Off the Shelf Media

Kingdom Hearts is my favorite franchise of all time. I actually ranked all of them from worst to best on Off the Shelf Media. Shameless plug, guys. You know how it works.

Kingdom Hearts 1 came out in 2002. I first played it in 2005 at ten years old, and everything just hit. The worlds, characters like Sora, and of course, the music. The music slaps harder than any other video game franchise out there. I will fight that to the death.

But the big problem I had with the first Kingdom Hearts game was the lack of direction. They throw you in the pool and pray to Ansem you know how to swim. 

As a ten-year-old, I was stuck in Traverse Town for five hours more than I had to be. I, for the love of me, could not find Donald and Goofy. The only joy I got was having the Traverse Town theme song to keep me company. Traverse Town rocks. It’s the best world. I’m gonna have to do a video breaking down the best worlds of Kingdom Hearts combined, and Traverse Town is probably going to be number one.

But that brings me to the opening decisions you have to make at the beginning of Kingdom Hearts 1. The tutorial. The sword, the staff, and the shield. The questions from the Final Fantasy characters. 

The game tells you absolutely nothing about these choices, but they are so important to your actual gameplay. They determine how you level up, the abilities you unlock, and how many items you can carry. You’d think the game would give you some kind of direction. Nope.

So today, I’m running through what these weapon choices actually mean and breaking down the decisions you should make for your playthrough. Because in 20 years of playing this game, this is the first time I actually did it intentionally. And let me tell you, the Sephiroth fight is a lot easier when you know what you’re doing.

The Weapons Choice: Sword, Staff, or Shield

You start with three options:

• The Shield – The power of the guardian. Kindness to aid friends. A shield to repel all.
• The Sword – The power of the warrior. Invincible courage. A sword of terrible destruction.
• The Staff – The power of the mystic. Inner strength. A staff of wonder and ruin.

The weapon you pick boosts your stats. The weapon you give up cuts those same stats. The stats are defense, strength, magic points, action points, and item slots. That makes a huge difference in how you play the game.

• Defense: how much damage you can take before being KO’d
• Strength: how much damage you give out
• Magic Points (MP): how many spells you can cast
• Action Points (AP): how many abilities you can equip at once
• Item Slots: how many potions, ethers, and elixirs you can carry

I usually choose the Sword and give up the magic. That’s my go-to run. 2-6-2-1-7. Not the best build when playing on the hardest difficulty.

Always, always, always pick the Shield. Always. You get the most item slots, and everything else stays balanced.

I’d take the Shield and give up the Sword, because you definitely want your Action Points at 3 to start. I only use magic as a form of healing, so if my MP is a little low, I have two extra item slots to make up for it with ethers and mega potions.

The Abilities You Unlock (Really Wish I knew About This for the Past 20 Years)

Your weapon choice determines the level you unlock abilities. The game doesn’t tell you any of this, either, by the way, so good luck.

A few of the most important abilities to know about:

• Guard – important early game.
• Scan  – useful, especially for boss fights, but not mandatory in the early game.
• Sliding Dash – an OP Kingdom Hearts 1 move. Combat in this game is a little janky, a little step-step-step. It’s not as fluid as later games. So having a closer is huge.
• Leaf Bracer – the most important move in the entire game. When you cast magic, you become invincible for the duration of the cast. Nothing can interrupt your spell. That matters most for healing, because if you get hit during a heal without Leaf Bracer, the spell cancels and you eat the MP for nothing.
• Second Chance – the second most important ability in the entire game. If you take a massive hit, you’re guaranteed to be left with one HP instead of getting one-shot. That gives you the chance to heal up and survive.

So what does that mean for the guy who picked the Staff?

You get Hurricane Blast at level 18. Cool. Scan at level 15, useful. Treasure Magnet at level 9, which means absolutely nothing. Stun Impact at 6 isn’t bad. Tech Boosts to level up faster, decent if you stack them, but at level 27, it takes a decent amount of time to level up, so not the best.

Here’s where you’re completely screwed.

Leaf Bracer at level 39.

You’re a magician who can’t heal properly until level 39.

What about Second Chance?

Level 90.

Square Enix decided it would be a good idea to have a magician who can’t survive a big hit until level 90.

If you choose the Shield instead, you get Slapshot first, Guard early, Scan a little later (that’s ok), Leaf Bracer at 27, which is the earliest you can get it, and Second Chance at 36, which is also the earliest you can get it.

So yeah. Always go with the Shield. Better stats. Better abilities. Earlier in the game.

The Final Fantasy Questions Matter Too

But that’s not all, my friends.

The other thing you’ve gotta watch out for is the questions you have to answer from your favorite, or least favorite, Final Fantasy characters. I’m Team Wakka, Team Final Fantasy X all the way. Tidus is kind of annoying, but Wakka and Blitzball are the greatest. I’ll fight anyone to the death on that, too.

These questions also matter for how you gain experience.

• Selphie asks what’s most important to you: being number one, friendship, or your prized possessions.
• Tidus asks what you’re most afraid of: getting old, being different, or being indecisive.
• Wakka asks what you want most out of life: to see rare sights, to broaden your horizons, or to be strong.

Your answers determine when your adventure begins: dawn, midday, or dusk.

Here’s what that actually means:

• Dawn: You level up from 1 to 50 faster than normal, and from 50 to 100 slower. You’re stronger early, slower late.
• Dusk (Evening): The opposite. Slow to 50, fast from 50 to 100. You’re a beast in the late game.
• Midday: Balanced the entire game. Neutral leveling.

If you go “Being number one,” “Getting old,” and “See rare sights”, that’s midday.. Just keep in mind: those three answers determine how you build your character, how you level up, and whether you peak early or peak late.

These questions are so important to how you play this game, how you build your character, what moves you have, and whether you level up fast or slow.

I wish Kingdom Hearts told you that. That’d be nice. That’d be really cool, Square Enix, if you gave some guidance to the ten-year-old or eight-year-old playing this game. It’s a game for everyone. Everyone deserves to know what decisions they’re making in the beginning and why.

It’s the most important decision you’re going to make all day.

So now you know.

But that’s all I’ve got for you today, my friends. Enjoy playing Kingdom Hearts because now you know how to play the game properly.

I’ve got a quest right now to finish all the Kingdom Hearts games 100%. I already did Birth by Sleep and Kingdom Hearts 1. Now I’m on Chain of Memories, which is the third time I’ve played that game. I hate it. I hate it so much. I hate it so much. I should do a whole video on that.

I’ll see ya there, but until then, y’all take care.