Ranking *EVERY* Kingdom Hearts 2 Reaction Command (WORST TO BEST!)

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Twitch: / skywardlive In this video, we're ranking every Reaction Command in Kingdom Hearts 2, from the best to the worst. Watch as we discuss the pros and cons of each Reaction Command and decide which ones are the best and which ones are the worst.
After watching this video, you'll know everything there is to know about Reaction Commands in Kingdom Hearts 2!
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[@SidneyMosley]

The Marluxia reaction commands are my favorite, but Storm Rider is THE most stylish ending reaction command you could pull off in the game. Even Sora himself posed knowing he did some *savagery.*

[@curabletoxin]

My favorite part about Vertigo toss, is if you time a reflect right before it collides with you then do the reaction, the immediate dopamine hit you get.

[@13KuriMaster]

Another detail about the Rising Sun reaction command... the Armored Knights that trigger it, actually try to use the attack themselves when you take a close look at the animation, but there version is far more clunky and no where near as good..... so Sora is kinda flexing on them by seeing there attempts to do it, deciding he can do it better, and then start beating their rear ends with his better version of their attack.

[@admentlore]

Yeah...Tell me Sora wasn't a Keyblade Master in KH2!

[@SUPABOOOMB]

Foreal! Especially after that 1000 heartless battle. WHERE ARE HIS FLOWERS???!

[@Ueslx.600]

Hi 👋🏻

[@mewmewpowergirl1625]

Because demyx can use reaction commands and is a hero

[@aguywithgames3135]

He’s good swinging that keyblade, but he could use some really cool magic stuff to go with it.

[@ultra9349]

I’ve argued that he’s been 1 since kh1 Didn’t he also beat someone who killed a group of people on their mark of mastery exam and sora hadn’t even peaked before ansem boss

[@latexu95]

34:16 I too did that same mistake when I first fought this boss.😅

[@OmegaBotDX]

7:20 It's actually the exact opposite as how you said it in the video; The LOWER the Bulky Vendor's HP is, the better the prize, with it only giving the best prize when it's below 25% HP. I agree it's kinda a poopoo RC, but the fact you have to also wait for its HP to drop that far to get what you'd actually want it for is what truly justifies it being the lowest one in C, imo.

[@curabletoxin]

Something Nomura said that makes me laugh, is the reason KH3 had no reaction commands, is because so many people complained that KH2 had a ton of "Mash triangle to win" sections. So he took it out thinking its what we wanted. Then fans were sad and confused it was gone.

[@josephp2229]

KH fans in a nutshell. Haha.

[@destroyermcw626]

@@josephp2229Ugh

[@AmazingOwnage]

Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.

[@haldosprime3896]

The problem was always that it took no effort to use them. Make it so you have to nail the timing and not allow you to mash them out, and tone down some of the damage on them and you’re golden.

[@TheUltimateRare]

i actually feel like, having it be in every other game will allow it to breathe and make fans excited for the next game that has it.

[@AlexxxMYLSince2013]

You forgot Riku's Dark canon, it can be triggered along side dark barrier, its a weaker version of the one from Sesion

[@Skyward]

DO'H! I'll add it to the showcase video lol. that would probably also be C tier haha.

[@N..O]

@@Skyward you should also add the reaction command you get when you walk up to Herk’s GF during the Hydra fight. Yes, she actually has a reaction command.

[@YUXKE]

It’s kinda mentioned when he talks about the Session RC with Riku

[@AlexxxMYLSince2013]

@@YUXKE yeah but its not mentioned as a separate command

[@elxiyrl9747]

My top 3 (I don't really count the Limits): 1. Vertigo Toss (I will forever kill the Storm Rider with this command) 2. Slingshot (Fun way to kill the Dark Thorn) 3. Needle Dive (Sit down Sark)

[@goatcatofchaos]

How have i never known slingshot was a command-

[@northwind2538]

29:05 Ending this fight with this exact sequence was definitely one of the most satisfying things about KH2.

[@DenDenDenDenDen13]

The Reaction Commands are part of the reason why KH2 is my favorite game of all time. Loved this list!

[@LinkMaster-d5b]

Based pfp

[@yakov9903]

8:25 It's impossible to kill Hostile Program in a single freeze unless you wait until the end of the fight to ever use it, even if you overlevel to the max and somehow hacked damage scaling off. The boss has HP gates that stop you from dealing too much damage too quickly.

[@ignacioperez5479]

something i love of reaction commands is how they show sora just adapting to the enemy

[@player_lv430]

KH2: "The triangle button is rated E for everyone" Sora in that one KH3 cutscene: "These fists are rated D for Davy Jones"

[@PowerMovesOnly822]

34:15 yeeeah I think every kid at first was confused there, that you had to press both lol

[@latexu95]

25:25 That's so funny how the Berserkers start jittering around Sora when you use that command.🤣

[@latexu95]

26:06 And also those cherry blossom petals, really gives you that Japanese samurai feel.😉🌸

[@latexu95]

32:52 That one is really cool, because it's almost identical to the Hydra battle in the Hercules film.😉

[@yeahsure.6083]

All's End, the finisher for session was so special to me, that it was my gamer tag for years after seeing it

[@latexu95]

19:32 When I got to this boss fight, I would play "My Sitar" by Dr. Bombay, because I have seen several memes where that song was associated with Demyx (probably because his weapon is also a big sitar).😉

[@sangheili333]

I spent literally years, maybe a decade, not knowing there were other options to Xemnas's clash command. Every time I would hit the first one and think it's dumb because nothing happens lol

[@fullelement4886]

I didn't know for a long time either. First time I played it I was like... 12? 13? But yeah I only got the first one and was annoyed. But then when I replayed it when I was like 19 I got all 3 in the same order they were showed on here and I was hyped

[@Graveyard_Ari97]

I learned that Peter Pan is a phoenix down by accident because I was getting pissed off at the Lexaeus fight. I was mostly using Peter Pan as a healer

[@darkAwesome100]

Fun fact about the MCP charge command: if you're in valor form when you do it you'll gain mad form XP

[@Bankai2169]

WAIT REALLY??

[@LinkMaster-d5b]

Cough cough Stickman Sham cough cough

[@0G-Ghost]

32:20 same, but I didn't learn about hitting X till my 2nd playthrough... Yes I did it the first time with just reactions. My wife's jaw just dropped when I told her that (we have been binge watching your content)

[@reallyhimongod]

32:53 is my fav and the finisher where Sora cuts all the heads off.. *chef kiss 🤌🏽

[@JapanFreak2595]

11:25 “Omae wa mo shindeiru” Real talk tho, it’s RC’s like Cyclone and Quick Blade that really give KH2 its flavor. Epic takedowns will always be hype, but the snappy seamless RC’s where you interact with smaller enemies and using their skills against them show just how adaptable and cool Sora can be. Here’s hoping RC’s in KH4 get close to that feel with regular enemies.

[@SSJRadioBluth]

33:37: Late but there's another super cool reaction command block that's triggered if you take too much damage during the upwards reversal. Xemnas kicks away your Keyblade Riku catches it mid air and both of you block and avoid his counter. What an ending fight.

[@ricardoj376]

34:18 Pufff. I wasn't the only one who thought triangle was enough. LOL. I was like "How much Harder am I supposed to mash!!!!????"

[@joshuafarmer3135]

KH2 was innovative with it’s reaction commands and so many are my favorites but I’ll list my top 5. 1. Duel Stance/The End Samurais are my favorite class of nobody and the way they handle their swords with grace just like Roxas and his Keyblades I cannot get enough of. 2. Burst Frontier/Overtaker “BURN BABY!!” Sora/Roxas scaling a fucking WALL OF FIRE is just pure awesome. Axel’s fight is one of my favorite beginning bosses in any game. 3. Vertigo Toss My favorite heartless RC and a sick way to kill the Storm Rider boss. That landing pose Sora does only adds to the awesomeness of the situation. 4. Show Stealer/Wild Dance I’m gonna say it. I love Demyx (he’s my favorite Org member) and I love his fight. Watching Sora slap him silly with the Keyblade is one of the funniest things I’ve seen in a boss fight. Also who doesn’t know DANCE WATER DANCE!! 5. Warp Snipe Sniper nobodies can be a real nuisance when in groups but this RC makes quick work of them. Just see Sora bounce and teleport off an invisible is cool enough on its own.

[@jacobthompson4444]

40:38 YES!!!! That city escape theme music got me so pumped!

[@Cpc157968]

Eternal Session was my all time favorite limit, especially at the end where Riku says “You’re gonna lose it all” right before the 2 keyblades reduce every opponent on screen into nothing more than a pile of ashes

[@Zerosvs]

One of the best videos i've ever seen. Here in Brazil we don't have much Kingdom Hearts content at all, so I am not used to have a bunch of nostalgia and thoughts about why this is the game of my life in form of a video, thanks for that!

[@kareemwilliams8992]

“YOUR KEY SHALL BE TWOFOLD” got me geeked everytime

[@LinkMaster-d5b]

It’s “your pain shall be twofold” but I feel like that could be that’s what is said

[@keybladekyle9458]

The dragon reaction command will always be my favorite. Just that pure super hero moment with the pose just shows nothing can stop this mans

[@drantino]

restore count actually isnt based on time but distance you are to ether marluxia or his weapon. a spacing tech for getting ether seperatly is when you block the move, you can ether wait because the s are enough to get aerial strike, or block again getting enough knockback to get restore strike

[@biggiesmallslancer419]

12:07 There has to be an explanation to why Square didn't give Roxas the option to perform Fail-Safe like you can with Sora. Like they just made it to where Roxas could only perform 1 RC for normal enemies during the small amount of play in the beginning(excluding twilight thorn and axel 2)

[@kurimiaisukurimu]

Looking forward to the KH4 version of this video in 2038

[@latexu95]

38:40 In fact, there's only ten specific boss fights where Mickey can be called after the knockout.🤔

[@gabyyy420]

Apparently, grabbing the gopher balloon in Hunny Slider was too good to even made it into the ranking

[@woodlandcollective]

Gopher's the name!

[@nightcaller92]

Eternal Session has gotta be one of the best, if not THE best limit in the game. Just so cool to see Sora and Riku working together kicking ass, and so gratifying after the adventure you go through with the prior games, from the rivalry Sora and Riku share in KH1 that gets corrupted by Ansem and mended by the end of the game, to the twin stories of each character in Castle Oblivion during Chain of Memories, to the journey of Sora searching for Riku throughout KH2, concluding in this marvelous barrage of the two working in perfect sync now that they're reunited and aligned in purpose. Not to even mention that by concluding Final Xemnas with Session, you get to effectively give Riku the killing blow on the final boss, which I absolutely love

[@phillipbrown9228]

A few reaction commands were missing, so I'll list them here, along with their contexts. Rockshatter (Land of Dragons): A rock wall blocks the Chinese army's path up the mountain, so Sora breaks through it. This command looks similar to ones like Hydra's vanquish/Solo Trinity. Push & Waken (Beast's Castle): Sora & Co. must go to the dungeon to rescue the castle's servants, but the talking wardrobe is blocking the door to it. Visually, Push is Sora pushing it out of the way, but Waken is when the wardrobe knocks him away, scoots back to her spot and goes back to sleep. Sprinkle & Restore (also Beast's Castle): Cogsworth hangs onto a lever to keep enchanted lanterns in reach. Sora, Lumiere and Ms. Potts team up to get rid of the enchanted fire. However, Cogsworth's grip runs out, so Sora and Ms. Potts use Restore to recover his strength. Visually, Restore has Ms. Potts jump up and float above Cogsworth for a second, & Sprinkle looks identical to Release (SkywardWing described it as exorcism). Stomp Bomb (Timeless River): In the area where Sora and Co. are giants, Sora can stomp on the tower, causing its cannons to fire, stunning the heartless so Sora can get some hits in. Visually, it basically looks the same as Heal Stomp. Cannon Bomb and Launch (Port Royal): Both happen during the ship rides from Point A to Point B. Cannon Bomb has Sora fire one of the ship's cannons at an opposing ship. Launch has him knock a bomb off of the ship. Visually, Launch looks similar to Oogie Boogie's Fore!, and Cannon Bomb has Sora put one foot on the cannon and point his keyblade at a ship, followed by the cannon firing at said ship. Go, Abu!, Jump!, and Set the jewel! (Agrabah): Sora and Co. must put a gem back in its place in the Cave of Wonders. Visually, Go, Abu! gets Abu to start running, Jump! has the gang jumping over a trap, and Set the jewel! ends the scripted segment, though it's implied that they put the gem back. Spin (Halloween Town, but technically Christmas Town): Sora spins the carousel in Candy Cane Lane, the force of it drawing enemies in like a tornado, it damages them too. Visually, Sora smaks the carousel with his keyblade. Move center/Left/Right (Halloween/Christmas Town): During the Oogie Boogie boss, when two of the tunnels at the front of the conveyor belts turn blue, Sora can go from one belt to another. Visually, it's him charging into one tunnel, charging out the other (exactly what you'd expect). Quick Slide (World that Never Was): This one's for the Heartless Mushroom in TWTNW. Visually, it's just a combination of Reversal and Rapid Blow. Look Up (Hollow Bastion/Radiant Garden): Another Heartless Mushroom command, 12 of the mushrooms Sora bested wait for him in the ravine where the 1000 Heartless battle took place. When he gets there, he looks up to see the 13th mushroom floating down, it lands, gives Sora the keyblade earned for beating the mushroom challenges, then all 13 mushrooms float away. Then you have triangle commands like Save (save in-game progress), Examine (Sora gets a closer look at something), Talk(talk to an NPC), Ready, Go! (start a mushroom challenge) and Open (open a chest) that no one talks about because of a lack of spectacle, and also how self-explanatory they are.

[@psyckwhoever4197]

Finally someone acknowledges the incredible magic abilities of minnie! It's only fitting that you (kinda) get wisdom form from her 😁

[@Yashahiro_]

In my personal opinion, i absolutely love reaction commands. It just makes you feel so powerful, and most of the time is just an optional ability to use

[@michaelleese1641]

bro your editing is hilarious, great job😂

[@TalysAlankil]

4:04 worth noting that dodge roll isn't *just* a dodge - it also causes the bombs to do friendly fire to other heartless. so it's not as useless as it might look :) also small mistake re:bulky vendors - they give better prizes for being *low* on HP (but they also move faster, making them harder to catch)

[@hunterfoster2610]

Dude the first time I got the Mickey resurrection option I literally jumped out of my chair yelling because it was so surprising and awesome

[@youtubeboyjamie4364]

The Demyx battle from Hollow Bastion gives me PTSD alongside the Xaldin battle in Beast's Castle

[@XertiqWasTaken]

14:49 i like this frame of Sora doing the beast boy 4 meme a little too much

[@renamamiya2279]

Fun fact about Chichen Little: Basically, he shouldn't have been in the final game, however, since the movie was going to be released soon at the time, the devs said to themselves at the last moment that it would be cool to do a summon on him, to do some publicity for the movie. And tell yourself that it worked so well that the movie... is one of the worst movies about the mouse in red shorts. :)

[@phirone7499]

I tend to forget what a great swordfighter Sora really is, but this commands usually remind me of this. KH2 was one of the 3 Games I really played through multiple times, but I really forgot a lot of commands. And well I played the usual version so I missed some at all.

[@jerryrhoadsofficial]

41:36 soooo are we going to forget the roxas battle where sora can get both oathkeeper and oblivion to fight roxas with after said reversal?

[@softpawz52]

Just found your channel not too long ago. I’ve been absolutely eating up this kingdom hearts content. I love it!!! keep it up man! 🥰❤️❤️❤️

[@Somewhatof_akhspeedrunner]

Thank you for your amazing content with kingdom hearts and btw, my favorite snack would be a pop tart or some goldfish. But again thanks for all your hard work.

[@Ronldbx6]

Pretty cool idea for a kh2 video. Don't think I've ever seen anyone go through and rank all of the reaction commands😮👍

[@TRAILLER]

I creamed Demyx on the first time. The one that marked me was "You will wear the face of despair!" from Xaldin. Demyx's boss battle is in a well lit place, the water clones were and are only a minor inconvenience for me. Xaldin... took me 57 tries on 20" cathode ray display when I played on PS2. when I replayed with 42" LCD I had MUCH less trouble because I could now actually SEE his lances coming.

[@123jov5]

Amazing video! You have no idea how long I’ve been wanting someone to rank all the reaction commands

[@devonm042690]

Fail-Safe is not in the prologue/early game. Roxas can't perform Fail-Safe.

[@Skyward]

Oh my god that makes so much sense now LOL

[@VinTheDirector]

Your music choices for this video are S-Tier

[@jazzratoon]

I'm glad KH 4 will bringing back reaction commands, like those were pretty cool to trigger in the second game.

[@CrazlikaFoX3]

It's not very well known, but during the Hydra fight in Olympus Coliseum, if you look at the very edges of the arena, you'll spot Meg--you can actually run up to her and she'll give you items, though I can't remember if this is triggered via reaction command or proximity.

[@wilbertsledge3454]

Proximity if you were still wondering

[@CordyMcDonald]

Fun fact about Delete and Charge on MCP: they count as Valor form hits if you are in Valor, and are extremely good at levelling that up. Less fun fact - every time I tried to do this in my latest run of KH2 I ended up entering anti form first so I spent a very long time just hitting the shields and running away from big boy Sark.

[@CordyMcDonald]

Second fun fact: The skateboard also gives Valor form hits.

[@KyrianXVII]

So I appreciate this video a lot for the simple reason that, even though I've played through KH II so many times over the years (base KH II at least) I never knew that there were Reaction Commands I never saw!

[@NateGlacier4589]

Seriously such an underrated KZbinr

[@ahny3814]

This video was perfection good shit Sky!

[@spndogg6284]

Barbecue Pringle’s & Fruit Snacks🔥🔥🔥 Dope vid Sky👍🏾

[@Boundwithflame23]

Axel is my favorite character so seeing the RCs related to his boss fight in S tier made me happy. 😊 Riku is a very close second

[@adrianemanuel7121]

I've been thinking how cool it would be for someone to rank ALL the reaction commands in KH2, and of course you go above and beyond that with limits and summons 😂. Reaction commands are definitely the secret ingredient that needs to be a staple for the KH series. Hopefully they lean heavy into enemy-specific reaction commands in KH4, cause the versatility of saucing on mob enemies and some bosses is unmatched 😤. A lot of the C-Tiers in this vid are actually some of my favorites due to controlling the enemy directly.

[@mariosgx13]

The dedication of this man is unspeakable

[@theyoungfamily8295]

Didn't you forget the one from Lion King where you fight the giant heartless your second time through. Where you punch through it's foot.

[@danbowker5737]

I know it must have taken so long to make this video but it would have been so cool to see some of these reaction commands slowed down and see all the little details

[@zblazer0]

There's a reaction command i think you missed in the xenmas final fight. After the reversal spam sometimes (don't know the trigger) xenmas can knock sora away and he drops his keyblade. Riku grabbed it and throws it back to Sora. It's so simple but so cool.

[@Sockz224]

I’ve never noticed the SARK headshot command. I think it’s referring to his movie death

[@novemberbravo6194]

Great list, totally agree with your rankings across the board. Top tier video overall, excellent work! Glad to see your channel continuing to make headway and grow, that's awesome!

[@aza11112]

Funny thing about Roxas' reaction command, it allows you to cheese him and make it so he can't fight, just look up Roxas quick run if you are wondering

[@joshuawilliams6767]

"you know what else is neat ? A lobotomy". Sora drills into a man head with his keyblade 😂😂😂i😂😂

[@saibot7962]

The revovery run is a crazy discovery Its interesting that thdy put in there too Whenever i play that section the dusks and samurais rarely attack Leon they just go for me or the gate

[@jadenknott]

Whereas leon just does his own thing and not help out with th- op and they broke the gate again, thanks a lot Leon

[@theplayer8881]

34:18 me to XD is took me 9 year to realize both can deflect. After I played through 1.5+2.5 final mix and i hit accidentally X. And it took me soo long bc I won with just Riku multipal times.

[@kingarthurpendragon134]

Great vid! I think you missed some of the reactions commands in 100 acre wood and twilight town or do mini games not count?

[@PajamCam]

Someone probably mentioned this, but you can negate being frozen by Vexen if you use Reflect just before he tries to freeze you.

[@cardboardfriends]

Brooo, you're HILARIOUS, I love your jokes, they make the video so much fun to watch haha 😂

[@regyssilva161]

I love Sweet popcorn

[@stuballingerart]

I've always loved the samurai duel/"The End" command

[@therobiner9952]

I press the triangle button more than the x button.(I had to replace my controller after I finished kh2😅)

[@alcole-holic8779]

29:38 oh, I get it, the number is the answer to the question. It was a little hard to read what Marluxia said so I was confused

[@ecclesoul]

16:55 I believe the proper scientific term is “Izuna Drop”

[@roiitzkovich4545]

When they announced KH4 will bring RCs back I was mixed on that. To me at least, they were always a bit braindead and "all flash-no substance". There are a few exceptions that required timing and skill though, and I hope that's how ALL OF THEM will be in KH4.

[@NicoNicoNick0529]

Peter pan is the GOAT for when your trying to do those waves of nobody's to get to the data org early

[@jjj6854]

loved this list! Pretty much how I would rank most of these!

[@patricklatham3897]

I never got Show Stealer to work for me. The move command appears for less than a second and it always comes out of nowhere without warning, so I am NEVER ready for it.

[@alexmartin249]

Hey Sky, what are your top favorite game mechanics in the Kingdom Hearts series? I love the drive forms, shock locks, and flow motion.

[@Rusty_Spy]

KH2 perfected the qtes as gameplay mechanic and it's a tragedy that the developers didn't have the confidence to stick to their guns and folded to peer pressure or didn't realize what they had.

[@explodedglue5509]

I think they didn't realize what they had because they could've stood out from the rest with reaction commands in the ps3 era

[@cristianvargasestay1086]

I ended up crying... but then i became Tony M.F. Hawk. Is always good to remember why Kingdom Hearts 2 is my favorite game, it´s just so flashy and heartwarming at the same time.

[@Mathias-t]

You're absolutely carrying us through the KH news drought with your great content. Keep it up, SkywardWing

[@Hulk1566]

No doubt this is the good case scenario on when you press the green button and it's my favorite color

[@pistolpaul65]

Fav Snack: Sour Gunmy Worms, recently went on a deployment and had the German Trolli Sour Worms and they blow the ones in the states away

[@noahstrahan593]

I wonder, Mr. Skyward, have you attempted or completed KH3 via a critical level 1 run with all the Pro Codes on? Would be very interested in know your list of the most Difficult battles or worlds to complete on the run if you NEVER turn off Pro Codes.

[@Recovery305]

Boy than JUNGLE parry sure makes me miss Deep Jungle lol

[@BMCBroManClash]

I did not know that the Air Pirates actually had a Reaction Command. O.O KICKASS! :)

[@MetallicD3ath]

You had trouble with the Lock Shock and Barrel fight too? I don't even know what it was about it, but I had way more retries on it than any other fight, even had to stop playing the game for a bit and come back slightly more skilled later on. I think you're probably right though - you got the deal with 3 powerful (quote unquote) foes in a tight space and you just can't divide your focus effectively. One of the few fights where button mashing will just get you killed.

[@Rydernort]

6:50 appreciate the persona 5 music there

[@OfficialEmptyEye]

Man, I don't usually turn KZbinr's notifications on but ngl 90% of the time you drop a video and it shows up on my recommended, I click it so fast. Keep up the good content, keep it less political though ;)