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Consume the darkness, return it to light.

Riku is a life-long friend and rival of Sora, and he plays a key role in the Kingdom Hearts Series. Riku is from Destiny Islands and is a childhood friend of Sora and Kairi. Later in the series, he becomes a Keyblade master that has the power of light and darkness, and is always ready to sacrifice himself to protect his friends. Riku is the original persona of his own replica.

Riku was 5-years-old during Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, 15-years-old at the beginning of Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, 16-years-old during the later events of Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, Kingdom Hearts II, Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, Kingdom Hearts III, and 17-years-old during Re Mind (LimitCut Episode) and Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory.

Riku's name is derived from the Japanese word for "land" ( Riku?).

Personality[]

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.

Riku, to Sora and Kairi

In Kingdom Hearts, Riku is a calm, cool, collected teenager who is not afraid to push the boundaries. This is illustrated by his lack of fear while stepping into the dark portal during Destiny Islands' demise. His exclamation of, "I'm not afraid of the darkness!", further illustrates this point.

During Kingdom Hearts in particular, Riku has a strong competitive streak. He shows his competitive side when he challenges Sora, saying that his heart is stronger than his friend's. Due to the influence that Maleficent has on him, Riku also becomes increasingly jealous of Sora. When he realizes that Sora has acquired new friends in the form of Donald and Goofy, Riku feels that he has been replaced. His jealousy grows when he learns that Sora owns a Keyblade. This jealousy results in numerous fights with his former friend throughout Kingdom Hearts, and opens the door for Ansem, Seeker of Darkness to possess him. He eventually snaps out of it and feels tremendous guilt and remorse for all he had done.

Though his traits are not akin to those of a protagonist in Kingdom Hearts, he becomes more heroic in Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories. During his time spent in Castle Oblivion, Riku begins to confront the darkness which lingers within his heart. At first, he rejects it. However, as the story progresses, Riku realizes that it is possible to use the darkness to achieve his goals. He matures immensely during this period, and leaves behind some of his less likable personality traits.

Riku had been curious about what lay outside of his world ever since his early youth in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep. Over time, his curiosity turned to obsession, and he began to think of his world as a prison surrounded by water. This obsession appears to have diminished throughout the year of Sora's slumber, most likely because he had by then travelled to a number of worlds. When he returns to Destiny Islands in Kingdom Hearts II, he still comments that it is a small world, but agrees with Sora's remark that it is only a part of one that's much bigger. Riku later stated that the real reason he wanted to explore outside of his home world was because of Terra.

A positive personality trait demonstrated by Riku is a strong desire to protect his friends. Examples of this would be his sacrifice to protect Sora from Xemnas' attacks during their final battle in Kingdom Hearts II, and his willingness to accept the darkness in order to subdue Roxas in Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days.

Though Riku matures significantly over the course of the series, he retains some of his more youthful personality from Kingdom Hearts, 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") indicating he saw his previous envy of the trio from the original game was pointless and calls Sora a "total sap" when going to confront Xemnas.

Physical Appearance[]

Riku is a tall and muscular teenager with pale skin, bright blue-green eyes and silver hair. In Kingdom Hearts, his hair was shoulder-length, later in Kingdom Hearts II and Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, it has grown longer, past his shoulders, reaching down to his upper back, but in Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, it is cut short like when he was a child in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep and certain scenes in Kingdom Hearts.

In Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep and some parts of Kingdom Hearts, he is much shorter, due to being a young child. Riku's bangs are also more side-swept than later on in his life. He wears a yellow vest with a large collar and blue trim which is zipped down below his collarbone. He has two blue bracelets, one on each wrist, with a yellow stripe in the middle. On his lower body he has black shorts reaching past his knees and white and blue slip on shoes with gray soles.

During most of Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories, and Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories, he wears a vest that has a yellow collar and is yellow in the front and black on the sides and back. The vest has two black crisscrossing straps that go over his chest and on his upper back that are trimmed with white and has a white stud on each end. Just above each of his wrists are tight black bracelets and on his hands are black and gray gloves that reach just to the base of his thumb. He wears a black belt with a silver rectangular buckle high on his waist which secures his dark blue-gray pants. His pants are mostly covered by blue wading pants held up by black straps almost identical to the ones on his vest, except they are each layered and have more studs, as well as not being crisscrossed. The wading pants are tightened at the ankle with small black belts. His shoes are white and blue, with some yellow strings on the inner sides, some of which criss-cross each other. The shoes each have two black straps with white trim and gray soles.

In Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, he wears a Black Coat and the Organization's boots and gloves. He also wears a black blindfold over his eyes that reaches slightly past his shoulders.

In Kingdom Hearts II, he wears a sleeveless, black, double-zippered shirt under a white vest. The shirt is zippered up to just below his neck and to just above his belly button. The white vest is yellow at the bottom with a blue stripe separating the two other colors. The collar is folded down to reveal the color on the inside, yellow, and is decorated with four small, silver buttons. On his left arm he wears a white wrist guard. His blue baggy pants have very large, paler pockets, and are held up by a black and silver belt. His white shoes are gray on the bottom and top, with three black stripes on each side and yellow laces.

In Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, Riku wears a white vest with a large black collar, a yellow back, and a black stripe along the bottom as well as around each arm hole. It is closed with a zipper that is closed just a bit below his collarbone and slightly above his belt. The back of the vest bears the Dream Eater Spirit sigil. He also wears loose fitting jeans and a black belt with a large silver buckle. On his feet Riku wears white hightops that are black on the bottom with a yellow stripe separating the two colors. His laces are black. He also has another pair of laces wrapped around his shoes at the ankle that are tied into a bow. On his wrists he sports thick black, cloth bracelets.

In Kingdom Hearts III, Riku wears a black, hooded jacket that he keeps unzipped, with short sleeves, gold buttons, and a checkered pattern at the hem. Underneath, he wears a pale blue t-shirt with a V-neck. He also wears blue cropped trousers that are hemmed with the same checkered pattern as the jacket, black fingerless gloves on each hand, and black high-top boots. His hair remains the same length as it was in Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, though it appears more spiked up in the back.

History[]

Birth by Sleep[]

Terrariku

Terra chooses a young Riku as his successor.

During the events of Birth by Sleep, Riku was a five year old boy who lived on Destiny Islands, along with Sora. They have always trained and pushed each other to make one another stronger. When Terra visits their home world, Riku says that Master Xehanort has already passed by Destiny Islands, which preoccupies Terra. Terra has a vision of Riku's future self, making him choose Riku as his successor, and submits him to the Keyblade Inheritance Ceremony, but asks to keep this conversation as a secret to keep the world's order.

Kingdom Hearts[]

Riku appears as a cool and collected 15-year-old. He and his best friends, Sora and Kairi, live on the Destiny Islands. The three spend their days constructing a raft and gathering supplies, so that they might one day set out and search for other worlds. He and Sora share a fierce but good natured rivalry, competing over who is stronger in battle, among other things.

However, things take a drastic turn on the night before their journey. Because Riku had opened the door in the Secret Place at an unspecified time, the Heartless, beings of darkness, invade the islands, seeking out the world's heart. Both afraid that a storm would destroy the raft, Kairi and Sora set out for the island. Sora finds Riku first. However, while Sora is concerned for his friend's safety, Riku is only obsessed with finally escaping the islands. Darkness surrounds the two, and Riku disappears into it, while Sora gains the Keyblade.

Riku eventually ends up in Hollow Bastion via the Corridor of Darkness, separated from his friends. There, he is found by Maleficent who offers him shelter and protection. However, seeing the potential in him, Maleficent begins to corrupt Riku's mind by convincing him that Sora had replaced him and Kairi with Donald Duck and Goofy. She claims that the only way to save Kairi, who has lost her heart to the darkness, is to ally himself with her and her band of villains, while abandoning Sora. After his reunion with Sora in Traverse Town, Riku begins to agree with Maleficent and officially starts his stay with her. However, he is still highly suspicious of her motives.

Before long, Riku learns from Maleficent that the keyblade wielded by Sora was originally meant for him, and that Sora had only received it in his absence. Upon Sora's arrival at Hollow Bastion, Riku steals the keyblade and mockingly leaves Sora with a wooden sword to "go play hero" with. Donald and Goofy, having been instructed to follow the keyblade, reluctantly abandon Sora and follow Riku.

Sora, with the help of Beast, makes his way to the Entrance Hall of Hollow Bastion where he is again confronted by Riku. After a long power of friendship speech, Donald and Goofy return to Sora, as does the keyblade. Sora and his companions proceed to defeat Riku, who then runs away in frustration.

In the Castle Chapel, Xehanort's Heartless convinces Riku to accept his power. Upon doing so, Riku's body is possessed by Xehanort's Heartless. This leads to a confrontation with Sora in the Grand Hall where, despite his new terrifying powers, he is again defeated. Ansem/Xehanort's Heartless tries to attack Sora's friends, but Riku manages to hold his possessor back long enough for them to escape. In response, Riku's soul is banished from his body and transported to the Realm of Darkness.

Riku awakens in a nightmarish, pitch black hellscape where he is on his knees, overwhelmed with guilt for everything he has done. Convinced that he is in the afterlife, he begs for a chance to see Sora and Kairi one last time. A mysterious voice (later revealed to be Mickey Mouse) reaches out to the distraught boy, telling him where he is and how his possessor had transported him there.

After Xehanort's Heartless's death, Riku regains his body as he helps Sora from the other side of the Door to Darkness. However, Mickey fends the Heartless off so Riku and Sora can proceed to close the door. Before the door is completely closed and sealed by Sora and Mickey, Riku tells the former to take care of Kairi.

Chain of Memories[]

"Neither suits me. I'm taking the middle road".
"Do you mean the twilight road to nightfall?"
"No. It's the road to dawn".

Riku and DiZ
Riku's Game Face

Riku obtaining a card in Castle Oblivion.

Riku awakes in the lowest basement of Castle Oblivion, being led there by his heart reacting with Sora, who also happens to be in Castle Oblivion, though on the ground floor. A dark card and a disembodied voice present themselves. The Voice offers Riku the chance to sleep and forget his troubles as well as the light, or take the card and take the first steps toward the truth.

Zexion and Vexen have great roles in Riku's story. Vexen independently appears before Riku and the latter wonders if Vexen is with "Ansem" (Xehanort's Heartless). Vexen cryptically responds that he is with "another Ansem". Still, Riku fights against Vexen, seeing him as an enemy. However, the battle only helps Vexen, who uses the data he gathered from the battle to create a replica of Riku. The replica soon comes to battle Riku, mocking Riku's fear of the darkness while the replica embraces it. However, the real Riku proves victorious, and the replica runs off.

When Zexion encounters Riku in Destiny Islands, he lures Riku with his illusions. He also makes Riku sink into the light as he begins to fade, but Naminé appears in the form of Kairi and tells him that he can't fade, because light can't destroy him, and neither can darkness, so he should accept both to drive away his fears. He awakens his dark powers again, admitting that it's a part of him and not evil, defeating Zexion.

Riku faces Ansem for one final battle alone. Ansem asks why he still refuses him if he accepts darkness now, and inquires if Riku is still scared of the darkness. Riku denies this and merely says, "I just can't stand your foul stench." They fight and the last of Ansem is destroyed, but not before he says a part of him is still in Riku, and that he shall return.

358/2 Days[]

Riku allies himself with DiZ, as they have a common goal: to help Sora awaken (though Riku finds his memories of Sora fading, being a side-effect of Naminé's toying with Sora's memories). He is first seen on the bridge in Beast's Castle where he fights Xion. As a defeated Xion lies on the ground, Riku pulls off her hood and pulls up his blindfold to get a good look at her. He is shocked by her appearance and begins questioning her how she is able to use the Keyblade, calling it a sham and worthless. Angered, Xion demands what right he had to say such a thing and attacks him, only to be knocked down singlehandedly.

After Xion wakes up on Destiny Islands, she expresses her curiosity about "Sora and that girl he's always with," in which Riku tells her that Kairi is someone very special to Sora. He tells her that she is the reason Sora is unable to wake up because part of his memories are inside of her. Even though Xion is unsure of where she truly belongs and what the right choice is, Riku gives her some time to think about it. He is also seen conversing with DiZ next to the pod Sora sleeps in.

King Mickey appears in the Twilight Town woods facing Riku, who has taken on the form of Ansem, Seeker of Darkness. Mickey readies to attack as Riku calmly ties his blindfold into place, and looks shocked at Riku changing appearance. Riku tells Mickey that if he were to disappear it would be because he has taken this form permanently, and makes Mickey promise not to tell Sora what happened to him when he wakes up if this happens.

Riku 20 1

Riku and Roxas passing each other on the Skyscraper.

DiZ asks Riku to kidnap Roxas, the Nobody of Sora, who has been having trouble regaining his memories. If he and Roxas join, Sora should be able to reawaken. Riku enters the Realm of Darkness, and corners Roxas in The World That Never Was. The battle between him and Roxas depicted in several scenes in Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II, including the secret endings of Another Side, Another Story... and Deep Dive. When he is defeated by Roxas, Riku removes his blindfold, letting the Darkness in, and takes the form of Ansem. After Riku-Ansem defeats Roxas, DiZ appears and takes Roxas. DiZ then puts Roxas into a Simulated Twilight Town, to continue the progress of Sora's awakening.

Kingdom Hearts II[]

Riku KHII

Riku

Riku helps DiZ awaken Sora and puts Naminé in line when she attempts to contact Roxas. When Roxas tries to enter the Old Mansion, several Nobodies appear, and Riku-Ansem hinders their progression.

He appears again in The Land of Dragons to alert them about the Storm Rider. Mulan is the first to see Riku, and tries to catch him. Sora, Donald and Goofy arrive, and with Mulan, go to the Summit and find Riku. Sora confronts Riku but he escapes and goes to the Imperial Palace to talk with The Emperor. Riku-Ansem defeats Li Shang and talks about the Storm Rider. After relaying his message, he leaves the world.

Riku appears again in The World That Never Was after Naminé helps Kairi to escape. Saïx appears and attempts to capture the two girls, but Riku arrives with his Keyblade and confronts Saïx, who then escapes. Kairi discovers the truth about Riku through Naminé, and they go see Sora. In the Hall of Empty Melodies several Shadows appear; Riku summons two Keyblades and hands one to Kairi.

After Sora defeats Xigbar, he meets Kairi and Riku. At first Sora believes that Riku is Xehanort's Heartless, but he discovers that Riku has taken the form of Xehanort's Heartless. Sora, Kairi, Riku, Donald and Goofy go to confront Xemnas, but first they defeat Saïx and Luxord. Near the top of the Castle That Never Was, Riku reunites with King Mickey and DiZ, and discovers that DiZ is actually Ansem the Wise, who is using a machine to try and encode Kingdom Hearts into data. Xemnas also arrives, and he and Ansem the Wise trade bitter words. The machine then explodes, unable to handle Kingdom Hearts, sending Ansem the Wise to the Realm of Darkness while causing countless hearts Xemnas had collected into Kingdom Hearts to rain down on the world, creating a slew of Heartless. The explosion also cleanses Riku's heart and restores Riku to his original form, though he is still remorseful.

Riku King Ending KHII

Riku and King Mickey at Destiny Islands.

Towards the end after the final attack used by Xemnas, Sora is left open and Riku takes a blow intended to finish off his friend, which allows Sora to finish Xemnas off with both Riku and Sora firing a beam of light from Sora's keyblade. After the fall of Xemnas, Sora and the injured Riku face an onslaught of Dusks ready to fulfill their master's final order: eliminate the Keyblade wielders. However, the Dusks disintegrate back into nothingness, and Sora and Riku escape the realm, entering the Dark Meridian.

Sora then manages to open the Door to Light, as King Mickey predicted while he read Kairi's Letter, and the two return home, reuniting with their friends. While Sora shares a hug with Donald and Goofy, Riku shares his own moment with King Mickey.

Coded[]

In one of the memories recovered from the journal, Ansem, Seeker of Darkness, and Riku encounter each other shortly before Destiny Islands is completely swallowed by the darkness. At the last minute, Ansem opens a portal for Riku, allowing him to escape.

In another memory, revealed to Data-Sora in the digital version of Castle Oblivion, Riku stands on top of the Clock Tower with an unconscious Kairi, looking out at the moon.

The real Riku does not appear again until the end of the game with the real Sora and Kairi as they read Mickey's Second Letter. This scene corresponds with the final scene of Kingdom Hearts II.

Blank Points[]

Afterwards, Sora sits on the Paopu tree while holding the message from King Mickey, staring off into the sunset. He is then approached by Riku who asks him if he has decided (about what is not specified), and Sora says that he has. Kairi then walks up to him and Sora tells her that everyone is suffering and waiting, and that he has to put back everything that is connected to him, or "Reconnect." She then hands him her lucky charm and tells him she'll see him soon.

Dream Drop Distance[]

Summoned by Yen Sid alongside Sora, Riku learns the truth of Master Xehanort and his impending return. Riku and Sora are tasked with the mission to awaken seven different worlds from a state of sleep as part of their Mark of Mastery exam. However, as he and Sora go through these worlds deep within the Realm of Sleep in new attire, Riku encounters both "Ansem" and a younger incarnation of Master Xehanort.

Ending up in The Castle that Never Was, Riku learns that Sora was captured by the new Organization XIII. Riku faces off against Xehanort's younger self in battle before Master Xehanort reveals himself. Revealing his overall scheme and role in the events of the years before, Xehanort reveals that Riku was originally planned to be the final vessel to complete the new Organization. However, Riku's ability to resist "Ansem" and retrain his inner darkness forces Xehanort to make Sora into a suitable replacement. Restrained by "Ansem" so as not to interfere, Riku is saved when Donald and Goofy arrive after Lea. After Master Xehanort and his group leave, Riku and the others take Sora back to Yen Sid's tower where he enters Sora's dream world to save him. Soon after, Riku learns that Yen Sid had deemed him to pass the Mark of Mastery and is entitled a Keyblade Master. Afterward, Riku brings Kairi to Yen Sid at his request so she may begin training with her Keyblade.

Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep -A fragmentary passage-[]

At the Mysterious Tower not long after Master Xehanort resurrection, Riku, Kairi, King Mickey are having an audience with Master Yen Sid where he explains that in order to confront Xehanort, they will need to gather the Seven Lights, among those which include the three Keyblade Wielders who befell a terrible fate over a decade ago. At Yen Sid's request, Mickey tells Riku and Kairi of the time he came across Aqua in the Realm of Darkness. When Mickey finishes retelling of his tale, at which point Riku lashes out at Mickey for not telling him that Aqua was there at the time and that she gave herself up to save him. Yen Sid intervenes and explains that neither Mickey nor Riku had the power to save her, and that he had personally forbade Mickey from telling them, lest Riku, or in higher probability Sora, stage a potentially suicidal rescue attempt. However, as Riku had recently become a Keyblade Master, they now possess the means to rescue Aqua. Mickey invites Riku to assist in his rescue mission, to which he agrees. Kairi, wishing to help, is told by Yen Sid that she will need to train as a Keyblade Master alongside Lea, much to her surprise. Yen Sid bestows upon Mickey and Riku a new set of clothes that will protect them from the darkness before they leave.

Kingdom Hearts III[]

Riku and King Mickey enter the Dark World in search of Aqua, losing her trail at the Dark Margin. A Demon Tower attacks and swallows Riku. Nearly drowning in its darkness, Riku is saved by his replica's disembodied heart; however, his Keyblade destroyed from the battle. Mickey convinces him to regroup and resupply. Before leaving, Riku plants his broken Keyblade on the beach for the Riku Replica to collect.

At the Mysterious Tower, Yen Sid suggests to visit worlds Aqua had been to for clues. He requests Riku and Mickey deliver new garments for Kairi and Lea when they visit Merlin for new Keyblades. Now armed with the Braveheart, Riku travels with Mickey to Radiant Garden, the last place Aqua visited. They discuss Xehanort's plans, realizing that when Aqua saved Terra, he was possessed by Xehanort. After a phone call from Sora, they head into the castle to discuss the replica project with Ienzo; Riku concludes the Organization is planning to use replicas, as the one who can create them, Even has gone missing. With no new leads, Riku and Mickey travel back to the Dark Margin. Attacked again by a Demon Tower, Mickey is disarmed and trapped within it. Anti-Aqua reveals herself and takes his Keyblade, planning to use it to the escape. Riku declines his replica's offer to return his Keyblade, facing Aqua and the Heartless. Faltering, he speaks Sora's name. This connection allows Sora to enter the Dark World, where he defends Riku and frees Aqua from the Darkness.

With all the Guardians of Light finally assembled, they meet at Yen Sid's tower, where Riku thanks Aqua for saving him. Yen Sid tells everyone to spend the day recuperating before the final battle. Riku accompanies Sora and Kairi to Destiny Islands, but spends the evening on the beach alone with the replica in his heart. The replica admits he would rather exist within Riku's heart than fade into darkness, and states he has "one last thing to do".

The next day, Riku joins the other guardians in the Keyblade Graveyard, where Terra-Xehanort attacks, before being ejected from the battlefield. A massive Demon Tide soon appears, devouring all the guardians, except Sora and Riku. When Sora breaks down in despair, Riku sacrifices himself for Sora's sake, putting his faith in Sora to save all of their friends.

Sora is then able to recover himself in the Final World and track down his friends hearts using the power of waking. Riku's heart makes its way to Olympus, where it is captured by a Lich. Sora manages to catch the Lich and free Riku's heart, sending it back to the Keyblade Graveyard. When Sora frees all of his friends' hearts, they reappear together, moments before Terra-Xehanort first appeared. This time, they are rescued by the Lingering Will, allowing Riku and the others to fight off the incoming Heartless while Sora, Donald, and Goofy defeat the Demon Tide. Finally, they advance to face the organization within the Skein of Severance. Riku battles Dark Riku, Xigbar, and Ansem alone until Sora arrives. Ansem flees the battle, but Sora and Riku manage to defeat the others. The Riku Replica's heart exits Riku's body, and reveals Dark Riku is his own heart from the past. He pulls Dark Riku's heart from the replica body and leaves the vessel behind for Naminé. After Sora proceeds to assist the other guardians Demyx arrives to retrieve the replica body on Ienzo's orders while Riku tells him to handle it with great care.

Riku then meets Sora and Mickey again after nine seekers of darkness have been defeated. Ansem, Xemnas, Master Xehanort, and his younger self remain, and Master Xehanort reveals that their four clashes would forge the final keys he needed to form the χ-blade. Riku claims that even if Master Xehanort manages to open Kingdom Hearts, they would simply close it again. The two groups clash, and all but Master Xehanort are eliminated. As Ansem fades away, he speaks to Riku, reminiscing on the journey they shared.

With one key left to forge, Xehanort reveals the kidnapped Kairi and slays her in front of them. Riku and Mickey are then frozen by a Stopza spell, and Xehanort summons Kingdom Hearts. The other guardians arrive as the spell wears off, and Riku presents the idea of using Xehanort as a portal and trapping him in it long enough to finish him. Sora, Donald, and Goofy volunteer to go instead, so that the other Keyblade wielders could hold back the power of Kingdom Hearts. Once Xehanort is defeated, Riku and the others follow their hearts to Sora. They lend their power to Sora as he uses the χ-blade to seal Kingdom Hearts away. Returning to the Keyblade Graveyard, Sora decides to use the power of waking to rescue Kairi. Though Mickey tries to argue, Riku convinces him to let Sora follow his heart.

Some time later, Riku takes Sora's gummi ship to Radiant Garden to collect Naminé, and returns with her to Destiny Islands along with all the guardians and their friends. He runs a race with Terra and Roxas before looking toward the paopu tree where Kairi sits with the fading image of Sora.

Kingdom Hearts III Re Mind[]

Riku begins having a strange dream, where he awakens in Quadratum. Disoriented, he walks the streets observing where he is, eventually finding himself at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, unaware that Yozora watches him from atop.

Since Sora vanished, Riku and all his allies have been searching wherever they can think of; lasting well over a year with no results. After seeing Terra, Aqua, and Ventus leave to search the Dark World, Riku visits the Radiant Garden Restoration Comittee in the hopes they have any clues. Informing them that the King's group has had no luck in searching past worlds Sora's been to and that Ansem the Wise has not been able to find a lead in Kairi's dreams, Riku gains a sliver of hope in data on the Organization Cid compiled on his computer.

Despite "breaking through" the powerful data, there is no additional information. However, the arrival of Fairy Godmother changes the mood; Riku reveals his dream of looking for Sora, being told that there might be a lead in his dreams and those of two others.

Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory[]

Afterwards, Riku reunites with Ansem the Wise and his apprentices to find that Kairi has awakened. The two share their findings and with Fairy Godmother's help, she refers to him and Kairi as two of the three keys that can help find Sora. The Keyblade wielders are brought to the Final World, where they meet the third key, the Nameless Star informing her what has happened the star recognizes the city Riku described as Quadratum. With that, he uses the power of awaking and the Nameless Star as a portal to go to Quadratum, leaving Kairi to tell the others where he had gone.

Abilities[]

Already a strong and skillful individual as a child, Riku was always the strongest child on Destiny Islands even before awakening his ability to wield a Keyblade. Tidus remarked that he, Wakka, and Selphie were defeated by him even after they triple-teamed him and it seemed even at that time only Sora could challenge and surpass him. He is already an excellent swordsman and able hand-to-hand combatant, performing quite fast and athletic-related combos, with an athletic springing kick if knocked down. Over the years, as he acquires and continues to develop his skill with the Keyblade and gains the powers of both darkness and light, Riku's level of strength has increased greatly. What first started from him only being slightly stronger than he was with Soul Eater soon grew to levels where he became among the most powerful bosses in the first game and in Chain of Memories, his increase steadily becomes greater, at first fighting the weak Organization XIII member Vexen to a standstill before quickly becoming able to fight and exhaust Lexaeus, although he lost the fight due to his eagerness, defeat Zexion and even overpower Ansem.

In 358/2 Days, he trounces Xion rather easily and even holds his own against the full-power Roxas, even eventually briefly knocking him out, but was quickly overpowered once he allowed Roxas to regain his extra blade, forcing him to use the powers of Ansem, at which point he easily dispatched Roxas, although due to him catching Roxas off-guard, and overpowered Saïx and forced him to flee quickly. Although he lost the boost after the explosion of Kingdom Hearts stripped him of the darkness, Riku is still easily the strongest ally Sora can have and aids him effectively in defeating Xemnas powered by Kingdom Hearts. Riku is also shown to be skilled in hand to hand combat, as shown in Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, in which he knocks down a charging Xion with a single punch after dismissing his Soul Eater weapon and while using the powers of Ansem, easily blind-sides and pins Saïx bare-handed.

Weapons[]

Other Appearances[]

Disney Tsum Tsum[]

Riku first appeared as a Tsum Tsum at the Japanese D23 Expo in 2018. He was released in a set along with Sora, Kairi, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, Shadow, and Soldier. The Riku Tsum Tsum can also be found alongside Sora in the Sora & Riku Tsum Tsum medal, found in Kingdom Hearts: Unchained χ as a super rare attack medal. Riku's Tsum Tsum is a limited edition Tsum in Line: Disney Tsum Tsum.

Gallery[]

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