Game:Ansem, Seeker of Darkness

Ansem, Seeker of Darkness is a boss in Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories. He is the Heartless of Terra-Xehanort, and leader of the Heartless. In Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, Ansem serves as the game's antepenultimate boss.

First Battle
In the first battle, Ansem fights Sora, Donald, and Goofy in the End of the World, alongside his Guardian. He takes it easy on the party at first, so fight ferociously but cautiously. Use aerial combos, since Ansem floats and attack magic isn't very effective.
 * Attacks
 * Ansem attacks with energy disks resembling Strike Raid.
 * Ansem's Guardian physically attacks.
 * The Guardian attaches itself to Sora while creating an energy shield around himself and the Attack command will occasionally change to Freeze. Selecting it will cause the Guardian to hold Sora in place while Ansem does damage to him.
 * Ansem yells,"Come, Guardian," and the guardian blocks all frontal attacks.

At the beginning of the battle, Ansem will attempt few attacks, which should make depleting his HP meter relatively easy. Although it is wise to conserve MP, cast Curaga and Aeroga as needed. Ansem attacks with energy disks resembling Strike Raid, or uses his Guardian to attack physically. He also sends his Guardian to attach itself to Sora while creating an energy shield around himself. Ansem yells "Submit!" before doing this, so Superglide out of harm's way.

However, in the event when the Guardian does manage to attach itself to Sora, a "?" will appear over Sora's head, and the Attack command will occasionally change to Freeze. Selecting it will cause the Guardian to hold Sora in place while Ansem does damage to him. It is best to physically attack Ansem while within reach, and heal with Curaga periodically, because the guardian will gradually reduce Sora's HP.

Alternatively, you may stay out of Ansem's reach, and then hit the Freeze command—Sora will just be held in place while Ansem will be too far away to deal any damage to him. This prevents Sora from losing any HP. Be sure to attack Ansem while the Guardian is attached to Sora, as this makes the attachment shorter; it's also a good idea to use special attacks such as Ragnarok and Ars Arcanum to end the attachment and battle sooner while also avoiding damage.

Once the battle is over, approach the crater Ansem has created. However, be sure that Sora has plenty of healing items equipped.

Second Battle
In the second battle against Ansem, Sora fights solo, so remember to heal with Curaga. Ansem debuts two new attacks to eliminate Sora: one resembles Riku's Dark Aura attack, in which he shoots back and forth across the arena with a shield over his front side. This inflicts heavy damage if it connects. Try to High Jump or Aeroga. When Ansem says "My strength returns!" his Guardian will dive into the ground, creating dark pools underneath Sora which shoot out of the ground. During this time, Ansem is invincible, and the attack must be avoided, either by dodging or guarding. Failing to evade this attack can be highly damaging, or even fatal, depending on the amount of HP Sora has at the time. The attack ends with the Guardian striking the ground, creating a shockwave. Like in the last battle, Ansem has his Guardian attach itself to Sora. However, he will do this much more frequently than in the first battle.
 * Attacks
 * Ansem shoots back and forth across the arena with a shield over his front side.
 * The Guardian dives into the ground, creating dark pools underneath Sora which shoot out of the ground. The attack ends with the Guardian striking the ground, creating a shockwave.
 * The Guardian attaches itself to Sora while creating an energy shield around himself and the Attack command will occasionally change to Freeze. Selecting it will cause the Guardian to hold Sora in place while Ansem does damage to him.
 * Ansem yells,"Come, Guardian," and the guardian blocks all frontal attacks.

With constant use of Curaga and MP-restorative items, Sora can easily survive this battle. Ansem is especially vulnerable when he calls his Guardian to return to him, so unleash combos at this time for massive damage. The third fight with Ansem involves the World of Chaos.

First Battle
The first time Riku faces Ansem, Ansem shoots out a bolt of lightning that travels horizontally. This can avoided by jumping or dodging. Ansem's only other attack during this first fight is a weak physical attack using the Guardian.
 * Attacks
 * Ansem shoots out a bolt of lightning that travels horizontally.
 * Ansem's preforms a weak physical attack using the Guardian.

Second Battle
The second time Ansem is fought is during the final battle of Riku's Story. This time around, Ansem brings into play some of his attacks from the first game, such as the sleights Dark Rush (where he zooms back and forth across the arena) and Dark Shadow (when he sends his guardian into the floor, creating pools of darkness that the guardian rises out of, fist raised). It's best to use 0 cards to break Dark Rush, although it can be jumped over with perfect timing, but Dark Shadow can be avoided easily by dodging.
 * Attacks
 * Dark Rush - Ansem empowers the Guardian with dark energy, the two rushing at Riku multiple times.
 * Dark Shadow—The Guardian detaches itself from Ansem to attack Riku from below several times, the attack ending with a blast of dark energy.

There is one unorthodox strategy that involves losing all your cards (from sleights) except one 0 card. If you get left with one zero card you can immediately reload after (because Riku has instant reload, unlike Sora) and continue a combo. This works because the zero will always break his next card, and if he breaks yours, reloading will give you a zero card.

First Battle
In all battles with Ansem in Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories, note that Ansem still uses his Shock Slash attack. Riku can either break this attack or dodge it.
 * Attacks
 * Shock Slash - Ansem attacks with energy disks resembling Strike Raid.

The first fight with Ansem in the game is, in fact, an event battle, meant to get you used to the new mechanics.

Second Battle
In the second fight, start with the Maleficent Dragon enemy card and attack Ansem with combos. Make a Card Break every time to gain Dark Points and after Riku transform into Dark Mode, use the Jafar-Genie enemy card and use Sleights like Dark Break, Dark Firaga and Dark Aura to inflict heavy damage.
 * Attacks
 * Dark Rush - Ansem empowers the Guardian with dark energy, the two rushing at Riku multiple times.
 * Dark Shadow—The Guardian detaches itself from Ansem to attack Riku from below several times, the attack ending with a blast of dark energy.
 * Shock Slash—The Guardian shoots several discs of dark energy in Riku's direction.

After taking three (or more) King Mickey friend cards, use the '''MM Miracle Lv. 2 or MM Miracle Lv. 3''' sleights to recover HP, reload cards, and damage Ansem. Break Ansem's sleights every time and continue the attacks. If Riku transforms into his normal form again, keep attacking and use the item card Hi-Potion to reload your attack cards. Win the Card Duels for heavy damage to Ansem.

Never attack Ansem with his Guardian in its front, only use that time to reload your cards or use MM Miracle Lv. 3 to recover cards and HP. Use the Oogie Boogie enemy card to help you keep up your HP in the battle. Watch out for certain sleights used by Ansem, some can deal heavy damage to Riku. With a high level, deft dodging, and good use of the enemy cards, Ansem should fall eventually.

In all battles with Ansem in Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories, note that Ansem still uses his Shock Slash during the final battle. Riku can either break this attack or dodge it.

Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance
Form 1

After trying one last time to convert Riku to Darkness, Ansem transports them both to the Darkness's Call arena. The fight starts with both parties in midair, where Ansem has an advantage. His Shock Slash has been upgraded and now homes in on Riku, and he has a habit of chaining them together for combos. His Dark Rush has been slightly altered, as now Riku can't block it. In order to evade it, you can either just fly in a circle when you detect Ansem's about to charge at you or you can Air Slide out of the way at each charge. Don't Double Impact, though - he will catch up to you and pummel you into submission. Ansem's Guardian can still protect him, and with it deployed all damage is diverted to its own HP Bar, which restores itself upon returning to Ansem. The boss still has weaknesses, particularly to Light-Based attacks such as Prism Windmill and Shadowbreaker. Simply slide around him and use Sliding Crescent in conjunction with the aforementioned attacks and possibly Balloonga. Eventually the Reality Shift marker will appear and you can use Mirage Split to stun Ansem and make a platform appear. Luckily, the Reality Shift can re-appear a second time after the first one. Now the battle is on the ground of Darkness's Call and Ansem has another couple of tricks. His Guardian can attack with swipes and a new, vicious double overhand that can hit you even if you are airborne. When his Guardian protects him, use Flowmotion on the Guardian like if it's a wall and attack the Heartless with it. As soon as the platform begins to fade away, he uses his old lightning bolt ability which is now slower, but more powerful, than in the previous games, in addition of that, this attack can't be blocked. The fight itself is relatively straightforward now, and the same strategies you've used before can defeat the Heartless once more.

Form 2

As Ansem transports again both himself and Riku to the Darkest End area, and unveils one last new trick, he merges with his Guardian to gain a new form with new powers. Ansem is now sealed inside a massive organic sphere with his Guardian attached to the top. The creature will try to smash you, or throw dark magical crests at you. He will also shoot a massive number of Dark Firaga orbs that can possibly home in on you, and send waves of Shock Slash-like attacks towards you that can make dealing solid blows on him a hassle. After a while, Ansem launches you across the arena's pathway, in which you have to run back to him. After you've done that, make your spirits come back to you by pressing LR (two times if LR unlocks the target) so they will be able to help you. The Heartless won't make it any easier for you - Ansem forms two balls of darkness which can shoot incredibly quick lasers at you which you have to dodge (if you can) and can't be blocked, unleash a rain of blasts that can afflict Poison on you, and waves of darkness that, if it catches you, drags you into the balls of darkness, which are merged into one and detonated for non-lethal massive damage. If you have Dark Splicer, Dark Aura or Zantetsuken equipped, or if you can use the Ghost Drive Dual Style, you can use it the moment you reach the end of the pathway to warp right up to Ansem and deal damage. But this is a risky tactic, as you can easily be sucked into the balls of darkness, or Ansem's Guardian will pummel you without much space to escape from it. You can also use Ice Barrage to damage him even if you are at the end of the pathway, but Ansem must be locked-on. It is, however, possible to predict what move he's going to use as you are running towards him: if you see him forming the light purple blasts of darkness in front of himself, he is about to shoot the lasers. The moment you see this, wait until they submerge into one spot before you dodge to evade the attack; if you see him forming the Dark Firaga orbs, as you approach him, if he sends them upward, he is going release a rain of energy blasts that can poison you-but they are not that easy to dodge/block and as you are blocking them, he can follow easily with the lasers as you can't dodge while blocking, or if he sends the Dark Firagas straightforward, he is going to release a multitude of purple and white orbs that can inflict Poison, Blind, Slow, or Confuse—but are easy to evade by simply guarding or dodge rolling straightforward. As the latter can inflict Confuse, they can do this to your own spirits, that can attack you because of this status ailment, so be careful to not be attacked by them. If Ansem releases the energy crests, he's going to summon the waves of darkness that suck you in and get you nuked. Use Flowmotion to evade this by staying airborne, as they last for quite a while; or use Firaga Burst with Double Jump to stay in the air so he won't be able to suck you and deal damage, then go use Flowmotion with Sonic Impact, if you can, by going backwards to the walls. If you do lots of damage in a short time, the Mirage Split Reality Shift icon can appear (but it can't during the beginning of the second phase of the battle) and after using it, Ansem will be unable to do anything for a moment. If you attack him right away with, Ansem will keep flinching when you are doing combos and so, you can attack him permanently until his defeat (even if he retains an HP at the end). After a while, while hitting him again and again, the Reality Shift can re-appear, so you will be able to finish him off with it. Depending on where you are when you activate it, this Reality Shift can cause some glitches that can be seen when Ansem launches you.

If you chip him down at least four bars of health, the next phase of this half of the battle starts. Ansem turns the surrounding area black and starts summoning torrents of darkness from the floor, which you have to evade and block, and draws you to him. Once he finishes this, he sends you flying across the pathway again, but this time he summons rows of large '8-ball bombs' which can easily put your lights out if you're hit by even one of them. You must carefully dodge these, as it isn't uncommon for you to dodge one but accidentally throw yourself into a close-by one as a result, but you can also block them. You can't use Flowmotion at this point - Ansem prevents the walls from being used here, and so rapid dodging and blocking are your only tactics, and fortunately, you can dodge-roll near the walls and return back to Ansem without the Flowmotion activates, otherwise you would be vulnerable, so you will be able to avoid the balls easily. Whenever you come back to Ansem, press LR to make your spirits come back to you. After this, just repeat the cycle of pounding him and running back to him and he'll go down.