Things Kingdom Hearts 2 Doesn't Tell You - Kingdom Hearts 2 Guide - IGN (2024)

Kingdom Hearts 2 is probably the most beloved entry in the franchise. It dramatically expands on the story and ideas of Kingdom Hearts and Chain of Memories while adding deeper action and a lot more variety in the moment-to-moment gameplay. Unfortunately, it's also kind of bad at telling you how all of this new stuff works or what it means. We've compiled 10 things that Kingdom Hearts 2 doesn't tell you - and you really need to know - to make your life easier.

Jump To:

• The Struggle Weapon Choice
• More AP in Twilight Town
• The Dive to the Heart Weapon Choice
• Get Some Extra Items in Twilight Town
• Set Your Shortcuts for Magic and Items
• Choose Your MP Charge Settings
• Manage Your Allies and Their Spells
• Collecting and Solving Puzzle Pieces
• Do New Episodes Immediately
• You're Going to Do a Lot of Backtracking

The Struggle Weapon Choice

Near the beginning of the game, you’ll have to choose a Struggle weapon to fight Seifer. While Kingdom Hearts 2 does tell you what each weapon excels at, it does not tell you what the choice you’re making actually does until you make it.

Unlike the original game, choosing a weapon here does not affect your stat growth. Instead, it provides a one-time +1 stat boost based on the weapon you choose

• Choosing the Bat increases your Strength
• Choosing the Sword increases your Defense
• Choosing the Wand increases your Magic

So, which should you pick? Well, it depends on the playstyle you prefer. If you just want to hit things, choose the bat. If you'd like to survive longer, choose the sword. If you're planning to use a lot of magic, take the wand. We recommend taking either the bat or the sword, as the benefits of additional Strength or Defense will do the most for you, especially early on and during higher difficulties.

More AP in Twilight Town

On the Second Day in Twilight Town, you’ll have to do odd jobs to collect money so the whole gang can go to the beach. You can continue the story with as little as 200 munny, but you’re actually missing out on a permanent upgrade if you don’t earn a little more. By earning at least 800 munny, you’ll get a +1 AP Boost when you bring the money to Hayner. But if you bring more than 1,200 munny to Hayner, you’ll get a permanent +2 AP boost that carries over to Sora. It’s worth doing.

So, what’s the fastest way to make some cash in Twilight Town? For our (ahem) munny, it’s the Mail Delivery mini-game, where you deliver letters to 3 people and (weirdly) 2 birds. What do these birds even need mail for, anyway? These are the questions that keep me up at night. Anyway, if you’re quick, you can do the whole thing in less than 10 seconds. At 50 munny a pop, it’s easily the fastest way to make some cash.

The Dive to the Heart Weapon Choice

When you do Roxas’s Dive to the Heart segment, you’ll have another weapon choice to make, this time between a sword, shield, and rod. Like the original game, this choice determines when you’ll unlock abilities as you level up, though you’ll eventually get everything if you max out your level. Unlike the original game, you don’t have to choose a weapon to give up here.

So, what to pick? We recommend taking the Shield because it will get you two of the best abilities fairly early on: Leaf Bracer lets you cast healing spells even while you’re getting hit, and Once More, which always ensures you always have one health remaining after getting hit by a combo. By taking the Shield, you’ll get both by level 25. You’ll also get access to Second Chance, which keeps you alive with one HP if you take a hit that would have otherwise killed you, much, much earlier than you would otherwise.

If you’re absolutely against taking the Shield, we recommend taking the Rod. Avoid the Sword unless you’re a pro looking for a challenge.

Get Some Extra Items in Twilight Town

Nobody likes missable items. Unfortunately, there are 11 of them in Roxas’s section of Kingdom Hearts 2, and you’ll want them when you’re starting out. You’ll find four of them in the Sunset Terrace on The 5th Day, including an Ability Ring that you can get by jumping atop the trolley and then to a chest you can’t otherwise reach. The remaining seven are in the Mansion: 3 in the Foyer, 2 in the Dining Room, 1 in the Library, and 1 in the Basem*nt Corridor.

All told, seeking out these chests will net you an Ability Ring, an Elven Bandanna, 5 Potions, and 4 H i-Potions, all of which are inherited by Sora. Not too shabby. Make sure you get all of them before you leave the areas they’re found in because once you do, they’re gone for good.

Set Your Shortcuts for Magic and Items

Kingdom Hearts 2 does explain setting shortcuts, but it doesn’t do it very well. You can set either items or spells to a shortcut menu in the Customize tab. Once you’ve got it set, you can open the Shortcut menu with L1 on a PlayStation pad and cast that spell or use that item without ever using the main menu during combat.

As you progress, you’ll get new spells and new items, and you may change how your build works, so you’ll need to change your shortcuts as you get new spells. Staying on top of your Shortcuts will make your life much, much easier.

Choose Your MP Charge Settings

MP Charge is confusing, but it’s also one of the most important settings in Kingdom Hearts 2. MP works a little differently in Kingdom Hearts 2. It recharges over time, but if you use all of your MP, your MP bar will turn purple, and you’ll enter a state called MP Charge. In MP Charge, you won’t be able to use any of your spells, but your MP will recharge faster. Certain spells, like Cure, will use all of your remaining MP, no matter how much you have left, so you will be forced into MP Charge sometimes, regardless of how well you manage your MP.

However, there are gonna be times when you’re not going to want to go into MP Charge. Maybe during a boss fight, for example, where you might want to have Cure on deck in case you need it. In that case, you can turn off the MP Charge setting for specific spells in the Customize menu. Doing this will prevent you from casting any spell that will put you in MP Charge. You’ll have to wait until your MP regenerates normally or use an Ether or similar item.

There’s no right or wrong answer with MP Charge, but figuring out what works for you, and what spells you absolutely do not want to trigger it, is worth your time.

Manage Your Allies and Their Spells

In addition to changing your MP Charge settings, the Customize menu also lets you change Donald and Goofy’s behavior. From here, you can determine how they approach combat, what targets they focus on, how often they use their abilities, when they heal you, and a lot more.

These decisions make a big difference in how they behave during combat, so make sure they’re set where you want them. There’s a big difference between Donald healing you whenever you get down to half health, and him only healing you in emergencies.

Collecting and Solving Puzzle Pieces

The Final Mix version of Kingdom Hearts 2 adds Puzzle Pieces scattered throughout the worlds. You collect your first piece automatically by progressing the story, but it’s not initially obvious what you should do with them once you have them. Like the Treasure Chests, you can see the Puzzle Pieces you have from the journal in the Notes tab.

To actually solve the puzzles, you’ll need to go into the Collection tab, and then select Puzzle Mode. From here, you’ll be able to place and rotate the pieces to solve them. Doing so will get you unique rewards, so it’s worth your time.

Do New Episodes Immediately

As you progress the story and find items, you’ll unlock new episodes in certain worlds, such as Atlantica, the Olympus Coliseum, and The Hundred Acre Wood.

Once you unlock them, you should do them immediately. Doing so will get you new items and abilities, and the sooner you have them, the better off you’ll be.

You're Going to Do a Lot of Backtracking

Finally, with the exception of the missable items in Twilight Town, don’t worry about getting everything all at once. You will visit every world at least twice and you can revisit most places any time you like.

If you miss something or can’t get to a chest or a puzzle piece because you don’t have the right abilities, just go back later. It’ll still be there!