------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories (02/05/2005) - Reverse/Rebirth FAQ/Walkthrough v1.11 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ writer: Aaron Paul Madriñan (Aeon17x) e-mail: snoocete@yahoo.com _______________ Version History\______________________________________________________________ 1.11 (02/05/2005) - Spelling/grammar check. Added some more detail to the FAQ section, fixed some of the boss strats, and pointed out what rewards and challenges await for those who beat R/R already. 1.00 (01/22/2005) - First release. ____________ Introduction\_________________________________________________________________ KH:CoM is a very nice game, even with all the negative reviews it gets from some of its loyal fans. Maybe it's because of the card system, the moogles, or that they just found the game totally unworthy of the KH title, who knows? I believe Sora's Story is worth playing over and over again, and that's just the first half of the game. What do I mean by that? This is because anyone who has beaten the game once is treated to an excellent unlockable: Reverse/Rebirth, a story mode where you play as Riku. Now, I don't need to explain how outrageously FUN that would be... but I know that some parts of it are quite difficult and frustrating at times. Thus the existence of this FAQ/Walkthrough. ^_^ __________________________ Frequently Asked Questions\___________________________________________________ *** So I just started R/R... what basic stuff should I know? Riku as a character in general is very similar to Sora, with a few key differences. He walks faster, and jumps a bit higher, too. In battle, he also performs a three-hit combo, but the dodge roll is replaced with a dodge leap; Riku does a small hop forward, and lands on the ground facing the direction he came from. He also doesn't need to recharge to reload the cards; just scroll to the empty card box and the cards will reload instantly. About decks, Riku only has one, and he can't change its contents nor its order. It is preset at the beginning of every level. The Soul Eater is your only attack card, and it grows stronger by getting AP boosts. Sometimes, you also have potions and zero cards, usually in key boss battles. At the very end of your deck is the enemy card for that level, and all your boss cards if you have collected any. Riku also obtains a friend card in battle (you'll know who it is as you play). Whenever he uses this card, the end result will be all enemies being stunned, while you get a reload and a heal. You can stock up to three of them to increase its effects. *** What stats should I choose whenever I level-up? When leveling-up, you are presented with three stats to increase: - HP - adds 15 to your Hit points; maximum at 560 HP. - AP - adds 1 to your Attack points; available after every five (5) levels. - DP - adds 2 to your Darkness points. I recommend that you get 5 HP for every 3 DP, while obtaining AP whenever the option is available. UPDATE - Or you could just follow this chart on level-ups: 01 - .. 11 - HP 21 - HP 31- DP 41 - HP 02 - AP 12 - DP 22 - HP 32- HP 42 - DP 03 - HP 13 - HP 23 - DP 33- HP 43 - HP 04 - HP 14 - DP 24 - HP 34- DP 44 - HP 05 - AP 15 - AP 25 - AP 35- AP 45 - AP 06 - HP 16 - HP 26 - HP 36- HP 46 - DP 07 - HP 17 - DP 27 - DP 37- HP 47 - HP 08 - HP 18 - HP 28 - HP 38- DP 48 - HP 09 - HP 19 - DP 29 - HP 39- HP 49 - DP 10 - AP 20 - AP 30 - AP 40- AP 50 - AP That will give you 21 AP (from 11 AP-ups), 470 HP (from 26 HP-ups), and 32 DP (from 12 DP-ups) at level 50. And as for what are the max stats you'll get for R/R (c/o Sealed Lance): HP - 560 AP - 30 DP - 100 These can all be maxed-out at level 99, unlike in Sora's where you have to decide which stat/sleight would you like to maximum. *** What is this so-called 'dark mode' and how do I make it work? In the upper-left corner of the screen, there is a numbered box with the Heartless icon beside it. This is the darkness meter. There are two ways to increase this: - By card breaking your opponent. You gain points equivalent to the difference of the amount between your card and your opponent's. Likewise, if you're the one who was broken, you'll lose points. - By taking damage. You gain one point for every hit you take as long as you stay alive. Upon reaching a total of 30 points by card-breaking, the number on the meter will change into whatever your DP stat is. Riku will stop whatever he's doing and jump into the air, shuffling his cards and transforming into Dark Riku. This form is a lot more agile than his normal form, and his attacks are much more powerful. Here's a list of changes that happens to him in dark mode. The parts in ()'s detail what you should do: - His dodge leap is enchanced drastically; it's much faster than before and covers more than half of the entire battlefield, and could even go upwards and downwards. - Spin slash - If you jump once before using an attack card, Riku will swing (B,A) his blade around him, dealing damage and juggling any nearby enemies. This can be done consecutively up to three times as long as he actually hits an enemy. - The second and third strike of his three-hit combo has different functions: > 2nd hit - Stun slash - Riku dashes forward and delivers a blow that (A,A) paralyzes the enemy temporarily. > 3rd hit - Jump slash - Riku jumps up and swings his weapon vertically, (A,A,A) damaging enemies above and below him repeatedly. - Teleport slash - Also known as double jump slash. Riku can double jump by (B,B,A) pressing B twice, and if done with a nearby enemy, he will zoom to the space above the enemy. By using an attack card, he will perform the jump slash (in mid-air) on the back of the targeted enemy. Also only in dark mode, Riku can use sleights instead of normal stock combos. - Dark Break - Riku jumps into the air, and bounces on his enemies with his sword repeatedly. Not that strong, but good enough when you only have low-level cards. (Soul Eater, 5-15) - Dark Firaga - Riku tosses a white fireball which homes in to the nearest enemy. Very effective against bosses, as they don't have enough time to break it with a zero. (Soul Eater, 16-25) - Dark Aura - Riku flies around the screen, stabbing through all enemies, before finishing the move by sending out flames from the ground. Any enemy who was hit and survives the whole thing will be confused. The only downside is the long spell time, which means bosses have a chance to break the sleight before you finish. (Soul Eater, 27) However, dark mode is by no means permanent. You turn back to normal once you lose all your DP, and must regain them once again if you want to return to dark mode. There are a number of ways to lose them: - By taking damage. You lose 5DP for each *hit* you take -- for example, if you were hit thrice, you lose 15DP. - By your opponent card breaking you. You lose points equivalent to the difference of the amount between your card and your opponent's. *** What about the map cards? Should I keep some of them for a later occasion? Yes. There's a certain door in a certain town that needs a Blue card with value 2 or lower, and those are quite rare so save them (thanks durango!). And I suggest collecting multiple low-valued Tranquil and Feeble cards, so that you will have an easier time in battles. *** How do I defeat ? Read this whole section first, then refer to that boss' portion in the walkthrough. ___________ Walkthrough\__________________________________________________________________ This walkthrough is not totally spoiler-free (although I really try to), as I have to tell you the names of some folks you aren't supposed to know yet if you're just starting the game. Just don't read too far into the guide unless necessary and you'll be okay. Oh, and if the map and cards don't look quite right, switch to a fixed font like Lucida Console. Let's get this show on the road... ______________________________________________________________________________ Basement 12 - Hollow Bastion ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ ___ |B11| Legend: _ / ¯¯¯ S - where you start in the level | | b - use Key of Beginnings to open _ _ / ¯ g - use Key of Guidance to open |g| | | t - use Key to Truth to open ¯ \ _ / ¯ \ _ B - exit to next floor | | |t| _ / ¯ \ _ ¯ Cards: | | | | se9, 8, 7 se - Soul Eater _ / ¯ \ _ / ¯ 8, 7, 6 po - Potion |S| | | 7, 6, 5 ¯ ¯ \ _ 6, 5, 4 |b| 5, 4, 3 ¯ po9, Defender Once you finally get control of Riku, harass the Heartless around and gain some levels, adapt to his style of battling. By the way, each level has a promotional enemy card added to your deck, oftentimes suited for use in that level; you lose them once you transfer to another level. You don't have dark mode yet, but you will get it later. So for now, put those stat boosts in AP and HP. You'll probably reach level 10 if you fight a lot. The boss for this level is behind the Truth door. + ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ + | Dragon Maleficent | + ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ + Life: <1 life bar Reward: 120 exp, Maleficent enemy card Attacks: Ember, Bite, Stomp Sleights: She's quite easy as she was significantly toned down from her incarnation in Sora's Story. Use the Defender card once the battle starts to heat up (if it DOES last long enough), and stay underneath her neck while you jump to pound her head. Douse her flames to get the trick card and raise a platform, but it's more likely that you'll kill her before you know it. --- Always use the Maleficent card to make the overworld enemy encounters faster. Make your way to the exit (preferably making a save room before you do), and you'll receive a new set of cards. I'm listing it here as you won't be able to analyze it beforehand. (hp - high potion) Cards: se8, 8, 8 7, 7, 7 6, 6, 6 9, 9, 9 6, 7, 8 9, 8, 6 7, 9, 9 6, 7, 8 hp9, hp0, se0 0, 0, 0 (Trivia: that's the deck you'll always use when fighting in the castle halls.) Anyway, Ansem makes his appearance... and so does another old friend of yours. + ~ ~ ~ + | Ansem | + ~ ~ ~ + Life: <1 life bar Reward: 133 exp Attacks: Ground Lightning, Guardian Punch Sleights: - Rockshatter - Ansem brings his guardian up front and dashes across the screen repeatedly. Ansem isn't on the mood to send you to some real estate, and you won't as his attacks are very weak (for now). His Rockshatter sleight does crap for damage, but break it with a zero anyway. Just turn on the Maleficent card and mash the A button. --- After the battle, Ansem wakes up the darkness within you, and Riku could now enter dark mode in battle. He also gives you a set of world cards to play with. Now, the order I listed the worlds and their respective folders is based on the default setup in the game. If you choose a different world for that floor, then you have to use your current floor's map and that world's deck. (Example: choosing Traverse Town in B11 would give you B11's map and the Traverse deck.) ______________________________________________________________________________ Basement 11 - Agrabah ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ ___ |B10| Cards: _ / ¯¯¯ se7, 6, 4 | | 3, 7, 6 _ / ¯ 4, 3, 7 | | 6, 4, 3 _ / ¯ \ _ 7, 6, 4 | | | | 3, 7, 6 _ / ¯ \ _ / ¯ 4, 3, hp7 |S| | | Fat Bandit ¯ ¯ \ _ |b| ¯ Try to practice getting into dark mode in this level, as well as master the different techniques you could do with it. Your deck doesn't allow Dark Aura yet, but the other two sleights are quite good, too. The Fat Bandit card is excellent especially when used with the teleport slash, as it does loads of damage for a single card. + ~ ~ ~ + | Jafar | + ~ ~ ~ + Life: 1 life bar Reward: 232 exp, Jafar card Attacks: Bash, Eye Beam, Giant Fireball Sleights: Just keep attacking the lamp the parrot is carrying. Don't worry about getting into dark mode, as this boss will not live long enough to see it. ______________________________________________________________________________ Basement 10 - Monstro ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ __ |B9| Cards: _ / ¯¯ se7, 5, 4 | | 1, 7, 5 _ / ¯ 4, 1, 7 | | 6, 4, 1 _ / ¯ \ _ 7, 6, 4 |S| | | 1, 7, 6 ¯ ¯ \ _ 4, 1 | | Search Ghost ¯ \ _ | | ¯ \ _ |b| ¯ Don't use the given enemy card, as you will get less experience. The battles aren't that hard yet, anyway. + ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ + | Parasite Cage | + ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ + Life: <1 life bar Reward: 372 exp, Parasite Cage card Attacks: Bash, Tackle Sleights: Another ridiculously easy boss. Just don't stay in the acid too long, and chop away. --- Return the way you came from to see a new room, and make a save out of that. Exit the level. + ~ ~ ~ + | Vexen | + ~ ~ ~ + Life: 2 life bars Reward: 975 exp Attacks: Shield Slam, Blizzaga Sleights: - Freeze - Vexen tries to wrap Riku in an ice block (it's impossible to not know this is coming; that laugh is unmistakable). If he succeeds, Riku will be stuck in ice, slowly taking damage until it breaks. - Ice Needles - Vexen lets out a series of frozen spikes from the ground which follows Riku to wherever he is until he's hit or the spell is over. - Diamond Dust - Snow falls all over the place, doing very little damage to Riku. For some reason, damage doesn't add or reduce to your DP meter. Vexen isn't the type of nobody that wants to attack you aggressively, so just card-break him while stabbing his back every now and then. Once you've gone to dark mode, leap to the other side and cast Dark Firaga repeatedly until he's nearly dead. Then use Parasite Cage to dispel his auto-life, and shoot that last fireball, or wait for him to reload to screw him with Dark Aura... ______________________________________________________________________________ Basement 9 - Never Land ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ _ |b| Cards: _ / ¯ __ se7, 6, 5 | | |B8| 4, 3, 2 _ / ¯ \ _ _ / ¯¯ 1, 0, 1 | | | | | | 2, 3, 4 _ / ¯ \ _ / ¯ \ _ / ¯ 5, 6, 7 |S| | | | | 8, 9 ¯ ¯ \ _ / ¯ Pirate | | ¯ Pirate's a nice enemy card. Use it to card break a lot and get to dark mode quickly. + ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~+ | Captain Hook | + ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~+ Life: 1 life bar Reward: 951 exp, Hook card Attacks: Slash, Present Sleights: - Rush & Present - Hook throws a set of (explosive) Presents next to him. - Combo & Present - Hook slashes at you multiple times, Ars Arcanum style. After that, he throws you upwards, while tossing some Presents to the area you'll land. Get to dark mode first, then activate the Jafar card, and beat him up with three-hit combos. Even if you revert to normal, Hook will be too weak to worry you anymore. ______________________________________________________________________________ Basement 8 - Traverse Town ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ __ |B7| Cards: _ / ¯¯ se4, 5, 6 | | 7, 8 _ / ¯ Shadow | | _ / ¯ \ _ _ | | | | |b| _ / ¯ _ / ¯ \ _ / ¯ | | | | | | ¯ \ _ / ¯ _ / ¯ | | | | _ / ¯ \ _ / ¯ |S| | | ¯ ¯ Very small deck, but it's not bad at all, as the cards are all high-leveled and the very quick reload time compensates for the lack of cards. + ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ + | Guard Armor | + ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ + Life: 5 mini-life bars Reward: 336 exp, Guard Armor card Attacks: Poke, Step, Spin, Body Slam Sleights: Just keep slashing, just keep slashing, just keep slashing, slashing, slashing, slashing... --- Save before you get out of this level, because we have the real boss fight coming up. + ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~+ | Riku Replica | + ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~+ Life: 2 life bars Reward: 1875 exp Attacks: Spin Slash, Stun Slash, Jump Slash Sleights: - Dark Firaga - same as yours. Aside from his advantage of permanent dark mode, this Riku isn't all that bad. His version of Dark Firaga is quite annoying as usual, so zero-break it and gain DP to enter dark mode. Use the Jafar or Maleficent card and strike him swiftly. Once its effects run out, reload and do the same thing you did with Vexen; keep your distance and fry him with Dark Firaga until he submits. --- Ansem greets you for a job well done (er... maybe not), and also gives you more world cards. ______________________________________________________________________________ Basement 7 - Atlantica ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ __ |B6| Cards: _ / ¯¯ se5, 5, 5 | | 5, 4, 4 _ / ¯ 4, 4, 3 | | 3, 3, 3 _ / ¯ _ _ 2, 2, 2 | | | | |b| 2, 1, 1 _ / ¯ _ / ¯ _ / ¯ 1, 1 | | | | | | Sea Neon ¯ \ _ / ¯ _ / ¯ | | | | _ / ¯ \ _ / ¯ |S| | | ¯ ¯ The map may look similar, but beware because the middle path leads to a dead end. This world also hosts the worst deck, so be patient with it. As for the Sea Neon card, use it anyway, as your cards are really bad... + ~ ~ ~ ~+ | Ursula | + ~ ~ ~ ~+ Life: >1 life bar Reward: 1470 exp, Ursula card Attacks: Tentacle, Thunder, Bubbles, Mouth Beam Sleights: This battle would've been a lot more easier if it weren't for that darn deck, so hold on your own at first and kill some tentacles, possibly in three hits with the Maleficent card. Then hit her face by standing on her shoulders. Don't follow her if she moves to the side to dodge her Mouth Beam. If you get the trick card, just relax and she'll literally go down for you to beat up. ______________________________________________________________________________ Basement 6 - Olympus Coliseum ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ __ |B5| Cards: _ / ¯¯ se1, 2, 3 | | 4, 5, 6 _ _ / ¯ 7, 8, 9 | | | | 1, 1, 1 _ / ¯ \ _ / ¯ \ _ 1, 1, 1 | | | | | | 1, 1, 1 _ / ¯ \ _ / ¯ \ _ / ¯ 0, 0, 0 |S| | | | | Powerwild ¯ ¯ ¯ \ _ |b| ¯ Now, while it looks the bunch of 1s mean you're in for another awful deck, check out your enemy card. It reverses the values of all your non-zero cards, which means that all your 1s turn into 9s... get my drift? Card-break your enemies first to get to dark mode, then use the Powerwild. From there, use Dark Aura on everything. + ~ ~ ~ + | Hades | + ~ ~ ~ + Life: >1 life bar Reward: 930 exp, Hades card Attacks: Fire Shot, Bash, Flamethrower Sleights: - Temper Flare - Hades flares up and changes his color to red, but loses it after a minute or so. He's faster and does more attacks in this form. - Firaga Ball - Hades tosses a fireball at you. For the first part of the fight, just run circles around Hades, dodging his Fire Shot and breaking his Temper Flare. It's hard to break that one without Hades activating it first, but it's worth it if you do as he doesn't do his two other more potent attacks, and he doesn't break your sleights with zeroes at all. You may want to use Dark Aura on Hades, as it is indeed very effective, but try to time it on his reload so that he will not card-break it (if he turned red; if not, use it whenever you want). His attacks aren't that strong, but once his health goes low and his Berserk kicks in, STAY AWAY and dispel it with Parasite Cage before moving in. Any way you do it, this fight should be over quickly. ______________________________________________________________________________ Basement 5 - Wonderland ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ _ __ |b| |B4| Cards: _ / ¯ _ / ¯¯ se3, 4, 5 | | | | 3, 4, 5 _ / ¯ \ _ / ¯ 3, 4, 5 | | | | 3, 4, 5 ¯ \ _ / ¯ \ _ Large Body | | | | ¯ \ _ / ¯ \ _ | | | | ¯ \ _ / ¯ | | _ / ¯ |S| ¯ The enemy card here is a fun one; total physical defense upfront, but it only lasts for one reload and doesn't seem to work against those creeper plants. + ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ + | Trickmaster | + ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ + Life: >1 life bar Reward: 1069 exp, Trickmaster card Attacks: Bash, Walk, Homing Fira Sleights: Trickmaster spends a lot of his time on a corner, and mostly attacking with low level cards. Just keep him stuck on that corner by slashing him apart while using your Jafar/Maleficent cards. ______________________________________________________________________________ Basement 4 - Halloween Town ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ __ |B3| Cards: _ _ _ _ / ¯¯ se7, 7, 6 |b| | | | | | | 6, 5, 5 ¯ \ _ / ¯ \ _ / ¯ \ _ / ¯ 4, 4, 5 | | | | | | 5, 6, 6 ¯ \ _ / ¯ _ / ¯ 7, 7, 7 | | | | 6, 5, 4 _ / ¯ _ / ¯ \ _ Wight Knight | | | | | | ¯ \ _ / ¯ \ _ / ¯ | | | | ¯ _ / ¯ |S| ¯ That's quite a map we have there, isn't it? Your deck's good, and Wight Knight is for humor purposes. On a serious note, try to reach at least level 30 in this world, or even level 40 if you could manage it. There's an Organization boss fight after this one. + ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~+ | Oogie Boogie | + ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~+ Life: >1 life bar Reward: 1209 exp, Oogie Boogie card Attacks: Dice Roll Sleights: His Dice Roll always has a value of 7, so break that with your own 7 card (do it with Guard Armor to hit all three dice in one hit) and slash it further to bring down the gates. The trick card does the same thing. Once that happens, just jump in, attack, and repeat until he's more 'dead' than before. --- Save your game. Lexaeus will meet you the moment you get out of that world, and force you into a fight. + ~ ~ ~ ~ + | Lexaeus | + ~ ~ ~ ~ + Life: 3 life bars Reward: 6517 exp, Lexaeus card Attacks: Tomahawk Slam, Tomahawk Toss, Ground Smash Sleights: - Rockshatter - Lexaeus takes off a piece of the floor (yes, floor), lifts it into the air, and punches it, sending multiple projectiles across the room. The moment the battle starts, stay far and do NOT attack him directly. Doing so would cause him to use physical attacks, some of which can stun you. Scroll to your zeros and break his Rockshatter(s), as this guy's too hard to take out without transforming. Once you get to dark mode, break him still until Lexaeus recharges his deck. That's your signal to start Dark Aura; it'll take out a full HP bar if you're successful. From there, just keep on casting Dark Firaga until Lexaeus goes down for the count. ______________________________________________________________________________ Basement 3 - Destiny Islands ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ __ |B2| Cards: _ _ _ / ¯¯ se0, 1, 3 |b| | | | | 5, 7, 0 ¯ \ _ / ¯ \ _ / ¯ 2, 4, 6 | | | | 8, 6, 4 _ / ¯ ¯ \ _ 2, 0, 7 | | | | 5, 3, 2 ¯ \ _ _ / ¯ 0 | | | | ¯ \ _ / ¯ | | _ / ¯ |S| ¯ The Lexaeus card you obtained in your last fight is one of the best cards in the whole game. The 3rd hit of your combo randomly casts Warp on your target, and what's better is that you will still get experience and cards from them. You also get immunity to ice and resistance against physical attacks, but it would also make you weak to special attacks. So useful for leveling-up, I wish we get it sooner... oh well. + ~ ~ ~ ~ ~+ | Darkside | + ~ ~ ~ ~ ~+ Life: 2 life bars Reward: 2827 exp, Darkside card Attacks: Ground Punch, Energy Balls Sleights: Riku's advantage over Darkside is that he can readily attack him even if he doesn't go down to punch the ground. Still, it's better if you face him in dark mode, and break everything except his ground punch move (just jump and break/kill the Shadows). Also, once you get to dark mode, do not use any sleights -- most of them won't hit Darkside anyway. ______________________________________________________________________________ Basement 2 - Twilight Town ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ _ |g| Cards: _ / ¯ __ se9, 6, 3 | | |B1| 8, 5, 2 _ / ¯ _ / ¯¯ 7, 4, 1 | | | | 6, 3, 0 _ / ¯ _ / ¯ 9, 7, 5 | | | | 3, 1, 0 _ / ¯ _ _ / ¯ 2, 4, 6 | | |b| | | 8, 0, 2 ¯ \ _ / ¯ _ / ¯ 9 | | | | _ / ¯ \ _ / ¯ |S| | | ¯ ¯ Just so you know, the boss is behind the Beginnings room. + ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ + | Riku Replica II | + ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ + Life: 3 life bars Reward: 5700 exp Attacks: Spin Slash, Stun Slash, Jump Slash, Dark Break Sleights: - Dark Firaga - same as yours. - Dark Aura - same as yours. Before the fight, get to know your deck and remember where the zeroes are. You will definitely need them to break RR's Dark Aura, which would just screw you up if it connects. Just like with Lexaeus, don't go offensive on him yet; concentrate on breaking his sleights, and maybe hitting him come reload time. In dark mode, use the Jafar card and proceed slashing him up. When that runs out, move over to Maleficent and carefully break his upcoming sleights. Soon, he will use his Riku card to activate Sleight Lock. When that happens, copy it with Darkside, and cast Dark Firaga repeatedly until he's dead. Don't hesitate to use Oogie Boogie in case you're having difficulty. UPDATE - For some reason, I forgot to point out that you have three 9 cards, which means you could do Dark Aura in this fight. You're going to have a harder time hitting him with that though, as RR is quite likely to break it. ______________________________________________________________________________ Basement 1 - Castle Oblivion ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ ___ |END| Cards: _ / ¯¯¯ se8, 8, 8 | | 7, 7, 7 _ / ¯ 6, 6, 6 | | 9, 9, 9 _ / ¯ 6, 7, 8 |S| 9, 8, 6 ¯ 7, 9, 9 6, 7, 8 hp9, hp0, se0 0, 0, 0 Final battle, and this time they're giving you the best deck you can use on R/R. You may go ahead if you're 40+ already, or level up to 50 if you want it to be a little bit easier. Now prepare yourself... + ~ ~ ~ ~ ~+ | Ansem II | + ~ ~ ~ ~ ~+ Life: 4 life bars Reward: ending of Reverse/Rebirth Attacks: Ground Lightning, Guardian Punch Sleights: - Rockshatter - Ansem brings his guardian up front and dashes across the screen repeatedly. - Dark Shadow - Simply put, the game's most powerful sleight. The background becomes pitch black, and Ansem's Heartless attacks from under ground. This WILL KILL YOU if you don't break it. Ansem is the most powerful boss in the game, so don't expect this fight to have an easy/cheap method of finishing. Let's start with his deck. an0, 0, 6 0, 0, 9 an - Ansem card 0, 6, 1 6, 1, 7 el - Elixir 9, 9, 0 8, 2, 3 2, 4, 3 7, 8, 5 0, 4, 5 4, 5, 4 3, 8, 7 8, 8, 4 5, 4, 2 3, el9, an5 8, 9, 4 2, 3, 6 9, 7, 6 7, 7, 3 6, 2, 1 9, 7, 0 0, 1, 3 8, 2, 2 5, 6, 0 5, 3, 9 2, 4, 9 1, 9, 8 9, 1, 1 7, el9 That'd be more or less 83 cards; 81 are blue and red Ansems, and two Elixirs. Conclusion: you can't wait for him to run out of cards then attack. Ansem's also a lot more faster. His ground lightning is quite hard to dodge, and the guardian punch follows your movement. Plus, that Heartless behind him oftentimes guards Ansem from your attacks, especially when you're getting into a combo. Okay, so HOW do we attack him? The method I use myself is to stand in front of him and card-break his attacks. That way you'll hit him every time you CB. If you can't break him, then just jump over the guardian punch (SUBMIT!) and ground lightning (whenever Ansem and his guardian looks down). Quick dodge leaping also helps a lot. Granted, you'll probably immediately get hit by Rockshatter since you're so close, but it's not that big of a problem. Sometime during this part, Ansem will use his card and activate Sleightblind. Because of that, you cannot see his sleights as he makes them, so dispel it as usual with Parasite Cage. Also, use Oogie Boogie as late as you can, as you want to get the most health from that card. Eventually you will enter dark mode. This is when the fun part starts. Ansem cannot guard himself whenever he's card-broken. So during this time, use Maleficent if possible, walk away a bit, wait for him to attack, then do the teleport slash. Sometimes, this could do damage nearly equal to Dark Firaga... Finally, when Ansem goes down to his last life bar, Mickey cards stop dropping into the battlefield. There's nothing that can be done about it, so preserve your Mickeys up to this point. Only use them (and always in threes) when Ansem is reloading so that he will not break it (which he surely will if possible). Don't use sleights either, except for a quick Dark Firaga when he's stunned. --- Well, that should be enough to give you an idea. If you got anything else to add to that or any other part of this guide, just drop me a line. So what do you get for completing Reverse/Rebirth? You get the Ultima Weapon keyblade, and Lexaeus and Ansem cards in Sora's Story. Just create Calm Bounty rooms within Castle Oblivion and they will be available in the chests. And some challenges if you found this part of the game too easy: - Original HP - beat R/R while putting all your level-up upgrades to AP and DP only. Some folks in the board already beat this, and I have to say they are quite talented to complete such an amazing feat. - Total Darkness - beat R/R without using your sense of sight. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think anyone has done this already. If you ever complete any of these challenges, I'll put your name in a Hall of Fame in this FAQ, so try it! ______________ Special Thanks\_______________________________________________________________ - CJayC, for creating GameFAQs, being a great and kind admin, and maintaining the greatest boards in all of the Internet. - Square Enix and Disney, for making a sequel to one of the most spectacular games of this generation. - Mykas0, Sealed Lance, durango X3, and the rest of the KH:CoM board, for all their help in researching this game, and for being fun people to talk to. - The folks at GameFAQs World: Philippines, because I wouldn't stay that long here if it weren't for them. For now, that's it -- thanks for reading this stuff I wrote. Good day to y'all! ___________________________________________© Copyright 2005 Aaron Paul Madriñan