Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories / III - The 13th Struggle | Reacting To Video Game Music!

[@Someguyhere111]

Jesse: *uploads two KH videos in a row* "Two?!"

[@asukabeastgirl]

@@Someguyhere111 damnit 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@ReptilianTeaDrinker]

I see what you did there! lol

[@Zaltiz]

The one you heard from 3 is a lot different because the theme is remixed for a specific boss fight that is more tactical. KH3 also has a remaster of the original that is more faithful

[@jonathanrobinson198]

If we’re getting technical, There’s two versions of 13th Struggle in KH3 and two versions of a song called The 13th dilemma. They are all meant to emphasize a different boss’s personality.

[@Tercurnich]

After watching the vector to the heavens three in one video I was revisiting your other KH videos and wondering "has no one ever requested the 13th struggle yet?" And then the notification for this videos pops up and I'm like "oh..." 2 KH videos in a day, what a treat!!!

[@ItzMizzyIGuess]

In my personal opinion, Kingdom hearts 2 version of 13th struggle is the best version. It is so intense I love it! These 2 are unique for sure, especially the KH3 version, but there is just something in that KH2 which is just so good!

[@thend4427]

I agree i love kh2 version...it has more oomph

[@Zephhi]

It is. KH2 also has that specific part with the violin which just hits so hard

[@kidding2you]

The KH2 version is just magical 😊

[@vintoplad]

"The 13th Struggle (Luxord)" is for a boss that makes you fight at a slower pace, wanting you to patiently attack openings. If you want a fast paced version in KH3, then you're lookin' for "The 13th Struggle (Larxene)", which is a more traditional quick reactions fight. If "The 13th Dilemma" gets requested, then KH3 also has two versions of that song ("Xigbar" & "Saix").

[@ALeafOnTheWind42]

Saix is akready on the list. Xigbar sadly isn't though

[@Zajkong]

"The first one to run out of time is the loser." "Cards!" "Cards!" "Do you know the rules?"

[@N..O]

“Look who’s on top of the game!”

[@Taygon45]

"Pick a card!" "Where'd I go?" "Shuffle!"

[@KeloRogue]

I've never thought of this as an evil christmas song, but I can totally hear it after you pointed it out 😅

[@CasualGamerDude]

Ok, so the ReChain of Memories 13 Struggle you heard is a reorchestrated version of the Original on GBA, the iconic one everyone knows is the KH2 13th Struggle, which is what adds the Roxas Theme section as a breakup to the other parts, you heard it a bit in the KH3 Luxord version, but the KH2 version is the one everyone knows.

[@thend4427]

Yeah idk why the requester chose these

[@Gamelover254]

Whoever requests the kh songs does not do a good job at directing them to the best version of said song lol

[@ExaltedUriel]

​@@Gamelover254For fuckin' real, Re:Chain and III are the most random picks when it's by far the best and most well-known in 2 lol

[@kevin13cabello]

The reason why the Luxord one has such a different feel is because his fight is one that you have to take a bit slower and put more thought into unlike most of the other fights in the game. He uses cards as weapons and he's basically trying to hit you with trap cards the whole time and you gotta try to work your way around his traps and tricks in order to damage him.

[@permafrostyx]

i love christmassy boss musics 😊

[@kevinnguyen4711]

The 13th Struggle is one of those all-time classics for KH songs, as it's become known as THE boss theme for members of Organization 13, which serve as the overall main antagonist of the series (up to a point). They're those people in black coats you may have seen on the artwork for other KH tracks you listened to. Even though it's not the only boss theme played for Organization battles (13th Dilemma is another one), it's probably the most famous one on account of being the one played in their first ever boss fight in Chain of Memories and being linked to some really hype moments. As such, it has so many variations throughout the games, all of them very dangerous-sounding and bombastic to some degree. The reason I like the latter one for Luxord is partially BECAUSE of how different it is from the other variations. After so many times hearing The 13th Struggle being this bombastic track, it now has this more subdued, more calm and calculating version that lends more to a slower fight with more strategy. And that's basically what Luxord's fight in KH3 boils down to, being a puzzle fight where you have to have to play through his card games and outsmart him to win. The track is also incredibly representative of Luxord's character, being this suave, gambling gentleman who respects fair play and sees anyone with a sharp mind as a worthy opponent. It's what I really like about the boss remixes for KH3's superboss fights in general. They all play with classic KH boss themes and give them arrangements/instrumentation that really fit the character of who you're fighting... one of which is KH3's Vector to the Heavens. That's not even going into how well they fit the fight itself, with the slower remixes being tailor made for fights where you have to be more careful, and the faster ones being for some of the most hectic and chaotic fights I've ever experienced in a video game... man, the more I talk about this, the more I regain my profound appreciation for the KH soundtrack.

[@snsai1996]

You need to the RE Chain of Memories’ - Lord of the Castle. This final boss theme is S-Tier

[@DrGamer365]

I think Graceful Assassin is better personally

[@JSeedProductions]

“The 13th Struggle”, originally from “Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories”, is a boss theme primarily used as you fight members of the main antagonist group. It quickly became one of the most popular tracks in the series, especially after its remix in “Kingdom Hearts II”, and has been reused in several other games as well. The other version you heard, “The 13th Struggle -Luxord-“ (pronounced ‘Luke-surd’), is a special remix of the track used for one boss in “Kingdom Hearts III” and actually has an extra section in-game that isn’t featured on the soundtrack release. Fun fact: In the original mobile phone version of “Kingdom Hearts coded” the “KH2” version of the track was accidentally used as the field theme of the final area in the game, this was fixed in the Nintendo DS remake.

[@robintheforeteller]

The songs that came originally from Chain of Memories are all pretty good, despite it being a bit of an inbetween more experimental game than the main numbered games. "Castle Oblivion" and "Lord of the Castle" are also pretty good. One being the last zone song, and the other being the last boss theme.

[@Batsmarow]

Luxord's is so different because he doesn't follow the standard hack and slash fights the other bosses do, his fight is instead a 3D card battle with constantly changing rulesets.

[@nicolascares477]

KH3 has 2 versions of this theme, one for each major boss. Luxord is one of them, he is from KH2. Another one was introduced on Chain of Memories (Larxene), and her's is a more faithfull version. [edited, removed some incorrect info pointed out in replies]

[@sorarockss93]

Xigbar is actually The 13th Dilemma, along with Saix.

[@nicolascares477]

@@sorarockss93 true, i mixed them up

[@handsoaphandsoap]

The Luxord battle version is a dynamic track that changes depending on what you’re doing in the fight, there’s a mashup version on KZbin which combines the two modes and it’s much better than the official upload (but also longer obviously)

[@alphax-shroom6781]

The 13th stuggle is a theme used for a set of characters in KH Chain of memories and KH2, in KH3, they made individualised versions of the theme per character. Luxord, the version you are listening to is more slow and methidical as tied to the character.

[@lanonyme-vod8090]

It's probably some kind of glockenspiel, considering the triangle is an untuned percussion instrument Great track! 😊

[@KitsyX]

I mean, you could have multiple triangles of different pitches based on the sizes, or sample one and pitch it… But yeah, I think a glockenspiel is far more likely.

[@gagejoseph91]

For reference, KH tends to reuse leitmotifs a lot. By that, I mean that it reuses songs, but doesn't just, like, *reuse songs.* Some songs get used again and are reorchestrated (e.g. Saix's theme in KH2 is similar but very different than his theme in KH3), but some leitmotifs are used in different songs where they have connections to other characters. Two well-known examples of this are Xion's theme (Musique Pour la Tristesse de Xion) having bits of KAIRI'S theme since the two are connected, as well as No Heart's theme (Forze dell'Oscurita) having elements of three other chatacter themes because he is, in a sense, all three of them at once. KH is known for its story, but part of that story is told through its fantastic musical composition. The deeper you dig into KH's music, the more you see patterns in how it reflects the series' plot elements. For my fellow KH fans reading this comment, here is another one you might not have noticed. Castle Oblivion's theme has a HEARTBEAT in it. Think about that for a moment. Whose heartbeat might that be?

[@ionamorwenna5564]

Hell yeah, love and appreciation for the Re:CoM version of 13th Struggle!!!

[@Gamelover254]

Aw damn, they always mess up these kh requests. The CoM version is fine but the kh2 version (which is the first version using midi instruments) is amazing. Also the kh3 version was tailor designed for a specific boss fight, it wasn’t just the kh3 interpretation of it.

[@PhoenixDowned]

Hmmm cameo guest incoming? Alex Moukala 👀

[@thexreaper6930]

13th Struggle (Re:Chain of Memories) ???: I'd really rather not fight you...but I can't dishonor the Organization now CAN I!?!? 13th Struggle (KHIII Re:Mind) ???: LET THE GAMES BEGIN!

[@sorarockss93]

Wowie, 2 KH videos in a day. KH III actually has 2 versions. There's the - Luxord - one, and the - Larxene - one. The latter being way more faithful to the original one. The KH2 HD (the remastered) version is a lot more intense than the Chain of Memories version too. All in all is kind of an effort keeping track of all the different version renditions of multiple different themes in these series, especially for new people. KH3 itself took a lot of the previous themes and remade them.

[@jonathanrobinson198]

Whenever you get the time, I think you should check out Lord of the Castle. It’s a boss theme that’s always really stuck out in the franchise; at least for me.

[@pockystyx4087]

This theme either is gonna bring memories of fun or misery, depending on what mode you're playing on.

[@LanceTheDragonMastah]

IM GETTING FIRED UP

[@linkpwnsevery1]

I always prefer the KH2 version over all of them, but yeah, they are still good.

[@thend4427]

Yeah too bad he didnt recommend that version..fake fan 😂 jk

[@JonseyLetsPlays]

Don't know why they didn't chose the kh2 version

[@gamesboy123able]

Yeeees. more Kingdom hearts please

[@Riverbui]

The music in these games up to Dream Drop Distance is really funny because there's multiple versions of all of them. KH1 has its original OST and then the remastered 1.5 Remix Version Chain of Memories had the GBA version, the Re: Chain of Memories version for the PS2, and then the remastered 1.5 Remix Version KH2 and BBS had their original versions, and then got the remastered 2.5 Remix Versions (KH2FM for the PS2 also included some new tracks not in the original KH2) 358/2 and Coded didn't really get remasters or even ports so I don't think they count A lot of what people are going to be sending you are the 1.5+2.5 remix orchestrated versions of the OSTs, and not the actual original versions.

[@wiredvex99]

2 kh music reactions in such a short time, nice.

[@_Five_Knights_]

Remembering who KH3's version was made for (character-wise) I'm shocked I never really realised how fitting it was LMAO Admittedly, I'd 100% listen to the original more than Luxord's version, but having forgotten Larxene's rendition of this song exists... I must go listen to it asap LMAO

[@Gem_Leoheart]

There are two versions of The 13th Struggle in KH3. The more traditional paced version, very similar to the CoM version, would be The 13th Struggle (Larxene).

[@ALeafOnTheWind42]

Technically this is not the original version because the original was in Chain of Memories, which was a GBA version. The version you listened to here was probably from Re:Chain of Memories, which was a PS2 remake of Chain of Memories. The original suffers from being a GBA game though. I mentioned in my comment on the Vector to the Heavens video that in KH3 the version of Vector that you already knew was used for a series of superboss battles, and the title of each features the name of who you're fighting in the battle. The 13th Struggle -Luxord- is another one of these. In fact, one of the reasons that they went with putting the name of the boss in the title is because occasionally they used the same base song with different arrangements for different boss fights. That's the case here. There's another version of The 13th Struggle in KH3: The 13th Struggle -Larxene-. That version may have more of the intensity you were expecting (and it's a shame that the Larxene version wasn't on the list so it didn't make it into this video). Luxord's is a bit more relaxed because Luxord himself is a bit of a less intense fight (for a superboss, lol). Luxord is a gambler, and his fight involves more trickery and trying to trap you with his card play

[@kuroheartnet2045]

I was wondering, does anyone think "Overture to the decisive battle" would be great to react ? It's an orchestral medley of KH Boss theme from the World of Tres Orchestra It's about 9 min long and really good in my opinion. But sadly no one has reacted to it yet so I greatly recommand it !

[@zuser]

Think more of this song as an evil, corrupted version of "Entry of the Gladiators" than "Christmassy"

[@Kaxuria]

Dance, Water Dance ! Critical tears. x)

[@Xagzan]

The KH3 data battle music is largely about orchestral versions. Have you heard Another Side or any Organization XIII tracks from KH? Pretty much every version of 13th Struggle after the original, including Luxord, uses a bit of its motif, so if you haven't heard it you might not recognize the borrowing here.

[@JonnZth]

Oh, the Luxord one! Yeah, so.. KH3 has *_a few_* different versions of this song, a more faithful arrangement to Chain of Memories, one WAY more intense, and a few others that are way different(like this one) Each version is arranged in a way to reflect how the fight goes/how a specific character acts

[@ccloudenjoyer]

if you're sticking on the kingdom hearts train you should def check out "hearts as one" from kingdom hearts 3!

[@GeekMasterGames]

If you love Yoko Shimomura, don't skip on Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. It's very similar in breadth and style to KH!

[@mcaussiekids]

Your KZbin title says Chain of Memories, but this is the Re:Chain of Memories. They are separate arrangements, and I went into the video, presuming it was the GBA version.

[@RadiantRezo]

The most underrated song that I recommend you hear is Leminenza Oscuro I from kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance. It also has a KH3 variant that is also a data boss fight

[@zimenatorz5924]

Kh dismiss would be nice . Is a great Song and one of the best boss themes in kh franchise in my opinion

[@macigimagic]

Larxene´s version of 13th struggle in KH3 would have been closer to original so you might wanna check it out sometime. KH3 has many boss old general boss songs remade for specific character and their personality in mind. Og 13th struggle was boss theme for Organization 13 members in Castle Oblivion and later for specific members in Org 13. I kinda liked that they made their own version for every member that fits their personality better but i too like original song best.

[@XarctheLegend]

the KH3 version is called "The 13th Struggle (Luxord)" but there's a actually a 2nd version in KH3 that's more in the style of the OG but more orchestrated it's called "The 13th Struggle (Larxene)", I would've recommended listening to that one between the 2 you heard here but still recommend a listen

[@XarctheLegend]

Actually there are 13 optional fights each with a unique theme in KH3. Then there's a "Secret" 14th fight. These are their names as written on the official soundtrack. I listed them because not all of the tracks are next to each other as listed on the soundtrack. The ones with a * are ones you've reacted as of now that I'm aware of. But I recommend all of these to react to eventually, even if the reactions are spaced apart. 1. *Enter the Darkness (KINGDOM HEARTS III Version) 2. Force Del Male (Dark Riku) 3. L'Impeto Oscuro (Young Xehanort) 4. L'Eminenza Oscura I (Ansem) 5. *L'Oscurita dell'Ignoto (Xemnas) 6. The 13th Dilemma (Xigbar) 7. The 13th Dilemma (Saix) 8. The 13th Struggle (Larxene) 9. *The 13th Struggle (Luxord) 10. Lord of the Castle (Marluxia) 11. Dismiss (Terra-Xehanort) 12. *Vector the Heavens (Xion) 13. Forze dell'Oscurita (Xehanort) 14. *Nachtflugel

[@morgancorder4843]

The “Larxene” version of 13th Struggle from KH3 is more in line with the original, and probably would have made for a better experience. Hopefully you listen to it sometime!

[@HelloSayEm6]

Please react to The Other Promise!!!

[@luap911]

Before KH3, all of the games in the series had midi compositions in their original releases, and the midi instruments in the series always had a very punchy feel. In the HD ReMix versions they recorded live orchestra versions of those compositions, and for the most part managed to keep the punchy feel, but in some of the more erradic combat tracks that punch from the midis can be felt. With KH3 being the first game in the series to have it's soundtrack composed for a live orchestra from the get go, I feel like that punchiness the midis had was further lost. For most of the soundtrack, especially the tracks that aren't recompositions from past songs in the series, Shinomura really aced it and created a lot of the best music in the series, but for many of the recomposed songs it's difficult to not think of the original versions and not compare how the vibe is just somewhat different. Never bad, in fact the music us always fantastic, but that difference can be noticed especially when listened back to back (or for fans that have listened to the soundtracks too many times to count....), it can't be helped that many of us prefer the OG compositions.

[@KitsyX]

Let’s just say, Organisation XIII (13) has a naming gimmick involving the letter X… I won’t go into too much detail in case you decide to play the games… That said, you might be more confused if I did spoil the story and therefore you still wouldn’t be spoiled, so I’m not too worried lol. …Well, I don’t think it’s that confusing as you play through the games, but there are like layers stacked on layers as you go along… Miss a game (including side games) and you could easily end up confused… Don’t see the secret ending, you might get a bit confused… Don’t read the side content in the game, maybe you’ll get confused… Most later games have summaries of the important stuff from previous games, but it’s probably easier to experience than read lol.

[@thend4427]

So elon musk is park of organization 13? Lol

[@shinrasenseishadow1575]

13th struggle is fitting for your vgm vibes boss theme. Cant wait to be in 2028 when you will react to "a fight to the death" request lol

[@gustavos.8511]

Out of the ones you haven't heard L'Impeto Oscuro is probably the one i actually prefer to see you hear the KH3 version out of the reworked music, altought there are many great original KH3 songs you haven't heard yet.

[@Vinylmelody1517]

Definitely should check out the kh2, kh2 remix, and kh3 larxene versions of this song cause they all update the song in interesting ways

[@kaziarthedragon7377]

You really should listen to the Kingdom hearts 2 version of this song. It's usually the one that's the most rememberable.

[@kantokid9378]

OMG another kh upload, is he finally going to play the series.

[@yunyunorshadow8977]

That would Def be a long journey lol

[@EsporHB]

Although this was never one Of my most loved songs, listening to it as a single song, it is and was pretty hype

[@samuelperez2223]

I always enjoy your KH OST reactions! I am still waiting for the day you react to Overture to the Decisive Battle >:)

[@zanderlaitinen7109]

The music of Kingdom Hearts is phenominal. I hope you get more chances to hear from the OSTs. You've barely scratched the surface.

[@IStoleYourCookie1]

Keep up the KH

[@Outerringfuelgod]

Kingdom hearts is peak

[@thesacredmonkey9149]

13th struggle larxene is much more like the og

[@kantokid9378]

The KH2 one is a better version tho

[@2dat115]

Kh2 is better in general

[@thend4427]

Whole heartedly agree wish he heard that version

[@asakumagin8493]

re:com and 2 are the what are you talking about

[@dianceperez8540]

Bro PLEASE react to KH RECOM Scythe Of Petals and I promise you that shit will have you PUMPING….it’s one of the final boss themes of the game

[@UniversalConscript]

I prefer the Kingdom Hearts 2 version of The 13th Struggle.

[@shionvii]

even in the Kh rhythm game this song is messing you up

[@Zephhi]

KH2 version is better than the CoM one but whatever

[@Gameboy-kl8br]

Chain of Memories was my first KH game and is still my favorite because of the Card mechanics.