The World Within Walkthrough | KH 0.2 Birth by Sleep
The Mystery of the Mirrors
The cutscene that plays after completing Castle Town brings you to a new world that was swallowed by the darkness: The Dwarf Woodlands. In order to escape, Aqua must figure out the secrets that lie beyond the mysterious mirrors scattered throughout the area.
There are 7 mirrors total to explore. For the sake of this walkthrough, we’re going to tackle the mirrors in a specific order, as 3 of the mirrors are story-related and 4 of the mirrors are completely optional. We recommend exploring them in the order shown here:
The table below will give you a general overview of the 4 optional mirrors. We’ll cover the 3 story-related mirrors in greater detail later in this walkthrough.
| Mirror # | Description |
|---|---|
| 1 | Defeat all of the Heartless that appear to solve the mirror’s mysteries. |
| 2 | Open the correct Treasure Chest to solve the mirror's mysteries. |
| 3 | Defeat all of the Heartless that appear to solve the mirror's mysteries. |
| 4 | Make the Heartless appear by striking all of the candlesticks. Defeat them to solve the mirror's mysteries. |
The Mines
Mirror 5 is the first of the story-related mirrors, and it’s perhaps the most lengthy of all to complete. In order to reach the exit mirror, you must navigate a series of platforming and puzzle challenges. There are several mirrors throughout the mines, and looking into them will reveal platforms that you can use to continue onward. Examining each mirror at the right time to line up the platforms properly is your ticket out.
Luckily, the Mines are pretty straightforward, so there’s really no opportunity to get lost. It’s pretty much a straight line from the entrance to the exit, with 4 puzzle mirrors to solve in order to progress along the way.
The first puzzle mirror simply makes a stationary platform appear behind you, which you can use to jump up to the platform above you and continue along the path. The second puzzle mirror gets a little more complicated: the platform inside it moves up and down and you have use the Triangle Button to examine the mirror at the right time to line up the platform halfway between the level you’re on and the level you’re trying to get to.
Continue up the path until you reach the third puzzle mirror, which is even more complicated than the last. Instead of having to time the placement of one platform inside the mirror, you have to time the placement of three. Though really, the first two are the only ones you need to worry about, as Doubleflight and Air Slide can be used to bypass the third platform completely to reach the wide-open platform ahead.
Here, you’ll encounter a few waves of Heartless. Many of them are aerial enemies that like to hug the outside edges of the platform, so be very careful when fighting them that you don’t accidentally fall off when your combo ends.
Along the back wall of the open area is a ramp leading down to the fourth and final puzzle mirror. Examine it, and the ramp behind you will disappear. Make your way around the mirror to the other side and wait to examine it until the ramp is directly behind you in the mirror. The ramp will reappear, leading up to the final platform, where you’ll find the exit mirror. But just because you found the way out doesn’t mean you’re out yet!
| Phantom Aqua |
|---|
The exit mirror takes Aqua to a world within the mirror, where she's forced to fight a phantom version of herself. Since this is your first encounter with her, she goes fairly easy on you, but don't let that fool you. Phantom Aqua will attack with lots of warping strikes, all of which can be Block-Countered to knock her off guard. That's your chance to strike with up to two full combos. |
| Victory Reward: — |
The Labyrinth
Return to the Save Point if you need to replenish any HP or MP, then head out for mirror 6. This mirror is easy to get lost in, as it is a never-ending labyrinth that reflects out in every direction. The trick to getting out of here is to locate the glowing pillars, strike them, and examine them to reveal the next one. The hard part is that every time you examine a pillar, the room inverts and suddenly the gravity is flipped, making it even easier to get lost.
Fortunately, there are only 3 pillars you have to locate, so it’s not horribly complicated to get out of the Labyrinth. While their exact locations are very difficult to describe, as there is really no landmark position in the room, we can warn you that if the room begins to get dark in front of you as you’re navigating the room, it means you’re about to reach the unseen edge of the room and be brought back to the center. Just keep looking around and you’ll eventually find all 3 pillars. Once you do, you can finally enter the altar and leave through the exit mirror.
| Phantom Aqua |
|---|
Phantom Aqua is back for another round, though she's basically the same as your previous encounter with her. Look for opportunities to Block-Counter and unleash full combos where you can. She's a little more aggressive this time around, but still completely manageable. Phantom Aqua starts to rely on warp-combos a little more in this fight too, so be ready with a Block-Counter. |
| Victory Reward: — |
The Endless Staircase
Be sure to return to the Save Point to restore any lost HP and MP. We’ve saved the easiest of the three story-related mirrors for last, but waiting at the end of it is the hardest battle yet!
Enter the mirror, climb the stairs and examine the invisible wall. You’ll return to the bottom of the stairs, so climb the stairs again and examine the invisible wall again. You’ll return to the bottom of the stairs again, so repeat this step one more time, and when you return to the bottom of the stairs, a mirror will be directly behind you. Examine it, and you’ll be taken to the final showdown with your phantom!
| Phantom Aqua |
|---|
Phantom Aqua really brings her A-game in this fight! At the very beginning, she enters a permanent Spellweaver-like state that allows her to pull off some really nasty attacks. She'll warp around a lot more, and leave far fewer openings to land hits of your own. Be ready to initiate a Block-Counter at a second's notice because Phantom Aqua will constantly be changing direction when she comes at you. Many of her attacks now come with the added confusion of clones to throw you off of the real Phantom Aqua's location. Usually, the Counter Blast from your Block will be enough to eliminate the clones and knock the real one back, giving you a small window of opportunity to land a combo if you're fast enough. If there's ever a point where Phantom Aqua summons dozens of clones all at once, you can use a quick Thundaga spell to take out several of the clones at once and cancel the impending attack. Finally, Phantom Aqua's biggest move to watch out for is her Spellweaver Finish. Three clones will appear on screen and begin twirling around you. You can't get out of this, so be ready with a well-timed Block-Counter to avoid damage. You'll need to Block right up until just before the final blast is released, then use the Counter Blast to nullify the damage from her Finish. This will also give you a chance to unleash up to two full combos on Phantom Aqua before she warps away to begin her assault again. |
| Victory Reward: Max MP +10 |
Continue to Forest of Thorns