Drive Form

Drive Forms (ドライヴフォーム, Doraivu Fōmu) are special abilities that appeared in Kingdom Hearts II. They were used to make Sora transform into a more powerful form using the aid of Sora's partners. They are first learned at the beginning of the game at Yen Sid's Tower when the three fairies gave Sora a new outfit with these abilities installed.

Description

A Drive Form is a special ability that Sora is granted near the beginning of his adventure in Kingdom Hearts II once he is granted a much-needed new wardrobe. They allow Sora to transform into stronger forms by using either Donald or Goofy (or both) in his party. Drive Forms also allow Sora to use different, more powerful attacks and combos, dual Keyblade wielding, gliding or use abilities that couldn't normally be used before. Like Sora, the Drive Forms can level up as well. Each Form requires a different method to leveling up the Form, such as Valor Form requiring that hitting enemies will level up the Form. Some of the abilities from the Forms can also be used in Sora's normal state if the levels are high enough, such as the Final Form allowing Sora to glide at higher levels.

Some consider Riku's Dark Form in Kingdom Hearts, and Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories/Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories a kind of Drive Form. Similar to Sora's drives, Dark Form changes Riku's appearance and grants him enhanced abilities and new attacks. However, it is only a temporary change, which is triggered by filling up a Dark Point meter, and is reverted by running out of Dark Points or being subject to a card break. For all intents and purposes, Dark Form functions identically to Drive Form, and the Dark Point meter even resembles the Drive gauge.

Drive Gauge

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The Drive Gauge

The Drive Gauge, located above the Magic Points Gauge, limits the Drive Forms from being used infinitely, like waiting for magic to recharge. The Drive Gauge is measured by different levels that can be gained by beating bosses or performing certain events. In the original version of Kingdom Hearts II, seven was the maximum level that the Drive Gauge could fill. In Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix+, however, the Gauge is maxed out to nine. There are several ways to fill the Drive Gauge. The most common way is by attacking enemies, scenario objects, and bosses (with the latter filling up the gauge faster than the rest). It can also be filled by grabbing Drive Orbs (which come in two sizes) that certain enemies and objects drop, or by being attacked when a certain ability is equipped. When a Drive Form is triggered, the Drive Gauge starts draining away depending on the level of the Form that the player uses. After the Drive Gauge becomes completely empty and uses up all of its levels, Sora will change back into his normal self. Using specific skills and combos during the Forms will also proceed to make the Drive Gauge deplete faster than it normally would.

Forms

There are six Drive Forms in total. Five can be triggered from the Command Menu, but the last one is random. The Drive Forms are:

Valor Form: Valor Form allows Sora to wield two Keyblades of the player's choosing at the same time. It specializes in physical combat, but can't cast spells. Its special ability is the High Jump, which can also be obtained for normal Sora at higher levels. Sora wears Red Clothes with a red fleur-de-lis symbol. It uses Goofy's power and is based on him. Sora's running speed is noticeably enhanced in this form. As mentioned, this form gains experience with each successful hit on an enemy, making it the easiest form to level up. Sora gains this form when he obtains his new clothes from the fairies at Yen Sid's Tower.

Wisdom Form: Wisdom Form lets Sora float across the ground like on a skateboard, and uses a single Keyblade to shoot enemies with magical bullets, but not physically strike. It is a Magic-based form, in contrast to Valor Form's physical combat. Its special ability is Quick Run, which is a fast dashing technique to move quickly through areas or dodge attacks. Sora wears blue clothes with flame symbols on it. It uses Donald's power and is based on him. This form gains experience whenever a Heartless is destroyed. It is obtained after Timeless River is beaten.

Master Form: Master Form is combination of both Valor and Wisdom forms. It uses two Keyblades, one controlled through telekinesis and the other with the hand. It specializes in both Magic and Physical Combat. Its special abilities is Aerial Dodge, a midair jump that blocks attacks (and reflects projectiles). Sora wears yellow clothes with cross motif. It is based on King Mickey and uses both partners. This form gains experience via collecting Drive Orbs. Every small orb is worth 1 EXP while every big orb is worth 3 EXP. It is obtained in Hollow Bastion by speaking to King Mickey before the Battle of the 1000 Heartless and during the events of Space Paranoids.

Limit Form: Limit Form is a form based on Sora's old clothes, it is exclusive to Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix+, though. It uses abilities from Kingdom Hearts that didn't appear in Kingdom Hearts II. Its special ability is Dodge Roll, a small leap forward that defends Sora from all attacks (and reflects projectiles). The color scheme of Sora's clothes in this form change to that of his original clothes from Kingdom Hearts to reflect this. When triggered, both partners stay by Sora's side and do not disappear, making it especially useful during tough battles. This form gains experience whenever a Limit Finisher reaction command is used. It is obtained when Sora obtains Oathkeeper in Twilight Town.

Final Form: In Final Form Sora again wields two Keyblades, this time both through telekinesis. It is both equally strong in both strength and magic, and is considered the strongest amongst all the other Drive Forms. Its special ability is Glide, which allows the user to fly briefly. Sora wears silver clothes with the symbol of a crown. It is based on Roxas' fighting style (Final Mix +) and uses both characters. This form gains experience whenever a Nobody is destroyed, possibly making it the hardest form to level up. It is obtained randomly after Sora fights Roxas in The World That Never Was; while the first occurrence of the form is random, it can be accessed at any time afterwards.

Anti Form: Anti Form is the only form when Sora is without his Keyblade. It specializes in fast attacks and many combos, but lacks the ability to cast spells, shield, recover HP, or use Reaction Commands, which is sometimes required to end boss battles. It appears when one tries to Drive, the possibility of it appearing depending on the Anti Points (a hidden counter, which increases with each Drive by one point EXCEPT by Anti and Final Forms). However, using the Final Form will reset this occurrence and lowers the chance of it happening. It has no special ability, is the only form that can not be triggered through the Command Menu, and Sora loses the ability to perform Reaction Commands, which can be especially troubling when certain enemies can only be defeated through them. In this form, Sora becomes completely black with yellow eyes, as well as a dark mist rising from his body, and moves like a Shadow Heartless, resembling the Anti-Sora boss from the original Kingdom Hearts. It uses both partners and wastes all of the Drive Gauge. This is the only form that cannot level up, and the only one that Sora cannot change back from at will; once this form is activated, Sora is stuck in it until the Drive Gauge runs out or until the battle is over. The Anti Form can be considered a double-edged sword; while Sora is very fast and utilizes highly damaging combo attacks, he takes more damage than usual when struck, and his movement and fighting style become more feral and less human, running around on all fours and attacking with his hands as though they were claws. Many fans have speculated that this form exists due to Sora's brief transformation into a Heartless, and Tetsuya Nomura has confirmed this: essentially, the Anti Form is the closest that Sora ever comes to becoming a Heartless once again.

Trivia

• If Sora is in a Drive Form before a cutscene, he will appear in the cutscene in that Drive Form (the exception being Anti Form), although the actions in the cutscene are not changed in any significant way. He will also handle his main-handed Keyblade as he normally would, whether he has dual-wield capabilities with the form in question or not.
• In the room where Sora receives his new clothes, hints to future Drive Forms that he will receive later on can be found by examining the mirrors - each of the five mirrors around the room describes the abilities of one of Sora's original five Drive Forms, including his Anti Form. It should be noted that in Final Mix, an extra mirror is added for Limit Form.