Kingdom Hearts 1 has some of the hardest bosses in JRPGs. You wouldn’t really expect that from a Disney game but it’s true. Here are the hardest bosses in Kingdom Hearts 1 (not including optional bosses otherwise Sephiroth is number 1).
Clayton and Stealth Sneak
Yo, get these guys off my screen. Every time I do a playthrough of Kingdom Hearts 1, this duo makes me rage. At the beginning of the fight, Clayton rides this lizard dude until Sora and the crew deal enough damage. It’s not until this point that the fight really pisses you off. The good thing is that you only have to kill Clayton but guess what? He can use potions too! Awesome. Not only that, Stealth Sneak can just jump you whenever he feels like it OR shoot out beam missiles to dome Sora in the head. Good thing you have a guard right? Wrong. At this point, you usually aren’t at a high enough level to unlock it unless you have taken the shield. The only saving grace about this fight is that you can jump up on the cliff and have a moment of respite. Unless the lizard cun- I mean gentleman also manages to jump up there… this fight is just really frustrating especially how early it is. Expect a few deaths if it’s your first time. At least Sora and Donald learn cure after this fight.
Ursula II
Technically, Ursula isn’t a required boss fight but I’ll still put her on this list. I think this might be one of the worst bosses ever. I have repressed all my memories of fighting Ursula the second time. Somehow she jumps Mario and takes a mushroom from him and now Sora is fighting Godzilla. The WORST part about this is using merman Sora. It feels so bad to control him in Atlántica. People hate on Kingdom Hearts 2 Atlántica but it’s 1000 times better than Kingdom Hearts 1 Atlántica. Anyway, Ursula can push you, suck you, electrocute you, and everything other than love you. I’m pretty sure I broke a controller because of her years ago. Also, good luck landing a SINGLE finishing combo. It’s almost impossible.
Riku
Can we talk about how fast ducks switch up on you? This Riku fight was THE epic fight with Donald and Goofy rejoining Sora to DESTROY THE DARKNESS. I swear this fight has no pattern to it. Seemingly out of nowhere, Riku will just retaliate like he’s had enough. This isn’t a turn-based JRPG man, let me wombo combo you. He can just spin to cancel Sora’s attacks and jump on top of him when trying to heal. At least you have Donald and Goofy to help Sora in case you need to throw down a summon or when Donald clutches up with a heal that definitely ALWAYS happens!
Ansem Riku
Of course, this man was going to be on the list. Who else played the original version and had to rewatch the cutscene after dying? Every. Single. Time. Personally, this is my favorite fight in Kingdom Hearts 1. Don’t get me wrong though, it is one of the hardest if not the hardest Kingdom Hearts 1 bosses. He’s like Riku at the beginning of Hollow Bastion but ramped up on drugs. Drugs called… darkness. I had to say it. Also, Sora has to fight alone. This means no summons and no clutch heals from the DUCK Donald 😉 Ansem Riku has similar powers to his base form, but this time he has a desperation move, DM for short. His DM makes him go invincible and berserk for a WHILE. Have fun dodging this! If you’re a gamer though, you can learn his patterns and win by getting no hits but it’s a tough challenge.
Ansem (Solo)
It’s not a Kingdom Hearts 1 hardest boss list if it’s not including the main villain. This fight is specifically the one Sora has to fight alone after being separated from Donald and Goofy. It can be quite a brutal fight. You have to dodge his charge and projectile attacks constantly. Also, don’t forget to “COME GUARDIAN” and “submit.” If Sora gets hit by the Dark Figure, then good luck. He will start to drain Sora’s HP and sometimes deny you the ability to attack. Finally, once Ansem uses his DM (desperation move) it’s all over! Nah, it’s not that bad actually. Just run in a circle and you’ll be fine. The worst thing about this fight is IF you die. Then you have to fight Ansem and Darkside again.
Until Next Time
These were the hardest bosses in Kingdom Hearts 1. Let me know your thoughts by commenting. It would be awesome to generate a discussion! Also, a shoutout to KHGuides.com for helping me see all the bosses.