DESTINY ISLANDS: DAY 1

Island Layout: There's three areas of Destiny Islands that we'll refer to through this part of the walkthrough. We don't have any visual maps available yet, but we're getting there. For now, just follow us through this short explanation. First, the "large" or "front" part, contains the pier, the waterfall, the various wooden platforms which you had encountered in the intro of the game (where you talked to Tidus, Selphie and Wakka), the Seaside Shack, and the long wooden path to the island's circular breakoff piece. The "small" or "back" part of the island is also called the Cove. It's marked off by the large wooden wall with a door. The back part of the island has various wooden platforms, a tower, and a small coconut tree grove. The third, "middle" part of this map is the small circular breakoff from the front part of the island. It's where the main story will progress.

RAFT BUILDING

Finding raft materials: In order to start the game, you have to talk to Kairi first. She is near the Sea Shack on the front side of the island. After talking to her she will give you a list of things to find for the raft:

2 logs - You can find one of the logs on the beach, close to where Kairi is. The other log is on the middle island where Riku is sitting on a tree. You can get to it by the bridge that is connected to the Sea Shack or you can climb up a ladder that is on the ocean side of the middle island.

1 cloth - This cloth is hung up in a room on the end of the highest platform, located in the front island half around a giant tree. The tree itself is beside the waterfall and Secret Place. Go up the ramp and into the room. Upon entering the room it will be on the right hand wall.

1 rope - The rope is in the area where Tidus is practicing with a stick (the area where you first encountered the three other characters of Destiny Islands.) It will be in the upper left hand corner, coiled up.

Bring all of these items to Kairi, who will give you a Hi-potion, and you'll be given an option to end it for the day or to play some more. If you go home for the day you leave the island and see a story sequence to continue the game's progress. But, you should really check out the island before you do that.

FIGHTING THE SQUARE CHARACTERS

While you're here, you can gain a couple of levels before you continue by challenging the 4 fighting children (a la Lord of the Flies). Here are some strategies:

Wakka, located on the beach (front island half): By far the easiest to beat, all you have to do is hit the ball and it will smack Wakka in the face. He'll get kind of dizzy, you can either smack him or try to hit the other balls. It is better to hit the balls because each time you do you gain a Tech Point which will level you up a lot quicker than if you try to level it up by conventional methods. You can learn a lot about timing your hits and get used to the depth perception of the game by battling him.

Selphie, located on the pier with the boats (front island half): She's not that difficult either, but you're going to have to learn how to read her attacks if you want to beat her. She will swing the rope around and that will be the most likely thing to hit you as it is a far range attack. After the swing she will pause for a bit; that's when you can rush in and attack her. Do a combo and then jump out. Most likely she will run away and then run at you with her swing attack again. Just wait for those spaces to attack. If you're good at timing, attack at the same time as her. This will cause her weapon to backfire on her and hit her, stunning her. You get Tech Points that way. She's more of a dodge then attack kind of person, so be ready to move if your attack misses.

Tidus, located on the platform where you find the rope (front island half): He's a little more difficult, as he will fight a bit like you. He has a back somersault jump swing that is very dangerous as it can take a lot of your HP in one blow. You can either try to learn how to block it and gain the Tech Point or you can just attack right after the swing. Running to the side is a good thing in this battle and will save you a lot if you can use it. Remember Sora can turn direction in a mid-air jump too.

Riku, sitting on a tree on the middle island: By FAR the hardest of the 4 to beat, this fighter is actually really challenging. He isn't particularly hard except for his counter attack kick. You'll see it coming when you hit him and he jumps on his back with his legs in the air ready to attack you. You HAVE to dodge that. Run to the side, but Don't jump. He will then jump upright again, and if you're in the way, he'll likely take a third of your life with it. The best time to hit him is when he taunts you. He'll be standing to the side and won't move until you get close to attack. Try to hit to either side of him, as he will side step a frontal attack. Keep at it and you will beat him, gaining a potion and also 5 EXP. Don't fall off the island either, because you automatically lose if you do. You earn a Potion for every victory against Riku, with a max of 99 wins. If this takes too much time and you get frustrated, just go on with the game. You will be able to beat Riku at a different game soon.

Once you have had your fill of fighting these characters, go back to Kairi and call it a day.

BRIEF STORY SEQUENCE OF DISNEY CASTLE

Just watch.

DESTINY ISLAND: DAY 2

You'll find yourself back on the beach of the island, and you need to find Riku and Kairi to finish up that raft. First, go to the wall where you found Kairi in Day 1. TADA! There is a door that leads through to the back of the island, aka the Cove. Go through it and go straight until you see the raft with Kairi leaning against the mast. Talk to her and she'll ask where Riku is. Go back to the Cove entrance to the shore and there's Riku. If you talk to him he will ask what you would name the "ship" (the raft), and you're given the option of choosing a name. Whatever it is you like, Riku will challenge you to a race.

EVEN THE ODDS WITH RIKU

Race with Riku: Here you can make up all those points you lost to Riku in the fights (Now it's going to be X to 99! Just kidding.) It's really easy to beat Riku, if you take the correct path. First, run with him and jump across the bridge platforms over the water. Be careful since the second jump will fall through and if you land in the water you'll lose the lead. Then, DON'T CLIMB THE LADDER. Instead, go towards the right around the tower and jump off the ledge. Run across the beach through the shallow water and up the ramp. At the green ledges, don't jump onto the first one in front of you, but jump diagonally across to the second one. Keep going and touch the paopu fruit tree (it's the star tree.) If you like a challenge, you can jump through the treetops with Riku. If you want a sure win though, just jump and fall off the star ledge and run back the way you came through the coconut trees. You'll come to the ledge with the tower, but don't try to jump directly or you won't make it. Instead, you can make the jump on the right corner where the ledge and the wall meet. Or if you're paying attention, jump right at the edge of the ledge's shadow and you'll make it. Make that jump and run back towards the broken bridge. Jumps across (in the section where the bridge fell during the first part of the race, you'll jump and hang onto the section, push up on the analog and it'll bring you back up), and continue on for the win. Before you actually race, we suggest you try out the course a couple of times first. If this is your first time playing, jumping to the star tree will be the hardest. Practice makes perfect.

RAFT BUILDING, PART 2

Food for the journey: After the race you need to go talk to Kairi again to see what you need to fetch for today. She'll give you a list:

3 mushrooms - The first one is in the cave behind the rock near the shore of the raft. Push the stone aside and get the mushroom inside. Then next mushroom is on the ledge where the broken bridge leads. It is among the wild plants on the left side of the ladder if you look at it with the bridge behind you. Speak to Wakka before you get the last mushroom. He will tell you about the Secret Place. The last mushroom is in the Secret Place that is next to the spring with the waterfall. Go there last, as it has a key story sequence of the game.

2 coconuts - This one is easy. Just go towards the grove of trees near the star tree and whack them with your wooden sword. Coconuts will fall, but you can only get the ones that are yellow. Just keep hitting the trees until you have two yellow ones.

3 fish - All the fish are in the sea along the shore of the island. Go back through the door to the other side and walk into the water. You should see a fish on near side of the middle island. Catch it (a la FF6) and then proceed to the next one which is on the other side of the island, farther out into the water. After that, go near the boats docked on the little pier and the last fish should be swimming around there.

1 seagull egg - This one is a little tricky. First go to the sea shore, then go to the ledge that leads to the middle island bridge. There are a couple of trees there, one tall and thin one and another that looks like a coconut tree. Climb the thin one, which is tall and you'll see an egg on the coconut tree. From the tall tree, jump onto the coconut tree and get the egg.

water - This is the easiest, you can to any falling water that is spring water and not sea water. The nicest place is the waterfall that is near the secret place. Or, you can get the water from a small hole underneath the wooden bridge platforms that you had jumped across when you raced with Riku.

Take these items back to Kairi and she'll give you another Hi-potion, and the option to go home or to stay for a bit. But before you go home there are some things you should check out, as this will be the last time you can freely roam the island.

FIGHTING SQUARE CHARACTERS, PART 2

You will have the chance to fight the three other Destiny Islands Square characters again at this time only, one on one or three to one. If you decide to go home, it might be wise to save first, but it's not particularly necessary.

Tidus, Selphie and Wakka: This three-on-one match can be gotten by talking to Tidus. On Expert mode, this match was really tough! The main thing is to keep moving. Try to disable Wakka first by hitting his ball back at him and then going in for the finish. At the same time though, you have to watch out for Tidus and Selphie who will attack you from behind and the sides. When you manage to get Wakka out of the way (and thus eliminate the worry of long distance shots) then go after Tidus, and finally Selphie. Never use the Target Lock in this fight, or else you won't be able to defend yourself from attacks. Don't jump too much in this fight, but instead run away from the group and then turn and fight. Try to get your back against a wall for the most part but continue to move and dodge while you retaliate. You can use Potions if you have them stocked. You'll get 1 Potion in return for beating these three together, but you can earn a lot of Tech Points and EXP from fighting these three together. Essentially this match is even tougher than fighting Riku.

Extra Items: If you notice, on the Cove there is a little cave with a hole. In that hole is a chest. Take a crate from the area and toss it so that you can jump on top and then hang onto the ledge and jump up. Upon finding the chest you can open it and gain yourself a Protect Chain. Equip it. It's best to get this item as soon as you can, so that it will add to your defenses while you fight the Square characters and the next few bosses.

ANOTHER STORY SEQUENCE OF DISNEY CASTLE

Just watch.

DESTINY ISLAND: DAY 2 - NIGHT

Getting the Keyblade: A short sequence will occur and you'll find Sora on the island. It will be dark and stormy and a bunch of those black bugs (Shadows) from the tutorial sequence will appear. THERE IS NO POINT IN TRYING TO KILL THEM WITH YOUR WOODEN SWORD. Instead, go towards the middle island that Riku always sits at and you will find Riku. A short sequence will occur in which you will end up with the Keyblade.

THE MYSTERIOUS SECRET PLACE

Secret Place: Once you obtain the Keyblade, you are now able to kill those Shadows. Do so and gain some useful levels - there are at least 75 of them out there hidden in groups of 3 or so. They might be a little difficult, but they provide enough of the little HP spheres to make for whatever you lose, and you may also get some Potions out of fighting them. I suggest saving in the Sea Shack, which is still safe, before you continue. You can also recover all your health if you do that first. When you're ready, go to the white door that will have appeared in front of the Secret Place. There will be another scene where the door is now open and then you'll find yourself fighting that Darkside.

BOSS - DARKSIDE 2

Boss Battle - Darkside: HP: 300, EXP: 60.
This is like the previous battle with the Darkside in the Tutorial, so follow the same strategy. It shouldn't be too hard, though this time there are less Shadows to help generate HP balls, the Darkside's attacks do more damage, and it has more HP. One of the new attacks for this Darkside boss is a ball of dark magic energy that rains down small dark magic balls. You don't want to get hit by them, so try to keep moving as you are attacking the Darkside's arm and the Shadows. You can hit the small balls to make them disappear, but they do rain upon your head wherever you happen to run. So, remember that between the legs of the boss isn't always the safest place now. Other than that, just keep at it. Be sure to recharge your health! If you hear the alarms sounding about your HP levels, they are too low!

Upon winning you will be thrown out of Destiny Island.

End: Destiny Island.