KH3 - Aqua vs. Yozora (No Damage / Critical / Default Status Pro Code)

It's already April, Kingdom Hearts series recently turned 20 years old and it's anniversary event is one day from now. I'll use this upload as an opportunity to celebrate the occasion.
Music - ocremix.org/re...
Anyone who's followed me outside of RUclips is probably aware that I like Aqua a lot. Long story short she resonated with me a lot during her brief playable chapter in Kingdom Hearts 0.2, to the point I wanted to play the entirety of Kingdom Hearts 3 with her. Eventually the PC release made this possible thanks to the efforts of modders and while majority of the content was playable with a specialised Aqua character swap mod, this last superboss fight in the game did not work with it.
Enter DiamondHuntet's character switch mod that allows the player to switch Sora to four other playable characters in the game, including Aqua. While she is missing mechanics and spells that Sora would normally have -keyblade switch, air step, flow motion, glide, aero and water-, she has enough functionality to secure a no damage run for this fight.
Aqua's barrier blocks attacks from behind, so Yozora's remote back attacks are easier to guard against on average compared to Sora. Combo damage is quite good despite the default status pro code setting (level 1 stats), which is further bolstered by Spellweaver. Her running speed is enough to outrun the item steal beam too! The form change is not necessary to secure an opening afterwards, but the window of opportunity is quite brief.
Spell variety is lacking, but Thundaga has wide enough area of effect to stop Yozora in his tracks when he spawns out of nowhere with an aerial data drain dash. Aqua's melee attacks have difficulties clashing with that move, she often prioritises rising slashes instead of a forward stab in the situation. I don't mind spending resources with her, my spell usage was mostly reserved for a few openings and interactions.
And the desperation move (DM) phase is well covered as well! Air slide into double jump works as the first combo opening. The Gigas horde can be cartwheeled through, but my pattern turned into a mess. It is also possible to prepare a Spellweaver form change and use it's finisher to breeze through them as well. The key to that strategy is to have enough build-up to acquire the form change prompt with the first combo during the DM. 9-10 health bars and the DM happens.
The rest of the desperation move is rather straightforward for Aqua as well. The remote sword can be once again blocked from behind for a second combo. Yozora tries to push me into the nova from out of bounds to close out the sequence, so the idea would be to adjust camera towards the boundaries of the stage. I opt to look at the nova instead for a cooler shot with the moon because I try to be good at video games.
Phase 2 starts with an onslaught of armored attacks, but much to my surprise Aqua's guard counters would do little to no damage. Possibly a hitbox issue, but luckily the Prism Rain shotlock work well. Aqua has an item to replenish health or MP, but not Focus so this alone is worth saving the Focus meter for as it speeds up the fight considerably.
Afterwards Yozora begins to apply blue unblockable versions of slashes, which Aqua can consistently evade. The data drain dash spawn is repeated next to the player if there's no clash the first time, which makes for a good opening.
There's an option in the game to enable slow motion during sub-menu navigation and while it disables movement and attacks, I like the slow-mo effect a lot! It looks good and curiously it also affects Yozora. For example, the second phase teleport patterns that he cycles through. The one where he fakes out 3-5 times is completely negated by the slow-mo. You'll later see that it's not necessary to guarantee safety, but it's an interesting facet to the fight considering it's an accessibility feature.
The rest of the fight plays out in good fashion. I tried to go for a blizzaga finish, but as it turns out the ground combo does not hold long enough for that. Eh, no biggie. I got a nice ending shot anyway. ;P
Yozora challenge runs are in abundance, but hopefully the calm and collected demeanor helps illustrate Aqua's prowess here. I might be two years late to this party, but for what it's worth I am happy to contribute to the pile with this take. I'll try not to procrastinate on videos for another three months!
Food
Lobster Mousse+
Crab Bisque+
Sea Bass Poelé+
Stuffed Quail+
Fruit Gelee+
Full course bonus: Thundaza
Strength +4
Magic +3
Defense +3
Max HP +42
Max MP +33
Pro Codes
Default Status, Zero Defense, No Links, No Attractions, No Team Attacks, No Kupo Coins, Ability Limit
KH3 Modloader by YuriLewd - www.nexusmods....
Character switch mod by DiamondHuntet - www.nexusmods....
Free camera by YuriLewd - www.nexusmods....
Twitter - / muggshotter

[@Xzeihoranth]

Fantastic work! Not just on the no damage part, but the in-character aspect of the whole thing.

[@Soulinescent]

4:44 this ere is like a finisher explosion behind her that made her look epic! 😄

[@cocoa8535]

This is Amazing!