Really good video. I feel like one more thing worth mentioning is how good airstep is. You can use it to chain combos pretty much forever which can be really good for getting forms safely in the air against mobs. It's also just really good for closing distance fast and cancels so many animations
This. I frequently use it with the Dual Arrowguns Formchange to just keep projectiles going and stay mobile, cleans out mobs really well and provides constant chip damage on bosses. Jump up high and start spamming bullets, using the Air Dodge BEFORE the finisher in order to have that constant stream of projectiles with little-to-no downtime and constant movement. Very safe way to deal damage and is why I kept Shooting Star in my loadout through the whole game.
Will can you please make a video on all these advanced mechanic's on kh3 like examples of when to airstep or cool things you can do with keyblade switches
Yeah I think it’s a good game despite some grievances. It was never gonna be a masterpiece after years of anticipation and Square having to wade through the copyright and licensing insanity. I’m just glad it even exists to begin with.
@@marcusamerison977 lol i could never do a lv1 crit run so i wouldn't know.Regular crit is the perfect amount of fun and challenge in KH3 for me. The only bosses that gave me a real issue though were the tripple Xehanort fight and the final battle (though some mob fights coule be pretty brutal as well).
@@tigerfestivals5137 oh boy you haven't seem a horde of earth cores and those sand dudes on the carribeans have you? God that's the hardest mob fight I've ever done even with the food buffs all the I-Frames were annoying
Although KH2FM is my favorite game, this game is kind of underrated when it comes to battle options, people just haven't tried them out much and say the game sucks
@@CityEscapist1220 I'm not much of a fan of the floaty combat, but I like how much faster Sora is now, I love air sliding and being able to instantly go into another move like attack to dodge roll etc.
KH2 had a MUCH more mixed reputation until people really dug into the nitty gritty of it's mechanics. Not to say it was ever a poorly received game, but the notion that's it's unquestionably the best game in the series only really came about in the last 5 or so years. Lack of Critical Mode until the PS3 for non-Japanese/Import players was also a big deal, as it really is a game changer for 2. Of course, there's nothing definitive we can say about 3's future, but I'd imagine it's reputation will be much better in a few years when people dig into it's mechanics more and/if Square pumps out some worthwhile DLC.
@Kawaii_Christichan 20 times? Wtf? How trash are you? This is like the easiest critical ever?.. evident in that their making an even harder mode just cause it STILL aint cutting it Lol betting you didnt beat the data 13. Fucking casuals lmao.
@@fajitacat9458 if your confusion is the existence of healing shotlocks, I would suggest using the Tangled keyblade (I forget it's actual name). As long as you don't max out the shotlocks, it'll heal you based on how many hits you get
The issue I had with mobs in critical mode was mostly tied to the enormous room size in KH3. Because dying resets you to the last room load, mistakes are more punishing than in other KH crit modes for just the time loss.
There's this clip on twitter of someone using Ralph in final Xehanort fight to utterly destroy him so bad it actually skipped the Rage mode and Shadow Xehanort phases and into the Trinity blast finish.
Yeah. Ralph is... Awkward to use, but if you CAN use him, he can make mincemeat of any boss, barring the ones where you're controlling a different character.
Awesome video Biz! A few tips/ideas to add on to your vid: 1. The three different reprisals that you can equip all have differing amounts of i-frames (invincibility frames), range, and AoE potential; if you're not getting much value out of a reprisal since it misses on a fight, trying another one might be beneficial. Kick has the best i-frames but can whiff on fast-moving targets and has a slow animation, Impact is AoE-focused and is sort of a middle-ground, and Slash has very few i-frames but comes out really fast. 2. Critical Mode gives you Rising Spiral and Groundbreaker from the beginning, you can use these two modifiers to extend your combos to 7-hit or even 10-hit combos if you use both. 3. You briefly mentioned Critical Recharge, but just to reiterate, even if you're not planning on using much magic in a fight or don't have Cure Converter equipped, letting your MP gauge run out will help you get you to your powerful Keyblade transformations faster. 4. To add on to your tip on accessories/armor, knowing the element/type of the enemy/boss you're facing, equipping armor and accessories (Cufflinks, in particular), and changing up your combat style/magic use to exploit weaknesses can go a long way, especially for people using mage builds. (Fire vs. Ice, to name an example) 5. As a very general tip, and one I think sorta serves as a theme for Critical Mode as a whole, is that the game gives you an infinitude of tools to work with, so if you're not feeling so hot about a specific combat strategy, change it up! The game, at least in my limited experience, is designed around that philosophy.
It was such a breath of fresh air to see a KH3 video without it getting bashed. Thank you for taking time to showcase some mechanics of KH3. KH2’s combat is more refined, but was also improved with Final Mix. People forget dodge roll wasn’t in the vanilla version. KH2 is more systematic, but KH3 is more reactive based. Both are very fun and thought out. KH3 doesn’t get enough credit.
Every KH game in the entire series has different feeling combat between each game & even each characters. People who wanted 2’s combat again can get out. Kh3 combat (minus attractions, thank god we can turn them off in critical) is really different and so varied and fun. I love blocking in midair then launching to an enemy using airstep. This game no doubt has the best air combat.
@@Gamelover254Nope, Kh1 Air combat more fun with Hurricane Blast alone. Lol Sora floatyness if you see at the early part of the video he died because of Sora miss the Aerial attack and Sora stood in the air before falling which caused him to get strucked the back then died.
One other thing I would say for advice is Airstep, Airstep, Airstep Airstep. A lot of people tend to forget to even use it or do not even know can use it on enemies. It is useful for getting away from enemies hogging you. Besides airstep you can shot lock at any time during a combo; so if you have a laggy move you can hold the shotlock see around you and if no one is going to attack can continue to combo. Another thing can even do is use a shotlock at end of a combo to do more damage.
I discovered how amazing air Step is toward the end of my first playthrough. It made the org battles so much easier. And when on my second playthrough, it made the Titan battle incredibly easy! I was so frustrated on my first playthrough with the titans!
Thanks for mentioning the form changes building up situation commands faster bit. Most people just ignore it in crit. For anyone new I’d like to add that try to never be without a form. So, at least have 1 form in stock always. Then you can always build up forms faster by using that form to build up 3 SC gauges and then do a regular combo with an unchanged keyblade. With strike forms you can press circle to immediately go into finishers and this can be extremely helpful in mob fights with Hyper Hammer’s aoe finisher. Accessories are very important but if you feel like you can ditch one(or two), definitely put on a cufflink. They make you get grand magic more frequently. Grand magic, especially aoe grand magic with blizzard blades and storm flag does so so much damage. You can also use grand magic to cancel out of long from finishers like hyper hammer and claw. Don’t put on all of Sora’s finishers like speedslash, triple rush and magic flash. They will take up regular attacks your combo if you don’t have combo plus and you can’t immediately cancel out of them with air slide or guard. Have one, preferably magic flash or speeeslash.
People seem to be forgetting the 3 Focus Syphon abilities while having all 3 of them can break Shotlocks they can be good if you need an emergency heal with Ever After or Hero's Origin. The first one is found in Toy Box (you need a "A" ranking in Verum Rex) and the other 2 are found in The Caribbean (Flan Heartless Mini Game) and in San Fransokyo (obtained automatically during the story there). Focus Syphon also has Invincibility frame benefits when activating the ability (via Shotlock when the Focus Gauge is empty) you are fully Invincible during the animation when Sora absorbs focus from enemies. Strangely enough the ability also works on certain objects (like the Fruit on the Fruit Tree's in The Caribbean for example).
Water and Aero are great situation meter builders as well. Especially on mobs. It seems that situation meter is dependent on the number of hits you do, so wide AOE attacks are great and is also why formchanges build so much faster since they typically allow you to do multiple hits. It kind of becomes a delicate dance between purposefully running out your MP to activate Crit Converter and building meter and using your MP for magic and links. It's honestly a very fun system and I haven't had this much fun figuring out KH mechanics in a long time.
I commend KH3 for having a really great amount of options for critical mode. Those critical abilities give you the chance to basically customize your own difficulty a little further. Games with difficulty options are great, but with further options WITHIN that difficulty? That is brilliant. EDIT: Looks like Re:MIND is gonna have even more difficulty customization! Even for easier modes.
ez mode makes the game a complete joke. i easily beat the entire re-mind dlc with one hit turned on. including limitcut and secret episode (good ending beat the only battle). to my defense i had just beaten the main game since i didn't beat it until recently and didn't feel like fighting all those battles again. i didn't use the ez mode at all in the main game.
@@theimortal1974 true. But maybe they wanted easy to be mindless for new players/ non gamers. Critical is pretty extensive in difficulty so I don't see easy being super easy an issue tbh
I love how you've always been unbiased and gave the game a fair shake, and are able to see the good and bad without just complaining because it's different from 2FM. Bl00dy is not close to your level in this regard. So many things he's complained about, you directly addressed here. Thank you
My first run actually was a Lvl 1 Proud run, and now my second run is on Lvl 1 Critical. Even still, I hadn't recognized everything you bring up in this video. A lot of it I had learned on my own, but there were a decent amount of tips here that will be really useful going forward in my current run. So, yeah. Thank you for making this video!
Unnamed I mean it’s most likely not gonna be a great experience, doable? Yeah but like some of them prolly gonna be atrocious when you pretty much can never ever get hit
@@SSlash Depends on if Osaka team can create bosses that really push a player to use all of their options. Phantom Aqua did that well, but then again 0.2 didnt have Links and Ultima Weapons shotlock. Maybe the bosses would have to have increased swiftness to evade those long startup attacks? I dunno, I'm not a boss designer. But I really hope it doesnt turn back to chip damage like with DDD level 1
Unnamed unless they literally implement in some kinda damage scaling it’s not gonna be that fun to fight hard ass bosses with 1 health while doing so little damage, like I said, still very doable but I doubt it’s gonna feel good to die when you’re on the last bar out of like 15
Switching keyblades after a form change will "freeze" it's gauge, in case you want to store it for an opening. It works on Proud, so I assume you can "hold" it on Critical too.
Yo so a quick thing about Stitch is that you wanna layer the hazard zones on top of each other so that when you hit the finisher it's always hitting the same area up until the final blast. Place yourself in the center of the fields you make so even if enemies leave the zone, theyll probably come back into it to attack you. Combine with magic or master treasure magnet to collect all the goodies stitch makes enemies drop easier. It's also great for stationary enemies like the Krakens tentacles in the Davy Jones fight, the dinosaur heartless in San Fransokyo, etc
Personally I think kh3 critical is the best critical mode we've gotten since kh2fm,and I'm glad square didn't just put it in upon release without making sure it worked properly. They took time and made sure it would be a mostly fair challenge.
Tiger Festivals I get what you mean but at the same time people come to expect the same kind of experience they had previously with the best lvl1 beforehand being that your damage never just fell off, it stayed lower than normal but still had a floor it couldn’t go below
@@SSlash oh i know, i just think its unreasonable to expect that. Or at least, its unreasonable to use that as if it's at all a valid criticism of the game design. There are many more actual problems with the game and lv1 playthroughs not being balanced is not a core issue (and one that can actually be mitigated with food and items).
Tiger Festivals i mean yes of course the damage isn’t the only issue, but for the sake of lvl 1’s balance it would alleviate some issues if you didn’t need to use every single thing at your disposal in every tough fight, for it to not drag on and thus not feel as though you’ve wasted time when dying because the fight just wouldn’t end. And the same goes for mob fights, even more so honestly, you want to actually play the game and fight stuff in arendelle? Better hope you’re perfect cuz if u take like 3 hits, get sent back an unknown amount of time with a long ass loading screen, it’s a discouraging factor to fighting large groups that simply doesn’t need to be the case. I know one of the biggest things I would change is party members health that isn’t Donald and Goofy, I’m pretty sure in KH2 they all kept their default health, but everyone has lowered health and defense now and they just drop like flies in the KBGY.
Thanks for making this, now I have some more tips to use. I've already almost finished my Critical playthrough and while I struggled at first, I eventually got used to it and now I'm having a much better time than before when I faced the one-hit deaths, lmao.
"Do not forget the food bonus, especially if you're struggling. If you want the added challenge, that's a whole different thing." Casual Sora: Nourished, smiling, normal skintone. Elitist Sora: Malnourished, dead inside, light-blue skintone.
Moral of CM: Critical Mode simple on New Game+/ Critical Mode challenging on new clean playthrough Gotta say after beating the game: Proud Mode 100% Proud Mode Speedrun(6hrs), Proud Mode lvl 1 Critical Mode New Game+ Critical Mode Clean Playthrough I gotta say the trick to staying alive is simply buying as max amount of potions, let Donald and Goofy be equipped on potions and let them only always heal you, you're guaranteed to always stay alive if you hang back and dont have to rely on too much magic, I spent waaaay too much time playing this game
Useful Idiot Another easy way to breeze through Critical Mode, gotta admit Nomura made it Simple but creative on many ways to get through these difficulties, props to him
1. You can also switch drive forms in the middle of combos creating some very interesting and very damaging attacks. 2. Comboing Airstep resets combo counter elongating combos (but can add to revenge value of certain bosses.) 3. Larger, buffer enemies with super armor can typically be stunned by attacks in drive forms. (I've found some enemies are more susceptible to attacks in certain drive forms than others. For instance, the giant toad Unversed and Siax, for example, stagger more easily when hit by attacks in Element Form. I think drives work similarly to Power/Magic/Speed attacks from KH X/Union X.) Great video, lol!
Your 3rd point was mentioned in the Ultimania. It's a new mechanic called stagger value. Each attack Sora can do has a stagger value. Bigger enemies has moments where they sit and do nothing for Sora to be able to reach their stagger value. If you attack them with just normal attacks you are not likely to do so. Flowmotion attacks can help a bit since their stagger value is bigger, but at these moments it's better to use formchanges because their attack's stagger values are not only bigger but attack more frequently (especially the power forms like the hammer, drill, claws, yo-yos, highwind and flag pole). I heard people complaining that the bigger enemies's staggering is inconsistant, but they simply don't understand the mechanics well.
@@vvvvvvvv180 he said abilities not combo modifiers. There are tons of abilities in KH3 and he could even talk about keyblade transformations or the form specific abilities.
@@tigerfestivals5137 which ones impacted how you played the game? Unlocking my 6th "something something" extender wasn't exciting to me. The accessories have better abilities than what sora himself gets. Plus I wouldn't count keyblade transformation attacks or abilities since you have to slug through Sora's awkward feeling moves to get to that point.
Tiger Festivals don’t really see how any passive ability can really be bad to have on tbh and as for the modifiers/“finishers” well you can always take them off if they’re gonna not be that useful on certain enemies which can definitely be the case sometimes, but they aren’t inherently just bad 90% of the time like dodge slash can be
As a person who can't make use of this guide, since I kinda figured it all out on my and through previous Critical mode experiences in the rest of the series, this is a very good and I'm sure helpful video. Thank you and good job biz
Critical Mode was the first mode I played through in KH3. I had to learn how to make meals and find all the treasures and lucky emblems whew. One mistake that I made that made things difficult was never learning how to use the shield ever lol. After unlocking once more and second chance I just stacked damage syphoon and spammed fire. I'm going to do level 1 critical after I finish recom proud wish me luck
I just started my Critical Ultima run. Beat Olympus, Twilight Town, Toy Box and Kingdom of Corona and I was struggling a bir. I don’t recall KH2FM, BBSFM, 0.2 and DDDHD being this difficult on Critical - however it might just be my memory. I’m learning the boss moves and I’ve been using Links and upgrading my Ultima. Food is a good choice that I will be implementing from now on. Thanks for all the help Biz! Practice makes perfect I suppose. I’ll get through Critical mode like I did with all the others - Practice!!
I must say, I was skeptical to try out crit after proud mode was so easy, and I am ashamed to admit it. But they way you've put it and shown makes me realize how wrong I was. The reduced situation commands and the ability do disable attraction is very much what was needed to make the game a tad more balanced, on top of that, the reduced mp won't let you spam fire for easy cheesing. At least now you kind of HAVE to use everything you can to move on, just like 2fm! Thanks for putting the game in such a great perspective and thanks for the tips, you're the best!
I just started a Critical Mode playthrough last night, because Oblivion is my favorite classic keyblade, and I died 4 times to the tutorial boss. My immediate thoughts went to Dark Souls, oddly enough. A harsh but fair challenge to put the veterans through the paces. Welcome to Kingdom Hearts: Prepare to Die Edition. Thanks for the tips either way! Here's hoping that grinding out Ultima was a wise waste of time. (Though Oathkeeper is pretty dang good too)
Thanks bloody.. I have needed this and also airstepping is vital in critical mode. It works as a good combo extender and helps get you to safety in some cases. Also congratulations on getting into the guinness world records.
Hero's origin keyblades shotlock offers an early healing method with the shotlock "Drain shot" but this isn't offered with the complete (max target version) shotlock so its a good thing to note to try and help players get out of the early game
I really did not like this game when it came out. But replaying it on critical mode. I’m actually enjoying it a lot just as much as kh2. They are very different from each other. Critical mode brings out the best of kh3 in my opinion.
This is a really good video that a friend sent to me because I was having trouble with my crit file & all I wanted out of it was Oblivion, then the DLC's EZ Codes happened. I want to feel bad that I cheesed it but it was just too stressful for my taste, I am looking forward to seeing those PRO Code playthroughs though.
Actually there're some parts where there's no shame at relying to Kupocoins like the sliding sections, specially with those Ice Dragons chasing after you, *MENACINGLY* .
The enemy always controls the pace of battle (mostly bosses and stronger heartless/nobodies) don't try to go on the offensive until you know for sure they are open. And be careful with their revenge value it can just as easily kill you as any other attack
Did Critical on my first playthrough a few days ago. Struggled with the Ansem/Xemnas/Young Xehanort fight greatly until I ate food for the first time. being able to cast two additional Firagas made such a big difference.
@@Intellyellthismyoldchannel They were except for Stitch (stuns enemies especially bosses and gives you MP like there's no tomorrow although its heavy on RNG) and Chicken little Kind of (pulls in enemies and gives you potion occasionally and also you gain HP when you deal HP) but not the level that of KH3's links
Man! I just beat Critical mode. It was definitely a slog but it was satisfying to finally beat it. The boss rush at the end wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. There were some tricky parts but others were pushovers and too be fair the Ultima Weapon form change and shot lock is super OP. However, that doesn’t matter. Just glad it’s over.
Toy Box is a complete nightmare on Critical Mode. There's way too many mobs and like no Gigas' available on the upper levels. There's also a very noticeable lack of save points in a massive open level. Probably the most poorly designed early level out of any Kingdom Hearts game..
I wish I watched this video before I did my critical lvl 1 run because knowing I could cancel the air guard lag would have helped, but I am also glad that I managed to figure out using a link for that attack at 12:52 on my own.
I’m glad someone (mainly you) created a video like this Critical mode use too piss me off but then i realized this mode is designed too make you ‘PLAY’ the game and fully learn n’ utilize everything that was placed in it which in turn has made a better player by the day, in all honesty when the game first came out and thru/after my first play through I wasn’t truly satisfied with the gameplay, not too say I didn’t enjoy it cause i did but for some odd reason the game is really starting to grow on me and i think it’s because I’ve been gaining a better understanding of how it works when you figure everything out and after a few patches cause boy did we need those I’m gaining more of an appreciation for KH3’s combat system. Side note, I’ve been replaying the game WAAAAYYYYYYY more lately and i gotta say if you allow yourself too move past the era of KH2 which most of the community is stuck on which effects their opinions on it and actually take in what the story is giving us the plot really isn’t that bad and I’m kinda starting too really like it, minus the whole Roxas and Ventura briefly making eye contact like they don’t notice they’re fucking universal twins or the other minor anti climatic events .. other than that I’m finally starting too see the magic this game has on its own and it needs too stop being compared yes it could’ve been better but I’d be lying if i said it was worst than people make it too be
Peasham i start every game i play on normal difficulty too feel the game out then amp it up after my first play through but I’ve residually played on Proud mode until critical came out
I knew all of that but it was still a very good and informative video. While i didnt gain any new knowledge i appreciate you spreading your knowledge on less knowledgeable people
Yes, you can actually get so strong that it’s harder to die than it is to win a fight, it would feel like easy mode instead of critical. You have to be max level like 100 or maybe even 200 or some crazy shii dawg 😂😂 not gonna lie. Use grand magic, spirit summons for immunity and OP key blade forms and talents you should be fine
Also you gotta use Donald and goofy to full advantage, there your teammates it’s a reason they there to help you. The game is designed that way, they are actually as strong as sora is hit as hard too but some people forget to use them, good luck
holy shit im so in over my head. just started kh3 on critical, it's my first time playing. last kh game i played was 2fm on proud. i heard so many people talk shit about 3 on proud i jumped the gun and started critical. wish me luck fellas
I have a very helpful tip my friend shared with me.. you can save form changes for later! Activate the form then change keyblades and when you go back it will still be there. Does not work on rage form but still this changes everything!
18:52 This so much. KH3's combat has its flaws, but people just flat out call it bad because they can't play it the same way they played KH2. Floatiness is a prime example of that. Yeah, it'd be better if Sora felt faster, but the float itself is not a bad thing at all, especially since the game is designed with it in mind. KH2 was largely looked upon as a button masher for a really long time, so I hope that more people start to see some of the neat aspects of KH3's combat eventually. Team attacks being RNG is butts though.
shuie wuh Yeah no! People call it bad because the story is incomplete. Alot more plot holes added and the disney stories were bad. And the so called dark seeker ending. Yeah im xehanort i am actually a good guy, but i am beaten so i'll stop this nonsense
@@jangaman7823 People definitely also complained about the gameplay alot. Maybe not as much as the story, but still a good chunk of the hate was due to gameplay. Also Xehanort is not a good guy? Where did you get that from? He's similar to Thanos in his motives. Just because he thinks he is a good guy doing the world a favour, doesn't mean that he *_is_* a good guy. Xehanort murdered people and manipulated many more into doing what he wanted. He put people like the wayfinder trio, the seasalt trio, members of both organisations and Naminé through absolute hell, which they definitely did not deserve. Xehanort is a bad guy, even if he was just a scapegoat in the Master of Master's plan.
@@Riku70X Yeah, KH3's story had its flaws (where is the midgame?), but there's just so much misconceptions about the Xehanort thing. If you paid any attention at all to BBS, it was very clearly set up that Xehanort was being characterized as morally grey in ambition, though he still was sorta a bad person. I feel like people just assume that he was a good guy because of the bad translation of the "world of light" line and the fact that he kinda just ascended to the sky as a glowing orb of light alongside his best friend. But literally no one but Eraqus forgave him, the rest just stood there and watched him die (and I feel like too many people ignore that Sora legitimately murdered another human. That's sorta metal). Either way, he was literally dying. He was dunzo. He could barely stand. Like, what more was he supposed to do? He thought it was too late to stop his plans even as he was dying, but when he saw otherwise, he had faith in Sora as the next best thing for humanity. This whole "Xehanort randomly decided to stop being evil" thing is so overplayed.
I tried crit once and died like 3 times to Darkside and a bunch of times to the first mob fight. I didn't go much further, but after watching this, I think I want to give it another try. Thanks for the video. Great tips as always
Boring Name That's understandable but at the same time if you've fought him in the older games you should be a little more used to how to dodge his attacks since he only uses about a 5th of his attacks that have shown up in the previous games. Also one tip that helps is air dodging after every air combo to keep you in the air and reset the recovery animation faster.
If you're really struggling, do a proud play through first and get all the keyblades, more specifically ultima weapon. Ultima weapon starts with max stats. And final form is obvious. Or if you just want to oblivion keyblade, when you start the game, and get to choose between modes in game, (the part where you pick warrior and all those options) and choose ez mode. You can set codes that make critical a complete cake walk. Like normal difficulty type of cake walk. Then you can get oblivion. Have all the keyblades if youd want, and go back to new game plus for a real critical play through. That's what I did cause I did NOT want to grind for keyblades on critical lol.
To better handle crowds and mob fights , equip the Shooting Star keyblade , and store its transformation for when you think you're overwhelmed . It's basically Wisdom form on steroids , that transformation of that key is so effective at handling crowds that I didn't unequip it until I was basically at the entrance to the last world
Another tip I have for Critical especially is to not ignore the Lucky Emblems, even if you've already gotten them all on a previous playthrough or have done New Game Plus and have Ultima Weapon already. The Lucky Emblems have some of the best rewards in the game, including the only Ribbon and Royal Ribbon in the game (the former can be gotten before even leaving the first Gummi area) and the final reward: the Mickey Clasp, one of the best accessories in the game. Beyond those, there are tons of other great equipment and stat boosts you can get from the Lucky Emblems, and they're definitely worth the time investment.
kh1 i thought taught the floaty combat style quite well that kh2 it was obvious and in kh3 it felt so fluid its like dark souls i find a sword and shield gives me the most powerful setup a gpod all rounded shield is somewhere in every game with lots of options till then then the combat starts to feel more like kingdom hearts with no float
Considering I'm going after the Oblivion keyblade this is a big help I know I'm way late but I have the ultimate blade and I want to be able to cheese critical mode to get the oblivion blade so I have no choice but to do this painstakingly annoying game all over again just for a keyblade
All of the abilities that mention '(Combo finisher)' are not able to be canceled like normal attacks and magic. This includes Triple Rush, Speed Slash, Magic Flash, and your normal base finisher. Many finishers in Keyblade transformations similarly are not able to be canceled.
I’m doing my critical mode now, using a new game plus feature to carry my keyblades over, and I am already finished with Arendelle. It’s so much fun to challenge myself with this kind of mode, it really sucks my into the fight and I have to piece together the attacks like a puzzle and see what strategies work. I can’t wait to finish the story to unlock that Oblivion Keyblade. :P
I love how I got recommended this video AFTER beating the damn mode... I woulda utilized links a crap ton more, and forgot about the canceling attack animations and block stagger... Thankfully I gritted my teeth and bared through a harder challenge (almost no food, meow wow twice. And physical build... Yeah...)
I say one little tip which I found to be more important in this KH than previous one, try to learn Ennemie's weaknesses, lot of ennemies do have elemental weakness and through ability, Keyblade, accessories and food you can stack boost for a perticular element you want to exploit way more efficiently than other KH, this is usefull for a Magic Build as you want to make each spell as damaging as you can.
As a quick note if you don't wanna read my whole ted talk, I found that a really good lesson I learned on my playthrough is that your cure spell uses your whole mp bar, but it doesn't need it to be filled. So if you're in a hard fight and close to death, you might benefit from using a thundaga or firaga or two, before curing. That way you don't waste a whole mp bar on just one cure. I just finished my second playthroigh of kh3. The first play was when it forst came out and I enjoyed it but I had played kh2 as a kid and absolutely loved it and it just didn't quite measure up to what I'd hoped. It was too easy. It was also worth mentioning that before I play kh3 the first time I had replayed the first two on proud mode as well and enjoyed the challenge and search for abilities and armor. Critical mode really helped kh3 grow on me. I started hesitantly and started wathcing a few vids here and there and found myself playing just like the gameplay above, though admittedly I'm referencing some smaller aspects. Like how I found myself moving much more, using airstep intuitively, reflexively using certain moves to save myself from inevitable deathcand actually really learning and enjoying how the game plays. I highly recommend a try if anyone hasn't already.
I don't wanna burst your bubble, that's incredibly common knowledge. Maximizing effectiveness of your mp bar by holding off cure. In kh2, you would use a limit at the end or a cure. But in kh3, since links need full mp, it's cure usually
@@TimothyGod i feel you, but for me, it took a while to catch on to that aspect. I posted it for those who would otherwise have missed it like I did. Maybe it helps someone, maybe not, that's okay either way
I don't know if this is Critical-exclusive or something that was patched out in general when Crit dropped, but you can no longer farm for Keyblade upgrade materials in the Gummi Ship anywhere near as easily. I remember being able to just farm for Flouride, Damascus, and even Adamantite spending like 20 minutes at a time in space, and getting so much in bulk that the first two were full stacks by the end of the game.
When I first played this game, I thought Critical Mode was super hard since it was my first time playing KH3. But once I played through the whole game with Crit level 1 and all Pro Codes, I can safely say that Critical Mode is not nearly as difficult as I believed. I can’t wait to play the game being able to heal and use Attractions again.
I eventually gave a recommendation and a reminder to myself that it’s important to level grind in critical mode in order to become stronger facing enemies without being bothered by such challenge
I spent hours on the last demon tide on lvl 1 cm. Imagine my face when I saw you using Ariel.
That's me right now since I haven't beaten it yet. Now I know
Same bro
Damnnn that sucks loll
I beat it a couple of days ago, this would have been pretty helpful.
Really good video. I feel like one more thing worth mentioning is how good airstep is. You can use it to chain combos pretty much forever which can be really good for getting forms safely in the air against mobs. It's also just really good for closing distance fast and cancels so many animations
You got it on the dot, Will
Looking forward to your next vid btw (I saw this comment and I somehow wasn't so shocked lol)
One youtuber or two should read this. Maybe they'll stop saying that you get really vulnerable while in mid-air.
This. I frequently use it with the Dual Arrowguns Formchange to just keep projectiles going and stay mobile, cleans out mobs really well and provides constant chip damage on bosses. Jump up high and start spamming bullets, using the Air Dodge BEFORE the finisher in order to have that constant stream of projectiles with little-to-no downtime and constant movement. Very safe way to deal damage and is why I kept Shooting Star in my loadout through the whole game.
It's coming from YOU, Will, I know it's a good tip
Will can you please make a video on all these advanced mechanic's on kh3 like examples of when to airstep or cool things you can do with keyblade switches
Me: Watches an entire video on how to deal with Crit mode in KH3
Also me: Don't even own KH3
I wish they'd release it for PC
Same man lmao
Me: completed it.
Damn and here I am Platinumed the game, already know most of this and still watching it intently lol
Me two 😓😓😓
Seeing this gameplay makes me want to go back and do antother critical mode run. This game is far from perfect, but it sure is fun and beautiful.
Yeah I think it’s a good game despite some grievances. It was never gonna be a masterpiece after years of anticipation and Square having to wade through the copyright and licensing insanity. I’m just glad it even exists to begin with.
This is it chief.
I’m on big hero 6 rn on critical lvl 1 it’s a lot of fun but EXTREMELY irritating at the same time
@@marcusamerison977 lol i could never do a lv1 crit run so i wouldn't know.Regular crit is the perfect amount of fun and challenge in KH3 for me. The only bosses that gave me a real issue though were the tripple Xehanort fight and the final battle (though some mob fights coule be pretty brutal as well).
@@tigerfestivals5137 oh boy you haven't seem a horde of earth cores and those sand dudes on the carribeans have you? God that's the hardest mob fight I've ever done even with the food buffs all the I-Frames were annoying
Although KH2FM is my favorite game, this game is kind of underrated when it comes to battle options, people just haven't tried them out much and say the game sucks
The same was with KH2 untill years later, give it some time
Floaty
@@aaronphantom yes that's a fair point
@@CityEscapist1220 I'm not much of a fan of the floaty combat, but I like how much faster Sora is now, I love air sliding and being able to instantly go into another move like attack to dodge roll etc.
KH2 had a MUCH more mixed reputation until people really dug into the nitty gritty of it's mechanics. Not to say it was ever a poorly received game, but the notion that's it's unquestionably the best game in the series only really came about in the last 5 or so years. Lack of Critical Mode until the PS3 for non-Japanese/Import players was also a big deal, as it really is a game changer for 2. Of course, there's nothing definitive we can say about 3's future, but I'd imagine it's reputation will be much better in a few years when people dig into it's mechanics more and/if Square pumps out some worthwhile DLC.
15:10 "Good thing we're experts at this!"
*Instantly dies*
I was honestly waiting on something like this before I gave Critical Mode a serious attempt, so this is an excellent surprise. Thanks a lot Biz!
It's really not that hard man honestly. Like I only died like 9 times lol.
Christian Guerrero honestly man some people aren’t you.
@Kawaii_Christichan 20 times? Wtf? How trash are you? This is like the easiest critical ever?.. evident in that their making an even harder mode just cause it STILL aint cutting it Lol betting you didnt beat the data 13. Fucking casuals lmao.
Hypeman 18 ok boomer
@@pancakesorcery5096 oK BoOMeR!! Lmaoo.
Don't forget the healing shotlocks. Thought to throw it out there.
This 👏
Its good to mob fights but for dark inferno i rather go with the big damage shotlocks.
Wait what?
@@fajitacat9458 if your confusion is the existence of healing shotlocks, I would suggest using the Tangled keyblade (I forget it's actual name). As long as you don't max out the shotlocks, it'll heal you based on how many hits you get
@@minusculesun4120 or use hero's origin if you don't have tangled keyblade
Edit:The tangled keyblade is called ever after
The issue I had with mobs in critical mode was mostly tied to the enormous room size in KH3. Because dying resets you to the last room load, mistakes are more punishing than in other KH crit modes for just the time loss.
People: Ralph is garbage.
Ralph: Hold my blocks.
*desimate Grim Guardianess in 10 sec*
There's this clip on twitter of someone using Ralph in final Xehanort fight to utterly destroy him so bad it actually skipped the Rage mode and Shadow Xehanort phases and into the Trinity blast finish.
@@Keyblade-Knight You can also do that with Stitch too
Yeah. Ralph is... Awkward to use, but if you CAN use him, he can make mincemeat of any boss, barring the ones where you're controlling a different character.
Awesome video Biz! A few tips/ideas to add on to your vid:
1. The three different reprisals that you can equip all have differing amounts of i-frames (invincibility frames), range, and AoE potential; if you're not getting much value out of a reprisal since it misses on a fight, trying another one might be beneficial. Kick has the best i-frames but can whiff on fast-moving targets and has a slow animation, Impact is AoE-focused and is sort of a middle-ground, and Slash has very few i-frames but comes out really fast.
2. Critical Mode gives you Rising Spiral and Groundbreaker from the beginning, you can use these two modifiers to extend your combos to 7-hit or even 10-hit combos if you use both.
3. You briefly mentioned Critical Recharge, but just to reiterate, even if you're not planning on using much magic in a fight or don't have Cure Converter equipped, letting your MP gauge run out will help you get you to your powerful Keyblade transformations faster.
4. To add on to your tip on accessories/armor, knowing the element/type of the enemy/boss you're facing, equipping armor and accessories (Cufflinks, in particular), and changing up your combat style/magic use to exploit weaknesses can go a long way, especially for people using mage builds. (Fire vs. Ice, to name an example)
5. As a very general tip, and one I think sorta serves as a theme for Critical Mode as a whole, is that the game gives you an infinitude of tools to work with, so if you're not feeling so hot about a specific combat strategy, change it up! The game, at least in my limited experience, is designed around that philosophy.
It was such a breath of fresh air to see a KH3 video without it getting bashed. Thank you for taking time to showcase some mechanics of KH3.
KH2’s combat is more refined, but was also improved with Final Mix. People forget dodge roll wasn’t in the vanilla version. KH2 is more systematic, but KH3 is more reactive based. Both are very fun and thought out. KH3 doesn’t get enough credit.
Every KH game in the entire series has different feeling combat between each game & even each characters.
People who wanted 2’s combat again can get out. Kh3 combat (minus attractions, thank god we can turn them off in critical) is really different and so varied and fun.
I love blocking in midair then launching to an enemy using airstep. This game no doubt has the best air combat.
@@Gamelover254 i know right
@@Gamelover254Nope, Kh1 Air combat more fun with Hurricane Blast alone. Lol Sora floatyness if you see at the early part of the video he died because of Sora miss the Aerial attack and Sora stood in the air before falling which caused him to get strucked the back then died.
One other thing I would say for advice is Airstep, Airstep, Airstep Airstep. A lot of people tend to forget to even use it or do not even know can use it on enemies. It is useful for getting away from enemies hogging you. Besides airstep you can shot lock at any time during a combo; so if you have a laggy move you can hold the shotlock see around you and if no one is going to attack can continue to combo. Another thing can even do is use a shotlock at end of a combo to do more damage.
I also didn't know how powerful airstep was until I started WillJV2's stuff.
Honestly, the fact that you can just yeet on over to an enemy of your choice at zero cost is kinda ridiculous
Airstepping is by far the funnest thing added to kh3 combat. You feel like such a badass, but if you use it wrong you get a face full of attack.
You can also cancel endlag with it. Airstep Cancelling alone fixes Magic Flash's biggest flaw, which is its huge end lag.
I discovered how amazing air Step is toward the end of my first playthrough. It made the org battles so much easier. And when on my second playthrough, it made the Titan battle incredibly easy! I was so frustrated on my first playthrough with the titans!
Thanks for mentioning the form changes building up situation commands faster bit. Most people just ignore it in crit.
For anyone new I’d like to add that try to never be without a form. So, at least have 1 form in stock always. Then you can always build up forms faster by using that form to build up 3 SC gauges and then do a regular combo with an unchanged keyblade.
With strike forms you can press circle to immediately go into finishers and this can be extremely helpful in mob fights with Hyper Hammer’s aoe finisher.
Accessories are very important but if you feel like you can ditch one(or two), definitely put on a cufflink. They make you get grand magic more frequently. Grand magic, especially aoe grand magic with blizzard blades and storm flag does so so much damage.
You can also use grand magic to cancel out of long from finishers like hyper hammer and claw.
Don’t put on all of Sora’s finishers like speedslash, triple rush and magic flash. They will take up regular attacks your combo if you don’t have combo plus and you can’t immediately cancel out of them with air slide or guard. Have one, preferably magic flash or speeeslash.
When Bizkit sits down and write a video, he always delivers!
People seem to be forgetting the 3 Focus Syphon abilities while having all 3 of them can break Shotlocks they can be good if you need an emergency heal with Ever After or Hero's Origin. The first one is found in Toy Box (you need a "A" ranking in Verum Rex) and the other 2 are found in The Caribbean (Flan Heartless Mini Game) and in San Fransokyo (obtained automatically during the story there). Focus Syphon also has Invincibility frame benefits when activating the ability (via Shotlock when the Focus Gauge is empty) you are fully Invincible during the animation when Sora absorbs focus from enemies. Strangely enough the ability also works on certain objects (like the Fruit on the Fruit Tree's in The Caribbean for example).
Water and Aero are great situation meter builders as well. Especially on mobs. It seems that situation meter is dependent on the number of hits you do, so wide AOE attacks are great and is also why formchanges build so much faster since they typically allow you to do multiple hits. It kind of becomes a delicate dance between purposefully running out your MP to activate Crit Converter and building meter and using your MP for magic and links. It's honestly a very fun system and I haven't had this much fun figuring out KH mechanics in a long time.
I commend KH3 for having a really great amount of options for critical mode. Those critical abilities give you the chance to basically customize your own difficulty a little further. Games with difficulty options are great, but with further options WITHIN that difficulty? That is brilliant.
EDIT: Looks like Re:MIND is gonna have even more difficulty customization! Even for easier modes.
ez mode makes the game a complete joke. i easily beat the entire re-mind dlc with one hit turned on. including limitcut and secret episode (good ending beat the only battle). to my defense i had just beaten the main game since i didn't beat it until recently and didn't feel like fighting all those battles again. i didn't use the ez mode at all in the main game.
@@theimortal1974 well yeah... its easy
@@tumultuousv usually easy doesn't make everything a joke to beat including the super bosses. just a lot easier than regular difficulty.
@@theimortal1974 true. But maybe they wanted easy to be mindless for new players/ non gamers. Critical is pretty extensive in difficulty so I don't see easy being super easy an issue tbh
I love how you've always been unbiased and gave the game a fair shake, and are able to see the good and bad without just complaining because it's different from 2FM. Bl00dy is not close to your level in this regard. So many things he's complained about, you directly addressed here. Thank you
My first run actually was a Lvl 1 Proud run, and now my second run is on Lvl 1 Critical. Even still, I hadn't recognized everything you bring up in this video. A lot of it I had learned on my own, but there were a decent amount of tips here that will be really useful going forward in my current run. So, yeah. Thank you for making this video!
are you a masochist?
@@Suuperwuuper I wish. That would probably make those kinds of runs a lot less frustrating.
I never knew about air dodging to cancel the dodge cooldown. This was super helpful
another thing on the topic of food is that you can also buy a large amount of the ingredients needed for the non special menu food
KH3CM before toy box
Me: why does this feel like lv1cm?
KH3CM after toy box
Me: Hahaha, this aint too hard anymore.
And then you fight the unversed boss and learn the meaning of pain and rage.
Baul luaB counter shield exists bro
@@BaulSDA
But he was easy tho
Can’t wait to try phantom Org at Crit level 1
Dont jinx it
Unnamed I mean it’s most likely not gonna be a great experience, doable? Yeah but like some of them prolly gonna be atrocious when you pretty much can never ever get hit
Superslash don’t be a pessimist
@@SSlash Depends on if Osaka team can create bosses that really push a player to use all of their options. Phantom Aqua did that well, but then again 0.2 didnt have Links and Ultima Weapons shotlock. Maybe the bosses would have to have increased swiftness to evade those long startup attacks? I dunno, I'm not a boss designer. But I really hope it doesnt turn back to chip damage like with DDD level 1
Unnamed unless they literally implement in some kinda damage scaling it’s not gonna be that fun to fight hard ass bosses with 1 health while doing so little damage, like I said, still very doable but I doubt it’s gonna feel good to die when you’re on the last bar out of like 15
Switching keyblades after a form change will "freeze" it's gauge, in case you want to store it for an opening. It works on Proud, so I assume you can "hold" it on Critical too.
Yo so a quick thing about Stitch is that you wanna layer the hazard zones on top of each other so that when you hit the finisher it's always hitting the same area up until the final blast. Place yourself in the center of the fields you make so even if enemies leave the zone, theyll probably come back into it to attack you. Combine with magic or master treasure magnet to collect all the goodies stitch makes enemies drop easier. It's also great for stationary enemies like the Krakens tentacles in the Davy Jones fight, the dinosaur heartless in San Fransokyo, etc
Well with the dinosaur I think Ariel is the best link, she brings it down to like 1 bar in one use.
Personally I think kh3 critical is the best critical mode we've gotten since kh2fm,and I'm glad square didn't just put it in upon release without making sure it worked properly. They took time and made sure it would be a mostly fair challenge.
Except Level 1 Crit feels like it wasn’t tested at times
@@EthanSchmethan I don't think a game not being balanced when a player chooses to keep themselves at lv1 for the entirely of the game is a huge issue.
Tiger Festivals I get what you mean but at the same time people come to expect the same kind of experience they had previously with the best lvl1 beforehand being that your damage never just fell off, it stayed lower than normal but still had a floor it couldn’t go below
@@SSlash oh i know, i just think its unreasonable to expect that. Or at least, its unreasonable to use that as if it's at all a valid criticism of the game design. There are many more actual problems with the game and lv1 playthroughs not being balanced is not a core issue (and one that can actually be mitigated with food and items).
Tiger Festivals i mean yes of course the damage isn’t the only issue, but for the sake of lvl 1’s balance it would alleviate some issues if you didn’t need to use every single thing at your disposal in every tough fight, for it to not drag on and thus not feel as though you’ve wasted time when dying because the fight just wouldn’t end. And the same goes for mob fights, even more so honestly, you want to actually play the game and fight stuff in arendelle? Better hope you’re perfect cuz if u take like 3 hits, get sent back an unknown amount of time with a long ass loading screen, it’s a discouraging factor to fighting large groups that simply doesn’t need to be the case. I know one of the biggest things I would change is party members health that isn’t Donald and Goofy, I’m pretty sure in KH2 they all kept their default health, but everyone has lowered health and defense now and they just drop like flies in the KBGY.
From my own opinion from doing lvl 1 run in kh 3 I found hero origin counterattack to be very useful
It's definitely extremely useful, the Wrathful Furry if Perfect Guarded is insane, not to mention having a free SC/OM while in the Form.
@@Bizkit047 But in KH3: OM=WC
Don't take it seriously, I was just bored so I wrote it.
@@Bizkit047 "Wrathful Furry"? So, that one scene with Vanitas and Sulley? (Yeah, I know it was an old typo, but it was still funny to read.)
Thanks for making this, now I have some more tips to use. I've already almost finished my Critical playthrough and while I struggled at first, I eventually got used to it and now I'm having a much better time than before when I faced the one-hit deaths, lmao.
"Do not forget the food bonus, especially if you're struggling. If you want the added challenge, that's a whole different thing."
Casual Sora: Nourished, smiling, normal skintone.
Elitist Sora: Malnourished, dead inside, light-blue skintone.
Lmfao
Great video. Watching KH3 speedruns has massively improved my opinion of the game's core mechanics, links notwithstanding. Looking forward to Re:Mind
For the love of God, someone PLEASE show this video to SirSkyward and Soraalam1.
Exactly what is their problem.
It’s KH2. That’s their problem.
I freaking love how you still move while doing magic like wizard form in kh2
You mean wisdom form
@@BibbityBob close enough, I guess. Lol
Final Form.
Finally a good video on critical mode most videos are about the easier diffuculties
Holy crap your clever, I completely forgot about holding a magic keyblade before casting spells
Even though I've done 5 Critical Mode playthroughs already, I learned something new! Thanks :D
Moral of CM: Critical Mode simple on New Game+/
Critical Mode challenging on new clean playthrough
Gotta say after beating the game:
Proud Mode 100%
Proud Mode Speedrun(6hrs),
Proud Mode lvl 1
Critical Mode New Game+
Critical Mode Clean Playthrough
I gotta say the trick to staying alive is simply buying as max amount of potions, let Donald and Goofy be equipped on potions and let them only always heal you, you're guaranteed to always stay alive if you hang back and dont have to rely on too much magic, I spent waaaay too much time playing this game
You did I just did proud 100% all achievements and the critical 100% not clean play through and I abused the shot lock on the ultima weapon
Useful Idiot Another easy way to breeze through Critical Mode, gotta admit Nomura made it Simple but creative on many ways to get through these difficulties, props to him
Ya hardest part was the first level before u get form change and shot lock
1. You can also switch drive forms in the middle of combos creating some very interesting and very damaging attacks.
2. Comboing Airstep resets combo counter elongating combos (but can add to revenge value of certain bosses.)
3. Larger, buffer enemies with super armor can typically be stunned by attacks in drive forms. (I've found some enemies are more susceptible to attacks in certain drive forms than others. For instance, the giant toad Unversed and Siax, for example, stagger more easily when hit by attacks in Element Form. I think drives work similarly to Power/Magic/Speed attacks from KH X/Union X.)
Great video, lol!
Your 3rd point was mentioned in the Ultimania. It's a new mechanic called stagger value. Each attack Sora can do has a stagger value. Bigger enemies has moments where they sit and do nothing for Sora to be able to reach their stagger value. If you attack them with just normal attacks you are not likely to do so. Flowmotion attacks can help a bit since their stagger value is bigger, but at these moments it's better to use formchanges because their attack's stagger values are not only bigger but attack more frequently (especially the power forms like the hammer, drill, claws, yo-yos, highwind and flag pole). I heard people complaining that the bigger enemies's staggering is inconsistant, but they simply don't understand the mechanics well.
Nice. Where did you find this info in the ultimania.
@@danieltinsleykhvsff9622 Read about it somewhere. I don't remember where though.
Do you think you could possibly do a "bad abilities" video for KH3 like how you did for kh2?
There are only 5 combat abilities in kh3. Technically 3 because you can only equipt 1 counter move. So not much to talk about
@@vvvvvvvv180 he said abilities not combo modifiers. There are tons of abilities in KH3 and he could even talk about keyblade transformations or the form specific abilities.
@@tigerfestivals5137 which ones impacted how you played the game? Unlocking my 6th "something something" extender wasn't exciting to me. The accessories have better abilities than what sora himself gets. Plus I wouldn't count keyblade transformation attacks or abilities since you have to slug through Sora's awkward feeling moves to get to that point.
Tiger Festivals don’t really see how any passive ability can really be bad to have on tbh and as for the modifiers/“finishers” well you can always take them off if they’re gonna not be that useful on certain enemies which can definitely be the case sometimes, but they aren’t inherently just bad 90% of the time like dodge slash can be
@@vvvvvvvv180 did you unlock unison blizzard, thunder and fusion rocket?
As a person who can't make use of this guide, since I kinda figured it all out on my and through previous Critical mode experiences in the rest of the series, this is a very good and I'm sure helpful video.
Thank you and good job biz
Yo Bizkit, I was about to give up on ever going back to 100%ing the game, and now I want to do it on crit. Good job man
Great video dude. It's nice to see KH3's depth start to come to light a bit more. Hopefully Re: Mind can really make it shine.
This is the perfect thing I wanted as I was gonna do critical mode when DLC is out
Critical Mode was the first mode I played through in KH3. I had to learn how to make meals and find all the treasures and lucky emblems whew. One mistake that I made that made things difficult was never learning how to use the shield ever lol. After unlocking once more and second chance I just stacked damage syphoon and spammed fire. I'm going to do level 1 critical after I finish recom proud wish me luck
Always a good day when you see a Bizkit video in the sub box!
I just started my Critical Ultima run. Beat Olympus, Twilight Town, Toy Box and Kingdom of Corona and I was struggling a bir. I don’t recall KH2FM, BBSFM, 0.2 and DDDHD being this difficult on Critical - however it might just be my memory. I’m learning the boss moves and I’ve been using Links and upgrading my Ultima. Food is a good choice that I will be implementing from now on.
Thanks for all the help Biz! Practice makes perfect I suppose. I’ll get through Critical mode like I did with all the others - Practice!!
I must say, I was skeptical to try out crit after proud mode was so easy, and I am ashamed to admit it. But they way you've put it and shown makes me realize how wrong I was.
The reduced situation commands and the ability do disable attraction is very much what was needed to make the game a tad more balanced, on top of that, the reduced mp won't let you spam fire for easy cheesing. At least now you kind of HAVE to use everything you can to move on, just like 2fm!
Thanks for putting the game in such a great perspective and thanks for the tips, you're the best!
Nice to see more positive takes on the game as time progresses. Critical mode is great 👌🏾
Yet another video from my favorite KH UA-camr. Good stuff my man.
You made someone cry, that someone is just a pancake
@@MemeinAndDreamin I believe you.
Just kidding.
I just started a Critical Mode playthrough last night, because Oblivion is my favorite classic keyblade, and I died 4 times to the tutorial boss.
My immediate thoughts went to Dark Souls, oddly enough. A harsh but fair challenge to put the veterans through the paces.
Welcome to Kingdom Hearts: Prepare to Die Edition.
Thanks for the tips either way! Here's hoping that grinding out Ultima was a wise waste of time. (Though Oathkeeper is pretty dang good too)
Nice to see you after 1 million years. Good to have you back.
Just watch his streams
@@autumn2ashes211 right u are
"It's been 3,000 years"
Thanks bloody.. I have needed this and also airstepping is vital in critical mode. It works as a good combo extender and helps get you to safety in some cases. Also congratulations on getting into the guinness world records.
incredible video, not just for critical mode, but for general gameplay too! Thanks much
Pretty good video too. Shows a lot of hype fight scenes without spoiling the context.
Hero's origin keyblades shotlock offers an early healing method with the shotlock "Drain shot" but this isn't offered with the complete (max target version) shotlock so its a good thing to note to try and help players get out of the early game
I really did not like this game when it came out. But replaying it on critical mode. I’m actually enjoying it a lot just as much as kh2. They are very different from each other. Critical mode brings out the best of kh3 in my opinion.
This is a really good video that a friend sent to me because I was having trouble with my crit file & all I wanted out of it was Oblivion, then the DLC's EZ Codes happened. I want to feel bad that I cheesed it but it was just too stressful for my taste, I am looking forward to seeing those PRO Code playthroughs though.
Actually there're some parts where there's no shame at relying to Kupocoins like the sliding sections, specially with those Ice Dragons chasing after you, *MENACINGLY* .
really i found that to be pretty easy the chasing part was soon done and then i just ultima shotlocked the dragons
I haven't beaten critical mode yet, and this guide really helps. My strategy was just spam Ultima Weapon shotlock, and never use links.
This is fantastic, and I'd love more guides like this!
The enemy always controls the pace of battle (mostly bosses and stronger heartless/nobodies) don't try to go on the offensive until you know for sure they are open. And be careful with their revenge value it can just as easily kill you as any other attack
"The Mary Poppins Heartless"...now I can't unsee it lol
Reducing the mp bar was a HUGE mistake, especially if we consider how much arrows were nerfed
Did Critical on my first playthrough a few days ago. Struggled with the Ansem/Xemnas/Young Xehanort fight greatly until I ate food for the first time. being able to cast two additional Firagas made such a big difference.
“Links are balanced in KH3”
I'd love to see who claims that
I must suck ass, because when I used links basically nothing happened. Lmao
They weren't balanced in kh2 either
simba is always a good choice when low on health
@@Intellyellthismyoldchannel They were except for Stitch (stuns enemies especially bosses and gives you MP like there's no tomorrow although its heavy on RNG) and Chicken little Kind of (pulls in enemies and gives you potion occasionally and also you gain HP when you deal HP) but not the level that of KH3's links
Man! I just beat Critical mode. It was definitely a slog but it was satisfying to finally beat it. The boss rush at the end wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. There were some tricky parts but others were pushovers and too be fair the Ultima Weapon form change and shot lock is super OP. However, that doesn’t matter. Just glad it’s over.
I'm going to need to revisit this game soon. I wrote it off before, but this video has me thinking I need to give it another chance.
Toy Box is a complete nightmare on Critical Mode. There's way too many mobs and like no Gigas' available on the upper levels. There's also a very noticeable lack of save points in a massive open level. Probably the most poorly designed early level out of any Kingdom Hearts game..
Yeah critical mode was pretty tough especially the final battle with Xehanort
I wish I watched this video before I did my critical lvl 1 run because knowing I could cancel the air guard lag would have helped, but I am also glad that I managed to figure out using a link for that attack at 12:52 on my own.
I’m glad someone (mainly you) created a video like this Critical mode use too piss me off but then i realized this mode is designed too make you ‘PLAY’ the game and fully learn n’ utilize everything that was placed in it which in turn has made a better player by the day, in all honesty when the game first came out and thru/after my first play through I wasn’t truly satisfied with the gameplay, not too say I didn’t enjoy it cause i did but for some odd reason the game is really starting to grow on me and i think it’s because I’ve been gaining a better understanding of how it works when you figure everything out and after a few patches cause boy did we need those I’m gaining more of an appreciation for KH3’s combat system. Side note, I’ve been replaying the game WAAAAYYYYYYY more lately and i gotta say if you allow yourself too move past the era of KH2 which most of the community is stuck on which effects their opinions on it and actually take in what the story is giving us the plot really isn’t that bad and I’m kinda starting too really like it, minus the whole Roxas and Ventura briefly making eye contact like they don’t notice they’re fucking universal twins or the other minor anti climatic events .. other than that I’m finally starting too see the magic this game has on its own and it needs too stop being compared yes it could’ve been better but I’d be lying if i said it was worst than people make it too be
What mode did you play?
Peasham i start every game i play on normal difficulty too feel the game out then amp it up after my first play through but I’ve residually played on Proud mode until critical came out
thanks man this will really help me go out and pick up some sick grens
I knew all of that but it was still a very good and informative video.
While i didnt gain any new knowledge i appreciate you spreading your knowledge on less knowledgeable people
I love your KH videos and streams I try to watch as much as I can
This video does answer a question i often have about critical mode of "can you outpace some of the difficulty by leveling?" So thank you for that.
Yes, you can actually get so strong that it’s harder to die than it is to win a fight, it would feel like easy mode instead of critical. You have to be max level like 100 or maybe even 200 or some crazy shii dawg 😂😂 not gonna lie. Use grand magic, spirit summons for immunity and OP key blade forms and talents you should be fine
Also you gotta use Donald and goofy to full advantage, there your teammates it’s a reason they there to help you. The game is designed that way, they are actually as strong as sora is hit as hard too but some people forget to use them, good luck
Great video, thanks for the guide! I hope that I can beat the Lv1 Crit mode one of these days.
holy shit im so in over my head. just started kh3 on critical, it's my first time playing. last kh game i played was 2fm on proud. i heard so many people talk shit about 3 on proud i jumped the gun and started critical. wish me luck fellas
I have a very helpful tip my friend shared with me.. you can save form changes for later! Activate the form then change keyblades and when you go back it will still be there. Does not work on rage form but still this changes everything!
You are the best Kingdom Hearts player. Keep killing it
18:52
This so much. KH3's combat has its flaws, but people just flat out call it bad because they can't play it the same way they played KH2. Floatiness is a prime example of that. Yeah, it'd be better if Sora felt faster, but the float itself is not a bad thing at all, especially since the game is designed with it in mind. KH2 was largely looked upon as a button masher for a really long time, so I hope that more people start to see some of the neat aspects of KH3's combat eventually.
Team attacks being RNG is butts though.
shuie wuh Yeah no! People call it bad because the story is incomplete. Alot more plot holes added and the disney stories were bad. And the so called dark seeker ending. Yeah im xehanort i am actually a good guy, but i am beaten so i'll stop this nonsense
@@jangaman7823 I mean, if you read my comment, I was talking strictly in terms of combat. Story is a whole other thing.
@@jangaman7823
People definitely also complained about the gameplay alot. Maybe not as much as the story, but still a good chunk of the hate was due to gameplay.
Also Xehanort is not a good guy? Where did you get that from? He's similar to Thanos in his motives. Just because he thinks he is a good guy doing the world a favour, doesn't mean that he *_is_* a good guy.
Xehanort murdered people and manipulated many more into doing what he wanted. He put people like the wayfinder trio, the seasalt trio, members of both organisations and Naminé through absolute hell, which they definitely did not deserve.
Xehanort is a bad guy, even if he was just a scapegoat in the Master of Master's plan.
@@Riku70X Yeah, KH3's story had its flaws (where is the midgame?), but there's just so much misconceptions about the Xehanort thing. If you paid any attention at all to BBS, it was very clearly set up that Xehanort was being characterized as morally grey in ambition, though he still was sorta a bad person. I feel like people just assume that he was a good guy because of the bad translation of the "world of light" line and the fact that he kinda just ascended to the sky as a glowing orb of light alongside his best friend. But literally no one but Eraqus forgave him, the rest just stood there and watched him die (and I feel like too many people ignore that Sora legitimately murdered another human. That's sorta metal). Either way, he was literally dying. He was dunzo. He could barely stand. Like, what more was he supposed to do? He thought it was too late to stop his plans even as he was dying, but when he saw otherwise, he had faith in Sora as the next best thing for humanity. This whole "Xehanort randomly decided to stop being evil" thing is so overplayed.
Well spoken i could not agree more
I tried crit once and died like 3 times to Darkside and a bunch of times to the first mob fight. I didn't go much further, but after watching this, I think I want to give it another try. Thanks for the video. Great tips as always
Boring Name the horses are the only fight that is still not used too and I always get killed probably because I skip toy story
Boring Name I'd probably say the horses, the gigas mechs, the frozen wolf boss, or the swordsman pirate heartless were the toughest enemies to me.
Boring Name That's understandable but at the same time if you've fought him in the older games you should be a little more used to how to dodge his attacks since he only uses about a 5th of his attacks that have shown up in the previous games. Also one tip that helps is air dodging after every air combo to keep you in the air and reset the recovery animation faster.
@Boring Name If you target the head and get above his eyes he won't do anything. The darkside is easy because of that. It is also funny to see.
@@gamelegendalpha1737 And if you get above his eyes, his ai actually breaks and he does nothing while you wale on his head essentially for free lol.
And to think I was looking for something like this just a few hours ago!! Thanks so much 😀
Always.
I'm streaming this right now on dlive and this video is super helpful
If you're really struggling, do a proud play through first and get all the keyblades, more specifically ultima weapon. Ultima weapon starts with max stats. And final form is obvious.
Or if you just want to oblivion keyblade, when you start the game, and get to choose between modes in game, (the part where you pick warrior and all those options) and choose ez mode. You can set codes that make critical a complete cake walk. Like normal difficulty type of cake walk. Then you can get oblivion. Have all the keyblades if youd want, and go back to new game plus for a real critical play through. That's what I did cause I did NOT want to grind for keyblades on critical lol.
To better handle crowds and mob fights , equip the Shooting Star keyblade , and store its transformation for when you think you're overwhelmed . It's basically Wisdom form on steroids , that transformation of that key is so effective at handling crowds that I didn't unequip it until I was basically at the entrance to the last world
Another tip I have for Critical especially is to not ignore the Lucky Emblems, even if you've already gotten them all on a previous playthrough or have done New Game Plus and have Ultima Weapon already. The Lucky Emblems have some of the best rewards in the game, including the only Ribbon and Royal Ribbon in the game (the former can be gotten before even leaving the first Gummi area) and the final reward: the Mickey Clasp, one of the best accessories in the game. Beyond those, there are tons of other great equipment and stat boosts you can get from the Lucky Emblems, and they're definitely worth the time investment.
Crazy part is I didn’t even play critical mode because it didn’t have a trophy/achievement attached to it
kh1 i thought taught the floaty combat style quite well that kh2 it was obvious and in kh3 it felt so fluid its like dark souls i find a sword and shield gives me the most powerful setup a gpod all rounded shield is somewhere in every game with lots of options till then then the combat starts to feel more like kingdom hearts with no float
Considering I'm going after the Oblivion keyblade this is a big help I know I'm way late but I have the ultimate blade and I want to be able to cheese critical mode to get the oblivion blade so I have no choice but to do this painstakingly annoying game all over again just for a keyblade
15:10
Donald: Good Thing We Are Experts At This!
*Literally 1 Nanosecond Later*
Donald: *Dying Duck Noises*
When I played critical mode it was my first run and I struggled HARD and I didn't eat the food
It would be nice if you could list combo modifier abilities that have a lot of cooldown that prevents you from guarding or dodging.
All of the abilities that mention '(Combo finisher)' are not able to be canceled like normal attacks and magic. This includes Triple Rush, Speed Slash, Magic Flash, and your normal base finisher. Many finishers in Keyblade transformations similarly are not able to be canceled.
Poki#3 I mean u can always airstep or shotlock out of these attacks tho you’re never truly locked into them with no way out
@@Beeboysquarednot anymore
I’m doing my critical mode now, using a new game plus feature to carry my keyblades over, and I am already finished with Arendelle. It’s so much fun to challenge myself with this kind of mode, it really sucks my into the fight and I have to piece together the attacks like a puzzle and see what strategies work. I can’t wait to finish the story to unlock that Oblivion Keyblade. :P
I love how I got recommended this video AFTER beating the damn mode... I woulda utilized links a crap ton more, and forgot about the canceling attack animations and block stagger... Thankfully I gritted my teeth and bared through a harder challenge (almost no food, meow wow twice. And physical build... Yeah...)
I say one little tip which I found to be more important in this KH than previous one, try to learn Ennemie's weaknesses, lot of ennemies do have elemental weakness and through ability, Keyblade, accessories and food you can stack boost for a perticular element you want to exploit way more efficiently than other KH, this is usefull for a Magic Build as you want to make each spell as damaging as you can.
As a quick note if you don't wanna read my whole ted talk, I found that a really good lesson I learned on my playthrough is that your cure spell uses your whole mp bar, but it doesn't need it to be filled. So if you're in a hard fight and close to death, you might benefit from using a thundaga or firaga or two, before curing. That way you don't waste a whole mp bar on just one cure.
I just finished my second playthroigh of kh3. The first play was when it forst came out and I enjoyed it but I had played kh2 as a kid and absolutely loved it and it just didn't quite measure up to what I'd hoped. It was too easy. It was also worth mentioning that before I play kh3 the first time I had replayed the first two on proud mode as well and enjoyed the challenge and search for abilities and armor. Critical mode really helped kh3 grow on me. I started hesitantly and started wathcing a few vids here and there and found myself playing just like the gameplay above, though admittedly I'm referencing some smaller aspects. Like how I found myself moving much more, using airstep intuitively, reflexively using certain moves to save myself from inevitable deathcand actually really learning and enjoying how the game plays. I highly recommend a try if anyone hasn't already.
I don't wanna burst your bubble, that's incredibly common knowledge. Maximizing effectiveness of your mp bar by holding off cure. In kh2, you would use a limit at the end or a cure. But in kh3, since links need full mp, it's cure usually
@@TimothyGod i feel you, but for me, it took a while to catch on to that aspect. I posted it for those who would otherwise have missed it like I did. Maybe it helps someone, maybe not, that's okay either way
@@mtmkgaming2777 good point
I don't know if this is Critical-exclusive or something that was patched out in general when Crit dropped, but you can no longer farm for Keyblade upgrade materials in the Gummi Ship anywhere near as easily. I remember being able to just farm for Flouride, Damascus, and even Adamantite spending like 20 minutes at a time in space, and getting so much in bulk that the first two were full stacks by the end of the game.
When I first played this game, I thought Critical Mode was super hard since it was my first time playing KH3. But once I played through the whole game with Crit level 1 and all Pro Codes, I can safely say that Critical Mode is not nearly as difficult as I believed. I can’t wait to play the game being able to heal and use Attractions again.
I eventually gave a recommendation and a reminder to myself that it’s important to level grind in critical mode in order to become stronger facing enemies without being bothered by such challenge