Mission 21: Collect hearts

Mission 21 in Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days sends Roxas and Axel on a mission that ends up introducing them to a new foe.

Summary
Team up with Axel, eliminate Heartless in Agrabah, and collect hearts.

Intel

 * Also be on the lookout for Large Armors. Dispatch them with Fire magic.

Objectives

 * Defeat Heartless and collect hearts.

Story summary
Roxas continues having flashbacks of the boy in red as he and Axel go on their mission to Agrabah. There, they find Pete searching for a way to the Cave of Wonders and its magic lamp.

Mission walkthrough

 * Mission Clear: Defeat eighteen Emblem Heartless.
 * Mission Complete: Defeat an additional five Emblem Heartless.

This mission is long and slightly difficult compared to the earlier missions. Make sure your panels are stocked before you embark on this mission. Fire magic will be quite helpful during this mission.

Entering at the Palace, grab the chests and badge, and head down into the Agrabah Streets area. Here, you will come across a familiar face if you've played Kingdom Hearts II. It's our old pal, Pete! Pete is searching for something, and to discover what, you'll have to tail him. Basically, you have to keep him within your blue-colored range of site while staying out of his red-colored vision. If you enter the red, you start the round over. You can look away very briefly, but too long will cause you to start over just as when he spots you. Stay close and behind him as much as possible and watch his movements carefully. You will do this twice, once in Agrabah Streets, and again at the Agrabah Gate. You'll be rewarded with the door to a new area.

Snag the loot at the Cave of Wonders and then hop in the head to enter. The Entrance Hall requires some rearranging to access what you'll need. First, eliminate the Heartless on the lower level, then head for the crate in the northeast. Move it down to the southeastern corner by hitting it, aiming it for the short pillar on the end of the platform. Use the crate to hop on the pillar, and then on the platform to reach the switch. Then, hop back down and hit both the crate and the golden pillar over to the northwest corner to arrange a way up to the platform there. Destroy the Heartless at the top, then head through the door.

In the Pillar Room, get rid of the minor Heartless and you will get a nice big new one to battle: the Large Armor. This is where that Fire magic comes in handy. Good thing you have Axel with you! Once the Heartless is gone, the mission will be cleared. You can head back and RTC at this point, or continue by pressing the switch in the northwest corner to operate the pillars. Hop up the moving pillars and stationary platforms to the door set high in the northeast corner. Continue through and enter the Abyss.

There's not much to do in the Abyss, other than set off the switch, which does nothing at this point, and grab the chest. When you are satisfied, jump off the ledge into the Abyss. This will take you back to the Entrance Hall, but you are now on a set of high ledges. There are chests and more Heartless to defeat up here. Defeating the five Heartless here will complete your Mission Gauge. Jump back down and head out when you're done.

While you're heading back to RTC, make sure you stop in Agrabah and pick up any chests you might have missed while you were pursuing Pete. There will be minor Heartless on your way back through, but they are Pureblood Heartless and will not add to your Heart Points.

Challenge Mission
Although the time limit to acquire three Challenge Sigils seems very forgiving, the sequence of following Pete, moving the blocks around the Entrance Hall, and jumping between moving platforms in the Pillar Room will slow you down if you aren't prepared. Be sure you familiarize yourself with Pete's route so you never have to restart an area. The blocks and moving platforms are easier to deal with when you have High Jump equipped, preferably leveled up. This way, you can skip moving the crate next to the tall block and also jump on high platforms before they descend all the way down.