Mission 29: Eliminate the Neoshadow

Mission 29 in Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days sends Roxas and Xion back to Beast's Castle to challenge a powerful new type of Heartless.

Summary
''Neoshadows have surfaced in Beast's Castle. Team up with Xion, find them, and eliminate them at once.''

Objectives

 * Track down the Neoshadows!
 * Don't get spotted!
 * Defeat all the Heartless!
 * Defeat the Neoshadows!

Story summary
Roxas and Xion hear more about the situation at the castle as they travel through on their mission. They also witness the Beast dealing with the Heartless first hand. As they eat their sea-salt ice cream with Axel, they contemplate their mission and the purpose of the newly revealed Kingdom Hearts.

Mission walkthrough
You will enter in the West Wing. Grab the chest and badge in the area, and then head out towards the West Hall. There, Lumiere will take up his position watching the hall. As always, stay out of his line of sight (represented by the red area) to pass through without problems. Lumiere will cover a much smaller area this time, towards the southern part of the hall, but to compensate he flips back and forth constantly. Good timing will be required to make it through if you desire the chests down there. It would be easier to wait until you have abilities that allow you to move more quickly, such as Glide, to get by the careful candelabra. If you want to head straight for the Undercroft, hop over the stair railing to your right and drop down to the floor there. Lumiere will not be anywhere near you, and you can run for the Undercroft with only a couple of Shadows blocking your way.

To continue through the Undercroft, you must face two Snapper Dogs and a chest containing a Cymbal Monkey. After they are defeated, climb up the junk to the balcony and exit through the door above the one you used to enter. The Secret Passage will be seemingly void of enemies until you reach the large upper level platform. There, the Neoshadow will reveal its presence. Its attacks are viscous, but not too horrible until it sinks under the floor. Keep an eye on it then, and keep away, because when it rises again it will unleash an energy field that deals quite a bit of damage and may inflict you with darkness.

Once it is defeated, and the cutscene completes, you are done! Head back the way you came to RTC, being mindful of Lumiere. As a bonus, if you find all the treasure chests on this mission, talking to Axel between days 97 and 100 will open up optional Mission 35.

Challenge Mission
You'll want to bring strong magic on this mission, in order to take out the Snapper Dogs, Cymbal Monkey, and Neoshadow quickly. Blizzard will be very effective against these opponents. To keep your time down, avoid confrontation with all other enemies.