Kingdom Hearts Starting Choices EXPLAINED - What Should You Pick?

In the main 3 Kingdom Hearts games you've got some choices to make that'll determine your stats and abilities throughout the game. Lets take a dive into this to see how this affects your playthrough!
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[@DoxycDreamer]

The thing with picking the Dream Rod is that you also end up with 2 extra MP Bars you otherwise can’t obtain. Which is hard to pass up considering how strong Magic is in KH1.

[@tylercafe1260]

But it objectively makes the game harder because Strength is far more valuable especially when you consider the hardest bosses are sometimes immune entirely to Magic. Then it's especially redundant once you have some synthesis gear to play around with. In reality all it does is give you an easier Mid-Game. Early-Game you don't have many spells. Late-Game all it really does is give you 1 more Cure.

[@YegoKroeten]

​@@tylercafe1260you're a sham

[@DoxycDreamer]

⁠@@tylercafe1260I would certainly recommend newer players to go with the Shield, or the Sword in some cases, and only go with the Dream Rod if they’d want more of a challenge or they’re already an experienced player.

[@flamma1114]

@@tylercafe1260ehhh I don’t think it is. If you give up strength you can use mp rage to pretty much spam cure. Then get leaf bracer around neverland and your immortal.

[@Enclave.]

@@tylercafe1260 Hard disagree, you can do a ton of damage against bosses with magic. The only time you encounter any bosses immune to magic is near the end of the game where your strength stat is kinda irrelevant thanks to gear. That magic stat though? Forever useful even against the bosses immune to magic since you can use Arcanum more before having to recover MP.

[@Starcat5]

KH1: What this video implies, but does not *actually say,* is that "Dead of Night" means that you need less total Xp to reach Level 99, while the "Morning" option requires the most. I bring this up as it is not 100% obvious, and miscommunication will occur.

[@johnb3rry]

Thank you! i was here to say this. The Grand Total XP required is way different based on the option you choose

[@Fairy-Uvinq]

With that said, if you choose morning and shield you become insanely tanky, very fast

[@Starcat5]

@@Fairy-Uvinq A good choice for a Low Level run, to be sure. As a Magic Junkie, I always pick Wand and give up Sword.

[@shiftfire4511]

Going further, Midday isn't a great choice for either. It doesn't follow a straight middle path, but rather, it skews closer to the larger number. Closer to Dusk in the beginning, closer to Dawn at the end, coming closest to the even ground at level 50 but still skewing a tiny bit. This is best exemplified at the high end of all three. Midday needs 35,000 less EXP than Dawn, the slowest, at level 99...but needs 71,500 more than Dusk. Similarly, at level 1 Midday needs 35 less than Dusk...but only 24 more than Dawn. Midday benefits the most in the middle, with a skew of roughly 500 either way at level 50. While it is more balanced, it doesn't really have the benefits of either Dawn or Dusk. Dawn makes the early-mid game easier, while Dusk is great for the end-post game. Midday just kind of...exists at a point of mediocrity, where it's only somewhat better than Dusk in earlygame and Dawn in the lategame. Not that this matters too much, it's fairly easy to level regardless.

[@Fairy-Uvinq]

@@Starcat5 I got no complaints so far tbh. Ez pz run lol. Having slapshot from the start is huge in comparison to staff. Gaining all the defensive stuff early is freaking awesome The only complaint I have is scan not being available till quite a bit later with shield... But the path helps there lol :V

[@FootBones]

Honestly i respect someone who drops tutorials like this that already exist just in a higher quality than 2010 youtube

[@Mirades96]

yea if they would mention important things that you can miss out on and accurate information xD will not matter too much to the casual playerbase but still, i prefer no information than inaccurate information.

[@GhostLordRetro]

Just letting you guys know that in KH2 Final Mix, you don't learn Scan from leveling up. You get it from beating Axel for the first time.

[@SamthePlayer]

A lot of websites have it listed as such, so I am going to assume he got fooled by that misinformation. Good heads up tho!

[@GhostLordRetro]

@@SamthePlayer no, actually, he wasn't. In the original version of KH2, you do unlock Scan from leveling up. They just simply changed how you get it in the Final Mix version to beating the first Axel fight.

[@burnttoast26]

There's a lot of confusion about KH2's leveling since FM changed so much with important abilities

[@SamthePlayer]

@@GhostLordRetro oh wow, I do not remember this at all. That's interesting

[@eyelesstrooper]

​@GhostLordRetro I played both but haven't played og 2 in forever so I didn't know this, that's actually crazy

[@Cpiere]

This is why each of us as a kid thought kingdom hearts was such a tough game. Everyone thought the sword is cool and the shield was lame.

[@TeeAiDee]

It honestly is amazing how much a difference it makes. I've recently started replaying the original Kingdom Hearts on Proud mode and I chose the Shield for the first time because I was expecting to need greater defense. I am honestly surprised how little I've died lol.

[@shiftfire4511]

I just liked the shield's design a lot, so I always picked it when I was younger. T'was fun!

[@christhechubbyderg6946]

Funny ain't it? Even when I first started playing kingdom hearts, I always chose warrior. I didn't think guardian would give you useful abilities so early on.

[@AshleyoftheSwiftspear-pb8cs]

⁠I only learned how swole the shield is when I got to kingdom hearts 3 for the first time, was not disappointed

[@erikaquino8730]

@@TeeAiDeelucky ☠️

[@susanhorsup3569]

FINALLY SOMEONE EXPLAINS WHAT IT MEANS!! Thank you thank you thank you. This is great, I hate games that whatever choice you make impacts the rest of your game play. But you don’t know till the end. Now I know… so I am so happy

[@epr4000]

You could have just looked it up…

[@Re_V]

@@epr4000 that's cheating.

[@roxasbaker]

@@epr4000she probably played back in the day when internet guides wasn’t a thing either

[@BrennySpain]

It’s definitely interesting how it doesn’t matter what weapon you choose in KH2, you get scan at level 4. Yet you’ll see it as early as the Roxas vs Axel fight for some strange reason.

[@bigrockerending7711]

If I remember correctly, dual-wielding Roxas has some different abilities auto-equipped to him during that fight (similar to a Drive Form), and Scan is one of those abilities.

[@BrennySpain]

@@bigrockerending7711 it’s very interesting to note I think.

[@Ripperley]

Dream Rod > Dream Shield for life. That extra MP you can't make up for in any other way is worth so much more to me than the two extra item slots. You can't get those item slots you lose picking Staff over Shield in any other way either, but frankly if I can't beat a boss in *six* elixirs? I think I'd just accept I needed to get better at the fight. And anyone decrying the ability learning curve for Staff and early-game difficulty of it's lower stats has clearly never actually played Staff start or didn't equip Ripple Drive, that finisher is busted overtuned in the early-game. That said, I've also beaten the game on Proud a dozen times and also play a lot of action games. I can definitely see how picking Shield for more survivability early on makes a lot more sense than the Staff's damage potential for a first time player or anyone not all that confident with action games.

[@IGSA101]

In every single main game magic is so overpowered that it's recommended to pick it. However I will say it's definitely meant for experienced players, as while you are far more powerful with a magic build you also die much faster. Magic is the best option in each game, but make sure you get practice first so that you don’t end up with 50% of the game being the death screen.

[@Darkokuu]

Yeah so now I think I understand why I can't beat kh1 on normal difficulty

[@sethhoeffner6814]

I wasn’t sure which option was technically the best, so on my first playthrough of Kingdom Hearts 1, I just chose the Dream Sword since it seems to be the canonical choice (as Sora is shown wielding it in Riku’s flashback in Dream Drop Distance) and it’s the only weapon of the three that cannot be obtained later in any other way (as the Dream Rod can be obtained for Donald and the Dream Shield for Goofy).

[@TriforceKeybladeSkykid]

I never thought much in how my choices affect my gameplay, but this was interesting to learn!! Don't think it'll change acting tho. I basically always choose the Dream Rod because that means better magic stats. And more magic means i can save up my potions. I use physical and magical attacks fairly evenly, and Donald is, as memed about, shit at healing me. Gotta be able to heal myself somehow!

[@chloe-sunshine7]

Thanks again for making these guides! I already know this one, but I think having a bunch of recently updated guides for these things that are clearly laid out like this are going to be very helpful for most new or returning players.

[@ElHipokondriako]

I tell people that, if they are willing to grind, level up, explore, take it easy, and aim for 100% conpletion, then staff + night is the way to go. If you are not tackling secret bosses before you are maxed out, the lack of second chance is not a big deal. You could still make the case that shield makes easier to farm up the synthesis gear at lower levels.

[@cactuscrisis4521]

if going for 100% staff+dawn might be better since you're gonna be grinding/farming a lot anyway and xp boost items more than make up for late game xp penalties, while off setting some of early game stat lacking

[@shadowluigitsl]

I choose sword all the time baby. Who needs defense when you can just lose to boss fights multiple times in a row until you learn the pattern.

[@sirensoulegaming4158]

Yeah, picking the sword or the staff forces you to get better at the game, the shield makes it easier. I don't mind dying a bit to learn how a fight goes.

[@shadowluigitsl]

@@sirensoulegaming4158 lol for me it's more fun that way but honestly new players should stick with shield because the games can get a bit difficult at times

[@sirensoulegaming4158]

@@shadowluigitsl if its first time ever playing the game and they're going straight to proud mode then yeah, definitely pick shield.

[@shadowluigitsl]

@@sirensoulegaming4158 lol I did that when I went to play the final mix version of the game. My first playthrough (that I never got to finish) was the original ps2 version, but I later got the remasters for the ps4 and then went proud mode with shield as my starter for that run.

[@bonaelzee]

I always pick rod and sacrifice sword in KH1. It’s rough in the beginning but you get a higher MP bar in the end and you can craft Strength, Defense and AP ups but can’t craft MP up

[@caosisaac]

If you are just going for best stats the shield is the best choice in kh1. You get the most hp and the 2 extra item slots equal more mp than the rod provides in battle if you put ethers or elixers in those spots.

[@fulltimeweeb]

Crazy how I'm still learning something new about KH2 and it's from the PS2 days!! I love this game

[@hanovak4700]

I’ve played KH for years and I had no idea the abilities where unlocked depending on what you choose, thanks for the videos, it seems you never stop learning something new about KH! ❤

[@fugioXD]

I always picked Shield on my proud mode Kingdom Hearts playthroughs, but I went Staff in the most recent run. I wanted stronger magic and since I am comfortable with the combat now its really nice, so Staff will be my go-to anytime after this. Yeah, you don't get the second chance till really late but once you get familiar with the game you need it less and less. I also am doing my first night playthrough since you need less overall exp to hit max. In KH 3 I go wisdom/mystic every time.

[@TheAsylumCat]

An argument for staff, been a while but I remember the build chunking health, I managed to get ripple drive to put out stupid numbers since the finishers damage is correlated to max mp. Couple with more room for areo and cure, plus the secret bosses that require magic dmg to initiate dps, it's quite solid. Dunno how it fares on critical mode though, probably need to be a dodge tank. But areo (once you have it) works in all but one boss fight and tanks a lot of dmg. The one boss being ice titan, it'll punish you for using it since you're supposed to use guard.

[@matheusheringer9569]

not metioning how much of a MUST HAVE ability is lucky strike in KH 1 kinda feels like a misguiding. it's already a hell to farm in kh1 with 3 of these, but no saying that if you pick sword, you basically screwed to farm Ultima Weapon until lvl 90 it's to harsh

[@S0M3SK1TTL3]

Been wanting to let you know how much I appreciate you going back over familiar guides and refurbishing the content that brought me to you in the first place. Thanks again for the continued assistance through my endless journey with this fantastic series!

[@PiscesPrincess327]

I pretty much agree with you in terms of KH1’s starting choices. Pick Shield, sacrifice Sword, and Night Route. As for KH2, I only pick Shield. KH3, I pick Balance and Guardian

[@shortflame4366]

KH 1: Wand KH 2: Sword KH 3: Mystic had too much fun with how smooth magic felt in 3. Plus grand magics were cool.

[@Nateberries]

Wanted to challenge myself and pick dream sword for my kh2 critical play through …. I regret everything

[@Mirades96]

you forgot the most important part... in KH1 you MUST pick the rod and sacrifice either sword/shield if you want to do a 100% completion run. you only can obtain max MP when picking the rod, which gives a higher MP pool AND higher magic damage. you can max all other stats anyways. except the item slots which are pretty unimportant to begin with, it's just how many potion items you have ready on quick use. (which means that's the max amount of potions you can use until out of combat, there are a few bosses where it would be helpful, but nothing compared to the MP stat)

[@PJDevaney]

So glad the game tells you this 😊

[@caosisaac]

I wouldnt call that a 100% completion run. It definitely makes the end game much easier as well as completing some of the more difficult challenges to acquire the ultima weapon; but just based on stats you could just as easily make the arguement you must pick shield and drop either sword or rod because you can't max hp any other way and the extra 2 item slots translates to a minimum of 5 more more mp in battle than choosing the rod if you toss ethers into those slots; and much more mp with elixers. That said i always choose rod to help with that damn pink agricus farming.

[@Mirades96]

@@caosisaac shield doesn't change max hp

[@caosisaac]

@@Mirades96 i stand corrected, thank you. Had just got off working my nightshift when i saw your comment and when i googled it for info the 1st link i saw told me max hp with shield was 111; neglecting to mention it was with gaia bangles and the same you could do with sword and rod. As i mentioned i always do choose rod myself just for the extra second of stop on the pink agricus so i haven't actually looked at the stats of the other builds myself since my 1st shield/sword build when i was 12. Thank you. I will stand by the idea though that maxing a stat isn't really something to consider for "100%" completion. Min/max for sure but its not like it has any bearings on trophies, jiminy's journal, or any in game records; nor is it a collectable like collecting 1-99 of every item and opening every chest.

[@chibiabelvods]

I picked the shield when i was younger because i thought it was the "right" choice and got rid of the sword because it said "terrible destruction" and i wanted to be the hero

[@kertuo]

Usually, my choices for the weapon follows KH 1: Dream Rod and sacrifice shield, and the reason is that the one extra mp is only at the beginning of the game, and if you choose not to choose it, you cannot have max mp and you be less than 1 mp. Both strength and defense there are items that boost the stats while magic doesn't. KH2: Dream Shield just cause more survivability KH3: Mystic route since I usually end up using more magic that I planned on using.

[@adrianlinares6738]

For kh1 Always pick sheld and staff,abandon sword because it’s not the useful.

[@andrewgarrett1356]

I love magic as much as the next person, but I always go with the Sword and Warrior choices for these games. I also pick Midday for Kingdom Hearts. I am a huge fan of melee combat, so swordsmen, fist fighters, and martial artists are my go-to. I'm probably one of the few people who genuinely vibes with Terra's fighting style in Birth by Sleep; not that I don't enjoy playing as Ven and Aqua. The overall Warrior play style in these games is also typically more challenging, which just makes winning all the more satisfying. This is especially true of Kingdom Hearts because Sora is just starting out and not nearly as skilled as he is later on. Another big reason why I always pick the Sword in Kingdom Hearts over the Staff and the Shield is because it just makes the most sense aesthetically. Because Sora isn't an experienced fighter in Kingdom Hearts, he wields every weapon like a sword because he's played with toy swords for years. Which is why it's kind of awkward seeing him swing the other weapons around like swords; moreso with the Shield than the Staff. That really just goes to show how far Sora has come as a fighter in Kingdom Hearts III when he starts using various Keyblade transformations expertly; including those that are staves and shields.

[@KillerSaiyan7]

Jared... when KH3 review?

[@camharkness]

Given that he liked kh3, and speaking positively about kh3 still gets you harassed, I feel like we will never get it.

[@K1NGD0M]

When KH4 is released :)

[@KillerSaiyan7]

I'll keep asking til it happens

[@witcherjohn3440]

@@KillerSaiyan7or you could just be patient and chill like the rest of us

[@jaycarrillojc]

Man. I don't think I've ever picked the shield ever unless I'm discarding it. Glass cannon baby 😊

[@sirensoulegaming4158]

Same. All damage, no defense. The shield is for cowards :P.

[@jaycarrillojc]

@@sirensoulegaming4158 damn straight. Once you get aero... that pretty much is your shield

[@sirensoulegaming4158]

@@jaycarrillojc indeed. I usually pick staff and give up shield, which makes the opening chapter absolutely brutal, but it's far stronger once you have aero and cure.

[@CaptainSherbertTheQuestionable]

I usually go staff but speedrunners taught me to go sword for the earlier access to better combo modifiers.

[@jaycarrillojc]

@sirensoulegaming4158 I'm playing the game for a buddy of mine who has never seen thr story and I'm letting him choose everything I do. He chose the same path and I'm getting my ass kicked 🤣🤣🤣 shit is hard without guard and dodge roll right away lmao

[@williamhippard2139]

Thanks for making this video. It’s helped a lot

[@ThePhantomKingX]

Decided to replay the series again so trying these methods out for once!

[@Gigglerue]

In KH1, I always pick the magic rod for the extra MP, and sacrifice the sword, because when it comes to completion reasons, anything the sword offers can be maxed out with stat raising items anyway, so it makes sense to get rid of the sword, whereas the shield offers item slots, and the magic rod offers MP, and I've always just found that extra bit of MP more useful than a couple extra item slots... As for the exp, it doesn't matter in the end because you're just going to get to max level regardless, so what matters more is the journey through the game, and since most of the game is done in the first half of leveling, it's actually more helpful to pick the faster leveling, then patiently grind through the later levels all the way to level 100, and in my experience, it's really not that long of a grind, so I see no reason to get the slower early leveling with the less experience requirement for level 100, not to mention that this doesn't effect Donald & Goofy's experience rate, and if I remember correctly, Donald reaches level 100 last regardless of what experience rate you picked anyway so... As far as I know in KH2, the beginning choices are much more negligible and do not matter in the slightest, only really effecting a minor stat change or something along those lines, but I could be wrong about that? I otherwise haven't played the new KH3 to say anything on that~ :V

[@DarkEinherjar]

In KH1, I always pick Dream Rod and discard Dream Shield, because max MP also determines spell power. The Strength, Defense and AP losses don't matter that much because you can craft Power Up, Defense Up and AP Up to make up for them, but you can never regain that missing MP. I drop the shield because you really feel those 2 Strength you lose in the early game if you drop the sword: it take more attacks to bring the enemies down, meaning you're more open to attacks, which wastes the extra 2 Defense.

[@silvokami]

Casual Sword chooser here. My preferred playstyle is usually nerfing myself as much as I can to see with how much skill and with how much minimal resources I can finish everything. I find beating certain parts with optimized build quite a boring feat so idk if I'm the only one like this~

[@lebearpolarr]

I'm so glad I'm not the only one who thinks this! I always see people pick Shield or Rod and I felt like I was missing out on something

[@AzurePursuer]

the level break is actually 42 to start gaining exp at a faster rate. not 50.

[@SorcererVtuber]

I was 12 when I first played KH1 and I took it much more metaphorically. I chose the shield because i liked the "a shield to protect all others" line.

[@cofagrigusfan24]

I usually go with the sword simply because I prefer to smack enemies in the head over casting spells or doing defensive tricks

[@iburuma3621]

You don't need defensive abilities if you never get hit. git gud, jared

[@WilyGryphon]

I go for Shield in KH1 these days so I can get Guard at the earliest point, and I go Balanced in KH3. I think I'll go with your suggestions for the rest (and either Dawn or Midday for level-up rate in 1).

[@AZNBeefcake]

Lucky strike at 90 for the sword is diabolical

[@DemonLordSpawn]

Kh 1: dream shield, sacrificed sword Kh2: umbrella ward, dream sword Kh3: im balance, mystic

[@metroid1859]

I think the biggest deciding factor is what difficulty you play on. I have often found in the series that the sword is the easiest to give up for proud and critical. But anything boosting when you get once more and regen abilities are a must have for the early game.. Especially for clearing the first visit to hollow bastion

[@monster25man]

this is the most comprehensive guide to these systems I've ever seen and the comments giving more insight helps too! thank you very much for this video!

[@pepepalerm5723]

As a kid still learning the KH stuff I always picked the sword in all the games but now I pick staff and sacrifice shield in KH1, in KH 2 I always pick the shield and in KH3 I pick the sword and in the 2nd choice system I always picked the first choices but now I choose mostly the last choices or sometimes the other ones

[@bensherlock1328]

In regards to the Dawn, Midday or Dusk choices for leveling up, which one would be the closest to Kingdom Hearts 2?

[@empty_melodies]

This is an essential video. Thank you

[@BrennySpain]

Attraction Extender is available at level 22 in KH3 no matter what weapon you pick either. It’s not a bad feature overall but who would’ve guessed?

[@jayyyyyyyyyyyydagamer]

I have needed this video from you thank you so much 😭😭😭

[@Payday2JoyMain]

Do your explanations of the 1&2 dream weapons also work for vanilla KH 1&2? I know the HD remix version of 1 the abilities are different with the final mix stuff sprinkled in as they remade the game from the ground up with the FM content. As for 2 i have no idea if 2FM is any different as I've never played/owned it. If anything i can probably rely on the strategy guide books to check out the stats. Keep up the great work Cynical 😄 tis always awesome when you upload new content, also thank you for the stats explained in 3 I'll definitely have to play around with Balance, Vitality, and wisdom a bit more now that i know what they give you Health and MP wise 🙂

[@nomoremandead3910]

the vanilla version of 1 of 2 in terms of learning abilities are different.

[@finndriessen5829]

Tbf just choose one it doesnt rlly matter

[@XoraNo13]

I always pick the sword, I didn't know I was torturing myself.

[@tsyumamatsuthehavenofguard32]

In the original it's always shield, no questions asked. Scan is a necessary evil and in the original ps2 release it's locked by a _level wall_ Final mix changed thiz to be a gift from clayton which i am forever grateful But kh2 there really is not a visible difference so just stick to sword. 3 tries to give you the branching trees again, but again _you'd be stupid not to go for magic cause even in critical mode_ magic HUUURTS IN 3

[@reallyhimongod]

Short answer KH1-2 pick the shield for the best starting defensive perks for KH3 go Mystic for best starting magic perks

[@vadandrumist1670]

Kinda wished they had continued with it and went more in-depth. Like, Sora could get certain combat/movement abilities and spells only by selecting certain weapons, and which weapons discarded/retained has just as much impact. Would also like a "Dream Dagger" or something to determine agility, maybe as a "pick one, discard two".

[@jaysonking4055]

I always use the attack ones so I can just mash the attack command That’s the only real way to play KH

[@zeromanjoel3609]

Shield gang wya?

[@nehuen7949]

In KH 1 the best choice regarding time of day is "dead of night" or "dusk", depending on version. Why this? because it doesn't matter if it's slower than the other two options when leveling up. The amount of total experience at LV 100 in dead of night is FAAAAAAR less than the other two... so the leveling speed doesn't matter because no matter what you choose... an enemy who gives 100 exp points will give them in any time of day... but is not the same that the total exp at LV 100 is 878,291 versus 949,815, and 984,856. I definitely prefer dead of night... when you are grinding speed doesn't matter, the amount of total exp DOES.... at least in this game.

[@lilacdragonblade]

KH 1 I'm grabbing that sword, I NEED scan

[@darienb1127]

I'll be honest, I think the shield is really boring im KH1. Considering you only get combo modifiers from level ups, that means you are pushing almost all of your mods (execpt Slapshot, which rules) all the way down to either endgame or postgame. You're basically stuck with the dinky three hit combo the whole game and it just gets boring to me. Also, MP Haste in KH1 is HUGE! 2 and 3 I think Shield might objectively be the best choice since you get combo mods and other combat abilites from fixed encounter rewards and equipment.

[@gabrielmpereira9628]

If you play on Proud or Critical Modes, Dream Shield is the best. You know, better defense against more aggressive enemies. 😅😅😅 On Begginer Mode, I usually pick Dream Sword, since I attack much more than defend 😂😂😂

[@ShamblesTCG]

But in the end, your choice in KH1 really doesn't matter that much. Not 1 secret boss (no not even Sephiroth) is actually difficult, if you just go to lv 80+ and equip second chance and leaf bracer. Like you can easily brute force Xemnas and Sephiroth (just look out for one winged angel)

[@xdfeverdream8122]

All 3 games power of the Warrior and give up power of the Mystic and hardest difficulty available. I like a challenge. Mystic is definitely best pick in KH2 though objectively if you want an easier time. Magic just breaks that game in half difficulty wise.

[@actionjaxtheultrasithlord3717]

I always pick the staff and give up the shield for kh1. Then for kh2, i pick the sword for good early game abilities. And i honestly pick kinda random in kh3 cause until now i had no idea what anything meant. Except the ez and pro codes.

[@RiazGT]

Magic, always choose magic no matter what. Unless you're in Warhammer then I guess you're replacing your shins with gyros when I first played I got dead of night for my time of day. Didn't really notice anything though cuz I'm the type of person that, in my first pokemon game, leveled all 6 of my pokemon to 100 off of random encounters before facing the elite four with no sanity loss or loss of enjoyment. No one told me to do it, didn't know what was going on but knew that was the final battles so wanted to max them when facing the final challenge. I'm the type of person who's naturally built to play rpgs

[@burntninja450]

Dream Sword, every time. All the best in your face option right off the bat. Don't have to worry about defense if everything is already dead. Wand is a close second in KH1 only because you get Lucky Strike earlier in the level order, so less grinding for materials.

[@awsm253]

Huh. As someone who Chose the sword and sacrificed the Dream rod back when I first played the OG KH. I had no idea I was giving myself, essentially, one of the 'worse' starts.

[@LetsPlayerUltimate]

Finally I am first :D Love your videos dude

[@abyssofsorrowanddespair2936]

See the ability I always look for is actually lucky strike, which is why I always go for the shield and sacrifice the sword, I want my good stats and I want lucky strike as quickly as possible, the less I have to grind for ultima weapon the better

[@anthonytillman6363]

I always pick the sword. I also sacrificed the shield, which make the game much more challenging. Usually that made the game more fun, but sometimes it meant frustration, because the margin for error is so small.

[@davidlafoy9247]

Choose the shield and sacrifice the wand may work for Kingdom hearts 1 but since we're playing as Roxas in Kingdom hearts 2 it'd be better to sacrifice the wand and choose the sword.

[@seriouslydon_t]

so as I only got to play the first games as a kid who did not know any of these, and since as a kid I thought the only important stat was attack... I basically always chose the sword. Had wisened up for KH III and chose mystic though!

[@mermidion7552]

While it is good to know these things, when i played i never looked for optimazations, i just like magic so i always did go for the mage route in every game, and if the game became a little more challenging because of that, hey more fun for me.

[@notacrow6286]

Wow I never actually knew that those affected your game. I just picked random options.😅

[@moon3117]

THANK YOU!

[@rusian1091]

this is great cause i started 3 FIVE years ago and never finished and now playing through all of them on 2 currently

[@Shrock568]

My first kingdom hearts game was the Kh1, and I chose Sword and sacrificed Magic. That was a mistake.

[@Trollius]

wait you mean when i first played kingdom hearts 1 i was on easy mode without being on easy mode, because i take the shield but sacrifice the sword

[@TheGreatDagda0]

For me its always Magic Rod and sac shield in 1 made the game harder and way more fun, aunt raised me off the games so its my goal to make them last my life until I can pass them to my kids

[@walter-q5w6k]

For kh1 picking Dream rod is better then the shild as items can be disabled if the enemy hits u at the right moment leaf bracer and vita are much better

[@WheelBite_]

Going hard on the content atm keep it up man 🤘🏻

[@DinahDissects]

In KH 2, don't you get Scan from beating an early fight and not levels?

[@Tylerthephantom]

The TLDR: pick the damn shield!

[@whiteguyhumor]

You always pick shield stuff because you don't know how to not get hit. Get good son.

[@YonaSuzuki]

legitimately never knew it was this complex, i like swords so i chose swords every time and trashed the wand

[@Tasuke]

I don't remember what I picked for KH2 and KH3, but in KH1 I always picked the sword and gave up the shield.

[@Funami2006]

So for KH1 for me it’s interesting because I am more concerned with what I give up than what I boost. If you give up Staff you lose 2 AP at the start. That is something I cannot allow. This means it comes down to whether I give up Sword or Shield. Obviously if I pick one to boost I sacrifice the other. However I feel in most cases it’s more worth it to sacrifice Shield over Sword. So I don’t drop Sword unless I boost Shield. My playstyle uses a mix of physical and magical offense. It’s also important to note, if you’re doing a level 1 run +Staff/-Shield is your best bet. KH2 I typically go Sword because it’s more fun for me. I don’t mind being delayed on Second Chance/Once More since if you get gud you don’t need them as much. KH3 I go Balance/Sword or Staff. Why not shield? I like the challenge and to quote Jocat: DPSing is just mitigating future damage.

[@JohnLML123]

My picks for KH1 are as follows: Choose Sword, but Sacrifice Magic. The reason why I do that is because early Scan is always nice, and I am more of an aggressive attacker with the Keyblade. I like to brute force stuff. KH2: I choose Sword because again, I like me some brute force. KH3: I choose Balance and Warrior because of the same reasons for KH1 and KH2. I also like Balanced stats in my RPGs because I want to deal damage and take damage as well. Basically, "jack-of-all trades, master of none" kind of deal. I play however I want to play, and that's fine by me!

[@colorknight736]

I didn’t know you get to choose your level stats at the beginning of the game…

[@Gkiss3955]

Recent KH run I picked dream rod and for KH2 I picked the dream shield

[@GianTehGreat]

Now i have hope that cynical will release kingdom hearts 3 review. I'll pray to the turkey god

[@johnhorton1527]

I choose the Dream Shield so i can get defensive abilities

[@RihonGames]

Picking the staff gives you 2 extra mp bars in kh 1 that is not obtainable in any other way. Example: if the max mp bars u can get in the game are 14 bars. Choosing the staff will make you max mp you can receive 16

[@chronobretz9511]

I'll be honest I didn't know the choice mattered I always chose the sword

[@Bastion90]

My choices depend on which difficulty I'm playing at: KH1 - Beginner: Choose Sword/Sacrifice Shield, Final Mix: Choose Rod/Sacrifice Sword, Proud/Critical: Choose Shield/Sacrifice Rod, Journey: Dusk. KH2 is the same, but obviously without the sacrifice. KH3 I've only played on Standard difficulty and I go with Wisdom/Mystic.

[@imnugget8085]

See these stats see how instead of choosing base off personality u choose off number. U lose the magic in kingdom hearts . I choose the sword and lose thr shield GLASS HOUSE WITH CANNON IS ME

[@eldenlion5850]

I remember my choices for each from my very first time for each. KH1 Sword,revised to shield because Riku 1 was unbeatable in my 12 year old mind. KH2 shield revised to staff for shits and giggles at 16.3 prioritized balance

[@johnathanballenger279]

In KH1 I don’t care much for magic so I’ll end up picking the shield and give up the rod. In KH2 I pick up the shield again. And for my first run of KH3 I went balance but my preference changed to now picking wisdom every time. Magic is INSANE in KH3

[@HAVOCprojects]

I have a rather mixed feeling about the ability sets in KH1FM. The shield was fantastic in vanilla KH1 because I could get all the essentials early on, at least until FM decided to just scatter them, making Guard & Counterattack 30 levels apart from each other despite getting to learn Guard the earliest, not to mention harder MP management due to MP Haste and MP Rage being pushed back really far. At least Lucky Strike could still be learned fairly early, which means more item drops for quicker synthesis progress. The sword, which used to suck in vanilla due to having to reach LV36 just to learn Guard, became preferable for getting both Guard and Counterattack fairly close together & relatively early, but hunting item drops becomes painful as I won't have access to Lucky Strike until LV 90?! The sword also grants Second Chance at a reasonable timing as being at LV48 means I'm getting close to the difficult part that is the late-game contents (although not having Leaf Bracer early might be bad). The staff was fairly solid in vanilla, and now the thing grants... early AoE ground combo finishers? Cool! But then I'll have to deal with worse survivability due to the lack of early Guard, Counterattack, and especially Second Chance. I've never pick the staff in my entire time playing KH1, though.