Summons

Summons, as a mechanic, are often overlooked by newcomers to the Kingdom Hearts franchise. This is a shame as they are some of the most powerful and versitile tools at Sora's disposal.

Stitch

Stitch is generally considered the best summon in the game due to his defensive abilities and random MP refills. While Stitch is summoned, he crawls on the screen and takes various actions.

Abilities

• If Sora is hit by a projectile, Stitch will deflect it so he does not take damage.
• Stitch can play his ukulele which stuns enemies and makes them drop prizes.
• Stitch can turn away from the screen and shoot enemies with his blaster.
• Stitch can lick the HP or MP bar to refill it.
• As Stitch is on the screen, he cannot be despawned by being hit by too many enemy attacks.

Downsides

• The HP and MP recharges are random which can be frustrating.
• His "Ohana!" Limit isn't very useful

Chicken Little

Chicken Little is another very popular summon. He tends to be used for defense and crowd control.

Abilities

• Chicken Little can whistle which will stun enemies and attract them to Sora similarly to Magnet.
• Chicken Little can throw baseballs which damage enemies.
• Chicken Little can restore 40% of Sora's HP.

Downsides

• His "FPS Mode" Limit isn't very useful
• He is mainly useful for dealing with large numbers of enemies and isn't nearly as helpful when dealing with single targets.
• Stitch tends to be better in most areas except crowd control.

Peter Pan

Peter Pan is another useful summon that tends to be used situationally. He provides defense in the form of Tinkerbell's healing and can be very helpful against particular bosses.

Abilites

• Tinkerbell will heal Sora as time passes.
• Tinkerbell will revive Sora one time per summon if he runs out of HP.
• Peter Pan will attack alongside Sora using his dagger.
• Peter Pan and Tinkerbell are immune to enemy attacks and will not be despawned from taking too much damage.
• His "Never Land" Limit deals a decent bit of damage and has a Magnet effect.

Downsides

• Tinkerbell's healing isn't as useful during some runs if Sora's HP and/or Defense are low.
• While his damage output isn't necessarily bad, Peter Pan tends to focus on one enemy and doesn't help as much with large crowds.

Genie

Genie is perhaps the most difficult summon to use effectively but can deal large amounts of damage to crowds in the right circumstances.

Abilites

• Genie can select a "Drive?" Form that will mimic one of Sora's available Drive Forms (except Limit Form and Anti Form)
• Each "Drive?" Form has a limit associated with it.
• The Valor Limit, "Sonic Rave," is quite good at putting out physical damage although it is weaker than it was in the original Kingdom Hearts 2.
• The Wisdom Limit, "Strike Judgement," deals magic damage with a decent range but is generally considered the weakest of Genie's Limits.
• The Master Limit, "Final Arcana," deals a large amount of damage to a large group of enemies, especially when paired with Magnet.
• The Final Limit, "Infinity," deals even more damage than Final Arcana but costs more in the Summon Gauge. It also can be paired with Magnet for additional damage.

Downsides

• Genie is only used for limits which means he drains the Summon Gauge quickly
• Genie does not provide definsive benefits.
• Genie has a large hitbox which means enemies can damage him to get rid of him quickly.

More info on the uses of summons can be found here.