Abilities (Kingdom Hearts)

In Kingdom Hearts, Abilities are a type of skill that is equipped by allotting Ability Points (AP). These skills can either be active techniques which can be performed at the character's discretion, or passive upgrades which are always active and enhance the various stats or qualities of the character. While many Abilities are used by more than one character, each character has a unique set which reflects their purpose in combat.

While most of the abilities are not explicitly separated, there are basic categories that they fall into. Unique abilities, including "Special attacks", "Support skills", and "Defense skills", are active abilities that represent combat techniques. Each character possesses a unique set of special abilities, excluding Donald, who wields Magic instead, and except for Sora's unique abilities, they cost MP to perform. Common abilities are the passive abilities that represent personal upgrades, and have effects such as increasing the duration of a Summon, or allowing the character to regenerate MP by taking damage. Common abilities are not unique to any character. There are also Shared Abilities, which are equipped to the entire party, and affect their movements. As such, they do not cost AP. Sora also has a set of Special Abilities, very similar to the unique abilities, which do cost MP; in Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix these abilities are replicated for Limit Form, a special form that allows Sora to mimic his abilities from the first Kingdom Hearts.

In all but three cases, Sora, Donald, and Goofy learn their unique and common through leveling up, and Sora learns his Special abilities by defeating bosses. On the other hand, single-world characters such as Tarzan or Aladdin possess all of their abilities from the beginning of the game. The party-wide Shared abilities are given out as plot-based rewards, and are in fact required for progressing once they have been gained.

While the player can only directly control how often Sora uses his unique and Special abilities, it is possible to indirectly control this for other party members by dictating their fighting style on the "Customize" screen.