Kingdom Hearts:Birth By Sleep - Ventus Walkthrough

SECTION 3WALKTHROUGH: VEN'S STORY

[WLK:V0] Ven's Story: Land of Departure
As with Terra, the main story begins with Terra and Aqua attempting the test to
become Keyblade masters. Right away, there is a problem though:

+-BOSS FIGHT: BERSERK ORBS----------------------------------------------------+
| Reward: HP BOOST, FATAL MODE COMMAND STYLE |
| |
| These guys have two attacks: |
| |
| Attack 1: Fly back and forth damaging you if you are close. This does not |
| do much damage. |
| Attack 2: Slowly sweep lasers across the room. |
| |
| If an orb uses the laser attack, evade it as best you can and then hit the |
| orb to make it stop. The orbs moves around a lot so the faster your attack, |
| the better: Strike Raid and basic O attacks are good. |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

The main reward for this battle is the Speed Rave Command Style. After filling
up your Command Bar with at least one or two uses of a battle command, you will
now switch styles instead of using your basic finisher move. As the game goes
on, you will find other finisher moves and other command styles as well. Which
basic finisher move you use is chosen in the menu, but which command style you
get is determined by which kinds of battle commands you use.

Once the battle is over, there will be another cutscene and then off you go! As
an additional reward for clearing the Land of Departure, you will begin with
the KEYBLADE BOARD, which you can try out any time you would like. (See the
Command Board section [MIN:CB] for more information.) You will also get the
TERRA and AQUA D-LINKS. Using these will temporarily change your battle
commands and finisher move. D-Links can be pretty strong, especially at the
beginning of the game, so don't forget to use them!

You will also get's XEHANORT'S LETTER.


===============================================================================
[WLK:V1] Ven's Story: Dwarf Woodlands
===============================================================================


When Ven's story begins, you will be in space on your Keyblade hovercraft. Only
one world will be accessible so head over there. It is the Dwarf Woodlands.
So... welcome to your first world!

For each world, I will always list up-front where you can find all the treasure
chests and the Prize Pots (see below) in that world. I will generally use
compass directions to say exactly where each chests is. I know this isn't too
helpful at first, but once you get the map for the world, you should be able to
use the compass directions no problem.

Now, on to Prize Pots. These guys are rare "enemies" that fly around without
attacking. Every time you hit one of them, it will drop an icecream ingredient.
Which ingredients you get depends on which world you are in. Once you reach
Disney Town, you will be able to synthesize a few bonuses, including a new
Keyblade, with these ingredients. See the Icrecream Shop section [COL:IS] if
you want the details. In the meantime, try to find the Prize Pots for each
world before moving on!

Note: In most worlds, the Prize Pots only show up sometimes. If you do not see
them, leave the area and come back until them. However, once you see them once
in a world, they will not reappear until you leave the entire world.

+--TREASURE CHESTS------------------------------------------------------------+
| REVENGE RAID: Mine: Pit, North end |
| CURE-ALL: Mine: Pit, East end |
| MINIMIZE: Mine: Pit, Ledge in the southeast corner (climb up near the south |
| exit) |
| MOISTURE CRYSTAL: Flower Meadow, Southwest corner |
| SPARKLING CRYSTAL: Dark Forest, South end |
| POTION: Dark Forest, Chokepoint between the two open areas |
| ETHER: Dark Forest, North end |
| FIRE: Dwarfs' House, Northwest corner |
| POISON: Dwarfs' House, Southeast corner down the stream |
| MAP: Dwarfs' House, Northeast corner |
| ATTACK RECIPE: Dwarfs' Room, Northeast corner |
| POTION: Trail, Halfway up |
| ETHER: Trail, Northwest corner |
| POTION: Trail, Northwest corner on the ledge |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| PRIZE POTS: (DREAM APPLES and ROMANCE MILK) |
| On the right side of the Mine: Pit area. You have to take down two |
| Monotrackers and then a group of Red-Hit Cherries first. If the Prize |
| Pots don't appear after that, leave the area, come back and try again. |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

Before getting too far into this world, let me repeat the advice I gave at the
beginning of Terra's story, in case you are just starting off. There are three
things you should be using regularly to give yourself an edge in combat:

- Shoot Lock. Press L+R. You are vulnerable when charging but other than
that, Shoot Locks are the strongest and safest attacks in the game.
- D-Link, especially with Aqua so that you can use her Cure ability. Press
right on the directional pad to switch to the D-Link menu.
- Speed Rave and/or a finisher move. These are activated whenever your
command bar fills up. Which one you get depends on whether you have been
using battle commands or just attacking.

You can only use Shoot Lock when your Focus Bar is full, and you can only use
D-Links when your D-Link bar is full, but don't worry: they fill up fast. Also,
you want to level up your D-Links, and you can only do that by using them!

This world begins with Ven seeing the seven dwarves. Collect the nearby chests,
and follow the dwarves into their mine. Dopey will stay with you but the rest
will run to the back of the mine, and you will need to find them:

1. Sneezy is just right of the entrance in a box that hops up and down as he
sneezes. Destroy the box to find him.
2. Grumpy is in one box in a group near Sneezy. He will charge you if you get
close, and it is very hard to avoid getting hit. If your health gets low,
I recommend using Strike Raid to destroy his box from a distance.
3. Sleepy is asleep in a box at the back right near a chest. His box won't
move around but it will shake. Destroy it too.
4. Happy is in one box in a group at the back right near Sleepy. He will run
away very fast as you approach. Just keep chasing him, and use Battle
Commands and Speed Rave to speed things up.
5. Happy is in a box at the back left near the mine cart. Like Doc, he will
constantly run away. Deal with him in the same way.
6. Bashful is in a mine cart that follows a couple tracks on the left side.
Destroy the cart. Stay behind it though - you will take damage if it hits
you from in front.

While you're doing this, be sure to get the chests too. Revenge Raid, which you
will find in the north end of the mine will remain useful the whole game. If
you ever need to heal, you can step out at any time to the save point in the
previous room. You won't have to recapture the dwarves you've already found.

With that taken care of, head back the way you came. Search the Dwarfs' House
and the Dark Forest for chests, and then speak with Snow White.

+-BOSS FIGHT: SNOW WHITE ESCORT-----------------------------------------------+
| Reward: HP BOOST |
| |
| You have to escort Snow White through the Dark Forest without letting her |
| die. The enemies are going to focus on her more than you, and there is no |
| way to heal here, so you are going to have to take down the enemies as |
| quickly as possible. I recommend equipping Minimize and Poison for that. |
| |
| The main thing to watch here are the trees themselves. When Snow White |
| approaches a tree, it will come to life and start hitting her with a wind |
| attack. If you are nearby, you will see a Square signal appear on your |
| screen. Press Square to block the tree and then press O to counter with an |
| aura that will destroy it instantly. You can use Square to block attacks |
| from other enemies too, but they are pretty passive, so the opportunity |
| won't come up as often, and it is not as important. |
| |
| Other than that, the main thing to do is to stay near Snow White and keep |
| hitting the enemies there to keep them busy. Good luck! |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

After a short and rather unhelpful cutscene with the seven dwarves, return to
the woods for the world's main boss fight.

+-BOSS FIGHT: MAD TREANT------------------------------------------------------+
| Reward: DECK COMMAND SLOT, FIRE BLAZER COMMAND STYLE |
| |
| Ven's first true boss is pretty nasty, especially since you cannot easily |
| get the Cure spell beforehand. You might want to level up a bit before |
| going in, or equip a Potion to give yourself some healing. And don't forget |
| you can also use the Aqua D-Link for more healing. |
| |
| At the start of the fight, the Mad Treant will attack in more-or-less the |
| following pattern: |
| |
| 1. First he will shake violently and send flying all the fireworks that |
| are hanging on him. This can hurt a lot, so do NOT try to combo him |
| before this attack. Wait for it, and then back off as quickly as |
| possible. Even at 333MHz, the fireworks lag the PSP a bit, so try not |
| to rely too heavily on Dodge Roll. |
| 2. Next, the Mad Treant will jump up into the air three times, landing |
| with a shockwave each time and dropping a few poison apples. This is |
| the best time to attack. Stay close and do a jumping combo right as |
| the Mad Treant is about to land. During the last jump, I recommend |
| running behind him as he goes up so he lands facing away from you. I |
| think this may prevent him from countering (see below). Assuming you |
| get off three combos, you should now have your finisher move charged |
| up. That makes you invincible, so you might as well use it too. |
| 3. Finally the Mad Treant will dig his roots into the ground and send |
| them up at you periodically. Dodge Roll around to stay safe. During |
| this time, the Mad Treant will also get his fireworks and apples back, |
| and he will repeat with attack 1. |
| |
| Sometimes the Mad Treant might also swing his canopy at you or lash out |
| with roots. He will then continue where he left off in the main attack |
| sequence. |
| |
| After you do a bunch of damage, the Mad Treant will fall over stunned and |
| drop some health balls. Pick them up and keep hitting him. A little later, |
| he will turn black and go berserk. Back off. The fight will now get a bit |
| harder. The root attack will now be more violent and more erratic. Again, |
| keep Dodge Rolling and stay away from the Mad Treant himself. Perhaps most |
| importantly, a new attack is introduced into the rotation after the three |
| jumps: |
| |
| 2.5. The Mad Treant will shoot three meteors out of his trunk into the |
| sky, and these will fall on you. Wait until the shadow of the first |
| one gets close to you, then start Dodge Rolling to the side to avoid |
| all three meteors. |
| |
| Be patient, avoid each attack like I said, and you should be mostly okay. |
| You can speed things up by using Shoot Locks, and if you get in trouble, |
| don't forget to heal with a Potion or with the Aqua D-Link. Good luck! |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

After the fight is over, you will also get the SNOW WHITE D-LINK and the ROCK
SPLENDOR KEYBLADE. The Deck Command Slot will also let you equip another
ability, so be sure to do so.

You can also now come back at any time to pick up the final chest in the Flower
Meadow where you meet the hag with the apples.


===============================================================================
[WLK:VI] Ven's Story: Interlude
===============================================================================


With the Dwarf Woodlands clear, you will now have a choice of where to go next.
The map points out two major story worlds that you can go to: the Castle of
Dreams and the Enchanted Dominion.

Here are a couple other things you can do at any point.
- Go to the Mirage Arena (the far left world) and try entering a tournament.
Most likely you will lose, but it's still fun.
- Play a round on the Command Board (see [MIN:CB]). This optional mini-game
gives you a few abilities that you cannot get in other ways, and it also
helps level up whatever abilities you already have.


===============================================================================
[WLK:V2] Ven's Story: Castle of Dreams
===============================================================================


+--TREASURE CHESTS------------------------------------------------------------+
| MAP: Cinderella's Room, North end on the floor |
| STUN BLADE: Cinderella's Room, Southeast corner on a table (jump on the |
| ball of yarn, roll to the table, and then jump up from there) |
| MAGIC RECIPE: Cinderella's Room, West end on a table (see previous) |
| POTION: Mouse Passage, On a platform between the Dressing Room south exit |
| and Cinderella's Room |
| THUNDERSTORM: Mouse Passage, On a beam high above the exit to Cinderella's |
| Room (jump from the nearby fork - see below for more info) |
| ETHER: Mouse Passage, Northeast corner looking down on the exit to |
| Cinderella's room |
| POWER CRYSTAL: Mouse Passage, On a platform in the southwest area that can |
| be reached by knocking down cheese (see below for more info) |
| POTION: Mouse Passage, Northwest corner on the bottom floor |
| SATIATED CRYSTAL: Mouse Passage, Southwest corner on the bottom floor, |
| behind the fork |
| ZERO GRAVITY: Dressing Room, Southwest corner on a bookshelf (come from the |
| Rat Passage in the center of the south wall) |
| LETTER BALLOON: Dressing Room, Northwest corner on a pile of boxes (jump |
| off the ball of yarn to get up there) |
| BLIZZARD: Dressing Room, Northeast corner on the floor |
| TIME CRYSTAL: Dressing Room, Southeast corner on a pile of boxes (jump off |
| the ball of yarn to get up there) |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| PRIZE POTS: (CHOCOLATE VALENTINES and WEDDING CAKE) |
| First go to the southwest corner "room" of the Mouse Passage - the area |
| directly underneath the spider web and the cheese. The Prize Pots are in |
| the northwest corner of this room. |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

I will cover the Castle of Dreams next. The exploration here can be a little
confusing, but the combat is much easier than the Dwarf Woodlands. The first
step is to follow Jaq through the Mouse Passage. Climb up here to get a chest
and then to exit into Cinderella's room.

You will then be given your main mission for the world: finding materials for
Cinderella's dress. While you're here, notice the ball of yarn on the floor.
You can jump on these things, roll around on them, and then jump off to get to
high places throughout the Castle of Dreams. This one can get you STUN BLADE
and the MAGIC RECIPE from tables in Cinderella's room.

Once you're ready, head back the way you came to get to the Dressing Room. This
place is swarming with enemies, but if you take care of the flying creatures,
you can just roll around on the ball of yarn to kill everything else! You can
then pick up three chests (see the list above) and three materials for the
dress:

WHITE LACE: Southeast corner on a couch
WHITE RIBBON: Northwest corner on a pile of boxes (jump off the ball of yarn
to get up there)
PINK SASH: Northeast corner on the floor

Now exit out through the north mouse hole.

Keep walking until you reach a fork stuck into the wall. By jumping on its
handle, you will get propelled up to the next level. From here, you can reach
everything in the Mouse Passage, but it's a little tricky. First look south.
You will see another fork in the wall and a box of matches. Head over there,
and hit the matches until they get knocked through the wall. Keep going in
this direction, and you will come upon the matches on the other side. Jump
onto them and then across to reach the spider web. Hit the web with your
Keyblade to knock the cheese off. Now fall down to the bottom level.

There is a chest immediately behind the fork down here, and you can also use
the cheese you knocked down earlier to jump up on the two platforms. One
contains a chest and the other contains a exit leading to a high tabletop in
the Dressing Room, where you will find the WHITE BUTTON. By the way, in this
area of the Mouse Passage, you can find Prize Pots: enemies that drop small
treasures every time you hit them. They are important for synthesis later,
but you don't need to worry about them too much for now.

Now head back into the Mouse Passage where you landed after going up the first
fork, and then head east. Eventually, you will come to a ledge overlooking the
exit to Cinderella's Room. There is another exit up here that leads to a
bookshelf in the southwest corner of the Dressing Room, where you will find the
PINK THREAD and another chest. First though, look to the east, and you will see
a chest high up on a support beam. To get there, jump off the handle of the
nearby fork, and keep swinging your weapon while you are in the air. This will
make you stay up a little longer and let you reach the chest if done right. If
you have trouble, you can also just come back later once you have Air Slide.

Anyway, this is all five materials collected, so you will have a short scene
with Jaq, and then you will be tasked with finding some pearls as a final
addition to the dress. Head back to the Dressing Room... it's boss fight time!

+-BOSS FIGHT: LUCIFER---------------------------------------------------------+
| Reward: DIAMOND DUST COMMAND STYLE |
| |
| Lucifer's actually quite a bit easier than the Mad Treant was, but even so, |
| it wouldn't hurt to equip a Potion or to be ready to use the Aqua D-Link |
| for healing. Aqua also has strong ranged attacks, which are handy here. |
| |
| While on the ground, Lucifer will employ a variety of claw attacks. These |
| happen quickly and with little warning, making it unsafe to go in for a |
| full Keyblade combo at any time. You can try some hit and run if you want, |
| but if you're hurting, just stay back and evade him with Dodge Roll and/or |
| Guard. |
| |
| Periodically, Lucifer will get up on a high ledge of some sort, and jump |
| down on you. If he jumps only a little up, then you can Guard or evade, and |
| you *probably* have time for a full Keyblade combo afterwards. Sometimes |
| though, Lucifer will squawk a little and then jump really high in the air. |
| Back off a bit and he will miss you. Now go in for a quick hit, and then |
| press Square to jump on top of him rodeo-style! You will be shown a |
| sequence of buttons. Take your time to see which each button is, and then |
| press it. If done right (and it's not too hard), Lucifer will crash into a |
| wall, you will get a huge combo on him, and your finisher move will be |
| fully charged to boot! |
| |
| So all in all, I recommend playing pretty conservatively until Lucifer |
| opens himself up for a rodeo attack, and then taking advantage. As always, |
| you can speed things along with a couple Shoot Locks if you want. |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

For completing the world, you will also get the CINDERELLA D-LINK, the CRYSTAL
WORKS KEYBLADE, and the ROYAL BOARD. (See Command Board in the Mini-games
section for more info on that last one.)


===============================================================================
[WLK:V3] Ven's Story: Enchanted Dominion
===============================================================================


+--TREASURE CHESTS------------------------------------------------------------+
| LETTER BALLOON: Witch's Castle: Gate, Ramparts in the northeast corner |
| (must complete the world first) |
| MOISTURE CRYSTAL: Witch's Castle: Gate, Ramparts west of the north exit |
| (must complete the world first) |
| CURE: Witch's Castle: Gate, On the ground just north of the north exit |
| PERVADING CRYSTAL: Witch's Castle: Gate, Ramparts in the northeast corner |
| (must complete the world first) |
| ABSOLUTE ZERO: Witch's Castle: Gate, Ramparts in the southwest corner |
| HI-POTION: Witch's Castle: Throne Room, Northwest corner |
| TIME CRYSTAL: Witch's Castle: Underground, West platform |
| TORNADO STRIKE: Witch's Castle: Underground, Southeast platform (cannot be |
| easily gotten at this time: return with Air Slide) |
| PERVADING CRYSTAL: Witch's Castle: Altar Room (see below) |
| SATIATED CRYSTAL: Witch's Castle: Altar Room (see below) |
| MAGNET: Witch's Castle: Altar Room (see below) |
| HI-POTION: Witch's Castle: Altar Room (see below) |
| ETHER: Witch's Castle: Entrance, Southwest corner |
| POTION: Forest: Lakeside, West side (halfway through the room) |
| MAP: Forest: Square, Southeast corner |
| HI-POTION: Audience Chamber, Northwest corner |
| THUNDER: Audience Chamber, Southeast corner |
| HI-POTION: Corridor, Northeast corner |
| SLEEP: Attic, Northwest corner |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| PRIZE POTS: (BOTTLED STRAWBERRIES, ALMOND FRUITS, and FOREST SPONGE CAKE) |
| In the northeast corner of the Audience Chamber (in one of the arched off |
| alcoves. |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

For this world, you begin in Aurora's Room and you need to make your way to
Maleficent's castle. Just keep going until you get there. (Don't forget to pick
up the chest in the Attic and to check for Prize Pots in the Audience Chamber
though!)

Inside the Witch's Castle, you will be fighting lots of Pig Soldiers. In large
packs, these guys can be pretty dangerous. They are aggressive, they have
strong melee attacks, and they can also pester you from range with arrows. The
good news is they are completely incapacitated by elemental magic: Fire,
Blizzard, and Thunder. So if you are having trouble, be sure to equip those
spells. There are five chests available in the Witch's Castle: Gate area, but
three of them are up on the ramparts and you can't get them yet. Do be sure to
pick up CURE before continuing on though.

Before heading onwards, be sure to equip the Cure spell that was in one of
these chests. Why? Because the next room includes a mandatory and prolonged
fight against many, many Pig Soldiers! With Cure equipped, you can just step
back and heal whenever you get hurt. Don't be afraid to use Shoot Locks and
D-Links as well, but mainly, you just have to play it safe with Cure.

The next room can be pretty confusing. There are lots of walls that pop up
only when you get close, and to get through the room, you will have to use
teleporters. Here's a map of how everything is laid out:


West entrance <--Blue Teleporter--> <--Orange Teleporter--> Northeast exit

Southeast staircase & Hi-Potion <--Green Teleporter--> Pervading Crystal &
Satiated Crystal

/--Purple Teleporter--> Magnet
Southeast door
\--Yellow Teleporter--> <--Red Teleporter--> Altar


So here's how you get everything you can:

- You start off at the west entrance in the Altar Room.
- Keep following teleporters until you get to the northeast exit.
- This takes you to the Underground area. Without falling down into the
center of the room, cross over to the west ledge, pick up the chest there,
and then take the stairs to reach the southeast staircase in the Altar
Room.
- Follow the teleporter, pick up the chest, and return to the Underground.
- Now fall down into the center of the room, and then take the nearby exit to
get to the southeast door in the Altar Room.
- The teleporter here switches colors periodically. Go through it when it is
purple, pick up the chest, and return.
- Now take the teleporter when it is yellow, and follow this to the altar.

After a cutscene, a new teleporter will open between the altar and the west
exit, making navigation a little bit easier. Once you get everything, head back
out to the Throne Room. It's time for the world's main boss battle!

+-BOSS FIGHT: MALEFICENT------------------------------------------------------+
| Reward: HP BOOST, THUNDERBOLT COMMAND STYLE |
| |
| Maleficent is a caster-type boss. She will teleport, cast an offensive |
| spell, and then repeat. Here's the full list of attacks you are up against: |
| |
| 1. Teleport somewhere and then twice shoot dark lightning from the top of |
| her staff to the ground you are on. Move or jump to the side to avoid |
| this. If you get close to Maleficent while she does this attack, you |
| should be able to get a quick combo off as she disappears again. |
| |
| 2. Swing her staff at you. This can happen after she teleports right next |
| to you or if you hit her too much without letting her teleport. |
| |
| 3. Teleport to the center of the room, chant, and send out rings of dark |
| energy. If you touch one of these rings, you will be stunned for five |
| seconds during which Maleficent will hit you. |
| |
| But, during this attack, you will also see a circle of light on the |
| floor. Head over there and press Square when prompted (jumping over |
| Maleficent's rings if needed). This will pop up a little mini-game. |
| Press the highlighted button to start, and then a cursor will move |
| around (either clockwise or counter-clockwise), highlighting each |
| button in turn. Keep pressing the buttons as they are highlighted. If |
| you do it right, you will cancel Maleficent's attack and put her to |
| sleep. Now go in for a combo - you should be able to charge up and use |
| a finisher move before she counters. |
| |
| 4. Teleport to the highest point in the room, turn the screen black, and |
| continuously summon columns of dark energy all around you. Just keep |
| Dodge Rolling around to stay safe. |
| |
| The basic idea is this: wait for Maleficent to attack and then dodge it. If |
| she does the lightning attack, you can hit her a couple times as she |
| disappears. If she does the dark ring attack, then you can do a lot of |
| damage while she's asleep. Be patient and you'll get her down safely. |
| |
| Near the end of the fight, Maleficent will sometimes turn into a vortex and |
| fly around instead of teleporting normally. This damages you if it touches |
| you, so use Dodge Roll to stay out of its way and proceed as before. |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

For clearing the world, you will also be rewarded with the FAIRY STAR KEYBLADE.

If you now go back to the Witch's Castle: Gate area, you will find that someone
(I wonder who!) has destroyed some of the ramparts. In the far northwest
corner, and straight ahead when you enter from the south, you will find places
you can climb up. From there, you should be able to pick up the three remaining
chests in the area. You might also notice some wheels on the ramparts that you
can target but can't interact with. Don't worry about them for now - they are
important only in Aqua's story.

There's also one extra chest in the Witch's Castle: Underground area, but it is
not easy to get right now. Come back after getting Air Slide.


===============================================================================
[WLK:V4] Ven's Story: Mysterious Wilderness
===============================================================================


Remember the guy who first goaded Ven out onto his journey? Well, Ven does, and
he's waiting for you in the Mysterious Wilderness.

+-BOSS FIGHT: VANITAS ROUND 1-------------------------------------------------+
| Reward: NONE |
| |
| This is pretty much the same fight as Vanitas Round 2 (see below), except |
| you are expected to lose. Just do the best you can and once your health |
| gets low, the fight will end. |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

Vanitas is apparently not one for long drawn-out plans, is he? But fortunately
for you, Mickey comes to save your butt and it's on to...

+-BOSS FIGHT: VANITAS ROUND 2-------------------------------------------------+
| Reward: DECK COMMAND SLOT, HP BOOST |
| |
| Vanitas isn't too flashy (yet!) but he's fast, he's unpredictable, and he |
| hits like a truck. So this fight is going to be tough even with Mickey's |
| help. You should equip Cure for sure, and you might want to equip a Potion |
| as well. I have heard that Magnet is effective too, but I haven't tried it |
| myself. |
| |
| Okay, here are the attacks Vanitas will do: |
| |
| 1. A two-hit combo starting with a long dash, meaning you can be hit even |
| at a distance. |
| 2. A slow fireball that soon splits into five fast homing fireballs. |
| 3. Jump into the air (possibly covering a long distance to get to you), |
| and then spray the ground with lightning bolts. |
| 4. After being hit, Ven will also sometimes leave a stationary image of |
| himself behind, appear above you, and come down with a diving attack. |
| |
| Since you don't have Revenge Rush yet, the best way to avoid these attacks |
| is Dodge Roll. Just keep moving at all time, and be ready to Dodge Roll as |
| soon as Vanitas does something. Note: if you have already done Aqua's |
| story, this is very different from how she should fight Vanitas. Not having |
| a good counter-attack ability changes everything. |
| |
| The problem is at some point you are going to want to fight back, and then |
| Vanitas's speed and unpredictability becomes a big problem. In the middle |
| of your combo, he could easily teleport above you for a dive-attack or he |
| could slide away and then get you with a combo. This means one thing: DO |
| NOT EXPECT TO GET OFF FULL COMBOS AGAINST VANITAS! Every time you hit him, |
| you should pause for a split second before attacking again. Did he stagger |
| from your hit? Okay, THEN you can attack again. As long as you are pretty |
| fast, you can keep the combo going even with the pause. If Vanitas is not |
| staggered, you need to immediately Dodge Roll to avoid his counter-attack. |
| You might want to avoid doing a third hit no matter what. This hit is so |
| slow that even if Vanitas was staggered before-hand, he can sometimes still |
| recover and counter before you can do anything. |
| |
| Sound slow? Well, it is. But fortunately, Mickey's going to be helping, and |
| Mickey does good damage. He will also sometimes give you reaction commands |
| you can activate with the Square button: |
| |
| Guard: As with the Snow White escort, if you are nearby when Mickey is |
| getting attacked, you can press Square to protect you both. If you |
| actually block something this way, you can press O to follow it |
| with a nice counter-attack. |
| Aura: Sometimes Mickey will charge up an aura around him. If you press |
| Square near him, the two of you will unleash an aura attack. It was |
| pretty weak for me, but at higher levels, I think it can do pretty |
| good damage. It also makes you invincible, but unfortunately there |
| is a decent chance you'll get hit right as the attack ends. |
| |
| You can also use Shoot Locks if you want. Again, the main disadvantage is |
| you might get hit right as the Shoot Lock ends. |
| |
| No matter how careful you are with all this, you WILL get hit though, and |
| Vanitas hits hard. So you are going to want to heal. Since Vanitas is so |
| aggressive, you should wait until he has just finished an attack before |
| trying to heal. There's nothing quite as crappy as getting pelted by |
| lightning in the middle of your spell. Another really handy trick is that |
| Vanitas won't follow you if you get on the other side of a rock pillar from |
| him. So if you need a breather, get back there, hope Mickey comes with you |
| (so he doesn't keep attacking Vanitas and trigger a counter-attack), and |
| then just wait until you're ready to go again. |
| |
| That's pretty much it, so good luck! This fight is hard. Don't be afraid to |
| take a break and gain some levels if you are getting frustrated. |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

After the fight, you will also get the HIGH JUMP ability (don't forget to
equip it!) and the MICKEY D-LINK.


===============================================================================
[WLK:V5] Ven's Story: Radiant Garden
===============================================================================


+--TREASURE CHESTS------------------------------------------------------------+
| MOISTURE CRYSTAL: Palace Garden, Northeast corner of the plaza area |
| POWER CRYSTAL: Palace Garden, Southwest corner of the plaza area |
| ETHER: Main Street, Northeast corner |
| POTION: Main Street, Southwest corner |
| CURE-ALL: Waterway, Northeast corner along the outer wall |
| FIRA: Waterway, North end on the top level |
| HI-POTION: Waterway, South end in a nook off the main bridge |
| MAP: Residential Area, Northwest corner |
| REVENGE RUSH: Fountain Square, Northeast corner on the platform |
| GUARD RECIPE: Merlin's House, West end |
| HI-POTION: Garden, Bottom level southwest corner |
| BIND STRIKE: Garden, Second level southeast corner |
| PERVADING CRYSTAL: Garden, Second level northwest corner |
| SLOW: Garden, Top level north end |
| HI-POTION: Front Gate, South end |
| FREEZE RAID: Front Gate, West end of the top level |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| PRIZE POTS: (SOY MILK, MOOGLE COFFEE, and JET SODA) |
| In the northeast nook along the water in the Fountain Square. You will |
| have to clear a group of four Blue Sea-Salts first. |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

You begin in the Town Square area with only one exit open to you. (Ven will
refuse to go in the other directions.) This will take you to the Garden area
where you will meet a couple new and nasty enemies. First of all, there are
Mandrakes: green plants that spawn from far away and shoot projectiles at you
along the ground. If these guys are causing problems, get close to them with
Dodge Roll, and they will pop out of the ground. After that, they will stop
shooting projectiles and you will be able to do whatever you were doing in
relative peace. There are also Illimitable Tanks; these guys are basically
giant balloons. After you hurt them a bunch, they may glow red and start
rolling around on the ground. They are invincible at this point, and they will
blow up in 10 to 15 seconds. Just back off.

Anyway, head up to the Front Gate of Ansem's Castle, watch the cutscene, and
then chase the giant enemy back through the streets of Radiant Garden. Along
the way, Scrooge McDuck will give you the TICKETS TO DISNEY TOWN, and if you
examine the book in Merlin's house, you will get the HONEY POT BOARD.

The next area is called the Fountain Square, and you will need to jump into the
water jets to get propelled upwards towards the exit. To get the chests in the
northeast corner, jump from the central platform on the third level down to
the water jet on the east platform on the second level. This water jet can take
you all the way up to the east platform on the highest level. You will find the
REVENGE RUSH ability there, which is very useful. Be sure to equip it!

Eventually, you will reach the boss:

+--BOSS FIGHT: TRINITY ARMOR--------------------------------------------------+
| Reward: HP BOOST, CYCLONE COMMAND STYLE |
| |
| If you have played other Kingdom Hearts games, you probably remember the |
| Guard Armor. Well, this guy is an updated version of that boss. Basically, |
| he has separate legs, arms, and head, and you need to kill them one at a |
| time. |
| |
| At the beginning of the fight, the pieces are all attached, and the Trinity |
| Armor will use the following attacks in order: |
| |
| Attack 1: Shoot fireballs up into the sky. These will land on the ground |
| where you and your allies were standing a couple seconds ago, |
| and they will explode into more fireballs on contact. While the |
| fireballs are being shot up, you should have time for two quick |
| combos. After that, immediately start moving so you are not hit. |
| Attack 2: Fly directly at you (or one of your allies) in a ramming attack. |
| The Trinity Armor will do this three times in a row. Use Guard |
| to avoid this. |
| Attack 3: Move to the center of the room, charge up a huge laser, and send |
| it back and forth in a sweeping motion around the room. While |
| the Trinity Armor is moving and while it is charging the laser, |
| you should have time to hit it a bunch. Once the laser is out, |
| use Dodge Roll to run right THROUGH it as it sweeps by. You are |
| invincible while the Dodge Roll is happening! |
| |
| After these three attacks (or earlier, if you kill something quickly), the |
| Trinity Armor will split into pieces, and you will have time to do a little |
| more damage before the next attack. I don't think there's anything random |
| in what it does, but the attack order depends on what you've destroyed, so |
| it's a bit complicated. I will just list the options: |
| |
| Attack 1: All pieces of the Trinity Armor start spinning rapidly across |
| the room. If you get hit by one, you will take heavy damage. I |
| recommend going into a corner and protecting yourself with Guard |
| while this attack happens. If you have a high-level Shoot Lock, |
| you can also use that to give yourself temporary invincibility. |
| Attack 2: The pieces might just do their own thing. The legs stomp around, |
| and the head and arms fly around. This is a good time to attack. |
| You might take a little damage here or there, but it won't hurt |
| too much. |
| Attack 3: If at least two pieces are alive, they might slowly circle |
| around the room, shooting a constant lightning beam towards the |
| center. This attack looks scary but is actually not too bad. Run |
| to the outside of the room, and attack whichever piece of the |
| Trinity Armor is moving towards you. |
| Attack 4: The head might shoot fireballs or lasers all over the place. I |
| recommend just evading while this happens. This often seems to |
| be followed by attack #1, so be ready. |
| Attack 5: The remaining pieces of the Trinity Armor might fuse together |
| and do the giant laser again (attack #3 in the first list). |
| |
| In general, watch out for the spinning attack (#1 in the second list), the |
| giant laser (#3 in the first list), and the fireball/laser sprays (#4 in |
| the second list). The rest you can probably handle without too much danger. |
| By the way, you have to destroy the head last. It will stop taking damage |
| at some point if the other pieces are left alive, so if that happens, just |
| switch targets. |
| |
| Good luck! You will be doing this fight at least three times throughout the |
| course of the game, so I hope you like it! |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

Reunion time! Actually, this reunion doesn't go so well, and you will soon find
yourself running after an angry Terra. Head back to Main Street, and you will
be interrupted by a forced battle against the Unversed. Watch out for the
Chrono Twister (the giant hourglass) when it appears. It is quite strong, and
should be taken out as soon as possible. Afterwards, you will get an amusing
cutscene with Even and Ienzo (aka Vexen and Zexion), and you will get TURN
SLIDE as a reward. If you equip Turn Slide, then pushing Square at the instant
you are attacked will cause you to Slide behind the enemy instead of Guarding.
Personally, I think this ability is terrible. It's hard to use correctly and
most likely, it will kick in when you mean to Guard and possibly get you in
trouble. It's still fun though.

Now head out through the south exit to reach the Palace Garden. After another
failed conversation with Terra, pick up the chests and then head back to the
Town Square yet again to complete the world and get the RASCAL FLAME KEYBLADE.


===============================================================================
[WLK:V6] Ven's Story: Disney Town
===============================================================================


+--TREASURE CHESTS------------------------------------------------------------+
| MAP: Main Street, Southwest corner |
| POTION: Main Street, Northwest corner |
| SUPER-GLIDE: Race Venue, Northwest rooftop (get to one rooftop from Pete's |
| Playground and then Glide or, if it's high level, Air Slide to |
| the northwest) |
| TURN SLASH: Race Venue, Northeast corner on the top level |
| SLOTS BLADE: Race Venue, Rooftop (come from Pete's Playground) |
| SPARKLING CRYSTAL: Race Venue, Northwest corner on the second level |
| STOP: Race Venue, Southeast corner on the bottom level |
| MEGA-ETHER: Trick Room, Southwest corner on a platform (must activate the |
| machine to get it) |
| MEGA-POTION: Trick Room, Northwest corner on a platform (must activate the |
| the machine to get it) |
| CHAOS CRYSTAL: Trick Room, Northwest corner on a platform (must activate |
| the machine to get it) |
| THUNDER: Trick Room, Northwest corner on the bottom level |
| THUNDER: Trick Room, Southwest corner on the bottom level |
| MEGA-POTION: Trick Room, Platform north of the elevator (must activate the |
| machine to get it) |
| CURE-ALL: Pete's Playground, Alcove in the top left |
| ACTION RECIPE: Pete's Playground, Alcove in the top left (same alcove as |
| the previous chest - check every corner) |
| AERIAL SLAM: Pete's Playground, Alcove in the top right |
| BREAK TIME: Pete's Playground, Central alcove behind a grate |
| PERVADING CRYSTAL: Pete's Playground, Central alcove above the grate (the |
| one near the top exit to the Race Venue) |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| PRIZE POTS: (SHARP PEPPERS and TOON CURRY) |
| Go through the sewers and Pete's Playground to the rooftop in the Race |
| Venue. From there, Air Slide across to a roof that is barely visible to |
| the northwest. The Prize Pots should appear after clearing a group of |
| Blue Sea-Salts. |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

Disney Town is primarily a hub of mini-games. In fact to complete the world,
all you need to do is get "Fantastic" in a round of Rhythmic Icecream. Talk to
Captain Justice to get started. For more information on Rhythmic Icecream and
the other mini-games located here (Rumble Racing, Fruit Scatter, and the
Icecream Shop), see the mini-game section of the guide.

There are also a number of chests to pick up, quite apart from all the
mini-games. Their locations are very similar for each character, so if this is
not your first playthrough and if you remember what to do, feel free to skip
the rest of this section.

Most of these chests are hidden in the sewers. Go to Main Street and examine
the manhole cover to go down. In this area, you will see a giant machine with a
lightning bolt on it and a power gauge. You need to hit it a bunch with
Thunder-based attacks to charge it up. The charge will go back down over time
so you have to be fast, but the game gives you two Thunder spells in the same
room to help you out. You can also use Thunder Roll or the Thunderbolt Command
Style if you have those already.

Once the machine is going, you can get on an elevator to reach the upper
levels. Jump on the moving hands and gears to move around up here and pick up
all the chests (see the list at the start). If you are having trouble with the
jumping, don't worry about it too much. You can come back later with Glide, and
it will be easy. If you go south from the upper level, you will also find a
whole new area: Pete's Playground. Climb the stairs and get on the glove to
propel yourself out into a giant pinball machine! Propelling yourself up is a
little finicky: I think how far you go is based on when you press X. If you
look at Ven, you will see a circular signal that keeps pulsing out from around
him. I found it helped to press X around the time this circle faded out. The
shaft doesn't have walls all the way up, so you can move yourself out to the
left if you get most of the way up.

Once in the pinball machine, you can bounce around and pick up lots of money.
Use L and R to hit the flippers and try to make it to the various alcoves to
pick up the chests. Be sure to get BOTH chests in the left alcove! There is
also a set of locked bars. To unlock them, you need to smash into each of the
four bumpers marked with a crown. Each time you hit one of these bumpers, a
light will go on near the bars, and eventually they will retract. Go wild and
have fun here! One of the alcoves in this area also leads to the rooftops of
the Race Venue area where you can find yet another treasure chest, as well as
the Prize Pots for this world.

There is also one chest on a far rooftop that you probably can't get to yet,
but don't forget about it. It has the SUPER-GLIDE ability, which is a lot of
fun. Once you get Glide in Neverland, it will be easy to pick this up. You can
also use a high level Air Slide and/or abilities like Fire Dash, but don't
worry about it too much - Neverland isn't too far away.

When you complete the world, you will get the TOWN BOARD. If you have already
finished the game with the other two characters, you will also see an extra
cutscene where you are given the Million Dream Award.


===============================================================================
[WLK:V7] Ven's Story: Olympus Coliseum
===============================================================================


+--TREASURE CHESTS------------------------------------------------------------+
| FIRE STRIKE: Coliseum: Entrance, Northeast corner |
| CURA: Coliseum: Entrance, Nook just west of the north exit |
| MEGA-POTION: Coliseum: Entrance, Southwest corner |
| MAP: Coliseum: Lobby, East Side |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| PRIZE POTS: (LIGHTNING CANDY and COTTON CANDY) |
| In the southeast corner of the City of Thebes area. You have to clear the |
| world first though. |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

Like Disney Town before it, Olympus Coliseum is fairly short and fairly easy
with Ven, as long as you prepare a little bit (more on that later).

You start off in the City of Thebes squaring off against some Unversed with
Hercules and Zack as allies. For the most part, this should be pretty
straightforward. Just watch out for the Buckler Bruisers (they look like
Bruisers but they have shields on both arms) and the Jellyfish. The first guys
are immune to most attacks from in front, and they are likely to counter-attack
quickly. Hit them from behind. The Jellyfish go down fast enough but can hit
you hard with little warning, so watch your health, and think twice before
running into a mob of them head-first.

Once that is taken care of, head into the Coliseum Lobby and speak with
Hercules to do some training.

+--TRAINING: ROUND 1----------------------------------------------------------+
| Reward: HP BOOST |
| |
| Your goal is to get 15 points in 30 seconds. You get 1 point for destroying |
| a small urn, and 5 points for destroying a big one. Of course, big urns |
| take multiple hits to destroy. Just run around attacking things. You won't |
| fail. |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

And then talk to Hercules again for more:

+--TRAINING: ROUND 2----------------------------------------------------------+
| Reward: DECK COMMAND SLOT |
| |
| This time you have two whole minutes, and your goal is to get more points |
| than Hercules. |
| |
| The main difference is there are no exploding barrels. Hit one of these |
| into a group of urns to destroy them all, including large ones. These |
| barrels can also stun either you or Herc, but you don't really need to |
| worry about that. This is basically the same as Round 1, except if you see |
| any exploding barrels, go after them first. Ideally you want to knock them |
| into a big urn, but small urns work too. |
| |
| There is some luck involved, so if you lose, just try again and don't worry |
| about it. You'll get it soon. |
| |
| Oh, by the way, I would not use Thunder Roll much here. That will make you |
| switch to Thunderbolt style, which I actually found pretty bad for this. |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

Now it's time to enter the tournament, right? Psych! For the first time ever,
there is an Olympus Coliseum tournament and you don't compete. Instead, you get
to save the day in town.

+--BOSS FIGHT: JELLYFISH ARMY-------------------------------------------------+
| Reward: AIR SLIDE |
| |
| If you don't know what to do, this fight can be pretty nasty even with |
| Herc's help. There are a ton of Jellyfish, they hit hard, and they hit with |
| little warning. So what should you do? Abuse Thunder Roll! What's Thunder |
| Roll you ask? It's an ability you can get from the Honey Pot Command Board, |
| which you should have already picked up in Radiant Garden. (You can also do |
| Command Charge, but that takes some big ingredients.) |
| |
| If you have Thunder Roll equipped, you can just Dodge Roll around among the |
| Jellyfish, laying waste to everything near you without making yourself |
| vulnerable for more than a split second! |
| |
| If you don't have Thunder Roll and don't want to get it, this fight can be |
| a little trickier. Use area-of-effect spells if you've got them, and try |
| not to run into big groups where you will take a lot of damage. Sometimes, |
| you can also go up to Herc and press Square for a joint attack. Whirl the |
| analog nub and then push O as the game says for maximum awesomeness. |
| |
| Seriously though, if you are having trouble, just get Thunder Roll. Or |
| level up. |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

For completing the world, you will also get the MARK OF THE HERO KEYBLADE and
the ZACK D-LINK. You should also return to the world and speak with Hercules to
do one more round of training. You will get SONIC BLADE for winning. After
that, you will get a CURE-ALL for each win.

Now that you have Air Slide, you can also go back to the Enchanted Dominion and
pick up TORNADO STRIKE from the Witch's Castle: Underground area.


===============================================================================
[WLK:V8] Ven's Story: Deep Space
===============================================================================


+--TREASURE CHESTS------------------------------------------------------------+
| SPINNING CRYSTAL: Spaceship: Transfer Office, Center |
| HI-POTION: Ship Passage, South end |
| POWER CRYSTAL: Ship Passage, South end |
| MEGA-ETHER: Ship Passage, Northwest corner |
| HI-POTION: Ship Passage, Northwest corner |
| MAP: Control Room, In the big central part |
| THUNDARA: Link Block, Third level east end |
| ZERO GRAVIRA: Link Block, Bottom level south end (gravity must be ON) |
| PULSE BOMB : Link Block, Fourth level (gravity must be ON) |
| CHAOS CRYSTAL: Engine Room, On the north end of the catwalks |
| DETONATE SHIELD: Engine Room, On the catwalks by the central pillar |
| XEHANORT'S REPORT #1: Raid Deck, High platform on the east side |
| MEGA-ATTACK RECIPE: Raid Deck, Platform on the west side |
| FIRE BLITZ: Raid Deck, Southeast corner (gravity must be ON) |
| TIME CRYSTAL: Raid Deck, Northeast corner (gravity must be ON) |
| MEGA-POTION: Engine Room Entrance, Southeast corner |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| PRIZE POTS: (SHOOTING STAR SYRUP and FLUFFY CREAM) |
| In the northwest corner of the Shipship: Transfer Office, after all other |
| enemies in the room have been defeated. If you see Sonic Blasters, the |
| Prize Pots won't appear. Leave the room, come back, and try again. |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

Deep Space begins with a boss fight right off the bat.

+--BOSS FIGHT: METAMORPH ROUND 1----------------------------------------------+
| Reward: WING BLADE COMMAND STYLE |
| |
| You have to fight a giant space Jellyfish, and the thing with giant space |
| Jellyfish is that they live in outer space. And that means you will have to |
| fight on your Keyblade bike. Here are the controls: |
| |
| O: Attack |
| X: Jump |
| Square: Reflect |
| Triangle: Dash |
| |
| Pretty much the only important ones are Square to protect yourself and O to |
| attack. |
| |
| So anyway onto the boss. It can attack you either by staying upright and |
| spinning around or by turning and ramming you with its head. After either |
| attack, you have time to run up and hit it once, or if you are feeling |
| lucky, twice. After that, back off because the Metamorph might do the spin |
| attack right away. If it does, great: reflect it and repeat from the start. |
| Otherwise, the Metamorph will turn and fly away from you. Chase after it |
| and keep swinging until it turns again. This means the Metamorph is about |
| to do the ramming attack, so reflect that, and once again, repeat from the |
| start. |
| |
| Overall, it's a pretty simple pattern and you don't even need to do a full |
| bar of health to win. The one catch is you cannot heal since you don't have |
| your normal Command Deck. So if you're low enough level for damage to be an |
| issue, try to play cautiously. |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

When this fight is done, you will get an amusing cutscene with Stitch (because
really, EVERY cutscene with Stitch is amusing), and you will then be deposited
in the Ship Passage area. Probably the first thing you want to do is go through
the door behind you to the Transfer Office. There's a chest here, and if you
kill all the enemies, you should also find the world's Prize Pots.

After that, go back to the Ship's Passage and then head forward. You will get
trapped here, and you will have to go through six groups of Unversed. With so
little room to maneuver, the fight can get a little tricky. Be sure to pack
some healing, and don't hesitate to use D-Links and Shoot Locks to give
yourself an edge. Once this clear, you will finally reach the world's first
save point.

The next room is called the Link Block, and it is a little interesting. The
room is pretty much one big shaft, and you won't be able to climb up by normal
methods. Fortunately, there are a couple computer terminals, and if you
activate these, you can turn gravity off in the room. You will then be able to
jump really high and climb up to the exit. The only catch is one of the chests
here will float away while gravity is off, so you need to turn it back on
temporarily to pick up that chest.

Shortly afterwards, you will reach the Raid Deck, another room with a terminal
allowing you to turn off gravity. The first thing you should do is drop down to
the terminal, turn off gravity, jump back up to where you entered, and then
jump and Air Slide across the room to the high chest on the east side. Then
fall back down, turn gravity off, pick up the two chests on the bottom floor,
and climb up to the exit.

You will reach another save point here, and then it's on to the boss fight: a
rematch against the Metamorph.

+--BOSS FIGHT: METAMORPH ROUND 2----------------------------------------------+
| Reward: DECK COMMAND SLOT, HP BOOST |
| |
| The Metamorph begins by flying around harmlessly and then attaching itself |
| to the lower part of the engine. While it is attached like this, it will be |
| sucking power from the ship. If the gauge in the top-left corner fills up, |
| the ship will be destroyed and it's game over. You need to interrupt the |
| Metamorph before that by hitting it. |
| |
| Later in the fight, the Metamorph will only attach itself to the upper part |
| of the engine, and it will be out of your reach up there. The only thing |
| you can do is wait for Stitch to start bouncing up and down. Go up to him, |
| press Square and then press O to pick him up and chuck him at the boss. |
| This will do a little damage and interrupt any engine-sucking. |
| |
| After this, the Metamorph will do one of the following: |
| |
| 1. Charge around the room a couple times at a very high pace. It moves |
| fast and erratically, making this hard to dodge. Instead, lock onto |
| it and use Guard to protect yourself. This is finicky too, but if you |
| do get hit, it's no big deal. |
| 2. Charge at a much slower pace directly towards you. Walk or Dodge Roll |
| out of the way. |
| |
| The Metamorph will now turn upright and, after a couple seconds, it will |
| start attacking with one of the options from the list below: |
| |
| 1. If you are up close: a single spin, which does only minimal damage. |
| 2. A long extended spin. The Metamorph can move towards you while |
| spinning. |
| 3. Fly towards you with lightning raining down underneath it. |
| |
| The first attack here is a non-threat, but the other two can be dangerous, |
| especially if you are low level. So you have two options. The first is to |
| go in, Keyblade blazing and hope for attack #1. If that's what happens, |
| you'll do a lot of damage and not get hurt much. If attack #2 or attack #3 |
| happen, do your best to get out of there (around the pillar hopefully - |
| the Metamorph is fast but his AI is confused by the pillar), but probably |
| you'll get hit. Mash Square to prevent yourself from some of the extended |
| spin with Revenge Raid. I don't know any tricks for attack #3 though. |
| |
| If you are high level or are playing an easier difficulty setting, this |
| approach works great. If not, you'll need to be more cautious. Poke the |
| Metamorph once or twice if you want, but then wait for it do something. If |
| it does attack #2, use Guard and then Revenge Rush (push O after Guarding). |
| There is some chance this will not interrupt the Metamorph, in which case |
| you want to keep mashing Square for Revenge Raid ASAP. If the Metamorph |
| does attack #3, run around the pillar again. If it does attack #1, you can |
| just go in swinging and eat the potential next hit. |
| |
| No matter what, the Metamorph will stick with just one attack for now. So |
| if it does attack #1, it will stick with that until it next attaches itself |
| to the engine. Once it turns so it is no longer upright (usually after two |
| attack #1s, one attack #2, or one attack #3, unless you or Stitch interrupt |
| the Metamorph early by hitting it), you can attack it again safely. Soon |
| after, it will latch itself onto the engine and the whole sequence will |
| repeat. |
| |
| Later in the fight, the Metamorph will get a couple new tricks. First it |
| will turn partially invisible at certain points. This is inconvenient, but |
| this doesn't really change much. Its other trick is it will now shoot a |
| bolt out of its tail before doing a slow charge (attack #2 in the first |
| list). Just dodge this and get ready for the charge. The Metamorph should |
| be up in the air, so you shouldn't have any trouble with the doge. |
| |
| If you are having trouble, you can either keep at it - being lucky can |
| help a lot - or level up. Once you can take a couple hits, the fight |
| becomes much easier. |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

For completing the world, you will get the HYPERDRIVE KEYBLADE, the EXPERIMENT
626 D-LINK, and the SPACESHIP BOARD. You can also get two more chests by
returning to Deep Space and going to the Engine Room (where you fought the
boss). Use the computer terminal to turn off gravity and get to the catwalks.
There is also a new outside area available, connecting the Transfer Office and
the Raid Deck. Not too much of interest out there though, just a new type of
enemy and the chance to fight more on your Keyblade bike.


===============================================================================
[WLK:V9] Ven's Story: Neverland
===============================================================================


+--TREASURE CHESTS------------------------------------------------------------+
| MEGALIXIR: Cape, North end |
| MEGA-POTION: Cape, North end |
| ETHER: Cape, Southwest corner |
| HI-POTION: Cliff Road, Bottom level on the east side |
| FIRAGA: Cliff Road, Central cliff top |
| TREASURE RAID: Cliff Road, Destroy the rock pile in the northwest corner |
| AEROGA: Mermaid Creek, Northeast corner in a cave at water level |
| FINAL BREAK: Mermaid Creek, Northwest cliff top (come from the high exit in |
| the Cliff Road) |
| ELIXIR: Mermaid Creek, East end |
| HI-POTION: Coast, Northeast corner |
| CURE-ALL: Coast, West end |
| LETTER BALLOON: Jungle, Northeast corner |
| MEGA-ETHER: Peter's Hideout, Southeast corner |
| TIME CRYSTAL: Peter's Hideout, Southeast corner |
| MAP: Valley, Northwest corner |
| SPINNING CRYSTAL: Valley, Northeast corner |
| MEGALIXIR: Rainbow Falls: Base, Northeast corner |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| PRIZE POTS: (DANCING LEMONS, HONEY TREASURE, and RAINBOW SYRUP) |
| In the Mermaid Creek on the northwest cliff top. You will have to go to |
| the Cliff Road, jump on the highest cliff top there, and then go to the |
| top exit to reach these guys. |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

You begin in the Coast area. First go through the exit behind you to pick up
the chest at the Rainbow Falls: Base. Then backtrack to the Coast, and go
forward to reach the Mermaid Creek. For now, you can just follow the road along
the cliff and out the exit. Keep going and eventually you will reach a save
point, and then the Village where you saw the cutscene with Mickey and Vanitas
earlier.

You will now have a battle against Unversed, which depending on your level,
might be pretty hard. I was level 18 and my attacks barely damaged the enemies.
In the second wave, be sure to run around to where each of the Mandrakes is
hiding so as to force them above ground where they can't hurt you. In the third
wave, you will have to deal with three Wild Bruisers. These gorilla Unversed
can charge you, can stomp the ground near them for a shockwave, and can shoot
earth spikes along the ground. These are all very high damage attacks so pay
attention to them. If there is just one Wild Bruiser, you can keep hitting him
without letting him recover, but you will have to play more defensively against
three at once. Guarding and countering the rush attack is a particularly useful
trick. If the monsters seem too strong, now would be a good time to check out
the Mirage Arena. If you do a couple rounds there, your level will catch up.

Once you are done, head back to the Mermaid Creek for another cutscene and the
GLIDE ability. To continue on from here, you need to get out onto the center
island (you can just jump into the water and climb up from there) and then jump
to the northwest. Be sure to pick up the chest in the northeast corner of the
water while you are down there though.

This will get you to the Cliff Road. There is a chest hidden here behind a rock
pile in the northwest corner. Just keep hitting it with your Keyblade to
destroy it. Also, if you jump onto the cliff top and then Air Slide or Glide to
the nearby tree top, you will find an exit in the cliff wall. This will take
you to the highest cliff top in the Mermaid Creek area where you will find
another chest and the world's Prize Pots.

Once you have everything, head north again and you will reach the Cape, and the
world's main boss battle.

+--BOSS FIGHT: CAPTAIN HOOK---------------------------------------------------+
| Reward: DECK COMMAND SLOT |
| |
| This is a pretty fun fight. For the most part, Captain Hook will rely on a |
| variety of sword combos, all of which are pretty similar. You want to Guard |
| all of these combos, and then counter (with Revenge Rush). In general, you |
| should never start a combo of your own unless you know it's safe. Here are |
| the basic things that can happen: |
| |
| 1. Hook comes at you with a sword combo or jump attack. Guard it, |
| counter, and wait for the next attack. |
| |
| 2. Hook throws one or more explosive presents at you. He will do this if |
| you jump into the water, but usually not while you are on the island. |
| Just dodge the presents as best you can. |
| |
| 3. Hook turns his sword sideways to parry your attacks. Do not attack him |
| here or he will counter you. Just wait for him to try something else. |
| |
| 4. Hook falls over after you have hit a bunch. You can now combo him |
| while he gets up. |
| |
| 5. If you push Hook to the edge of the water, he will lose his balance |
| and start teetering. A single hit from your Keyblade will knock him |
| in, and then the crocodile will help you out. It's a good thing that |
| the crocodile never attacks you, huh? |
| |
| 6. If Hook gets knocked in to the water or you do a bunch of damage to |
| him in a short time, he will get mad. Steam will come out of his ears, |
| he will stomp, and then come at you with a sword combo. You can hit |
| him safely while he is steaming and stomping - just be ready to Guard |
| by the time his combo starts. |
| |
| All in all, it's pretty fun. Just play defensive until Hook is vulnerable, |
| and then press your advantage. If you fall into the water, swim around |
| until you reach a place you can stand up underwater. You can then jump out |
| from there. Just watch out for exploding presents in the meantime. |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

For clearing the world, you will also get the PIXIE CHARM KEYBLADE and the
PETER PAN D-LINK. Also, when you get the chance, be sure to come back for the
last two chests in the Cape area.


===============================================================================
[WLK:V10] Ven's Story: Mysterious Tower and Plot Interlude
===============================================================================


+--TREASURE CHESTS------------------------------------------------------------+
| MAGNEGA: Mysterious Tower, Furthest point from the entrance |
| PERVADING CRYSTAL: Mysterious Tower, Left of the entrance |
| CHAOS CRYSTAL: Mysterious Tower, Right of the entrance |
| MEGA-MAGIC RECIPE: Tower: Entrance, Behind the stairs |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

This world's main purpose is to kick off a fairly lengthy plot interlude. Pick
up the chests in the first two areas, then head up the stairs to meet Master
Yen Sid. Afterwards, you will get the DONALD D-LINK and the GOOFY D-LINK.

When are you done here, head to the Mysterious Wilderness and then the Land of
Departure. The only thing in these worlds is more cutscenes, but at least they
are pretty cool. When everything is said and done, you will get the LOST
MEMORIES KEYBLADE, and XEHANORT'S REPORT #9.


===============================================================================
[WLK:V11] Ven's Story: Keyblade Graveyard
===============================================================================


+--TREASURE CHESTS------------------------------------------------------------+
| ELIXIR: Battlefield, Northeast corner |
| MEGA-POTION: Battlefield, Southeast corner |
| MAP: Battlefield, Halfway up the path |
| WIND RAID: Sandstorm Road, Just west of the central pillar |
| MEGA-ETHER: Sandstorm Road, Just north of the central pillar |
| MEGA-POTION: Sandstorm Road, Northeast corner |
| MEGALIXIR: Sandstorm Road, Northwest corner |
| ELIXIR: Sandstorm Road, Just west of the central pillar |
| XEHANORT'S REPORT #12: Battlefield, Northeast corner |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

Welcome to the final world in Ven's story! The first area is deserted except
for some chests, but the second is pretty nasty (although if you have finished
another character's story already, you should know what's coming). There will
be a number of whirlwinds flying around here. If you get close, the whirlwind
will chase after you and swallow you up, forcing you into a fight against
Unversed. The good news is the whirlwinds will not return until you leave the
world (even if you save and load). Here are the three different fights you
might get in each whirlwind.

Fight #1: Part 1: 1 Bruiser, 2 Scrappers, and 2 Blue Sea-Salts
--------- Part 2: 4 Razor Bunnies
Part 3: 3 Buckler Bruisers
This is the easiest of the three fights. Against the Buckler Bruisers, you
can use a Shoot Lock, or you can run up behind them and hit them once. They
will probably turn around and jump at you. Guard and counter-attack for a
bunch of damage. Repeat.

Fight #2: Part 1: 4 Red Hot Cherries
--------- Part 2: 2 Illimitable Tanks and 2 Sonic Blasters
Part 3: 1 Face Pile and 4 Mandrakes
The last part of this fight is really nasty if you don't know what to do.
The Mandrakes will constantly be shooting at you, and it will be very
difficult to fight. The trick is to just Glide around, getting close to
each Mandrake. This will cause the Mandrake to pull itself outside of the
ground, and from then on, it won't be able to shoot at you.

Fight #3: Part 1: 3 giant Floods
--------- Part 2: 1 giant Chrono Twister and 3 giant Yellow Mustards
Part 3: 1 giant Medicine Bottle and 4 giant Shoe Gazers
The size of the enemies is what makes this fight hard. For the second part,
stay back if any of the Yellow Mustards are glowing white. You probably
will not be able to get past their attack. For the third part, you can tell
if a Shoe Gazer is attacking if it compresses as it hits the ground. If
it's just bouncing up and down without changing appearance, you can attack
safely. With four of these guys though, you may want to just use a Shoot
Lock.

Obviously, you will want to have a healing spell in your Command Deck for these
fights unless you are super high level and super confident. If you are having
trouble, you can always level up in the Mirage Arena and come back later. By
the way, remember this spot. It is the best place in the game to earn CP and to
level up commands.

After getting through the Sandstorm Road, you will come to a save point. Use
it! This is the final save point in the game. When you are ready, head onwards.
If you are feeling nervous about the final boss for Ven, you might want to
consider first creating Combo Life and Last Life for yourself (see the Command
Charge section). These will help a lot.

Anyway, after a non-pre-rendered (boo) recreation of the BBS teaser trailers
from KH2 and KH2FM+, it will be time for a sequence of boss fights:

+--BOSS FIGHT: VANITAS ROUND 3------------------------------------------------+
| Reward: HP BOOST |
| |
| Remember Vanitas Round 2 from early in the game? Well, Vanitas has a few |
| new tricks this time, and Mickey won't be here to help, but the fight is |
| actually pretty similar overall. Here are Vanitas's attacks: |
| |
| 1. Vanitas summons a stream of Keyblades and flies around on top of them, |
| pelting you with dark blizzard magic. Use Dodge Roll to avoid these |
| projectiles. You can also hit Vanitas while he's doing this attack, |
| and it's even possible to knock him off. If you know the attack is |
| coming, you can hit him by starting a Shoot Lock as Vanitas runs |
| towards the Keyblade stream and then unleashing once he gets on. (Once |
| Vanitas actually starts circling you, you probably won't be able to |
| get a proper bead on him.) |
| |
| So how do you know this attack is coming? Well, Vanitas will begin the |
| fight with it, and he will also do it often after attack #2 below. |
| |
| 2. Vanitas dives into the ground, moves towards you underground, and then |
| emerges directly underneath you in a shower of fire bolts. He might |
| repeat this a few times. I like to Dodge Roll right over Vanitas while |
| he's underground. This way, you will be invincible when he emerges. I |
| think this only works with regular Dodge Roll though - not Thunder |
| Roll. You can also just run away, but that's slower. |
| |
| 3. A two-swing combo, similar to what Vanitas did before. This time, the |
| second hit also shoots off a sonic blast. The blast doesn't do much |
| damage, but it can stagger you briefly, making it hard to get off a |
| counter-attack. The best option is to Guard Vanitas's combo and then |
| do Revenge Rush. Failing that, you can just hit him normally after |
| he's done. |
| |
| 4. A slow fireball that splits into five fast, homing fireballs. This is |
| the same as before. Dodge Roll past it when it splits. |
| |
| 5. Vanitas jumps into the air and sprays the ground near you with dark |
| lightning. This is the same as before. Keep moving and Dodge Roll when |
| it happens, just to be safe. |
| |
| 6. And of course, Vanitas wouldn't be Vanitas without his counter. After |
| being hit, he might leave a stationary image and then appear above you |
| to do a dive attack. |
| |
| You can deal with this fight pretty much exactly how you did Vanitas Round |
| 2, although it should be easier now that you are much stronger. |
| |
| I actually prefer to do this fight a little differently though. If you are |
| right up close to Vanitas, he will almost always use his two-hit combo, |
| which can be immediately Guarded and countered for high damage. So after |
| Vanitas finishes attack #1 (and attack #2 if he does it), I like to run |
| right up to him and do Guard + Revenge Rush as soon as he starts an attack. |
| Then, instead of trying to do a combo, I just wait for him to attack again, |
| and then repeat. Sometimes he will counter with attack #6, but the beauty |
| is that can also be Guarded, so the same trick works! |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

After this, Vanitas reveals his true face at last, and it may be a bit of a
shock if you've played the other Kingdom Hearts games before. And then it's on
to the true final boss fight for Ven's story!

+--BOSS FIGHT: VANITAS ROUND 4------------------------------------------------+
| Reward: None |
| |
| If you thought the last fight was disappointingly similar to the previous |
| battle against Vanitas, then this one should cheer you up. With the X-blade |
| in hand, Vanitas now unleashes a new fighting style, and the epic level |
| goes through the roof. |
| |
+--PART 1---------------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| For most of the fight, Vanitas will rely on the following attacks. |
| |
| 1. Vanitas holds the X-blade in the air, charging it up with fire. He |
| then lunges at you, creates a fire blast around him, lunges at you |
| again, and then jumps in the air to shoot a homing blast at you. Dodge |
| Roll away from Vanitas to stay safe here. When he jumps up to do the |
| homing blast though, run up close. The blast will go over your head, |
| and you will be free to combo Vanitas when he lands. |
| |
| 2. Vanitas glows blue and charges at you through the air three times in a |
| row. This cannot be Guarded, but you can Dodge Roll out of the way, |
| and then combo him when he lands. |
| |
| 3. Vanitas teleports behind you and does a short combo. He will do this |
| once as a counter-attack, and he will also do it repeatedly as a |
| regular attack. Try to Guard right as he appears to block him. You can |
| then counter with Revenge Rush if you succeed. |
| |
| 4. Vanitas jumps into the air and sprays the ground near you with dark |
| lightning. This is the same as before. |
| |
| 5. Vanitas does the traditional two-hit combo (without teleporting) but |
| this time, the sonic blast heat-seeks and lasts for a long time. If |
| you manage to Guard this, counter with Revenge Raid. |
| |
| Vanitas will be attacking constantly in this fight. Generally, you want to |
| dodge or Guard his attacks, and then do a combo of your own and/or Revenge |
| Rush. If he counters your combo, Guard and do Revenge Rush. After that, he |
| will often do the fire attack, so you probably want to back up. It IS |
| actually possible to interrupt a lot of Vanitas's attacks with damage, but |
| it's risky, so be careful. |
| |
| Since Vanitas is so aggressive, healing can be a little tricky. If you |
| don't have Leaf Bracer, try to dodge an attack first, then heal right |
| after. Also, try to heal up to full right before dealing the "final" blow, |
| because this battle isn't over yet, and you won't be able to heal during |
| the second part. |
| |
+--PART 2---------------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| With only a tiny sliver of health left, Vanitas destroys the whole stage, |
| and you will automatically D-Link with him. For the rest of the fight, you |
| will be flying around in space, and Vanitas will be using a slightly |
| smaller set of moves: |
| |
| Dark Splicer: Vanitas repeatedly teleports behind you and attacks. |
| Dark Spiral: This is the attack from before where Vanitas glows blue and |
| charges at you three times. |
| Shoot Lock: You can see this coming because you will see (and hear) the |
| Shoot Lock targets get fixed on you. Vanitas summons a big |
| laser and sweeps it in your direction. The laser stays out |
| for a long time, but it stays on the "ground" (meaning you |
| can jump over it) and the range isn't too high. |
| |
| You can dodge these attacks well enough with Square, but unfortunately, |
| that won't really help win the fight. |
| |
| Your goal here is to charge up your Command Bar and then do a finisher |
| move. The way to do this is to repeatedly trigger a mini-game where you and |
| Vanitas rush at each other. The trick is: how do you trigger the mini-game? |
| Well, you can trigger it by doing Dark Spiral while Vanitas is in the |
| middle of a Dark Spiral attack himself, or in the middle of a Shoot Lock. |
| You can also trigger it with a Shoot Lock if Vanitas is in the middle of |
| ANY attack. I don't think Dark Splicer can trigger the mini-game at all, |
| which makes it pretty much useless. |
| |
| So, here's the strategy. Vanitas always begins with a Shoot Lock. Use Dark |
| Spiral to trigger the mini-game once Vanitas's laser comes out. After that, |
| immediately charge up a Shoot Lock of your own while Vanitas is stunned, |
| and use that to trigger the next mini-game. (You don't need to charge it |
| all the way - it just needs to still be going when Vanitas begins his |
| attack.) After that, charge up one more Shoot Lock, and you should get a |
| third mini-game. After winning that, you should have filled your Command |
| Bar. Press O to win! |
| |
| So what's the mini-game? It's easy. If you trigger it with Dark Spiral, the |
| game will show you a rotating analog nub. Rotate your nub in the same |
| direction to push Vanitas back and win. If you trigger it with a Shoot |
| Lock, the game will instead show you the O button. Tap that rapidly to push |
| Vanitas back and win. |
| |
| If you don't know what to do, this part of the fight can be tricky, and you |
| won't be able to heal. But the method I gave is pretty foolproof I think. |
| Good luck! |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

Congratulations! If you got this far, you will be rewarded with XEHANORT'S
REPORT #10 and the end of Ven's story. The ending doesn't resolve much, but
don't worry: there's time for that later.

To begin the next character's story, create a new game or load a save in the
prologue, and select a different character. When you start your new game, don't
forget to set the Configure options, especially 333MHz speed if you want the
game to be as smooth as possible.