Swimming

Swimming is a form of movement that appears in , Kingdom Hearts Final Mix, Kingdom Hearts II, Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix, Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Final Mix, Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, and Kingdom Hearts III.

Surface swimming appears in Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, and Kingdom Hearts III — essentially, the character will swim around in the water in a breast-stroke style. They cannot jump, so they must get to a shore in order to get out of the water. In Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, surface swimming is the only kind of swimming available, and is only used at Neverland. However, in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Final Mix, swimming is also possible in the Mirage Arena match against Monstro. In Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, surface swimming is the only kind available and is only used in both Symphony of Sorcery and Traverse Town. In Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, Terra, Ventus, and Aqua can swim faster by holding and in Kingdom Hearts, after he learns Mermaid Kick, Sora can swim faster by holding.

In Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II, Sora can swim in all three-dimensions while in Merman Form at Atlantica. In Kingdom Hearts, Sora can dive with and rise with. Once he learns Mermaid Kick, he can hold or  to swim faster. In combat, he cannot block, dodge, or use combo modifiers, unique finishers, Summons or Special Abilities, but can still use items, basic Keyblade combos, and magic. In Kingdom Hearts II, diving and rising are instead performed by moving. Sora can also use to swim faster and  to use Dolphin Kick.

In Kingdom Hearts III, Sora can also swim in all three-dimensions while in The Caribbean and Scala ad Caelum. To do so, he can dive underwater by pressing when surface swimming or by landing in the water while in Dive Mode. While underwater, he can ascend with, descend with , and spin the Keyblade like a propeller to accelerate by holding. While swimming faster, he can use to adjust his trajectory. His underwater combo has been completely reworked, now consisting of a horizontal spin attack, three thrusts that spawn bubbles with limited homing properties, a vertical slash that leaves a shockwave in its wake, and spinning the Keyblade like a propeller to create a burst of wind for the finisher. He can also now dodge and block, and most of his offensive spells work completely differently underwater with sea designations.