Ursula/Gameplay

Ursula is one of the bosses in the world Atlantica. Fighting her is made possible in Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, but in Kingdom Hearts II the combat is replaced by a song sequence, Ursula's Revenge.

First encounter
The first encounter with Ursula is in Ursula's Lair.

Ursula has stolen King Triton's trident, but does not use it in this battle. Rather, she fights by swinging her hands and tentacles, and every now and then, she will spin vigorously round the room, injuring Sora and company if they come near. this is the most difficult attack to avoid, so ignore everything else when she does so, and concentrate on swimming up and down to avoid her when this happens. Flotsam and Jetsam are also in the lair to deal damage to Sora, however, they are simple to avoid, and Ursula will use cure on them if they are both defeated, so it's easier to ignore them, and concentrate on Ursula.

It should be noted that in Ursula's lair, there is a huge cauldron in the center, filled with color-changing liquid. If spells are cast at the cauldron often, the cauldron will emit flames and stun Ursula for a period of time. The color of the cauldron does not indicate what kind of spell it needs to be used on it. Launching spells at the cauldron will eventually cause a massive amount of energy to be released, stunning Ursula and her lackeys. The easiest spell to cast onto the cauldron is Fire, as it consumes little MP and it is the first on the Magic menu. You may lock on to the cauldron to cast the spell, though it should be noted that physical attacks will not work on the cauldron. physical attacks will refill your MP, so if you find you're low, make sure to attack Flotsam and Jetsam.

Once Ursula is stunned, take this opportunity to use physical attacks on her. It is also possible to attack her while she is conscious, however her HP will go down very slow, and she will use her spin attack after two or three hits, so it would be better if you attack the cauldron. Ursula will also throw vile ingredients into the cauldron a do a spell of her own.

Her attacks are few but rather unpredictable, so the key to winning this battle is the cauldron at the center of the lair to incapacitate her. Like all other boss battles, do heal when necessary.

Second encounter
Ursula can be found in an area hidden beyond the Calm Depths (marked with "???"), where the water currents might push Sora away - use your newly acquired ability Mermaid Kick to get to that area. In this area, Sora and company will confront a gargantuan Ursula, this time, wielding King Triton's trident. It should be noted that if Sora uses any form of Aero magic here, this will strengthen Ursula. She deals non-elemental damage which looks somewhat like Thunder; these attacks increase in power and quantity when she raises the trident. She occasionally blows air currents into Sora's chest, dealing substantial damage to him. When she has only one HP bar left, Ursula can open her mouth to use a Thunder-like laser, which will damage Sora if he gets in the way.

Her only weak point is the head, so it is best to use physical attacks on it. Try and get behind her head, and start bashing away her. This can be done best by swimming over her head, and then come down. Occasionally Ursula will push Sora away from her head, so get as close to her as you can. Don't be shy about using the Keyblade - and do heal when necessary. Aim for the back of her head and attack from behind as much as possible. However, since Ursula is always turning to face you, this makes it difficult to hit her. When she starts to gasp as if hurt or tired, swim behind her head and chain combo attacks to the side or back of her head, and swim away when it starts to get dangerous. Magical attacks can damage her as well, but normal combos work best, since she has a triple HP bar.

As Flotsam and Jetsam have already been eliminated after the first battle, you do not risk being damaged by either of them in the second battle.

If you are in front of Ursula when she starts to inhale water, use Mermaid Kick to swim away as fast as possible until she cannot inhale anymore. If you do not, she will bite you; not fun. She always declares her other attacks - a bubble attack (avoidable with Mermaid Kick) and raising the trident indicates that she is going to form a circle of damaging magic around her. Swim away to avoid that one. Your prize for winning is the Thundara upgrade and another Ansem Report.

Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories
Sora's encounter with Ursula is on some sort of pedestal on the water surface, and again, Sora fights a gargantuan Ursula.

Note that while Ursula is alert, most sleights do not work on her, so it is best to use melee attacks. It is recommended to stock cards from numbers 7-9, as well as a few Cure cards - and if you do have place for more cards, fill it with 0 cards in order to break Ursula's attacks. You might consider getting Premium Bonuses for all cards as they reduce the cost points of each card (especially for cards 7, 8, 9 and 0), allowing room for more cards on the deck.

The Gimmick Card, if found and used, would cause Ursula to choke, and be stunned for a period of time. It is then and only then that Sora should use Sleights on her. However, the time period is rather short - you can only perform seven melee attacks, or two sleights, before she is back to form. Be prudent during this battle, and heal when necessary. Alternatively, you may use the Search Ghost enemy card to drain out Ursula's HP - every hit you make gives you some amount of HP, or use the Oogie Boogie enemy card to heal yourself tenfold.

You may use the same strategy while playing as Riku in Reverse/Rebirth, only that this time, you cannot stock up Cure cards - use either Search Ghost or Oogie Boogie to recover.

Strangely, in Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, two tentacles must be taken out to harm Ursula; but in Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories, it takes all four.

Kingdom Hearts II
As said earlier, here, the combat sequence is replaced with a musical sequence, Ursula's Revenge. There are only two commands to this sequence - a blue circle with in which you must hit  at the right time, and a purple circle with, in which you must hit  as many times as you can to drain out her HP. Successfully executing both these commands will deplete Ursula's HP. You need to bring Ursula's HP down to at least ⅛ of the bar to clear this round, though it is recommended to completely deplete the bar.

In Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix, you have to use the in place of.

Trivia

 * In Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, Ursula's boss music is "The Fight for My Friends" in Sora's Story, and "Face it!" in Reverse/Rebirth.