Returning to The World Within after completing objective 43, you will notice the 12 zodiac symbols in the center of this area have all lit up. Enter the middle and a new mirror will appear, holding behind it a 5-wave Boss Rush challenge. Even on Beginner Mode you’ll have a tough time surviving, so it’s best to make sure you’ve done some solid grinding before attempting it.
There are five battles in total, three of which feature bosses you have faced previously in throughout 0.2. The first four fights are pretty straightforward and simple, but the finale is where things get rough. Here’s the breakdown of each round:
Battle 1
Darkside, Flutterings, Shadows, Neoshadows
The battle begins with a Darkside and some Flutterings, but several Shadows and Neoshadows will appear throughout as well. The main objective here is to defeat the Darkside, but taking out the lesser enemies around it will surely help. Area-of-effect attacks like Thundaga are helpful here for taking out groups in short order, while still dealing a bit of damage to the Darkside. Ultimately there’s not a lot different from this Darkside to all the others you’ve fought, so just treat it like a normal battle and you’ll move on to round 2 in no time.
Battle 2
Flame Cores, Earth Cores, Water Cores
Round 2 starts with a handful of Fire Cores and Earth Cores, with some Water Cores joining the fray once you’ve taken out a few of the first wave enemies. It’s not a difficult fight. Just beat ‘em all up.
Battle 3
Shadows, Neoshadows, Flutterings
Even easier than Battle 2, this fight just has a bunch of Shadows, Neoshadows, and Flutterings getting all up in Aqua’s business. Like with the Darkside bout, take advantage of Thundaga and Thundaja for a quick victory.
Battle 4
Demon Tower, Shadows
After fighting Demon Towers in Castle Town and the Depths of Darkness, you shouldn’t be in for any surprises with this fight. Use your Shotlock for a nice start, chip away at it with magic and physical strikes, and avoid the tower when the Shadows start glowing. Take your time, don’t get cocky, and soon you’ll be on to the final fight.
Battle 5
Phantom Aqua
This is undoubtedly the toughest fight of Kingdom Hearts 0.2, even causing more frustration than the Demon Tide on Proud or Critical Mode. Phantom Aqua (PA) is a struggle to beat even on Beginner Mode, and I shudder to imagine attempting this fight on any further difficulty. You can only use a limited number of restorative items, which means you should rely on Curaga to heal you most of the time, unless you’re on the brink of death and have no time to wait for the MP gauge to charge.
More strength and defense will help go a long way in this fight, so I strongly suggest grinding a fair bit before this fight. An easy place to grind is the endless staircase mirror in the World Within. It literally only takes 2 to 3 minutes to go through the staircases and defeat the wave of Heartless in the room at the end, and you get 14,071 EXP in that time. You can repeat that process as much as you like, without being too far from a save point and without being in any real danger. At any rate, Level 70 is a nice starting point, but don’t be afraid to complete objective 9 by getting up to level 80 before facing this battle. It should only take around an hour to go from 70 to 80, and you’ll definitely notice the difference in how much damage you deal and sustain.
Moving on to the actual battle, this is nothing like the Phantom Aquas faced previously in the game. She’s got a similar attack arsenal, but everything is more lethal and fast-paced, making her hits more difficult to dodge and block. She starts off with a multitude of dash attacks with red auras, which can not be blocked. If you’re fast enough you can dodge the hits, but blocking is a waste of time and precious HP. Basically, any time you see red, DODGE; don’t block. If PA warps toward you without the red aura, try to block and counter-attack, following that up with a combo if possible.
If PA manages to trap you in one of her vicious combos, stay calm because Aqua will retain 1 HP at the end of it. Make sure you’ve got a full MP gauge, and cast Curaga as soon as her assault has ended, before she has a chance to strike again. There’s no point in using any other magic, since she teleports away before the hits would connect, so just save that precious MP for Curaga.
Once PA’s HP is down by two bars, she’ll start using new attacks, again similar to her normal attacks, but with multiplied range and intensity. Instead of one Phantom Aqua warping and firing long-range blasts, there will be at least three at a time. Dodge these hits, and don’t try attacking yet. Following the blasts she (along with about 6 doppelgangers) will do a bunch of fancy warping to attack up close, but these hits are all blockable, so do your best to keep in time with your blocking. Don’t try to counter-attack yet. She’ll end the flurry of Keyblade combos with a Spellweaver, similar to that of previous fights against PA. At the end of this move is when you want to counter-attack, after successfully blocking the Spellweaver hits. Get in as many hits at this time as you are able, before she starts her next assault.
Next up is a fairly random string of red-aura hits and regular hits, so pay close attention to see whether you should block or dodge. Patience is the key to winning this battle, so don’t get overzealous. Block and dodge as necessary until you find an opening, then hit where you can.
From here it jumps back and forth between everything previously, but never really in the same order. After facing her a few times you should get a feel for how to read her moves, allowing you to anticipate what’s coming next. If you continue having trouble, check out this impressive video from YouTuber Bizkit047, and see if you can’t learn anything from watching their victorious battle on Critical Mode. Also never forget that a couple more levels could make all the difference, so don’t shy away from a bit of extra grinding. Just remember that if you exit the battle to grind, you’ll have to begin the Boss Rush from Battle 1 all over again.