Mushroom XIII

The Mushroom XIII (XIIIキノコ) are thirteen mushroom Heartless wearing Black Cloaks which appear in Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix. Like all Mushroom Heartless, they require special treatment in order to be properly defeated, and the mini-games required to deal with them are in fact recorded in Jiminy's Journal.

Each of them drops Tranquil Shards, Stones, Gems, and Crystals, and can drop unique weapons for Goofy and Donald - the six odd Mushrooms drop shields for Goofy, while the six even Mushrooms drop staves for Donald. Fulfilling the highest requirement for each Mushroom will also be rewarded with the Premium Mushroom for the odd Mushrooms and the Limited Mushroom for the even Mushrooms.

Unlike the others, the thirteenth drops not a shield or a staff, but the Winner's Proof Keyblade and a Tranquil Proof.

No. 1
Try to get in many strikes within the interval!

The first mushroom appears at Memory's Skyscraper after Xemnas is defeated. In order to defeat it, you must hit it 70 times within 30 seconds. In order to get the Premium Mushroom, you must hit it 99 times.

Like Xemnas, this Heartless has the "Reversal" reaction, and its large size is a reference to Xemnas' role as the leader of Organization XIII. It is also fought in the same area as Xemnas.

No. 2
No. 2: is in Christmas Town. You must dodge or block its projectiles until your score reaches 85. Final Form is highly useful for No. 2, since almost every action made in Final Form also guards Sora from external attacks, and the projectiles can be blocked.

Like Xigbar, it shoots projectiles that must be deflected. It appears in the world, Halloween Town and Xigbar appears there in 358/2 Days.

No. 3
No. 3: is in Beast's Castle, where you fought Xaldin. You must have defeated Xaldin to reach it. You must collect 450 of the prizes it drops before time runs out.

The prizes may reference the opportunities for Sora to use the Learn and Jump commands from Xaldin in his boss fight. The location of the mini-game also references Xaldin.

No. 4
No. 4: is in the Land of Dragons, outside the Palace. You must have defeated Shan-Yu to reach No. 4. You must hit 85 of the clones without getting hit once.

Its cloning trait references Vexen's ability to create Replicas while avoiding being hit is reminiscent of the Chilly Academic's cowardice.

No. 5
No. 5: is in the Cave of Wonders. This is probably the easiest one to beat. You must defeat it in 10 seconds, although its health automatically regenerates very quickly. For its fast attacks, Master Form is best used when defeating No. 5, as this gives it less recovery time. Limit Form's Zantetsuken ground combo finisher is also extremely helpful, as it can easily chop away an entire bar of Mushroom's health. Another strategy is to use Final Form, equip Fire Boost and Bond of Flame, and keep spamming Firaga.

Its regenerating health is similar to the Power Meter of the Lexaeus Absent Silhouette battle. It is also the largest of the Mushrooms, narrowly exceeding No.1, also referencing Lexaeus' size compared to the other Organization members.

No. 6
No. 6: is in the Underworld, where you fought Demyx. You must defeat all of the clones within 45 seconds. The clones appear in groups of six.

The clones are reminiscent of the boss battle against Zexion in the Reverse/Rebirth mode of Re:Chain of Memories.

No. 7
No. 7: is in Twilight Town. You must defeat it in 10 seconds. However, coming in contact with the Mushroom will send a character flying.

This trait is similar to the Berserk state of Saïx.

No. 8
No. 8: is in Twilight Town, outside Yen Sid's Tower. Many say that this is the hardest challenge: bouncing the mushrooms around like a ping-pong ball 85 times, similar to the Rare Truffle in the first game.

It is similar to the Overtake/Clear Light Reaction Command in Axel's boss fight in the 6th Day of the Prologue.

No. 9
No. 9: is in Radiant Garden, where you fought Demyx. You must hit it 75 times without letting it stop spinning.

The Mushroom's spinning, or dancing, is a reference to Demyx's association with music and control of Dancer Nobodies. Also, it is the location where the Melodious Nocturne met his end.

No. 10
No. 10: is in Port Royal (Isla de Muerta) during the 2nd Time. You must defeat the real Mushroom in 55 seconds as shuffles itself amongst four clones.

Finding the real one amongst fakes references Luxord's boss battle and the shuffling of cards.

The fighting style of No. 10 resembles that of the Black Ballade in Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix.

No. 11
No. 11: is in Timeless River. You must deplete the hit counter above it's head in 19 seconds.

The hit counter resembles the one Marluxia uses against Sora in his Absent Silhouette battle. The best way to defeat it is by using Wisdom Form.

No. 12
No. 12: is in Twilight Town, outside the Old Mansion. You must defeat all of the clones before time runs out. However, unlike No. 6, they appear by themselves in rapid succession.

The clones' rapid appearance reference Larxene's Absent Silhouette battle.

No. 13
No. 13: is in the Great Maw in Radiant Garden (where you fought the 1000 Heartless.) You must have beaten all of the other Mushrooms to reach the last Mushroom Heartless. You also gain a crown.

Its non-hostility compared to the other twelve references Roxas as being unusual compared to the rest of the Organization. Also, it comes down to you with a beam of light, a possible reference to Roxas' element of light.

Trivia

 * All of the Mushrooms have similar traits to the members of Organization XIII. Some of the locations where the Mushrooms are also reference the Organization.


 * Wisdom Form is very useful for some of the minigames, such as No. 1 and No. 4, and to a certain extent, No. 7. The minigames were likely engineered so that Wisdom Form would be made much more useful than in the original Kingdom Hearts II.


 * Before all of the Jiminy Objectives are completed, the Mushrooms (with the exception of No. 13) appear at the Great Maw, but warp away after about 2 seconds.