Ice Titan

The Ice Titan appears as a boss in Kingdom Hearts (NA and PAL versions) and Kingdom Hearts Final Mix. It originally appeared in the animated film Hercules, under the name Hydros. In Kingdom Hearts, it is the sole contender in the optional Gold Match.

Design
The Ice Titan is a gigantic, emaciated, humanoid being that is, true to its name, composed entirely of ice. It has fairly long arms that end in clawed, four-fingered hands. Its icy ribcage is always visible, and its upper back is lined by tall spikes. Its head is rather small in comparison to the rest of its body. Its blocky mouth is filled with sharp teeth, and its eyes are small and barely visible. It has a spiky crest decorating the back of its head and cheeks. Its upper legs are very thin, while its thicker lower legs are frozen to the ground, forcing the Ice Titan to constantly break and regenerate them to walk. The Ice Titan is actually a very small being of ice, not even reaching Sora's knee, but it is able to grow very large in order to tower over its opponents.

The Ice Titan's name references its frozen body, while "titan" is derived from the Titans of Greek mythology, which were loosely represented by the Ice Titan and its companions in Hercules.

Strategy
Timing plays a very important role while fighting Ice Titan since it is crucial that you must "bat" back the ice shards he fires at you using Guard. Once you retaliate enough ice shards back at him, he will crumble for a few seconds; during that time he is very vulnerable so you can hit him with air combos or Ragnarok. After getting back up, the Ice Titan sends out a flurry of ice shards. Another fact is the Ice Titan is very vulnerable to Fire. Jump onto the stands and lock on to his head while using Dodge Roll or simply running helter-skelter to evade his attacks. When you get a chance, jump off of the stands and use the Fire spell on him. This takes longer but has the same effect in the end. In some cases, it is possible to jump onto his hand (when he smashes it onto the ground) and ride it up near his head to get one air combo attack on him before you fall on the ground.

Ice Titan's other attacks include summoning shards of ice from the ground, conjuring snowballs to fall on top of you, creating an icy mist to freeze you in place, and when he gets to yellow health, he does a move that also freezes you that is stronger. All of these moves can be avoided, so it is advised to be continually moving. The Ice Titan also can use an attack in which it creates slick ice on the ground that Sora can slip on. Sora will be unable to attack while slipping, though he takes no damage from other attacks. Stay close to corners when he starts to look angry lifting his hands in the air. (This only happens when he is in his yellow and green health bar.) In fact, it allows you to dodge two of his attacks (the ones that freeze you).

The moves you should put on shortcut are Firaga and Curaga.

You can use Strike Raid to hit him, although the damage that is caused is minimal. Furthermore, because you must stand still while throwing, this makes you highly vulnerable and in general, is a bad idea to try.

Ice Titan can be relatively easy once you manage to strike the ice shards back and dodge his attacks. On top of that, defeating him will also grants you tons of EXP, as Ice Titan himself gives 5000 EXP and each ice shard deflected gives 24 - in fact, you can get more EXP deflecting his attacks than by beating him. For those who are playing Kingdom Hearts Final Mix, each ice shard deflected gives you 120 EXP.

It is important to note that the usage of any type of Aero magic makes the Ice Titan stronger instead of hindering him - his icicles become larger and cannot be deflected, which is a key factor of the battle.