Profile

Character Name: Riku

Series: Kingdom Hearts

Version: Post KHII (paixaorpg) /
Post KH3D (itsjustagamerp)

Age: 16 / Approaching 17

Gender: Male

Sexuality: Shortest distance between two points on flat surface. Straight.


Appearance: Riku is a tall young man noted for his long white silver hair that obscures his slanted aqua eyes. He apparently possesses X-ray vision, as one would think he would have trouble seeing through his grown-out bangs. (In itsjustagamerp it’s been cut very short to update to Dream drop Distance.) He is fairly muscular, and as a teenager he is still developing the broad shoulders of a man. Of the Destiny Islands trio, his skin is the lightest.

Fashion-wise, Riku’s wardrobe is unimpressive. He wears a high-necked, sleeveless black shirt with a two-way zipper that’s unzipped so his navel shows. Over this he wears a yellow, blue and primarily white vest he always keeps unzipped and unbuttoned. His jeans are a few sizes too large and held up with a type of studded belt that can literally be found at Hot Topic. His black and white sneakers sport yellow-orange laces. He keeps a white band on his left arm that extends from mid-forearm to his knuckles. For all intensive purposes, it really just looks like a sock.


Personality: The phrase “cool and collected” has been used to describe Riku canonically, and it fits him perfectly. Though he can most certainly be angered, Riku doesn’t have much of a temper and has never been known to panic, remaining calm under pressure. “We can’t let fear stop us.” He remains composed and determined in dangerous situations, and outwardly displays confidence. Riku’s outward pride was seen while giving orders to Captain Hook… while on his pirate ship! He also has a sarcastic and snarky sense of humor and may playfully mock those he feels comfortable around (like Sora) or insult enemies. Riku keeps up a strong front, and as such will hide his pain until he’s near collapse. He will even pretend to be in good health at the first chance possible, such as claiming to be able to walk to Sora.

By nature, Riku is curious about the world around him. He looks for deeper meaning in things. For instance, before the Destiny Islands were destroyed, he wanted to know why they ended up living on the Islands rather than another world, and hoped that these tiny islands were a part of something much greater. Riku opened the door to the heart of the Islands like Pandora opened the box. This curiosity drive is so strong Riku was willing to never see his parents again in order to explore other worlds. It should be noted that much of this curiosity was spurred by meeting Terra as a child.

Riku is also extremely protective of those he deems his friends, and has been from a very young age. He searches for strength to protect those “things that matter.”

However, there is a jealous, unsure side of Riku few but his closest friends get to see, and even then only in the last year or so. Riku in Kingdom Hearts II confessed to Sora he was jealous of him after defeating Xemnas, saying he wished he, too, could lead life by simply following his heart. He also admitted to and swallowed his pride, explaining he once thought he was better at everything than Sora. Riku proved his jealous nature even in the first game when Sora showed himself stronger and he was willing to do anything to be stronger, and opened his heart to darkness. It should be noted that this was his previous strive for power, now corrupted.

The teen also displays a strong competitive side. Though that could be linked very easily to his pride, it also can be linked to another side of him. Riku in 358/2 Days questioned both Xion and Roxas as to why they had the Keyblade, perhaps as opposed to himself. Riku seems to enjoy power, though not in a greedy manner. Ultimately he wants power to protect his loved ones. To be the strongest kid on the island means he can step in and take charge when things go wrong and then make sure they turn out fine. When Kairi lost her heart, he thus pursued power to save his friend.

Riku’s strength is his weakness. He’s willing to do anything for those he deems as friends, but that “anything,” has few limits. Though he has morals, he may ignore them to reach his goal. For him, the ends justify the means. For instance, in an effort to find Kairi and restore her heart, Riku resorted to kidnapping (Jasmine and Pinocchio) and attacking a friend. It does, however, prove his loyalty to her. In Kingdom Hearts II he abducted Roxas, and though he felt sorry for him, Riku still worked with DiZ to alter the Nobody’s life in order to help revive Sora. Riku gave up his original appearance to gain the strength he needed to defeat Roxas for the same reason. (See “Weaknesses” regarding “moral ambiguity” and also “being manipulated with power.”) However, his moral compass seems to be straightening in Dream Drop Distance.

Somewhat pessimistic, Riku gave up hope when injured and trapped in the leftover Nothingess from battling Xemnas (to which Sora told him to think positive). Aside from this pessimism, Riku also displays a good amount of common sense and a healthy dose of suspicion. This is displayed by his skepticism when Maleficent claimed she only wanted him to be happy and said he was like a son to her. Riku is also sharp and fairly observant, as noted by Joshua.

Riku still carries the guilt of betraying Sora and siding with the Heartless. It was he that opened the door to the heart of the Destiny Islands and ultimately resulted in their destruction, a fact that Zexion exploited in Chain of Memories. In Kingdom Hearts II he felt that being trapped in the World of Darkness was perfect for him (especially if it had a beach), and was ready to accept it as retribution for his sins. (See “Weaknesses.”) That being said, by the end of Dream Drop Distance he is moving on.

First and foremost, however, Riku IS NOT a mopey emo teenage boy with enough whiney angst to replace Mako energy as a fuel source to run Midgar. He is a complex, somewhat self-sacrificing individual with his share of justified worries and prides.


Abilities: In Kingdom Hearts II, Riku wore the guise of Ansem and had his powers as well. Since then, he’s lost both of these, along with the power to open dark portals. However, he still has the power of darkness, and can use it for a wide range of offensive, defensive, and evasive purposes. For instance, he can create a defensive shield (Dark Shield/Dark Barrier) and shoot fireballs of dark energy that home in on their target (Dark Firaga). Often times, he can use it to warp around the battle field to attack (such as Dark Aura and Dark Splicer) or become one with shadows to avoid injury (Dark Roll).

Riku shares a number of techniques familiar to Terra and Master Aqua, such as Meteor-type attacks and spells and can learn moves such as Doubleflight. As such, he has connections to Bladecharge and Ghost Drive, though likely only under special circumstances only for those.

It should also be noted that Riku has access to basic elemental magic, including the Cure series of spells. Given the effectiveness of his ability “Cure Potion” in Kingdom Hearts II, it is likely he is very skilled in making the most of healing items.

It should be noted that in 358/2 Days we see a stat comparison between a wide array of characters, including Riku. Riku is fairly balanced, meaning he has experience in quite a bit but is master of none, as it were. He can take a few more hits than most, bit in exchange his magic is not quite as powerful as others, either.

During his struggle to help Sora, his weapon, the bat-wing-shaped Soul Eater, influenced the form of his Keyblade “Way to the Dawn.” Like all Keyblades, it can open doors and pathways, as well as lock them. The Keyblade also heightens physical prowess.

His senses were also keenly tuned to darkness, allowing him to fight while blindfolded. It may be still be possible for him to detect darkness through scent. Given his entanglements, he has a strong resistance to being possessed by darkness.


Weaknesses: Riku is morally ambiguous. He will do anything to help his friends, and short of murder, anything is a key word. In the past he has resorted to abduction/kidnapping (twice in Kingdom Hearts and once technically in Kingdom Hearts II), and entangling himself with the power of darkness. The D&D alignment term, “chaotic neutral (good)” would be appropriate.

In addition, his inward insecurities and jealousies may make him vulnerable to manipulation. Playing off of his uncertainty and envy it may be possible to make him betray some friends. Usually, however, this could only be achieved by making Riku think they’ve betrayed him. (Convincing him to betray Sora, Kairi, Mickey, Donald or Goofy will be difficult considering the events surrounding betraying Sora in the past.) Persuade Riku that someone is no longer his friend, and he may be inclined to do terrible things.

His guilt could also influence him. He had no plans on facing Kairi or especially Sora while he looked like Xehanort’s Heartless, a blatant reminder of his past wrongs. Although Sora cheered him up, he later didn’t know how he could go home and “face everyone.” Zexion almost defeated Riku by bringing up his role in the destruction of his home, which left Riku open to attack.

Though now much more aware of it, Riku has and perhaps still can be manipulated by the promise of power, even if he wants it for the right reasons. He stole the Keyblade in Kingdom Hearts from Sora to gain power (in the name of saving Kairi, which may have still been partially true at that point). After he lost it (and even called his own) he was frustrated at the fact his heart was weaker than Sora’s. In his jealousy he opened his heart to darkness to gain power (and ultimately lose his body). However, it should be noted he will never again be seduced by darkness.


History: Riku grew up on the Destiny Islands with his best friend, Sora, wondering about the world around them and wishing to visit the other worlds. At age five, two strangers from a world beyond his own visited his islands. The first, a man named Terra, inquired why he wanted to leave his world. The little boy explained he wanted to find strength to protect what matters, such as his friends. Terra performed a short rite that would grant Riku the power of the Keyblade one day.

One year later, Kairi appeared on the night of the meteor shower. His desire to see other worlds, which had been powered by meeting Terra, was further fueled by that night. He also began to compete with Sora for Kairi’s attention. At age 15, he persuaded the other two to build a raft to sail to new lands. That is, until he opened the door in the Secret Place, letting darkness rush into the Heart of his world but open the door to interworld travel (via a corridor of darkness). He awoke in Hollow Bastion where he met Maleficent. She offered her help in return for his. Riku was allowed to travel to other worlds, and met up with Sora in Traverse Town, whom he learned the Keyblade had chosen. Maleficent showed Riku that Sora had made new friends, and used his envy to convince Riku that Sora had abandoned him and Kairi. Riku redoubled his efforts to find Kairi, doing anything Maleficent needed. That included abducting a princess. After reuniting with Kairi, he later tried to kidnap Pinocchio in hopes that studying him could explain how to get Kairi’s heart back and revive her. (Little did they know Kairi’s heart had been placed within Sora.) When Sora said what Riku wasn’t listening to his conscience, Riku felt Sora was being ridiculous. The two boys met again on Hook’s ship, but Riku imprisoned Sora and made sure he was kept away from Kairi. He even sent Sora’s own shadow after him. In Hollow Bastion, he fought Beast to keep him away from Belle, and when he confronted Sora, summoned Sora’s Keyblade into his own hands. “You don’t have what it takes to save Kairi.” With Sora deprived of the Keyblade, Donald and Goofy followed King Mickey’s orders to help the Key-bearer and left Sora. That is, until Riku attacked their friend, at which point Goofy, and then Donald, came to the younger boy’s aid. Riku’s heart wasn’t as strong as Sora’s, and he lost the Keyblade. After being defeated, Riku ran, and met with Xehanort’s Heartless. Now willing to do anything for power, Riku opened himself to darkness and was possessed. His body no longer his own, he watched helplessly as a dark Keyblade was made from the hearts of the Princesses and his body savagely attacked Sora in order to try to extract Kairi’s heart from his friend’s. Only after Sora lost his heart did Riku manage to briefly overcome the Heartless, keeping him at bay long enough for Kairi, Donald and Goofy to run. As a result, Xehanort’s Heartless threw Riku’s heart into the World of Darkness, where he met with King Mickey. After Sora defeated Xehanort’s Heartless, Riku’s body was returned to him, and Riku appeared on the other side of the door to Kingdom Hearts. There Riku and King Mickey made the ultimate sacrifice. To make sure the door was sealed and preserve the worlds, they stayed on the other side of the door, remaining in darkness while Sora, Donald and Goofy helped them close the door from the other side. As the door closed, Riku told Sora, “Take care of her.”

In Chain of Memories, Riku awoke in the Realm Between, led on by a mysterious voice, and chose to leave the comfort of sleep. He found himself in Castle Oblivion, facing demons of his past. He was told his heart was empty because he’s thrown away his friends for darkness, which he in turn has thrown away. Xehanort’s Heartless was still alive in Riku’s heart and either he (or the real Ansem in disguise, it isn’t clear) tempered the darkness in the unwilling Riku’s heart, allowing him to wield darkness more freely. The boy found that a replica was made of himself, but the replica embraced darkness and calls Riku a coward. Riku almost succumbs to the Xehanort’s Heartless a few times, but was saved by King Mickey, who’s sending his power over a distance. He defeated Lexeaus, and later confronts Zexion on the Destiny Islands. Zexion used Riku’s guilt against him, blaming him for the destruction of the islands and showed Riku images of him becoming a Dark Side Heartless. Zexion disguised himself as Sora and attacks Riku, engulfing him in light. There Riku sees Kairi (Namine in disguise) who tells him his darkness is a part of him, just like his light, and that it should be equally embraced. Reassured, Riku saw through Zexion’s ploy and forced the Nobody to flee. He found King Mickey, and encounted a strange man named DiZ, a man intent on watching Riku and his decisions. The boy ran into the replica again and defeated it. He watched as it vanished and asked where its heart would go. Riku supposed it would go the same place his will. Riku later met up with Namine and realized it was her, not Kairi who came to him in the light. She offered to seal Xehanort’s Heartless away, along with his memories, but Riku decided against it, saying he can’t yell at the sleeping Sora for not taking care of Kairi if he sleeps too. (Sora’s memories were being restored after being gradually lost in the castle.) Riku confronted Xehanort’s Heartless and won, (with Mickey saving him from the engulfing darkness). He and Mickey left Castle Oblivion, but Riku refused go home until Xehanort’s Heartless is truly gone from his heart. DiZ asked if Riku will choose the road to light or darkness. Riku chose the middle road, not the twilit road to oblivion. It was the “the road to dawn.” Re:Chain of Memories revealed Xehanort’s Heartless was still bothering Riku.

358/2 Days again made Riku an antagonist, but this time against Sora’s Nobody, Roxas. He became Sora’s guardian, making sure no one disturbed the memory-reconstruction process. When he first met Xion, he defeated her and pulls back her hood. Though it is unclear exactly what he saw, it is likely he saw Sora, a girl with Kairi’s face (as in Xion herself), or even Kairi. Whatever he saw, it seemed to have compelled him to protect her in what was presumably the Destiny Islands rooms of Castle Oblivion. He spoke firmly but gently to her, giving her the choice to go back to the Organization or to return Sora’s memories. Xion began to work closely with him. However, when progress finally hit a standstill, Riku knew he also had to work to bring back Roxas as well. Even after Xion faded and his memories of her began to follow, Riku set out to subdue Roxas. Initially defeated, Riku resorted to becoming Ansem and gained the upper hand. However, he hid his appearance from DiZ when he appeared, and asserted how things might have been different had Roxas simply been allowed to meet Sora.

In Kingdom Hearts II, Riku worked with DiZ (Ansem) and Namine to help restore Sora’s memories. By this time Riku had parted ways with Mickey. He made the king promise not to tell Sora what had happened to his form. He had brought Roxas to DiZ, and encoded him to make rejoining him with Sora easier and keep him hidden from Organization XIII. Riku sympathized with Roxas, but for Sora’s sake still treated him poorly in the data world. He denied him the right to know what was truly going on and was not above stealing from Roxas to keep him away from the beach and better Sora’s chances.

During most of the game, Riku avoided Sora, only dropping a clue here and there to help his friend out. Only when he meets up with Kairi do things change, since Kairi insisted he meet Sora. Riku was ashamed of what he had become, but Sora accepted it, emphasizing that he was still Riku at heart. Meanwhile, DiZ attempted to encode a manmade Kingdom Hearts as data, but when the encoder exploded, Riku found all traces of Xehanort’s Heartless gone from his appearance. At this time he willingly fought alongside Sora. After fighting Xemnas (the leader of Organization XIII and Xehanort’s Nobody) he was himself unable to open a dark portal back to the Islands, to which Mickey happily said, “You’re not a part of the Dark Realm, anymore, Riku.” Namine managed to create a portal, but before Sora and Riku could get through, the portal shut, and Xemnas returned. After a long battle, Riku was severely injured and Sora carried him through both the Nothingness Xemnas left and to the beach in the World of Darkness. During this time, Riku and Sora had a heart to heart and admired each other and their friendship. When Riku found a note in a bottle from Kairi, he handed it to Sora, whose heart then opened the Door to Light.

The following only applies to itsjustagamerp:


That door lead both boys to their home, the Destiny Islands, where they had a happy reunion with their friends. The worlds were saved, and peace was theirs to enjoy.

That is, until a letter washed up on their shores. In Re:Coded, we see it told Sora, Riku and Kairi of their connections to the Keyblade, and Sora about his sleeping memories. It was time to save the people that shaped him. Sora and Riku were summoned to show the Mark of Mastery to Yen Sid.

In Dream Drop Distance, Sora questions his need to prove himself, but Riku’s worry about whether his darkness has made him unworthy of the Keyblade convinces Sora to take the exam. Given the need to rescue Aqua, Terra and Ventus, three Keyblade wielders who a decade ago met terrible fates, the two were sent on an unusual task for their Mark of Mastery. In order to gain the power to awaken a sleeping heart, Sora and Riku were sent into the Realm of Sleep to unlock seven sleeping keyholes and awaken those corresponding realms from their slumber, returning them fully from darkness.

As their trail began, however, Riku spotted a familiar sight: Xehanort’s Heartless dressed in a robe. Instinctively he followed Sora rather than go directly where his friend was heading. Sora plunged into the Realm of Sleep, where dreams on any and all levels are made real, and so, Riku unknowingly plunged into Sora’s dreams to keep him safe from Xehanort’s Heartless. In doing so, as an entity determined to keep Sora safe from Nightmares in any form, Riku inadvertently became a Spirit Dream Eater. The worlds were partitioned to keep the boys separate by a man in an Organization coat, but since they were all within Sora’s dreams, the two envisionings of the worlds influenced each other.

However, after unlocking the seven keyholes, Riku found himself in a version of the World that Never Was instead of returning home. There he found Sora, surrounded by figments of his own mind and locked in slumber. Riku almost managed to wake Sora. However, this was a world of a dream, where dreams are held by sleep, and sleep is held by darkness. There the remnants of Xehanort’s Heartless, normally trapped within Riku’s heart, could emerge. Having learned from the Heartless where he truly was, Riku realized there was no point in holding back his darkness, and that anything in his heart was also part of his light. After defeating “Ansem” once and for all, he returned to the real world, knowing Sora was still asleep because Riku still kept his Dream Eater form and powers.

Riku found Sora again on a throne used by the Organization. There he encountered the white-haired youth again, who called Sora a “vessel.” Xehanort planned to divide his heart into 13, but with not all the original Organization XIII adequate for hosts, they needed to look elsewhere. Riku’s developed-immunity to darkness had rendered him no longer a viable option, but Roxas was, and he now was part of Sora. The youth revealed himself to be Xehanort from the past, and that time travel had been used to bring versions of himself there. King Mickey intervened by halting time with Stopza, but it wasn’t enough to halt someone with control over time. Riku fought young Xehanort and won, but not in time to prevent the arrival of his most-future self from arriving. Master Xehanort revealed that he planned to use 13 darknesses and 7 lights to mimic the broken pieces of the X-blade, a super-weapon and a counterpart to the real Kingdom Hearts, and thus reforge the sword. Mickey and Riku were immobilized by Xemnas and Ansem, but Lea, Donald and Goofy arrived just in time to prevent Sora from being possessed and get everyone out of danger.

With everyone safely in Mysterious Tower, they were faced with a new problem. Sora’s heart was in a deep slumber and had fallen into darkness. Since he had unlocked the seven sleeping keyholes and stood the best chance to awaken Sora, Riku dove back into Sora’s dreams to save him. In that deepest darkness he found a suit of darkness-possessed armor, and fought a hard battle to free Sora from the confines of the Nightmare Dream Eater. Sora vanished and Riku found himself on the Destiny Islands. There he was confronted by Roxas, a boy with the same face as Roxas, and a black-haired girl who looked similar to Kairi. Each asked him a question before vanishing. Riku then found a bottle washing up on the shore, and was told by an approaching DiZ (Ansem the Wise) that it was data hidden within Sora to help save those they thought lost. After learning that Sora was in-fact awake, Riku returned to the real world.

When Riku awoke, he found Sora not just alive and well, but holding a tea party! Sora was overjoyed to see Riku safe, much to Riku’s bewilderment. Yen Sid then made his decision on the exam. Though both performed with excellence, it was Riku who entered the Realm of Sleep again to save a friend. It was thus he that was given the title of Keyblade Master. Sora was too happy for his friend to even care that he didn’t receive it himself. The new Keyblade Master was shocked, but as he recovered, he said he owed it all to his friends.

Riku, however, was sent by Yen Sid to bring a certain guest. Needing 7 lights to battle the 13 darknesses and to protect the Princesses of Heart, even if Aqua, Ven and Terra were saved they still needed one more “light.” That light would be a Princess herself: Kairi.