Lingering Sentiment

The Lingering Sentiment (留まりし思念) is an unlockable secret boss featured in Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix and briefly playable character at the climax of Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep. It is merely the lost soul of Keyblade wielder Terra residing within the man's discarded armor, the soul and armor lost to him during the final battle with Master Xehanort.

Journal Entry
A man connected to the portal﻿ which appeared at Disney Castle.

The armor covering his body can master the Keyblade's power much more than Sora.

Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
After losing his first battle with Terra, Master Xehanort witnessed the creation of the X-Blade along with the young Keyblade wielder. Seeking to use the man's darkness as a younger, more powerful weapon as he ventured further into the mysteries of the Keyblade War, Master Xehanort then proceeded to unlock his heart. Terra attempted to shield himself with his armor, this proving to no avail, the man becoming a younger incarnation of Master Xehanort. Just as the new Xehanort began venture away from the place of Terra's fall, he soon found himself trapped within a force field, turning to find Terra's armor standing reassembled before him, Terra's soul having found residence within it. Angered by Terra's defiance, he then engaged the Lingering Sentiment in a long, fierce battle.

In the end, the Lingering Sentiment emerged victorious, knocking Xehanort unconscious. The armored figure then thrust its Keyblade into the ground, kneeling down (in a similar fashion to that of its Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix incarnation upon its meeting with Sora eleven years later). Soon after, Xehanort consumed in an immense sphere of light, the result of Aqua and Ventus shattering the X-Blade during the process of defeating Vanitas. Kingdom Hearts then disappeared from the sky above, the Lingering Sentiment to remain alone in the Keyblade Graveyard, promising to Aqua and Ven that someday, somehow, it would put an end to the conflict.

Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix
After the defeat of Xemnas, a portal to the Keyblade Graveyard appeared in Disney Castle. Sora, Donald, and Goofy proceeded to enter the portal and find the Lingering Sentiment, which at first mentioned Aqua and Ventus. It then mistook Sora as "the one he has chosen," wondering if Sora was Xehanort before finally attacking him. Sora managed to defeat the Lingering Sentiment after an intense battle, and the Lingering Sentiment respectfully acknowledging Sora as a true Keyblade master. If Sora returned for another match, the Sentiment would accept its defeat, but not before stating that it had nothing left to give him and that all it had left is its hatred for Xehanort.

In the game, the Sentiment speaks to Sora through enigmatic sounds, much like Xemnas did in Kingdom Hearts Final Mix, yet Sora appears to be capable of understanding it, demonstrated by when he, Donald and Goofy immediately take fighting stances when the Sentiment mentions Xehanort.

As a Boss
It, like the game's other secret bosses, is difficult to defeat; its most basic moves are attacking with its Keyblade Gaia Bane (using a combo attack almost identical to Sora's, except that at the end it turns its Keyblade into a drill-like object for the forward thrust), and can fly at very high speeds. Its main abilities are transforming its Keyblade into various attacking forms. It can turn it into a whip that does less damage than the blade form, but its greater speed and reach makes up for it (it's so fast that if Sora is hit by it he won't be able to dodge or block the other hits), or a massive cannon (which is even bigger then the Lingering Sentiment itself) that fires out a large, very powerful ball of energy (Sora, however, can deflect this back to the Lingering Sentiment, which leaves it very vulnerable), a jet-ski like object that lets it fly extremely fast, a cog-like object that spins around so fast that if Sora gets hit by it once, then the rest of the hits will also hit Sora. It can also conjure a "ritual" like attack, which undergoes into a berserker-like condition (similar to Saïx's Berserk Technique) in this form, its arm gauntlets and helmet will emit a bright red, which he can split its Keyblade into two weapons. This, when added with its combos, makes it extremely lethal. It's only vulnerable after completing an attack or after deflecting the cannon shot back at him (as mentioned above). Any other time that you attack him will do nothing at all.

In addition to its Keyblade, the Lingering Sentiment has other abilities as well. It can also create an unusual looking seal that either creates an orange or blue orb. An orange orb causes Sora to be unable to attack and a blue orb prevents Sora from using magic or items. It can also use some magics. Like when its doing a Sonic Blade-like attack and if it has low hp, it sometimes use Blizzard. Also, when it turns its Keyblade into a jet-ski like object and rides it and if you are too far from it. It will sometimes use Graviga that does some damage and will pull Sora into its path. It also sometimes use Blizzard if you are in the corner or if there is an obstacle while it rides its jet-ski like object. It can also conjure drone-like objects which fire plasma at Sora and his party. A particularly deadly attack is trapping Sora in a triangle of objects that drain his heath at a very fast rate (similar to an attack used by Xemnas, but much more powerful), and only a "Break Free" command on Sora command list can save him from it. If the player chooses the wrong command while he is trapped, then Sora will immediately die (even with Once More and Second Chance equipped). Interestingly, when it strikes Sora with its Keyblade(s), most of its combos resemble Sora's combos, most notably the Valor and Final Form combos.

Playing as the Lingering Sentiment
When playing as the Lingering Sentiment during the final battle with Xehanort at the Keyblade Graveyard in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, it should be noted that it loses Terra's ability to use D-Links and Command Styles. Retaining Terra's immense power, the Lingering Sentiment only has access to the basic abilities equipped before the battle begins. It is also able to use magic to some degree.

Strategy
Basically, all the player would have to do is to dodge the Sentiment's attacks by using Dodge Roll or Guard, specifically for when it swings his Keyblade around or turns into the jet-ski like object. When starting to attack the Lingering Sentiment, the attacks will be an insignificant amount of damage and the only way to stop this effect is to land a combo on it and the damage it takes will be normal. It will mostly use the whip technique after it has been hurt badly a few times, particularly by a powerful finishing move, so use the Quick Run to avoid this after striking him hard twice. If it transforms into the floating guns, just deactivate Lock-On and fly as far away as possible, and turn around stone pillars to make the guns destroy themselves. For the cannon, just deflect the bomb back at it using Guard, and if it isn't possible, just Dodge Roll through it (it will explode without hurting Sora, but be careful with Donald and Goofy). Once it goes into the berserk state, Guard as much as possible and when it strikes the ground, fly for it. Once it gets ready to strike again, cast Reflect as much as possible until it's attack finishes, where the player should strike it with Thundaga to leave the boss vulnerable to a good retaliation.

Make sure to load Sora, Donald and Goofy with Ethers in case the Sentiment casts the spell on Sora which stops him from using Magic. Be extremely careful when it gets ready to trap Sora in the energy-draining triangle. A good indication is when his Keyblade makes a gun-loading noise. Once you hear it, get ready to Dodge Roll at a specific timing rate to prevent the beam from hitting. At the start of the battle, it will shoot three times, but later on, four, so be on the lookout. After the last shot, strike the Lingering Sentiment hard.

At times, the Sentiment will start running towards Sora. If he is too far away, it will jump towards him and maybe land near Sora, giving the player a striking chance. If the boss is running near you, it will either use a basic but powerful Keyblade move that ends in a drill of energy, similar to Sora's Guard Break, or it will throw his Keyblade into the ground and create a vortex of energy that if it hits Sora, it will take away his ability to either attack or use magic. A small lifebar will appear for the Sentiment and the player will have to drain this in order to regain the lost ability. The best magic to use is either Fire or Thunder, but be sure to equip only one of these with Reflect and Cure. If the player can't use magic, be extremely careful, as Sora will not be able to heal himself. To avoid the drill, just stay in the air above the Sentiment and hit it once it puts it away. In the case of the vortex, be sure to observe the boss and either use Dodge Roll or Reflect at the precise moment, and Sora will escape, but do not try to hit the boss, as it will still be invulnerable.

Watch out for lethal combinations, though, such as the boss trapping Sora in the triangle or, going into the berserk state while he can't Attack or use Magic; or it summoning two guns to aid itself while it flies around on the jet-ski. If the player has Once More and Second Chance equipped and Sora gets hit by one of these combinations, just let the boss keep hitting Sora while he's in the air, and the last bit of energy will stay with him. Once it's over, one should heal if they can.

Despite being the weakest, the recommended Keyblade is the Kingdom Key (given Sora is at level 99), because it gives the Defender ability. One can use Fenrir or Rumbling Rose if they please, but Fenrir has the disadvantage of Negative Combo and Rumbling Rose has the Finishing Plus, which will make the Sentiment angry quite quickly and force it to use the whip attack when Sora is not ready to guard. Oblivion would be quite useful as well, but as the Kingdom Key is the weakest, it will take the Sentiment most time to get angry. At first, striking it takes little health away, but gradually, the longer the combo, the more health the boss will lose and the more powerful the finishing move will be.

Occasionally, in times of desperation, one can quickly use Limit Form to regenerate health and MP if they are almost out of both and Donald and Goofy are out cold, but be careful to do it in the right place, as the Sentiment may unleash an attack that will hurt Sora immediately after he transforms, or he might be sent into Anti-Form. If possible, go into Final Form at the start of the battle and immediately revert back once Sora has the chance. It wastes Drive bars, but it's a 100% guarantee that Sora won't go into Anti-Form when trying Limit Form. Do not try to use any special Limit Form moves on the Sentiment, as they will do it little damage. Whenever healing, try to be as close to Donald and Goofy as possible so they can use their Ethers on Sora.

Stick to these rules and observe the Sentiment very carefully, and the player should be able to beat it. The Lingering Sentiment is by far the hardest boss in Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix and was arguably one of the hardest bosses in the series, having no real match until Vanitas's Sentiment in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep.

Quotes

 * "Aqua... Ven... Keyblade... Who are you? I can feel it - we have met before. But when... No... it isn't you... It isn't you that I have chosen. Why isn't it him? Xe...ha...nort... Is that you? Xeha...nort... Xehanort!"
 * "I see. Your strength is... What I sensed in you is..."
 * "Aqua....Ven....someday, I will end this."
 * "Xe....ha.....nort..... Where are you?"

Trivia

 * Upon its creation at the end of Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, the Lingering Sentiment doesn't wear a cape, but when Sora faces it ten years later, it does. This change was made to avoid lagging issues in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep.
 * Certain changes are noticble between The Lingering Sentiment in its Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix and Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep incarnations, such as its Keyblade being bigger and armor being darker.
 * The Lingering Sentiment is the second superboss to gain a playable role, succeeding Xemnas.
 * The Sentiment's first quote, about Sora not being "the one he chose" refers to when Terra met Riku on Destiny Islands as a child and saw him to be his successor.

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