I didn't think I would have as much trouble with naming game-breaking abilities that I've used in the past, but apparently I haven't exploited as much in games as I thought. At the very least I don't remember it, or didn't realize how great it was. Either way, here's the idea we're still focusing on, sometimes games have one or two things intentionally included, that break the game. They're not necessarily intended to break the game (as is the case here) but ultimately they have the potential to.
So far we've covered clothes, the Hero of Kvatch's 100% Chameleon armor, and Spiderman's alternate costumes in Spiderman 64 (2000). Today, we'll actually tackle a weapon, sort of.
TITLE: Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories
Kingdom Hearts is one of my favorite game series of all time, and I'm really bummed out that I haven't beaten Coded, RE: Chain of Memories, or 358/2 Days, and even more so that I haven't played Birth by Sleep and Dream Drop Distance, but Chain of Memories is part of the original three, and I kicked the crap out of it backwards and forwards. (Literally sort of, since beating the game unlocks the Rebirth mode where you play as Riku.)
So, what are we covering here? Cards. In Chain of Memories, Sora's memories have been turned into cards that he must call on to utilize his abilities. Different Keyblade cards allow him to attack with different Keyblades (the graphic doesn't change, just the damage and effects, if I recall correctly), spell cards allow him to cast various magic abilities, and items allow him to restore his deck on some level or another. So what's so game breaking about this? Nothing in itself, the cards are handed out in a balanced enough fashion to where you don't just get a full deck of 9s (the most powerful cards in the game aside from 0s, which are situational), and the bad guys always have the ability to counter-play (such as using 0s), but there's one card combination I ran from beginning to end. Omnislash.
The game allows you to have certain characters join you in battle. Friend cards drop throughout fights to allow you to summon Donald, Goofy, and of course some situational world characters (Aladdin and Jack are some examples). But summon cards also make a return, with a summon exclusive to Chain of Memories, Cloud. Cloud was a miniboss in the first game, serving as your first real challenge in the Olympus Colosseum, you later face him again and he utilizes the sheer might of the Omnislash against you. Don't worry, you get a bit of revenge in Chain of Memories, because chaining three Cloud cards together (called a Sleight) allows you to perform the Omnislash technique. The best part is, this ability doesn't require you to expend any level ups on additional sleights, and its powerful enough to where if you manage to pick up several Clouds, you'll never need other abilities.
This isn't necessarily a "solve all" for every single battle in the game, but boss fights are often cut short by three sky dropped whacks from the buster sword. Utilizing mega-ethers and a large collection of Clouds will allow Sora to waltz right through basically every major fight in the game, and it's not even a secret card. There are some cards that require rare key cards to obtain, but not Cloud. Seriously, best. Summon. Ever. Never underestimate the power of a big sword.
Now, of course you can be countered with 0s, and it's honestly hard to get a whole lot of Cloud cards, but it's not impossible. In fact, the best method to do this is to complete the game only to the point that you unlock Olympus Colosseum, then repeat the previous floors over and over, buying card packs from moogle shops and actively seeking Cloud cards in the scenery. Just like that, you'll be good to go.
There's a down side of course, you CAN'T afford to get a lot of Sleights or a ton of HP, because summon cards are expensive. You basically have to spend all of your level ups increasing your maximum card point capacity. What levels you have left you definitely need to invest in HP instead of Sleights, because you'll need that HP for the time you have to spend standing still trying to recycle your deck.
There are other potentially broken mechanics that can be used, and sometimes a simple deck full of 0s and 9s is all you need, but if you want to just go ham, Cloud is your man.
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