Labyrinth
TheLabyrinth (迷宮, Meikyū?), orglitched Coliseum, is an area withinOlympus Coliseum'sKeyhole that appears inKingdom Hearts coded. It is home to theTurn-based RPG style (ターン制RPG風, Tān-sei RPG-fu?) gameplay mode.
During the first visit, only five floors, calledLayers (レイヤー, Reiyā?), can be explored. After completing the story, a total of fifteen layers are available, and upon clearing those, a total of thirty layers become available.
Along the way,Data-Sora find several pieces of information explaining the new mechanics, calledHercules Memos inKingdom Hearts coded, andshreds of wisdom (メモを拾う, Memo wo Hirō?, lit. "Pick Up Memo") inKingdom Hearts Re:coded.
Story[edit]
Kingdom Hearts coded[edit]
When Olympus Coliseum is filled with bugs, Data-Sora promptly finds the world's Keyhole and enters it to reach the labyrinth. He teams up with Hercules and Cloud to destroy the bug sources.
Hades andCerberus are fought on Layer 05, theRock Titan is encountered on Layer 15, theBehemoth is faced on Layer 25, and finally the true source of the bugs, theIce Titan, is battled on Layer 30.
Mechanics[edit]
While in the field,Data-Sora retains all movement abilities but has no combat capabilities, except striking with theKeyblade. A typical layer contains several rooms with corridors connecting them. Each room is affected by theBug Level, which indicates the amount ofBug Blox in the room and determines the strength of that room's enemies. DestroyingBug Blox and defeatingHeartless reduces the Bug Level, which weakens enemies, earns bonus score points and converts Metal and Danger Blox into Normal and Prize Blox. To advance to the next layer, Data-Sora must find and examine the warp point, usually hidden beneath a pile of Bug Blox. At the end of each layer, a score is given based on the amount ofscore prizes obtained and the number of rooms completely debugged. Save rooms are special areas between certain layers, that contain save points. They appear after layers 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 09, 10, 13, 14, 15, 18, 20, 22, 24, 25, 27, and 29.
To initiate a battle, Data-Sora must come into contact or strike an enemy with the Keyblade. If Data-Sora attacks an enemy from the back, he will trigger a pre-emptive attack, giving him an extra turn at the start of the battle. However, if an enemy attacks Data-Sora from the back, Data-Sora will be caught in a back attack, giving the enemy an extra turn at the start of the battle. Swirling shadows, known asmenaces (黒い影, Kuroi Kage?, lit. "Black Shadow"), contain powerful enemies that pursue Data-Sora even if he is in another room or corridor.
In combat, most abilities and the Loot Cheat are disabled since battles are entirely turn-based. Data-Sora can perform a regular attack by pressing
and can string combos up to three hits by pressing when prompted. When an enemy attacks, blocking can be achieved by pressing
when prompted, halving the damage taken. Holding down
, allows the party to attempt to escape the battle. Team combat withparty members, such asHercules orCloud, is similar to individual combat, thoughGame Over is only achieved whenData-Sora's health is fully depleted. Some techniques are exclusive toData-Sora, includingcompiled commands andlicenses. However, all characters can perform a unique, individualspecial attack, which randomly replaces a standard combo attack.
There are also specialLicenses that become available throughout the Labyrinth which can produce different effects. Depending on the specific license and its effect, the license may be either be used for battle or in the field and may either generate an immediate effect or grant a lasting status condition. More Licenses become available the deeper Data-Sora goes, though only eight varieties can be carried at once.
Special attacks[edit]
Special attacks (スペシャル攻撃, Supesharu Kōgeki?) are powerful combo finishers that have a 10% chance of activating after each hit when correctly pressing the button.
| Character | Special attack | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Data-Sora | Boiling Point | Deals a series of strikes to enemies. |
| Hercules | Zero to Hero | Deals an attack to an entire row of enemies. |
| Cloud | Omnislash | Deals many hits on one or more enemies. |
Compiled commands[edit]
In the labyrinth, using Deck commandscompiles (コンパイル, Konpairu?) them into special techniques. Certain combinations of compiled commands result in different or higher level techniques. Higher level commands deal more damage, andStar of Faith,Blade Line, andSubjugate also deal more damage depending on the number of party members alive.
| Technique | Target | Type | Element |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sonic Surge (ソニックブレイク, Sonikku Bureiku?, lit. "Sonic Break") | Single (Far) |  Physical | — |
| Sonic Line (ソニックライン, Sonikku Rain?) | Pierce | Physical | — |
| Faithblade (ホーリーブレード, Hōrīburēdo?, lit. "Holyblade") | All | Physical | — |
| Star of Faith (ホーリースター, Hōrī Sutā?, lit. "Holy Star") | Single (Far) | Physical | — |
| Blade Line (スラッシュライン, Surasshu Rain?, lit. "Slash Line") | Pierce | Physical | — |
| Subjugate (エクスターミネイト, Ekusutāmineito?, lit. "Exterminate") | All | Physical | — |
| Explosion (エクスプロージョン, Ekusupurōjon?) | Single (Far) |  Magic | Fire |
| Freeze Line (コールドライン, Kōrudo Rain?, lit. "Cold Line") | Pierce | Magic | Blizzard |
| Zeus's Spear (ゼウススピア, Zeusu Supia?, lit. "Zeus Spear") | All | Magic | Thunder |
| Breath of Zeus (ゼウスブレス, Zeusu Buresu?, lit. "Zeus Breath") | All | Magic | Aero |
| Friend Cure (フレンドケアル, Furendo Kearu?) | All allies | Magic | — |
| Random License (ランダムライセンス, Randamu Raisensu?) | All allies | Magic | — |
