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Hollow Bastion

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For the article about the world itself, see Radiant Garden.
For the article about the mines below the castle, see Cavern of Remembrance.
Hollow Bastion

Hollow Bastion KH.png
Hollow Bastion Logo KH.png

Hollow Bastion KHII.png
Hollow Bastion Logo KHII.png
Japanese ホロウバスティオン

Romaji Horou Basution
Games Kingdom Hearts
Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories
Kingdom Hearts II
Kingdom Hearts coded

Allies Beast[KH I]
Donald Duck, GoofyTemplate:KHC
Assistants Leon, Yuffie, Tifa, Cloud, Claymore[KH II]
Themes Header.png

KH tracks
Field theme - Hollow Bastion
File:Hollow Bastion -KH1-.ogg
Battle theme - Scherzo Di Notte
File:Scherzo Di Notte -KH1-.ogg
KHCOM tracks
Field theme - Hollow Bastion
File:Hollow Bastion -ReCoM-.ogg
Battle theme - Scherzo Di Notte
File:Scherzo Di Notte -ReCoM-.ogg
KHII tracks
Field theme - Reviving Hollow Bastion
File:Reviving Hollow Bastion.ogg
Battle theme - Scherzo Di Notte
File:Scherzo Di Notte -KH2-.ogg
Other worlds
Introduced in Kingdom Hearts
Dive to the Heart | Destiny Islands | Disney Castle
Traverse Town | Wonderland | Olympus Coliseum
Deep Jungle | Agrabah | Monstro
Atlantica | Halloween Town | Neverland
100 Acre Wood | Hollow Bastion
End of the World | Realm of Darkness
Introduced in Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories
Castle Oblivion | Twilight Town
Introduced in Kingdom Hearts II
Mysterious Tower | Radiant Garden
The Land of Dragons | Beast's Castle | Timeless River
Port Royal | Pride Lands | Space Paranoids
The World That Never Was | End of Sea | Keyblade Graveyard
Introduced in Kingdom Hearts coded
Datascape
Introduced in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
Land of Departure | Mirage Arena
Dwarf Woodlands | Enchanted Dominion | Castle of Dreams
Disney Town | Deep Space
Introduced in Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance
La Cité des Cloches | The Grid | Symphony of Sorcery
Country of the Musketeers | Prankster's Paradise
Introduced in Kingdom Hearts χ[chi]
Daybreak Town
Introduced in Kingdom Hearts Union χ[Cross]
Game Central Station | Niceland | Cy-Bug Sector | Candy Kingdom
Introduced in Kingdom Hearts III
The Final World | Secret Forest | Olympus
Toy Box | Kingdom of Corona | Monstropolis
Arendelle | The Caribbean | San Fransokyo
Scala ad Caelum | Quadratum

Hollow Bastion is a world from Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, and Kingdom Hearts coded. In Kingdom Hearts II, the world was expanded into the town and other areas. It appeared in a flashback to events from Kingdom Hearts experienced by Xion in Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days.

Not based on a Disney film, though showing Disney influence, Hollow Bastion is a colossal castle that towers above the rest of its world, Radiant Garden. At one point, it was the only remaining part of the world, along with the waterways beneath it. Because of this, the world itself was known as "Hollow Bastion" in Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, and most of Kingdom Hearts II. However, it regains its original name of Radiant Garden by the end of Kingdom Hearts II, when Tron used his powers to show what the world was like before it's destruction.

Unlike the rest of the Radiant Garden, which poses as Final Fantasy's world, Hollow Bastion has no relation to Final Fantasy whatsoever.

Ansem the Wise was the former ruler of this world. The castle was taken over by Maleficent and she claimed herself ruler, but she was simply being used.

Setting

Kingdom Hearts

File:113.jpg
The Lift Stop

Sora and the rest of the party enter Hollow Bastion at the Rising Falls, appropriately named as there are waterfalls that run up instead of down. Jumping on mystical floating rocks and ledges takes the party to the first of many magical platforms that are scattered throughout the castle. The platform takes Sora to the Castle Gates, the main entrance of Hollow Bastion which is made up of a set of balconies and lifts running outside the castle. From here, the party can travel down into the underground water system or enter the castle itself.

Going down the nearby platform or leaping off the edge of the balcony takes the party to Base Level, an area full of ledges, switches, and enemies. Successfully climbing to the balcony near the entrance earns extra treasures, while taking a nearby bubble carries them to the Waterway, where a series of gates, switches, and bubbles must be navigated to operate the castle gate controls. Off of the Waterway is a small room, the Dungeon.

File:110.jpg
The Entrance Hall

Going in the doors at the other end of the Castle Gates area takes the party to the massive two-level Entrance Hall, where a large puzzle must be solved to continue up the castle by allowing access to the second half of the Castle Gates area. Going left takes the party to the Library, also the site of a large puzzle involving organizing misplaced books. Belle, Yuffie, Leon and Aerith can later be found here after the Hollow Bastion Keyhole is locked. Also accessible from the Library is the first of many entrances to the Lift Stop, a series of magic lifts separated by mystical barriers.

Continuing up the castle by taking the lift on the other side of the Castle Gates area is the Great Crest, where the largest of the magic lifts is located. After a long and slow journey across the front of the bastion, the party is dropped on the other side, where they can take the Lift Stop to the next area, the High Tower, where the crest can be moved to create a way up to the upper levels of the castle. Through the Lift Stop at the opposite end of the High Tower is the entrance to the Castle Chapel, where the confrontations with Maleficent take place. Once passed, the area holding Hollow Bastion's Keyhole and the Princesses of Heart, the Grand Hall is open to confront Riku in. Beyond the Grand Hall, in a Heartless symbol-shaped portal, lie the Dark Depths where Sora and company fight Behemoth, and the Keyhole here is sealed.

File:109.jpg
The Castle Chapel

In the End of the World's World Terminus, Sora is transported to an unseen section of what is supposedly Hollow Bastion. All that is there is a hallway that appears similar to the corridors near Ansem's study in Kingdom Hearts II. One end of the hall fades to darkness in the distance, leading back to the World Terminus. The other end has a giant Heartless emblem floating in it, not allowing passage. To the left of the entrance is a chamber with a strange apparatus. It has a large computer and several human-sized pods attached. This may be where Xehanort and his cohorts tore their hearts from their bodies and became Heartless. The computer has a message that must be read before Sora can leave;

Ones born of the heart and darkness, devoid of hearts, ravage all worlds and bring desolation.
Seize all Hearts and consummate the great heart.
All hearts to be one, one heart to encompass all
Realize the destiny: the realm of Kingdom Hearts
The great darkness sealed within the great heart.
Progeny of darkness, come back to the eternal darkness.
For the heart of light shall unseal the path.
Seven hearts, one keyhole, one key to the door.
The door of darkness, tied by two keys
The door to darkness to seal the light
None shall pass but shadows, returning to the darkness
Ones born of the Heart and darkness, hunger for every heart until the dark door opens

Kingdom Hearts II

File:Hollow Bastion KH2.jpg
Hollow Bastion as it appears in Kingdom Hearts II

Because of the damage to Hollow Bastion in the first game, much of the focus in Hollow Bastion the second time around is on the village that surrounds the bottom of the castle. Sora, Donald, and Goofy arrive in the Marketplace, which houses the world's Moogle shop, as well as Uncle Scrooge and the accessory shop of his venturing nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie. Final Fantasy fans will also note two familiar faces who run the world's armor shop and item shop. Past the Marketplace is the Borough, which sits next to one of the massive walls of the village defenses. From there, the party can drop in on their friends at Merlin's House or continue to the Bailey, which eventually suffers a bit of damage at the hands of the Heartless.

The good news is the damage to the Bailey allows access to the remains of the Castle by opening up an entrance to the Restoration Site. Fighting their way through this area in turn takes them to the Postern, site of a save point and the entrance to the bastion itself. Going inside, the party must navigate the twisting Corridors before reaching the end at Ansem's Study, where many of the mysteries surrounding Ansem can be solved, but many more created.

Ansem's study and computer

Ansem's Study was the private study of Ansem the Wise in Hollow Bastion. The room contained a throne and desk, containers filled with hearts, and books. As leader of Radiant Garden, he used it to store his research on the heart. Mickey Mouse and Ansem often talked in there. There was a portrait of Xehanort in the study, though it is unknown if Ansem or Xehanort put the painting up there. Behind the painting, it shows the password which are the Princesses of Heart. There was a secret passage in the wall that leads to Ansem's Computer.

Ansem's Computer is a complex computer system used by Ansem the Wise during his rule over Radiant Garden, and later used by his apprentices after his exile. It contains an elaborate network copied from ENCOM, containing the Space Paranoids world.

It once had information regarding Heartless, Nobodies, Organization XIII, and Ansem the Wise. However, when Sora, Donald, and Goofy tried to access information on it, the only data that was not corrupted (possibly by Xemnas) was a file regarding Ansem the Wise.

The computer continues to be used by Xemnas to access the Room of Sleep. It allows access to the Heartless Manufacturer, and activates the laser that transports users to Space Paranoids. On the other side of the computer room is the small, but often missed Heartless Manufactory.

Story

Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep

Main article: Radiant Garden

Story Between Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep and Kingdom Hearts

Hollow Bastion was once a glorious castle towering over the Radiant Garden and owned by a respectful king, Ansem the Wise. Much of the history of the castle is unknown, other than that Ansem ruled from it. However, eventually Ansem's apprentice Xehanort overthrew his former mentor, and remodeled the castle to include mechanical components. The result was a twisted bastion; half beautiful castle, half distorted factory. According to Leon, Maleficent invaded Hollow Bastion's world with her Heartless nine years before the events of Kingdom Hearts. Some residents managed to escape, many of whom ended up in Traverse Town. However, the youngest known resident, Kairi, was sent into the oceans of the worlds by Xehanort and ended up in Destiny Islands. During her reign in the castle as one of Ansem's minions, it is probable that Maleficent either created or remodeled the castle's keep, which has decorations and models of roses and her thorned plants.

Kingdom Hearts

Sora, Donald and Goofy arrive at Hollow Bastion in time to find Riku attacking another intruder, the Beast. Sora, Donald, and Goofy confront Riku, but he declares he is the Keyblade's true holder; it jumps into his possession, leaving Sora defenseless except for his old wooden sword. Shocked at this revelation, Sora collapses to the ground. Riku departs, and Donald and Goofy, having been ordered to follow the Keybearer, reluctantly follow him. The Beast staggers on despite his injuries, and Sora quickly gets over his shock to help him. The Beast reveals that he is looking for someone important to him, and refuses to depart without her. Sora, sympathizing, takes up his old wooden sword, and the two team up to enter the castle.

After traversing the castle waterways to unlock the main door, Sora and Beast enter Hollow Bastion. Beast witnesses an illusion of Belle transforming into a Heartless, and, enraged, jumps at the Heartless, with the doors slamming shut behind him. Riku, Donald, and Goofy appear soon after, where Riku orders Sora to give up, though Sora refuses to leave without Kairi. Sora informs Riku that while the darkness may destroy his body, it can't harm his heart, and Riku decides to test Sora's theory by firing a dark energy bolt at him. Sora, believing it to be the end, braces himself, but Goofy rushes in and blocks the blast with his shield. After being questioned by Riku, Goofy swears that he will never betray King Mickey, but won't betray Sora after all that they have been through together, and asks Donald to apologize to the King for him; however, Donald also chooses his friendship with Sora over King Mickey's orders and rejoins Sora. Sora informs Riku that he doesn't need the Keyblade; his friends and heart are the only weapons he needs. Sora's strength of heart with his friends back by his side pulls the Keyblade away from Riku and back to him. After a fierce battle, Riku is defeated and flees. Beast rejoins the party after watching the encounter, observing that Sora's heart was what helped him win.

Riku is upset at losing the Keyblade, but encounters Xehanort's Heartless, who promises him that he can make Riku's heart stronger through darkness and allow him to regain possession of the Keyblade. Jealous and angry at Sora and shamed over his loss of control of the Keyblade, Riku succumbs to his pledge and powers, and becomes consumed by the darkness. In the meantime, Maleficent has attempted to use the gathered Princesses of Heart to open the Bastion's Keyhole. The Heartless-possessed Riku meets with her to check her progress, where Maleficent declares she will control and use the darkness for her own purposes; however, neither she nor Ansem-Riku can unlock the Keyhole without Kairi's missing heart.

Sora and friends manage to travel through the labyrinth of a castle to reach the chapel; there they meet with and confront Maleficent. Overconfident in her abilities and underestimating those of Sora's gang, she is soundly defeated. Escaping back to Riku for help, she is stabbed through the heart by his Keyblade of People's Hearts, made from the hearts of the six Princesses. It unlocks the darkest parts of her heart and allows her to transform into a large, powerful dragon; however, Sora's party defeat her again, and she is consumed and burned away by the darkness. Riku then appears and reveals that Maleficent was merely a pawn of the Heartless, unable to see the darkness swallowing her heart. He then departs and Sora and company travel to the Grand Hall, where the Keyhole and Princesses are located, to find and confront him. There, Sora finds Kairi unconscious on the floor in front of the partially opened Keyhole. He tries to wake her, but Riku appears to tell Sora her heart is missing. Riku continues to tell Sora that Kairi is one of the princesses and that her heart is within his him. Sora is able to realize that Riku is no longer in control of his own body. Riku knocks both Donald and Goofy back behind a preset barrier, and Kairi's heart reacts to the Keyblade of People's Hearts' power, causing Sora crippling pain. Xehanort's Heartless then attacks at him, but Sora recovers and blocks the strike in time. After an intense battle over who would possess Kairi's heart, Sora emerges victorious.

File:Rising Falls.jpg
The Rising Falls

Riku disappears, but the Keyhole begins reacting to the presence of Kairi's heart. Sora attempts to lock the Keyhole, but without Kairi's heart, it is not complete and cannot be sealed. Sora puts two and two together and realizes what he has to do; despite Donald and Goofy's desperate pleas, Sora stabs himself with the Keyblade of People's Hearts left in Riku's wake, releasing all of the princesses' hearts (including Kairi's) and completing the Keyhole, but Sora falls into darkness himself.

Kairi wakes just in time to see Sora disappear. As Kairi, Donald, and Goofy mourn the loss of Sora, Xehanort's Heartless, now in full possession of Riku's body and having shaped it into one resembling his original human self, reappears, declaring that Kairi's purpose is over, effectively deciding to kill her. Donald and Goofy bravely make a stand against Xehanort's Heartless, but both know that, without Sora, they may not be able to stop him. However, before Xehanort's Heartless can attack, Riku projects himself from his stolen body, manages to establish enough control to stop him in his tracks, and warns Kairi and the others that the Heartless called by Xehanort's Heartless will soon overrun the castle at which they heed and run to escape. The three return to the entrance, and hesitate due to Kairi's reluctance to leave Sora and Riku behind; Goofy himself is still concerned about the Keyhole (apparently failing to realize that, without Sora and the Keyblade, the Keyhole cannot be stopped). An apparently non-hostile Heartless arrives; Donald shouts at it to get lost and whacks it over the head with his staff, but Kairi realizes that the Heartless is, in fact, Sora. At that moment, massive legions of Heartless attack, and swarm Kairi and Sora's Heartless, much to Donald and Goofy's horror. However, a brilliant flash of light blows the Heartless back, and in place of the Heartless, there is Sora, fully restored. Beast stays behind to hold off the Heartless and continue looking for Belle, and so the group departs Hollow Bastion.

Cid manages to find a way to allow them to return and seal the Keyhole. They return and help Beast reunite with the re-awakened Belle, and jump through the Keyhole to fight a Behemoth Heartless. After a conversation with Leon's group, who have returned to restore their home world, Sora seals the Keyhole at Hollow Bastion.

In the Kingdom Hearts Final Mix version, Sora also has his first encounter with Organization XIII in the chapel by way Xemnas, here known only as "Unknown". After some cryptic messages (such as stating that Sora is incomplete and looks just like "him"), Xemnas departs. It is revealed in Kingdom Hearts II that this battle takes place shortly after Xemnas recruited Roxas into the Organization, and he fought Sora to test his abilities.

Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories

In Sora's story, Hollow Bastion is also recreated as a figment of his memory. It is where the Beast, Belle, and Maleficent which were created from his memory are, and Belle is denying her love for the Beast and Sora has to defeat Maleficent in her Dragon form. But opposed to the first game, it focuses more on the relationship between Beast and Belle.

In Riku's Story, Hollow Bastion is recreated inside Castle Oblivion as a figment of his memory. It is the first world he enters and fights a memory recreation of Maleficent in her Dragon form.

Kingdom Hearts II

Main article: Radiant Garden

Kingdom Hearts coded

A data version of Hollow Bastion is the world playable in Episode 6 of Kingdom Hearts coded. New scans from Gangan have shown Sora confronting Pete in the Rising Falls area and Sora, Donald, and Goofy fighting Heartless in the Library.

Characters

Enemies

Heartless

Nobodies

Mini-Games

Treasures

Kingdom Hearts

Type Items Found Locations Notes
Regular Elixir Library
Megalixir x 2 Rising Falls, High Tower
Mega-Potion Library
Gummis Dispel-G x 4 Rising Falls x 2, Library, Great Crest Need to jump into bubble at Rising Falls to retrieve
Esuna-G Waterway
Flare-G x 2 Waterway, Grand Hall
Float-G x 3 Dungeon x 2, Lift Stop
Holy-G Castle Gates
Thundaga-G Lift Stop
Tornado-G x 3 Base Level x 2, Lift Stop
Ultima-G Lift Stop
Power-Ups AP Up Library
Defense Up Rising Falls
Power Up Entrance Hall
Synthesis Mythril x 3 Base Level, Library, Lift Stop
Orichalcum x 3 Lift Stop, Castle Gates, Great Crest
Special Blizzaga Ring Rising Falls
Firaga Ring Waterway
Oblivion Grand Hall Can only be reached after the second trip to Hollow Bastion
Thundaga Ring Great Crest

Kingdom Hearts II

Type Items Found Locations Notes
Regular Drive Recovery Borough
Hi-Potion x 2 Borough, Corridors
Elixir Crystal Fissure
Tent Borough
Power-Ups AP Boost x 5 Borough, Postern, Corridors, Restoration Site, Crystal Fissure
Synthesis Mythril Shard Borough
Mythril Stone Corridors
Mythril Gem Postern
Mythril Crystal Corridors
Maps Castle Perimeter Postern
The Great Maw Crystal Fissure
Recipes Moon Recipe Restoration Site
Skill Recipe Ansem's Study Can get after the first visit to Space Paranoids
Special Cosmic Chain Heartless Manufactory Open after completing Space Paranoids for the first time
Gull Wing Postern Talk to Yuna to access this chest
Torn Pages Crystal Fissure
Ukulele Charm Ansem's Study

Dalmatians

  • 61, 62, & 63 - Grand Hall on the lefthand ledge near the Keyhole platform.
  • 91, 92, & 93 - On a ledge near the entrance point at Rising Falls.
  • 94, 95, & 96 - Far lefthand platform at the Castle Gates. You will need to take the moving platform or use Glide to get there.
  • 97, 98, & 99 - On a Gravity platform near the entrance of the High Tower.

Trinities

Type Location Notes Reward
Blue Dungeon Center of the room. Mega-Ether, Mega-Potion, Cottage and HP balls
Great Crest Right-hand lower balcony, near the landing point for the large magic lift. Cottage x 2, Megalixir and MP balls
Red Entrance Hall Second floor, in front of the tusked stone statue. Emblem Piece
Green Library Second floor, same area as the table and save point. Reach book on shelf.
White Rising Falls Shallow pool where Riku takes the Keyblade. Firaga-G

Puzzle Pieces

Puzzle Pieces Found Locations Notes
Awakening
#1
Merlin's House Above the bed.
#2
Marketplace On a ledge near a shophouse. Accessible from the entrance of the world - you'll be sure not to miss it.
#3
Borough On a wall section near the Bailey.
Heart
#6
Marketplace On top of Mog's Moogle Shop. Accessible by High Jump (at least LV2).
Two Sides
#7
Bailey On the stairs to the Restoration Site.
EDGE
#4
Postern Above the doorway to the Corridors. Need LV2 High Jump and LV1 Aerial Dodge.
Dawn
#5
Postern On the steps going down and around the central area.
#24
Heartless Manufactory
Twilight
#4
Borough Need LV3 High Jump. Atop the building across from Merlin's House.
#12
Bailey (Destroyed) Need LV3 Aerial Dodge
#47
Corridors Need LV3 High Jump.
#48
Ansem's Study Behind the closed door that leads to the Heartless Manufactory

Maps

Trivia

  • Upon taking the lift in the Lift Stop connected to the library in Kingdom Hearts, Sora and party will arrive at an inside area atop the castle. By using first person view, looking upwards reveals stain glass windows that share the same pattern as the pillars in the Station of Awakening.
  • A castle resembling Hollow Bastion was featured in one of the slides Jane asked Sora to find in the Deep Jungle. Unlike its ruins, which are visited near the end of the game, it is not noticeably damaged.
  • This world has appeared in all games except Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days.
  • In the Gummi Ship, in Kingdom Hearts, the Heartless insignia can be seen on the castle, and in the water area below, but you never see the insignia when walking through the Rising Falls.
  • In Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories, there is a statue in the center of Hollow Bastion's Entrance Hall, but it wasn't there in the original Kingdom Hearts.
  • Promotional images and movies for Kingdom Hearts II depict Sora, Donald, and Goofy in battle some [[[Neoshadows]] in the High Tower area of the castle as it appeared in Kingdom Hearts, but the area is inaccessible in the second game.