Summary
- Lich: Grim Reaper-like Heartless with powerful elemental magic and ability to summon other Heartless.
- Invisibles: Pureblood Heartless with human-like design, dealing damage with swords and dark spheres.
- Phantom: Optional boss in Clock Tower of Neverland, using dark energy and Death Sentence ability.
The Heartless from the Kingdom Hearts series are arguably some of the most iconic enemy types in the entire video game industry. These are deadly creatures that are created from darkness and are constantly terrorizing the inhabitants of different worlds, whether they’re original locations or based on a Disney property, like Aladdin or Hercules.
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Over the years, Sora, Donald, Goofy, and all of their allies have faced a huge number of different Heartless, but not all of them were of equal power. While they managed to vanquish many weaker variants, they also had the misfortune of having to face some powerful Heartless, from huge bosses to main antagonists of entire games. But who is the truly strongest Heartless in all of Kingdom Hearts?
10 Lich
The “Grim Reaper” Of Its Species
Kingdom Hearts 3
- Released
- January 25, 2019
- Developer(s)
- Square Enix
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
For most of the series, the Heartless were usually portrayed as actual living beings, and not so much as abstract figures with a specific role. But this perception of the species was significantly altered by the introduction of the Lich in Kingdom Hearts 3, a Heartless whose main goal is to capture lost hearts and take them further into the abyss of darkness.
The Lich is basically a Grim Reaper of sorts (not to be confused with the Kingdom Hearts 2 boss of the same name) and as such, it has proven to be quite strong in combat. It has the ability to cast powerful elemental magic attacks, and it can even summon other Heartless to assist him, like Vaporflys or Neoshadows.
9 Invisible
The Strongest Heartless Enemy
Kingdom Hearts
- Released
- September 17, 2002
- Developer(s)
- Square Enix
- Platform(s)
- PS2
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
A good number of the strongest Heartless in Kingdom Hearts are individual unique bosses, rather than regular enemies. But one of the few exceptions to this rule are the Invisibles, a type of Pureblood Heartless that inhabit some of the darkest corners of this universe and, as a result, are incredibly tricky to take down.
With an intimidating human-like design that is reminiscent of the Darkside, the Invisible will usually deal a lot of damage with its huge sword or the spheres of dark power it can summon. To top it all off, it will stay true to its name and disappear into a powerful ring of dark fire that can curse its opponents with a deadly and unexpected explosion.
8 Phantom
A Time Manipulator Hiding In Neverland
The Heartless simply known as Phantom is one of many optional bosses that can be confronted throughout the Kingdom Hearts series. This mysterious cloaked creature can be found residing in the Clock Tower of Neverland, and it's the protagonist of a bizarre and tricky boss battle.
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Phantom can attack with its sharp claws and even deal continuous damage to Sora with spheres of dark energy. But it also has one final technique hidden up its sleeve, which makes use of the Clock in this location, called Death Sentence. A 60-second countdown is placed on its victim and if it hits 0, not only will they immediately be defeated, but they will also not be able to be revived for the rest of the fight. Because of this spell alone, Phantom is one of the most infamous Heartless in the series.
7 Sora’s Heartless
A Powerful Monster Of The Datascape
Kingdom Hearts Re:Coded
- Released
- January 11, 2011
- Developer(s)
- h.a.n.d.
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo DS
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
Since Sora’s heart is almost completely devoid of darkness, he became a weak Shadow when he was turned into a Heartless. However, when this same Heartless was brought back by Jiminy’s Journal in Kingdom Hearts Re:Coded, it absorbed a large number of Blug Boxes and became one of the most terrifying creatures of the Datascape.
This incarnation of Sora’s Heartless is a true force to be reckoned with, as it initially looks like a Darkside that can use deadly ice and light attacks. But this being is at its most powerful when it switches into its true form, which looks like a dark version of Sora, and can use a lot of strong techniques with its fake, dark Keyblade. It can even summon clones of itself to deal even more damage.
6 Kurt Zisa
A Versatile Combatant Hiding In Agrabah
Similarly to Phantom, Kurt Zisa is yet another strong Heartless who is featured as an optional boss in the original Kingdom Hearts. This one is hiding in the deserts of Agrabah, and it will immediately intimidate most players with its huge size, its snake-like demeanor, and its sharp scimitars. But Kurt Zisa is not powerful just because of these attributes, but also because of his unique fighting style.
It can use a silencing spell to seal its opponent’s magic, and it can summon a resistant Reflect Barrier to block all of their physical attacks. All the while, it can still deal powerful blows with its weapons and body parts. Whoever tries to face Kurt Zisa will have to quickly adapt to its versatile and effective fighting style.
5 Dark Inferno
A Mysterious Secret Boss
The initial release of Kingdom Hearts 3 featured just one optional super boss, and it was yet another mysterious Heartless, known as the Dark Inferno. This creature looks extremely similar to the Invisible but, since this is a unique boss, it’s significantly more powerful and even harder to take down.
The Dark Inferno can perform some long and complex combos with its dual swords that can catch any opponent off guard, and the dark vortexes in its feet allow him to move at blinding speeds. And just like the Invisible, it can disappear and summon a bunch of orbs that will target its opponent to deal massive damage. There’s also a variant known as Dark Inferno χ, which seems to be of equal strength as the original one.
4 Dark Hide
A Dweller Of The Realm Of Darkness
Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
- Released
- January 9, 2010
- Developer(s)
- Square Enix
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG, Fighting, Action-Adventure
When Aqua got trapped in the Realm of Darkness, she was stalked and eventually confronted by a frightening creature of the dark called Dark Hide. This world is the home to the Pureblood Heartless after all, so it makes sense that it would end up becoming a really tough opponent for this Keyblade Master.
Dark Hide takes full advantage of its beast-like appearance since it can deal significant damage with its claws, fangs, and tail. But its most complex technique is undoubtedly his most dangerous one, as it can create several afterimages of itself and send them all to attack individually, instantly overwhelming its target in the process. Dark Hide is a true example of how powerful the Heartless in the Realm of Darkness can be.
3 Demon Tide (Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8: Final Chapter Prologue)
Thousands Of Heartless Are Better Than One
- Platform(s): PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC
- Released: January 12, 2017
- Developer(s): Square Enix
- Genre: RPG, Action-Adventure
The Shadows are usually the weakest type of Heartless in these games. But, unbeknownst to most Keyblade wielders, Shadows can have a strong sense of teamwork and gather together to create powerful swarms. This can be seen in the surprisingly strong Demon Tower, but their bigger variant, the Demon Tide, can achieve an even higher level of power.
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The Demon Tide is a massive swarm made up of thousands of Shadows that can attack a lot of targets with relentless waves and tornadoes. At first, this may not seem like much, but a Demon Tide was directly responsible for killing the seven Guardians of Light in the climactic final battle of Kingdom Hearts 3. This was such a strong opponent that some time travel, and the joint efforts of many Keyblade wielders from the past, were required to ultimately vanquish it.
2 World of Chaos
An Enormous Heartless Battleship
At the very end of Kingdom Hearts 1, Ansem combines himself with a massive Heartless known as World of Chaos and both of them take the role of the final boss of the game. Not much is known about this creature, but there’s no denying how unique and fascinating it is because it looks like an organic battleship made out of darkness.
The vehicular nature of World of Chaos is also reflected in its fighting style since it has various body parts, armaments, and underlings that can simultaneously attack Sora, Donald, and Goofy with thousands of deadly projectiles. And when combined with Ansem, they both become even stronger, to the point they can even summon a dangerous Black Hole together. World of Chaos was Ansem’s final trump card to obtain the power of Kingdom Hearts, and it definitely played this role quite efficiently.
1 Ansem, Seeker Of Darkness
The Only Humanoid Heartless In The Franchise
Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance
- Released
- July 31, 2012
- Developer(s)
- Square Enix
- Platform(s)
- 3DS
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
Even though the Heartless are some of the most recurring enemies in the Kingdom Hearts franchise, only one of them has kept the same appearance and level of intelligence as he had before his heart fell into the darkness. And this is no other than Ansem, Seeker of Darkness, the Heartless of Terra-Xehanort.
As his subtitle implies, Ansem has complete control over both the darkness and all the Heartless, to the point that he can navigate the darkest corners of this universe without any real issues. But he’s also extremely effective in battle and has proven to be a tough opponent for Sora, Riku, and all of their allies on several occasions.
Ansem’s most powerful weapon is the Dark Figure, a shadowy entity that he can command to both attack others and protect himself. But he can easily manage himself without it, as he has showcased a lot of different uses for his dark powers, like lasers, bombs, mines, life-draining spheres, and even the ability to bond himself to other strong Heartless.
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