you don't gain anything from playing in
  a different difficulty.

Saving

Save Point Type A

Save Point Type B

Standing on a Save Point will completely heal your parties HP and MP (but not MP Charge Units). In any room with a save point, there will be no enemies.

There are two types of Save Points: A and B.
- Type A's will always be there and can always teleport you to your
  Gummi Ship.
- Type B's wont necessarily always be there and some wont teleport you
  to your Gummi Ship.

Leveling

Level Up!

Leveling up is a common part of any RPG, but like any RPG KH has it's quarks. Leveling up is done by gaining a certain amount of EXP, or Experience Points.

When you or one of your party members defeats an enemy, you ALL gain the same amount of EXP, even the people that aren't in your party currently. The amount gained can be seen briefly over the defeated enemies head.

Once you gain enough EXP, you will automatically level up. In the process, you gain either 1 to a single stat (STR, DEF, AP, HP, MP), or you will learn a new ability. Occasionally, but very rarely, you might gain multiple stat boosts or a stat plus a new ability.

The stat gained will be shown in the upper left corner of the screen, along with the name of the party member that leveled up.

Advanced Combat

Advanced Combat

You're probably getting a pretty good handle on things at this point, so now I'd like to introduce some hints and tips on fighting. I know we haven't covered Magic yet, but read up on it in the Magic section at the end (there isn't much I'd list here that wouldn't be there, so I just made one section instead of placing it as a subsection).

- X,X,X. Combos can deal a ton of damage while keeping your opponent stunned. Keep jamming X till your combo finishes, and start another as soon as possible. Keep the pressure on.

- Simon says Jump. If an opponent is in the air and you select attack, Sora will automatically jump up to that enemies height and start an aerial combo (provided he isn't out of jumping distance).

- A shot in the dark. Use Lock-On to your advantage. With Lock-On, you can often hit opponents you cant even see on screen (whether it be distance or camera angle).

- Don't bring a knife to a gunfight... unless you're a Ninja. Choose the right magic for the job. Fire has good range, but is only effective against one enemy. Blizzard is like a shotgun, short range and spread-fire. Thunder is strong but expensive and very inaccurate. Stop and Gravity aren't normally worth your time. Let Donald handle them.

- The Magic Triangle. If you've ever played Fire Emblem or any similar RPG, you've had this beaten into your head. It's a little different in KH, though as it's basic weakness/resistance rather then a triangle. Use the opposing element of the enemy to deal large damage, but avoid using the same element as it will actually heal them.

- Cant touch this... Dodgeroll and Block are your friends. Depending on your choices early on, it may be a bit before you get these abilities, but master them quickly as they will save your life many a time later in the game. Block can send back the strongest attack, while dodgeroll can get you out of harms way quickly.

- But master, I'm ready now! In case you don't have Block equipped, you can often use your Keyblade to block your opponents attack with an attack of your own, cancelling them both out. This also works with projectiles.

- I see your attack, and raise you double. Once you learn Counter, always have it equipped. Early on it's rare to actually trigger it, but later and against certain bosses, it comes in real handy to be able to block and attack in the same move. Just keep jamming X and you'll get it.

- YOU'RE my guardian spirit...? Summons are worthless. The sooner you figure this out, the better. They are fun to use, but overall they just aren't worth it. You can usually do more damage by using that MP on Thunder then the Summon could ever hope to do. Tinker Bell is the only one I've ever considered using in real combat, but never had to (by the time she's useful, you have so many Megalixir's it's not funny).

- Scrooge'd. Don't be stingy with your items. You have them to help you through tough spots, so don't fall into the “but there'll be a tougher spot around the corner” RPG routine. There rarely is, and what good will it do you even if there is but you're not alive to reach it?

- Push your Limits. Limit Commands (or Special Attack Abilities) use MP, but usually not much and can deal a lot of damage. Don't get me wrong, MOST are still pretty useless, but I do spam Ars Arcanum and Ragnarok during the last few worlds. 

- Lets get technical. Too bad you're not a duck, or I could have made a “Technical Fowl” joke instead... Anyway, you can be awarded bonus EXP for completing one of the following:
  - Deflect an opponents attack with an attack of your own
  - Hitting an opponent with his own projectile by using your Keyblade
    as a bat. 
  - Hit an opponent in his weak spot (for MASSIVE DAMAGE!)
  - Attack with an opposing super-effective magic type
These will all get your varying amounts of Tech Points depending on the enemy.