Part 50: Day 224: Anomaly

Video: Naminé and DiZ


We've seen Namine several times and Diz once, but this is their first actual speaking role. In day 224 out of 358.

A Nobody is interfering, I think.
A Nobody?
I keep trying to piece his memory back together, but what if some of the pieces got lost? There would be no way for me to finish. If that happened-and they found their way into someone else-he'd never get them back.
Oh, I think he can do without a memory or two.
But what if he needs those memories in order to wake up? What if they're the key?

I hate it when I can't finish puzzles because of that!

Namine... You are a witch with power over Sora's memories and those connected to him. Are you seeing something I cannot?
If his memories become her memories...she will never survive it.
She?

Oh yeah. DiZ is a dick toward Nobodies. Because he's a heartist and Nobodies have no heart. Until it's revealed that they actually do and he just sounds like an idiot.

Video stops here


The game isn't even trying to be subtle here. Also, there's seashells beside her pillow in the movie.

Music: Sacred Moon
Before we start with today...



...we'll do the mission we missed first. We can just access it from Holo-Mission, which is why the rewards that unlock missions are completely useless.



You might think that this is a new kind of mission, but it's really just a "Hunt this type of Heartless" mission in disguise.

Music: Lazy Afternoons
Music: Sinister Sundown




Thunder Recipe. The enemies are fairly standard, with Poison Plants being as annoying as ever. Fire works, but there's too many of them to just rely on it.



Dark Ingot. It's best to use Fire on the Poison Plants because the rest either absorb it or aren't worth wasting Fire on them. Especially when Poison Plants inflict Blind.

Music: Tension Rising


This is the Heartless that absorbs Fire. Tailbunker is still just a sack of HP with not-that-dangerous attacks.



Limit is amazing for these kinds of Heartless



Anyway, the Heartless we're supposed to find are Guardians. They pose absolutely no threat. Their laser that used to be damaging now just deals pitiful damage. They're guaranteed to drop a Shining Shard. You can't just drop it and then repick it to finish the mission that way, though.



I don't get why Xigbar makes us kill 30 enemies with Limit just to get to this mission. Tailbunker might be a sack of HP but it's not actually dangerous.



This is actually my first time killing a Rare Vendor



I mean, usually the prizes dropped by the vendor Heartless are insignificant, but it just felt good to kill it before it escapes.



With Glide, we can actually go up here. The Chest has a Duel Gear+ (4). I'll probably take a look at it later.

Music: Crossing the Finish Line


With the leftover mission done, we can move to this day proper.

Music: Sacred Moon


I made the mistake of not bringing any Limit Recharge here. I should've brought that instead of Treasure Magnet here.



Uncover all the Heartless in Mission 52. They're hidden well! Just make sure to examine any spot that looks suspicious. Let me know when you're done so I can get Saix off my case alr-er, so I can reward you!

This is our second mission with Zero. The same mission as the fight against Lock, Shock, Barrel.

Wow, nice going! You found 'em all! Here, take this, man. (Gotta earn back some karma after pushing my work on you.) (Obtained: Dark Ingot)
Hey, even us Nobodies need our rest, right? Exhaustion kills!





This is foreboding



I think we all know what's going to happen. Both regarding the mission and Demyx.

Music: Olympus Coliseum
Music: Go for It!




I keep telling them I'm not cut out for this stuff...
This time we're after a specific target. Saix said it was strong.
Yeesh... Is it too late to go home? It's because I'm partnered up with you I keep getting saddled with these combat missions!

Now I'm wondering what he's doing in Radiant Garden in KH2.

Wanna split up the search ike last time?



Are you crazy!? And risk actually finding that thing? I'm not fighting it alone!
Then let's move out.



Obviously, we're going to put Demyx to work. His Blizzara is very effective against the Flare Notes, afterall.



There's another chest behind the Jumbo Cannon. It has a Lightning Shard while the chest that can be seen here has a Lightning Gem. Gee, I wonder if this place has a connection with lightning or something.



You might notice that my yellow bar is much lower than before. I used Limits multiple times during the fight outside, which turned out to be a huge mistake. Remember to bring Limit Recharge if you're actually playing this!



Demyx splits up 5 minutes after refusing to do just that. Can't say this is unexpected, really.

*Roxas goes inside without a word*



Big day?
Don't worry. I already got you signed up for the Games.
Now you just gotta go in there and put all that training to use!
But- All right...
(They're holding the Games today? Then the only way I can search the Coliseum is by entering.)

I would say that this is a massive coincidence, but it's actually not. This is planned.

Snap out of it, kid! I need you sharp out there. Just tell me when you're ready.



This chest has a Slot Releaser. Sadly, I can't show you the scores from the trainings since for some reason those are unavailable.



This is going to be a long mission.

Okay, head into the Coliseum. Just remember my sure-fire way to win-two words:
Never. Ever. Lose! *leaves*

Wow. That's helpful. Thanks.



You entering some kind of contest, Roxas?



Ahh, I follow you.
I wish you would.



Video: Olympus Coliseum Games


This one is a pushover. Make sure to grab the Ordeal Badge now, since it won't be available in the next three rounds.



Roxas does this little pose after every round.



Round 2 can be dangerous, but the Hover Ghosts die in 1 hit by both Fire and Aero. They're also no match for the power of the mighty barrel (no, not Halloween Town's Barrel).



Striped Aria can also be killed by magic, but who needs that when we have barrels





This one has another Tailbunker. 2 of the same miniboss in one update? That's a first.



This one actually caught me off-guard and cost me my Auto-Life

I also used Limit against it in the video, but you kinda shouldn't. You want to save the limit for the final round.



Right.
I don't know much about the guy you're up against in the finals, but...
From the looks of him, I'd say he's been through a few fights. Stay sharp!

So our next opponent's not a Heartless?

I will.
You've come this far! Don't let anybody else walk outta here with your title!
Remember-I'm expectin' stuff from you, kid!
Expecting... You mean you order me to win?
Order you? What are you talkin' about?
It means I have faith you can win.
Faith...
Right. Now get out there and knock some heads!

*Roxas goes into the arena*



Huh!?





Xigbar!? What are you- Don't try and tell me you're a trainee, too?
As if! I just dropped in to see how our little wannabe hero is doing. I care about your future, Roxas.
Just dropped in? You could have told me you were entering!
Try to make it look real, Roxas!

Music: Rowdy Rumble


So...yeah. We're fighting Xigbar now. The whole tournament is skipped in the movie, including this fight. There's not even the usual 1-page summary of it.



He has the usual volley of shots, which can be seen midair in the picture. Each shot just deals 1/12 damage, but he can shoot 6 in a combo. He reloads after 14 shots.



He can also teleports behind Roxas and shoots from there. He doesn't do this in the video since this is very unlikely to happen. He only teleports if we try to move further from him.

Magic is useful since it can hit Xigbar from far away (so no Blizzara) and hits half of Xigbar's bar, so 7 hit of it is enough. The fight ends after depleting 1 bar, since Xigbar isn't the actual boss here.

Music: Shrouding Dark Cloud



This is our actual boss. So basically this mission reused 2 bosses from previous games. Xigbar plays more like Braig from BBS than his KH2 fight, but still.

Those two GIFs are another ones whose size combined are too large for lpix.



Well, well... Looks like our target's here.



Hey! Forget about the match! Just find someplace safe while I go get Herc! *leaves*
Well, Roxas? Ready to show me all you've learned? *leaves*

Xigbar!!!



Guard Armor is pretty similar to its KH1 and CoM version. I don't really know about the Re:CoM version because people usually break its cards and there's no descriptions about its attacks on the wiki. The Re:Coded version doesn't count because of the completely different gameplay. I also don't count the online games.

It does have one big difference though: Most of the time we can't hit the arms or the legs. We still have to kill them before we can finish off the head, but they will only be available during a certain attack.



It has the usual jumping shockwave attack.



Unlike other versions, this one has its head fall off after jumping. You would think that this is a great opportunity to attack, but that's wrong. If the Keyblade swing hits the arms or the legs, it'll be blocked as if it hits a wall.



The next part has its body split off, with the arms and legs attacking while the body stays still. This is the only time we can hit the arms and the legs. This is also the time when the head is basically invulnerable, which I didn't know so I tried using magic on it at this time.

If an arm or leg is killed but not the other arm/leg, then it will be revived with 1 HP. That's because Guard Armor really values symmetry.



It also has this new attack, where the arms and the legs attack at once, with the arms flailing around while the legs move towards Roxas. The head is also invulnerable while it's moving.



I think you guys can see the problem with this fight: It's long and tedious with too many i-frames for all the parts.



This brings me to why I said to bring Limit Recharge and not use Limit in the previous rounds. Limits are by far the quickest way to deal damage.

I lucked out here not just by getting a chance to use it in the first place, but also by it killing the weakened arms, killing the legs from full health, and reducing the head to just half bar of HP.



After the arms and legs are down, it has one final attack. It spins around. It can be blocked easily, but it's harder to judge the distance due to the disabled minimap. Sora is messing with Roxas even if he's not actually awake



It's a pretty big downgrade from Antlion and Infernal Engine. And it's not going to improve anytime soon

This boss would be fine (aside from ) if they just make it vulnerable all the time. You know, like in other games. I mean, look at this:



This one is from a failed run. Just look at all that limit with only 3 damaging hits! I pretty much just load the savestate from the beginning of the Games right after this.

Video stops here
Music: Olympus Coliseum


Not bad! Our little Roxas is growing up so fast.
Are you making fun of me?
As if! That was a compliment.



*Xigbar leaves*

I'm pretty sure this mission is rigged by Xigbar. That leaves the question of why Demyx would be paired with Roxas, but it's probably because Xigbar knew there's pretty much zero chance of Demyx actually participating.

Nice work out there, man!

Speaking of which...



I was, uh...cheering you on! Couldn't you hear me? Gimme an "R"! Gimme an-

I would definitely buy a rhythm game about Demyx being an Elite Beat Agent/OSU cheerleader. Still, you weren't helping!

Are you blind!? That wasn't part of the Games!
Right!? And what a shocker to find out Xigbar was the other finalist!

Don't try to change the subject!

Yeah...
What's up with that... I can't imagine he was here on a mission. You never can tell what that guy is thinking...
Maybe he just wanted an excuse to fight me... To test me.
No way, man! I wouldn't read into it too deep.

Demyx: After all, it doesn't make it into the movie version.

Besides, the mission's over, right? All's well that ends well, man!

Fun fact: This is our final mission with Demyx. We just have 2 optional missions and 2 mandatory missions. He ditch us in both mandatory missions

I...guess so, but...
Anyway, I'm beat! Let's call it a day.



*Roxas and Demyx go into the portal. Phil then runs in*





Where'd it go? And where's Roxas?
Roxas? Who's that?
The new trainee you scouted! I been talkin' about him for days now.
Good learner, shows a lot of promise? Ring any bells?
Yeah, I remember what you said, but that guy I scouted wasn't named Roxas.
Huh?
And he said it would take him a while to get here. He's probably still on his way.







I refuse to believe Phil never mentioned Roxas' name once in almost 4 months.

Music: At Dusk, I Will Think of You...


Yeah. I breezed right through my mission.

*Roxas sits down and takes out his ice cream*

So, how'd your day go?
Ugh, you'll never believe what Xigbar did...

This sounds like something actual friends would talk about.

Hey hey. Oh, Xion, what are you doing here?

Of course, Nomura doesn't have time to write that kind of banter.



C'mon, that's not what I meant.

*Axel sits down and takes out his ice cream*


Twilight Station Tower: 43
Sea-Salt Ice Cream: 80

Hey, Axel?
Uh-huh?
You've been to Castle Oblivion, right?
Yup.
What's it like?
The Organization uses it as a research facility.
Seems like people are getting sent there all the time. Especially you.
But they never send me or Roxas.

They sent Demyx there? Also note that we never see any other member in there, so we have no idea what they do in there or how they deal with its card system. Story really isn't this game's strong point.

Well...they probably just don't need you there, that's all.
Maybe. ...... *stands up*
I gotta go.
Huh?



She would've been fine even if she fell since there's no fall damage



No, it's nothing like that. ......
......
......
I've got it!
Huh? Got what?

I probably also should've count how many times Roxas says "Huh?" and see if it rivals Ceodore.



The beach?
What, don't you wanna go someplace different for a change?

This still comes out of nowhere.

So...it would just be the theme of us?
Yeah, exactly.
...... I'll join you...if I can.
Of course you can, Xion.
You'll have a blast, trust me.
Well...all right, sure. Let's do it.

Spoiler: They never go to the beach together.

Music: Crossing the Finish Line


Now that we're nearing Day 255 (the day shown at the start of the game), here's another fun activity: try to guess which mission we will have on that day. The choices are:

• Collect Hearts
  
• Kill a type of Heartless
  
• Recon missions (don't bother choosing this)
  
• Collect emblems
  
• Destroy all globs
  
• Others

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