Let's be real for a second. If you’re playing Kingdom Hearts 3, you’ve probably looked at that empty slot in your Keyblade inventory and felt a pang of guilt. It's the Kingdom Hearts 3 Ultima Weapon. It’s the shiny, red-and-black masterpiece that represents the absolute peak of Sora’s power. But then you look at the requirements to actually get it, and suddenly, that Shooting Star Keyblade doesn't look so bad after all.
The grind is legendary. It's tedious. Honestly, it's enough to make even the most dedicated Disney fan want to throw their controller into the Gummi Ship’s warp drive. You have to hunt down Orichalcum+, a material so rare there are only seven pieces in the entire universe. Seven. And the game doesn't just hand them to you for beating bosses; it makes you play photography simulator, high-speed sledding, and a weird flan-themed minigame collection.
Is it worth it? Yes. Absolutely. But only if you know what you’re getting into. This isn’t just about having the highest Strength and Magic stats—though 13 in both is nothing to sneeze at. It’s about the Ultimate Form. When you trigger that Formchange, Sora turns into a silver-clad god of destruction that teleports around the screen like he’s got a personal grudge against physics.
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The Orichalcum+ Nightmare: Where They’re Actually Hiding
You can’t just buy these. You can’t even find them in random chests for the most part. To forge the Kingdom Hearts 3 Ultima Weapon, you need all seven pieces of Orichalcum+, and the developers decided to hide them in the most diverse (and sometimes annoying) places possible.
The first one is arguably the easiest, but it’s easy to miss. You have to find 80 Lucky Emblems. Yeah, 80. You’ve been taking selfies with Mickey-shaped rocks all game, and this is why. If you’ve been ignoring them, you’re going to spend a few hours backtracking through worlds like San Fransokyo and Monstropolis just to find that one shadow on a wall that looks like a mouse.
Then there’s the Caribbean. Specifically, Exile Island. There’s a chest there. It’s just sitting there. Compared to the other requirements, this feels like a prank, but it’s one of the few "gimmies" you get. Don’t expect that kindness to last.
The Twilight Town Moogle Shop is where things get "kinda" frustrating. You get an Orichalcum+ by winning the Postcard lottery. Basically, every time you buy something at the shop, you have a chance to get a Prize Postcard. You mail it in the box next to the shop and hope for the best. Pro tip: save your game before mailing. If you don't get the metal, reload. It’s a bit of a "cheese" strategy, but your sanity is worth more than playing fair with a Moogle’s RNG.
The Flantastic Seven and Why They’re the Real Bosses
The most unique—and polarizing—way to get a piece of the puzzle is by impressing the Flantastic Seven. These are giant Heartless flans wearing hats. They appear in each of the main worlds after you finish the story there. You don’t just kill them. You play their games.
You’ve got the Cherry Flan in Olympus where you’re basically playing shield-sledding through the city. Then there’s the Honeydew Flan in Toy Box where you have to jump on them like a trampoline without hitting the floor. Some are fun. Some, like the Grape Flan in Arendelle where you have to deflect magic, are enough to make you want to uninstall. You have to get a high enough score to earn an ability and three ingredients. If you don’t get the ability, you didn't score high enough for the Orichalcum+. You need to complete all seven to get that single piece of metal. It's a massive time sink, but it's the only way.
The final pieces are tucked away in late-game challenges. One is in the Final World (the place with the endless clouds and water) in a chest that’s very easy to run past. Another requires you to beat the Omega Machina Gummi Ship boss in the Misty Stream galaxy. If you haven’t touched your Gummi Ship since the tutorial, you’re going to have a rough time. You’ll need a decent ship—maybe the Golden Highwind—to stand a chance.
The last one? Frozen Slider. You have to collect all 10 treasures in the slide minigame in Arendelle. It’s basically a memory test. If you miss one, you start over. It’s tedious, but once you have that seventh piece, the real fun begins.
Breaking Down the Stats: Why Ultima Rules
Once you finally visit the Moogle Shop and synthesize the Kingdom Hearts 3 Ultima Weapon, the game fundamentally changes. The stats are obviously top-tier: 13 Strength and 13 Magic. For context, most end-game Keyblades hover around 7 or 8.
But the real magic is the Ultimate Form.
When Sora enters Ultimate Form, his move set is replaced by a flurry of floating swords. His basic combo hits dozens of times. His dodge is a teleport that has massive invincibility frames. His block is a 360-degree barrier that retaliates with light beams. It’s the ultimate "I win" button for the base game.
If you’re planning on tackling the ReMind DLC or the Limitcut Episode—where you fight the data versions of Organization XIII—the Ultima Weapon isn't just a luxury; it’s almost a requirement for most players. Those bosses are fast. They hit hard. Having a Keyblade that can keep up with their speed and provide a screen-clearing Finisher (Infinity Circle) is the difference between winning and seeing the "Continue" screen for the fiftieth time.
Synthesizing Other Materials: The Logistics
You can’t just walk in with the Orichalcum+. You also need Wellspring Gems, Pulsing Crystals, and Lucid Crystals. Compared to the Orichalcum+, these are a breeze, but you still need to know where to farm.
- Wellspring Gems: Head to Monstropolis. The Power Plant area is crawling with Heartless that drop these. Equip some Lucky Lucky abilities and you’ll have a stack in twenty minutes.
- Pulsing Crystals: These are best found in Arendelle or San Fransokyo. Large Heartless like the Helmed Bodies are your best bet.
- Lucid Crystals: Go back to the Caribbean and look for the Anchor Raiders or the floating jellyfish-like Heartless.
Honestly, by the time you've finished the Flantastic Seven and found the 80 Lucky Emblems, you'll probably have most of these materials just from collateral damage. The Moogle Shop also lets you synthesize missing crystals if you've collected enough of the lower-tier versions.
Is It Too Powerful?
Some purists argue that the Kingdom Hearts 3 Ultima Weapon trivializes the final boss of the main game. They aren't wrong. If you show up to the final fight with Xehanort swinging this thing, it's not a fight; it’s a lopsided beatdown. Sora becomes a blur of light and steel that shreds health bars in seconds.
However, the game’s "Critical Mode" was balanced with things like this in mind. On the hardest difficulty, even with the Ultima Weapon, you can still get two-shotted if you're careless. It balances the "power fantasy" with a "reality check." It’s a tool, not a cheat code.
Also, let's talk about the aesthetic. The design is a callback to the original Ultima Weapon from the first game, but modernized. It looks "heavy" and powerful. The way it glows when you're in the middle of a combo is a visual treat that never really gets old.
Common Mistakes People Make During the Hunt
The biggest mistake is selling the Orichalcum+ by accident. Just kidding—you can't. But you can waste a lot of time by not tracking your Lucky Emblems from the start. If you reach the end of the game and realize you have 40 out of 80, you’re looking at a very long afternoon of following YouTube guides.
Another pitfall is the Gummi Ship. A lot of players hate the Gummi Ship sections and skip them. If you do that, your ship will be too weak to beat the Omega Machina. You’ll have to spend hours leveling up your ship just to get that one piece of metal. It’s better to do the Gummi missions as they come up during the story.
Finally, don't ignore the "Lucky Lucky" ability. You can get this from certain accessories and by leveling up certain Keyblades. It significantly increases the drop rate of the crystals you need. Without it, you’re relying on pure luck, which is never a good strategy in a JRPG.
Actionable Steps for the Aspiring Master
If you're ready to start the journey, here is your roadmap. Don't try to do it all at once or you'll burn out.
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- Check your Lucky Emblems first. Open your Gummiphone and see which worlds are missing the most. Focus on one world at a time. It’s less overwhelming.
- The Postcard Trick. Go to Twilight Town, buy one Potion, exit the shop menu, and see if you get a postcard. Repeat this 10-20 times. Save your game, mail them all. If no Orichalcum+, reload.
- Gummi Prep. Build a ship with high firepower. Look for the "Teeny Ships" that offer extra lasers. You need high DPS to take down Omega Machina before it destroys you.
- Flan Focus. Do the flans in the worlds you actually like first to build momentum. The ones in Olympus and Toy Box are generally considered the easiest. Save the Arendelle one for last—it’s the "final boss" of the flans.
- Final Synthesis. Once you have the Orichalcum+, check your list for the crystals. If you're short, use the Moogle Shop's synthesis menu to "up-craft" lower materials into the crystals you need. It's much faster than farming.
The Kingdom Hearts 3 Ultima Weapon is more than just a weapon; it's a trophy. It says you’ve seen everything the game has to offer. Whether you’re preparing for the brutal DLC bosses or just want to feel like the strongest Keyblade wielder in history, the journey to forge it is a rite of passage for any true fan. Get to work. Those flans aren't going to impress themselves.