Ansem, Seeker of Darkness/Gameplay

Ansem, Seeker of Darkness is a boss in Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories. He is the Heartless of Xehanort, and leader of the Heartless.

First Battle
In the first battle, Ansem fights Sora, Donald, and Goofy in the End of the World, alongside his Guardian. He takes it easier on the party at first, so fight ferociously but cautiously. Use aerial combos, since Ansem floats and attack magic isn't very effective.

At the beginning of the battle, Ansem will attempt few attacks, which should make depleting his HP meter relatively easy. Although it is wise to conserve MP, cast Curaga and Aeroga as needed. Ansem attacks with energy disks resembling Strike Raid, or uses his Guardian to attack physically. He also sends his Guardian to attach itself to Sora while creating an energy shield around himself. Ansem yells "Submit!" before doing this, so Superglide out of harm's way. However, in the event when the Guardian does manage to attach itself to Sora, a "?" will appear over Sora's head, and the Attack command will occasionally change to Freeze. Selecting it will cause the Guardian to hold Sora in place while Ansem does damage to him. It is best to physically attack Ansem while within reach, and heal with Curaga periodically, because the guardian will gradually reduce Sora's HP. Alternatively, you may stay out of Ansem's reach, and then hit the Freeze command - Sora will just be held in place while Ansem will be too far away to deal any damage to him. This prevents Sora from losing any HP. Be sure to attack Ansem while the Guardian is attached to Sora, as this makes the attachment shorter; it's also a good idea to use special attacks such as Ragnarok and Ars Arcanum to end the attachment and battle sooner while also avoiding damage.

Once the battle is over, approach the crater Ansem has created. However, be sure that Sora has plenty of healing items equipped.

Second Battle
In the second battle against Ansem, Sora fights solo, so remember to heal with Curaga. Ansem debuts two new attacks to eliminate Sora: one resembles Riku's Dark Aura attack, in which he shoots back and forth across the arena with a shield over his front side. This inflicts heavy damage if it connects. Try to High Jump or Aeroga. When Ansem says "My strength returns!" His Guardian will dive into the ground, creating dark pools underneath Sora which shoot out of the ground. During this time, Ansem is invincible, and the attack must be avoided, either by dodging or guarding. Failing to evade this attack can be highly damaging, or even fatal, depending on the amount of HP Sora has at the time. The attack ends with the Guardian striking the ground, creating a shockwave. Like in the last battle, Ansem has his Guardian attach itself to Sora. However, he will do this much more frequently than in the first battle.

With constant use of Curaga and MP-restorative items, Sora can easily survive this battle. Ansem is especially vulnerable when he calls his Guardian to return to him, so unleash combos at this time for massive damage. The third fight with Ansem involves the World of Chaos.

Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories
Riku fights Ansem twice in this game. The first time, Ansem shoots out a bolt of lightning that travels horizontally. This can avoided by jumping or dodging. Ansem's only other attack during this first fight is a weak physical attack using the Guardian. The second time Ansem is fought is during the final battle of Riku's Story. This time around, Ansem brings into play some of his attacks from the first game, such as the sleights Dark Rush (where he zooms back and forth across the arena) and Dark Shadow (when he sends his guardian into the floor, creating pools of darkness that the guardian rises out of, fist raised). It's best to use zero cards to break Dark Rush, although it can be jumped over with perfect timing, but Dark Shadow can be avoided easily by dodging. There is one unorthodox strategy that involves losing all your cards (from sleights) except one zero card. If you get left with one zero card you can immediately reload after (because Riku has instant reload, unlike Sora) and continue a combo. This works because the zero will always break his next card, and if he breaks yours, reloading will give you a zero card.

Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories
In all battles with Ansem in Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories, note that Ansem still uses his Strike Raid-like attack during the final battle. Riku can either break this attack or dodge it.

The first fight with Ansem in the game is, in fact, an event battle, meant to get you used to the new mechanics.

In the second fight, start with the Maleficent Dragon Enemy Card and attack Ansem with combos, make a Card Break every time to gain Dark Points, after Riku transform into Dark Mode, use the Jafar-Genie Enemy Card and use the Sleights like Dark Break, Dark Firaga and Dark Aura for heavy damage in Ansem.

After taking three (or more) King Mickey Friend Cards, use the '''MM Miracle Lv. 2 or MM Miracle Lv. 3''' sleights to recover HP, reload cards, and damage to Ansem. Break Ansem's sleights every time and continue the attacks. If Riku transforms into his normal form again, keep attacking and use the Item Card Hi-Potion to reload your Attack Cards. Win the Card Duels for heavy damage to Ansem.

Never attack Ansem with his Guardian in its front, only use that time to reload your cards or use '''MM Miracle Lv. 3''' to recovery cards and HP. Use the Oogie Boogie Enemy Card to help you in the battle. Watch out for certain sleights used by Ansem, some can make heavy damage to Riku. With high level, deft dodging, and good use of the Enemy Cards, Ansem should fall eventually.

Attack Cards

 * Attack Card 0 (x8)
 * Attack Card 4 (x1)
 * Attack Card 5 (x2)
 * Attack Card 6 (x4)
 * Attack Card 7 (x6)
 * Attack Card 8 (x8)
 * Attack Card 9 (x10)

Magic Cards

 * Magic Card 0 (x5)
 * Magic Card 4 (x1)
 * Magic Card 5 (x2)
 * Magic Card 6 (x4)
 * Magic Card 7 (x6)
 * Magic Card 8 (x8)
 * Magic Card 9 (x10)

Item Cards

 * Elixir 9 (x2)

Sleights

 * Dark Shadow : The Guardian detaches itself from Ansem to attack Riku from below several times, the attack ending with a blast of dark energy.
 * Shock Slash : The Guardian shoots several discs of dark energy in Riku's direction. Only available in Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories.
 * Dark Rush : Ansem empowers the Guardian with dark energy, the two rushing at Riku multiple times.