Hey, just a quick Q.

Playing KH1 (PS2), about 11 hours in, wondering how often I should engage in combat in terms of being leveled enough. I don't mind fighting if it's the first or second time I'm going through the area but it gets to be much the 3rd or 4th time when I'm just passing by a spot, especially when enemies are peppered around the world so generously.

@liquiddragon: You can definitely skip a few fights, and it depends a lot on how fast you're getting through the areas. If you know exactly where to go and skip a ton of fights you may need to grind a bit. There is a lot of fighting in this series though, so you'll need to learn to love it!

I wouldn't worry too much about levels until you get to the mid 30's in level and are getting close to the late game zones, especially if you went with shield and learned guard earlier on, picked the balanced "midday" leveling scale, and you aren't playing on Proud Mode. But even if you picked other early game options, it wouldn't hurt to clear out a room if you're just casually wondering around, and it's a good idea to go back to the Coliseum every once in a while to see what leagues are available to gain some levels that way. Enemies don't scale with you, but there is a latter half story event were you unlock tougher enemies and super bosses.

If you just fight guys as you go, you should be fine. However, if you do hit a rough spot, the game is pretty good about giving you outs to go back and level up. For example, there's a way to get back to other worlds even immediately before the final boss. So if you're ever a little weak for an area, it's always possible to go grab a few levels without too much hassle.

You answered your own question! Like @quarters mentioned, you can always go back and grind a bit if you find a particular encounter too difficult, or your find yourself needing a certain something. The thing about the grinding in KH that a lot of people who've never played it don't realize is that there's always something to work towards; it never feels aimless or just for the levels. When you go back to grind for levels, figure out which items would be useful to you and go grind out that area. It can be towards synthesis components or just the rare drops themselves. To me, it never felt like I was aimlessly grinding out levels because I was always doing/working towards something.

Okay, thanks! I'm running around back and forth not knowing where to go so the battles seem excessive but I'll keep playing.