O_O I did not know that.
Well. I think resigning herself to misery goes against the plot of 0.2. I think her self-analysis and recognition of the darkness is what’s really important about her character development. She went through BBS talking about how Terra has darkness in him and how that’s so bad, since those were Eraqus’s teachings. But now she has to experience her own darkness firsthand as the Dark World draws it out of her. And she also comes to trust in the guiding light of her friends in her weakest moments. I think if she gave into darkness or lost herself, the plot of 0.2 would have had to be very different.
I think 0.2′s representation of Aqua is probably very fitting for her character. She hasn’t lost her mind, but she’s not the same girl she was ten years ago. You can see the cracks in her sanity: her self hatred, the way she talks to herself, and her hope constantly wavering. I hope the next time Aqua makes an appearance, she still has these cracks. I think it would be more interesting and in line with her character to see her struggle with the aftermath of this trauma than it would be to see another KH character give into darkness.
That being said, if she just acts like the same old Aqua I am going to be pissed. >_<
Thanks for the ask!!
<3 KCM
The way I always saw it…
THIS IS ALL SPECULATION AND OH MY DAYS SO MANY SPOILERS!!
The Kingdom Key and Kingdom Key D are two unique blades the way that the x-blade was. They aren’t a representation of one’s heart, but constants that need to exist. This is probably because the x-blade was shattered or something. When the worlds became a realm of darkness and a realm of light, the KK was the light’s half of the x-blade and the KKD was the darkness’s half. They probably weren’t made from the x-blade themselves, but came to exist because of the state of the universe, much the way the x-blade did.
Anyway, KK and KKD are special. They reside in their respective realms to protect it. They have their own “consciousness” as it is, where they can choose their wielders. In my head, I always thought that they wouldn’t choose a wielder unless their realm was in peril. So when all the worlds start vanishing in KH1, the KK is like “woah hey what? damnit I better find myself a wielder”. It found Riku - one of few already anointed with using a keyblade - and I was like “sure this kid seems legit”. Then Riku went all darkness and the key was like “damnit, and I came all the way out here”. But he sees Sora, who has the heart of a keyblade wielder (Ven) and is like “actually this kid might work instead”. Then in Hallow Bastion it sees Riku again and is like “you’re that kid!” and goes with him. Then KK is like “actually you’re a dick and I like the other kid more” and goes back to Sora. And that’s the story of the KK.
So then there’s the KKD, chillin’ in darkness like “yeah man lovin’ this darkness gonna stay here forever” and then a mouse comes and picks it up. And the KKD is like “well, I mean, it’s been a while since like. I’ve done anything. Might as well.” and sticks with Mickey. But if it ever wanted to leave it probably could. Though I think the KKD and KK are both in this for the same reason: they want balance. Neither wants to see Light or Darkness consume everything. That’s why KKD stays with Mickey.
So, now let’s delve into keyblades as a whole. They were said to be “forged in reverence of the x-blade”, which is sort of weird since the x-blade looks dumb as hell and the keyblades look pretty rad most of the time. Maybe it’s like how an artist sees someone’s work and thinks “ha, I could do that, but better”. Anyway. “Forged” here is a pretty loose term, since hearts forge keyblades, but also like… you could just forge them out of metal, right? For the sake of simplicity and in the continuity of the franchise, let’s just define “forged” as “created with one’s heart”. This materializes a keyblade for the use of its owner. BUT it seems like whenever the owner dies, the keyblade can continue to exist. Since you know. The graveyard. This basically defies everything I know about creating and destroying matter but whatever.
So anyway. Wielders make keyblades with strong hearts. Are they blessed or something? IMO, it seems sort of like “forging a keyblade” was pretty damn easy before the world fell apart (KHUX). Maybe this is like a defense mechanism? Kingdom Hearts is like “well shit, I see what you guys do when keyblades are dime a dozen - you start wars! So you know what. New universe, new rules. No keyblades for anybody. Except these two new ones, KKL and KKD. No more wars. Stop it.” To which the very few keyblade wielders who survived the sundering were like “right, but how about we make a ceremony that lets us pass on the keyblade powers to new people, since like, we totally learned our lesson and won’t start another war”. So then the Ceremony came to be (which is just touching a keyblade apparently?? I think here’s more to it, but I’ll get to that in a minute).
So here we are in the new universe and we’ve got a few keys. The x-blade is broke, but that doesn’t matter until it becomes an essential and awkwardly convenient plot point. The KK and KKD are newly born. And I guess No Name (Xehanort’s blade in BBS and Master of Masters’ blade in Back Cover) survived, because why not. And then there’s the Dandelions. And that’s it. All the other keyblades are inert, since their wielders are dead. So someone passes the power of the keyblades onto Eraqus, Xehanort, and Yen Sid. Hopefully this gets revealed in KH3 since we got that awesome chess scene with chubby baby Eraqus. Yen Sid trains Mickey, then retires. Xehanort trains Ven, then fucks up literally everything. Eraqus trains Terra and Aqua, then dies. So we’ve gone from three to four wielders in one generation, since Eraqus thinks he’s special. I don’t know what “retiring” means in terms of using a keyblade, but it’s pretty safe to assume Yen Sid isn’t going to do anything but talk for the whole franchise. Xehanort takes over Terra. So we’re sitting at four wielders and six keyblades (since Terra/Xehanort each have one, and Aqua has Eraqus’s).
This brings about a whole other argument. Though the wielders die (Eraqus & in theory, No Name) the keyblades retain their power. Which is sort of in conflict with the keyblade graveyard. I think this has a lot to do with intent. Eraqus had always intended his keyblade to be passed down to Aqua in case he fell. MoM had always intended No Name to move forward through time. Each served their master’s purpose even after the master’s demise, so… in a way, they still had the heart of their master. I think this also explains why Aqua can’t summon her own keyblade anymore after the end of BBS. Her intent for her keyblade was to watch over Terra. It’s still doing that, in the Chamber of Repose. Then again, maybe keyblades can’t be summoned into the Realm of Darkness if they preside in the Realm of Light? Who knows.
Keeping the theme of intent, I think it has a lot to do with the Keyblade Ceremony. In every instance of the ceremony, the master intends to give the power away (Terra to Riku, for instance). So I think there’s more to it than just “touching the blade”. The only circumstance that defies this rule is Aqua to Kairi, but Kairi is a Princess of Heart so she can do whatever the hell she wants. So by the end of BBS, we’re sitting at six (potential) keyblade wielders and eight keyblades. Cue KK and KKD, makes ten. Actually, if we want to get technical, Xehanort might have been able to summon his own keyblade before being given No Name. So maybe eleven? At this point, the original Kingdom Hearts must be pretty pissed off.
So then there’s Sora. Who never had his own keyblade. Which I think is pretty cool. KK is Sora’s bro after KH1, so he never really needs one. And he was never given the ceremony officially. Though it could be argued that by housing Ven’s heart, it gave Sora the ability to have his own keyblade, but just the same it could be argued that once Ven’s heart is gone Sora might not be able to hold a keyblade at all. (I doubt that’ll be the case, but it’s funny to think about.) What are we at? Seven wielders, ten (possibly 11) blades?
Sora goes all sleepy time, so Roxas steals his Kingdom Key. KK is probably like “this is Sora! Feels like Sora. Probably Sora. I wish I had a glowing blue eye so I could be sure, but hey, whatever”. Xion “copies” Roxas’s key, explaining the two KKs at the same time. This is probably Ven’s keyblade since she’s siphoning parts of Sora out of Roxas, and the KK appearance is an illusion created from copying Roxas.
Xion dies. Roxas gets her keyblade (which was Ven’s). Dual wielding ass kicking ensues. Then when Sora wakes up, he can dual wield because Roxas - who is a part of him - unlocked that power for him. I think this is a really cool plot point actually, because it means when Ven gets his heart back, Sora will need to learn to manifest a keyblade of his own (not the KK) in order to dual wield again!! :D I’m all about Sora learning how to forge his own keyblade.
Let’s see. Lea gets a keyblade from Yen Sid’s ceremony. Bringing our total wielder count to eight: Destiny trio, Wayfinder trio, Mickey, Lea. Eleven keyblades: listed above (including KK for Sora), KKD (which means Mickey can probably dual wield), Master Defender (hopefully dual wielding Aqua in the future?!), and No Name (Terranort can officially dual wield..?).
Then keychains. Don’t worry, I’m almost done. “Keychains” modify the appearance of an existing keyblade. I actually don’t think keychains are actual keychains in most cases. It’s just that certain memories and experiences can color your heart, changing the appearance of your keyblade. The exception to this could possibly be Oathkeeper, since Kairi actually gives Sora a charm. But I don’t think he clips that thing on the end of his keyblade - I think just the memories of her and stuff bring about the transformation. Or maybe they are real keychains, but they are made when the heart remembers those memories? Because honestly, obtaining actual magical keychains seems absurd to me. This really isn’t elaborated on in any way.
Importantly, however! there are no keychains on the keyblades in the Graveyard. So maybe keychains are tied to a wielder’s heart, and when the wielder dies, the keyblade can be left behind but not the keychain itself. Again, there are exceptions with Master Defender (Eraqus) and No Name, since there is still intent in these blades. It’s interesting to think about. Also the Keyblade of Heart (forged from the seven princesses) doesn’t have a keychain. Maybe because it has no wielder? It’s a combination of seven hearts, rather than one? I don’t know.
ANYWAY. This was a lot longer than I wanted it to be, but I think about keyblades a lot. If anyone has anything to add or correct me on, PLEASE tell me because I LOVE TALKING ABOUT THIS STUFF!!! :D
<3 KCM
I’m Ephemera, nice to meet ya.
I’m Ventus, but Ven is fine.
KH 0.2 - Guide for Objectives 31 & 41 - Phantom Aqua
Objective 31: Queen of the Rink - perform Spellweaver’s Finisher
Objective 41: Flawless Victory - take no hits from Phantom Aqua round 3
This fight is a demonstration in patience. Aqua’s block basically guarantees that you’ll never get hit if you get the timing right, with one or two exceptions. Her teleports all have unique animations and you’ll quickly learn to read her movements to determine when to block (0:11). The game gives a generous amount of time for her block animation so you can hit it at the last second or way too early and still find yourself in good shape. After ever block, you should counter. She disappears too fast to wait out the animation.
Other than her teleport strikes, she has three main abilities you’ll want to avoid.
Blizzaga creates a series (I want to say six or eight) huge elemental spike balls that she will throw at you. These can be blocked, but they can also dodge roll out if you get the timing right. Basically, the second they should do damage to you, you should cartwheel away. Luckily, she only seems to use this specific ability /after/ using Spellweaver. Chances are, you won’t even have to deal with Blizzaga.
Her phantom images are the second ability (0:22). When she gently walks toward you, you can either hit her or wait a few seconds, then she will split into many copies of herself. There are two ways to handle this. You can lock on and search for the real one - who has a greater health bar - or you can just cast Thundaga and move on with the fight. If you can find her you’ll get a great combo, but if you don’t you risk losing the arrows you are trying to build up for Spellweaver. To keep the fight moving, I usually just use Thundaga.
Lastly is her Spellweaver finisher (0:31). She turns into three versions of your Spellweaver finisher and spins around you. When she slows down, she comes into the middle. You can block and counter, but I find cartwheel out and back in again gives you an almost guaranteed combo (0:36). This is the attack you want her to use - it’s easy to dodge and it guarantees at least two finishers.
Now for the strategy. If you’re going for Objective 31, you can start with a Shotlock while she transforms (0:08). If you’re going for Objective 41, a Shotlock at the start puts you too open to being attacked.
Stay in the middle of the room. Block everything until she uses one of her special moves. If you get hit, don’t give up right away. Practice getting your block timing down. When she uses a special like Spellweaver, then just take the death and Retry.
When she finally uses Spellweaver, follow the instructions above to land a combo. Once you finish the first combo, let her hit the ground (0:42). If you try to attack her again before she hits the ground, she’ll teleport away. After she touches down, unload another combo. Assuming you got a few block counters on her, this should give you enough to activate Spellweaver. She’ll disappear after this and launch into a new attack.
Conveniently, the chance is extremely high of her using her Spellweaver finisher right after you change into Spellweaver (0:47)! This is exactly what you want to happen. Rinse and repeat the actions above and you’ll max out your Spellweaver to use your finisher, granting you Objective 31! Whoo! Good job!
There is a caveat to this, however. On Critical or Beginner, too many counters will lower her health too much for you to get the finisher off before you kill her. I really recommend you do Objective 31 on Normal or Proud, since there’s more room for error. If you’re doing it on Critical, I recommend using block without counter for the first few teleport strikes.
If you are working on 31 and 41 at different times - which I highly recommend you do - then you can use any time you get hit to land a good combo before she disappears. Block’s animation takes too long and she vanishes, but without block you can get some hits on her after a few specific teleports.
Objective 41, however, you should do on Beginner or Critical - I recommend doing it on your Critical playthrough for Objective 51. Because you never get hit, the damage taken is irrelevant for Objectives 41 and 47. You also do significantly more damage on Beginner and Critical, which means the fight is over much faster.
Alright! That’s it! If you have any questions or anything send me a message!
~*Follow for more KH guides!*~
KH 0.2 - Guide for Objective 47 - Darkside
Objective 47: Keeper of the Orb - take no hits during the Darkside fight
This guy can be really frustrating, but he requires more luck than skill. When the fight starts, the path leading up to him is bombarded with dark orbs (0:08). When they hit the ground, they leave a black puddle and a ball of spikes forms in the middle of it. The puddle doesn’t hurt you, so don’t worry about that, but you’ll get hit many times just on the way to the boss himself. If this happens, it’s best to run into more spikes and die to reset.
I recommend not jumping if you can help it. The longer you stay in one area of the path, the more orbs start to fall in that section. You want to get to the end of the path as quickly as possible so that there are statistically less orbs to deal with. Jumping breaks your momentum so only use it if it’s necessary.
Once you get to the Darkside, the orbs stop falling. His hands are his weak points - pick one and start wailing on it. After one or two combos, he will do one of two attacks that you will recognize from every other KH game:
Dark Pool (1:12): an orb of light will appear in his hand and he will punch it downward into the ground, creating a pool where Shadows will spawn. You can’t touch the orb of light, you can’t be on the ground when he punches down, and you can’t let the Shadows overwhelm you. I’ve died more than once to some errant Shadow getting in a cheap shot when I was attacking the hand. My recommendation is to spam Thundaga three times, resetting your MP. You won’t need healing for the Objective anyway. If you hit every Shadow, this will give you the Thundaja finisher, dealing half a health bar of damage to the Darkside.
Missiles (0:35): he will kneel down and shoot three waves of missiles out of his chest. Get some distance and block, which will deflect the missiles back at him. After the third wave, go back to attacking his hand.
After the Darkside performs one of these attacks, he will rain the orbs back down on you (0:53). When this phase ends, he will use the attack he didn’t use the first time. Rinse and repeat.
When the Darkside gets to 2 and two thirds health bars, he will absorb the power of the orb above him. His hands will no longer be targetable - only his head. That’s how you know he is switching to Phase 2. Luckily, he finishes out his attack before he switches phases, giving you more time to do damage to him if he’s in the middle of casting Missiles, Dark Pool, or the rain of orbs.
Phase 2 is incredibly erratic and very hard to dodge. That’s why I advise you to kill him before this phase happens. That’s where your Shotlock comes in.
Strategy. Don’t hesitate. During the orb phases, just attack as much as possible. You’ll probably get hit with an orb about 40-50% of the time and have to restart, but avoiding them for 5 minutes only to get hit by something else isn’t worth the time or energy. When Missiles start, block. When Dark Pool happens, Thundaga. If you get to Spellweaver, use it immediately.
If you push him into his third health bar - where he is about to begin Phase 2 - give him a second to start his next attack. Do as much damage as you can, then cast all of your Thundagas, all of your finishers (except Spellweaver - it can take a long time and he is invincible in Phase 2) and then Shotlock the last two bars of health before he goes invincible. And bam. Done.
You’ll notice in the video I use Spellweaver finisher near the end there. I was trying to use Thunder, actually. ^_^; Oops. But luckily he was still well into the animation of Dark Pool and it worked in my favor!
As with Objective 41, I really recommend Critical or Beginner for this fight. The more damage you do, the less time there is to make a mistake. Proud mode takes a very long time and Normal isn’t that much better. Because you aren’t taking damage, how hard the Darkside hits doesn’t matter.
Alright! That’s it! If you have any questions or anything send an ask!
~*Follow for more KH guides!*~
*watching Back Cover*
Me: ACED IS THE TRAITOR!!
Me: JK INVI IS OBVIOUSLY THE TRAITOR!!
Me: Ohhhh Gula is the traitor!
Me: Aced was the traitor all along!!
Me: Invi’s the traitor!
Me: Ira’s the traitor!
Me: I see, Aced’s the traitor!
Me: Duh, Luxu is the traitor!!
Me: GULA IS REALLY THE TRAITOR!!
Me: MoM’s the traitor?
Me: …….Ava’s the traitor…???
Me: …Gula… is… the…
*credits*
Me: WHO IS THE TRAITOR?!?!?!?!
Minnie: And then your shirt just... dissolved.
Mickey: Yep, dissolved.
Minnie: Into nothing.
Mickey: Into nada.
Minnie: Just like that.
Mickey: *snaps his fingers* Just like that!
Minnie: ...
Mickey: ...
Minnie: You know if you don't like the clothes I pick out for you, you can just say so.
Mickey: WHAT NO MINNIE THAT'S ACTUALLY WHAT HAPPENED
Minnie: What's actually happening is you can buy your own clothes from now on, mister.


