Axel is a major character in Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories, first fought after escaping Traverse Town. This guide will give you the knowledge and tools you need to win this early encounter with Axel.
Some Quick Tips for those determined to beat Axel:
- Card Breaks: Axel has powerful Sleights you’ll need to interrupt if you want to survive this fight.
- Ice: This flame-wielding boss is predictably vulnerable to the Blizzard spell.
Preparing for Axel
You’ll be fighting Axel soon after your fight with Guard Armor, although you will have a chance to save and heal in the Conqueror’s Respite room before you run into him.
This may be an ideal time to visit a Moogle Shop, and spend some Moogle Points (MP) on Magic cards. Because Axel is weak to the Ice element, slotting some Blizzard cards into your deck will go a long way, especially to cast Blizzara (Ice+Ice) or Blizzaga (Ice+Ice+Ice).
Additionally, if you don’t have a Potion card, buying a Green card pack would be a wise choice at this point, as being able to quickly reload cards in battle is a necessity for this and many future boss encounters.
Once you’ve saved and sorted out your deck, proceed through the Conqueror’s Respite and you’ll have a cutscene between your party, a hooded Organization member, and Axel.
Defeating Axel
Enemy Attacks:
- Fire Wall
- Fire Throw
- Combo (4-Hits)
Axel will, generally speaking, hit harder and move faster than Guard Armor. Given the smaller arena and wider range of his attacks, Axel is also harder to dodge around than the previous boss, requiring more intentional counterplay with Cards.
The move you’ll want to look out for the most is Fire Wall, where Axel causes flames to erupt all across the arena. This move will not only hurt Sora quite a bit, but will also make approaching Axel somewhat difficult.
The best way to manage this is to have a 0 card ready to disrupt Fire Wall during the start-up or the actual attack itself.
The same logic applies to his Combo attack and Fire Throw. Once you have him staggered and vulnerable from a Card Break, you have a variety of approaches to attack him.
Using a basic attack Combo or the Sliding Dash Sleight will pile damage on well, provided you have a Potion card to help keep your deck stocked and prevent you from burning through all your Attack cards.
Simba can also be a good follow-up from a Card Brek, especially if Axel is running low on cards and mid-reload.
As mentioned previously, Blizzard can also be a trump card against Axel, exposing his weakness to Ice. Unfortunately, it has a rather short range, so it’s likely you might miss entirely due to Axel’s speed.
On the subject of Ice and weaknesses, Donald is worth noting as an especially hit-or-miss card for Axel and many other bosses with elemental affinities. In keeping with the Kingdom Hearts formula, Donald is a mage, meaning that when played as a Friend card, alone or in a Combo, he has a chance to cast the following spells:
- Fire
- Blizzard
- Thunder
- Cure
While Blizzard will, of course, seriously harm Axel, and Cure will certainly make things easier for Sora, the problem is if Donald casts Fire. Axel, being the Organization’s Fire user, does not just resist the Fire element, but rather drains it, meaning if Donald casts Fire he will heal a significant amount of Axel’s HP and extend the battle quite a bit.
In short, don’t push your luck with Donald unless you’re fine with the chance that you might be making things harder for yourself.
Once you beat Axel, you’ll be given a Fire card. Congratulations!
