One aspect of the Kingdom Hearts series that’s as iconic as the series itself is that of the Keyblade. The weapon that’s at the center of all of the Kingdom Hearts games is what gives Sora and his friends their power to fight the darkness across various worlds.
While the Keyblade is something many other characters have now, in the first game Sora was unique in that he seemed to be the sole Keyblade wielder. Along his journey, he gained various Keychains that changed the appearance of his Keyblade and gave it unique properties to help him in combat.
18 Jungle King Is Quickly Replaced
The first new Keyblade upgrade Sora gets in his adventures is that of the Jungle King. This Keyblade design is heavily themed after the world Deep Jungle from Disney’s Tarzan movie. Its sound profile isn’t that great, and while it provides a better reach, it’s a Keyblade that’s only slightly better than the Kingdom Key. There’s a reason most players quickly swap it out when they get their next Keyblade.
17 Crab Claw Isn’t That Good, Even When Its First Obtained
Bbtained from clearing Atlantica, the Crab Claw’s design isn’t the best. The blue and orange color scheme often makes it stand out like a sore thumb in worlds like Halloween Town.
While it provides semi-decent stat boosts, Sora has so many better options for Keyblades by the time he gets it that it’s almost pointless to wield. This Keyblade might have been better off staying under the sea.
16 Metal Chocobo Has A Cool Idea, But Flawed Execution
A Keyblade that’s a reference to the Buster Sword should be awesome in design. It should be large, meaning it has great range, but also it should be powerful. Multiple issues are present by the time Sora gets his hand on this Keyblade.
For starters, the design for it looks too blocky. Then there’s also the issue of its stats only being average by the time it’s obtained. To make matters worse, it can be quickly replaced by the Olympia Keyblade obtained from sealing the Olympus Coliseum Keyhole. Kingdom Hearts II did a better job at making a Buster Sword-like Keyblade with Fenrir.
15 Fairy Harp Lacks Decent Range
While the Fairy Harp Keyblade received from clearing Neverland has some decent stats, most players that equip it will soon find there’s another glaring problem with this weapon. It lacks any kind of effective range for combat. Enemies that fly or dodge frequently won’t have too much trouble avoiding Sora’s attacks with this Keyblade. Despite this lackluster range, plenty of players will use it, at least until they can get an effective replacement.
14 Lady Luck Provides Decent Critical Hits And Balanced Stats
The Wonderland Keyblade, Lady Luck can only be obtained very late into the game, after the White Trinity has been unlocked. This Keyblade has a very solid design, with it being card-themed to fit with Wonderland’s aesthetic.
This Keyblade also provides decent stats for landing critical hits. Where it falls short is mainly when the player would get it, as typically most of the Keyblades already available to Sora surpass what Lady Luck can provide.
13 Pumpkinhead Has A Great Appearance And Range
This appropriately Halloween-themed Keyblade is received after Halloween Town is cleared and has a great design and stats for combat. The Pumpkinhead can string together critical strikes which makes it an easy choice for clearing through waves of enemies in the Coliseum. Its range is also nothing to scoff at since it is one of the few Keyblades with a good reach.
12 Spellbinder Is A Great Early Magic Keyblade
The Spellbinder is pretty easy to miss if players don’t often return to visit Merlin in Traverse Town. This Keyblade is gifted to Sora after he’s learned one version of every spell in the game and can be obtained as early as Monstro, where Sora gets his first stop spell. The Spellbinder is excellent for its boost to Sora’s magic stats, giving him a couple of extra casts.
11 Wishing Star Is Great For Landing Critical Hits
As an optional keyblade, Wishing Star is a great find due to how easy it can land critical hits. This Keyblade can only be obtained after clearing Monstro and is found in Gepetto’s House in Traverse Town.
It is a quickly outclassed Keyblade due to some of the later options, and even with a then available option. It is still a great weapon to have for clearing through the Coliseum and some enemies that need more critical hits to go down.
10 Three Wishes Does A Great Job At Defense Piercing
One of the best Keyblades in the game is obtained after completing Agrabah. The Three Wishes keyblade has the great property of quickly attacking after being deflected, meaning it’s great for breaking through a heavily guarded enemy’s defenses. The design is also simple but effective in illustrating the world that it’s from. This Keyblade was so good that they ended up reusing it for Kingdom Hearts Chi[X] as one of the player Keyblades.
9 Kingdom Key Is A Solid Starter Keyblade
As the first Keyblade players ever get to see in the series, the Kingdom Key is iconic. With a very simplistic design that even has a nice little Mickey Mouse hint with the Keychain, this Keyblade is synonymous with Kingdom Hearts as a whole.
This Keyblade is the Keyblade Sora ends up using the longest throughout his first adventure as the first Keychain upgrade he gets doesn’t happen until the last of the first four worlds are cleared. It provides a steady balanced set of stats and players are incentivized to use it exclusively in a separate playthrough with some achievements for doing so.
8 Olympia Is A Great Late-Game Keyblade To Get
Obtained after sealing Olympus Coloseum’s Keyhole, Olympia provides a great set of stats and critical hits. The design is simplistic yet effective in what it’s illustrating as the main Keyblade of Olympus Colosseum.
On top of those easy critical strikes, this Keyblade also comes with the same benefit as Three Wishes, with its difficult to deflect attacks. This can be an easy Keyblade to miss, but it’s certainly worth the effort, especially if the player has gone as far as completing the Hercules cup for the Yellow Trinity mark unlock.
7 Getting Lionheart Was Great In The Hades Cup
As the one Keyblade obtained from advancing through the Hades cup, Lionheart was a worthy reward, especially for the difficult fight against Cloud and Leon that it comes from. If the player likes to summon a lot, this Keyblade provides a great boost for summoning.
It also raises Sora’s MP slightly, allowing for more magic, and has a fairly strong strength stat along with it. Overall, it’s a very balanced keyblade to use late into the game, especially as a keyblade that’s a reference to Leon.
6 Divine Rose Is One Of The Best Late Game Keyblades To Get
The main Hollow Bastion Keyblade, Divine Rose is a surprisingly easy one to miss out on if the player doesn’t interact with the NPCs too often. To get this Keyblade, all the player needs to do is talk to Belle in the Hollow Bastion Library.
This Keyblade is essentially an upgraded version of Olympia, with better crit rates and higher damage output. Where this Keyblade does fall short is in range, but that is more than made up for in damage output.
5 One-Winged Angel Has The Best Crits In The Game
This Keyblade is one of two final mix exclusive Keyblades and is only obtained after clearing Olympus Colosseum’s platinum match. While it does appear to lower some of Sora’s stats, it not only has the best range of any Keyblade in the game, it also provides the best crit bonus of any Keyblade in the game.
Design-wise, this Sephiroth-themed Keyblade does everything Metal Chocobo set out to do, but far better. While obtaining this weapon is far from easy, once Sora’s wielding it, his attacks are near unstoppable.
4 For Players That Use Magic A Lot, Diamond Dust Is The Perfect Choice
The other final mix exclusive Keyblade, Diamond Dust is obtained after clearing the Gold Match and offers the best MP boost out of any Keyblade in the game. This boost does come at the cost of physical attack power, but that is more than made up for by how much MP Sora is given by it.
Sora gets a whole three MP from this weapon and a boost to his magical capabilities. The trail effect for this Keyblade, like One-Winged Angel, is also very unique with an icy effect that makes it pleasant to look at.
3 One Of The Best Designed Keyblades Is Oblivion
The Oblivion Keyblade can first be obtained during the return visit to Hollow Bastion in the Grand Hall where the possessed Riku was fought. This Keyblade along with its counterpart, Oathkeeper have become staples of the series, appearing in each of the main titles and being wielded by Roxas.
This Keyblade provides a great boost to strength stats, but at the cost of magic. Which, this keyblade is a great alternative to Divine Rose for players that want range with their heavy hits.
2 The Oathkeeper Serves As A Reminder Of Sora’s Promise To Kairi
This Keyblade is unlocked after Sora makes his promise to return Kairi’s good luck charm to her. Oathkeeper is as iconic as Oblivion is for mostly the same reasons. Which, if Oblivion is the more attack-focused Keyblade, then Oblivion is its magic counterpart. It does still come with the bonus of stringing together strong crits like so many other of Sora’s keyblades, making it a worthy weapon to return to Hollow Bastion with.
1 While Hard To Get, Ultima Weapon Is Worth The Trouble
A long string of synthesis quests needs to be completed before this Keyblade can be synthesized. Obtaining the Ultima weapon is a fairly tedious quest, but it’s highly rewarding once it’s obtained.
The final mix version of the game made it even more difficult to obtain by adding new enemies and synthesis materials to the game. But, if the player can persevere and get this Keyblade sooner, they are rewarded with an easier time fighting off some of the game’s strongest enemies if they haven’t already.
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