The 13th Struggle

"The 13th Struggle" is a musical theme composed by Yoko Shimomura that appears in Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories, Kingdom Hearts II, and Kingdom Hearts III.

Appearances
"The 13th Struggle" is a theme commonly used during boss battles with members of Organization XIII.

Sora's Story

 * Boss battles: Axel, Larxene, and Vexen

Reverse/Rebirth Mode

 * Boss battles: Ansem, Seeker of Darkness (first battle), Vexen, Lexaeus, Zexion

Kingdom Hearts II
"The 13th Struggle" plays during both boss battles and cutscenes. It can also be heard during certain events, such as when the trio teams up with Axel to defeat the Nobodies in Betwixt and Between.

Cutscenes

 * Prologue: "Axel", "Axel's Wrath"
 * Twilight Town (Third Visit): "Axel's Atonement", "His Last Words"
 * The Land of Dragons (Second Visit): "The Man Who Stands on the Snowy Mountain"
 * The World that Never Was: "Luxord", "As the Battle Ends"

Boss Battles

 * Twilight Town: Axel (Roxas); Axel's Replica Data (Sora)
 * The Land of Dragons: The Mysterious Man
 * The World That Never Was: Luxord and his replica data

Kingdom Hearts coded

 * Castle Oblivion: ???.

Kingdom Hearts III

 * Cutscene:
 * Keyblade Graveyard: "Xemnas Retreats"
 * Boss Battle:
 * Keyblade Graveyard: Luxord

Kingdom Hearts III Re Mind

 * Garden of Assemblage: Luxord's Recreated Data, Larxene's Recreated Data

Composition
"The 13th Struggle" is approximately fifty-eight seconds long in Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories and one minute and forty-four seconds long in Kingdom Hearts II. In all versions the tempo is 180 beats per minute. It has a time signature of 4/4 time for the entire piece and is written in the key of G minor, with brief modulations into both F minor and C minor before looping back to the start. "The 13th Struggle" has a four measure introduction that leads into the repeated melodic section, and lacks a conclusion, allowing for smooth transitions between loops. Each loop is forty measures long, lasting around one minute each. The instrumentation consists of: organ, a large brass section featuring trombones, choir, strings, orchestra bells, snare drum, piano, cymbals, and timpani.

"The 13th Struggle" makes heavy use of chromatic notes. The melody in the first eight measures of the C minor section is later incorporated into the main melody of Sacred Moon.

Trivia

 * "The 13th Struggle" plays in the first battle against Ansem, Seeker of Darkness in the original version of Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories, despite him not being a member of Organization XIII. This was changed in Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories.