Riku

Riku (リク) is a childhood friend and rival of Sora who resides with him and Kairi on the world of Destiny Islands.[1] Originally appearing as a non-playable character in the original game, where he is introduced as 15 years old, he has a playable role in the "Reverse/Rebirth" story mode of Chain of Memories, the multiplayer mode of 358/2 Days, and the core story of Dream Drop Distance. He is also a computer-controlled party member exclusive to the final level of Kingdom Hearts II, and is temporarily playable during a sequence where Sora is incapacitated in the game's final boss battle. Riku is also briefly playable at several points in the "Dark World" in Kingdom Hearts III and is playable a few times in the Re Mind expansion of Kingdom Hearts III. His signature weapon is the "Soul Eater" sword, a manifestation of the darkness in his heart. During the first game, Riku is revealed to be the rightful owner of Sora's Keyblade, which is bequeathed onto the five-year-old Riku by Terra during the events of Birth by Sleep; however, his reliance on the power of darkness causes the Keyblade to reject Riku in favor of Sora. In Kingdom Hearts II, the 16-year-old Riku acquires another Keyblade of his own, the "Way to the Dawn"; this Keyblade is later broken in Kingdom Hearts III, leading him to obtain a new Keyblade, "Braveheart". During the invasion of Heartless in Kingdom Hearts, Riku immerses himself in darkness to discover new worlds beyond his home. Arriving at Hollow Bastion, Riku is manipulated by Maleficent into aiding her plans for world conquest in exchange for knowledge to restoring Kairi's missing heart. He is later tricked into allowing Xehanort's Heartless, Ansem, to possess his body. Following Ansem's defeat, Riku helps Sora and King Mickey close the door to Kingdom Hearts, remaining on the other side with the king. In Chain of Memories, DiZ helps Riku escape from the dark realm. Initially rejecting his darkness out of guilt for his betrayal, Riku resolves to wield both powers of light and darkness to battle Ansem, whose essence lingers in his heart. In Kingdom Hearts II, Riku is forced to harness Ansem's power to capture Roxas in order to restore Sora's missing memories, assuming the Heartless's physical appearance as a result; after the Heartless is destroyed by DiZ's exploding heart encoder, Riku returns to his regular appearance, and he and Sora return to the Destiny Islands together following Xemnas's defeat. In Dream Drop Distance, he and Sora undertake a Mark of Mastery exam in preparation for Xehanort's return. Riku is promoted to Keyblade Master after venturing into Sora's dreams twice in the form of a Dream Eater to protect him from Xehanort. He subsequently embarks with Mickey in Kingdom Hearts III to rescue Aqua from the realm of darkness.