Kingdom Hearts Radiant Struggle is a team-based fighting game developed by Square Enix, marking their entry into the fighting game genre. It was released for the PlayStation 3 in 2007, coinciding with the release of Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix. It would later be ported to the PlayStation 4 under the title Kingdom Hearts Re:Radiant Struggle in 2019.
Mechanics[]
Kingdom Hearts Radiant Struggle plays similarly to most standard 2D fighting games like Street Fighter and BlazBlue, with characters fighting in small arenas and utilizing a variety of moves to string together flashy combos. Special Moves are performed with combinations of directional inputs and button presses. However, the similarities quickly vanish the more one looks at Kingdom Hearts Radiant Struggle, which incorporates various mechanics from across the Kingdom Hearts franchise in tandem with basic fighting game mechanics.
HP, MP, Limit, and Rage[]
Regardless of game settings or character choices, each player has three main gauges to keep track of on their HUD:
- HP is a large green bar stretching across the top of the screen, and measures your character's current vitality. Getting damaged reduces it. When it's fully reduced, you're defeated!
- MP is a thin blue bar underneath HP. Most of the game's Special Actions cost MP to use. You can gain MP by dealing or taking damage. Running out will briefly put you into MP Recharge, in which you become briefly incapable of using any Special Actions that cost MP, but your MP will completely refill at Recharge's end.
- Limit is a modest-looking orange meter at the bottom of the screen. Limit is used to unleash Limit Breaks - more powerful techniques that can turn the tide of battle.
- Rage is a stubby, jagged crimson meter next to MP. Rage is used to unleash a Revenge Burst (a blast of power that can be used while in histun, useful for escaping an enemy's combo) or a Furious Cancel (a surge of power that slows the flow of time and instantly cancels the user out of their current action, letting them immediately use a different attack at no MP cost). You can gain Rage by dealing or taking damage, and it also regenerates passively... albeit slowly.
Party Members[]
Kingdom Hearts Radiant Struggle is a team-based fighting game. Each player selects three characters and swaps between them mid-fight. Characters that the player isn't controlling are Party Members, and can be called in to perform special attacks at any time. Each character has their own HP and MP gauge, but Limit and Rage are shared between all characters.
Characters[]
Radiant Struggle (2007)[]
Nearly all of the following characters were available with the base game when it was released in 2007. The one exception was KH1 Sora, who was a preorder bonus and DLC character.
The following characters were released in this time period:
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Aerial Dodge
Unique Ability |
Sora can perform a second jump in midair. He is briefly invulnerable at the very start of the double jump. |
Sliding Dash
Special Action |
Sora lunges across the ground with his Keyblade extended. |
Aerial Sweep
Special Action |
Sora rises into the air while whirling around, slashing his Keyblade in a circle. |
Blizzara
Special Action |
Sora points his Keyblade forwards and fires off a chunk of ice like a bullet, shredding through the enemy's defense. Costs 15 MP.
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Fira
Special Action |
Sora surrounds himself with spinning balls of flame, hitting the enemy multiple times if they get too close. Costs 15 MP.
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Thundara
Special Action |
Sora calls down a bolt of lightning to strike a spot in front of him. The heavier the button used to input the move, the farther away the lightning bolt will be. Costs 15 MP.
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Ars Arcanum
Limit Break |
Sora unleashes a frenzied combo attack with his Keyblade, battering the opponent nonstop. You can hold an attack button to burn more Limit and keep the combo going for a while longer, but it'll eventually slow to a stop. |
Master Form
Limit Break |
Sora instantly enters Master Form, one of his Drive Forms. He will remain in Master Form until the end of the round, or until he runs out of Limit. While in Master Form, he gains a number of benefits. His attacks are replaced by more powerful ones, his Special Actions becomes supercharged, and he has infinite MP. However, he becomes incapable of swapping out or calling in his Party Members. |
MP Haste
Unique Ability |
Any party with Donald in it has a greatly reduced MP Recharge time, letting all its members use magical abilities more aggressively. This effect fades when Donald is defeated. |
Donald Blizzard
Special Action |
Donald shoots ice forwards in a shotgun-shaped burst, blasting enemies in close range. Costs 10 MP.
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Donald Fire
Special Action |
Donald surrounds himself with a tornado of fire and charges forwards, scorching enemies in his way. Costs 15 MP.
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Donald Thunder
Special Action |
Donald summons a wave of weak thunderbolts in front of him. The heavier the button used to input the move, the more space is between each bolt. Costs 20 MP.
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Donald Cure
Special Action |
Donald waves his staff and casts a healing spell on all his Party Members on the field, restoring their health at the cost of immediately putting him into MP Recharge. MP Recharges caused by Donald Cure aren't shortened by MP Haste! Costs All MP.
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Stardust Blitz
Limit Break |
Donald conjures a cluster of floating fireballs in the air in front of him. Hitting the fireballs with attacks will knock them towards enemies. Holding the attack button causes the fireballs to all launch towards the enemy immediately at the cost of some damage. |
Duck Flare
Limit Break |
Donald conjures magical fireworks on the ground a short distance in front of him. The fireworks blast into the air and explode, knocking enemies upwards. |
Protect
Unique Ability |
When Goofy blocks an attack, all chip damage from the attack will be dealt to his MP instead of his HP. Naturally, this effect doesn't apply while Goofy can't use MP. |
Goofy Guard
Special Action |
Goofy raises his shield in defense. If a physical attack collides with his shield while he's guarding, it'll be deflected, and the attacker will be left staggered. |
Goofy Charge
Special Action |
Goofy dashes forwards shield-first, deflecting oncoming projectiles while plowing through enemies. |
Goofy Tornado
Special Action |
Goofy twirls around with his arms extended, hitting nearby enemies multiple times. If used in midair, he'll quickly drop to the ground. |
MP Gift
Special Action |
Goofy releases his power in a powerful burst that pushes back enemies and immediately ends his Party Members' MP Recharge, albeit at the cost of putting Goofy himself in MP Recharge too. Costs All MP.
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Cosmo Boost
Limit Break |
Goofy launches himself forwards like a rocket, drilling into frontal enemies and hitting them multiple times. |
Goofy Bombardier
Limit Break |
Goofy uses the enemy's head as a stepping stool to leap into the air, then slams into them shield-first from above like a meteor, shattering their defenses on impact. |
I won't give up!
Unique Ability |
When both of his Party Members are downed, The King gains a Mouse Meter that fills as he deals damage and uses Mouse Charge. When the Mouse Meter is completely full, Healing Light becomes unlocked. |
Mouse Charge
Special Action |
The King charges power to rapidly fill the Mouse Meter. Mouse Charge can also reduce MP Recharge time. |
MM Raid
Special Action |
The King hurls his Keyblade forwards like a boomerang. The weapon curves upwards and into the air before it returns to The King, knocking foes into the air. |
MM Hurricane
Special Action |
The King somersaults forward while slashing his Keyblade around him, dragging enemies along for the ride. When used in midair, he dives downwards while spinning, and will start moving forwards like normal if he hits the ground before the move's end. |
Pearl
Special Action |
The King fires a sphere of radiant light out of the tip of his Keyblade, damaging struck enemies multiple times. Good for quickly charging the Mouse Meter. Costs 25 MP.
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Holy Burst
Special Action |
The King spins around in midair while firing Pearls in every direction. Costs 50 MP.
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MM Miracle
Limit Break |
The King releases a burst of light from his body, stunning surrounding enemies. The magical surge also restores a bit of HP and a lot of MP to his Party Members. |
Healing Light
Limit Break |
Can only be used when The King's Party Members are down and his Mouse Meter is full. When used, he releases a surge of healing magic that revives his allies with 10% of their maximum HP. Healing Light can only be used once per fight, so make it count! |
Soul Eater
Unique Ability |
The heaviest versions of Riku's Special Actions have unique properties, but consume a chunk of MP on use. If Riku is in MP Recharge, they'll consume his HP instead. |
Maelstrom
Special Action |
Riku swiftly rises into the air while slashing upwards with his Keyblade. The Soul Eater version of the move adds several spinning slashes before the uppercut, increasing the damage output. |
Impulse
Special Action |
While in midair, Riku dives downwards and slams his Keyblade into the ground, releasing a small shockwave on impact. The Soul Eater version of the move greatly increases the power and range of the shockwave. |
Dark Cannon
Special Action |
Riku leaps backwards while firing a volley of shadowy fireballs from his Keyblade. Hold the attack button to slow down briefly near the end of the leap and launch some extra fireballs. Costs 20 MP.
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Cure Potion
Limit Break |
Riku uses a mysterious elixir on himself to restore a chunk of his own HP. |
Dark Aura
Limit Break |
Riku shrouds himself in a dark aura and charges a short distance forwards. If he hits the enemy, they'll be briefly frozen as he charges into them again and again from other directions. |
Master Hearts
Limit Break |
Riku bathes his Keyblade in an enormous aura of light and slashes it across the screen, cutting through enemies in a horizontal line. |
MP Hastega
Unique Ability |
Any party with Maleficent in it has a somewhat reduced MP Recharge time, letting all its members use magical abilities more aggressively. |
Dark Corridor
Special Action |
Maleficent vanishes in a tornado of darkness, reappearing in another location. The exact location is determined by the button used to input the move. |
Dark Thundaga
Special Action |
Maleficent conjures a circle of violet light on the ground a short distance away from her. If an enemy steps in this spot, dark lightning will explode out of it and zap them. Costs 33 MP.
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Draco Firaga
Special Action |
Maleficent releases a stream of green fire from her staff, coating the ground. Enemies that stand in the flames will take steady damage. Costs 22 MP.
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Soldier Call
Special Action |
Maleficent summons a Soldier Heartless to march forwards and attack the enemy with agile kicks. Costs 33 MP.
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Meteor
Limit Break |
Maleficent summons enormous comets that fly in from behind her, knocking enemies backwards on impact. |
Dragon Form
Limit Break |
Maleficent transforms into a dragon and launches an enormous ball of fire from her mouth at the enemy. |
Aerial Dodge
Unique Ability |
Roxas can perform a second jump in midair. He is briefly invulnerable at the very start of the double jump. |
Cross Slash
Special Action |
Roxas rushes forward as a ray of light, striking with both Keyblades at once when he reappears. |
Dual Spiral
Special Action |
After taking a moment to aim, Roxas hurls out both his Keyblades, letting them orbit around him to defend him from attacks from all directions. |
Synch Spell
Special Action |
Roxas launches a fireball from Oblivion and an ice shard from Oathkeeper, the two projectiles swirling around each other as they fly forward. This projectile moves a bit slower compared to similar attacks, but is bigger and deals more damage. Costs 18 MP.
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Reflera
Special Action |
Roxas forms a barrier around himself. The barrier absorbs half of any oncoming damage and converts it into a surge of light that damages nearby foes. Costs 33 MP.
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Miracle Hour
Limit Break |
Roxas leaps into the air and conjures pillars of light, barraging the enemy repeatedly from above and below. |
Duel Stance
Limit Break |
Time slows briefly, and then Roxas suddenly dashes forwards, slicing through frontal enemies with both Keyblades in a fluid strike. |
Drain
Unique Ability |
While Xemnas is in MP Recharge and on the battlefield, he'll passively drain away the enemy's MP to speed up his recharge rate. |
Banishxa
Special Action |
Xemnas fires off a burst of magical power that expands into an explosion on impact with the ground. Costs 40 MP.
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Boltxa
Special Action |
Xemnas summons a ring of ethereal bolts that hover in midair for a short while, then zoom towards the enemy's current position. They can be used as traps until they fly. Costs 25 MP.
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Thornxa
Special Action |
Xemnas releases a stream of thorns from one hand, which can be guided with the control stick. The thorns linger in the air briefly and deal small amounts of damage to enemies touching them. Costs 20 MP.
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Shellxa
Special Action |
Xemnas briefly conjures a frontal barrier which blocks all oncoming attacks. If no attack hits the barrier, he'll be vulnerable when it fades. Costs 33 MP.
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Magnexa
Special Action |
Xemnas creates an energy field in front of him. If the field hits an enemy, he'll trap them with an electric charge and drain away their HP to restore his MP. Costs 33 MP.
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All-Vanity
Limit Break |
Xemnas releases a shockwave of energy from his body, blasting the enemy backwards. On hit, he follows up by firing a laser beam directly at the enemy's current position. |
Emptied Space
Limit Break |
Xemnas conjures ethereal bolts in the space surrounding the battlefield. After a short delay, they will start to fly at the enemy from all directions, dealing rapid damage. |
...No pun intended.
Dodge Warp
Unique Ability |
When dodging forwards or backwards, Xigbar briefly vanishes. |
Sharpshooter
Special Action |
Xigbar fires four arrows in a spread from one arrowgun. |
Open Rift
Special Action |
Xigbar sticks his hands into spatial rifts, projecting them into the space directly in front of him. Until he uses this move again, all arrow-based attacks will be performed from that spot instead of his current position. |
Space Shift
Special Action |
Xigbar warps onto the ceiling and stands upside-down on it. He can fight normally on the ceiling, but while upside-down his MP will steadily drain. His gravity will return to normal if he enters MP Recharge. Costs 1 MP.
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Charge Shot
Special Action |
Xigbar snaps his arrowguns together and fires a single powerful shot diagonally upwards. This shot will ricochet around the battlefield for a short time afterwards. Costs 20 MP.
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Critical Snipe
Limit Break |
Xigbar fires a single powerful shot across the screen from his combined arrowguns, dealing heavy damage to struck enemies. |
Ultima Shot
Limit Break |
Xigbar rapidly warping around the screen, firing arrows in all directions. If the enemy gets dragged into his fire, they'll take a lot of damage very quickly. |
Berserk Charge
Unique Ability |
Instead of MP, Saïx has a Berserk Gauge that fills as he fights. When it is completely full, he enters Berserk Mode until the Berserk Gauge is empty. Berserk Mode greatly improves his attack speed, grants many of them improved super armor, and unlocks other special effects for his attacks. |
Luna Surge
Special Action |
Saïx pulls Lunatic back, then suddenly charges forwards while sweeping the claymore around his body. While in Berserk Mode, he releases a shockwave of blue fire when he swings. |
Eclipse
Special Action |
Saïx knocks the enemy into the air with a flipping upwards strike using Lunatic. While in Berserk Mode, he will rise even higher into the air, and can follow up by hurling his claymore into the ground. |
Crescent Raid
Special Action |
Saïx hurls Lunatic a short distance forwards like a boomerang. While in Berserk Mode, he hurls his claymore significantly farther and leaves a trail of azure fire in its wake. |
Moonfall Raid
Special Action |
While in midair, Saïx hurls Lunatic down at the ground a set distance away from him. While in Berserk Mode, this releases an explosion of blue fire on impact. |
Moon, Shine Down!
Limit Break |
Saïx instantly fills up both his Berserk Gauge and a chunk of his Rage, unleashing his power in an explosive burst that knocks the enemy backwards. |
Magna Storm
Limit Break |
Saïx charges directly forwards. On hit, he bombards the enemy with an elaborate claymore combo, battering them to the breaking point while warping around them with corridors of darkness. The combo is even more elaborate and merciless when used in Berserk Mode. |
Wave Gig
Special Action |
Demyx starts idly playing Arpeggio. While he's playing, Demyx regenerates enormous amounts of MP and some Limit, but he can only move slowly back and forth. |
Water Mirage
Special Action |
Demyx leaps backwards and summons a Water Form doppelganger in the spot where he once stood. The Water Form lingers on the field for a little while, and will automatically attack the enemy if they strike it or move too close. Costs 20 MP.
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Rainstorm
Special Action |
Demyx calls down a bubble from above. The heavier the button used to input the move, the farther away the bubble will be. Costs 10 MP.
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Water Dash
Special Action |
Demyx dashes across the ground, with pillars of water bursting from the ground behind him. Costs 20 MP.
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Aqua Pillar
Special Action |
Multiple pillars of water burst from the ground in front of Demyx, knocking struck foes into the air. Costs 30 MP.
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Show Stealer
Limit Break |
Demyx dances towards the enemy with his back to them while playing a jaunty tune on Arpeggio. If he moves close enough to them, he'll abruptly turn around and strike them with the end of his sitar, shattering their guard. |
Dance, Water, Dance!
Limit Break |
Demyx summons a small army of Water Forms around him. These Water Forms will protect Demyx from attacks and automatically assault the enemy. |
Card Trick
Special Action |
Luxord hurls a giant playing card forwards, leaving it floating in midair briefly as a spinning trap. After a little while, it'll stop spinning and become harmless, and eventually fade. |
Discard Pile
Special Action |
Luxord conjures a giant playing card flat on the ground nearby. Using the move a second time will cause the card to explode, harming nearby foes. If it goes for too long without being triggered, it'll fade away. |
Shuffle
Special Action |
Luxord creates a giant card and sweeps it around him, vanishing and reappearing at another point on the battlefield. |
Quick Draw
Special Action |
Luxord instantly swaps places with a card he has placed on the battlefield, appearing in the spot it once occupied and harming nearby foes. Costs 22 MP.
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Stacked Deck
Limit Break |
Cards flow across the ground towards the enemy. When they reach a point under an enemy's feet, the cards burst up from the ground in a violet explosion, dealing a small amount of damage. The sheer quantity of the cards provides most of the damage of this attack. |
Wild Card
Limit Break |
Luxord grabs forwards with both hands. On a successful grab, he'll transform his target into a playing card, severely limiting their options temporarily. |
Blitz
Special Action |
Sora leaps forwards and slams his Keyblade into the ground, releasing a small shockwave on impact. |
Hurricane Blast
Special Action |
While in midair, Sora quickly dives downwards while moonsaulting with his Keyblade extended, dragging nearby enemies down to the ground with him. |
Fire
Special Action |
Sora points his Keyblade forwards and fires a small ball of fire directly forwards. The move can be used repeatedly to fire a rapid volley of fireballs. Costs 5 MP.
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Gravity
Special Action |
Sora slams his Keyblade into the ground, conjuring a gravity field at the tip to crush frontal enemies. Costs 20 MP.
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Stop
Special Action |
Sora casts a time spell to freeze the enemy in time for about one or two seconds. MP Recharge triggered by Stop will take a while to start, locking you out of magic for longer. Costs All MP.
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Strike Raid
Limit Break |
Sora hurls his Keyblade forwards like a boomerang, cutting through frontal enemies. You can press the attack button repeatedly to burn more Limit and warp the Keyblade back into your hand to hurl it again. |
Ragnarok
Limit Break |
Sora leaps into the air and fires a swarm of tiny magical bolts from the Keyblade. These bolts will home in on nearby enemies and barrage them. |
Absent Silhouettes (2007-2009)[]
In the years after the game's launch, multiple Organization XIII characters were released as free DLC, both to fill out the roster and to advertise 358/2 Days for DS. There were also a few non-Organization characters mixed in - mostly characters from the first Kingdom Hearts, like KH1 Riku and Ansem.
The following characters were released in this time period:
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Seeker Of Darkness
Unique Ability |
Riku can gain Dark Points by dealing damage to enemies, with more Dark Points being awarded when he knocks an enemy out of an attack. He can use Dark Points to activate Dark Mode and boost his own performance. |
Dark Splitter
Special Action |
Riku flips through the air and slams Soul Eater into the ground, causing a fountain of darkness to erupt at the point of impact. |
Dark Shock
Special Action |
While advancing forward, Riku slashes and unleashes a whirling blade of dark power that rushes forwards across the ground. |
Dark Fire
Special Action |
Riku charges one arm with dark power, briefly increasing the damage of his next several attacks. Using the move again will cause him to launch an explosive dark fireball from that arm. Costs 30 MP.
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Dark Mode
Special Action |
Can only be used when Riku has 30 Dark Points. When used, he transforms into his Dark Mode, increasing his overall performance. He will remain in Dark Mode until he either runs out of Dark Points (by taking damage from enemy attacks) or enters MP Recharge. Costs 1 MP.
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Dark Barrage
Limit Break |
Riku leaps into the air, then calls down replicas of Soul Eater to rain upon his opponent from the top corner of the screen, rapidly assaulting them. |
Unlock
Limit Break |
Summoning his Keyblade of Heart, Riku unlocks his summoned Party Members' full dark power. Their power and defense will skyrocket for a short time, but their HP will start to rapidly drop. There is no turning back once you use this ability on an ally! |
Snatch
Unique Ability |
Instead of MP, Zexion has gray CP that can only be filled using special abilities, which he spends when using magic to create doppelgangers. Zexion cannot enter MP Recharge, and abilities that affect MP do not affect him. |
Book Of Shadows
Special Action |
Zexion conjures a floating tome that quickly flips through its pages, gradually generating CP. Enemy attacks can destroy the tome. |
Dark Revenge
Special Action |
Zexion conjures a shadowy doppelganger of himself to rush forwards and slash with a copy of Riku's Soul Eater. The ability can be input multiple times to unleash a combo attack with Soul Eater, but the combo will be unleashed automatically during Book Of Retribution. Costs 10 CP.
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Dark Punisher
Special Action |
Zexion quickly grabs forwards. On a successful grab, he'll conjure a shadowy doppelganger of himself to hold the enemy in place and drain away their health. Costs 33 CP.
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Catastrophe
Special Action |
Zexion summons a shadowy doppelganger above the battlefield, and it hurls a sphere of explosive magic down at the ground. Costs 33 CP.
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Dark Seal
Special Action |
If one of the enemy's Party Members is on the field, Zexion summons a large book and traps them inside of it, preventing them from being called out or switched to until the book is destroyed. The book functions identically to a Book Of Shadows, and generates CP but can be destroyed by attacks. Costs 60 CP.
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Cyclone Snatch
Limit Break |
Zexion conjures a dark tornado under the enemy's feet, rapidly chipping away at them. Even if the attack is blocked, Zexion gains a decent amount of CP on each hit. |
Book Of Retribution
Limit Break |
Can only be used when Zexion is at maximum CP. When used, he cloaks the entire battlefield with illusory darkness and start to slowly lose CP. In this state, he can use all his abilities that cost CP at a discount, without exiting his idle stance. Additionally, any Books Of Shadows he has placed down will replicate any spells cast, though they'll be destroyed at the Limit's end. |
Departed Masters (2010-2011)[]
Following Birth By Sleep releasing for the PSP, several characters from the game were added to Radiant Struggle over the course of two years. Players who owned Birth By Sleep would receive the characters for free, while everyone else would have to purchase them for $4.99 apiece.
More info TBA!
Adrift In Nightmares (2012)[]
Similarly to the previous wave of content, several characters from Dream Drop Distance for the 3DS were released as paid DLC, with players who owned Dream Drop Distance getting them for free. Unlike the previous wave, these characters were released all at the same time in one bundle, since there were only a handful of characters and interest in the game was starting to wane.
More info TBA!
Re:Turn (2019-2020)[]
In addition to all the DLC characters, Kingdom Hearts Re:Radiant Struggle also included several new characters from Kingdom Hearts III. More were added in the following year after the release of Kingdom Hearts III Re Mind.
More info TBA!
Stages[]
TBA!