Kingdom Hearts III

Lich

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Lich

Lich from the Ultimania

Japanese リッチ
Rōmaji Ricchi

Type Pureblood Heartless
Game Kingdom Hearts III
Lich

Kingdom Hearts III
This haunting horror held the hearts of Sora's friends hostage. Time and again, Sora fought it back, but with each hard-won victory, it would simply slough its form and depart to another world.

Its broad arsenal of magic made it a formidable foe to face alone, but in the end no Heartless could match the strength of Sora's resolve.
Location HP Strength Defense EXP
The Final World 600 55 28 0
Physical Fire Blizzard Thunder Water
x1.0 x0.5 x1.0[1] x1.0[2] x1.0[3]
Aero Dark Neutral Rapid-fire
x0.5 x0.5 x0.7[4] x0.5
Freeze Electrify Stun Hunny
X X X X
Reaction
Endurance
Revenge
Value
Attraction
Magnification
Damage
Limit
0 4 x0.8 24

Rewards
Sora: Max MP +5, Aeroga
World(s)
The Final World
"The Lich you've been fighting—it's not like other Heartless. It exists to usher hearts down to the depths of darkness."
—Young Xehanort to Sora

The Lich is a Pureblood Heartless that appears in Kingdom Hearts III. Unlike other Heartless, it does not consume hearts to create more Heartless. Rather, it captures hearts and ferries them to the abyss of darkness. Also, if caught in time, it can be forced to relinquish the hearts it has captured, allowing them to return to their bodies.

Story

Kingdom Hearts III

The Lich first appears at the Courtyard in Olympus to collect Riku's heart after the Guardians of Light have been consumed by a Demon Tide and scattered across the worlds. After Sora chases the Lich down and frees Riku's heart, the Lich flees into a portal leading to other worlds to claim the hearts of the other fallen warriors—Aqua at the Northern Waters in The Caribbean, Goofy at the Middle Tier in Arendelle, Donald Duck at the Lobby & Offices in Monstropolis, Ventus at Main Floor: 1F in Toy Box, Mickey Mouse at the Marsh in Kingdom of Corona, and Lea at the Central District in San Fransokyo—forcing Sora to use the power of waking to give pursuit. Upon finally vanquishing the Lich, Sora is told by Young Xehanort that he has misused the power of waking too many times, and is condemned to meet the same fate as those whose hearts are taken by the Lich.

Design

The Lich is a large black Heartless with the shape of a roughly humanoid torso. It wears a black robe which fades into white tendrils at its base, and has draping sleeves that end in pink points. Its tall, pointed headdress covers its head and long neck with a criss-crossing design ending in a flair at the shoulders that resembles white hair or feathers. Its glowing yellow eyes peer through a skull-shaped mask. A heart-shaped hole cuts through its chest, in which is stores the chained hearts it captures, bordered by a bright pink design on its robe. Three chains dangle from under its robe, ending in pink spikes that hang at alternate heights.

It bears a grey staff with a black headpiece, which also features a heart-shaped hole through it.

Its name is derived from the recurring enemy from the Final Fantasy series.

Strategy

Kingdom Hearts III

The Lich has a broad arsenal of magic, which grows stronger with every fight, and it must be defeated seven times before the battle is truly over. Each fight will take place in a different world.

The first fight will take place in Olympus. Sora must chase it through the corridors, which are filled with Shadows and Neoshadows. Despite Jiminy Cricket's many warnings, you can kill them to gain extra experience. Just be sure that you don't lose sight of the boss. After cornering it at the apex, the real fight will begin. The Lich has three attacks, Afterimage Slide, 6-fold Fire, and Aerora. The fire and aero attacks can be blocked. However, avoiding the afterimages can be tricky because, if you are locked on to it when it slides, you will remain locked on to the afterimage. Air Slide is good for avoiding the explosion. Due to only having three health bars, the fight will end quickly. Don't celebrate yet, because there are still 6 fights to go. The order of these fights depends on the stations you enter, and each fight gives the Lich access to a different attack.

  • Toy Box: This fight takes place in the Main Floor: 1F area. It can now use the Thunder Disc attack, which summons electrical discs that charge at Sora and will electrify him. They can be blocked. It is assisted at the start of the battle by Marionettes, which can possess any toy they get close to. Kill them if necessary, but focus on the boss.
  • Kingdom of Corona: This fight takes place in the Marsh. It can now use the Cloud Magic attack, which summons clouds that inflict the cloud status, and thus must be dodged. It is flanked by several Flutterings that spawn at the beginning of the fight. This part of the fight can be particularly tough due to the large area of trees that the boss can run away into, as well as the lack of lighting.
  • Monstropolis: This fight takes place in the Lobby & Offices area. It can now use the Fire Turn attack, which summons 6 fireballs that move in different directions before charging at Sora. The charge can be cancelled by attacking it as he summons the fireballs. After having its HP reduced to 50%, it will disappear from the screen and summon Large Bodys to attack Sora. After they are all defeated, the Lich will reappear. This can avoided by killing it quickly, before it summons the enemies.
  • Arendelle: This fight takes place in the Labyrinth of Ice. It can now use Blizzaga, which will freeze Sora unless he has Freeze Protection equipped. Dodge away when you see the Lich's eyes glow blue. It is now flanked by Winterhorns upon its HP being reduced to 50%.
  • The Caribbean: This fight takes place on a ship. It can now use Afterimage Water, which causes its afterimages to use Water magic. It is now assisted by Vaporflys upon its HP being reduced to 80%. Simply dodge the water, block all its attacks, and mash it with combos until it dies.

The seventh and final fight will take place in San Fransokyo. It uses all of its attacks from the previous fights, and the Neoshadows return to assist the Lich when its HP is reduced to 90% and 70% HP.

Upon its final defeat, Sora will gain a max MP increase, and learn Aeroga.

Technique Element Status Power Block? Repel LV
Afterimage Slide (残像スライド
Zanzō Suraido
?)
Dark 1.0 per hit
Moves around at high speed, leaving several afterimages in its wake; each afterimage explodes and vanishes after 1.5 seconds. Used in all worlds.
6-fold Fire (6連ファイア
6-ren Faia
?)
Fire 0.5 per hit
Shoots six homing fireballs in succession at an opponent. Has a 100% chance of inflicting the Burn status effect for 1 second. Used in all worlds.
Aerora (エアロラ
Earora
?)
Aero 1.5
Spins sideways and generates winds at an opponent's location. Can be blocked from behind. Used in all worlds.
Thunder Disc (サンダーディスク
Sandā Disuku
?)
Thunder 1.0 per hit
Shoots six discs of lightning that fly around and spin sideways. Has a 100% chance to inflict the Electrify status effect for 10 seconds. Can be blocked from behind. Used in Toy Box and San Fransokyo.
Cloud Magic (クラウドマジック
Kuraudo Majikku
?)
X
Shoots three rain clouds forward. Has a 100% chance to inflict the Cloud status effect for 20 seconds. Used in Kingdom of Corona and San Fransokyo.
Fire Turn (ファイアターン
Faia Tān
?)
Fire 0.5 per hit
Generates six fireballs overhead and fires them at an opponent. Has a 100% chance to inflict the Burn status effect for 1 second. Used in Monstropolis and San Fransokyo.
Blizzaga (ブリザガ
Burizaga
?)
Blizzard 2.0
Waves its staff and releases cold air around itself. Has a 100% chance to inflict the Freeze status effect for 2.5 seconds. Used in Arendelle and San Fransokyo.
Afterimage Water (残像ウォータ
Zanzō Wōta
?)
(water ball) Water 1.5

(explosion) Dark 1.0

Moves around at high speed, leaving an afterimage in its wake; the afterimage explodes and vanishes after throwing a water ball. Used in The Caribbean and San Fransokyo.
Guard/Block: △ = Can be blocked; O = Can be blocked and interrupted (melee) or deflected back (projectile); X = Cannot be blocked.

Video

Lich – Kingdom Hearts III

Notes and references

  1. ^ x0.5 in the Arendelle and San Fransokyo sections.
  2. ^ x0.5 in the Toy Box and San Fransokyo sections.
  3. ^ x0.5 in the Kingdom of Corona, The Caribbean, and San Fransokyo sections.
  4. ^ x1.0 in the The Caribbean section.