Difficulty Level

Oh no! The water! I'm in big trouble if I don't fetch it!

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The Difficulty Level (ゲームモード, Gēmu Mōdo^?, lit. "Game Mode") of a game in the Kingdom Hearts series determines enemy strength and limitations the player will be presented with during gameplay. In most Kingdom Hearts games, players choose a difficulty level when starting a new game, and they cannot change the level once they have started.

In Kingdom Hearts Re:coded, the difficulty level is instead handled by the Difficulty Cheat, which is set to Standard by default but can be changed to "Beginner", "Proud", and "Critical" at any time.

In Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance and Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep -A fragmentary passage-, Critical Mode is only available after completing the main game first instead of right away like before. However, Kingdom Hearts III originally lacked Critical Mode, it became available in Version 1.04-1.05 update.

The highest level of difficulty is Critical Mode (クリティカルモード, Kuritikaru Mōdo^?), followed by Proud Mode (プラウドモード, Puraudo Mōdo^?), Standard Mode (スタンダードモード, Sutandādo Mōdo^?), and Beginner Mode (ビギナーモード, Biginā Mōdo^?).

List of difficulties in each game

Game	Available Difficulty Levels
Game		Normal Mode	Expert Mode
Kingdom Hearts
Game	Beginner Mode	Standard Mode	Proud Mode	Critical Mode
Kingdom Hearts Final Mix	^[1]	^[2]	^[3]
Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories
Kingdom Hearts II
Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep				^[4]
Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Final Mix
Kingdom Hearts coded
Kingdom Hearts Re:coded
Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance				^[5]
Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep -A fragmentary passage-				^[5]
Kingdom Hearts III				^[6]

Kingdom Hearts

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Normal Mode

Enemies deal regular damage.
No Battle Report is shown.

Expert Mode

Enemies deal double damage.
A Battle Report is shown after the end credits, showing statistics from your journey.

Kingdom Hearts Final Mix

Final Mix: Beginner Mode

Sora begins the game with a Ribbon, an EXP Necklace, 8 Power Ups, 8 Defense Ups and 4 AP Ups.
The Drill Gummi's Attack Power is 9,999 instead of 35.
Another side, Another story... and Another Side, Another Story [Deep Dive] cannot be unlocked.

Final Mix Mode

Gummi Ship takes double the damage.
Damage inflicted by the Gummi Ship is cut by a third.
Must complete the Hades Cup; find all 99 Puppies; and seal every Keyhole to unlock Another Side, Another Story...; and complete Jiminy's Journal to unlock Another Side, Another Story [Deep Dive].

Final Mix: Proud Mode

Compared to the original game, enemies inflict twice the damage.
The Gummi Ship's attack deals half the damage.
A "Battle Report" is shown at the end.
"FMPR" is written on the top right of the save file.
Unlocking Another Side, Another Story simply requires completing the game.
Must seal every Keyhole and complete the Hades Cup to unlock Another Side, Another Story [deep dive].
In the HD 1.5 ReMIX version of the game, Sora has EXP Zero as an ability.

Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories

Beginner Mode

Compared to Standard, enemies' HP is cut by 0.75x.
Compared to Standard, enemies deal 0.8x the damage.
Sora and Riku have a 4% chance of getting a Random Joker after a fight.

Standard Mode

Enemies' HP is normal.
Enemies deal normal damage.
Sora and Riku have a 1.3% chance of getting a Random Joker after a fight.

Proud Mode

Enemies' HP is normal.
Compared to Standard, enemies deal 1.2x the damage.
Sora and Riku have a 0.7% chance of getting a Random Joker after a fight.

Kingdom Hearts II

Beginner Mode

Damage dealt to enemies is twice compared to Standard Mode.
Damage received from enemies is half compared to Standard Mode.
The Gathering cannot be unlocked.

Standard Mode

Player deals normal damage.
Damage dealt to player is normal.
Must complete Jiminy's Journal to unlock The Gathering.

Proud Mode

Compared to Standard mode, enemies inflict twice the damage.
"Proud Mode" is written on the top right side of the save file.
Must unlock every Gate and finish the game to unlock The Gathering.

Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix

Beginner Mode

Damage dealt to enemies is twice compared to Standard Mode.
Damage received from enemies is half compared to Standard Mode.
Birth by Sleep cannot be unlocked.

Standard Mode

Player deals normal damage.
Damage dealt to player is normal.
Must complete Jiminy's Journal and all Gummi Missions to unlock Birth by sleep.

Proud Mode

Compared to Standard mode, enemies inflict twice the damage.
"Proud Mode" is written on the top right side of the save file.
Must complete Jiminy's Journal to unlock Birth by sleep.

Critical Mode

Compared to Standard, enemies inflict twice the damage.
Except for the Mushroom XIII, damage dealt to enemies is 1.25× compared to Standard Mode.
Roxas learns Reaction Boost, Finishing Plus, Draw, 2x Lucky Lucky, MP Hastera and EXP Zero on the Third Day.
Roxas begins the game with 50 AP.
AP increases by increments of 3 instead of 2.
Compared to Standard and Proud, HP and MP quantities from Bonus Levels are cut by a half. For instance, Sora gains a maximum of 60 HP instead of 120.
Compared to Standard and Proud, EXP gained is three-quarters of the normal amount.
Save file displays "Critical Mode".
Unlocking the "Birth by sleep" video just requires you to win the Gold Crown.
In the PlayStation 2 Browser screen, there is a symbol attached to the save data file on the memory card.

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days

Beginner Mode

Roxas takes 0.7× damage.
HP prize recovery is doubled.

Standard Mode

Roxas takes normal damage.
HP prize recovery is normal.

Proud Mode

Roxas takes 1.75× damage.
HP prize recovery is 0.7×

Mission Mode

Though not a difficulty level in itself, Mission Mode boasts a difficulty level of its own that surpasses even Proud Mode . Regardless of what difficulty you play on in Story Mode, Mission Mode's difficulty stays consistent. Due to its intended multiplayer purpose, designed for two or more players to cooperate, players deal far less damage than usual. With the bonus defense from automatic higher levels for enemies in Mission Mode, players only deal 0.5x damage, and take normal damage.

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Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep

Beginner Mode

Player deals 50% more damage.
All damage dealt to player is halved.
Blank Points cannot be unlocked.
On the PSP XMB, there is an omega (Ω) symbol attached to the save data file on the memory stick.

Standard Mode

Player deals normal damage.
Damage dealt to player is normal.
Must complete the Report Section and Final Episode to unlock Blank Points.
On the PSP XMB, there is an outline of a star attached to the save data file on the memory stick.

Proud Mode

Compared to Standard and Beginner mode, the player deals half the damage.
Compared to Standard and Beginner mode, enemies inflict twice the damage.
Must complete the Final Episode to unlock Blank Points.
In the PSP XMB, there is a star symbol attached to the save data file on the memory stick.

Critical Mode

Compared to Standard and Proud mode, the player deals half the damage.
Compared to Standard and Proud mode, enemies inflict twice the damage.
Compared to Standard and Proud mode, HP quantities from Bonus Levels are halved.
Game begins with five command slots.
EXP Zero is available as an ability.
Unlocking the Blank Points video requires you to complete the Final Episode.
In the PSP XMB, there is a cross symbol attached to the save data file on the memory stick.

Kingdom Hearts Re:coded

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Beginner Mode

Standard Mode

Proud Mode

Critical Mode

Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance

Beginner Mode

Compared to Standard, enemies take 1.5x the damage.
Compared to Standard, Sora and Riku take 0.5x the damage.
Compared to Standard, Spirits take 0.5x the damage.
Risky Winds Forecast is not available.
Thirteen or more Trophies are required to unlock Another Guardian of Light.

Standard Mode

Enemies take normal damage.
Sora and Riku take normal damage.
Spirits take normal damage.
Seven or more Trophies are required to unlock Another Guardian of Light.

Proud Mode

EXP Zero is available as an ability.
Compared to Standard, enemies take 0.75x the damage.
Compared to Standard, Sora and Riku take 1.5x the damage.
Spirits take normal damage.
Five or more Trophies are required to unlock Another Guardian of Light.

Critical Mode

EXP Zero is available as an ability.
Compared to Standard, enemies take 0.5x the damage.
Compared to Standard, Sora and Riku take 3.0x the damage.
Compared to Standard, Spirits take 1.5x the damage.
Compared to Standard, Risky Winds has a 2.5x chance of appearing.
Enemies do not flinch as much as in other difficulties.
Bosses activate their desperation moves much earlier than normal.
- Young Xehanort has an air combo that is exclusive to this difficulty level.
No Trophies are required to unlock Another Guardian of Light.

Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep -A fragmentary passage-

Beginner Mode

Compared to Standard, Aqua deals 50% more damage.
All damage dealt to Aqua is halved.

Standard Mode

Aqua deals normal damage.
Damage dealt to Aqua is normal.

Proud Mode

Compared to Standard, Aqua deals 50% less damage.
Damage dealt to Aqua is normal.

Critical Mode

Compared to Standard, Aqua deals 1.5× damage.
Compared to Standard, enemies deal double damage.
The effects of Combo Master and Leaf Bracer are removed.
Second Chance does not take effect if Aqua is not at critical health when a fatal attack lands.
Enemies and destructible items no longer drop HP, MP, and Focus prizes.

Kingdom Hearts III

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Beginner Mode

Must have collected all 90 Lucky Emblems to view Yozora.

Standard Mode

Must have collected 60 Lucky Emblems to view Yozora.

Proud Mode

Compared to Standard, EXP gained is three-quarters of the normal amount.
Must have collected 30 Lucky Emblems to view Yozora.

Critical Mode

MP and HP are halved compared to all other difficulties.
Sora learns Critical Counter, Critical Recharge, Critical Converter, Aerial Recovery, Counter Slash, Counter Impact, Counter Kick, Final Blow, Risk Dodge, Rising Spiral, Groundbreaker, Air Slide x3, Superslide x3, Combo Master and Damage Control after Dive to the Heart segment.