The Experiment

The Experiment is an animated artificial puppet created by Dr. Finkelstein. It appears in Kingdom Hearts II as one of the bosses in Halloween Town.

Kingdom Hearts II
To get Lock, Shock, and Barrel to leave him in peace, Dr. Finkelstein begins making the Experiment as a playmate for them. At one point, the trio bring him a part, and toss it onto the table despite his warnings, causing the part to explode.

After seeing that Lock, Shock, and Barrel continuously wreck the parts they are meant to bring him, and after many attempts to bring the creation to life, Finkelstein believes the Experiment to be a failure and scraps the idea. However, just as he turns around to start new designs, the creation comes to life and attacks the doctor. Leaving Dr. Finkelstein unconscious in his laboratory, the Experiment wanders out into the woods and into Christmas Town, where it stole Christmas presents from Santa Claus's workshop.

When Sora, Donald, and Goofy arrive in Halloween Town the second time, they are greeted with the sight of Jack collecting an armful of Christmas presents from the ground. Since he is still wearing his "Santa Claus" outfit, they assume that he had stolen the presents to try Christmas once again. Santa believes that too, when Jack comes to return the presents, and he proposes that the only way to prove his own innocence is to track down the remaining presents and catch the real thief.

After retrieving most of the presents from Guillotine Square in Halloween Town, the group thinks up a plan to lure the thief into a trap by planting a large load of presents in Christmas Tree Plaza, with themselves inside the largest box. Jumping out of the box when they hear it coming, they are shocked to see Finkelstein's experiment, whom they believed to be stolen, standing there, attempting to steal the presents. After a difficult battle, the group subdue the Experiment and bring it back to the doctor.

Santa Claus, after hearing about the Experiment, theorizes that the machine was probably looking for a heart. Dr. Finkelstein agrees, stating that he did not give the creature a heart of its own, as he did with Sally. The creature was just hunting one down, believing that the joy of the presents would be enough to give it a heart. Fitting with the theme of the game, the Experiment seems to be an artificial Nobody, not having a heart but constantly hunting one down to become "whole".

Design
The Experiment is a large, mechanized being similar to the Chimera in that it is made up of a wide mixture of objects. Its body is large, funnel-shaped, and head three curled spikes lining its outer edge. Its lower body is much smaller and is apparently made of an upside-down skull, with the eye sockets acting as its hip joints. Its legs are relatively thin and short and end in feet comprised of two small wheels, each with two white spikes on their sides. Its left shoulder is decorated by a faded green spiral and the arm is a bellowed tube that ends in a spiky clamp. Its right arm in bulkier and ends in a massive, elaborate, three-pronged claw. Its neck is long and thin and its head is long and capsule-shaped. Its eyes are black with very small, faded green pupils, its mouth is filled with sharp teeth, and there are several twisted pieces of metal resembling "hair". Because it is made entirely out of various pieces of metal, it is predominantly colored in dark, faded shades of grey, white, and silver.

The Experiment is Dr. Finkelstein's attempt at creating a animated Heartless puppet for Lock, Shock, and Barrel to play with; although it does not share any of the traditional characteristics of a Heartless, it does share their desire for a heart of its own, and grants Wisdom Form EXP once defeated.

Although the Experiment, as a character, is original to Kingdom Hearts, its body is constructed from various props that appear throughout The Nightmare Before Christmas, mostly from Oogie Boogie's mansion: its left arm is the vent which Lock, Shock, and Barrel use to send bugs to Oogie Boogie, and its right arm is the torture device Oogie attempted to use on Santa Claus. Due to this, the Bradygames "Jiminy's Journal" released with its Kingdom Hearts II guide states that the Experiment first appeared in The Nightmare Before Christmas.

The Experiment is referred to as "Dr. Finkelstein's experiment" throughout the entire story, hence its name in Jiminy's Journal.

Strategy
The Experiment acts similarly to Guard Armor and Opposite Armor in battle. While at first being one large enemy with a variety of attacks, it eventually separates into smaller enemies composed of different combinations of its parts. Little damage can be done to the parts individually, but the use of carefully timed Reaction Commands can bring it back together, and it can be defeated in this way.

A low maximum combo length is recommended for this fight, as the Experiment staggers when hit with a finisher. Reflect is very useful for dealing with the Experiment's frequent laser attacks, which cannot be blocked.

The Experiment has three phases that change depending on how much HP it has remaining. It starts the fight in its first phase, attacking in two different patterns, one being Shockwave → two Claw Attacks; Laser → Charging Thrust, and the other being three Lasers while using Absorb. When attacked by a combo finisher when its legs are attached, its head and arms temporarily separate; each body part attacks on its own with different attacks until they reattach. Prevent its attacks by attacking with combos or a strong Limit like Teamwork.

When reduced to 70% HP, the Experiment's legs disappear and it enters its second phase. It now has two modes: separated, where its four detached body parts are positioned in certain areas; and combined, where its parts are combined and act together. Its behavior differs in either mode. If it uses its Spinning Body Check attack while separated, the Kickspring Reaction Command can be used in place of blocking. In its combined mode, it is fought much the same as in its first phase.

When reduced to below 10% HP, the Experiment enters its third phase. All of the Experiment's body parts besides the torso disappear, and it only uses ramming attacks. Attack it with combos to finish it off.

In Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix, the Experiment is more likely to counter if attacked continuously.