From the original Kingdom Hearts to Kingdom Hearts 3, Square Enix has provided an immense list of abilities to utilize for taking down Heartless, Unversed, Nobodies, and any other enemies unfortunate enough to stand in the way of a mighty Keyblade wielder.

It will definitely become daunting to scroll through so many abilities, each with its own unique attributes, animations, frame data, etc. It might be easy just to throw on whatever abilities you unlock, but to really optimize your gameplay, there are a few abilities that stick out from the rest for better or worse.

Updated April 24, 2022, by Avery Lawrence Feyrer: Throughout the sprawling series that is Kingdom Hearts, there are tons of abilities that Sora utilizes in trying to save the various worlds from darkness. We’ve updated this post to add a few more entries on which abilities shine the brightest and which abilities should be kept in the dark.

14 Worst: Damage Control - Kingdom Hearts 3

This ability may seem quite helpful at first glance, especially when playing on easier difficulties. But, when enemies begin to wallop Sora with more force later on in the game, the ability becomes a bit obsolete. You see, Damage Control reduces damage taken when you’re below 25 percent. Sounds handy, right?

However, if you’re waning below 25 percent health in the first place, another hit is most likely going to take you out, especially if you’re playing on any difficulty past normal mode. Once you have abilities such as Second Chance, Damage Control starts to take up your precious AP.

13 Best: Magic Flash - Kingdom Hearts 3

On to the more beneficial uses of AP, Magic Flash is an aerial combo finisher within Kingdom Hearts 3. Its damage is calculated using Sora’s magic stat, which is a bonus for how strong magic is in Kingdom Hearts 3. Not only that, but this ability can be followed-up by a Shotlock, which allows Sora to dash at the opponent again to start another aerial combo.

This finisher allows for multiple chained combos that can lead to massive damage, as well as being highly damaging by itself. When watching no damage runs of bosses, you’ll see this ability manipulated quite frequently, and for good reason.

12 Worst: Magic Lock-On - Kingdom Hearts 3

It’s definitely much easier to equip Magic Lock-On and go to town with mashing the magic shortcut, but a lot of the time it can end up as a bit of an annoyance. First things first, some spells are much more beneficial when used near Sora, like Magnet from Kingdom Hearts 2, and you’ll just end up sending it away from you.

Second, it can be difficult to pinpoint the exact enemy you want to hit with magic, especially when trying to use projectile magic in a horde fight. It functions as it should, but use it with caution.

11 Best: Hurricane Blast - Kingdom Hearts

Aerial combat is pretty limited when it comes to the first Kingdom Hearts, but Hurricane Blast takes advantage of Sora falling like a rock through the air. This ability ends combos quickly and has a massive hitbox and stuns enemies enough to get Sora back to the ground safely to repeat the highly damaging sequence.

It’s very effective to spam simple three-hit aerial combos when finishing with this and will carry you through most fights. It also happens to be a great option when speedrunning, as the quick nature of Kingdom Hearts’ air combos shaves off much more time than button mashing on the ground.

10 Worst: Aerial Dodge - Kingdom Hearts 2

A major combat factor in Kingdom Hearts game is being able to dodge and avoid getting hit. Not only to retain Sora’s health but also to preserve any combos and not interrupt any of his attacks. With that knowledge, you’d like to think Aerial Dodge would be a useful ability, but actually, it could prove detrimental.

Aerial Dodge is an ability in Kingdom Hearts 2 that allows Sora to essentially double jump in mid-air, giving him another way to dodge incoming attacks. Again, the move sounds useful in theory, and it probably does help out in some situations, but Sora’s single jump is more than enough to dodge most attacks. Having a double jump could cause hiccups in any mid-air combos and throw you off balance, so it might be in your best interests not to rely heavily on Aerial Dodge.

9 Best: Glide - Kingdom Hearts 3

In the first Kingdom Hearts game, Sora and his friends traveled to Neverland to help defeat Captain Hook and the Heartless. During their adventure, Tinkerbell sprinkled some fairy dust on them to give them the ability to fly, and luckily for Sora, he stashed a little fairy dust for later.

While Sora won’t have the ability to lift off and fly away, he does have the ability to glide in the air. By using the leftover fairy dust, Sora can leap from high locations and glide through the air to either reach the ground safely or reach other would-be unreachable areas. Glide isn’t an ability that would necessarily be useful in battle, but it’s arguably the best ability for general exploration.

8 Worst: Vortex - Kingdom Hearts

If you haven’t noticed, Sora’s arms are quite short and stubby, so reaching distant opponents with the Keyblade can be a bit frustrating, especially in a clunkier game like the original Kingdom Hearts. Luckily, you’ll learn Slide Dash pretty early on, which can close in on distant enemies fairly well.

Vortex is a mid-range ability that has Sora do a spinning slash to make up for the distance. But, it’s quite slow and can leave Sora wide open to oncoming attacks, especially if missed.

7 Best: Explosion - Kingdom Hearts 2

Fairly late into Kingdom Hearts 2, Sora will learn the combo finisher known as Explosion. Similar to Magic Flash, Explosion calculates damage from Sora’s magic stat, which can be easily exploited to deal a massive amount of damage.

This attack also hits in a 360-degree area around Sora, protecting him from all nearby enemies and clearing out any that were left standing. If you’re looking for the most damaging way possible to end your flashy combos, then Explosion is your best bet. As a plus, it also looks super rad.

6 Best: Guard (Also Appears As Block)

In most action games, you’ll usually have an ability to block against incoming attacks, and that’s true with Kingdom Hearts. With the Guard ability, Sora can deflect harmful attacks that will either negate all of the possible damage or severely reduce it.

This ability appears in nearly every Kingdom Hearts game, but sometimes might be labeled as Block instead of Guard. Defensive abilities aren’t typically flashy and might not be considered worth it for players, but in a pinch, Guard can be the difference between falling in battle and surviving a close encounter.

5 Worst: Retaliating Slash - Kingdom Hearts 2

Being able to instantly recover from being hit and dealing out quick damage looks flashy and is very beneficial in some situations, but it’ll get you killed more often than not. By pressing square after being hit in the air, Sora will recover and throw out a volley of quick slashes at the attacker.

Especially against bosses, this will negate your invincibility from HP saving moves like Second Chance and will give the enemy a prime chance to chip away the rest of your health. It may seem like a smarter play to go on the offensive, but waiting out your enemy’s attack to regain control of the fight is much more important.

4 Best: Trinity Limit

Similar to the Limit Break concept in the Final Fantasy series, Kingdom Hearts also has Limit abilities, with one of the strongest being Trinity Limit. Appearing in each game, Trinity Limit is a special ability that allows Sora, Donald, and Goofy to combine their powers for one mega attack.

When activated, two red orbs will emerge from Donald and Goofy and combine with Sora. The Keyblade wielder leaps around and drives his weapon into the ground, causing a giant energy wave that washes over any enemy in range. The attack ranges in power depending on everyone’s current level, so the ability will increase in power as Sora, Donald, and Goofy get stronger in the game.

3 Best: Second Chance

It felt a bit like cheating to put Second Chance at first place, so second place it shall go. Even if Sora has a measly two HP, he’ll be able to withstand any damage and still retain one hit point. As long as Sora isn’t already about to kick the bucket, enemy attacks are essentially useless.

This ability is crucial in any Kingdom Hearts game, and playing difficulties like Critical Mode without this ability is soul-crushing. Allowing the player to run away and heal up after taking what would have been a fatal blow is a literal lifesaver, and will always be a welcome ability in any Keyblade wielder’s arsenal.

2 Worst: Dodge Slash - Kingdom Hearts 2

The worst ability in Kingdom Hearts goes to Dodge Slash. The only thing that “Dodge” Slash can do is make it easier for enemies to dodge Sora’s slow attack filled with awful hitboxes. Sora will spin around and flail the Keyblade wildly when surrounded by enemies, which mostly puts you in the exact opposite situation that you’d want.

Vicinity Break is a way better choice for getting enemies off of Sora, as it’s fast, damaging, and effective, which are all antonyms of Dodge Slash. Just try going up against the Lingering Will with this ability equipped.

1 Best: Horizontal Slash - Kingdom Hearts 2

Have you ever wanted to pull off minute-long combo sequences on bosses with one button? Well, then Horizontal Slash is perfect for you. Using the attack in the middle of an air combo will cause Sora to continue the combo for a long while, and it will last indefinitely when using the Fatal Crest Keyblade.

While bosses will eventually escape the combo, it will deal an absolutely massive amount of damage when done correctly, helped by the usage of limits like Peter Pan to help keep enemies into Sora’s blender of death. Some bosses are absolutely obliterated by this ability and are also a must-have in some mini-games, which makes Horizontal Slash, arguably, the best ability in the series.

NEXT: Ranking Every Kingdom Hearts Game Ever Made From Worst To Best