Captain Barbossa/Gameplay

Captain Barbossa is a boss in Kingdom Hearts II, located in Port Royal. He must be fought alongside the Illuminator Heartless. If Jack dies during this fight, you automatically lose the battle.

Kingdom Hearts II
The game will end immediately if Jack perishes, which is why it is imperative that you activate his abilities- No Mercy, Rain Storm, Bone Smash and the limit Treasure Isle before the battle begins.

Barbossa is assisted by a special Heartless called the Illuminator. It creates darkness in the room, and must be eliminated first so you can damage the cursed Barbossa. Look out for a pair of glowing eyes in the gloom, then run towards them and finish the Heartless off. Now turn your attention to Barbossa. After a while a new Illuminator will appear and, once again, you must dispatch it before you can continue with the main fight.

As with the other cursed pirates, Barbossa can only be defeated in the moonlight, and can also be frozen for a few moments using Blizzard. The best strategy is to freeze him - if this doesn’t work, it could be because he is standing in the shadow - then use one or two combos to attack him. Take a few steps back, as soon as he thaws, refreeze him immediately. Repeat this strategy until Sora’s MP is depleted, by which time another Illuminator is bound to have appeared.

After this activate the Wisdom Form. It may be less powerful than the Valor Form, but it enables you to attack from a distance and to quickly dodge your opponent’s attacks. As activating the Drive Form restores Sora’s HP and MP, you can start using Blizzard again afterwards.

Make no mistake, Barbossa can be extremely dangerous. If you get too near he’ll decimate you with a sword combo, so close quarters combat is not a particularly good idea. At medium range he’ll throw a few bombs on the ground; at longer range he’ll often shoot his pistol, which is relatively harmless. He may also dash towards you and lash out with his sword, which is anything but harmless. Ideally, don’t give him the slightest opportunity to deploy these dangerous moves. After the victory, you will receive the Follow the Wind Keyblade.

There are two sets of Reaction Commands available in this battle. The first, Twin Counter, is used in conjunction with Jack. It launches a powerful launching attack against Barbossa, and leads into Sonic Dive, in which Jack assists Sora in making a high leap toward the now airborne Barbossa, attacking upwards as Barbossa falls down. Barbossa will always be land in the center of the room, by the treasure chest, after this attack. The second, Land, can be activated during one of Barbossa's combos. Sora steps on Barbossa's blade, effectively disarming him. After this reaction, a short battle cinematic shows Barbossa reaching for his pistol, and the follow-up Reverse Blade command becomes available, which causes Sora to grab his Keyblade in a reverse grip and smack Barbossa backwards before he can fire. If you miss the Reverse Blade command, you will take damage.

However, another effective strategy is, once the Illuminator is defeated, immediately activate Valor Form with your two most powerful Keyblades (including the Hero's Crest) and unleash a flurry of aerial combos for maximum damage. If you're good enough, you can stop him from actually attacking you with his sword, and with the Air Combo Boost from Hero's Crest, your aerial combos will inflict more damage than your normal ones. Once you revert, use Cure at once to replenish any lost HP. Keep this strategy up and you'll win before too long.