Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix - Drive Form Guide

With every Kingdom Hearts game now out on Steam, there are plenty of players who are skipping Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories (it’s fun if you learn the card system, I promise) and getting into Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix, considered to have the best combat in the series. While you can get through the game easily by mashing the Attack command, there are plenty of trickier fights that can throw you off, one of which is the introduction of Drive Forms. They are powerful, but to bring out their potential, you’ll need a few tips. That is why… the Kingdom Hearts wiki exists, but also this guide for a slightly quicker look at these Forms.

Remember, when in doubt, don't give up.

Spoilers, because I’m going to mention a couple of bosses and moments that I'd rather not spoil for new players. This is for second or more playthroughs.

General Form Tips

Keep these in mind when using Drive Forms.

• Don’t equip the Auto-Form abilities or any ability with the word “Auto” in it (same goes for party members). They can get in the way of your reaction commands, and you might spend your resources on something unnecessary.

• You won’t be getting the most out of your Forms if you’re just playing through the story. You will need to grind EXP for every Form, especially if you want to beat the game on Critical Mode.

• Forms all have level caps, but with every Form obtained (except Antiform), that cap is raised.

• In an emergency, Forms can act as an Elixir. Just revert back to base Sora if you don’t need the Form afterwards.

• Drive Forms still get EXP even with the No Experience ability equipped.

• Your Drive Gauge isn’t just for Forms. Sometimes, the humble Summons can be more effective in a serious fight (Stitch and Chicken Little are OP).

Valor Form

You'll need Goofy for this one.

How to Level Up: For every hit it lands, it gains 1 EXP.

Growth Ability: High Jump

 

Attack, attack, attack!

Tips & Tricks: Valor Form is actually one of the weakest Drive Forms you can use. While it’s pretty good early in the game, eventually, base Sora will outpace it in terms of usefulness because Valor Sora has no access to magic, meaning he can’t cast Cure or Reflect, the two most useful spells in the game (did I mention you can’t Guard when using a Form?). My recommendation is that, once you've got Limit Form, you only use it to refill your HP and MP in case of an emergency and revert back since it’s the first one on the list.

For grinding out levels for Valor, you’ll need to find Mushroom XIII No. 5 and Mushroom XIII No. 11. They are tanks that can allow Sora to attack them for ages while also being near save points to refill your Drive Gauge. I hope you like mashing the Attack command.

Wisdom Form

You'll need Donald in your party to use this.

How to Level Up: For every Heartless defeated, gain 1 EXP.

Growth Ability: Quick Run

Magical Mastery

Tips & Tricks: Magic is the name of the game for this Form. Its basic attack is bad (although it can help you with the Mushroom XIII), but its magic is pretty great. However, once again, base Sora can outpace it in terms of damage output and usefulness. There is one situation where it can outclass even Final Form: Data Demyx. Its mobility when using Fire can melt Demyx and his water clones (because, apparently, Water is also Ice for this game). You will need it to beat all 99 clones before the timer is up. Just make sure you’re using the Bond of Flame Keyblade when doing this strategy.

For grinding, the place to be is Timeless River at Disney Castle. Just deal with all the Heartless in each of its rooms, go through Merlin’s door and back, and hey! You have a full Drive Gauge, ready for more Heartless busting.

Limit Form

The best Form (in my opinion),

How to Level Up: For every Limit finisher performed, gain 1 EXP.

Growth Ability: Dodge Roll

Fight like it's 2002.

Tips & Tricks: This is the only Form that Sora can access at any time, regardless of his party members. This makes Limit Form great for bosses you have to face alone, if only for the free heal. Your shortcuts for spells will be replaced with the Limit commands, so you can easily access them at a moment’s notice. The best Limits are Sonic Rave for multiple enemies and Last Arcanum and Infinity (after the aerial combo, wait for the Giga Impact reaction command) for single targets. And remember, the Limit doesn’t have to deal damage to heal HP, only hit something. 

While you have access to both Quick Run and Dodge Roll, it’s better if you only equip one of these abilities instead of both as they basically use the same input. Quick Run has distance, but Dodge Roll has invincibility frames.

If you want to level up Limit Form, you can get a few levels from the Battle of 1000 Heartless sequence, but the best place is by wailing on Mushroom No. 5 in Agrabah.

Master Form

Jack of All Trades, Master of None

How to Level Up: For every Drive Orb obtained, gain 1 EXP. For every big Drive Orb, get 3 EXP.

Growth Ability: Aerial Dodge

Golden Wind.

Tips & Tricks: Master Form is all about crowd control, drawing in enemies with its finisher and having great mobility when attacking and using magic. Its balance of strength and magic is what makes it a go-to Form if you want a mix of damage types. Aerial Dodge is actually quite useful, too, giving you an extra jump, and it deflects projectiles.

Since it’s always using aerial attacks, it pairs great with the Hero’s Crest Keyblade. However, for grinding, you want to equip Sweet Memories, since its ability converts munny into Drive Orbs. The Land of Dragons and the balloons in the Cave of Remembrance in Hollow Bastion are solid places to spend time levelling up Master Form.

Antiform

Power corrupts.

How to Level Up: No

Growth Ability: As if

Crime and punishment.

Tips & Tricks: Antiform is a punishment for overusing Drive Forms. Despite having incredible attack speed and being able to home in on enemies using Antiglide (it’s the Square button or its equivalent), your defence is garbage and can’t heal at all, not even from HP orbs dropped by enemies. Also, you can’t revert manually. The only way to exit Antiform (and live) is to drain the Drive Gauge by either waiting it out, attacking, or obtaining Drive orbs.

While it may seem random, there is a way to manipulate your chances… or know when not to use Drive Forms. Your chances of getting Antiform is calculated by how many times you’ve used a Form using an invisible Anti Point system. While getting Antiform will reduce its chances, you can get it again. Also, certain bosses and sequences add a multiplier to Antiform, some pretty much guaranteeing you will get it, while others allow you to freely choose any form you wish.

DO NOT USE FORMS AGAINST ORGANIZATION XIII (Data Org is fine).

DO NOT USE FORMS WHEN USING THE TWO BECOME ONE KEYBLADE UNLESS YOU NEED THE FINAL FORM.

Final Form

The power of the Keyblade unleashed.

How to Level Up: For every Nobody defeated, gain 1 EXP.

Growth Ability: Glide

May your heart be your guiding key.

Tips & Tricks: Final Form is locked behind two triggers in Final Mix. First, beat Roxas. Second, trigger Antiform. At a random chance, Final Form will take Antiform’s place, where after you can use it whenever you like. While it takes a huge amount of your Drive Gauge, it is well worth it being incredibly mobile with powerful magic and insane attack speed, with every action able to deal some sort of damage. Also, you can never go into Antiform when using it, as it actually resets the counter. It’s the best Form in the game for a reason. However, there’s also a useful tip when going against the various super bosses: As long as you do not use the finisher of Firaga, the boss will not retaliate. You might want to equip Bond of Flame and a few Ethers/Elixirs if you want some good free damage.

For grinding, go to Yen Sid’s Tower in Twilight Town. Use the save points at the top and bottom to refill your Drive Gauge by exiting the world and going back in.

That’s pretty much everything I wanted to cover, but there are bound to be more tips that can make your Kingdom Hearts II playthrough a little easier (if a little unnecessary unless you want to tackle the super bosses). Still, leave comments below and how to best use these Drive Forms.