TheKingdom Heartsfranchise is considered to be one of the most confusing and convoluted by many gamers. Though there are only three main titles, there are a lot of spin-offs that are equally important to understanding the series. A couple of installments in between the original game andKingdom Hearts IIchange the context of many moments for those that have played them and those that haven’t.
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When fans begin playing thehighly praised sequel, they are introduced to a brand new main character named Roxas. The first few hours of the game show players what his life is like in Twilight Town. As the players progress, they find that Roxas' life isn’t as simple and clean as it may initially seem, only for Roxas to disappear as Sora makes his appearance. But who exactly was Roxas? Why was Sora sleeping in a pod? For those that haven’t played games likeChain of Memoriesand358/2 Days, here are the answers to these questions and more.
10Maleficent Went Back In Time
Maleficent was defeated towards the end of the original game, yet she mysteriously returned inKingdom Hearts II. It turns out that she learned how to time travel and went back decades prior in the time period ofUnion X. There, she had hoped that she’d be able to change history to obtain her goal but quickly learned that this couldn’t be done. She encountered a being known as Darkness, who helped her return to her time by using the ark, bringing her back inKingdom Hearts II.
9Roxas And Namine Were Born
When Sora sacrificed himself at the end of the original game, he became a heartless. What he didn’t know at the time is that he also became a nobody, another type of creature in the series that wasn’t from the first installment. This nobody turned out to be Roxas, who became a member of Organization XIII early on in his short life. As Sora also had Kairi’s heart inside of him when he made the ultimate sacrifice, another nobody was created. This nobody was Namine, a witch that could manipulate memories. These two became important characters in the following games.
8The First Replicas Were Created
Another nobody in Organization XIII was a scientist named Vexen. His most important experiment throughout the series was the Replica Program, which helped Organization XIII out in many titles. In between the first two main games, he created Riku Replica and Xion.
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Riku Replica was introduced inChain of Memoriesas a rival to Sora, and players fought him a few times. Xion, on the other hand, was introduced in358/2 Daysas Organization XIII’s fourteenth member anda keyblade wielderthat could replace Roxas.
7Sora, Donald, And Goofy Fought Organization XIII
Organization XIII wasn’t first introduced inKingdom Hearts II. In fact, only about half of the members were in that game, while others had already been defeated. When they went to Castle Oblivion,Sora and his friendsfought Marluxia, Larxene, Vexen, and Axel. Riku was also in the castle and met Vexen (which is when Riku Replica was created), Lexaeus, and Zexion. Axel was the only member that survived the fights he was in as the others were in the organization’s way and he was ordered to get rid of them.
6Sora, Donald, And Goofy Lost Their Memories
Upon arriving atCastle Oblivion, Sora, Donald, and Goofy began to lose their memories. The further they went in, the more they forgot. However, Sora also began to gain fake memories that Organization XIII forced Namine to give to him. Once the organization was defeated, Namine gave them their true memories back, but it took a long time to do so. During this time, the three slept in the pods that they woke up in at the beginning ofKingdom Hearts II, with Roxas being the final piece that Sora needed to wake up.
5Riku Fought Ansem
Ansem the Seeker of Darkness is one of the most important antagonistsin the franchise. In the original game, he possessed Riku andbecame the final boss, with Sora, Donald, and Goofy defeating him. However, a small part of Ansem remained inside of Riku. At the end ofChain of Memories, Riku was able to fight Ansem himself and beat him. Little did he know that Ansem’s impact on him was only beginning.
While Riku explored Castle Oblivion, he met up with Mickey and a mysterious man named DiZ. As Riku had learned how to find strength in the light and darkness, DiZ wanted Riku to choose which road he would take. Instead of being on either side, he decided to embrace both sides of himself.
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Up until this point, Mickey had believed that light was good while darkness was bad, but seeing Riku changed his mind and he followed his new friend on this unexplored path. The two became close and even joined DiZ in order to bring Sora back and defeat the remaining members of the organization.
3Xion Joined Riku And Namine
During her time as a member of Organization XIII, Xion became very close friends withRoxas and Axel. The three would spend all of their days together and Xion didn’t have to worry about anything. However, once she started talking to Riku and Namine, she learned that parts of Sora’s memories were inside of her. Not knowing what to do, Xion was very conflicted on whether or not to sacrifice herself in order to wake Sora up. And as a result, her friendship with Roxas and Axel began to fall apart.
2Xion Returned To Sora
At the end of358/2 Days, Xion decided to leave Organization XIII and save Sora. But once she did, all memories of her would be gone, as if she never existed. Knowing that Roxas would have to sacrifice himself in order for Sora to return, Xion fought her best friend. Roxas defeated her and began to forget who she was when they had their last conversation. However, it wouldn’t take long for him to join her.
1Roxas Fought Riku
After defeating Xion, Roxas left the organization. When he did, Riku found him and the two of them fought. While Riku needed to finish the sacrifice that Xion started to bring his best friend back, Roxas wanted to free Kingdom Hearts, just like Xion told him to do. The two fought hard against each other, and in order to win, Riku had to use his darkness, taking the appearance of Ansem. Though fans knew that this battle happened from the secret ending of the first game and a flashback inKingdom Hearts II, little was known about why these two were fighting. Knowing about Xion and understanding what Riku and Roxas were fighting for added a lot more context to this moment in the series, making it feel more significant.
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