The magic in the Kingdom Hearts series has evolved significantly since the first game, with more dynamic spells that better integrate into combat through customizable command menus. To perfectly prime players for the importance of magic in future titles, an early Heartless design centers is designed around being beaten more easily with a magic-oriented combat method.
Sheltering Zone Heartless, the more powerful version of the Sea Neon, make their only appearance in the Atlantica world of Kingdom Hearts. That same jellyfish design has been repurposed again, but Sheltering Zones are the first to emphasize that aesthetic. The secret of how this specific Heartless makes magic important in the game is based on what happens when it dies, depending on the magic Sora attacked it with.
As most players make their way through the first Kingdom Hearts, the tactic of mashing the “X” button until every enemy has been defeated tends to work out pretty well. Sora’s movement often sends him swinging wildly towards whatever enemy is nearby, and the power of the Keyblade is usually enough to win fights with physical attacks. However, the Sheltering Zones don’t quite die if they are defeated with regular attacks, instead exploding into three Sea Neons, continuing the fight until the player can take on the new enemies.
The trick to avoiding having a Sheltering Zone turn into the smaller versions is by beating it with magic, which will instead defeat the underwater Heartless outright. Any level of fire magic is generally best suited for the job, since it can seek to the enemy and damage a quarter of its health bar. It’s a neat little trick that the game never explicitly explains, but can be rewarding to discover for players who experiment with all of the mechanics available to them as they play.
Attacking Sheltering Zones with magic actually becomes an important tactic to learn in the later parts of the game, as players begin farming for synthesis materials for the Ultima Weapon. One of these materials that players need to get their hands on are Frost Gems, an item that drops from Sheltering Zones and Sea Neons. While fighting the three enemies that spawn from a non-magic kill can result in gems, the quicker path to the Final Fantasy-inspired weapon is to defeat Sheltering Zones outright.
The overall percentage differences almost make Sea Neons just as worthwhile for loot as Sheltering Zones, but RNG often doesn’t work as well when splitting chances between multiple enemies. As a general rule when dealing with loot pools in any RPG, it’s always a better idea to go for whatever has the higher chance of a drop. Even if a player can come across hordes of smaller Heartless, Sheltering Zones dropping frost gems far more often. Taking out the larger enemies right away becomes a better use of time on the long quest for the Ultima Weapon, compared to splitting Sheltering Zones up.
It’s no secret to Kingdom Hearts fans that magic improved considerably in later titles, with the first bump in quality actually starting as soon as the next numbered entry. However, in a similar way that the first game doesn’t explicitly inform players about taking down Sheltering Zones, future games never highlight the utility that the upgraded magic systems have. One of the strongest examples of this is Birth By Sleep‘s Aqua, who is given the ability to clear entire rooms with some of her magic.
For players who experimented with different approaches to combat encounters in Kingdom Hearts, the Sheltering Zone had rewarded the use of otherwise underwhelming magic. This means that more returning players would be ready and willing to see what the new spells have to offer in the next game, and be rewarded with one of the better ways to fight in Kingdom Hearts 2 and on.
Kingdom Hearts is available now on PS2, PS3, PS4, and Xbox One.
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