=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Kingdom Hearts +=============================================================================+ + Final Mix Heartless Guide + + + + by RandomNumbers + + + + Version 1.10 - 01/27/07 + +=============================================================================+ ***WARNING: THIS DOCUMENT MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*** +-----============-----+ LEGAL NOTICE +----============----+ The following sites have express permission to post this guide: www.gameFAQs.com www.neoseeker.com www.supercheats.com www.honestgamers.com If you would like to post this guide on your website, please contact me at and ask. Chances are good I won't turn you down. Please don't post this guide without permission. Thank you. +-----===================-----+ CONTACT INFORMATION +----===================----+ Email may be sent to . I try to answer all email that I receive, but sometimes it takes a while. Unless you specifically request otherwise, I may include portions of your email that I deem relevant in future versions of this document. If I do, you will be given proper credit for the contribution. +-----===============-----+ VERSION HISTORY +----===============----+ ======================= Version 1.10 - 01/27/07 ======================= -Added links to video clips on YouTube of me battling Heartless as described in the guide. Some of the clips are helpful, while others really don't add much to what I've written, but I though people might find them interesting. ======================= Version 1.03 - 12/20/06 ======================= -Just a bit of clean-up since I finally found some free time. Mostly spelling/ grammar errors. ======================= Version 1.02 - 07/08/06 ======================= -Added some additional tips submitted by a reader. Also made some other minor changes. ======================= Version 1.01 - 06/04/06 ======================= -Looks like I spoke too soon. This version should correct the Japanese test formatting problems, as well as some minor factual errors. ======================= Version 1.00 - 06/03/06 ======================= -First version. Probably final version, too. +-----=================-----+ TABLE OF CONTENTS +----=================----+ 1 - INTRODUCTION 1.1 - Purpose of this Guide 1.2 - Background 2 - NEW HEARTLESS 2.1 - Gigant Shadow 2.2 - Stealth Soldier 2.3 - Black Ballade 2.4 - Sniper Wild 2.5 - Pot Scorpion 2.6 - Grand Ghost 2.7 - Chimaera 2.8 - Jet Balloon 2.9 - Neo Shadow 2.10 - Pink Agaricus 3 - EXTRA HEARTLESS 3.1 Behemoth 3.2 Guard Armor 3.3 Stealth Sneak 4 - CLOSING 4.1 - Acknowledgements On to the good stuff! +-----================-----+ 1 - INTRODUCTION +----================----+ =========================== 1.1 - Purpose of this Guide =========================== The purpose of this guide is to help players in dealing with the Heartless added with the release of Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix. This means that it will NOT deal with the new optional boss found in Final Mix (there's already a guide for that) or any Heartless that appeared in the North American version of the game. Some basic strategies for defeating these enemies can be found in other guides, but I found them to be, in some cases, incomplete and, in other cases, plain wrong. This guide basically represents my own notes that I want to preserve should I ever play the game again. I figured I might as well share them. Before I go on, let me just mention for the sake of having mentioned it that this document may contain some spoilers. This game has been out for a long time, and anyone reading this particular document has probably completed the game before, but just in case... Lastly, I should mention that this guide was written for (as the name implies) the Japan-only Final Mix version of Kingdom Hearts. ================ 1.1 - Background ================ Final Mix introduces ten new Heartless (well, actually a handful more, but more on that later). Thorf's excellent "Final Mix Changes FAQ" gives some strategies for defeating these enemies. I found that, in many cases, I was able to come up with some better (or at least more complete) strategies. Don't get me wrong, Thorf's guide is awesome, and I probably wouldn't have made it through the game without it, but there are a few points that I feel can be improved upon. As such, this guide may be considered a supplement to Thorf's. In addition to some more detailed strategies for defeating some of the trickier Heartless, I will also include a listing of the additional Heartless that appear in the FM Journal. These are, primarily, palette swaps of existing enemies (see the appropriate section below for more detail). Note that, unlike the ten Heartless mentioned above, these do not (so far as I know) have "official" translations. This brings me to my final point before I get on with it: Before playing this game, I had no knowledge of Japanese. This means that the extent of my knowledge of the language comes from having played this game. As such, any translations in this document (and I will attempt to do all of the translations myself) are to be taken with a grain of salt. This will apply primarily to the section on the "extra" Heartless (see Section 3.0), since the others are fairly well documented already. Oh, yeah (OK, this will really be my last point), if you want to see the Japanese text found in this guide, make sure to switch your character encoding to JIS. If you don't know how to do this, or don't feel like it, this guide should be written in such a way that you won't really miss anything anyway. +-----=================-----+ 2 - NEW HEARTLESS +----=================----+ Note that I will list them in the order they appear in your Journal. Under NAME I will list the name as it appears in the original Japanese (Katakana), followed by the name transliterated into Romanji, followed by my attempt to translate it. The "official" name will be found as the title of that section (e.g., 2.1 - Gigant Shadow). The APPEARANCE, LOCATION, and STRATEGY sections should be self-explanatory. I have also added some links to video clips of me fighting each new Heartless. =================== 2.1 - Gigant Shadow =================== NAME: ギガントシャドウ / gigantoshadou / Gigant Shadow APPEARANCE: Looks like one of the regular shadows, but quite a bit bigger (not surprising, eh?). LOCATION: Found in Wonderland, in the room where you fought Trickmaster. To get them to appear, you must defeat three waves of regular Shadows, which will appear around the table in the middle of the room. Note that if any other Heartless appear when you enter this room, the Gigant Shadows will not appear. Leave and try again. STRATEGY: Once you have defeated the three waves of Shadows, seven of the Gigant Shadows will appear around the table. The important thing to note here is that they WILL NOT disappear unless you let them hit you (despite what other guides seem to suggest). This means you can take all the time you want, but don't let them near you! I usually run in circles around the table, causing the Gigant Shadows to bunch up in a big group chasing me. Then, I lock on to the nearest one, cast Stop, and get in a few hits. But you need to make sure to keep moving before they wake up, because you want to kill as many as possible in order to get the Fighting Spirit Drops they leave behind. Obviously, it helps to have high Strength. Donald and Goofy will also help deal damage while you're running around the table, though I'm not sure they can actually kill these Heartless; I've seen several running around with what appears to be 0 HP that don't die until Sora lands the killing blow. In summary, kill them without letting them hit you to maximize your chances of getting the synthesis item. You can use other magic to help you out, but I prefer to save my MP for Stop. VIDEO: The video linked below starts with me clearing the three waves of regular Shadows. I then fight the Gigant Shadows more or less as described above. Notice that the first one hits me and disappears, but I manage to get the six others. Normally I would be more methodical about the whole thing, but in the interest of keeping the video, well... interesting I emphasize speed a bit more. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtGxpnYo8k0 ===================== 2.2 - Stealth Soldier ===================== NAME: ステルスソルジャー / suterususoruja / Stealth Soldier APPEARANCE: When you actually encounter them, they are invisible. Upon casting Stop, dealing enough damage, or checking your Journal, they appear to be slightly larger versions of the Soldier Heartless. LOCATION: These can be encountered in Hollow Bastion. I've found them in the first room of the castle (where you fight Riku for the first time and regain the Keyblade) and the room with the Keyhole (where you fight Riku for the second time and wake up Kairi). They appear with other regular enemies of that area, so you may have to try a few times before encountering them. STRATEGY: The strategy here is very simple, and Thorf's guide does a good job of explaining it. Basically, just lock on to the guy, cast Stop often, and kill him as fast as possible (they only stick around for a limited time). You can also use the Triangle button to have Donald and Goofy give you a hand, but it probably won't be necessary. I've found that Slide Dash is also helpful as this guy will be all over the place. They tend to drop the Vibrant Drops pretty frequently, so you shouldn't need to kill more than ten or a dozen of them before you have everything you need. VIDEO: One of the less interesting videos, but for those interested in seeing what this guy looks like, see the link below. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dLBokbg-KI =================== 2.3 - Black Ballade =================== NAME: ブラックバラード / burakkubaraado / Black Ballad(e?) APPEARANCE: Looks like the Red Nocturne/Blue Rhapsody/etc. type of Heartless, but with (not surprisingly) a black body (and red cap). LOCATION: Found in the Deep Jungle. From the tent area, head towards the water- fall area. The area between the tent and where you fought Clayton has that rock or little hill in the middle. The Black Ballade will appear here (and no other Heartless will be in the area). If this is not the case, leave and try again. STRATEGY: Once again, Thorf's guide does a good job of explaining the basic strategy. When the Black Ballade splits into five, look for the one that briefly pops up. When they are done shuffling themselves around, try to find and hit that one. Note that locking on doesn't work. Get it wrong and get zapped, get it right and increase your chances of getting the Echoing Drops. The only thing I want to point out is that, in my experience, you often get more than the four chances mentioned in other guides. I'm a little curious if anything special happens if you play a "perfect" round, but considering the amount of time I've already put into this game (about 100 hours for two playthroughs, one on Normal mode and one on Proud mode), I don't think I'm curious enough to actually try. VIDEO: I'm pretty pleased with how this video turned out. I choose incorrectly the first time (as if for illustrative purposes), and then nail him four times in a row. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-vtrPApXd8 ================= 2.4 - Sniper Wild ================= NAME: スナイパーワイルド / sunaipaawairudo / Sniperwild APPEARANCE: They resemble the Bouncywild Heartless, but their coloration is a little darker (purple rather than pink). LOCATION: Found in the 2nd District of Traverse Town. If they appear, no other Heartless will, so this should be your first indication that they are around. STRATEGY: This is one enemy that I feel needs some clarification, as "Don't let them see you!" doesn't quite cover it. The fact is that if they DO see you, they will keep spawning endlessly. Killing them at this point is useless, as you will not gain any experience and they will not drop any items. Let me emphasize that again, since the other guides are somewhat unclear on this point (or at least not explicit): if they see you, there is NO REASON to stay and fight them. Get yourself to the nearest exit ASAP. So, what IS the strategy? Well, when you first enter the area, there will be a single Sniper Wild (not sure why the translation is not "Sniperwild," as both "Powerwild" and "Bouncywild" appear as a single word in the NA version). Killing this one causes two more to appear, and killing those two causes three to appear. Killing these three results in your first chance at a Power Drop (which, most likely, is why you're fighting these bastards in the first place). So, after these three, the next wave has four, right? Wrong. Once you've killed the first "group" of six, you start over, with one, then two, then three, and so on. Each time you kill a group of six, you have an increasingly better chance of picking up a Power Drop. They also start dropping other items, but I've never killed more than the first two groups (got a Tent or something of that nature), so I'm not sure what you can get from this. I may look further into this, but these guys are such a pain that I can't promise anything. Also, each Sniper Wild you kill results in increasingly more experience points (i.e., that first one yields 10, the second 20, the third 30, and so on). Well, now that you know the mechanics of how they work, how do you actually go about killing them without being seen? There are several methods, but here is what I do: I usually enter the area from the 1st District. If no Heartles appear just inside, I know a Sniper Wild must be around. I head around the left (towards the Hotel), get to a point where I can lock on to the Sniper Wild (which should be running around the large open area; if it starts jumping around, do whatever it takes not to be seen). Once I've locked on, I just charge it and cast Stop as soon as possible. Even if it sees you, you should have time to Stop it before it calls for reinforcements. Once it's stopped, whack it a few times (you'll get a feel for how many hits it takes to kill one, but if in doubt, just keep hitting it). Shortly after the Stop spell wears off, two more will appear in the same area that the first one started out in (about the middle of the area). With your Stop spell all the way upgraded, you can stop both with one casting. Then just hit the first one a few times, change your target, and hit the second one. By the time the Stop spell has worn off, both should be dead. Now comes the tough part. It's possible to stop all three with one Stop spell, but you have to get pretty lucky. What I'll usually do is Stop two, kill the third, and then go back to get the others, casting Stop again as necessary. But this is risky, and really only the way to go if you're impatient like me. The alternative (and you can use this method from the start) is just to find a place to hide, and do a "hit-and-run" sort of attack whenever the opportunity presents itself. But like I said, that's too boring for me. Regardless of which method you choose, remember that Stop is your best friend. Ethers/Elixirs and Goofy's MP Gift ability are helpful for obvious reasons. Anyway, once you've dispatched the first group of six successfully, the pattern just repeats. Really, your only problem should be the group of three, but even that is fairly easy once you get the hang of it. And, hey, if you get caught, just run away and try again. Unfortunately, if you want to synth all the possible items, you'll need several Power Drops, so good luck! Enter the 2nd District via 1st, go to the left side towards the Hotel, target the Sniper Wild while on the side where you can not be seen, then cast Fire on it, if it hits it, it will jump directly towards you, just use Stop and hit it. Then when the group of two or three appear, repeat the process, its better if you hit it with Fire Magic 1-by-1, so it'll be easier to attack only one. VIDEO: As with the Gigant Shadows, I emphasize speed over precision a bit in this video. I still manage to get more than ten before they spot me, which seems to support my "impatient" method. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUJ5p7kJqKA ================== 2.5 - Pot Scorpion ================== NAME: ポットスコーピオン / pottosukoopion / Pot Scorpion APPEARANCE: Looks like a Pot Spider but with scorpion claws/tail. LOCATION: Agrabah, outside the palace gates. You'll know it's there because you'll see about a dozen pots upon entering the area. STRATEGY: Thorf's guide has a good strategy for this enemy, so I won't spend too much time reinventing the wheel. Basically, you want to knock this guy over so you can damage him (he's invincible otherwise). I've recently confirmed the tip submitted by redwinger 325 below, which makes flipping him much easier: Instead of using Guard, just have Aeroga active (not sure if the Tier 1/2 Aero spells would work). This causes him to be flipped more or less automatically when he attacks with his stinger, so no particular skill on the part of the player is required. Those wanting to use the Guard method must pay a little more attention. You can tell the Pot Scorpion is going to attack because it'll snap it's claws at you. This is not the actual attack, so wait to use Guard until just after it's done this (it will attack with its tail). Try it a few times and you'll see what I mean. Also, I'm pretty sure you can get a Mithril Drop just by successfully smashing all of the other pots before hitting the one with the Pot Scorpion inside (not a very high chance, though), so keep that in mind if you don't want to fight this guy over and over. Aeroga only works against the Pot Scorpion when charging towards you. So instead of using Guard, cast Aeroga on yourself and wait for the Pot Scorpion to charge at you. VIDEO: The clip linked below shows me using the Aeroga method, so it's a pretty uninteresting battle. I also take some time in the beginning to smash the other pots, which takes a while due to some control issues caused by playing the game using the TV card of my PC, so skip to about 0:50 for the real battle. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5ApTmQEaMk ================= 2.6 - Grand Ghost ================= NAME: グランドゴースト / gurandogoosuto / Grand Ghost APPEARANCE: Looks a lot like a Search Ghost, but bigger. LOCATION: Monstro, the same chamber where you fight the Parasite Cage for the second time. Doesn't always appear. STRATEGY: As with the Pot Scorpion, Thorf's guide does a good job of providing a strategy for this particular Heartless. Bascially, you kill it by using healing items on it (Potions, Megapotions, Elixirs, etc.). Your chance of getting one or more Freezing Drops depends on what item you use. In light of this, I disagree with Thorf's strategy to use "cheaper" items. I use Elixirs. This way, I have a chance of getting one Freezing Drop with the first Elixir, and two with the second one (which will kill the Grand Ghost). Three Freezing Drops for one kill is pretty good. I guess it all depends on how many Elixirs you have, but after juggling Rare Truffles for a while I had plenty, and you don't need all that many Freezing Drops (I think I killed only 2-3 Grand Ghosts to get all I needed). Use 1 Elixir and 2 Hi-Potions and it will drop 2 Freezing Drops. One when you use the Elixir, and the other one upon killing it with the Hi-Potions. VIDEO: The clip below is another one that's fairly straightforward. I use two Elixirs, so it's a pretty brief encounter, but once again, if anyone wants to see how the Grand Ghost looks, see the link below. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJCyNK_AQ10 ============== 2.7 - Chimaera ============== NAME: キマイラ / kimaira / Chimaera (or Chimera) APPEARANCE: Boy, this one's a little tough to describe. It's not the Chimaera of Greek mythology, instead it's sort of a humanoid creature which has, in place of a head, a jar with some sort of green liquid inside. Floating in this liquid are three heads. One of its hands resembles a large pair of scissors, and... you know what? Just try a Google image search (or see the video linked below). LOCATION: Halloween Town, where Oogie's Manor once stood. Doesn't always appear, though. STRATEGY: This one doesn't really require that much strategy. Basically you just beat the crap out of it until it's dead. It seems there are some things you can do to increase the chance of getting a Blazing Drop, but I've never had a problem collecting them by just killing the thing. It may take a few minutes, though, as it has a good amount of HP. To increase the chance of getting a Blazing Drop, reflect the bolts shot by the head when it's passsed out 9 times, as stated from Thorf's Guide. The Tech Points will be 10, 20, 30, and so on. And when you start reflecting the bolts, you will recieve Munny. So cast Aeroga, while attacking it when it's passed out, it will deflect the bolts. VIDEO: Unfortunately, it's pretty hard to see what's going on in the video that shows me battling the Chimaera. That's kind of how the battle goes, though, so there's not much I can do. I try using Aeroga, but honestly don't see much improvement. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqZSC4uP6lc ================= 2.8 - Jet Balloon ================= NAME: ジェットバルーン / jettobaruun / Jet Balloon APPEARANCE: Looks like an Aquatank, but greenish instead of brownish. LOCATION: Neverland, the deck of the ship. Doesn't always appear. STRATEGY: Well, I recently confirmed the tip submitted by redwinger 325 regarding the use of Aeroga (again, not sure if the lower-level Aero spells would work), and it did indeed appear to make this fight extremely easy (see the video clip below), invalidating some of the points in my original strategy. Rather than rewrite the whole thing, however, I'm going to leave it intact, in case someone wants to try hunting the Jet Balloon before having the Aeroga spell available, and also because most of the advice is still good, as even when they don't stun you, the Missile Divers can keep you from closing in on the Jet Balloon if you fly directly at it. Just keep in mind that if you're having a lot of trouble, the Aeroga spell will likely make things much easier. Anyway, this guy is one of the reasons I decided to write this guide. Thorf's guide states that you can't kill this guy if you fly, and therefore need to stay on the deck. I don't see how you'll ever kill this guy if you do that. In my opinion, you need to fly and chase after it. Yes, it'll shoot Missile Divers (ミサイルダイバー / misairudaibaa / Missile Diver) at you, and yes, this makes it tough to close in on it. The secret is to approach it from above or below. If you fly directly at it, you will get nailed. That's somewhat easier said than done, because you need to remain close enough to it to hit it when you swing your keyblade. My strategy looks something like this: when I enter the area and see the Jet Balloon, I approach it (without flying) to cause it to fly off. I then WAIT until it comes back towards the deck (should be pretty much right away). Then I take flight and try to approach it (lock on, of course) from below, so that the Missile Divers don't hit me. When you get close enough, swing your keyblade, and don't stop swinging until you are SURE that it is out of range (sometimes it'll bounce up and down instead of flying off and you can get a few extra hits in). Chase it if necessary, and hope you kill the bastard before he disappears. And if you DO manage to kill it, hope that you can grab the items before they sink into the sea (if you kill it over the deck you're very lucky). This is very frustrating, and will likely take several tries. Use the Triangle button to get assistance from Donald/Goofy/Peter Pan, use magic in emergencies (but if you do it means you're probably too far away to grab the Twinkling Drops if you kill it), and do whatever you can to raise your strength (a long Keyblade can help, too). Also be aware that you will lose Munny when hit by a Missile Diver, and if you are hunting these guys in earnest, it can be a serious hit to your finances. You may want to consider spending all of your cash prior to attempting this. Note that if you have the Aeroga spell available, you don't have to worry about this. BTW, I think you get some Tech points for hitting a Missile Diver, but who really cares? You can fly after the Jet Balloon, just cast Aeroga, you won't get hit by the Missile Divers and lose any Munny while Aeroga it still on. You get 60 Tech Points when hitting the Missile Diver while attacking the Jet Balloon (assuming you have no Tech Plus abilities equipped). VIDEO: As mentioned above, Aeroga seems to make this fight very easy, and I dispatch the Jet Balloon without much problem in this video clip. Pretty anti- climactic, since I was expecting more of a fight. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzcjWP8Er8o ================ 2.9 - Neo Shadow ================ NAME: ネオシャドウ / neoshadou / Neo Shadow APPEARANCE: They sort of look like "adult" versions of the regular Shadow enemies. If you've seen the secret ending movies, you know what I'm talking about. LOCATION: The room just before Final Rest at the End of the World. They don't always appear. STRATEGY: Not much to add here, either. Just kill all ten by whatever means you prefer and grab the Blustery Drops at the end. VIDEO: Like some of the others, this clip is not all the interesting, since the strategy consists mostly of whacking the Neo Shadows over and over, but then again, these guys look pretty cool. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ua-FrCyK2lw ==================== 2.10 - Pink Agaricus ==================== NAME: ピンクアガリクス / pinkuagarikusu / Pink Agaricus APPEARANCE: Similar to the White Mushroom Heartless, but bigger, with a light- blue body and pinkish cap. LOCATION: Can appear in two places: The treehouse in Deep Jungle, and in Atlantica. Might as well forget Atlantica, as you won't want to encounter it here. To make it appear, case Stop of the three White Mushrooms you will find hidden in various places around the area (if other Hearltess appear, withdraw, as you won't find a Pink Agaricus). Once you've cleared the three White Mush- rooms, the Pink Agaricus will appear, always in the same location (the entrance to the treehouse). For your reference these are the nine possible locations for the White Mushrooms: 1. On the path up to the tree house. You'll see this one as soon as you enter the area. 2. The netting area underneath the tree house. 3. In the boat suspended over the netting. 4. Above the entrance on the wooden walway that goes around the house. 5. Inside, under the broken stairs. 6. Inside, near the top of the stairs. 7. Inside, up on the rafters. 8. In the crow's nest at the top of the beak used to support the boat. You can only get there by climbing to the roof of the house and gliding over. 9. On a beam above the rear entrance of the tree house. You can only reach it by climbing to the roof and jumping down. I've noticed that some of the areas appear "linked," meaning that if you find a White Mushroom in Location 1, for example, you'll never find one in Location 2. Could be my imagination, though. STRATEGY: OK, folks, this guy is the number one reason I'm writing this guide. Getting 40 hits in order to get the Fulfilling Force is a piece of cake (especially with what I will tell you below), but getting the Premium Cap is *TOUGH*! Why would anyone want the Premium Cap, you ask? Well, there is no good reason, really. I mean, sure, it gives you the single largest boost to your defense of any Accessory (+5), but it lowers your strength by the same amount (-5). Not exactly useful. If you're like me, however, you want to do EVERYTHING in this game. I'm not sure how many other people have accomplished this, but there is a distinct lack of information on how to do it. In fact, the information gleaned from other guides will actually make it HARDER! The biggest secret to getting a high number of hits is NOT using Donald/Goofy/ Tarzan! Why? Because their attacks don't count! Don't believe me? Try it out yourself. Cast Aero on your teammates, Stop the Pink Agaricus, and tell your buddies to attack using the Triangle button (stay clear yourself in case Donald casts Aero on you; you want this to be a controlled experiment). When Stop wears off, the Pink Agaricus will disappear immediately, your score being zero. This may not seem like a big deal until you realize (or I tell you) that having your teammates attack can actually DECREASE your score. Don't ask me exactly why this happens, but when I was using Donald and Goofy, I was STRUGGLING to get the 40 hits needed to have a shot at the synth item, and my asbsolute best score was something like 51, a far cry from the 100 hits I would need. Then I tried experimenting with different combinations of the Aero spell, having Donald/Goofy attack, etc. What I found out was that, by ignoring my teammates, casting Aero on myself, and doing NOTHING else I was able to get 39 hits! This means that for those of you trying to get the synth item, it just got a LOT easier. All you have to do is cast Aero on yourself, Stop on the Pink Agaricus, get in a few leisurely hits, and you'll be at 40-50 easy. Use Ars Arcanum, and you should be able to get a pretty decent score. Using this method, collecting Fulfilling Forces has just become a trivial (though still somewhat time-consuming) exercise. Unfortunately, this method will not allow you to hit 100. The only way to do this (AFAIK) is to use Ragnarok, as alluded to in Thorf's guide. The bad news is that, even ignoring Donald and Goofy, it's tough to get 100 hits. I recommend heading to Traverse Town to practice using Ragnarok in Merlin's house (free unlimited MP FTW!). The goal is to time it just right that you release the maximum number of projectiles (~25). In order to do this, you need to hit the button about 1 second after it first becomes available (this is AFTER the initial 5-hit-combo, by the way; give it a try so you know what I mean). Let me go over how to theoretically achieve 100 hits instead of talking any more about what makes it difficult. Once the Pink Agaricus appears, here is what needs to happen: approach the Pink Agaricus, making sure that Goofy is with you (his MP Gift ability is very important). Wait a few seconds until the Pink Agaricus has finished his "hula dance" (it will sway first to one side then ther other, causing his head to be slightly lower, which interferes with Ragnarok), target his HEAD (note that both his head and body can be targeted separately) so that you can use Ragnarok (it requires an aerial target), cast Aero on yourself, and cast Stop on the Pink Agaricus. This is where you need to move fast. As fast as you can, select the Ragnarok option, and perform the combo. Then, time your follow-up so that you shoot as many of those lasers as you can (this will take some practice). Once you've landed, IMMEDIATELY attack the Pink Agaricus normally. Not only do you want to do this to get the most hits, but also because the Ragnarok will have knocked you so far back that your Aero is no longer hitting the Pink Agaricus. You can try to pull off either two full combos of three hits, or you can use Air Combo Plus abilities to do single combos of four or five hits. It's up to you, but you want to make sure that as soon as the lasers from your first Ragnarok finally dissipate (those that didn't hit the Pink Agaricus), you are ready to launch the second, and in order for this to happen your feet need to be on the ground. It's better to miss out on a few hits than to be late with your Ragnarok. Basically, the rest of the battle will consist of you repeating the above. The Pink Agaricus will remain stopped for about 20 seconds, which should be just enough time to execute the Ragnarok three times. This is tough, but it is possible. If you are able to nail three perfect Ragnaroks as fast as possible, and also get in a few hits in between, you will eventually be able to get 100 hits. For what it's worth, it took me about 150 tries the first time (of course a lot of that was time that it took me to learn the above lessons), and ~20 the second time (I had also maxed out the number of Potions, Hi-Potions, Ethers, and Fulfilling Forces(!) I could carry, achieved level 95, and earned about 75,000 Munny). I think just knowing it was possible helped a lot, and now you know it, too. One final point here: if you see that you've attained 98 hits but then see the Pink Agaricus stop counting, don't be discouraged yet. For some reason, the 99 and 100 don't appear until the Pink Agaricus starts flying away. The reason I decided to do this task twice was because the first time I looked away while the 99 and 100 popped up. After all that time I had really wanted to see it. VIDEOS: Well, I've got three video clips for this one. The first is a clip of me fighting the Pink Agaricus in Atlantica, in case anyone wants to see that. The second and third clips are both in Deep Jungle. Part One shows me going through the process of casting Stop on the White Mushrooms to summon the Pink Agaricus, while Part Two shows me getting 100 hits (!!!) using three Ragnaroks as described above. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RGRWrOweqw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3vIW4duGdQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nU-UyKwjuJU +-----===================-----+ 3 - EXTRA HEARTLESS +----===================----+ The North American version of Kingdom Hearts includes 43 (by my count) Heartless entries; the Final Mix version includes 57. Taking into account the ten mentioned above, this still leaves a difference of 4. These four "extra" entries are accounted for by some palette swaps of existing Heartless, namely the Behemoth, Guard Armor, and Stealth Sneak. Details on these extra entries will be provided below. I've got one video clip covering all of these (Journal entries only): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azriRUuQV5g ============== 3.1 - Behemoth ============== In the NA version of the game, there is only one Behemoth, a big purple brute that is encountered on several occasions. The FM version of the game adds not one, but TWO extra Behemoth enemies. Here is some information on all three (see the video clip linked above to see the actual Journal entries): ベヒーモス / behiimosu / Behemoth This is the "regular" Behemoth. In FM, it is not purple, however, but gray with dark blue markings and brown feet, a blood red horn and claws, and purple tusks. You fight only one. IIRC, you fight it before you seal the Keyhole in Hollow Bastion. デストロイドベヒーモス / desutoroidobehiimosu / Destroyed Behemoth This Behemoth is black with orange/yellow flame-like markings, a blue horn, black feet with green glaws, and red tusks. You encounter this one in the Hades Cup, and can fight it as many times as you'd like. アークベヒーモス / aakubehiimosu / Arch Behemoth Like the Destroyed Behemoth, this Behemoth has flame-like markings. However, the coloration is quite different: the body color is a bluish-gray, the markings are light-blue/white, the feet are dark brown with purple claws, the horn is gray, and the tusks are dark blue. You only defeat three of these, and I think you find all of them at the End of the World. The stats of the three varieties may be (and probably are) different, but I'm not sure how. ================= 3.2 - Guard Armor ================= The Guard Armor encountered in Traverse Town in FM looks quite different from the one encountered there in the NA version. The Opposite Armor also has the alternate color scheme. The Guard Armor components that you fight at the Coliseum, however, are closer to those of the NA version (see the video clip linked above to see the actual Journal entries): ガードアーマー / gaadoaamaa / Guard Armor This is the boss that you encounter in Traverse Town. Instead of being mainly purple, it is white/gray, blue, red, and yellow, with some black. The Opposite Armor you fight later on has this same coloration. レッドアーマー / reddoaamaa / Red Armor Well, this is the first time I've translated the name, and it seems pretty obvious. This Red Armor looks very similar to the Guard Armor in the NA version (except for the fact that it is red rather than purple) and, as mentioned above, is encountered (largely in pieces) during various Olympus Coliseum matches. Again, I'm not sure if/how the stats differ. =================== 3.3 - Stealth Sneak =================== Similar to the Guard Armor situation, you encounter the Stealth Sneak as a boss and the "alternate" version at the Coliseum (see the video clip linked above to see the actual Journal entries). ステルススニーク / suterususuniiku / Stealth Sneak Whereas the NA version of the Stealth Sneak (which IIRC, was the same color whether encountered in the Coliseum or Deep Jungle) has a sort of camouflage pattern/coloration, this one (which is fought only during the battle with Clayton in Deep Jungle) is yellowish with a lot of black markings, making it slightly resemble a tiger. Of course, like in the NA version, this Heartless starts out being invisible. スニークアーミー / suniikuaamii / Sneak Army These Heartless are found in several Coliseum matches. As usual, they start out being invisible. When you do enough damage (or look at them in the Journal), they are black with some lighter patches (which may match the camouflage pattern in the NA version), and their underside is gray as well. Again, I'm not sure if/how the stats differ. +-----===========-----+ 4 - CLOSING +----===========----+ ====================== 4.1 - Acknowledgements ====================== Thanks go to... Thorfinn Tait, for his excellent KH:FM guide. redwinger325, for submitting some additional strategies and information. My wife, Christine, for letting me spend more hours than was really good for me trying to get that damn Premium Cap. ;) -RandomNumbers -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=