Reality Shift

In Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, using Reality Shifts has the user dive into the bottom screen.

Reality Shift (リアリティシフト, Riariti Shifuto^?) is a gameplay element that appears in Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance. Reality Shifts can be used to damage nearby enemies or to interact with the field, often allowing access to new areas. Each playable world has at least one Reality Shift associated with it.

When an enemy or a certain object in the field is marked by a pink, oval-shaped reticule, the player can press and simultaneously, press ZL^[1] or swipe downwards on the touchscreen to activate the Reality Shift, which requires players to complete an action on the Nintendo 3DS's touchscreen. When the Reality Shift is activated, Sora or Riku dives into the bottom screen, and the action on the top screen is paused until the action is completed; furthermore, the character does not take damage until the Reality Shift is completed.

In Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance HD, Reality Shifts are activated by pressing and simultaneously. Instead of diving into the bottom screen, Sora and Riku raise their Keyblades followed by a flash of light. Actions that required the touchscreen are reworked to use normal button inputs. In the international releases of the game, due to being mapped to jump instead of attacking, activating a Reality Shift causes the character to simultaneously use the currently selected command, which goes to cooldown if not already.

Mechanics[edit]

Every enemy has a hidden value called Reality Endurance (リアリティ耐久値, Riariti Taikyū-chi^?). The value decreases when the player lands a hit on the enemy, and when it reaches 0, the pink marker will appear and a Reality Shift can be activated. Ordinary enemies have a Reality Endurance equal to 1.11x their maximum HP, while the value varies for bosses, typically 0.33x or 0.44x their maximum HP.

When an attack hits an enemy, their Reality Endurance is reduced by the same amount of damage the attack deals to their HP, with the exception of critical hits. For critical hits, the Reality Endurance is lowered by the amount that the damage would have been if no critical hit occurred. Instead, attacks have fixed probability of becoming a reality critical, determined by the Reality Shift rate of the equipped Keyblade. Reality critical hits reduce the Reality Endurance by 5 times the normal damage. The probability of a reality critical hit being caused by a magic command is 1% for every Keyblade.

If an enemy with a current Reality Endurance of 1 or greater is unharmed for at least 10 seconds (or 8 seconds for some bosses), their Reality Endurance will fully recover. If an enemy with a current Reality Endurance of 0 is unharmed for at least 5 seconds, the pink marker will disappear and they will no longer be a target for Reality Shifts.

Reality Shift can be activated on Commantis, Pete and the Beagle Boys, and Young Xehanort only if certain requirements are met, with various effects such as countering an enemy's move, giving a way to move on during the fight, or to give an advantageous situation to the player character. Reality Shift cannot be activated on Phantom Ursula, Wargoyle (as Sora), Chill Clawbster, Holey Moley, Xemnas, Anti Black Coat, Armored Ventus Nightmare, and Julius. However, during the boss fights against Chill Clawbster and Xemnas, the Monstro that is trapped in ice and a white-striped building sent at the end of the Building Throw attack can respectively be a Reality Shift target.

List of Reality Shifts[edit]

Name	Description	World
(スリングショット, Suringushōtto^?)	The targeted enemy or object appears in a bubble which can be dragged around the touchscreen to move a targeting reticule. Upon release, the enemy or object is flung across the field to the targeted point, inflicting significant damage to the flung object and damaging any enemies or objects nearby. As such, it can be used to reveal Treasure Chests by destroying stacks of boxes or packages.	Traverse Town
(ホーリーロープ, Hōrī Rōpu^?, lit. "Holy Rope")	When used on an enemy, blue and white icons appear on the touchscreen, representing the enemies on the field. The player must draw a continuous line connecting the icons. Once finished, the line becomes a rope connecting the Dream Eaters, and Sora or Riku slide along the rope, dealing damage to the Dream Eaters along the way. If a loop is created with the rope, Sora or Riku will make two circuits around the loop, dealing extra damage. Faithline can also be used on the floating white orbs that appear throughout La Cité des Cloches to quickly traverse large distances or reach out-of-the-way places on the field map. During Riku's battle against Wargoyle, activating Faithline creates demon-head icons on the touchscreen. Using the icons to draw a loop around the Bullet Gargoyle will deal damage to it, and also prompt a Flowmotion command that will do extensive damage.	La Cité des Cloches
(コードブレイク, Kōdo Bureiku^?)	Lines of ever-changing data appear on the touchscreen. Occasionally, specific colored words or word fragments appear within the data. The player can tap these keywords to freeze them onscreen. When all the necessary words of a single color have been tapped, a subroutine determined by the combined keyword appears on the top screen, then disappears as it takes effect. There are several subroutines than can be activated, some only against certain targets. For example, "SWITCH TARGET" can cause a Dream Eater, Black Guard, or turret to attack your enemies.	The Grid
(ポッピングバブル, Poppingu Baburu^?, lit. "Popping Bubble")	The target appears on the outside of a ring on the touchscreen. The player must pull the bubble in the center of the ring in the opposite direction of the target to spray bubbles at it as it moves. After the target has been sprayed for long enough, it is enveloped in a bubble and returns to the top screen. Sora or Riku then stands on top of the bubble, which can be moved freely around the field, picking up other objects or Dream Eaters by touching them. The bubble can then be burst with the attack command or the jump command, the latter enabling a superjump Flowmotion. After the first phase of Sora's battle against the Chill Clawbster, the player is required to use Bubble Burst on Monstro in order to continue the battle.	Prankster's Paradise
(ワンダーコミック, Wandā Komikku^?)	The target appears in the center of a Three Musketeers comic book on the touchscreen. The player must swipe the touchscreen in the manner and direction indicated by arrows that appear on the page, in a straight motion or a spiraling motion. After a few of these, the target will be launched back to the field. During Sora's battle against Pete and the Beagle Boys, the player is required to use Wonder Comic on the three Beagle Boys after each has been defeated to force Pete to join the battle, and then again against Pete to finish the battle.	Country of the Musketeers
(ファンタズミック, Fantazumikku^?, lit. "Fantasmic")	The player must complete a rhythm game on the touchscreen, tapping the blue icons and dragging the purple icon with the correct timing. Each successful action launches fireworks to the top screen, damaging nearby enemies. Melody Catcher is used on wine goblets or musical notes that appear in different locations across Symphony of Sorcery to change the nearby environment in various ways, such as creating cloud platforms and rainbow paths or changing the weather.	Symphony of Sorcery
(ナイトメアブレイク, Naitomea Bureiku^?, lit. "Nightmare Break")	The player must swipe through the white chains on the touchscreen as they move across the screen in three swipes or less. When done successfully, an image of Riku appears, Sora and Riku each summon a colorful Keyblade, and they combine the two to form the Combined Keyblade, which they swing together in a series of enormous sword strokes. Sora can use Nightmare's End to destroy tall skyscrapers in his path, including during his battle with Xemnas.	The World That Never Was (Side: Sora)
(ミラージュスプリット, Mirāju Supuritto^?)	The player must swipe through the white pods on the touchscreen as they move across the screen in three swipes or less. When done successfully, an image of Sora appears, Sora and Riku each summon a colorful Keyblade, and they combine the two to form the Combined Keyblade, which they swing together in a series of enormous sword strokes. Riku can use Mirage Split to activate a number of devices in the World That Never Was, which open new areas. Mirage Split must be used during the battle against Young Xehanort after his health has been depleted during the first stage of the battle.	The World That Never Was (Side: Riku)
(スピリットロープ, Supiritto Rōpu^?, lit. "Spirit Rope")	Dreamline is used on Riku's Komory Bat to quickly traverse the Brink of Despair. The player must tap the Spirit Dream Eater symbol. Once finished, a rope stretches between Riku's Komory Bat and Sora's Meow Wow, allowing Riku to enter the Castle that Never Was.	The World That Never Was (Side: Riku - Used with Riku's Komory Bat at the Brink of Despair.)