Ah yes, the days of Kingdom Hearts II felt like a lifetime ago. How the adventure of Sora and his pals Donald and Goofy would return after a one year sleep to replenish their lost memories and fight off evil once more. How the whole “I’m you” doppelganger concept went to maximum overdrive as we were introduced to Roxas, Sora’s Nobody, or Sora's other half (if you want to learn the entire plot of the series, just look it up on Youtube. It’s too much information to digest). However, this article is not here to give you the usual twelve-hour lecture your friend gives you about the convoluted story that Kingdom Hearts has, but the badass weaponry that you are able to obtain throughout each of the games. In this particular case, Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix is the hot topic of today, and which ten Keyblades are the best ones to use overall in combat, and the special abilities that come with them. Now note that is more a personalized list, so whichever Keyblade you didn’t see on the list doesn’t mean it was a bad Keyblade per say, but it didn’t meet the criteria for this list. So on that note, let’s get started!

10. Kingdom Key

To start this list off, we’re going straight to the first Keyblade and the most iconic one by far in the game. Your standard Keyblade as you boot up Kingdom Hearts II and the reach is your standard reach for many enemies. It is Sora’s trusty old friend who is eager to itch that silver key-shaped weapon onto the backs of the Heartless, and this time it comes with a hefty little ability in the game called Damage Control. What the ability does is essentially reduces the damage that Sora takes against enemies or boss attacks by half during critical situations. Basically, if you’re in a pinch when it comes to fighting a horde of Heartless in a world, the Kingdom Key will ensure your safety and protect you no matter the cost. I mean it works wonders and makes the difference in certain boss battles such as the Absent Silhouettes. You know, the ones that you remember seeing in Chain of Memories but Sora doesn’t? Anyway, moving on…

9. Sleeping Lion

Remember back in the first Kingdom Hearts when you went to Olympus Coliseum and beat the living hell out of Leon (Squall), Cloud, and Tifa? And how you obtain the Lionheart Keyblade afterward? Well, the Sleeping Lion is the Lionheart’s older brother of a Keyblade except it looks better and has a farther reach. Sora obtains the weapon before you visit the Space Paranoids World a second time and complete the world. There, Leon will speak to you and provide you the Sleeping Lion Keyblade. Simple as that. No need for excessive extra content and boss battles to earn this bad boy, and what a bad boy it is indeed. Equipped with the Combo Plus ability, the Sleeping Lion Keyblade gives you an additional combo to beat the utter crap out of Heartless and can make the difference towards finishing a boss fight. That and the aesthetics of this Keyblade is utterly gorgeous and personally, consider this to be Sora’s true Keyblade.

8. Winner’s Proof

In order to get this Keyblade, prepare your mind and body for thirteen trials that the Organization XIII Truffles have in store for you. Located in every single world that you explore in the game, there are these unique Heartless that resemble the Organization XIII. In each world, they are either out in the open like in The World That Never Was’ Skyscraper area, or in the most ambiguous location possible such as Yen Sid’s Tower in Twilight Town. Now each of Mushroom XIII as they are called, have a different minigame task that you have to get a certain high score to win. Some ask you to attack a multitude of them before the timer runs out, hit one from behind as much as you can before the timer hits zero, or have him not hit the ground after a certain amount of hits, which I cannot stress, was the most stressful one out there. Mushroom No. VIII I swear I will hunt you down and I will burn you for making me stress over the fact that I had to pull you out of the ground and throw you up 80 times before your butt hits the ground and praise me. You little masochist.

Moving along, once you win all of the Mushroom XIII’s minigames, head back to Radiant Garden crevice location to meet all of them and you will be given the Winner’s Proof, a Keyblade that has all of their little faces stacked up. That and nice bronze crown for your efforts. Now, the Winner’s Proof’s ability is actually something that hinders you for it is the No Experience ability. Whenever you equip this Keyblade, you get no experience, but it boosts your magic and strength. As a small recommendation, place it in your Keyblade subslot for the Master Drive Form as the magic with that Drive Form will increase numerously. Video on how to obtain this Keyblade is down below.

7. Oathkeeper

In terms of the aesthetics alone, one might believe that the Oathkeeper would be the supreme Keyblade of them all. Although that might be true in some cases, such as the first Kingdom Hearts game where Kairi gives you the charm she made for Sora, allowing you to obtain the Keyblade towards the end of the game. However, in Kingdom Hearts II, it is an early Keyblade to access as once you go back to Twilight Town in your new outfit. The Keyblade is basically just thrown at you for no reason at all other than “hey remember me?” and poof! Your Keyblade has been awarded. Now I’ll be honest with this Keyblade: it is the best Keyblade for the early section of the game. It is a well balanced Keyblade, allowing you to level up with ease and the ability that comes with it makes it all the more special. The Oathkeeper is equipped with the Form Boost ability, allowing your newly gameplay mechanic Drive Forms to stay longer and consume much less than before. That’s right, more Drive Form utility. Now you can use Limit Form and freaking Sonic Blade a boss to no tomorrow. Or finish the Mushroom XIII task much easier as well. Though not reliable towards the end of the game, it is a nice comeback to the series as a whole. Kairi would be proud of you if she saw you wield that thing in front of her. Proud indeed.

6. Oblivion

As if the Oathkeeper wasn’t enough, its edgy counterpart decided to make its humble return as well. Yes, that is indeed correct for the Oblivion Keyblade is back and much stronger than ever before. The black and purple Keyblade that you first obtained in a hidden chest in Hollow Bastion in the first Kingdom Hearts now returns as a gift from Riku when you enter the later sections of the game such as the World That Never Was. It has a nice reach against enemies, and the attack and magic boost is just about leveled as the Oathkeeper, and considering that this is an endgame type of Keyblade, it is something worth being rewarded for your reunification with Riku and fluctuates well with its other counterpart that is the Oathkeeper. I mean light and dark are a pretty blatant concept in the games, and these two Keyblades together makes it all the more complimentary. To even add onto that duality, the Oblivion Keyblade when equipped gives you the Drive Boost ability, an ability that fills your Drive Form gauge faster when dealing damage on enemies, also benefiting the Form Boost ability that Oathkeeper is equipped with. So if you are one of those that want to level up the Drive Forms and need that gauge to fill up quicker, than boy the Oblivion Keyblade has got your Heartless kicking ass back.

5. Bond of Flames

Obtained as Sora enters the gateway that is between Twilight Town and the World That Never Was, the Bonds of Flames is a nice rendition to your friendly enemy Axl’s flame wheels. Or whatever they’re called. Flaming disks? Beyblades? Whatever the case, he gives you the Bond of Flames Keyblade. What the Keyblade offers isn’t much, as it has a nice and well-balanced strength and magic, so if you’re using it for the aesthetics, then use it for the Valor Drive Form and lash out combos left to right with it. However, if you’re that one guy in the large room of the fandom that enjoys burning things to the ground, or enjoy the pyrotechnic of things, then allow me to introduce you to its ability Flame Boost, which doubles the damage dealt when using Fire, Fira, or Firaga. Now you get twice the burning and twice the fun. And if you want to become even crazier with your pyrotechnics, then go full throttle by using the Master Form and equip it there. Now you’re making that Heartless beg for their shadowy lives. That and a certain flaming hyena robot proud too, but that’s a different game altogether.

4. Two Become One

The Two Become One Keyblade is obtained by beating Roxas, Sora’s Nobody in the World That Never Was. After you beat what is pretty much your other half in Sora’s heart (like I said, if you want story details, then you’ll have to watch some videos such as the one provided for this Keyblade),  Roxas will realize who he truly is supposed to be and ends up rewarding Sora the Two Become One Keyblade. Now this Keyblade is one that is really freaking cool design wise and does more magic power than strength, but there is one thing that this Keyblade will end up doing, and that is really a hindrance. Two Become One gives you this special ability called Light and Darkness, which to be honest, in order to figure out what this ability does is try using a Drive Form other than your Final Form. Once you do that, then you’ll activate Anti-Sora, a darker and menacing version of Sora, similar to that of a Heartless. Normally, Anti-Sora occurs when you abuse the power that is the Drive Forms but equipped with Two Become One, you’re in a rodeo of your own. However, Anti-Sora does have its perks. Despite being heavily vulnerable, his attack strengths are massively boosted and can deal combos on the fly. The same goes with its duality counterpart that is Final Form, a more silvery and shiny version of Sora having two Keyblades floating behind him. Using Two Become One with Final Form will also give you a massive magic and strength boost while you’re zooming, gliding, and attacking Heartless and Nobodies on the fly. This Keyblade is more on the risk-taker side of things.

3. Decisive Pumpkin

For this little Nightmare Before Christmas themed Keyblade, you need to complete the first trip to Halloween Town. Yes, Jack Skellington is back with his crew of Halloween loving friends, and unlike the first game, you get to visit Santa and Christmas Town as in the movie. A neat world, and once you beat Oogie-Boogie, you get rewarded with the Decisive Pumpkin Keyblade. Now, fair warning with this Keyblade: use if for bosses. Solely for bosses. Why do you ask? Because this Keyblade is meant to tear bosses and difficult ones such as the Absent Silhouettes located in different worlds to shreds. That and it will help you tremendously in the data bosses in Cave of Remembrance in the Radiant Garden world. It has a high reach and deals more strength and than magic, which is why this Keyblade is highly recommended for boss battles, at least the ones that this Keyblade can deal a hit worthy enough to make the difference. To make this Keyblade even better is its ability: Combo Boost. What Combo Boost does is dealing more damage the more combos you land with the Keyblade, which is the nail in the coffin for how brutal this Keyblade can be. Heartless in the way? No problem, three hits, and poof. Data Vexen is giving you a hard time with his Shield? Rip that shield apart with that Keyblade baby, and you’re golden.

2. Fenrir

Oh boy, if you want to get this very Keyblade, then prepare for a fight of your life. Get Sora at least up to level 70 as this boss battle will kick your ass in seconds if you’re not heavily prepared for it. Trust me, because Sephiroth is back and brutal than ever. He lies in the crevice areas in Radiant Garden and is an extra boss if you plan to be a completionist for the game. Once you meet with the bad silver long haired boy himself, he will challenge Sora to a duel like how he did in the first Kingdom Hearts game. But be very careful, for he starts attacking in seconds from the initiation of the fight, and it’s a race against time and odds. Time your moves right and keep paying attention to when he starts to glow a dark color, for when he does, get a potion ready to use. He will knock that health bar out like nothing. After you spend hours beating Sephiroth and learning something new about your patience, you will be awarded both a compliment from Sephiroth and the Fenrir Keyblade, a Keyblade that is pretty dull looking, resembles that of a car key, but gives quite a punch when equipped. Ironically, it is also equipped with the Negative Combo ability, leaving you with one less combo to perform when fighting. Though your number of combos are gone, that doesn't mean your power isn’t, and when you fight tougher bosses such as the Data Organization XIII, Fenrir will come in handy to finish them off quickly, swiftly, and smoothly. Thank you, One Winged Angel. Now cue your music, and a video on how yo beat him.

1. Ultima Weapon

Did you think this was never going to appear on this list? No? Well, you were dead wrong because the Ultima Weapon is the best weapon in the entire game by a long shot. In order to get the Ultima Weapon, you need to start going on a quest of your own, and that is material hunting. Yes, I said it: material hunting for this is the only Keyblade in the entire game that needs to be crafted in order to obtain. Once you go around each world, polishing up your skills and tying up some loose ends on the Heartless and Nobodies, head back to any  Moogle merchant that are scattered in every single world in Kingdom Hearts II. Once the ranking of the Moogle shops levels up roughly to about an S ranking will the Ultima Weapon be craftable. But wait, there’s more for you need to around another round of killing Heartless and Nobodies to get the materials needed to finally get your precious hand on the shiny and amazing Ultima Weapon. And it is fitting for its name because it is the highest level in terms of strength and magic boost in the game. It has a really good reach on enemies, and the ability it comes with it is all the more valuable. The ability that this Keyblade is equipped with is none other than the exclusive MP Hastega, an ability when equipped with Sora’s MP Haste abilities, will increase the chances of your magic from returning after abusing it to your bidding. I mean, it is a necessity, especially for the Data Organization Bosses that require you to spam Reflega on a daily basis, and for the ultimate boss of them all, the Lingering Will. Video on the materials and everything is down below.

There you have it, folks. A list that comprises all the best Keyblades out there by the way they look, and the way they play out in combat. Now like I said in the beginning, many of you will ask questions about this list because of how selective it was, and it makes sense. This is a personalized list, but that doesn't mean each Keyblade has their unique perks to the gameplay and Sora’s overall abilities. In fact, to savor that feeling, I have a nice video down below that gives a deeper analysis on how all the Keyblades from Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix work, and if you would like, be sure to polish those skills and get a copy of the 1.5 + 2.5 Remix before the audacious Kingdom Hearts III comes out on January 29th, 2019. Until then, see you later!

Kingdom Hearts 2 Final Mix: Keyblade Guide (Includes Ultima Weapon Tutorial)

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