Riku finds himself inside Hollow Bastion. However before he can even call out the town’s name, the voice tells him that this place is not real, and is just a place from his memory. It seems that his memories of his time with Maleficent were formed into a card and transferred here. Riku demands some answers and the voice tells him that he will only meet the people from his memories. Riddles upon riddles it seems. After the two finish talking, Riku receives the Key of Beginnings Card.
The first thing you notice when exploring is that this place is... completely empty! Well, except for the mindless Heartless cruising the halls. One big difference you will notice is during a random encounter with said Heartless. Riku is very different from his counterpart, Sora. First of all, Riku does not need to recharge his cards. We all can give a sigh of relief over that one.
After the fight is over, Riku levels up, revealing another difference from Sora. Instead of Sora’s HP, CP, and Sleights options at each level, Riku has HP, Attack, and DP (Dark Points) leveling options.
After testing out Riku’s skills, check the map and notice that the world is quite small. The first crown door you need to go to is glowing on the map, so proceed there. After using the Key of Beginnings, you will be in Riku’s old room that Maleficent gave him. Just then the voice speaks about the time Riku spent with Maleficent. The voice reminds Riku that he gave up everything for the darkness. Riku tells the voice to stop talking and leaves the room, collecting the Key of Guidance in the process.
Once Riku becomes playable, look on the map and continue to the next crown door, fighting random Heartless if you so choose.
Once you are through the next crown door, Riku shouts for the voice and asks why there is nobody in the castle. The voice tells him that it is this way because of the choices he made. Riku exclaims that he rejected the darkness, and runs out of the room. Riku receives the Key to Truth on the way out.
Return to the World Map, check the location of the last crown door, and move in that direction.
Once you have all that you need, proceed through the last door.
Maleficent is in the next room and Riku is very surprised to see her. Riku, however, has not been paying much attention, as she reminds him that she is but a figment of his imagination. Sora destroyed the real Maleficent. The dark fairy attempts to convince Riku that all he has left is the darkness, and if it weren’t for his dark core, he would be all alone right now. Riku defies her comment and tells her that he will destroy everyone who is part of the evil, “One by one!” Thus begins the classic battle of teacher versus apprentice, the light against the dark.
Boss Battle: Dragon Maleficent
While this boss fight was somewhat formidable during Sora’s story, it is downright laughable with Riku. Maleficent has very few health bars and her defense is paper thin. She really is a shade of her former self, because you will have no trouble taking her down.
Use the same tactic in this fight that you did with Sora, however you can afford to be much more offensive, as your sword attacks are incredibly powerful against her. When the Dragon uses her flame attack, again head to the edge of the arena and run along the wall until you get to Maleficent. Continue targeting her head and using combos on her face and she goes down shamefully fast.
In the room Riku appears in, run through the door to the north and continue on that path until you come to a save point and the exit into Castle Oblivion. Once you enter the Castle, you find yourself face to face with your old mentor of darkness, Ansem. This time he wants Riku back on his side and on the side of darkness. Riku exclaims that this will never happen, and just before it seems like Riku is going to give in, Mickey comes to help him in the form of light, giving Riku the strength he needs to face Ansem again. A training simulator on card breaking and Riku’s dark powers is as follows.
Once Riku enters the arena, you are tasked with breaking Ansem’s attack as soon as he attempts to use a card.
This may take you one try or ten to get it right, however once you do you will learn about Riku’s Rapid Break ability.
Next Ansem will teach Riku the basics of dueling in the Duel System.
If Riku uses a card with the same number value as his opponent, then a duel will commence. At this point, select all of your strongest cards in quick successions as fast as possible. If you win the duel, Riku performs a charged attack that is highly effective and awesome to watch.
After the tutorial, Riku and Ansem discuss the darkness that still resides in Riku’s heart. Ansem then gives Riku another World Card. Before Ansem leaves, he gives Riku one last gift—the awakening of Riku’s hidden dark powers, which becomes incredibly useful in the upcoming battles. The ability is called D Mode and turns Riku into the dark form of himself, boosting the strength of his sword cards and Sleights.
DP can be accumulated when Riku breaks enemies’ attacks with attacks of his own. The D Mode meter fills up with every break, ultimately powering Riku up when the gauge is full. That being said, Riku will return to his normal self if Riku is damaged too much or his attacks are broken. When you level up, you can now select to boost DP, which will make this last longer during a fight.
After Riku appears at Castle Oblivion, move up the stairs to introduce two more members of the Organization: Lexaeus and Zexion. Just then Vexen appears and the three discuss the current situation. The three argue a bit, which is the norm for the Organization. Zexion senses a couple new smells, one being of the fake Maleficent and the other being unknown. Zexion goes on to inform the others that the scent is one that is similar to someone called “The Superior”.
Riku finds himself in the Castle, when Mickey appears to him as an illusion. Apparently Mickey cannot get to him to help at the moment, but he is trying to. Mickey relays some poignant words and warns Riku to never give in to the darkness. Riku obliges and agrees to continue on his way. The next area is Agrabah.