KHFMHD Any% (Beginner) Guide/Darkside II

Darkside II is more or less the same boss as Darkside I, but is pretty drasitically different in the speedrun. Darkside begins with a different move this time around, adjusting the strategy you should take completely. Additionally, it has more health this time around, so it takes a few more combos to take defeat it.

Darkside will open with a move where it reaches where it reaches its arms out and launches homing orbs from its chest. As it prepares this move, you have enough time to run into position and actually get a combo off. Run straight towards Darkside's left armpit and lock-on to its left hand (on the right side of the screen). Get slightly behind the left arm, make a full jump, and hit the arm with a full air combo as Darkside brings its arms together. Next you want Sora to be pushed back by Darkside's left hand as he lands 1-2 hits on it. The timing and spacing for this is pretty tight, so don't get discouraged if you have a hard time getting it at first. After its hands come to a rest, Sora should be positioned in between the left hand and left leg. Perform five air combos as low to the ground and as quickly as possible to defeat Darkside.

Note that this strategy is immensely hard to pull off until you become quite adept at performing air combos extremely low to the ground. The main benefits of this strategy are: If you have trouble performing this strategy, experiment with attacking the outside of either the left or right hand. Comfort and consistency are usually better than the potential of saving a few seconds, so figure out which method works best for you.
 * Minimal time spent re-positioning Sora
 * The hand will push Sora towards the ground often during combos, minimizing the time spent in the air
 * The hand shelters Sora from any homing orbs
 * Sora swings the Keyblade from left to right, so hits register frames earlier than on the other hand (they hit the curvature of the arm)