Support NeoGAF

[FSLink]

Aight! Does Sora actually run around with a shield if I choose it at the start? Or is it just stat-wise?

Sorry, but what's "Final Mix"?

He runs around with the shield in the small prologue section, but otherwise it's just a stat thing.

Final Mix = Japan only director's cut for the KH series.
The 1.5 HD ReMix includes Kingdom Hearts 1 Final Mix, so it'll be the first time English speakers actually get the "Director's Cut" version.

 

[Napalm_Frank]

Aight! Does Sora actually run around with a shield if I choose it at the start? Or is it just stat-wise?

Sorry, but what's "Final Mix"?

Final Mix is the ''director's cut'' version of the game only released in Japan before. HD collection is based on that version. OP has more info.

And you only get to use the shield (or the other weapons you can choose) in the very beginning tutorial section. It affects your stat gain through levels and what abilities you learn at different levels.

 

[Shadow2222]

Aight! Does Sora actually run around with a shield if I choose it at the start? Or is it just stat-wise?

Sorry, but what's "Final Mix"?

The only place you will see the shield is in the very beginning sequence, forever replaced by the Keyblade early on (someone correct me if I'm remembering this wrong).

Final Mix was simply the upgraded version of KH 1 (and 2, but that isn't in this collection) that never was released in the US, until now with this HD collection. It has more bosses and some other changes.

EDIT: Wow, beaten by minutes. Curse my slow work internet!

 

[badcrumble]

Yoshichan, for more details on the sword/staff/shield thing, I suggest reading posts #101-110 or so.

You'll ultimately have plenty of fun regardless of what you pick, but most people agree that if you want the most powerful possible Sora in the endgame (i.e. you're a big completionist), you should pick the Staff. But if it's more about the journey than the destination, any one of the choices will give you a different type of good time, based on whether you want to hit enemies with powerful magic attacks (and area-of-effect melee attacks), fight based on blocking and countering and stunning, or be really aggressive with the melee and just whaling on your enemies.

 

[Yoshichan]

Ok great! So the stats are distributed differently depending on what you choose at the start right? How much does it differ, exactly?

 

[TheMink]

Edit^ answering your second question, it changes the order in which moves are learned and changes stats. Most people choose staff because magic is the only stat that cant be boosted via items.

Nobody reads OPs ;_;

 

[Napalm_Frank]

Ok great! So the stats are distributed differently depending on what you choose at the start right? How much does it differ, exactly?

Well Sword gives you more strenght, staff gives more MP and AP and Shield gives you defence and bonus item slot.

If you are OCD perfectionist you can make up the str,def and AP differences with stat boosting items but there is no way to gain the extra MP or the extra item slot that staff and shield give.

The big thing is also the abilities. In my opinion the abilities gained is Shield>Sword>Staff. But you gain all abilities no matter what you choose, it only changes the level you gain them. For example you could gain some ability as early as lvl 6 with sword but need something like 40+ for staff.

The only place you will see the shield

You actually can get that shield for Goofy (or the staff for Donald) by doing sidequests.

 

[Yoshichan]

Nobody reads OPs ;_;

Really sorry! I'm on my phone with VERY little 3g-data left so I need to be very conservative with what I browse :lol

 

[Bladenic]

On Proud choosing shield is really useful for those awesome defensive abilities early on.

I forgot, does it matter which weapon you discard?

 

[Napalm_Frank]

On Proud choosing shield is really useful for those awesome defensive abilities early on.

I forgot, does it matter which weapon you discard?

Discard only affects stats. AP for staff, str for sword and def for shield.

 

[Seda]

Just pick up the staff and you know you made the right choice.

 

[Tsunamo]

Grinding to collect every single card in Chain of Memories is basically about assembling a deck that lets you do several Megaflares in a row and then blasting away at every single enemy formation you encounter, right?

That, and reloading Moogle Treasure rooms.

I thought that at first, and it does work for some enemy cards/spawns if you know the final wave/enemy you kill with Megaflare is the one you need the enemy card for but you only get the enemy card of the final enemy you kill in a battle, so you have to do quite alot of battles without Megaflare to have a chance of getting the specific card you want.

I wish it was, but you also have to get most (or all, not 100% sure on this, but some keyblade card rewards from the rooms you might be able to just get from the moogle shop) Key to Rewards cards. I actually found getting the Key to Rewards cards pretty easy though, they dropped way more often than I thought they would.

 

[paolo11]

How's the difficulty rating in obtaining the platinum?

 

[Bladenic]

How's the difficulty rating in obtaining the platinum?

It sounds tedious more than difficult. It needs three playthroughs, for one.

The CoM platinum is even worse. I don't plan on even seeing the start screen of that game ever again.

 

[Napalm_Frank]

How's the difficulty rating in obtaining the platinum?

Not really that difficult for KH1 but it does require 3 playthroughs so it does require some time.

For Re:CoM it might be more tedious.

 

[Haeralis The BRave]

Vanilla KH1 players will realize that its not as smooth a platinum as they think. The Ultima Weapon is pretty hard and time consuming to obtain in Final Mix, since some of the new heartless require rather annoying things to obtain their respective synthesis material. Part of my difficulties with it were rooted in having to shuffle through a translation guide though, so it might be a little less time consuming thanks to its localization.

 

[Vanille]

Vanilla KH1 players will realize that its not as smooth a platinum as they think. The Ultima Weapon is pretty hard and time consuming to obtain in Final Mix, since some of the new heartless require rather annoying things to obtain their respective synthesis material. Part of my difficulties with it were rooted in having to shuffle through a translation guide though, so it might be a little less time consuming thanks to its localization.

Yeah. Sniper Wilds are probably the most obnoxious enemies in the series. All of my hate.

 

[Napalm_Frank]

Yeah. Sniper Wilds are probably the most obnoxious enemies in the series. All of my hate.

Hey!

 

[TheMink]

Really sorry! I'm on my phone with VERY little 3g-data left so I need to be very conservative with what I browse :lol

Haha i kid

 

[FSLink]

For those curious, here's the level up chart for Sword, Staff, and Shield in Final Mix.

Level  Sword            | Staff            | Shield
6:     Slide Dash       | Stun Impact      | Slapshot
9:     Scan             | Treasure Magnet  | Berserk
12:    Slapshot         | Ripple Drive     | Tech Plus
15:    Counterattack    | Scan             | Guard
18:    Tech Plus        | Hurricane Blast  | Stun Impact
21:    Combo Plus       | MP Haste         | Scan
24:    Guard            | Air Combo Plus   | Lucky Strike
27:    Hurricane Blast  | Tech Plus        | Leaf Bracer
30:    -                | -                | Treasure Magnet
33:    Blitz            | Guard            | -
36:    Treasure Magnet  | Aerial Sweep     | Second Chance
39:    Ripple Drive     | Leaf Bracer      | Slide Dash
42:    -                | MP Rage          | Jackpot
45:    MP Haste         | Air Combo Plus   | Counterattack
48:    Second Chance    | Lucky Strike     | Critical Plus
51:    Stun Impact      | Slide Dash       | Hurricane Blast
57:    Vortex           | Counterattack    | Treasure Magnet
60:    Aerial Sweep     | Berserk          | Blitz
63:    MP Rage          | Jackpot          | Combo Plus
66:    Combo Plus       | -                | -
69:    Leaf Bracer      | Slapshot         | Ripple Drive
72:    Air Combo Plus   | Treasure Magnet  | MP Haste
75:    Treasure Magnet  | MP Rage          | Critical Plus
78:    Berserk          | Blitz            | Vortex
81:    Tech Plus        | Tech Plus        | Tech Plus
84:    Critical Plus    | Vortex           | Aerial Sweep
87:    MP Rage          | Combo Plus       | Combo Plus
90:    Lucky Strike     | Second Chance    | MP Rage
93:    Combo Plus       | Combo Plus       | Air Combo Plus
96:    Air Combo Plus   | Critical Plus    | Combo Plus
99:    Critical Plus    | Combo Plus       | Air Combo Plus
100:   Jackpot          | Critical Plus    | MP Rage

EDIT: Good catch, fixing. v

 

[badcrumble]

Yeah. Sniper Wilds are probably the most obnoxious enemies in the series. All of my hate.

Gigant Shadows are worse, IMO.

edit: that list looks wrong, given that the Sword has two empty slots and the Staff/Shield only have one each. Is there an ability missing from the Sword list?

Scan is missing from the sword list, Second Chance and Aerial Sweep is missing from the Shield list, Jackpot is missing from the Staff list.

Staff has one more Combo Plus than the other two, Shield has one more Treasure Magnet than the other two.

This doesn't have them ending up all having the same abilities at all. What gives?

 

[CountBlack]

You don't get combo plus until level 87 with the staff?

Ahh Idk which one to choose

 

[MagicWithEarvin]

So, is staff the way to go for Proud mode?

 

[Napalm_Frank]

Still incorrect since I'm 99% sure Shield gets Slapshot like REALLY early.

Before Stun Impact that is for sure.

 

[badcrumble]

Good fixes, but I think one of the three Air Combo Plus abilities under the Staff list needs to be changed to Aerial Sweep. You definitely don't get three of those.

 

[Bladenic]

Ultima Weapon harder to make? Ew.

 

[WeaponKnight]

You don't get combo plus until level 87 with the staff?

Ahh Idk which one to choose

Final Mix has many event abilities. You can get Combo Plus and the best finishers by doing sidequests (Olympus Coliseum, super bosses).

 

[FSLink]

Good fixes, but I think one of the three Air Combo Plus abilities under the Staff list needs to be changed to Aerial Sweep. You definitely don't get three of those.

Should be fixed now, thanks.

 

[badcrumble]

Ultima Weapon harder to make? Ew.

Yep. If I recall correctly, AP/Defense/Attack Ups are also harder to make (ugh).

 

[badcrumble]

Should be fixed now, thanks.

Now I'm just curious about when the Exp 0 and Combo Master abilities that HD ReMIX are learned.

Also, uuuuugh, I totally forgot about Staff not getting Second Chance until incredibly late in the game. At least Leaf Bracer and MP Rage are pretty handy when it comes to keeping yourself consistently alive.

Final Mix nerfed MP Rage fucking HARD though, goddamn.

 

[Napalm_Frank]

Now I'm just curious about when the Exp 0 and Combo Master abilities that HD ReMIX are learned.

Combo Master is lvl 50 iirc. Exp 0 is of course right at the beginning.

I'm not sure if Exp 0 is proud mode only tho.

 

[FSLink]

Now I'm just curious about when the Exp 0 and Combo Master abilities that HD ReMIX are learned.

Don't you just start out with EXP 0 now if you're playing in Proud? Or at least that's what I remember from my JPN playthrough.

EDIT: Yeah, it should be Lv50 for Combo Master no matter Sword/Shield/Staff, searching around seems to confirm that.

 

[WeaponKnight]

Now I'm just curious about when the Exp 0 and Combo Master abilities that HD ReMIX are learned.

EXP 0 is starter, because.
Combo Master I think I may have mentioned in the Community Thread, but I forgot. It's around Neverland in a normal run.

Final Mix nerfed MP Rage fucking HARD though, goddamn.

You'd need a buff to call that a nerf. They almost nulled it.

 

[Seven Force]

Gigant Shadows are easily handled by Strike Raid and the invincibility granted by limits.

 

[Napalm_Frank]

Worst new heartless is the Clown Armor.

 

[badcrumble]

You'd need a buff to call that a nerf. They almost nulled it.

Yeah, it's kind of a bummer because MP Rage is so damn essential in some tougher battles in vanilla KH1. But it also pretty much gave you infinite Curaga-level MP sometimes, so I can understand why they'd turn it so useless.

 

[Bladenic]

I'll probably choose Staff for Normal run and Shield for Proud. Sword maybe for Easy/Speed run (if I go for Platinum anyway).

 

[FSLink]

I'll be doing Staff for Proud, and Shield for EXP 0 Proud run. >_>
I doubt I'll go for Platinum since I hardly ever do those but we'll see.

 

[Napalm_Frank]

Yeah, it's kind of a bummer because MP Rage is so damn essential in some tougher battles in vanilla KH1. But it also pretty much gave you infinite Curaga-level MP sometimes, so I can understand why they'd turn it so useless.

I'd imagine Leaf Bracer makes all the difference.

I'll be doing Staff for Proud, and Shield for EXP 0 Proud run. >_>
I doubt I'll go for Platinum since I hardly ever do those but we'll see.

Actually staff is by far the best for EXP 0 run since you have 3 MP instead of 2.

 

[badcrumble]

Has anyone successfully done an EXP 0 run of Proud Mode yet? I feel like you get so many more abilities in KH1 through leveling than in KH2. I'm sure it's possible, of course, since there's always dodge roll and using sword swings to block, but goddamn it'd be difficult without even having Guard available.

 

[Napalm_Frank]

Has anyone successfully done an EXP 0 run of Proud Mode yet? I feel like you get so many more abilities in KH1 through leveling than in KH2. I'm sure it's possible, of course, since there's always dodge roll and using sword swings to block, but goddamn it'd be difficult without even having Guard available.

One guy did it on stream like right after the game was released. The Exp 0 actually gives some defensive bonuses because of the different nature of the game compared to BBS and KH2. So it isn't as bad as it sounds. Then again it does kinda defeat the purpose of a true lvl 1 run where you would get one shotted by anything in the second half of the game.

 

[Nephitamine]

Has any changes been made to Tinker Bell? I remember her being the only useful summon, so I hope they didn't nerf her or anything.

 

[FSLink]

Actually staff is by far the best for EXP 0 run since you have 3 MP instead of 2.

You're right, but I feel like I'd need Second Chance, haha. We'll see. Has anyone calculated how much defense EXP 0 actually gives?

 

[Napalm_Frank]

You're right, but I feel like I'd need Second Chance, haha. We'll see.

But you won't get Second Chance in exp 0 run. Unless you mean to activate it after you get the ability of course.

Has anyone calculated how much defense EXP 0 actually gives?

I think it must scale by the enemy levels, it cannot be stationary.

 

[badcrumble]

You're right, but I feel like I'd need Second Chance, haha. We'll see. Has anyone calculated how much defense EXP 0 actually gives?

You only get Second Chance by leveling, so...

The Exp 0 actually gives some defensive bonuses because of the different nature of the game compared to BBS and KH2. .

Ah, interesting. So once you reach Lv. 100, it's actually a good idea to equip it no matter what, basically.

 

[FSLink]

But you won't get Second Chance in exp 0 run. Unless you mean to activate it after you get the ability of course.

Oh derp, right. Yeah, then magic would be the way to go.

 

[darkjedi187]

All this talk about choosing the staff makes me think I need to try it. I usually play sword on proud, I love the melee moves and hate waiting for them. But the points being made here really make me think I need to give the staff a try.

 

[badcrumble]

All this talk about choosing the staff makes me think I need to try it. I usually play sword on proud, I love the melee moves and hate waiting for them. But the points being made here really make me think I need to give the staff a try.

Leaving aside favored playing styles:

The staff is basically best if you don't care how long you spend on the game but want the most powerful possible Sora in the endgame.

The shield is best if you want to get a head start on Synthesis with Lucky Strike (to lessen the amount of time spent grinding for materials) and want to get Second Chance early.

The sword is best if you want to have the most fun/aggressive abilities in the early portion of the game (though personally I really love the melee abilities that the Staff gets early on in Final Mix).

 

[Zonic]

So it sounds like the Staff is the best choice for when replaying the game on Proud/hardest difficulty, while Sword would provide useful for the easiest setting & speedrunning while not switching equipment? Wanna try and combine some trophies in a single playthrough.

 

[darkjedi187]

Leaving aside favored playing styles:

The staff is basically best if you don't care how long you spend on the game but want the most powerful possible Sora in the endgame.

The shield is best if you want to get a head start on Synthesis with Lucky Strike (to lessen the amount of time spent grinding for materials) and want to get Second Chance early.

The sword is best if you want to have the most fun/aggressive abilities in the early portion of the game (though personally I really love the melee abilities that the Staff gets early on in Final Mix).

Gonna have to take your word on the Staff melee skills as I haven't played the final mix version. I tried for KH2, but never got very far.