Neoshadow

• Neoshadow
• Gallery

Oh no! The water! I'm in big trouble if I don't fetch it!
	This article requires cleanup or improvement. Please help out by editing this page. Please see the Manual of Style and editing help before getting started. Issues: missing BBSFM stats

Neoshadow
Japanese	ネオシャドウ
Rōmaji	Neoshadō
Type	Pureblood Heartless
Games	Kingdom Hearts Final Mix Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories Kingdom Hearts II Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Final Mix Kingdom Hearts χ Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep -A fragmentary passage- Kingdom Hearts III Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory
Variations • Novashadow

Neoshadow
Kingdom Hearts
A Heartless that travels in packs. Combining their powers allows them to attack Sora while also healing themselves. Leaving even just one alive will result in a never-ending battle.
Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories
A nimble Heartless that swims through the shadows.
Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories
An extremely agile Heartless. It dives into shadows before it pops up in front of its enemy and delivers a rolling attack. The Neoshadow moves in the shadows, making it a difficult opponent to fight.
Kingdom Hearts II
It produces a shadow on the ground before attacking. Catch it off guard right after it attacks. Once it tries to jump and attack, use the reaction command Aerial Dance for a flurry of attacks!
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
A Pureblood Heartless that flows across the ground as a shadow, completely immune to attack. It may unleash a shockwave as it emerges, so stay on guard. Block when it charges you to earn a few precious seconds during which you can deal double damage.
Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
A Heartless whose heart has been lost within the darkness. It looks and acts like a Shadow, but is more agile.
Kingdom Hearts Union χ
Album KINGDOM HEARTS (2002) A Heartless that believes in strength in numbers. Quite the team player. KH III Neoshadow KINGDOM HEARTS III (2019) These Heartless appear everywhere and hit hard and fast with their jump attacks. Battle A fearsome foe and jack-of-all-trades boasting boosted attack power, poison, and more. Charge your special attack gauge before engaging in this battle!
Kingdom Hearts III
These souped-up Shadows hit hard and fast with their jump attacks; if they're in the air, better get out of there. Once they melt into the ground, they're beyond the reach of most attacks, but that's nothing a little Water magic can't fix. Fight puddles with puddles!

	HP	STR		DEF	MP rec		EXP
End of the World	150	40		30	55		400
Weapon	Fire		Blizzard			Thunder
x1.0	x0.49		x0.5			x0.5
Percentage	Stop		Stun			Other
x0	x0.2		x0.5			x0.5
Rewards
Defeat 1st to 6th Neoshadow (15) MP prize x5 Defeat 7th Neoshadow (1) HP prize x20, (5) HP prize x5 Stormy Stone (35%)
World(s)
End of the World

Floor			HP		AP		EXP
Sora	Riku
12F	B1F		236		12		269
13F			250		13		289
Physical	Fire		Ice		Lightning		Neutral
x1.0	x1.0		x1.0		x1.0		x1.0
Stun		Percentage				Stop
◯		◯				◯
Warp		Bind		Confuse		Terror
◯		◯		◯		◯
World(s)
Castle Oblivion
Enemy Card
Ability			Duration				Cost
Bio			1 reload				25 CP
Description
Causes enemies HP to gradually drop.
Drop Rate					Sell
Regular		Map Card Boost
3%		7.5%			10 Moogle Points

Floor			HP				AP		EXP
Sora	Riku		Regular		Beginner
12F	B1F		221		166		14		169
13F			235		176		15		189
Physical		Fire		Ice		Lightning		Neutral
x1.0		x1.0		x1.0		x1.0		x1.0
Stun		Percentage				Stop		Warp
◯		◯				◯		◯
Bind		Confuse		Terror		Magnet		Freeze
◯		◯		◯		◯		◯
Duel Stats			No. of Cards					Time
			5 cards					6 s
World(s)
Castle Oblivion
Enemy Card
Ability					Duration			Cost
Bio					1 reload			25 CP
Description
Causes enemies HP to gradually drop.
Drop Rate						Sell
Regular			Map Card Boost
3%			7.5%			20 Moogle Points

Location		HP	Strength		Defense	EXP
Radiant Garden Post-episode 2, pre-episode 3		74	32		18	159
Radiant Garden Episode 3		92	42		24	310
The Land of Dragons Episode 2		76	34		19	170
Beast's Castle Episode 2		77	34		19	182
Olympus Coliseum Episode 2		82	37		21	220
Port Royal Episode 2		79	35		20	194
Agrabah Episode 2		84	37		21	234
Halloween Town Episode 2		86	39		22	248
Pride Lands Episode 2		89	40		23	278
The World That Never Was		100	45		26	400
Physical	Fire			Blizzard
×1.0	×1.0			×1.0
Thunder	Dark			Neutral
×1.0	×1.0			×1.0
Rewards
MP prize (1) ×2, Munny (5) ×2 Lucid Crystal (8%), Bright Crystal (4%)
World(s)
Radiant Garden, The Land of Dragons, Beast's Castle, Olympus Coliseum, Port Royal, Agrabah, Halloween Town, Pride Lands, The World That Never Was

Cup		HP	Strength		Defense
Titan Cup		• Match 5: 3 Neoshadow
		86	39		22
Titan Paradox Cup		• Match 5: 3 Neoshadow
		150	70		41
Hades Paradox Cup		• Match 17: 4 Neoshadow • Match 26: 1 Neoshadow
		181	87		51
Physical	Fire			Blizzard
×1.0	×1.0			×1.0
Thunder	Dark			Neutral
×1.0	×1.0			×1.0

Cup		HP	Strength		Defense
Titan Cup		• Match 5: 3 Neoshadow
		92	42		24
Titan Paradox Cup		• Match 5: 3 Neoshadow
		150	70		41
Hades Paradox Cup		• Match 17: 4 Neoshadow • Match 26: 1 Neoshadow
		181	86		51
Physical	Fire			Blizzard
×1.0	×1.0			×1.0
Thunder	Dark			Neutral
×1.0	×1.0			×1.0

Mission	HP				EXP		STR/DEF
	Story Mode		Mission Mode
29	440		1320		4		32
38	440		1320		4		32
44	440		1320		5		32
93	440		1320		52		32
Fire		Blizzard		Thunder			Aero
x1.35		x1.60		x0.60			x1.70
Ignite		Freeze		Jolt			Air-Toss
x0.40		x0.40		x0.40			x0.40
Defense Power Adjustment					Heart Points
• Full Body: 1.37					—
					Flinch?		Bloom-Out?
					△		X
Rewards
Missions 15-35 Combo Tech (30%) Missions 36-50 Lightning Shard (80%) Missions 73-93 —
Story Mode
Munny x21, HP prize (large) x2, HP prize (small) x4
Mission Mode
Munny x11, HP prize (large) x1, HP prize (small) x2
World(s)
Beast's Castle, Twilight Town, The World That Never Was

Location		HP	EXP	Strength	Defense
Realm of Darkness		122	48	26	15
Physical	Fire	Blizzard	Thunder	Dark	Other
?	?	?	?	?	?
Stun	Freeze	Mini	Blind	Ignite	Confuse
x1.0	x1.0	x1.0	x1.0	x1.0	x1.0
Bind	Poison	Slow	Stop	Sleep	Death
x1.0	x1.0	x1.0	x1.0	x1.0	x1.0
Zero Gravity		Magnet		Warp
x1.0		x1.0		x1.0
Rewards
Shop LV 8 Pulsing Crystal (?%), Mega-Potion (?%), Collision Magnet (?%)
World(s)
Realm of Darkness

Location			HP		Strength			Defense			EXP
Twilight Town			63		25			12			23
San Fransokyo			142		52			26			219
San Fransokyo (The Final World cleared)			153		55			28			266
Keyblade Graveyard (Battlegate 0)			177		63			32			371
The Final World			153		55			28			266
Scala ad Caelum			177		63			32			371
Physical	Fire		Blizzard			Thunder				Water
×1.0	×1.0		×1.0			×0.7				×1.0
Aero		Dark		Neutral					Rapid-fire
×1.0		×0.7		×1.0					×1.0
Freeze		Electrify		Stun					Hunny
◯		◯		◯					◯
Reaction Endurance		Revenge Value		Attraction Magnification					Damage Limit
0		—		×1.1					—
Rewards
HP prize (1) ×3, Focus prize (5) ×2 Writhing Stone (8%), Wellspring Stone (8%), Writhing Gem (4%)
World(s)
Twilight Town, San Fransokyo, Keyblade Graveyard, The Final World, Scala ad Caelum

Attack	Normal
Type
Ground	Standard Moving Multi-Attack Pop-Up
Music Stages
Olympus Coliseum, Go for It!, End of the World, Fragments of Sorrow, Guardando nel buio, One‑Winged Angel (from FINAL FANTASY VII), Another Side, Castle Oblivion, Forgotten Challenge, The Force in You, Lord of the Castle, Sanctuary ~opening version~, The Home of Dragons, Fields of Honor, The 13th Struggle, Vim and Vigor, Rage Awakened, Another Side ‑ Battle Ver. ‑, Wave of Darkness I, Rise of the Union, Dark Domination, Sora ‑ Allegro con brio, Medley of Conflict

The Neoshadow is a Pureblood Heartless introduced in the secret video "Another side, Another story..." in Kingdom Hearts. It first appeared as an enemy in Kingdom Hearts Final Mix.

Story

Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep

Back when Ventus was the apprentice of Master Xehanort, Xehanort called the boy to the Keyblade Graveyard and then summoned a swarm of Neoshadows for him to fight. Ventus was not strong enough to win with only his light, and although Xehanort ordered him to use the power of darkness to win, Ventus refused and was defeated. Xehanort decided to use his Keyblade to forcefully extract the darkness within Ventus's heart, creating Vanitas.

While Aqua is traversing the Realm of Darkness, she battles Neoshadows, along with a few other Pureblood Heartless.

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days

After returning to the World That Never Was in order to reclaim Kingdom Hearts and revitalize Xion, Roxas is attacked by several Neoshadows. He eliminates them, but is forced to side with Riku in order to finish off the rest of the continuously spawning Heartless. As soon as the Heartless are taken care of, however, the two Keyblade wielders turn on each other.

Kingdom Hearts II

Saïx summons several Neoshadows to attack Sora when he reaches the Hall of Empty Melodies. One of them also shows up in the next room, Naught's Skyway, to attack Mickey Mouse.

Kingdom Hearts III

In Twilight Town, Xemnas and Ansem, Seeker of Darkness confront Sora, Donald, and Goofy over Sora's intention to bring Roxas back. When Xemnas claims Roxas can only be returned by Sora giving himself up to darkness, Ansem summons several Neoshadows while proclaiming that "the shadows are never out of reach".

Design

A Neoshadow has a more humanoid body structure than a normal Shadow, but shares the same pitch black skin and spherical, glowing yellow eyes. Its crooked antennae are quite long and fall back behind the Heartless. It seems to be rather muscular, and its hands are very large, each one sporting five clawed fingers. Its feet, like those of a normal Shadow, are long and lack digits, but a Neoshadow's feet more resemble boots. Its body is also lined by several faint, blue veins of color.

In Kingdom Hearts Final Mix, the Neoshadow will initially release five unique olive-green hearts within bubbles upon each defeat. These drift to the ground and spawn new Neoshadows, up until the final Neoshadow is defeated, at which point it will release a normal pink heart.

The name "Neoshadow" is derived from the prefix "neo-", which means "new", and "shadow".

Strategy

Kingdom Hearts Final Mix

The Neoshadow is found at the End of the World in the Linked Worlds room, located next to the Final Rest. A Neoshadow is stronger and faster than a Shadow, and is more strategic in combat. The Neoshadows are among the most difficult common enemies, working together as a team to defeat Sora. Fighting Neoshadows is a multi-stage battle, and the stages change based on how many Neoshadows are alive. At the beginning of the fight, there are seven Neoshadows, who will attack by jumping into the air and spinning, then launching at Sora similar to the Bandit. They will also use basic melee strikes and sink into the floor to avoid attacks, similar to a Shadow. At this point in the fight, they are vulnerable to Stop magic, but not to Gravity magic.

After there are only four Neoshadows remaining, they change tactics and sink into shadowy portals that appear beneath them on the ground. Afterwards, nine of these portals will appear around Sora, and the Neoshadows will choose random portals to jump out of and attack simultaneously. After attacking, they land on the ground for a brief moment, then the portals reappear beneath them and they sink back into the ground. The only time they can be hurt at this stage is right when they land on the ground, before the portals appear beneath them once again. If a single blow connects with one of them, it opens a short window to execute a combo. At this point, Stop magic no longer affects them.

Once there are only two Neoshadows left, they change tactics once more. In this stage of the fight, a single Neoshadow will wander around the room, and has access to all the attacks and abilities of the earlier stages (instead of several portals appearing on the ground like stage two of the fight, the Neoshadow will just use it as a way to get close to Sora to attack him). It also retains the immunity to Stop magic. While this Neoshadow attacks Sora, the other one appears as a black portal beneath Sora, then partially emerges from it to grab Sora's leg, which prevents him from moving, attacking, or using magic for a brief period. To counter this, Sora can jump when the portal appears beneath him, but cannot hurt this Neoshadow in any way. Instead, Sora must focus on the other Neoshadow that moves around the room, and attempt to kill it instead.

When there is a single Neoshadow remaining, it will move to the center of the room and attempt to summon more Neoshadows. Six portals will appear on the ground in a circle around it, and new Neoshadows will appear within them, attempting to climb out of the portals back into the room. Instead of going after the last remaining Neoshadow, Sora must focus his attacks on the ones emerging from the portals, who will emerge as fully healed Neoshadows after several seconds. Once the emerging Neoshadows are slain, Sora can direct his attention to the final Neoshadow, and defeat it to end the fight. If Sora fails to defeat the new Neoshadows after a certain amount of time, they will emerge from the portals and the fight will reset to whichever stage corresponds to the new number of Neoshadows (7-5 for Stage 1, 4-3 for Stage 2, or 2 for Stage 3).

Technique		Element	Tech	Power Bonus	Guard?
Cooperation Rush (連携突進, Renkei Tosshin)		None	x0	6	Repellable (Recoil: 100)
		All Neoshadow charge in turn.
Shadow Out (シャドウアウト, Shadou Auto)		None	x0	8	Repellable (Recoil: 100)
		Appears from a shadow on the ground, spins, and sinks back into the ground.
Scratch Attack (ひっかき攻撃, Hikkaki Kōgeki)		None	x0.1	4	Repellable (Recoil: 40)
		Scratches while making a small jump forward.
A Neoshadow can temporarily prevent Sora from moving and attacking by grabbing his leg.
Guard/Block: △ = Can be blocked; O = Can be blocked and interrupted (melee) or deflected back (projectile); X = Cannot be blocked.

Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories

Neoshadows can use high valued cards, making mere combos hard to use unless they're valued 8 or 9, and sleights are recommended. The Neoshadows' tendencies to melt into the ground make clearing waves with Trinity Limit reliant on luck.

In Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories, utilizing Riku's strategy of performing aerial spinning strikes in Dark Mode while Warp Break is in effect is easier when fighting in a Feeble Darkness or Martial Waking room, as it decreases the chance of the Neoshadows breaking Riku's cards.

Deck

Card		0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
	Neoshadow [KH CoM]	X	X	◯	X	X	X	X	◯	◯	X
	Neoshadow [KH Re:CoM]	X	X	◯	X	X	X	◯	X	◯	X

Attacks

Technique		Element	Status	Power	Cards
Scratch Attack (ひっかき攻撃, Hikkaki Kōgeki)		Physical	—	x1.3[KH CoM] x1.8[KH Re:CoM]
		Steps forward and swings its arm down to scratch. Has a wide attack range at the top of the screen.
Shadow Out (シャドウアウト, Shadou Auto)		Neutral	—	x1.0[KH CoM] x1.5[KH Re:CoM]
		Floating on its back in the air, chases the opponent while spinning its body like a discus.

Kingdom Hearts II

Similar to Shadows, Neoshadows sink into shadows in the ground, though they are more aggressive and attack after emerging using Shadow Out. After attacking, they idle for a short duration in which they are open to attack. When damaged, they often counter with Claw Attack, Aerial Rush, or Drop Claw Attack.

A powerful Reaction Command, Wind Dance, can be used to eliminate or intensely damage Neoshadows.

Technique		Element	Power	Guard?
Shadow Out (シャドウアウト, Shadou Auto)		Physical	x1.0 Hit 2+: x0.25	O
		Leaps out of the shadows and spins around.
Claw Attack (引っかき攻撃, Hikkaki Kōgeki, lit. "Scratch Attack")		Physical	x1.0 Hit 2+: x0.5	O
		Lightly jumps forward and scratches with both claws.
Aerial Rush (空中突進, Kūchū Tosshin)		Physical	x1.5	O
		Rises into the air, then charges in a straight line.
Drop Claw Attack (落下引っかき攻撃, Rakka Hikkaki Kōgeki, lit. "Drop Scratch Attack")		Physical	x1.0	△
		Jumps high, then scratches with its claws during its descent.
Guard/Block: △ = Can be blocked; O = Can be blocked and interrupted (melee) or deflected back (projectile); X = Cannot be blocked.

Reaction Commands
Reaction Command	Element	Power	Description
Wind Dance (エリアルダンス, Eriaru Dansu, lit. "Aerial Dance")	Physical	Lunge: x0.5 Swing: x0.1 (Final hit: x3.0)	Can be used when a Neoshadow uses Drop Claw Attack. Jump and lunge repeatedly at the enemy overhead, then swing the Keyblade wildly.

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days

Neoshadows may prove annoying in groups, so it is advised to keep track of their movements and be ready to block if one begins its charging attack. Glide and Air Slide can be used when it's about to emerge from its Shockwave attack for an easy dodge, where the Neoshadow will then be open to punishment. The usage of magic is advised, as Neoshadows are weak to all magic except Thunder, though physical combos remain effective as long as caution is taken to block any incoming attacks.

While Roxas is dual-wielding Oathkeeper and Oblivion, Neoshadows will most easily fall with physical combos, with one Y-Combo being enough to instantly vanquish a Neoshadow.

Technique		Element	Status	Power	Block?
Scratch Attack (ひっかき攻撃, Hikkaki Kōgeki)		—	—	1.43	△
		Jumps forward and scratches at the target several times.
Rush (突進, Tosshin)		—	—	1.54	◯
		Jumps in the air and charges head-first at the target.
Shock Wave (衝撃波, Shōgekiha)		Flower	Blind (40%)	1.70	X
		Dives into the ground, then after a few seconds launches itself up below the target, creating a shock wave upon emerging.
Guard/Block: △ = Can be blocked; O = Can be blocked and interrupted (melee) or deflected back (projectile); X = Cannot be blocked.

Kingdom Hearts III

They have the same attacks as in previous games, but can no longer heal themselves. Their attacks can be blocked, but can also send Sora flying if not blocked. However, if Sora quickly uses Aerial Recovery and then Payback Strike, then the Neoshadow will be staggered and open to a full combo or two, which can easily reduce their HP to 0. Their Air Rush attack will trigger Risk Dodge if blocked.

Water attacks and magic can be used to get the Neoshadows out of the ground, just like for regular Shadows.

Technique		Element	Status	Power	Block?	Repel LV
Scratch (引っかき, Hikkaki)		Physical	—	1.2	◯	2
		Scratches with both hands.
Fall Scratch (落下引っかき, Rakka Hikkaki)		Physical	—	1.2	△ (Risk Dodge)	3
		Jumps high, swoops, and scratches with both hands.
Aerial Rush (空中突進, Kūchū Tosshin)		Physical	—	1.5	◯ (Risk Dodge)	3
		Curls its body and rams opponents from a low altitude.
Shadow Out (シャドウアウト, Shadou Auto)	(emergence)	Physical	—	1.0	△	2
	(sideways spin)	Physical	—	0.65	△	2
		Melts into the ground and approaches opponents, then jumps out and drops down while spinning sideways.
Guard/Block: △ = Can be blocked; O = Can be blocked and interrupted (melee) or deflected back (projectile); X = Cannot be blocked.