Kingdom Hearts/Characters/Heroes

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


This is a listing of the Heroes that appear in the Kingdom Hearts series. Visit here for the main characters index.


Sora

"C'mon, Riku! You've been hanging out in darkness too long. You gotta try and think positive!"
Click to see Sora as he appears in the first game and Chain of Memories
Click to see Sora as he appears in Dream Drop Distance

"I don't need a weapon! My friends are my power!"

Voiced by: Miyu Irino (Japanese), Haley Joel Osment (English)
—Young Sora voiced by: Takuto Yoshinaga (Japanese), Luke Manriquez (English)

A bright and spirited boy from Destiny Islands whose peaceful life is shattered when his home is destroyed by the Heartless, and finds himself in possession of a peculiar weapon called the Keyblade. As a hero chosen to battle the forces of darkness, Sora embarks on a quest to reunite with his friends and save all other worlds from suffering the same fate as his own.

  • Adorkable
  • All Your Powers Combined: Has access to all of the mobility options of the protagonists of Birth By Sleep in Kingdom Hearts II (the dodge roll only shows up in Final Mix, but it's otherwise intrinsic to him throughout the series). Aqua's cartwheel is hidden in Master Form, though.
    • Jack of All Stats: In comparison to Terra, Aqua, and Ventus. He's not as skilled a mage as Aqua, as fast as Ventus or as powerful as Terra, but is superior to them in the areas they don't specialize in. He's also not as adept at using the Keyblade's full potential as a Morph Weapon and lacks technique and finesse, but is learning as he goes along. Also specifically has this as his stat distribution in Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days.
  • Always Save the Girl: Sora says himself that Kairi means more to him than anything else. This is very apparent after he impales himself with the Keyblade of Heart to release her heart, even knowing that this will open the Final Keyhole and the Door to Darkness. Then, when Naminé writes herself over Kairi and Marluxia threatens to kill her unless she breaks Sora's mind and remakes them as her puppet, Sora was willing to allow this to happen if it meant her safety. And when Saïx tells him he has Kairi, Sora practically begged on his knees to take him to her. Saïx refused.
    • Lampshaded by several characters, especially Donald.
  • Anime Hair: Sweet Mother. His hair keeps its shape underwater.
  • Badass Adorable: Especially in the first game (Haley Joel Osment's younger voice in the English version definitely helps). In the second game he's pretty much a Badass Adorkable.
  • Badass on Paper: While he's still more or less of a badass of his own, to longtime fans of Disney his feats border on extreme in badassitude. To be precise, his Rogues Gallery consists of almost the entire Disney Villain pantheon, who have without exaggeration collectively inspired nightmares of children worldwide for nigh on three-quarters of century now. The games consist in part of Sora and co. beating them down spectacularly.
  • Berserk Button: Most notably Kairi; he tends to get very irrational when she is threatened or in danger, even to the point of alienating his friends, which is a notable change for him.
    • On the subject of his friends: harming them will not end well for you. A number of villains have found this out the hard way.
  • Beware the Nice Ones: Sora is a sweet and cheerful kid who wants to help anyone who has problems, even if he doesn't know them. He forgives those who want to reform themselves, he saves the universe, and his only wish is to reunite with his two best friends. Though, he's not called a "Keyblade Wielder" for no reason. To this date, he has slaughtered thousands of creatures of pure darkness who had the universe shaking with fear, thousands of the sneaky and cunning Nobodies, put down Xehanort's Heartless and Nobody, defeated the "Mistress of All Evil" and her associates -- a few of them being the Greek God of the Underworld, the Boogeyman himself, and the captain of an undead ghost pirate crew which not even the Royal Navy of the British Empire could defeat, and in the second game, he ain't afraid to insult them, make fun of them, or tell them to go to hell.
  • A Boy And His Dream Eater: Sora and Riku also develope quite adorable relationships with their starter Dream Eaters, Wandanyan and Koumori Bat, the first of which Sora ends up lovingly nicknnaming "Eata". Sora ends up keeping all his Dream Eaters for companionship in the end, when he decides to embark on a journey on his own.
  • Celebrity Voice Actor: In English, he can see dead people.
  • Character Tics: Putting his hands on the back of his head. He does it because of Ven's heart residing in his own.
  • Charles Atlas Superpower
  • The Chosen One: Though it turns out he wasn't at first.
    • The Chosen Zero: Some people don't believe it the first time they meet him, though.
    • The Unchosen One: Sora is the only character to claim a Keyblade without performing the Keyblade Inheritance Ceremony with a previous Keyblade Master. Aqua, unaware that she'd accidentally done it with Kairi earlier, considered it with Sora, but decided against it to prevent him from feeling the pain of fighting Riku if he gave into the darkness like Terra. It doesn't work. Ironically, his status as The Unchosen One is what leads him to becoming The Chosen One.
      • Specifically: The Keyblade originally meant for Riku changed its mind when Riku weakened his heart with darkness, instead making its way for the nearest suitable heart, Sora. Riku is able to use this to force the Keyblade away from Sora later on, though Sora proves his worth through his understanding of The Power of Friendship and definitively gains ownership over what was once Riku's Keyblade.
  • Chronic Hero Syndrome
  • Combination Attack: Sora's specialty is combining his powers with an allies.
  • Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass
  • Cute Little Fangs: His Halloween Town costume.
  • Divergent Character Evolution: With a single character, oddly enough. In Chain of Memories, Sora has a vast array of special attacks that build off his basic spells and attacks in Kingdom Hearts, with emphasis on his Magic Knight style, and massive expansion of magic techniques, while physical attacks being simple three hit combos or the Awesome but Impractical special attacks from the game. In Kingdom Hearts II, after having forgotten everything about Castle Oblivion, emphasis is on Sora being a Lightning Bruiser, with his main offensive abilities being finishers and combo enhancers that include a bit of Full-Contact Magic, everything under Multi Melee Master below, and slicing through skyscrapers (!), with magic still being powerful, but less useful and in less variety. Fastforward to 3D and Sora is back to Magic Knight.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Grows into this as the series progresses.
  • The Empath: The traditional signs of this are subtle, but definitely there. In keeping with his newfound role as The Messiah, it is explicitly stated that Sora's super-power is the ability to "connect his heart with anyone" -- ie: he heals hearts and brings people together simply by being in their proximity. Presumably, this is what his primary role in the story would have been, had Riku not screwed up his own destiny and left Sora to become The Unchosen One.
    • Coded ramps this up a notch by the final level, with much talk about Data-Sora willingly accepting the pain of others.
  • Expy: Of Sion Barzahd (The Bouncer) and Mickey Mouse.
  • Fingerless Gloves
  • Friendship Freak
  • The Hero
  • Heterosexual Life Partners: With Riku.
  • Incorruptible Pure Pureness: While there are characters in the series whose hearts are more pure than his, there's darkness in every heart, after all. The light in his heart is still pure and strong enough that he was able to protect Kairi's heart, open a door in the Realm of Nothingness to the Realm of Light, and repair Ventus's fractured heart while he was a newborn.
    • Played with later, though. In 3D Xehanort takes advantage of Sora's purity and empathy and uses it to break his heart and force him into the darkness.
  • Invisible Parents: But not neglectful. Sora's mom makes dinner, and Sora's dad cares enough to take his son and his son's best friend out to play when they were little. But...You never actually see them...
  • Japanese Pronouns: "Ore".
    • His newborn heart used "Boku", indicating that he was even purer and more innocent back then.
  • Keet
  • Knight Errant
  • Leitmotif: Gets one -- "Sora" -- in the second game when he first awakens.
  • Light'Em Up: Most of Sora's special attacks are light powered, like Ragnarok, Ars Arcanum, Faith/Holy, and of course Trinity Limit.
  • Man Behind the Man: Sora, Donald, and Goofy pretty much orchestrate each Disney Hero's success story, usually risking life and limb, while remaining more or less in the background.
  • Master of Unlocking: He is a Keyblade wielder, after all.
  • Magic Knight: In every game Sora is equally skilled in both swordplay and sorcery.
  • Master Swordsman: Works hand and hand with Implausible Fencing Powers.
    • Could be justified, however, with a bit of Fridge Brilliance. While he was still asleep in that chamber, Roxas was using the Keyblade as a member of Organization XIII and probably raised his skills farther than what Sora could do in the first game. Then when he merged back with Sora, all of his skills were unknowingly transferred to Sora.
      • Distinct here, because he seems to be almost entirely self-taught.
  • Meaningful Name: Sora means "Sky". Prequel character Ventus has a name meaning "Wind". Hmmm... To say nothing of the recurring line "There are many worlds, but they all share the same sky."
  • The Messiah: Seriously. Name a person he doesn't like that's not a bad guy.
  • Mind Hive: His drive system does not canonically function as this, despite what the in-game mechanics might imply. In addition, Roxas, Xion, Ven, and probably Vanitas are sheltering inside him.
    • Ven, Roxas, and Xion being inside of him is apparently going to be a major plot point in Dream Drop Distance. One of the recent trailers has Vanitas and someone who looks to be a younger Xehanort confronting Sora about "hearts other than your own!"

"I'm everyone!"

Riku

"I've always wondered why we're here on this island. If there are other worlds out there, why did we end up on this one? And... suppose there are other worlds... then that means ours is just a little piece of something much greater!"

Click to see Riku as he appears in the first game and Chain of Memories.
Click to see Riku as he appears in the 358/2 Days.
Click to see Riku as he appears in Kingdom Hearts 3D

"Once we step through, we might not be able to come back. We may never see our parents again. There's no turning back. But this may be our only chance. We can't let fear stop us! I'm not afraid of the darkness!"

Voiced by: Mamoru Miyano (Japanese), David Gallagher (English)
—Young Riku voiced by: Eiji Shima (Japanese), Ty Panitz (English)

Sora's best friend and rival. His desire to see something greater beyond his tiny, secluded island home led to him being seduced by the forces of darkness. But once he realizes the harm he's caused, he begins working in the shadows to assist Sora in whatever way possible. He's actually the original owner of Sora's Keyblade, but has to work to get his own when the Keyblade decides Sora is more fit.

"I don't know Riku, you say some weird stuff sometimes, but I'll try it!"

Kairi

"Maybe... waiting isn't good enough."
(Click to see Kairi as she appears in the first game and Chain of Memories)

"Don't ever forget. Wherever you go, I'm always with you."

Voiced by: Risa Uchida (Japanese), Hayden Panettiere/Alyson Stoner (English)
—Young Kairi voiced by: Sumire Moroboshi (Japanese), Ariel Winter (English)

A close friend of Sora and Riku who came to Destiny Islands from Radiant Garden, which sparked their interest in other worlds. Much of her role involves waiting to be rescued or waiting for her friends to return from their journeys. She's one of the seven Princesses of Heart, possessing no darkness in her heart. In the The Stinger Reconnect ending of 3D Riku brings Kairi to Yen Sid to begin her Keyblade training.


King Mickey

"Helping others should always come before asking others for help."
"Keyblades are not something you use just to bully somebody around!"
—Voiced by:Takashi Aoyagi (Japanese), Wayne Allwine/Bret Iwan (English)

The King of Disney Castle, and a Keyblade Master. He's one of the first to notice how much danger the worlds are in, and one of the first to take action. When he leaves on a journey and doesn't come back, Donald and Goofy set out to find him. Although they meet a few times, Mickey is usually one step ahead of them and has a better idea of what's going on.

Mickey: "They'll pay for this."[3]

  • Mickey Mouse
  • Older Than He Looks: Though Mickey has generally been timeless (and Kingdom Hearts has odd implications in that direction as well), he was already a King and Keyblade Master ten years previous to the main story, making him on the way to middle age. Despite that, he still displays the characteristic youthful Mickey Mouse exuberance and looks no different than any other portrayal (excepting the clothes, of course). That said, see Vague Age.
  • One-Scene Wonder: Mickey was only allowed in one scene in the first game; Tetsuya Nomura made sure to make it count.
  • The Other Darrin: Wayne Allwine, the longstanding voice of Mickey since the late '70s, died in May of 2009, shortly after he finished recording for Days. Birth by Sleep marks the debut of Bret Iwan as Mickey.
  • Personality Powers
  • Rodent of Unusual Size
  • Royals Who Actually Do Something: Our mentor character, ladies and gentlemen.
  • Sixth Ranger: To Terra, Aqua, and Ven as well as Sora's group.
  • Spanner in the Works: In Birth By Sleep. The plan was for Vanitas to take over Ventus's body and form the χ-blade while Master Xehanort committed Grand Theft Me on Terra, and sometime while he dealt with Ventus Vanitas would kill Aqua. Unfortunately for them Mickey happened upon the scene and saved her, an act that would lead to Aqua further disrupting their schemes.
  • Supporting Leader
  • Took a Level In Badass: The exact process is detailed in Birth by Sleep.
    • Although by the start of Birth By Sleep, he had apparently already completed his training and become King of Disney Castle. He does gain more actual experience in exploring the worlds and combating Unversed, culminating in his takedown-assist of Vanitas.
  • Vague Age: He was a King and Keyblade Master with the same general outlook and personality (minus some character development) ten years previously. However, Timeless River shows him to be acting vastly different sometime in the past while still appearing to be the same general age. Pete seems to imply that the events happened as depicted. If so, than Kingdom Hearts may be going for the same timeless chronology regarding Mickey Mouse as, for instance, Epic Mickey did, with decades of animation history all simultaneously being in Mickey's past.
  • Weapon of Choice: The Keyblade of the Dark Realm, Kingdom Key D, a counterpart to Sora's Kingdom Key. In Birth By Sleep, he wields the familiar Star Seeker, and uses it again in Coded and back to Kingdom Key D in 3D. In his past however we find he learned his sword fighting wielding a Royal Rapier.
  • Worthy Opponent: Xehanort seems to think so in KH3D. Notable considering how little Xehanort cares for any of the other protagonists beyond their usefulness to him. Mickey seems to be the only foe Xehanort actually respects at this point.


Donald Duck

"Confounded Heartless! Get lost will ya?"
"Aw, what do you know you big palooka...?"
—Voiced by: Koichi Yamadera (Japanese), Tony Anselmo (English)

A fiery-tempered magician and a member of King Mickey's court at Disney Castle. Sent to find and follow the Keyblade bearer, he joins up with Sora to help him save the worlds and becomes one of his closest friends.


Goofy

"All for one and one for all!
"I'm not going to betray Sora, either!"
—Voiced by:Yu Shimaka (Japanese), Bill Farmer (English)

The mild-mannered yet loyal Captain of the Royal Knights at Disney Castle. Same deal as Donald.


Terra

"What I do, I do for friendship."
"Aqua... Ven... I won't let him hurt you."
—Voiced by: Ryotaro Okiayu (Japanese), Jason Dohring (English)

An aspiring Keyblade Master who is denied the title due to the darkness in his heart. He is manipulated by Master Xehanort into embracing and channeling that darkness. Though he wises up, his body is taken over by Master Xehanort, becoming the infamous Xehanort known today. His mind still exists within the Keyblade Graveyard as the Lingering Will.

  • Aesop Amnesia: Damn it Terra, STOP LISTENING TO OBVIOUS VILLAINS!
    • To be fair, the only one he truly helped was Maleficent; after that, he fixed what he would mess up.
  • Animated Armor
  • And I Must Scream
  • Anti-Hero: Type II, a "Disney Anti-Hero".
  • A Sinister Clue: A rare Anti-Heroic example who doesn't fall under The Southpaw. Though he swings his Keyblade with his right hand like the other protagonists, Terra's dark powers tend to manifest through his left, to the point where his finishers in Dark Impulse mode involve turning it into a huge, grasping claw. Nice touch, Square-Enix.
  • Badass Cape: As the Lingering Will. Sadly, it had to be removed for gameplay in Birth by Sleep due to programming difficulties.
  • Battle Aura: A vaguely flame-like, pitch-black one whenever he taps into the power of darkness.
  • Berserk Button: Same as Aqua's. Only it's not just villains who can trigger it, as Master Eraqus can attest.
  • Big Brother Instinct
    • Knight Templar Big Brother: This develops by the end of the game in regards to everyone seeming to want to end Ven's existence, whether they were good people or bad people.
  • Blue Eyes
  • Body Snatched
  • Bonus Boss: As the Lingering Will in Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix.
  • Broken Ace
  • Captain Obvious: He has a stange tendency to always announce when Unversed appeared.
  • Combat Tropes
    • BFK: Big Freakin' Key.
      • And he can transform it into a BFG. Terra doesn't mess around.
      • Morph Weapon: Moreso than anyone else in the series with a Keyblade. As said above, Terra can turn his Keyblade into a positively enormous cannon. Like the rest of the trio, it can also turn into a hovercycle capable of travelling through the universe like a Gummi Ship. When you face him as the Lingering Will, he ups the ante with additional forms like a whip and a bow and arrow.
    • Casting a Shadow: His specialties are darkness and earth spells. He even has a D-Link with Maleficent.
    • Diagonal Cut: His exclusive Zantesuken move (which can also One Hit KO).
    • Dishing Out Dirt: His strongest magics are earth spells like Quake and Meteor. He can also use the element in physical attacks.
    • Flash Step: Despite being the Mighty Glacier of the trio, he does have access to a few, namely his exclusive Sonic Shadow and Chaos Blade moves (which also use a brief Teleport Spam).
    • Mighty Glacier: Hits like a tank, and moves and attacks about as fast as one too.
      • Glass Cannon: Begins to overlap with this. He becomes fairly speedy with Critical Impact and Dark Impulse, but Aqua's Barrier and Ven's Dodge Roll are more effective against the Bonus Bosses than Terra's Slide and Block. His sole defensive advantage over them is his higher HP.
    • Super Mode: Command Styles, which boost offensive power:
      • Critical Impact: Terra's attacks become much stronger and a bit faster. Leaps into the air and slams the ground to send out a shockwave as a finisher.
      • Firestorm: Keyblade turns into a Flaming Sword. Terra creates a wave of flame pillars as a finishing move.
      • Diamond Dust: Keyblade acquires ice powers. Terra summons a large explosion of ice around him as a finisher.
      • Thunderbolt: Keyblade crackles with lightning. Terra creates a storm of lightning bolts overhead as a finisher.
      • Rock Breaker: Terra's attacks become earth-based and he excels at ground combat. He sends homing rock spears flying around as a finisher.
      • Dark Impulse: Terra's attacks become dark-based, and his gauntlet slams enemies with a large fist of darkness. Teleports under enemies to deliver an uppercut as a finisher.
      • BladeCharge: Keyblade becomes engulfed in light, giving a huge boost to the range of attacks. Uses an overhead Spin Attack as a finisher.
      • Frozen Fortune: Triggered by using ice cream items to fill the command gauge, uses ice to attack. Creates a field of ice orbs in the air that explode as a finisher.
      • Rhythm Mixer: Exclusive to Final Mix, spin and fly through the air to attack with dance-like attack. Create a trio of symbols and beat them to send out soundwaves as a finisher.
  • Cool Bike: His Keyblade Glider.
  • Dull Surprise: Jason Dohring's performance, except when he's really angry.
    • It should be noted that Jason Dohring's performance isn't completely emotionless, as can be seen with anger. But contrary to what Game Spot says, Dohring's acting is actually much better when he is in a scene with other characters, especially later in the game as Dohring got more comfortable with portraying the character. Though obviously it's still a large case of your Your Mileage May Vary.
  • Emotional Bruiser
  • Estrogen Brigade Bait: For some. The tight clothing he wears definitely helps. And he'll do vertical push-ups on command.
  • Everything's Better with Samurai: Well, do you have a better explanation for the hakama?
  • Eyes of Gold: At the end of II's secret ending.
  • Face Heel Turn: Subverted. Many people assumed that he was going to pull one to become the current Xehanort. In reality, he winds up possessed by the real Big Bad, Master Xehanort, and is currently serving as his vessel.
  • Fatal Flaw/Ambition Is Evil
  • Fighting From the Inside: It's what lets Aqua overcome his Xehanort-possessed body when she joins him in his Battle in the Center of the Mind.
  • Gender Blender Name: Terra is a girl's name.
  • Heel Realization
  • Heroic Spirit
  • Hero with an F In Good: At first. He improves it to a B+ over time.
  • Hey, It's That Voice!: (Hi Logan!)
  • Horrible Judge of Character: Even if he has some distrust of them, he winds up listening to Maleficent, the Evil Queen, Hades, Jumba Jookiba, Captain Hook, and (of course) Master Xehanort. It never ends up well for him.
    • To put that into perspective, the only villains in the game that Terra doesn't ally with are Lady Tremaine, Pete, and Braig. He's after Vanitas too, but they never actually meet until the very end.
      • To be fair though, Terra never really trusted Hades or Captain Hook, and never had any intention of helping the Evil Queen and was actually planning more on keeping Snow White safe just in case Master Xehanort showed up. However, he still doesn't seem to learn until after Master Xehanort tricks him into attacking Master Eraqus.
      • Justified in the Deep Space scenario, Jumba said he was put in prison for ridiculous charges and this was after Terra himself was dragged into the ship and imprisoned for almost no apparent reason.
    • Genre Blindness
    • Lampshaded by Peter Pan if you talk to him in Neverland after finishing the storyline there.

Peter: I'd watch out if I were you. You look like an easy guy to trick.

    • And earlier by Hades:

Hades: Wait... Dark, moody, powerful. Yes! He's perfect.

What I do, I do for friendship.

  • Japanese Pronouns: "Ore".
  • Laser-Guided Karma: Much like Riku, he gave into the darkness. Although Terra's consequences in comparison were much worse.
  • Leitmotif: "Terra", which is lifted from "Fate of the Unknown", the track that plays under the secret video of Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix.
  • Identical Stranger: Master Xehanort looked suspiciously like Terra in his youth especially after Xehanort's possession leaves him Hades Shaded.
  • Meaningful Name: Shares the "earth" theme with Riku, though he has no relation to him outside of character role, Keyblade succession, and getting possessed by Xehanort.
  • Missed the Call: According to Word of God, Terra has the skill and power of a Keyblade Master and thus is essentially one in all but title -- that's why he's able to perform the Rite of Succession with Riku. However, due to Eraqus's concern for the darkness in his heart, he chooses to make Aqua a Master instead. If Xehanort hadn't sabotaged Terra during the exam, it's likely that Terra could have made Master too, and Xehanort's manpulations of his insecurities may not have gone so well.
  • Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: See the spoiled trope below, but also, he inspired Riku, more than he already was to leave his world, most likely causing him to jump at the call as early as he did.
  • Original Generation
  • Personality Powers: Specializes in earth and darkness and is stubborn, hard headed, and brooding.
  • The Power of Hate: His hatred for Xehanort builds and builds leading up to the final battle as he realizes Xehanort manipulated him into killing Eraqus and more. Then reaches critical mass when his hatred for Xehanort becomes so intense that he reanimates his armor to fight Xehanort when he loses his body.
    • Unstoppable Rage: There's a reason the Theme Music Power-Up used when he rises against the new Xehanort is called "Rage Awakened". For once the barrier surrounding the battlefield is the hero's, to make sure Xehanort has nowhere to run and no one can interfere.
  • Rage Against the Mentor: Causes a pivotal turning point in the plot.
  • Signature Move: Ultima Cannon! Terra-Xehanort and The Lingering Will can also use it because both of them were once Terra in a way.
  • Single-Stroke Battle: The only one of the Birth By Sleep trio to learn Zantetsuken. In his case, the attack has him flash past his foes as he strikes, with a very high chance of instantly killing the enemies he hits.
  • Skilled but Naive
  • Tears of Remorse:
  • Theme Music Power-Up: Used as a tragic piece when his theme plays when he fights Eraqus. The Lingering Will gets one when it fights Terranort with Rage Awakened playing.
  • Took a Level In Badass: Through accepting his heart's darkness, but like Riku, it has its costs.
    • Not only did he defeat Master Xehanort, when Xehanort stole his body at the conclusion of the fight, he animated his armor out of force of will and defeated him again!
  • Tragic Hero
  • Unwitting Pawn
  • Weapon of Choice: The Earthshaker keyblade which is later upgraded to Ends Of The Earth.
  • What the Hell, Hero?


Ventus ("Ven")

"Friends forever..."
"At least I have some [friends]! I've become a part of their heart, just as they've become a part of mine. My friends are my power... and I'm theirs!"
—Voiced by: Kouki Uchiyama (Japanese), Jesse McCartney (English),

A rookie Keyblade wielder who trains alongside Terra and Aqua at the Land of Departure. He runs away from home to chase after Terra after receiving a warning of things to come. His heart, which has been stripped clean of darkness, is required to create the legendary χ-blade. Ven loses his heart when he destroys the χ-blade, and is currently recovering in Castle Oblivion while Sora holds on to his heart.

"My name's Ventus. Call me Ven."

  • And I Must Scream: Just like the secret ending from Final Mix+, Ventus is frozen alive by Master Xehanort. Granted, he does escape via Heroic Willpower just in the nick of time to save Aqua, but winds up being pinned down by some Unversed just for Vanitas to commit Grand Theft Me. Poor guy.
  • Battle in the Center of the Mind: With Vanitas.
  • Big Brother Worship: Of Terra. It's rather depressing how long it takes for poor Ven to accept that maybe there is something bad going on with him.
  • Blue Eyes
  • Character Tics: He often places his hands behind his head like Sora does.
  • Call Forward: Nearly replicates Sora's famous speech to Riku.
    • Another possible one might involve Master Eraqus mentioning how Ventus was never meant to exist, similarly to how Naminé mentions how Roxas was never meant to exist.
  • Celebrity Voice Actor: Like Roxas, Jesse McCartney.
  • Cool Board: His Keyblade Glider is basically a Galaxy Glider.
  • Combat Tropes
    • Blow You Away: His most powerful spells are wind-based like Tornado, and one of his first signature Command Styles is Cyclone. His final shotlock even combines wind magic with his light magic.
    • Fastball Special: When teamed up with Hercules, he is thrown, but when teamed with Stitch, he does the throwing.
    • Fragile Speedster: Has the fastest attacks but the lowest HP growth. Curiously though, his defense is the highest, but only by a couple points.
    • Holy Hand Grenade/Light'Em Up: Each character specializes in at least two elements. Ven's specialty aside from wind is light-based spells like Faith and Salvation. Also reflected in his Wingblade Command Style which is basically his version of Sora's Final Form.
    • Magic Knight: Ventus is more balanced in magic and sword fighting compared Terra and Aqua who focus one one or the other.
    • Multi Wielding: Gets six swords of light in his Wingblade style and holds one in each hand, with the others floating behind him.
    • Super Mode: Command Styles, which boost offensive power:
      • Fever Pitch: Ven's attacks get even faster. Finishing move is a long combo with beams of light.
      • Firestorm: Keyblade turns into a Flaming Sword. Ven creates a storm of flame pillars as a finishing move.
      • Diamond Dust: Keyblade acquires ice powers, Ven summons a large explosion of ice around him as a finishing move.
      • Thunderbolt: Keyblade crackles with lightning, Ven creates a storm of lightning bolts overhead as a finisher.
      • Cyclone: Ven spams Spin Attacks with wind-elemental powers and uses a stronger Spin Attack as a finisher.
      • Skyclimber: Greatly boosts Ven's proficiency with aerial attacks, Ven rides his Keyblade like a skateboard to hit enemies as a finisher.
      • Wingblade: Ven discards his Keyblade for six blades of light that float behind him, grabbing them to dual-wield and using long, powerful combos. Uses Instant Runes to blow up enemies as a finisher.
      • Frozen Fortune: Triggered by using ice cream items to fill the command gauge, uses ice to attack. Creates a field of ice orbs in the air that explode as a finisher.
      • Rhythm Mixer: Exclusive to Final Mix, spin and fly through the air to attack with dance-like attack. Create a trio of symbols and beat them to send out soundwaves as a finisher.
    • Reverse Grip
  • Dark Is Not Evil: Even as Xehanort's apprentice, before his darkness was extracted to make Vanitas, he was largely the same person he is now. In fact, the reason his darkness was removed in the first place was because he was too soft for Xehanort's purposes, even with all that darkness within him.
  • Decoy Protagonist: You'd think he'd be the chief protagonist due to his resemblance to Sora and Roxas. As it stands, both Terra and Aqua are both somewhat more important protagonists.
    • It could be compared to the events of the first game. While Sora was the one wielding the Keyblade, it was Riku who was supposed to get it as he was the one chosen by Terra, and then to add more insult to injury, Kairi of all people was officially chosen to be a Keyblade Wielder although, Aqua didn't know what she was doing.
  • Demonic Possession: If Vanitas can truly be percieved as a demon.
  • Determinator: Despite Vanitas completely outclassing him the last time they fought, Ven adamantly refuses to give up when the time comes for their rematch. His determination is so strong that he willingly destroys Vanitas and inflicts catastrophic damage on his own heart to keep his Evil Counterpart from wielding the χ-Blade.
  • Despair Event Horizon: He crossed it when Master Xehanort told him of his true nature.
  • Dull Eyes of Unhappiness: Whenever his heart is in critical condition.
  • Everything's Better with Spinning: He has an entire fighting style based on this concept called Cyclone.
  • Expy: Not just similar, but identical in appearance and voice (both English and Japanese) to Roxas. This is a major plot point.
  • Friendship Freak: Just may be the biggest one in the series. His motivation through his entire story can be summed as making/saving/protecting friends.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: He destroyed the χ-blade even though he knew it would destroy his heart, along with Vanitas's.
  • Incorruptible Pure Pureness: The three fairies of Sleeping Beauty even note that he's just like Aurora, with no darkness in his heart. As it turns out, it's because his darkness has been forcefully removed and personified as Vanitas.
  • Japanese Pronouns: "Ore".
  • Just a Kid: The reason he's not allowed to take the Master Qualification Exam.
  • Leitmotif: "Ventus", a mix of Sora's and Roxas' themes.
  • Identical Stranger: Is identical to Sora with the exception of hairstyle/color.
  • MacGuffin Guy
  • Meaningful Name: Ventus = wind. Sora = sky. Do the math.
  • Mythology Gag: While every character shares some of their trademark skills with Sora, which is more or less just a testament to them being series mainstays, Ven gets Ars Arcanum, several variations of Dodge Roll, Glide, and Strike Raid, and his Wingblade command style is heavily based on Final Form in appearance and fighting style, with a combo finisher that looks like Trinity. And for good measure, Faith and Salvation create pillars of light to attack enemies like Roxas's Event Horizon.
  • Only Known by Their Nickname
  • Original Generation
  • Personality Powers: Specializes in wind and light and is bright and cheerful.
  • The Power of Friendship: See the above quote.
  • Pyrrhic Victory
  • Shirtless Scene: In his awakening.
  • Took a Level In Badass: When he first fights Vanitas, he gets pummeled and needs Mickey to pull a Big Damn Heroes moment. By the end of the game he manages to beat Vanitas one-on-one, while Vanitas is armed with the χ-blade.
  • Trauma-Induced Amnesia
  • Teens Are Short: He's only a few years younger than Terra and Aqua, but he's only a couple inches taller than Ienzo, who's a preteen.
  • Weapon of Choice: The Wayward Wind keyblade, specially designed for Reverse Grip.


Aqua

"The three of us... will always be one."

"Power is born within the heart. When the time is right, you just need to look inside yourself... and you'll find it there."

Voiced by: Megumi Toyoguchi (Japanese), Willa Holland (English)

The only one of her trio of friends to become a Keyblade Master. She is tasked with looking after Terra to keep him from succumbing to darkness, and to bring Ventus back to the Land of Departure after he runs away from home. Her actions lead her to being trapped in the Realm of Darkness in a desperate bid to save Terra, and inadvertently brings about the destruction of many worlds.

  • The Ace
  • Action Girl: Is primarily a magic user, which she can combine into a few good physical attacks. There's a reason she's the one with the Master rank, after all.
    • Affirmative Action Girl: Though Kairi had fought in cut-scene form before, and Xion and Larxene had been playable in Days's multiplayer mode, Aqua is the first proper female player character.
  • Back-to-Back Badasses: Subverted when she tells Zack to sit on the sidelines before her battle with Hades and the Ice Colossus. Later played straight in an awesome fashion when she teams up with fellow Memetic Badass Mickey to fend off a Vanitas-possessed Ven.
  • Badass: Let's see, she's the only of the trio to get the Mark of Master, she delivers a Shut UP, Hannibal to every villain she meets, she turns out to be a Spanner in the Works, and in pretty much every world you visit, it's Aqua who sets things right. On top of all this, she tends to be more of a Game Breaker than Terra and Ven due to her high magic stat. Not to mention that after eleven years in the Realm of Darkness, her heart is so strong she hasn't been corrupted yet.
    • Aqua fights Xehanort in a one-on-one duel at the height of his power, a youthful, skilled, Lightning Bruiser Keyblade Master with the Guardian and all the powers of darkness. With a bit of help from Terra who's Fighting From the Inside, she's able to overpower him until he resorts to locking his own memories to get rid of Terra's interference. Keep in mind this is shortly after she wakes up after being knocked unconscious when she and Mickey fought the Vanitas-possessed Ven and she used The Power of Friendship to destroy the χ-blade.
  • Berserk Button: Do not say or do anything bad to or about her friends. Vanitas, Braig, and Xehanort learned this the hard way.
  • Blade of Fearsome Size: One of her transformations turns her Keyblade into a laser sword with massive reach. Now if only she had Blasting Zone as a technique.
  • Blessed with Suck: Often her Ghost Drive style can be more of a hinderance than a boon, as it teleports when she attacks and dodges, making it hard to control her properly.
  • Boobs of Steel: Being that she's several years older than the other main female heroes seen so far, she's more physically developed, and is certainly the most powerful of them, as well as one of the most powerful heroes period.
  • The Chick AND The Hero: Much to everyone's surprise, Aqua does most of the heroics in the game, wraps up almost all of the Disney stories, and is the longest lasting original character in the series making it all the way to the end without turning evil or comatose at some point or other, all while maintaining a motherly/sisterly role.
  • Women Are Wiser: She is the only one of the trio who qualifies to become a Keyblade Master. Ven's too inexperienced to apply, and Terra has too much darkness in him. Though in Terra's defense, he was sabotaged.
  • Combat Tropes
    • The Archer: Her Keyblade's vehicle form also works as an enormous energy bow. Sadly, you can only use it during Keyblade Ride games, unlike Terra's BFG.
    • Barrier Warrior: Not exclusively, but where Terra and Ventus block attacks with their Keyblades, Aqua throws up a Beehive Barrier that protects her from all directions. She also learns skills to dash while projecting a barrier to damage enemies, can explode her barrier outwards to damage enemies, and is the only character who can use her Block skill in midair.
    • Fastball Special: She tosses Stitch at enemies when teamed up with him. When teamed up with Prince Phillip, however, he tosses her instead.
    • Fire, Ice, Lightning: While Terra gets Earth and Dark attacks and Ven gets Wind and Light, Aqua actually has no preference towards Water and instead focuses her skills in these three areas. Not counting the Non-Elemental ones, her unique magic skills are Triple Blizzaga, Triple Firaga, Thundaga Shot, Raging Storm, Glacier, Firaga Burst, and Ice Barrage.
    • Flash Step: Many of her spells and special attacks include this. Her "Ghost Drive" Command style makes all of her attacks Flash Steps.
    • Full-Contact Magic
    • Glass Cannon: She attacks fast, and later, on her spells seriously hurt. Sadly, her HP is unimpressive.
    • Lady of War: While Ven and Terra assume typical battle stances, Aqua stands perfectly poised even in the heat of battle. Her first Command Style, Spellweaver, hammers this concept home, where she attacks with graceful Keyblade flips and twirls.
    • Light'Em Up: Her Spellweaver and Ghost Drive magic, Magic Pulse finishers up to and including Teleport Spike, and her Lightbloom shotlock, appear as glowing white orbs of Pure Energy. She also has Roxas's Magic Hour.
    • Making a Splash: Unlike Terra and Ventus, who get a spell for their elemental namesake, Aqua's only water attack is her starting shotlock Bubble Blast. Instead her element is shown through her unique Keyblades, Rainfell and Stormfall, and her Infinity-1 Sword Brightcrest.
    • Spin Attack: Many, including her Spell Waver and Blade Charge finishers, and her Lightbloom Shotlock.
    • Squishy Wizard: She's got the lowest defense, is only slightly faster than Terra (but with a better dodge), and lacks in sword skills. However, Terra and Ven each control two magic elements (darkness and earth, light and wind), she specializes in magic in general, having a powerhouse spell in the Fire, Ice, Lightning trio, some powerful spells of nonstandard magic types, and her guard is replaced by a Reflect spell.
    • Super Mode: Command Styles, which boost offensive power:
      • Spell Weaver: Aqua enchants her Keyblade with magic, using fancy sword throws and twirls to attack and an extended Spin Attack as a finisher.
      • Firestorm: Keyblade turns into a Flaming Sword. Aqua creates a wave of flame pillars as a finishing move.
      • Diamond Dust: Keyblade acquires ice powers. Aqua summons a large explosion of ice around her as a finisher.
      • Thunderbolt: Keyblade crackles with lightning. Aqua creates a storm of lightning bolts overhead as a finisher.
      • Ghost Drive: Flash Steps to attack enemies and teleports instead of cartwheeling for a dodge. Stab spears of light into the ground and explode them as a finisher.
      • Skyclimber: Greatly boosts Aqua's proficiency with aerial attacks. Aqua rides her Keyblade like a skateboard to hit enemies as a finisher.
      • BladeCharge: Keyblade becomes engulfed in light, giving a huge boost to the range of attacks. Uses an overhead Spin Attack as a finisher.
      • Frozen Fortune: Triggered by using ice cream items to fill the command gauge, uses ice to attack. Creates a field of ice orbs in the air that explode as a finisher.
      • Rhythm Mixer: Exclusive to Final Mix, spin and fly through the air to attack with dance-like attack. Create a trio of symbols and beat them to send out soundwaves as a finisher.
    • She Fu
    • Teleport Spam: With many of her attacks.
  • Curtains Match the Window
  • Cute Bruiser
  • Detached Sleeves
  • Double Jump: Doubleflight
  • Distaff Counterpart: To Sora to a a certain extent
  • Dull Surprise: Willa Holland isn't as bad at this as Jason Dohring, but still frequent. However, sometimes it works -- when Aqua mutters dully "first things first" after encountering Unversed in one world, she sounds bored with the idea that there's yet another swarm of Mooks to mow down, which one probably would be in her situation.
  • Eleventh-Hour Superpower: She gains the Brightcrest Keyblade in the Final Chapter. It possesses very impressive range, makes critical hits a 75% chance, and provides an outstanding boost to her already impressive magic stat.
    • She gets yet another one, namely Eraqus's Keyblade, Master Keeper, during the Secret Episode. It has the same range and magic rating as Brightcrest, but with additional physical strength.
  • Expy: Averted contrary to expectations. Though she's the female in the Two Guys and a Girl Power Trio and looks like an older version of Kairi (and by extension Kairi's own Expies), Aqua is closer to the Team Mom rather then The Heart/The Chick.
  • Everything's Better with Spinning: Her final Shotlock Lightbloom.
  • Fighting Your Friend: Poor girl had to fight both of them.
  • Fingerless Gloves
  • Friendship Freak: Nearly as much as Sora.
  • Hot Chick With A Keyblade
  • Incorruptible Pure Pureness: Because she follows Eraqus's teachings so strongly, she has only a small bit of darkness in her heart. This leads Vanitas to plan to use her as a back up for the Master Plan, and her heart is strong enough to not be consumed in the Realm of Darkness without her armor or a Black Coat for 11 years.
  • Japanese Pronouns: "Watashi"
  • Jiggle Physics: Part of the reason that ESRB tagged the game with "Mild Suggestive Themes".
  • Leitmotif: "Aqua", which is lifted from "Fate of the Unknown", the track that plays under the secret video of Kingdom Hearts II's Final Mix.
  • Male Gaze: Pay close attention to where Hades's eyes briefly wander.
  • Meaningful Name: As detailed above for Kairi, Aqua continues the "water/sea" theme, though she's not related to her aside from Keyblade succession.
  • My Name Is Master Aqua

"Now return my friend's heart, or pay the price!"

  • Mythology Gag: The scene in which we are introduced to her is played out in exactly the same way we met Kairi in the first game, only with a more sisterly tone than romantic. Likewise, the lucky charms Aqua made were inspired from a misinterpretation of the two tales we heard in the first game, with the thalassa shell charm made by sailors for safe returns merged with the binding properties of the Paopu fruit.
  • Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Letting Maleficent go and saving Terranort wasn't exactly the best thing for the universe....
    • Nor was her creating Castle Oblivion. To be fair, she probably didn't realize that it would be used by Terranort's Nobody, Xemnas & his crew for more nefarious purposes later on.
  • Onee-Sama: Arguably qualifies as this to all of the Princesses of Heart she encounters, Kairi and Cinderella in particular.
  • Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping: Willa Holland has a slight British accent, but in one of Ven's flashbacks, her accent comes unbelievably strong. Just listen to her cast Fire or Magnet spells; her British-style "r" is unmistakable.
  • Original Generation
  • Personality Powers: Specializes in magic in general and (minorly) water, and is levelheaded and intelligent.
  • The Power of Friendship: It can create a Spirit Sword.
  • Senseless Sacrifice: She gives up her armor and her Keyblade to save Terra. While she turned out fine, she has to spend the next decade stuck in a hostile world at a serious disadvantage, and saving Terra turns out to set most of Xehanort's evil deeds in motion.
  • Sexy Backless Outfit: To the point where it had to be toned down... not that it changed much.
    • For those of you curious, here [dead link] is the Sexy Backless Outfit to end all Sexy Backless Outfits.
  • She Is the King: Master Aqua.
  • Spanner in the Works: Vanitas tries to kill her off several times during the game as he and Master Xehanort only need Terra and Ven for their schemes. Except she kept surviving and ultimately defeated the both of them after Terra and Ven were possessed.
  • Static Character: While she may do most of the heroics of the game, she does not do much growth as a character and essentially remains the same person as when she started.
  • Sugar and Ice Personality: Nomura says that, "She puts up a cold front, but she's kind to her friends."
  • Supporting Protagonist: Although the plot focuses more on Terra, Aqua spends more time as the Protagonist of Birth By Sleep. She also serves as The Hero of the epilogue.
  • Take Up My Sword: Eraqus told her that if he were ever killed, she should take his Keyblade as her own and use it to take control of the Land of Departure. In the Last Chapter, she does just that.
  • Teacher's Pet: Described by Nomura as an Honor Student type. She follows Master Eraqus's orders without question, and even (albeit reluctantly) spies on Terra for him.
  • Team Mom: To Peter Pan and the lost boys.
  • Trapped in Another World: Come the ending of Birth By Sleep, Aqua's stuck in the World of Darkness and, according to the secret ending, was there until some time after Kingdom Hearts II. Ansem says he met Sora a year ago, which would put Aqua's imprisonment at around twelve years. However, the secret ending of Final Mix implies that she still had more adventures down there and wasn't just wandering around.
  • Weapon of Choice: Rainfell and later the upgrade Stormfall keyblade, once she gives it up to save the possessed Terra she wields the Master Keeper.
  • Women Are Wiser: Played with, she is more mature and centered then Terra and Ven but to them she can come off as high and mighty and a busybody.
  • You Gotta Have Blue Hair
  • Zettai Ryouiki: *ahem*
  1. ↑ a character she only voiced for one line in BBS
  2. ↑ a character who she's consistently voiced throughout the series' main numbered entries
  3. ↑ The "this" in question doubles as a case of It's Personal, given that Goofy just appeared to have died.
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