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Kurt Zisa

Kurt Zisa's Modes

Kurt Zisa will cycle through the modes until he is defeated. Check out the information below for info on how to deal with him.

Prowl Mode:

This is the first mode you will encounter with Kurt Zisa. During this mode, he spins much of his time hoping from place to place and defends himself from attacks by spinning his two huge blades. In order to defeat Kurt while he is in Prowl mode, you must destroy the two Darkness Orbs he is holding in either hand. This can be tricky due to his constantly flailing arms and his attacks. Locking on to the Darkness Orbs proved only slightly useful, so don’t rely too heavily on it.

Defenseless Mode:

This is the most critical mode Kurt Zisa can take. During this mode, he lies heaped in the desert and virtually defenseless. While he is in this mode, strike his head with all you’ve got (this may be hard because his neck is constantly moving). The life gage (and its long) that appears while Kurt is in Defenseless mode is his true life gage. However, he will only stay in this mode for a short while. When it empties, the battle is over.

Dance of Darkness Mode:

While Kurt Zisa is performing the Dance of Darkness, he’ll float above the ground protected by a shield of darkness. All physical attacks will do nothing to harm the shield, so only magic will do here. Once his shielding is gone, Kurt will collapse into Defenseless mode.

Attacks

This section lists Kurt’s attacks according to what mode Kurt uses them. The number of stars next to each attack tells how hard it is to avoid being damaged by it.

In Prowl Mode:
Kurt’s most damaging attacks come while he is in Prowl Mode. Here they are and how to deal with them:

- Never Again: Kurt casts this powerful spell every time he enters Prowl (including the first seconds of the battle). When he casts this spell, you will be unable to cast magic spells, so healing can become a problem very fast. I haven’t found anything that blocks Never Again, so your best bet is to simply have a strong manual weapon and plenty of healing items in your items list. Never Again looses its effect when Kurt leaves Prowl mode.

- Mad Dash: Kurt will lunge toward Sora and friends if the distance between them becomes too great. Roll toward Kurt slightly to the left or right to avoid his blades (but don’t roll too far past him) to be in a good spot to pound away at his energy orbs.

- Roundhouse: This action is both an attack and a defense. Kurt will spin his two blades quickly around his body while standing in one spot. The spinning blades will repel attacks coming from the other side and knock Sora away if he tries to run past them. To avoid damage, either stand close to Kurt’s legs or roll away from him.

- Blade: Kurt will jump in the air and begin to spin quickly. He will then swoop down on Sora like a blade! If he comes at Sora shaped like a bicycle wheel, simply run toward him and roll quickly to the left or right just before you make contact. If he comes at you shaped like a flat disc, run straight toward him and then roll just before impact. It may help to stand at the top of a dune before trying this so that you will fall into the valley and Kurt will glide over you.

In Defenseless Mode:
Kurt may be knocked off his feet, but he isn’t out for the count in Defenseless mode.

- Whip Lash: This desperate flailing of Kurt’s neck may damage Sora if the head strikes him.

In Dance of Darkness Mode:
Some of Kurt’s most spectacular offensive spells are cast in this mode. Here they are and how to deal with them:

- Hell’s Maelstrom: Kurt will signal this attack by rotating his arms and a design will appear on the front of this shield. He will hover around the battlefield as balls of fire appear randomly throughout the playing field. The balls explode into flame after a certain period or if Sora touches them. Just avoid the fire balls and try not to do anything that requires Sora to stand still (such as cast the Spell or Heal).

- Sandstorm: Kurt will call forth a powerful desert cyclone to engulf Sora. If you pay close attention to Kurt’s arms, you will see him do a ‘lift up’ motion as if raising the storm out of the ground just before it happens. If Sora is trapped in the cyclone, simply roll out of it. Sandstorm will not chase after Sora once he’s free.

- Meteor Rain: Kurt will summon balls of dark energy out of the ground. The ground will appear to bubble as the balls burst in and out of the ground. Kurt will also hurl huge balls of darkness at Sora at the same time, making it difficult to dodge completely. Kurt likes to call Meteor Rain in conjunction with other attacks for a double assault.

Defenses

This section lists Kurt’s defenses (as well as ways to defeat them) according to mode Kurt is in.

In Prowl Mode:
The point of Prowl mode is to knock Kurt into Defenseless mode. To do this, simply destroy the Darkness Orbs he holds in his hands. Here’s his defenses:

- Roundhouse: This action is both an attack and a defense. Kurt will spin his two blades quickly around his body while standing in one spot. Roundhouse repels all physical attacks on Kurt for a short time.

- Confusion: Kurt Zisa will move his arms around quickly making it difficult to get combo hits on his Darkness Orbs. Confusion isn’t capable of keeping all physical blows from hitting the Darkness Orbs, though.

- Mad Dash: Kurt will simply dash away from Sora if he is receiving too bad of a beating, making it hard to regain your bearings and giving Kurt a chance to reground and cast powerful attacks.

The main strategy to defeat Kurt while he’s in Prowl mode is to be patient and stay as close to you can to Kurt so that your Keyblade can inflict the most damage to the Darkness Orbs.

In Defenseless Mode:
The point of Defenseless mode is to defeat Kurt Zisa. To do this, simply unleash whatever physical and magical attacks you can on his head. Here are his defenses:

- Whiplash: Kurt will thrash his head around violently, making it hard to time physical attacks and making many magic spells miss their mark. To overcome Whiplash, just keep thrashing away at him. Gravity and Thunder as well as the ability Trinity Limit (available to Sora at high levels) work good, too.

The main strategy to defeat Kurt in Defenseless mode is to just keep smacking Kurt in the head. Don’t try to be too fancy with it because Kurt will stay in this mode only for a short while. Once Kurt Zisa’s life gage is gone in this mode, the battle is over.

In Dance of Darkness Mode:
When Kurt is in Dance of Darkness mode, you must quickly destroy his shields to get him back down to Defenseless mode. Here are his defenses:

- Devine Wall: Kurt deploys this powerful shield every time he enters this mode. It completely blocks physical attacks, but can be damaged by magic. The key to lowering the Devine Wall is to lock on to Kurt and cast magic spells. I found that casting Lightning was effective because when you were locked on to Kurt, the spell never missed. Gravity also does a lot of damage, but often misses, even when locked on. Fire, Blizzard and Stop were not very effective.

The main strategy to defeat Kurt in Dance of Darkness Mode is to lock on to him and let him have it with magic, especially Lightning. If your magic runs low, fill up with Either or hit Kurt’s Devine Wall with a physical attack: this releases Magic Power-Ups.

Notes and Tips:

This section gives general tips on beating Kurt Zisa. I hope you find them useful.

Summon:
When facing Kurt, don’t even bother with Simba or the other offensive summons. They do very little damage and even Genie’s ‘Show Time’ attack barely leaves a mark. Instead, you should summon Tinker Bell, who will help keep your life gage filled and Bambi who drops useful items and power-ups.

Spells to Cast:
Casting Aero whenever possible (including at the very beginning of the battle, before Kurt casts Never Again) can greatly help lower the amount of damage Sora takes. As mentioned above, the Tinker Bell summon was also very helpful. Make sure to have Thunder in your Quick-Access menu, so that you can cast it against Kurt in Dance of Darkness mode, as well as Heal so that you can heal yourself quickly. Don’t wait too long to heal yourself, because casting the spell takes time and Sora may be killed in those few crucial moments during which he’s casting the spell. Gravity was useful for defeating Kurt in Defenseless mode. Stop, Fire and Blizzard are practically useless here.

Items Stored:
Have as many Megalixers and Elixers has you can. Also, stock up on high-potency potions (like Hi-Potions). Don’t worry too much with Eithers, because they can get in the way when you’re trying to heal yourself in a hurry.

Your Party:
Make sure to stock up Sir Goofy and Mage Donald with plenty of potions (give them the weaker potions if Sora has taken all of the good stuff) and ethers. Customize their abilities so that they use MP and HP items ‘frequently’ or ‘immediately’. You’ll be surprised at how many times they’ll come to the rescue, but don’t rely too heavily on it. Also, set them up to use physical attacks ‘constantly’ and magic only sparingly (except for Donald, who should use Advanced Magic ‘constantly’). Also, I found it useful to make sure that Goofy and Donald were alive when Kurt was in Defenseless mode because they can help inflict large amounts of damage and make the fight quicker. Also, Donald casts the occasional Gravity or Thunder which helps to preserve Sora’s magic power.

Sora's Abilities:
Sora should definitely have Roll equipped (roll out of the way with square button). Also, any combo-enhancing or special attack abilities you have will also be helpful. If you are leveled-up enough, Trinity Limit is an extremely powerful attack that should be equipped in this battle. MP Rage and MP Haste are also useful due to the fact that magic is the only thing that hurts Kurt’s Devine Wall.