Drive Form

Drive Forms are special abilities that appeared in Kingdom Hearts II. They were used to make Sora transform into a more powerful form using the aid of Sora's partners. They are first learned at the beginning of the game at Yen Sid's Tower.

Description

A Drive Form is a special ability that Sora is granted near the beginning of his adventure in Kingdom Hearts II once he is granted a much-needed new wardrobe. They allow Sora to transform into stronger forms by using a one or two of his partners in his party (some drives require Sora to have a specific ally in his party. For example, Sora cannot use the Wisdom Form if Donald is not in his party). Drive Forms also allow Sora use different, more powerful attacks and combos, dual Keyblade wielding, gliding or use abilities that couldn't normally be used before. Like Sora, the Drive Forms can level up as well. Each Form requires a different method to leveling up the Form, such as Valor Form requiring that hitting enemies will level up the Form. Some of the abilities from the Forms can also be used in Sora's normal state if the levels are high enough, such as the Final Form allowing Sora to glide at higher levels.

Some consider Riku's Dark Form in Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories and Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories a kind of Drive Form, since it serves to make him stronger and granting him access to special abilities for a brief period of time before he reverts to normal form, and is possibly the basis for the development of the Drive Form for Kingdom Hearts II.

Drive Gauge

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The Drive Gauge

The Drive Gauge, located above the Magic Points Gauge, limits the Drive Forms from being used infinitely, like waiting for magic to recharge. The Drive Gauge is measured by different levels that can be gained by beating bosses or performing certain events. In the original version of Kingdom Hearts II, seven was the maximum level that the Drive Gauge could fill. In Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix+, however, the Gauge is maxed out to nine. There are several ways to fill the Drive Gauge. The most common way is by attacking enemies, scenario objects, and bosses (with the latter filling up the gauge faster than the rest). It can also be filled by grabbing Drive Orbs (which come in two sizes) that certain enemies and objects drop, or by being attacked when a certain ability is equipped. When a Drive Form is triggered, the Drive Gauge starts draining away depending on the level of the Form that the player uses. After the Drive Gauge becomes completely empty and uses up all of its levels, Sora will change back into his normal self. Using specific skills and combos during the Forms will also proceed to make the Drive Gauge deplete faster than it normally would.

Forms

There is a total of six Drive Forms in total. Five can be triggered from the Command Menu, but the last one is random. The Drive Forms are:

Valor Form: Valor Form allows Sora to wield two Keyblades at the same time of the player's choosing. It specializes in physical combat, but can't cast spells. It is obtained at Yen Sid's Tower, when Sora changes his clothes. Its special ability is the High Jump, which can also be obtained for normal Sora at higher levels. Sora wears Red Clothes with a red fleur-de-lis symbol. It uses Goofy's power and is based on him. As mentioned, this form gains experience with each successful hit on an enemy, making it the easiest form to level up.

Wisdom Form: Wisdom Form makes Sora move in a skating fashion, and uses a single Keyblade to shoot(but not directly attack with) enemies. It is a Magic-based form, in contrast to Valor Form's physical combat. It is obtained after Timeless River is beaten. Its special ability is Quick Run, which works in a similar way to Dodge Roll. Sora wears blue clothes with flame symbols on it, it uses Donald's power and is based on him. Most players, however, consider this the most worthless Drive among others. This form gains experience whenever a Heartless is destroyed.

Master Form: Master Form is combination of both Valor and Wisdom forms. It uses two Keyblades, one controlled through telekinesis and the other with the hand. It specializes in both Magic and Physical Combat. It is obtained in Hollow Bastion by speaking to King Mickey before the Battle of the 1000 Heartless and during the events of Space Paranoids. Its special abilities is Aerial Dodge, a midair jump that blocks attacks (and reflects projectiles). Sora wears yellow clothes with cross motif. It is based on King Mickey and uses both partners. This form gains experience via collecting Drive Orbs. Every small orb is worth 1 EXP while every big orb is worth 3 EXP.

Limit Form: Limit Form is a form based on Sora's old clothes, it is exclusive to Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix+, though. It uses abilities from Kingdom Hearts that didn't appear in Kingdom Hearts II. It is obtained when Sora obtains Oathkeeper in Twilight Town. Its special ability is Dodge Roll, a small leap forward that defends Sora from all attacks (and reflects projectiles). The color scheme of Sora's clothes in this form change to that of his original clothes from Kingdom Hearts to reflect this. When triggered, both partners stay by Sora's side and do not disappear, making it especially useful during tough battles. This form gains experience whenever a Limit Finisher reaction command is used.

Final Form: Final Form is, as its name implies, is the ultimate form. Sora wields two Keyblades, both through telekinesis. It is both equally strong in both strength and magic, and is considered the strongest amongst all the other Drive Forms. It is obtained randomly after Sora fights Roxas in The World That Never Was. Its special ability is Glide, which allows the user to fly briefly. Sora wears silver clothes with the symbol of a crown. It is based on Roxas' fighting style (Final Mix +) and uses both characters. This form gains experience whenever a Nobody is destroyed. This form is possibly the hardest form to level up.

Anti Form: Anti Form is the only form when Sora is without his Keyblade. It specializes in fast attacks and many combos, but lacks the ability to cast spells, shield, recover HP, or even finish boss fights. It appears when one tries to Drive, the possibility of it appearing depending on the Anti Points (a hidden counter, which increases with each Drive by one point EXCEPT by Anti and Final Forms). However, using the Final Form will reset this occurrence and lowers the chance of it happening. It has no special ability and it is the only one that can not be triggered through the Command Menu. In this form, Sora becomes completely black with yellow eyes and moves like a Shadow Heartless. It uses both partners and wastes all of the Drive Gauge. This is the only form that cannot level up.

Trivia

• If Sora is in a Drive Form before a cutscene, he will appear in the cutscene in that Drive Form (an exception being Anti Form), although the actions in the cutscene are not changed in any significant way. He will also handle his main-handed Keyblade as he normally would, whether he has dual-wield capabilities with the form in question or not.
• In earlier (beta) trailers of Kingdom Hearts II, Roxas was seen with both an MP and Drive Gauge during his battle with the Twilight Thorn, although in the final release of the game, he doesn't have either.
• In the room where Sora receives his new clothes, hints to future Drive Forms that he will receive later on can be found by examining the mirrors - each of the five mirrors around the room describes the abilities of one of Sora's original four Drive Forms, including his Anti Form.