Kingdom Hearts II/Characters

Personality
Sora has a typical brave and heroic personality, meaning he'll willingly risk his life for people he doesn't even know. He's extremely loyal to his friends, and has shown to be extremely forgiving to Riku (even forgiving Riku for the times he's tried to kill him). He constantly "thinks positive" and is therefore highly optimistic. Sora seems to have a remarkable capacity to forgive; when Maleficent loses control of the Heartless to Organization XIII and is overwhelmed by Dusks in order to allow Sora's group to escape, Sora is clearly concerned for her well-being despite the fact that Maleficent is his enemy, and was only stopped from going to her aid by being physically restrained by Donald.

He puts Kairi and Riku above all else; when he tells Tarzan what friends he is missing, he begins to say that he is looking for Donald and Goofy, but then stops himself and says that he is looking for Kairi and Riku. However, another reason for this could be that he had an argument with Donald before crashing into the island, which is further expanded on by the fact that he refers to Donald as "the loud one". However, he and Donald at first appear to be genuinely happy to see each other after they reunite at Jane Porter's campsite, proving once more his capacity to forgive. In Kingdom Hearts II, he puts all four of them on an equal level. A prominent example of this is when Goofy is apparently fatally injured after getting hit in the head by a rock in the Battle of Hollow Bastion; Sora is clearly traumatized by Goofy's apparent death and utters, "This is not happening. It can't be happening. It can't."

Sora has shown a large amount of gullibility. For example, he fell for Mulan's attempt at passing for a man; proceeding this, Mushu stated that Sora "could fall for anything". Ironically, he doesn't let his enemies fool him as easily. An example would be when he didn't fall for Xemnas's attempt to play on Sora's sympathetic side, which was far more convincing than Mulan's attempt to appear as a man. Despite Sora's good nature, he appears to sometimes hold grudges, since he seemed to go after Xemnas merely out of spite for him and his misdeeds. Sora is often quick to anger whenever he's confused, and is quite childish at times. He can also be seen as quite impulsive, as he tends to jump into things without thinking them through beforehand. While simple-minded at times, he has a strong sense of justice.

Sora also shows somewhat of an admiration of pirates during their first visit to Port Royal, wherein he is excited to meet Jack Sparrow and even states that he hopes that they would be able to take a pirate ship out for a spin (though he tells Donald and Goofy that he was merely joking about the latter). Of course, he likely gets over this after Barbossa double-crosses them. He was also eager to meet Santa Claus during their first visit to Halloween Town in Kingdom Hearts II.

On occasion in Kingdom Hearts II, Sora seems to (unintentionally) show somewhat of a disrespect towards people of higher authority upon meeting them. For example, when meeting Yen Sid, Donald and Goofy respectively bow to him, while Sora greets him by simply saying, "Hey there!". Goofy is clearly shocked by this, and Donald shouts at him to show some respect. When meeting Queen Minnie, Sora simply asks, "Where's the King?". This leads to Donald grabbing him by the ear and asking Minnie to excuse him. When Sora and King Mickey were disputing about Ansem's identity, Sora, thinking that he has forgotten who Ansem is, drags King Mickey by the hood of his black cloak in order to show him the portrait of Xehanort in Ansem's study. However, when meeting Princess Jasmine again in Kingdom Hearts II, he respectfully bows to her along with Donald and Goofy. He, Donald and Goofy also bow in respect to Simba as the new king during his second visit to the Pride Lands.

Sora seems to be in love with Kairi, which is entirely mutual. Numerous hints of this are as follows:


 * He draws himself giving her a paopu fruit in their Secret Cave, which is a symbol between lovers on their world.
 * When they reunite in the World That Never Was, Kairi quickly runs over and hugs Sora, who hugs her back after recovering from his shock.
 * During the Heartless Invasion of Hollow Bastion, Sora gets down on his knees and begs Saix to take him to Kairi. Beforehand, Saix asked "Is she that important to you?" and Sora replied "More than anything."
 * He willingly stabbed himself with the Dark Keyblade to release Kairi's heart, knowing what would happen to him in the process.
 * During Kairi's telepathic meeting with Roxas, he tells her "I know you. You're that girl he (Sora) likes."
 * He imagines himself dancing with her after the second visit to Halloween Town.
 * He blushes after seeing Will and Elizabeth hug at Port Royal, thinking of Kairi. Donald notices this and states, "Aw, I know who you're thinking about!", and he covers his face in embarrassment.
 * In Riku's story of Chain of Memories, a cutscene shows Larxene telling Naminé that her work will eventually make Sora forget about Kairi. Naminé states, however, that his feelings for her will only grow stronger.
 * After sealing Kingdom Hearts, Sora tells Kairi "I'm always with you too. I'll come back to you, I promise!"
 * She is identified as his most important person and light.

Fighting Style and Abilities
Sora appears to be a natural swordsman, most likely due to all his training against his friends on Destiny Islands. His skill with the Keyblade increased greatly over his journey, and he has become a Keyblade Master.

Sora wields his Keyblade with a two-handed style, with both of his hands on the handle during his initial strikes, although he often finishes with one handed swings. While Roxas and Riku rely on speed and quickness, Sora is more of a "heavy hitter". He uses strong swings and slashes and powerful finishes to damage his enemies, and repeatedly attacks until his opponent succumbs. But, this is not to say Sora isn't fast, he can quickly dash through enemies. Like his Nobody, Sora also wields the element of Light as a weapon, but not the extent and level that Roxas can. He can use light to augment his keyblade swings during combos, and can finish attacks with bursts of light that encircle him. This ability is called Explosion.

Sora is also well-versed in various magic spells, even more so after training with Merlin. In Kingdom Hearts II, his basic combo is much stronger and he gains the Drive Form ability after obtaining new clothes, which give him even more mastery over his strengths. In addition to the abilities that each form grants him, Sora's speed and strength are also increased. However, some aspects of Sora's abilities are ambiguous because of the reaction commands in Kingdom Hearts II. The most notable of these is during one of the reaction commands he cuts through a large building, yet in both games it takes him several hits just to break a wooden barrel. Again, this is probably due to the developers making the reaction commands epic for the final battles.

Sora has become very powerful over the length of the series, being able to slay over a thousand Heartless without rest but slightly tiring after, fight and defeat all but two members, which Riku defeated, of the powerful Organization XIII, all thirteen if Absent Silhouettes are counted, go head-to-head against legendary swordsmen such as Cloud, Leon, and even Sephiroth (although in their encounter in the second game, Sephiroth seems uninjured after the battle, even though he supposedly lost and admits that Sora is "very skilled"), and fight and defeat the countless Disney villains that have faced him. In the manga, Sora defeats Guard Armour in a Single Blow, and the Trick Master faces the same fate in Wonderland.

However, Sora is nearly helpless without his Keyblade. Sora can not hurt a single heartless without his keyblade, not even with fists or just kicking (like Tifa had done in Kingdom Hearts II.) Even Shadow Heartless take a huge number of hits for him to kill without it, and that's only after he had gotten stronger on all his adventures before he reached Hollow Bastion (when he first encountered them on the Destiny Islands, Sora couldn't even damage the Heartless without the Keyblade) but this may be caused by the weapon he wields. When Sora is not in possession of his Keyblade, all he have access to are the sparring weapons Wooden Sword and Struggle Bat, so if he is given proper "normal" weapons (swords that are non-magical, but not toys, for example a normal sword made of steel) probably he can still fight well, although maybe still not as well as when he uses the Keyblade. However, he is not utterly useless in real combat without it; he is still able to cast magic with no major decrease in power, Keyblade or not (as long as he knows how).

While not a necessary talent for battle, Sora, as seen during the Kingdom Hearts II visit to Atlantica, is shown to be a talented singer, as he is frequently paired up with Ariel, who is widely renowned in Atlantica for her singing voice, in Sebastian's musical numbers. However, Sora is only heard singing in two songs, namely "Under the Sea" and "A New Day is Dawning", and even then, he only has a few lines for both. He also sings a few lines with Donald and Goofy after opening the pathway in Atlantica.

Sora does not hold a very special power with computers, being that in Hollow Bastion, when asked to load and copy data by Leon, he had typed using his two index fingers, and had done it painfully slow. When frustrated that the computer had not given him any information, he had smacked it a couple times, calling it a "stupid computer."

On many occasions, Sora demonstrates physical abilities that could be considered superhuman (though this could be a result of possessing the Keyblade), a few examples of which are listed here:

In Deep Jungle, he falls a great distance and crashes headfirst through the roof of the treehouse, emerging alive and uninjured, but slightly dazed. Similarly, when Sabor slashes him with its claws and knocks him back into a wall, he quickly gets up and fights back. He can either glide or actually fly, the latter of which only in Never Land, the End of the World, and the final battle with Xemnas. He is capable of leaping incredible distances, such as jumping up to the ceiling of the ballroom in Beast's Castle. He can cut through solid concrete and other durable forms of matter. In Kingdom Hearts II, you are required to cut through rocks in The Land Of Dragons, which only takes a couple of keyblade strokes.

Despite this, Sora is usually knocked over during cutscenes, regardless of the keyblade, but usually quickly jumps back up to fight.

Kingdom Hearts

 * First Entry

''A spirited youth. He was cast into an unknown world when a swarm of Heartless raided his island. He battles the Heartless with a mysterious weapon called the Keyblade as he searches for his friend Kairi.''


 * Second Entry

''The one who fights the Heartless. Upon reclaiming the Keyblade from his rival Riku, Sora sacrificed his heart to save Kairi and became a Heartless. Kairi's deep feelings for Sora restored him. Now he must confront Ansem, the seeker of darkness.''

Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories
A bright and spirited boy chosen by the Keyblade to battle the Heartless.

It was Sora who defeated Ansem, ending his plan to shroud the world in darkness.

However, Sora continued his journey, seeking the friends he lost during the struggle.


 * Reverse/Rebirth

Riku's boyhood friend, and the hero of light chosen by the Keyblade to stand against the darkness.

Riku fought Sora while bridled by darkness, but their friendship proved stronger, and they ultimately worked together to close the door to darkness.

Kingdom Hearts II

 * First Entry

A boy chosen by the Keyblade, a mysterious weapon.

Not long ago, Sora journeyed with Donald and Goofy in search of his longtime friend Kairi, who had been spirited away into the darkness.

In the end, they saved the world of all worlds from the darkness that was closing in.

Then, somewhere along the way, Sora fell into a deep slumber.

Now that he is awake, he can't recall why he fell asleep to begin with.


 * Second Entry

A boy chosen by the Keyblade, a mysterious weapon.

Not long ago, Sora journeyed with Donald and Goofy in search of his longtime friend Kairi, who had been spirited away into the darkness.

In the end, they saved the world of all worlds from the darkness that was closing in.

''After that, Sora continued journeying in search of Riku, who was trapped on the other side of the door to darkness. And somewhere along the way, Sora fell into a deep slumber.''

With a new outfit and strengthened resolve, Sora has set out once more on a search for his friend Riku.

Donald Duck
Donald Duck is a character from the Kingdom Hearts series. Donald Duck, in Disney canon, is a sailor with a dangerously short temper. His debut is in The Wise Little Hen. In Kingdom Hearts, Donald is the Royal Magician of Disney Castle, presided over by King Mickey. He isn't very smart overall, and often provides comic relief more than advancing the plot despite the amount of time he appears in the series. Despite his rash and aggressive personality, he is loyal to his friends.

Though he initially only cares about Sora as a means to track down King Mickey, Donald soon grows to deeply care for him as a friend.

Kingdom Hearts
''Royal Magician. Skilled in magic, but can be short-tempered and stubborn. He set out in the gummi ship with Goofy to find the king. Donald has joined forces with Sora, the key bearer alluded to in the king's letter.''
 * First Entry

Donald made his screen debut in "The Wise Little Hen" (1934).

''Royal Magician. Skilled in magic, but short-tempered and stubborn. Because Mickey said to follow the key bearer, he once left Sora to follow Riku. But friendship soon led him back to Sora.''
 * Second Entry

Donald made his screen debut in "The Wise Little Hen" (1934).

Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories
Court Wizard at Disney Castle who set out with Goofy after the king's disappearance.

His short temper sometimes gets him into trouble, but he is very brave.

Donald is currently seeking clues to what happened to the king after he was locked behind the door to darkness.

Kingdom Hearts II
The Wise Little Hen (1934)

The Royal Court Magician.

''Not long ago, Donald left Disney Castle with Goofy to search for King Mickey. During that quest, they met Sora and became fast friends.''

After they helped Sora save the worlds from darkness, Donald and Goofy continued their search for King Mickey, who had decided to stay behind in the realm of darkness.

But before they could find the King, the three friends were plunged into a deep sleep.

Goofy
Goofy Goof appears alongside Donald and Sora in all three of the Kingdom Hearts games. Goofy is Captain of the King Mickey's army. He and Disney Castle's court magician Donald went out to search for the King, and ends up teaming with Sora for the rest of their journey.

Despite his position at Disney Castle, Goofy dislikes using weapons (instead using a simple shield in combat) and attempts to avoid fighting whenever possible, preferring to find peaceful solutions to problems. Though simple-minded and clumsy as always, and constantly the butt of comic relief, Goofy is the constant voice of optimism and, surprisingly, selectively perceptive, often noticing things others miss and keeping his cool when Sora and Donald lose it. He comes off as the sage of the group, despite how he is portrayed in the Disney cartoons.

Kingdom Hearts
''Captain of the Royal Knights. He avoids fighting whenever possible. Mickey's most loyal subject. He set out in the gummi ship with Donald to find King Mickey. He joined forces with Sora, obeying Mickey's command to follow the key bearer.''
 * First Entry

Goofy made his first screen appearance in "Mickey's Revue" (1932).

''Captain of the royal knights. He avoids fighting whenever possible. Mickey's most loyal subject. Because Mickey said to follow the key bearer, he once left Sora to follow Riku. But friendship soon led him back to Sora.''
 * Second Entry

Goofy made his first screen appearance in "Mickey's Revue" (1932).

Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories
''Captain of the Disney Castle Royal Knights. He set out with Donald after the king's disappearance.''

He is cheerful and calm, and no one is more loyal to the king.

Goofy and Sora are especially good friends.

Kingdom Hearts II
Two Weeks Vacation (1952)

Captain of the Royal Knights.

''Not long ago, Goofy left Disney Castle with Donald in search of King Mickey. Along the way, they joined Sora, obeying the King's command to "follow the Keybearer."''

''After helping save the worlds from darkness, Goofy continued his quest to find the King. But like Donald and Sora, he fell into a deep slumber before he could finish the quest. Wonder what Goofy was doing just before he fell asleep?''

Personality
Kairi is caring and kind-hearted, not afraid to speak out her mind. However, she is determined and courageous when someone she cares about is in danger, often risking her own safety to help that person. She also makes friends easily, quickly befriending Hayner, Pence, and Olette in Twilight Town. In contrast to Sora and Riku, who were both bothered by not knowing about Kairi's hometown, she took it in stride and was able to look at the positives about living in the Destiny Islands. She is loyal and headstrong, as well as stubborn to a point though.

Kairi seems to be in love with Sora, which is entirely mutual. Numerous hints of this are as follows:


 * She draws herself giving him a paopu fruit in their Secret Cave after seeing that Sora had made the same drawing of him extending a paopu fruit to her.
 * When they reunite in the World That Never Was, Kairi quickly runs over and hugs Sora to make sure that he is really there.
 * Beforehand, she attempts to attack the Shadow Heartless unarmed in an attempt to help Sora. When Sora sacrifices his own heart to restore hers, Kairi is visibly shaken and refuses to believe that Sora may be dead, shouting "No, he can't be. I won't let him go!"
 * During their escape from Hollow Bastion on the first visit, Kairi hugs a Sora (who is still a Heartless) to protect him while she, Donald, and Goofy are attacked by numerous Shadows.
 * While escaping from the Castle That Never Was, Kairi tells Roxas and Naminé that she and Sora will be together everyday.
 * In the ending sequence to the first Kingdom Hearts, she is genuinely moved to tears when she sees the aforementioned paopu fruit picture.

Hints of Sora loving Kairi:
 * Sora gets down on his knees to beg to know where Kairi is in Hollow Bastion to Xemnas.
 * Sora begs Axel as well in Hollow Bastion to know where Kairi is located.
 * When Pence mentions Kairi in Twilight Town, Sora gets really excited to know where she is.
 * Sora is relieved when he finds out that Kairi is at least OK.
 * In Kingdom Hearts I, Sora had began having hallucinations about Kairi being there when she wasn't.
 * In Kingdom Hearts I, in Neverland Sora mentions wanting to tell Kairi about all the many adventures he'd been on, saying, "So many things I want to tell her."
 * In Kingdom Hearts II, Sora checks Kairi's good luck charm many times during the game and mutters, "I'm coming" most of the time to it.
 * When Axel tells Sora that Kairi is in The Castle That Never Was, Sora doesn't hesitate to get over there as fast as he can, and in a few cutscenes even yell up to the castle that he was coming and to hold on.

Abilities
Because Kairi is a Princess of Heart, her heart possesses no darkness within it, leading to the unique birth of Naminé, and possibly Xion, when she accidentally gives it to Sora and Sora sacrifices himself to restore her heart. Like the other princesses, she has the power to open the Final Keyhole to Kingdom Hearts in Hollow Bastion once she is gathered with the rest of the princesses. Kairi also appears to have some kind of latent magical ability, as seen when she manages to restore Sora's humanity after he becomes a Heartless. Since the other Princesses of Heart possess the abilities to hold back darkness and upgrade other people's powers, it is no doubt that Kairi can do so as well. Kairi's abilities in combat are limited.

Kairi isn't able to do much when she is in danger, she is always taken away from action as in Kingdom Hearts she wasn't able to fight due to her coma state, and often depends on Sora or Riku to come to her aid; this also results in her sometimes being captured, which is seen when Axel merely grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her along without any problems. She does, however, have the rare ability to wield a Keyblade, although she only receives it from Riku. It is possible that she is the chosen wielder for the Realm of Nothingness, although it is unconfirmed whether she was able to keep the Keyblade. She may also have been able to wield a Keyblade due to her status as a Princess of Heart, or her strange connections to Xion, whom can also wield the Keyblade.

Kingdom Hearts

 * First Entry

''Islander. Kairi, Sora and Riku were three friends. They built a raft to sail out and see new worlds. The three were separated when a mysterious force struck the Destiny Islands. Thus did Sora's search for Kairi begin.''


 * Second Entry

''Kairi, Sora, and Riku always hung out together. When their island vanished, Kairi lost her heart. It turned out that it was hidden within Sora's. As one of the princesses with the power to unlock the secret Keyhole, Kairi restored Sora's heart when he was turned into a Heartless.''

Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories
Sora's childhood friend.

Sora's journey began as a search for Kairi, who disappeared when their island home was swallowed by darkness.

Kairi was held captive by the Heartless, but thanks to Sora she and the islands were saved.

She waits there for Sora and Riku's return.


 * Reverse/Rebirth

Riku and Sora's friend growing up.

''Kairi vanished when their home islands were devoured by darkness. Riku and Sora both journeyed to find her.''

Kairi was held captive by the Heartless, but thanks to Sora, she and the islands were saved.

She waits there for Sora and Riku's return.

Kingdom Hearts II

 * First Entry School outfit

''Longtime friend of Riku and Sora, and one of the Seven Princesses with ties to the Keys and Keyholes. Not long ago, when she was lost in the darkness, Riku and Sora both tried to save her, each in his own way.''

Thanks to them, Kairi was able to return to her home islands, but her memories of Sora were gone, and she soon stopped visiting the islet where they once played.


 * Second Entry Pink oufit

Longtime friend of Riku and Sora, and one of the Seven Princesses with ties to the Keys and Keyholes.

She had lost her memories of Sora, and after they returned, she wanted to meet him more and more with every passing day.

Falling through an unexpected hole into the darkness, she arrived in Twilight Town and befriended Hayner, Pence, and Olette before being captured by Axel.

Kairi is fervently hoping to meet up with Sora once more.

Personality
In Kingdom Hearts, Riku is a calm, cool, collected (and not to mention cocky) teen who is not afraid to go far beyond his limits. This shows through when he shows no fear in stepping into the dark portal when Destiny Islands was being consumed by darkness, along with his statement "I'm not afraid of the darkness!"

He also showed a strong competitive streak, along with a bit of jealousy. He shows his competitive side when he challenges Sora, saying that his heart is stronger than Sora's heart. It is not actually said aloud, but thanks to Maleficent, he became increasingly jealous of Sora. It started with him finding out about Sora's new friends, and his thinking that he had been replaced. The jealousy grew when he learned about Sora possessing the Keyblade. The jealousy turned into rage, resulting in the battles against Sora throughout KHI, and his possession by Xehanort's Heartless. Also, he seems to be aware of Sora's romantic feelings toward Kairi and often uses these to tease him, not to mention he may also have romantic feelings toward Kairi himself as he would go as far as possessing the darkness to restore Kairi's heart and asking Sora to take care of her after Xehanort's Heartless was defeated in KHI.

Though his traits were not too favorable in KHI, he becomes more heroic in Chain of Memories. Riku has many realizations. One of these realizations was him realizing that he let his heart become weak. From that moment on, he began to shy away from the darkness in his heart. Through the scores of fights and battles in Castle Oblivion, he makes another big realization: he can't get rid of the darkness in his heart, and decides to use it without turning from the light like before. He matured immensely, and along with leaving his past behind him, he also left a lot of his unfortunate traits.

In Kingdom Hearts II, he shows a great amount of loyalty and care for his friends. To save Sora, he did everything he could to bring Roxas to DIZ to make Sora whole again, going so far as to give up his physical form for that of Xehanort's Heartless. As Sora journeyed on between the worlds, he dropped Sora some valuable clues, such as the sea-salt ice cream and the picture.

When he finally is found in The World That Never Was, he repeatedly shows regret, telling Sora that "he didn't want to be found," and almost refusing to come back to Destiny Islands because of his wrongdoings.

Another good personality trait he showed was a strong protectiveness over his friends. He never wanted Sora and Kairi to find out about the time he spent in the darkness. He nearly sacrificed himself to protect Sora from Xemnas' attacks, leaving him injured after the final battle.

Though Riku matures significantly over the course of the series, he still seems to retain some of his old KHI self, particularly his sense of humor; he refers to Sora, Donald, and Goofy as "wise guys" when talking to the Emperor, cracks a joke about Donald and Goofy's intelligence at their expense ("Sora never did pick the brightest friends."), and calls Sora a "total sap" when going to confront Xemnas.

Roles, battle techniques and weaponry
Riku's roles in the various games have varied greatly - during his time through Kingdom Hearts, Chain of Memories and Kingdom Hearts II, he has been an optional miniboss, a support character, a boss again, a boss a third time, a playable character, a boss a fourth time, a party member, and a temporary playable character.

In comparison to Sora's two-handed style and Roxas' dual-weaponry, Riku attacks with a fast one-handed style with his Soul Eater/Way to the Dawn. Riku attacks very quickly with either weapon in combat, and is just as able with his weapons as Sora is with his. His strength and agility are best demonstrated on Destiny Island, where he is known as the strongest child on the island (Tidus remarked that he, Wakka, and Selphie were defeated by him even after they triple-teamed him), and possesses an athletic springing kick if knocked down. Riku's other main form of attack is Dark Aura, in which he fires multiple blue fireballs of dark energy. Though Sora has bested Riku on several occasions, it is still unclear whom is stronger. Riku's strength is demonstrated in Kingdom Hearts II, when Roxas tells Sora during battle that he has defeated Riku - when Sora repeats Roxas's claim to Donald and Goofy, Donald exclaims "But nobody could defeat Riku!", and Sora agrees.

When Xehanort's Heartless tempered the darkness in his heart, Riku was able to turn into his Dark Form which increased his powers and granted him the Dark Keyblade. Riku's enhanced dark powers under possession are Dark Raid, where he throws a spinning Dark Keyblade, Dark Break where he performs a powerful jump attack, and Dark Aura where he dashes around the arena at high speed slashing all in his path. When he used the power of darkness (and ended up looking like Xehanort's Heartless), he could use some of "Ansem's" attacks, as well as temporarilly possessing Ansem's Guardian.

When he is playable in Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, he is given a preset deck in each world that cannot be changed and changes automatically during gameplay. By breaking his opponent's cards, Riku acquires "DP", which let him transform into his Dark Form. Dark Form, along with giving him increased speed and strength, gives him access to sleights that mimic his special attacks from Kingdom Hearts. Outside of Dark Form, any combination of stocked cards counts as a sleight and costs Riku a card, so he cannot perform combo attacks as easily as Sora can. Instead, he has access to a unique system of battle called "card dueling", which allows Riku to stun opponents and perform special commands by breaking their cards multiple times. Overall, in contrast to Sora who must rely on sleights and combos to fight, Riku's playing style is more up-front, relying on card duels and breaks to acquire DP and enter Dark Form.

When he turned into his "true form" in the end of Kingdom Hearts II, His powers increase dramatically and he gained his keyblade "Way to the Dawn". As a party member, Riku possesses various abilities that combine his dark powers with Sora's light powers. Riku can use Dark Aura to fire Dark Firaga when Sora completes a combo, can use Dark Shield to project a barrier, and possesses numerous other powers. In his Limit with Sora, Eternal Session, Riku is able to project waves of dark energy from his Keyblade in addition to unleashing fast combos and Dark Firaga barrages. At the end, Sora and Riku toss their Keyblades together to act as a super-damaging magnet.

It should be noted, though, that despite the fact that Riku is a wielder of the Keyblade, he can't use any of Sora's keychains while he is in the party. Also, Riku is one of the three only characters to possess more than one Keyblade within the storyline, the other two being Roxas and Sora in Drive Form.

Kingdom Hearts

 * First Entry

''Islander. A self-confident youth always competing with Sora. He hated the monotony of island life and built a raft with Sora and Kairi to explore the outside world. Riku seems to have vanished along with the Destiny Islands.''


 * Second Entry

''Islander. A self-confident youth always competing with Sora. When the Destiny Islands vanished, so did he. By the time Riku reappeared, Sora had already found new friends, so Riku didn't rejoin him. Riku is willing to go to any length to save Kairi--even join forces with Maleficent.


 * Third Entry

''Riku gained immense power through the forces of darkness. But ordinary humans are no match for the darkness, and it is gradually consuming his heart.''


 * Fourth Entry

''When Kairi lost her heart, Riku allied himself with Maleficent to save her. Riku was actually the rightful master of the Keyblade, but once he chose darkness over light, the weapon chose Sora instead. Ansem exploited Riku's weakness of heart and possessed him.''

Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories
Sora's childhood friend.

Baited by the darkness and used by Maleficent and Ansem, Riku once fought against Sora.

''In order to seal the door to darkness, Riku stayed with the king on the other side. His current whereabouts are unknown.''

Sora journeys in the hopes of finding Riku.


 * Reverse/Rebirth

A boy who was born and raised on a small group of islands.

Riku dreamt of seeing other worlds, and so he forsook the islands--only to be seduced by the power of darkness.

''Enslaved by Ansem, pursuer of darkness, Riku clashed with his childhood friend Sora. But in the end, he was able to regain himself, and together with Sora closed the door to darkness.''

Still, the dark wounds in Riku's heart have yet to mend.

Kingdom Hearts II

 * First Entry

The form Sora's longtime friend Riku chose.

''Though Xehanort tried to control Riku from within, Riku's heart proved stronger. But the only way to wield the darkness fully was to become it.''

''Riku began calling himself "Ansem," perhaps as a sign of resolve. He would live in darkness if that's what it took to wake Sora.''


 * Second Entry

''Sora's longtime friend. He had clad himself in darkness in order to wield it, and had even changed in appearance.''

But when the real Ansem's Kingdom Hearts Encoder exploded, Riku returned to his old form.

You could say it was a miracle- worked by a heart no darkness could eclipse.


 * Ansem

Mysterious wielder of darkness.

What could his true purpose be?

Kingdom Hearts: Chain Of Memories
Truly an enigma.

DiZ appeared before Riku in the guise of Ansem, presenting him with choices regarding the darkness within his heart.

It is said he and the king have met.

Kingdom Hearts II
The man who called himself "DiZ" and dressed his face in bandages to conceal it, now revealed to be none other than Ansem the Wise.

''The true Ansem once studied hearts and the Heartless, but soon ceased his research for fear of disrupting the order of the worlds. But his apprentice Xehanort betrayed him, robbing Ansem of his discoveries and pride.''

Since that time, Ansem was driven by vengeance -- but when he saw Riku go so far as to give up his physical form to help Sora, he had a change of heart.


 * DiZ

An entity shrouded in mystery.

Kingdom Hearts
''A sorceress of awesome power. She leads the villains who seek to harness the power of the Heartless. She has also tricked Riku into joining her and is using him as part of her evil plans.''
 * First Entry

She first appeared to curse Aurora in "Sleeping Beauty" (1959).


 * Second Entry

''A sorceress of awesome power. She tried to use the Heartless for her own evil ends, but the Heartless were actually using her. She turned into a huge dragon when cornered by Sora and his friends.''

She first appeared to curse Aurora in "Sleeping Beauty" (1959).

Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories
''A witch who commands the darkness. Sora faced Maleficent and her Heartless once before.''

She stole Belle's heart to perfect her dark powers, though Belle had seen through her plan.


 * Reverse/Rebirth

A witch who commands the darkness.

Maleficent's charms won over Riku, and she empowered him with darkness.

In Castle Oblivion she stood before Riku again, this time as a token of the indelible darkness in his heart.

Kingdom Hearts II
Sleeping Beauty (1959)

''A sorceress of frightening power. In the last adventure, she controlled the Heartless and led a group that was trying to harness the power of darkness. As part of her villainous plan, Maleficent tricked Riku into making the choice to dive into the realm of darkness.''

''In the end, Maleficent yielded to the power of darkness herself and was defeated by Sora and his friends. But by using her last bit of evil power, she was able to come back again some time later.''


 * Timeless River

Sleeping Beauty (1959)

A sorceress of frightening power who's behind the strange goings-on at Disney Castle.

Maleficent is determined to take over Disney Castle, and she's using the power of darkness in her evil scheme.


 * Halloween Town

Sleeping Beauty (1959)

''A sorceress of frightening power. She's using the Heartless as part of her scheme to bring all the worlds under her control.''

Lock, Shock, and Barrel are just what Maleficent needs to make trouble for Sora and his friends while they're in Halloween Town.

King Mickey
The King of Disney Castle. He is an elusive character in the storyline, but is an important one....He IS the King (duh!). That being said, he TOO wields the KEYBLADE (my gosh, how many Keyblades are there! [The most powerful one belongs to Sora though]). His Keyblade is a golden version of the Kingdom Key, and, even though he is the king, he possesses the least powerful Keyblade. He can only be controlled in certain instances during certain battles when you get knocked out. Although awesome to play as Mickey, he is weak, but is fast, so its a different battle style than anything you will use....just don’t count on getting to play as him if you don't want to risk dying!

Kingdom Hearts
''King of Disney Castle. He set out to learn more about the darkness, and left instructions for Donald and Goofy to find and follow the key bearer. No one knows where King Mickey is now, but they are determined to find him.''

He made his debut in "Steamboat Willie" (1928).

Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories
The king who reigns over Disney Castle.

He set off alone to protect his world and all worlds from the dominion of the dark.

When Riku fell into the realm of darkness, the king showed him the way, but the two were seperated when the door to darkness was closed.

Kingdom Hearts II

 * First Entry

Steamboat Willie (1928)

''The king of Disney Castle. It's been a while since he set off alone to fight the darkness threatening the worlds.''

King Mickey and Riku stayed behind the realm of darkness to keep the Heartless from escaping again.

Donald, Goofy, and Sora will keep searching until they're reunited with the King.


 * Second Entry

Steamboat Willie (1928)

''The king of Disney Castle. He was the first to realize what a threat the darkness was, and the first to act. King Mickey travels across the worlds, battling the Heartless and searching for an answer to the riddle of Organization XIII and the Nobodies.''

After many great battles, the King seems even more determined than ever to fight against the darkness.

Personality
Being the founder of Organization XIII and apparently the oldest of Nobodies, Xemnas is truly emotionless and does not even remember what it was like to have emotions. He claims that this allows him to have a clear understanding of the heart, but in reality this has warped his mind into believing that only anger, hatred, and other negative feelings make up a heart.

Not to mention, his lack of emotion gives him absolutely zero remorse over his actions, as well as the loss of the other members of the Organization. The only thing he truly cares about is Kingdom Hearts and his desire for power, and even laments it when it is damaged. Unlike the other members of the organization, Xemnas does not seem to want Kingdom Hearts for a true existence. Rather, much like his Heartless counterpart, he wants it to use it to obtain power. This concept is furthered as Xemnas thinks that nothingness is the source of much power and does not seem to despise it in the slightest.

In other matters Xemnas speaks with calmness and deep authority. He has a tendency to be overly melodramatic making long-winded speeches, exaggerating his false rage and sorrow with wide sweeping arm movements and hand gestures. While ridiculous in nature, his exaggerations are representations of his lack of emotion. He's very intelligent overall, and knows how to manipulate others, particularly Sora and his friends.

The Superior
Xemnas, as the superior, is the first member and founder of Organization XIII, with all other Nobodies under his control. He is the most powerful member, so much, that Marluxia would not dare to face him even with the support of Axel and Larxene until Sora was completely under his control. Furthermore, Vexen immediately complied with Marluxia's order to eliminate Sora when he made the empty threat that he would report Vexen's failure to the Superior. He also appears to be the Organization's most intelligent member.

Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix
A Mysterious man who appeared at Hollow Bastion.

Kingdom Hearts II

 * First Entry

''Organization XIII's Number I. He directs the group as its leader. ''

''In truth, he is the Nobody of Xehanort, who was apprenticed to Ansem the Wise. In secret, Xehanort studied the doors and the heart of all worlds, ultimately stealing his master's name, Ansem. When Xehanort became a Heartless, his Nobody Xemnas came into being.''

Xemnas is using Sora, collecting the hearts released every time a Heartless falls to his Keyblade.


 * Second Entry

''Organization XIII's Number I, who acts as leader of the group. Xemnas is the Nobody of Ansem's apprentice Xehanort.''

He used Sora and his Keyblade to collect hearts from the Heartless and see Kingdom Hearts to its completion.


 * Organization XIII

Organization XIII's Number I. He directs the group as its leader.

''Organization XIII is a unique presence among the Nobodies. They think and plan, and seem to have a greater goal.''

What that is remains to be seen, but they appear to know a bit about the Keyblade.

Personality
"You should share some of that hatred with Sora. He's far too nice for his own good." --DiZ, to Roxas

Roxas, unlike other Nobodies, seems to possess real emotions, stemming from the fact that he, like Naminé, is a special Nobody.

He is far more prone to anger than Sora, and expressed some dislike for being compared to him early on due to their relation, which DiZ notes with amusement in their encounter. On the other hand, Roxas tends to be ironically melancholy and stoic, especially as he comes to realize the truth about himself. Roxas is also not as impulsive. But, like Sora, they both have little patience for people who seem to be bending their will or trying to confuse them. One more thing he shares with Sora is how they treat their friends, often caring for them and enjoying hanging out with them.

It has been noted that Roxas has extreme versions of Sora's personality. On the other hand, Roxas seems to be the smarter half of Sora, as he is not as easily fooled by his enemies and is more likely to think his actions through.

Roxas and Naminé seemed to have a strong bond even though the two didn't know each other long. Their relationship showed possible romantic attachments displaying the genuine emotions they possessed despite being Nobodies. The two did show that they cared a lot for each other. Their relationship mimics Sora and Kairi's since the two of them have displayed possible romantic feelings for each other. It's possible that in future games their relationship will grow.

Fighting Style
When he attacks with his full power, Roxas dual wields 2 Keyblades, the Oathkeeper and the Oblivion, and uses the element of Light, becoming a highly dangerous foe. He can glide at fast speeds, so fast in fact that he leaves behind a lens flare, and control thirteen sword-shaped shields of light energy which can connect to form a laser array. He can levitate his Keyblades in the air and whirl and spin them rapidly, showing a great deal of proficiency and skill with the blades, and can also counter any extended combo with a more powerful one of his own, even creating a ring of damage just by twirling them in a circle. His special attack involves him floating in the air and shooting his thirteen light shields around the arena, which then light it up in a thick twilight mist as Roxas begins shooting blue spheres of light at his opponent from energy gathered in his hands. He'll often attack rapidly from side-to-side, confusing the opponent, leaving a trail of light behind him. He can also perform the Duel Bout technique (similar to his Samurai Nobodies) where he rushes at his opponent and slashes at them quicker than the blink of an eye, causing intense damage if not repelled, the twist is that Sora can utilize Roxas' Keyblades if he does repel the attack. However, when Sora steals Roxas' keyblades, Roxas resorts to utilizing his light shields to full effect, before moving in to steal his keyblades back from Sora.

In comparison to Sora, Roxas seems to have a far more aggressive style: he is constantly on the offensive, and abandons any defensive moves he had previously used, such as the Guard technique, in favor of speed and strength. This makes it easier to catch him off guard (since he is never on guard anyway) but it can still be tough to hit him since he is so fast. In their mental struggle in The World That Never Was, he briefly manages to overpower and disarm Sora.

Roxas's battle with Riku, as seen in Another Side, Another Story, involves him running up the side of Memory Skyscraper and passing by Riku as he leaps off. During the battle against Xemnas in the same location in Kingdom Hearts II, Sora can trigger a reaction command that mirrors this scene. Comparing the cutscene version to the Another Side, Another Story version, how Roxas runs passed Riku after lending him Oblivion is different in the two. In the cutscene version, Roxas has nothing in his right hand, but in Another Side, Another Story, he has the Kingdom Key in his right hand as he's passing Riku.

Without the ability to dual-wield if not chosen, he uses the Kingdom Key. This appears to be his main form of fighting in Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. This is likely because he just joined the Organization, and his true powers hadn't awakened yet. This would have to be seen more as the story/game progresses.

It is interesting to note that as well, when not dual-wielding, Roxas uses the same two-handed "heavy hitter" fighting style as Sora.

Weapons
In battle, Roxas dual-wields two Keyblades, Oathkeeper and Oblivion (both of which represent Sora's feelings towards Kairi and Riku, respectively), although he can also wield the Kingdom Key, such as during the events of Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days and his time in virtual Twilight Town. Roxas is the first character in the series who shows the ability to dual-wield Keyblades. Sora was later able to do this himself, but only while utilizing his Drive Forms. However, Tetsuya Nomura stated that Sora does have the potential to dual-wield Keyblades in his normal state, as Roxas can do everything that Sora can. He controls the element of light and the Samurai Nobodies. Although it would normally be impossible for a Nobody to wield a Keyblade, Roxas, as the Nobody of the chosen wielder of the Realm of Light, Sora, can wield them. Of course, as the Heartless use the Keyblades as a homing signal, he is constantly under attack by them when not under the protection of Organization XIII, though they do not seek out his heart, unlike Sora. However, as the Organization's goal is to gather as many hearts as possible by using the Keyblade to extract them from Heartless, Roxas's inclusion to the Organization was actually their saving grace, as they no longer had to manipulate Sora, until Roxas deserted the Organization.

In Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix+, after you have defeated Roxas, you obtain a special Keyblade modeled after himself, Two Across Keyblade. It is unknown if Roxas himself ever used this Keyblade.

In the virtual Twilight Town, Roxas uses a Struggle Bat.

Kingdom Hearts II

 * First Entry

A boy who lived in Twilight Town and saw Sora's memories in dreams.

His summer vacation has come to an end, and many of his thoughts and feelings with it.


 * Second Entry

Organization XIII's Number XIII, a Keyblade wielder and denizen of darkness.

He vanished with a satisfied look after battling Sora -- but Sora was the only one who could see him in the first place.

Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories
A young witch who, under orders from Marluxia, rewrote much of Sora's memory.

Because Naminé based the false memories on Sora's feelings toward Kairi, Sora believed he and Naminé had been friends since childhood.

But truth be told, the two had never met before Castle Oblivion.


 * Reverse/Rebirth

A young witch who can manipulate memories.

''Under orders from the Organization, Naminé shadowed Kairi and altered Sora`s memory. But the forgiveness in Sora`s heart moved her to disobey those orders.''

Now she watches over Sora until the reconstruction of his memories is complete.

Naminé is a different type of nobody, not only due to the fact she seems to process emotion, but also because she was born from Kairi's heart. The heart and soul needed to be reborn as a nobody belong to Sora. Naminé has no memory of her former life, but due to the fact she used Sora's body and soul, she can manipulate his memories and those whose hearts are connected to his. She also seems to have a romantic interest towards Roxas, which he clearly returns. Naminé has had a very cruel history, with Larxene, an Organization member, having physically and mentally abused her. She was also locked in a room by herself where Diz would threaten her and call her a witch during the time she was fixing Sora's memories. Naminé is also willing to risk her life to help people who are being deceived or are in need of help. She broke into the Organization stronghold to get Kairi and Pluto out and was willing to forgo her existence as an independent entity to make Kairi whole again.

Kingdom Hearts II
A girl with the power to manipulate memories.

She seems to have some strong connection to Sora.

Kingdom Hearts II
Steamboat Willie (1928)

''A tough and mean former steamboat captain. Donald and Goofy know Pete real well - he's so bad that King Mickey was forced to banish him to another dimension.''

''Maleficent found Pete there and helped him escape from exile. Since then, he's been traveling the worlds, assembling an army of Heartless for Maleficent. It's pretty certain that the two of them are planning to take over and rule all the worlds.''


 * Olympus Coliseum

Steamboat Willie (1928)

''King Mickey's nemesis. Pete is collecting an army of Heartless and helping Maleficent in her scheme to take over all the worlds. He's also lending Hades a hand with his collection of Heartless.''


 * Pride Lands

Steamboat Willie (1928)

Pete's using the Heartless to get control over all the worlds.

''He's helping Scar's phantom, too. Seems like Pete's trying to cover all his bases.''


 * Timeless River

Steamboat Willie (1928)

''King Mickey's old nemesis. He traveled back in time on Maleficent's orders.''

''As part of Maleficent's scheme to take over Disney Castle, Pete plans to destroy the Cornerstone of Light. Without the Cornerstone, Disney Castle will be defenseless.''


 * Port Royal

Steamboat Willie (1928)

Pete's been a thorn in King Mickey's side ever since the days the King served on Pete's steamboat.

''Now Pete's teamed up with Captain Barbossa and his men. He's planning something bad - that much is certain.''