So with my recent heavy involvement with Riku%, I've decided to edit this guide. Let's jump right in as I tell you how to get sub 1:20.

New Game, whatever settings you want. Time starts at Yes.

Skip cutscene, Dodge Roll forward 4 times, mash Triangle (^), mash X to select Hollow Bastion.

Skip cutscene, mash X to cancel out of Key to Beginnings reveal (this is done on every world entry, unless you need to skip a cutscene first).

Hollow Bastion

You will only fight Shadows in this first room. Obviously, the enemies have RNG and won't move preferably in every case, but I will be posting the ideal strats. There are 4 possible spawns, and here's the downlow if you encounter them first:

3 Shadows -> move to the left (or right I suppose), and perform a 3 hit combo (not sleighted/stocked); if done with the right angle, the third hit will hit the far right Shadow, making it one hit away from defeat; ideal fight completing in 4 strikes; this fight will not level you up if it is your first encounter in the run

2 Shadows + 1 Defender, 2 Wyverns -> move to the left (or right I suppose), and perform a 3 hit combo (not sleighted/stocked); if done with the right angle, both Shadows would be defeated; now, stock 3 cards (^ 3 times), then jump and attack the Defender's back with 2 strikes, where the third button is ^, to unleash your triple attack; this performs a 5 hit combo, killing the Defender (will be done to all Defenders in this world, regardless of your level); based on your current position, do another 5 hit combo (2 regular, followed by the triple stock), whereas the Wyvern will die in 5 hits (4 if you are level 2 or higher), the proceed to do the same thing on the second Wyvern (Wyverns can play 5-value cards, so heads up); this fight gets you to Level 2, where you claim an AP boost; fight will require 1 reload of the deck

2 Shadows + 2 Wizards, 1 Wyvern -> move to the left (or right I suppose), beyond the Shadow, and perform a 3 hit air combo (not sleighted/stocked) on the Wizard; if done with the right angle, one Wizard will be defeated while the other will be one hit (2 is okay as well) away from death; after both Wizards are defeated, the Wyvern spawns, so perform your 4 or 5 hit combo on it, depending on your level; proceed to regularly attack the Shadows, who do not use cards higher than 2; this fight gets you to Level 2, where you claim an AP boost

3 Shadows + 2 Wizards, 2 Darkballs + 1 Wyvern -> worst spawn, run away from this if it is your first, or just reset; move to the left (or right I suppose), and perform a 3 hit combo (not sleighted/stocked) on the Wizard; if done with the right angle, one Wizard will be defeated while the other will be one hit (2 is okay as well) away from death; after both Wizards are defeated, the Wyvern and Darkballs spawn; there is no consistent way to proceed here, but Darkballs have the same HP as Wyverns, so they are also 4 or 5 hits, depending on your level, and Shadows go down in 2 strikes if you are level 2 or higher; Wizards use higher value cards, so stocking your cards is a safe way to defeat them; hope that you can combo in the air while they are grouped together, so you save some strikes; a reload will be required to complete this battle, but you get good EXP

Movement -> as soon as you gain control of Riku, move right a step so you see the Shadow spawn, and strike it for the stun (it is my preference at this point to open the Settings and change the Horizontal control to Reverse, loses 3 seconds but that's where my last muscle memory lies); after the fight, you will move forward by jumping twice, where the second Shadow is beside the pipe; after this fight, you will jump left so that the crystal triggers its attack, which you sidestep ( and at this same point you can see the third Shadow spawning, in which case as the crystals attacks passes you by, you strike the Shadow for the third fight

Because of the angle of the minimap, my designation:

Up = Northeast Down = Southwest Right = Southeast Left = Northwest

Rooms -> there are few rooms that you can tolerate at the beginning of this run, as well as their values are limited for your purposes. Hollow Bastion requires 7 cards to get through: one Red, one Green, one a 5+; you start off with 1 Moments Reprieve, which you typically use as your first room, but as for the others (note, you don't have to reset a run per se if you don't get the best cards immediately, as they can be wasted upon door requirements; watch the values though, it is advised that you use a 0 card early which would allow you to use your 1 Moments Reprieve later)

Tranquil Darkness: good room, there are 3 Shadow spawns to fight here Feeble Darkness: good room, there are 3 Shadow spawns to fight here Looming Darkness: good room, you can fight the Defenders here (best fight is 1 Defender only, where a 5 hit combo defeats it; the other spawn is 2 Shadows + 1 Defender, explained above; a third spawn is 2 Wizards + 1 Defender, 2 Darkballs, which I won't outline as there is no consistent strategy) Sleeping Darkness: good small room, you can fight both the Shadows and Defender here Stagnant Space: good room if going from bottom to left or up, but not rightwards (too big); you can fight 2 Shadows here Meeting Ground: good room, there are 3 Shadow spawns to fight here

Teeming Darkness: bad room, as its big to move around in and as such loses you time; you could hold on to this for the grind in Traverse Town if you please Bottomless Darkness: good for movement, but you cannot grind here; this card is perfectly safe to use when you are traversing rooms in right angles (hugging the wall and dodge rolling avoids all surprise Shadow spawns) Almighty Darkness: bad room, but there is one use: the 2nd door after you open your first, towards the right; reason is that moving from right to left (and vice versa) is quick among most worlds Black Room: good for movement, but you cannot grind here (Fungi give you 1 EXP a piece) Roulette Room: bad room, big to move around in and you cannot grind here Martial Awakening: bad room, no good spawns to fight here Lasting Daze: bad room; never open this, too huge and no fightable spawns Mingling Worlds: bad room, too much randomness

Strong Initiative: the best room, but it warrants its own strategy segment

You should only fight Tornado Steps, and there are 5 areas in the room to find them (from the bottom door, there are 2 to your left, one straight ahead beside the large crystal, and 2 on the upper level on the way out through the top door); note, you MUST strike each Heartless before engaging in the battle to make the most of this room:

2 Tornado Steps + 2 Shadows + 1 Darkball -> move left (or right) slightly, and unleash a 3 hit combo, defeating the 2 Shadows + Darkball in 1 hit; proceed to use 2 strikes on the remaining Tornado steps

2 Tornado Steps + 1 Defender, 2 Darkballs -> use 2 strikes, defeat the 2 tornado Steps, then move beyond the Defender to where the Darkball at the back is spawning; go behind it, and prepare a 5 hit combo (assuming you're level 2 or higher here), where you jump and hit the Darkball; this will push the Darkball towards the weakend Defender, who will take the later attacks and be defeated along with the Darkball; finish off the last Darkball with another 4 hit combo (Darkballs can play 6-value cards, so heads up)

The risk in fighting Shadows is getting the 4 Shadow + Wyvern, 4 Tornado Steps, a slow fight. Engaging in all 5 safe fights will very likely get you to level 5 (certainly if you fought the first 3 in the first Unknown room; incidentally, this grants you 8 cards total, enough to get through all the rooms in Hollow Bastion with one extra card), the level you must be before going through the boss door (Key to Truth) and fighting Dragon Maleficent. If you are going for a good time, this is a good card to get early on. The AP boost only occurs on Level 2 and 5, where the rest of your LvUps go to HP. Key to Beginnings + Key to Guidance + Key to Truth all have 1 cutscene to skip once you enter through their respective doors.

Boss: Dragon Maleficent Walk forward, and unleash a triple combo (your first card is a 9, and as she will attack first and has no cards higher than an 8, you'll be fine); Riku auto jumps when targeting the head so don't worry (this can be utilized in random spawns too btw); proceed to triple stock and unleash through breaking her attacks (she cannot Sleight you), if you are fast, you can squeeze in 1 regular strike before you unleash your triple combo; best fights complete this in 2 reloads; she does have a 0, this is why you should only attack while breaking her cards

After the fight, proceed up to Conqueror's Respite (CR). You can jump and strike the air to land on the second step. Ladders are slow to climb so try to jump and grab onto them as high as you can. Dodge roll when you can when moving horizontally. The ideal time to leave Hollow Bastion is before the 8 minute mark.

Tutorial fight: Skip cutscene, skip 2 (the third one is a constant that stays up) text boxes (done by mashing the 3 buttons, ^ + O + X for fastest results), walk forward and wait for Ansem to play a 7, to which you Rapid break with your 8. Skip 1 text box, then skip 3 more and get ready to use your 7 when Ansem uses his; after hitting ^ to Duel, scroll left to your 3 9s (ending at the leftmost one), and just mash X to go through them all, winning the Duel (good time on the Duel clock is ~2:50), skip the 1 text box, then skip cutscene. You unlock Dark Mode + Duel System and you get 4 worlds(mash X to skip past these).

Dodge roll forward 5 times, then skip 2 cutscenes. Dodge roll forward 4 times, mash ^, select Traverse Town (scrolling left once). Mash X. Loadtime, then Mash X to cancel KtB, as you will in very world.

Traverse Town This first room as an Unknown Room, and you can fight here. Note, every fight except those in Strong Initiative rooms, you should use your Enemy Card Dragon Maleficent, a free and necessary attack boost to complete the fights faster. Most battles you do not attack the overworld spawn, but just walk into it, where you can utilize RapidTripleComboBreak (RTCB) and RapidDoubleComboBreak (RDCB) the most. There are 7 spawns in this room, Heartless formations being:

2 Shadows, 6 Shadows -> run away from this, the only bad fight, abyssmal EXP and a huge pain to defeat them all, as they go underground frequently and are invincible while doing so; rapid break if you are forcing yourself, they don't play over 2-value cards (possibly only 1s in Beginner mode); note, I recommend if you do take these guys down, you immediately search for a second Shadow in the overworld; this game has a mechanic where you will not witness identical spawns in a row, assuming you haven't walked through a door, so basically you go through one bad fight to guarantee one good fight

1 Shadows + 2 Red Nocturnes -> move to the left (or right I suppose), between a Red and Shad, and while moving you should be pressing ^ to get a triple combo ready; as soon as you see an enemy strike appear, hit ^ to Raid Break, where Riku should auto jump and each strike will hit and kill each Heartless

3 Soldiers -> move backwards to the left or right Soldier, and prepare your RTCB; angling correctly, you can defeat 2 Soldiers with 1 combo; kill the last one with another RTCB (note, 2 Rapid Hits defeat him too [L1+R1 with 2 cards stocked])

2 Shadows + 2 Red Nocturnes + 1 Soldier -> move to the left (or right I suppose), beside a Shadow, and prepare your triple combo to rapid break; if aimed properly, the Shadow will die in the first strike, the Soldier will die in the second strike (if the first one struck him too, and the third hit takes out the second Shadow; depending on the enemy movement, you may kill some of the Red Nocturnes while doing this too, but if not, a second RTCB should take them out, with Riku auto jumping and auto targeting them; avoid Darkness mode, as the animation loses you ~3 seconds (performing 3 Rapid RTCB) puts you into Darkness mode, assuming you didn't scroll the deck and the enemies played their appropriate value cards, so try to defeat your fights in 2 RTCB at all times)

3 Shadows + 2 Soldiers, 2 Red Notcturnes + 2 Blue Rhapsodies -> slow fight, but good exp; move to the left (or right I suppose), beside a Shadow, and RTCB, and with luck you'll take out 2 Shadows +1 Soldier, then another RTCB to take out the other 2; when there is one enemy left (or 2 Shadows), the next wave spawns; you can save some time by unleashing a 4 hit combo before they fully spawn, as you can still damage them and they won't be playing cards; Darkness might happen, in which case you can jump and use Riku's spin attack for good area damage, but if not, try to Rapid Break with regular strikes, as they are faster and have better auto aim (manually locking on is not needed in general)

3 Red Nocturnes + 3 Blue Rhapsodies, 3 Soldiers -> slow fight, but good exp; move to the left in between the Red Nocturnes (maximizes chance of defeating most of them), prepare your RTCB; when 3 Red Nocturnes are taken down, the next wave spawns; move to the rightmost or left-most Soldier and do another RTCB; angling yourself can defeat 2 Soldiers with 3 strikes; with what is left, you can force yourself into Darkness mode, and defeat the rest however you want

2 Red Nocturnes -> RTCB

Strong Initiative Room has only 4 spawn types. You must strike the Heartless prior to engaging:

2 Shadows -> 2 normal hits

6 Shadows + 1 Soldier -> move to the left SLIGHTLY (or right I suppose), and do a normal triple hit combo; if angled correctly, 2 Shadows are defeated with the first hit, the second one takes out the Soldier, and the 3rd strike takes out the other Shadows, thanks to area damage; I still can't get the angle consistent, and as a result end up using 6 strikes on average

2 Soldiers + 2 Red Nocturnes -> move to the left (or right I suppose), in between but before the Soldier and Red Nocturnel; angled correctly, 2 hits will win, where the first takes out the 2 Reds + 1 Soldier, and the second stabs the second Soldier

2 Red Nocturnes + 2 Blue Rhapsodies, 4 Shadows + 1 Soldier -> move to the left slightly (or right I suppose), and a double strike causes Riku to auto jump and defeat all 4; then move forward and prepare an RTCB (with Dragon Maleficent, as you always would); unleash and repeat; annoying fight because of 4 Shadows randomness, but its the the only hard one of this room

Good Rooms:

Teeming Darkness (many fights) Looming Darkness (a backup room if you don't get 1 of the above 2)

You really shouldn't accept any other room for the grind. If you happen to get 4 Teeming Darkness cards, and ground through all of them, along with the first Unknown Room's 7 fights, AND you get 4 Random Jokers, congrats, you are at the minimum+2 number of cards required to complete the run, 69. Having 3 RandomJokers means you need 69, where the 13 door in Castle Oblivion will force you to use 2 cards. I don't recommend continuing a run with less then 3. Having more then 4, then a 5th goes to the 0 Blue Door (in Twilight Town), a 6th can go to the 0 Red Door, and a 7th can go to the 7+ Green Door (in Destiny Islands).

With Strong Initiatives, you will need to open 7 rooms at least. You want to be level 14 before you leave Traverse Town. It is likely you will have more cards then necessary before you leave, but that's not a big deal. Utilizing Teeming Darkness means you will only use 5 rooms, with its 15 battles. Looming and SI contain 10.

World 1 Route (ie. Traverse Town): up -> up -> right -> down (KtB at right), after boss, up -> left -> up -> CR

Guard Armor: Use Dragon Maleficent (UDM). Jump and just mash X 3 times to use your 9, 8, and 7. Proceed to Rapid Break any of his attack (he does not Sleight). His highest card is an 8. Key to this fight is to get the 0 Green Micky Gimmick card, chance increased by breaking him, at the same time you trigger Darkness. Doing so reloads your deck, and using the Gimmick right after will stun GA and bring him to the floor, where you are still under the effects of Dragon Maleficent, just mash X reload and continue. Once the card wears off he should definitely be less than 1 health bar. At this point you can either attack midair if you still have strong cards+DM enabled, or RDCB. Only bother with Holy/Inverse Burst if it helps you get to Darkness.

World 2 Route (ie. Agrabah): up -> right -> right -> right (KtB at right), after boss, left -> left -> left -> up -> CR

Jafar: UDM. Move DIRECTLY FORWARD (Riku will walk along the edge), then turn right slightly, jump, and triple attack. Do it again but with a triple stock, as Jafar may attack you (Highest card is an 8, and he won't sleight you). Much RNG in this fight, but you are safest if you consistently break Jafar's cards, while still hitting Iago. Just be sure to be in the air, as Riku can slip off a platform easily. Gimmick just raises them all, but if all your attacks hit, you wont even have to reload (Darkness unnecessary).

Vexen UDM. Triple stock. 3 RTCB gets you Darkness. Break him with a RDCB, and he will be stunned. Many bosses are susceptible to this stun. In Overdrive, just continue the 2 hit combo until his health is done. No reload necessary. If you're unlucky, he'll sleight you or use a 0.

World 3 Route (ie. Monstro): up -> up -> KtB at up, after boss -> right -> right -> up -> CR

Parasite Cage: UDM. Jump forward and to triple combo. Whether you get Darkness or not isn't too important, as the fight won't last too long. Continue stocking and rapid break or not. Avoid the acid on the ground, so air combos are better. For safety, you can put one of your level ups to HP from Vexen.

World 4 Route (ie. Neverland): up -> up -> up -> right (KtB at up), after boss -> left -> left -> up -> CR

Captain Hook: RTCB 3 times for Darkness. Proceed to RDCB but ONLY in the air. The ship's movement prevents ground stunning. Do this fight fast or he'll use an enemy card to make all his deck 0 value, making for a very annoying battle.

Repliku 1: RTCB 3 times for Darkness. RDCB for stun. Use Genie Jafar (UGJ). 2 Dark Auras should kill. Continue RDCB otherwise.

World 5 Route (Atlantica): up -> right -> up -> up -> KtB is up, after boss -> down -> down -> left -> left -> up -> up -> CR

Ursula: UDM. Move to the grounded tentacle. Attack it with your 0, while breaking Ursula's attack (no sleights on her), and continue the three hit combo. Take out the other tentacle with a RTCB. She will move forward. Do 5 hit combos on her head. At one bar of health, use the Gimmick card to get her stunned for longer. If not Gimmick then you'll have to taken out the tentacles a second time. Darkness optional.

World 6 Route (Olympus Colisseum): up -> right -> up -> right -> KtB is right, after boss -> left -> up -> CR

Hades: RTCB 3 times for Darkness. Ideally, he won't sleight you, as he will no longer be susceptible to the 2stun. Can't really control whether he will or won't. 2stun until dead.

World 7 Route (Wonderland): up -> up -> left -> left -> left -> KtB is up, after boss -> right -> up -> CR

Trickmaster: UDM. If he uses anything above a 5, you need to stock a triple combo. Otherwise, jump and break with your 5, continuing to finish the combo. He'll stagger, and you fall down. Fast mashing can fit 5 hits before he gets up. Jump back onto the table, and repeat. No Darkness needed. Will need to reload multiple times.

World 8 Route (Halloween Town): up -> left -> down -> left -> up -> left -> KtB is left, after boss -> right -> down -> right -> up -> up -> up -> CR

Oogie Boogie: Break the first attack immediately. Stock your non9s and non0s to break the dice in a triple combo. Hope the Gimmick drops. Breaking 3 of Oogie's dice attack brings the cage, down where you can access him. UDM. Only RDCB or 0. Once he pushes you off, THEN use the Gimmick, and 2 Dark Aura should kill. Will need to reload.

Lexeaus: RTCB 3 times for Darkness. Proceed to 2stun IF he does not use his blue card and become pseudo-invincible. Otherwise, UGJ, and 2 or 3 Dark Auras kill. If 2stunning, use up your non9s and non0s, where 1 or 2 dark Auras will kill after you wait for him to trigger his invincibility.

Destiny Islands(up -> left -> left -> up -> KtB to left, after boss -> up -> right -> up -> CR

Darkside: UDM. Jump. Wait for the attack to finish. Triple combo the arm. Attack the Shadows. They SHOULD spawn a Gimmick. Walk to the upper left of the grounded arm, use the Gimmick, and Riku will shoot up on the platform. Continue to attack through your whole deck regularly. At less than half his final HP bar, do a 5 hit air combo, as at this time the Gimmick effect wears off and the platform goes down.

Zexion: Plenty of RNG and no solid strat, but you're in permanent Darkness. UDM. RDCB until dead. 0 his sleights. Will reload quite a bit.

Repliku 2: Move backwards, UDM, RTCB 3 times for Darkness. 2stun to win. May need to reload once.

Twilight Town ( up -> KtB is up, after boss -> left -> up -> up -> up -> KtG is up -> down -> down -> down -> right -> right -> up -> up-> up-> up is CR

Castle Oblivion (up -> up -> KtB)

Ansem: UDM. RTCB 3 times for Darkness. Proceed to RDCB until the only cards in your deck are 9s and 0s. UGJ. 2 Dark Aura's kills. Only attack by breaking him, as he has high sleights and 0s.

Good game.