The key feature of Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep is the way that the narrative is split between the three main characters as they follow each other around to different Disney worlds. However, there are certain points where the separate storylines come together to show how the other characters have been progressing around each other, with the combination fight against Trinity Armor standing out among Birth By Sleep's Unversed enemies.
This fight acts as one of few moments in the series as a whole, let alone Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep itself, that takes one of the monster enemies and fits it into the narrative. It's rare for a Heartless or Unversed like Trinity Armor to appear so early in any given level and finally culminate in a final battle that pays off the major conflict that proceeded it.
Another aspect that helps the Trinity Armor stand out is how it acts as the final encounter in Radiant Garden for some characters like Ventus, while the storyline of Birth By Sleep's Terra continues through deeper corners of the level. This keeps the fight from feeling overly repetitive as the player comes to fight with each character, an issue that the game as a whole can often run into as it reuses enemies and locations. So, while it does act as an encounter that the player is forced to repeat through the process of completing each of the storyline's, each new angle the Trinity Armor is faced from has its own unique take on the fight.
Chasing the Three Pieces
The buildup to the actual encounter in Radiant Garden acts as one of the best uses of the triple storyline that Birth By Sleep uses to expand it's limited size available on Sony's PSP as opposed to the PS2 that previous games had been developed for. Regardless of which character the player is in control of first they are given a similar experience, with a seemingly dangerous Unversed rampaging through the city, as signs of the other two friends crop up from time to time. It continues to build the anticipation from beginning to end, as chasing down the Trinity Armor isn't just about hunting a dangerous monster anymore, but is also about reuniting the three main characters.
Additionally, each of the characters reach Radiant Garden at around the midway point of their overall adventure, with some following closely behind the others or taking completely different routes here altogether. Up until now, Ventus has heard nasty rumors about Terra, Aqua is desperately trying to get her friends back home, and Terra is on the warpath in his training under Xehanort. The isolation from the others has set in, especially for a series known for travelling with a group of friendly NPCs, and having the characters finally see each other again goes a long way to keep the player pushing forward.
Bringing All Three Characters Together
This, of course, all culminates into a fight against the Trinity Armor, which marks only the second and final time that all three characters fight against a dark enemy together. Considering that the first time was only against a training exercise gone wrong, having Ventus, Aqua, and Terra fighting together against a massive Unversed is a big deal for the game. It gives a glimpse into what this game might have been like if Birth By Sleep had taken a more traditional look at gameplay, like in Kingdom Hearts 2 that came before it, and had a party of three characters traveling across the Disney worlds.
The fight definitely shows how overpowered the party is together, though, which is likely why most games in the series don't put the player in control of an entire team of Keyblade wielders. Regardless, the Trinity Armor fight itself is balanced around how powerful the trio is when working together, and can offer up some difficulty to players on higher difficulties. This alone might even help the Unversed stand out throughout Birth By Sleep, even if everything else that brings this whole section together hadn't been so well executed.
Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep is available now for PC, PSP, PS3, PS4, and Xbox One.