Of all the games in the Playstation 2 library, Kingdom Hearts II is among the most revered, thanks in part to the innovation it improved on from the first game in both gameplay and story elements.
One of the many highlights that fans love to put a focus on are the creative bosses that Sora finds himself pitted against. These boss fights can be as simple as a Disney movie villain, or as complex as a heartless that requires Sora to fill up a chest with cursed treasure. But as highly praised as these bosses are, they aren't all that easy to deal with.
10 The Dark Thorn Kept Sora On His Toes
One of the earlier bosses Sora has to fight is the Dark Thorn heartless in Beast's Castle. After the first battle against the Shadow Stalker, the chains around it break and the creature's true form is revealed as the Dark Thorn. This fight is an easy beginner's trap for new players that haven't leveled up much and only play by mashing buttons. The reaction commands do make this fight easier and this boss does stagger plenty, but if a player goes in blindly hoping to brute strength it, they're in for a rude awakening.
9 Captain Barbossa Had It Out For Jack Sparrow
The main issue with this fight doesn't stem from how difficult the boss is, but rather one of the loss conditions for this fight. Much like in the Pirates of the Caribbean movie that this world is based on, Jack and Captain Barbossa are having their climactic battle, and if Jack dies, you lose.
This fight can be difficult to win without the use of magic as Barbossa shares the same weakness as all of the other pirates from Port Royal. The other issue also stems from the points where the moonlight is blocked out in the arena, creating areas where the cursed captain won't take any damage.
8 All The Experiment Wanted Was A Heart
One of the more tragic enemies that Sora has fought in the entirety of the Kingdom Hearts series is Dr. Finklestein's Experiment in Christmas Town. This creature sought nothing more than to have a heart, which is why it took the presents for itself.
The fight with this tragic beast is one of the more difficult battles as a majority of its attacks are unblockable without Reflect, tearing through Sora's health quickly. Surprisingly, one of this boss's glaring weaknesses comes from the Peter Pan summon that can stagger it with Sora indefinitely, although there are some HP barriers that Sora will need to get past before continuing to use this approach on this boss.
7 Deleting The MCP Was Arduous
Tron's MCP is one of the final Disney villains that Sora ends up facing off against in Kingdom Hearts II, and it is one of the more difficult encounters in the game due to all that needs to be done to defeat him. First, the giant Sark must be taken down again so that the barriers around the MCP can be attacked. Once these barriers are destroyed, Sora needs Tron with him to attack the MCP until the barriers drop down again with lasers. This process needs to be repeated at least three times to win this battle, each time with more difficulty. Thankfully, once half of this boss's health is down, a reaction command to take down Sark quicker appears when running away from him, leaving only the latter two steps in beating this tedious boss.
6 Xigbar's Teleporting Is Unpredictable
The first Organization XIII member that Sora encounters on his ascent towards the top of The Castle That Never Was is none other than the freestyle shooter, Xigbar. He's quick to call Sora by Roxas's name and to declare that his time is up.
This fight with Xigbar is one of the more difficult in the game, with him being able to teleport anywhere in the boss arena and even transform the arena to disorient Sora even more. Reflect magic can help a lot against Xigbar's projectiles, and he's always open to getting hit while reloading his guns, this fight requires a lot of patience to get through.
5 Sephiroth Challenged Sora Again
While Sephiroth didn't try as hard here as he did in the first Kingdom Hearts game, the challenge he presents is still there. After Sephiroth decides to challenge Sora, the two partake in a one-on-one fight where Sephiroth ruthlessly attacks Sora with barrages of attacks, shadow flare orbs, and meteors.
The best approach to this fight is a more defensive one where Sora should wait to see what he's going to do next before reacting to it. Be warned, because once he loses enough health, he will start varying up his attacks in different ways.
4 The Fight With Larxene's Data Is Fast
Larxene's Data is one of the more fast-paced data battles anyone will find themselves dealing with. This fight can either end fast with a win or end fast in defeat for an unprepared Sora. Much like with Xigbar, Reflect spells help against Larxene's vicious assault of attacks.
Once she splits into two, players should attempt to get Reflect attacks in on both clones, as they will take damage for the same health bar. Most strategies for this fight revolve around dealing heavy damage to both clones of Larxene.
3 A Change In Strategy Was Needed To Take Care Of Roxas
Shortly after Sora, Donald, and Goofy's arrival in The World That Never Was, they reach Memory's Skyscraper, where a mysterious hooded figure shows up and attacks Sora, warping him away seemingly. This is what starts the boss fight against Roxas in the final mix version of Kingdom Hearts II.
Roxas comes at Sora aggressively, with attacks that need to be studied to figure out how to counter them. Reflect Magic and Limit form can work wonders for tearing through Roxas's health, and if Sora's movements are timed right, a duel stance reaction command can get initiated, where Sora can steal both of Roxas's keyblades, changing his attack patterns and making him more vulnerable to a more aggressive approach.
2 To Deal With Demyx's Data, Players Needed To Stock Up On Ethers
The non-data version of Demyx was a difficult fight already, the Data version of him takes what was already hard, and increases that. In this version of the Demyx fight, Sora has to destroy several waves of his water clones with a thirty-second time limit for each, regardless of how many clones are spawned in. The best way to handle this onslaught of clones is to go into Wisdom form and use a lot of fire magic to destroy the clones instantly, using ethers before Sora's MP runs out. Equipping both Donald, and Goofy with Ethers can help ease up the strain this fight might have on Sora's MP bar, so long as their AI is adjusted accordingly.
1 The Power Of Lingering Will Was A Challenge To Overcome
The most difficult boss in the game is the one introduced after the game's initial clear, this one being none other than the sentient armor of Terra, The Lingering Will. This fight presents a unique challenge to Sora and friends by putting them toe-to-toe with a masterful keyblade wielder.
Attacks that make the fight difficult from the start are when he switches to his keyblade glider, and when he does the binding spell that prevents Sora from either attacking or using magic. The best way to handle this fight is by learning the patterns of his attacks then blocking or dodging them, he's usually open when he finishes up an attack and lands on the ground.