Part 4: Day 9: Heartless

Music: Sacred Moon


Come see me when you are ready.
Well, there you have it. Welcome to the fold, Roxas.







Do you know that we actually have 2 Keyblade wielders, Vexen? It's true!



Today we'll get tutorials that are actually useful!

Music: Lazy Afternoons




I am Marluxia, Number XI.
Okay. So what do I have to do today?
Today your job is to collect hearts.
Um, how do I do that?
Roxas, could you summon your Keyblade for me?
Well...sure, all right.



Lucky Number XIII... At last, a chosen wielder of the Keyblade amongst our ranks.

This is back when Keyblade wielders were still chosen and not trained or inherited (although this is the case for both Roxas and Xion).

New Music: Sinister Sundown


Whoa, what are those?
Hmph. Nothing to be feared.
So, Roxas, shall we put that power of yours to a little test?
Use your Keyblade...and defeat those Heartless.



When I said useful tutorials? This is not one of them.



This is how combat is usually going to be. The enemy data is on the top right of the screen. Notice that we don't have Scan yet. It shouldn't matter that much since...well...it's Shadows.



They pose absolutely no threat. I just stand around for a minute and none of them managed to hit Roxas.



This is also not one of the useful tutorials.

Music: Lazy Afternoons


But what are Heartless?
Dark creatures who roam about, searching for hearts. They come in two larger varieties. The onew you just defeated are known as Purebloods. Purebloods don't release any hearts when you defeat them. In other words, don't bother with them. Your mission is to collect hearts, after all. The other variety-

Music: Sinister Sundown


Forget about the Shadows.
Take these out, Roxas. They are your real targets.



The locking on system here is worse than BBS or Re:CoM since there's only one pair of shoulder buttons and one of them is reserved for shortcuts. You'll get used to it soon, though.

Anyway, those are called Yellow Operas. They can attack with Thunder and by charging at you (because electric charges, get it?).



I just barely missed the screenshot of their attack, but there are still some things to note here:
1. These ones can actually hit Roxas.
2. The heart points on the top left is filled after we defeat these Heartless.
3. There's a CHAIN! written below the amount. That will be explained later along with the ring around the target Yellow Opera.

Music: Lazy Afternoons


Why are they so special?
Did you notice? Hearts appeared when you defeated them.
Right...
Your job is to collect those hearts.



Hearts Points will be used more than Munny.

Is there any trick to it?
None. So long as the Heartless are felled by your weapon, the Keyblade, the hearts will be captured.

For gameplay purposes, though, you still get heart points even if you didn't use Roxas/Xion (or Sora/Mickey in multiplayer) to kill the heartless.

I see. And what happens to the hearts I collect?
They will gather as one, and create an almighty force known as Kingdom Hearts.
Which is...good, right?
Completing Kingdom Hearts is the Organization's primary objective. And to do that, we need all the hearts we can possibly find.
So that's what the Organization does? Collect hearts?



So what have you guys been doing all this time? Sitting around talking and waiting for Xemnas to make a decision?

Wait, then-
The rest of us can defeat Heartless, but we have no way of collecting the hearts they release. Eventually, the hearts will turn right back into Heartless.

In gameplay this is reflected by Emblem Heartless defeated by other members giving out a gray glow instead of the normal pink one. My question still stands, though.

You see, then, how special you are?
Hmm...
With power like yours-

Music: Sinister Sundown


Heh. Here come more of them. Each one is a gift, Roxas. Squeeze every last heart out of them!



So basically, if you defeat Heartless within a short time you will receive more Heart Points. The time is represented by the ring around the target. Longer chains give better bonuses.

What the tutorial doesn't say is that chains can only be started by defeating Emblem Heartless but can be prolonged by defeating Pureblood Heartless as well. Killing the Pureblood ones won't give any Heart Points, though.

I'm going to call it Hearts from now because calling them HP won't work for obvious reasons.



...I may have gotten a bit rusty . The blue number in the top is the bonus Hearts from the chain.

Some of you might have noticed that the yellow HP bar decreased from previous images. That is because I used a Limit Break. It will be explained later.

Music: Lazy Afternoons


I am amazed. That Keyblade... The things that could be done with that sort of power...

Planning to betray the Organization?

Umm...
I have high hopes for you, Roxas-as do we all. Defeat the Heartless, and help the Organization reach our noble goal.
Um, all right...
Shall we RTC, then?



I didn't show it, But Marluxia actually became our partner for the last 2 seconds of the mission.

Music: Crossing the Finish Line


The 1.05 multiplier is the mission multiplier. It usually increases in later missions..

Oh, and the Yellow Operas drop Moonstones. That's how we got 3 of them.



I didn't know what a heart was, or how it even mattered. But at least I knew what my part was.

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