Riku (Kingdom Hearts)

Kingdom Hearts creator Tetsuya Nomura has stated that Riku's name can be interpreted as "land", since the on'yomi pronunciation of Japanese word for "land" is riku (陸),[1][2] similar to how Sora's name is identical to the Japanese word for "sky", sora (空).[3] In the first sequel, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, Riku is thinking at that point will become clear later. He decides to follow the road in-between to achieve a certain goal. Riku's story was about "What is my relation with the Darkness?", with a cliffhanger centered on his path. That theme of being in-between light and dark is central to Kingdom Hearts II. In the previous installment, the theme was more about being of either Light or Dark, but this time they added being "in the middle". That is why there now is a Twilight Town and a Riku who follows neither Light nor Dark, but both. Twilight Town is the first world to appear in Kingdom Hearts II, too. It is very different opening from the Destiny Islands you begin in the previous installment on and people who played Kingdom Hearts might say "What's this?" and get confused. However, Nomura plans to give that confusion further depth as the story goes on.[4]

With Kingdom Hearts II completed, Nomura managed to explained the secret ending from the first ending involving the older Riku and his encounter with Roxas although some unspecified elements were changed. The game's final scene was led ambiguous by giving Riku and Kairi having mixed reactions upon reading Mickey's letter. The secret ending of the game included Riku's Keyblade in order to expand on the lore of the franchise with Nomura specifying the phrase "Keyblade War". Riku's Keyblade is Way to the Dawn" which Nomura designed to make it look like his previous weapon, the Soul Eater. But the name of "Way to Dawn" does not have to mean that. This name came from the scene at the end of Riku's story in Chain of Memories that suggested which path he would walk on, where he said "The road to dawn."[2] The fights Sora has Xemnas was meant to surprise gamers, as player loses control of Sora and has to use Riku to save him.[5]

To expand the connection between Terra and Riku, scenes foreshadowing future events involving Riku from Terra's perspective were added to the game, though Nomura has stated that these scenes are not of a precognitive nature. Nomura expects that in future games, the connection between both of them would be expanded.[6]

Riku was redesigned for Kingdom Hearts III and given a new Keyblade, Braveheart, that serves as a foil to his darker persona's Way to Dawn Keyblade.

Riku's character represents one of the series' main themes, "the light and the dark sides of hearts," alongside Sora.[7] On the character's role in Dream Drop Distance, Nomura emphasized Riku as the game's main focus as it shows the character's growth across the series.[8] The switches between player characters Sora and Riku across the game are meant to contrast the style from Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep, which allowed the player to use three characters in their own campaigns, as well as explain the word "Distance" in the title because the two characters never interact across their stories.[9] Nomura has stated that the themes of the game are trust and friendship, and that like Birth by Sleep, the story is on par with that of a numbered title. As a result of the game's plot, both Sora and Riku appear in their younger forms from the first Kingdom Hearts game. However, to avoid misconceptions that Dream Drop Distance was a remake of the original game, Nomura decided to change Sora's and Riku's outfits for most of the game.[10] Despite using two protagonists, the game primarily focuses on Riku's growth across the series. When starting production, the staff had decided to make the story as complex as possible, leading to the inclusion of several cutscenes which can be viewed by the player anytime they want. In order to make it more accessible, scenario writer Masaru Oka was in charge of the Chronicles feature, which explains events from previous games.[11] When it comes to Riku's new design, Nomura altered its hair based on fan response following Kingdom Hearts II.[12]

For Kingdom Hearts III Riku and Kairi's new designs were made to fit with Sora's, for example Riku having blue in contrast to Sora's red, while Kairi's main colour remains pink as usual. All of the new costumes, including Mickey's, are given to them by Yen Sid, and because of that they decided to give them something shared, which was the check pattern.[13] Riku's new Keyblade, the Braveheart was meant to contrast the Way to Dawn Keyblade which is destroyed early in the game.[14] The bond between Riku's replica and Namine was reinforced by the original Riku during the narrative.[15]

Casting

Mamoru Miyano (left) and David Gallagher (right) voiced Riku

Mamoru Miyano voices Riku in Japanese. Despite Miyano finding that Riku became corrupted as the narrative passed, fellow actor Miyu Irino said he still liked him. With Kingdom Hearts Final Mix adding a new scene of an older Riku, Miyano was often asked by his friends what is going on with Riku's character but he was unable to reply properly.[16] Miyano found extremely rare to be able to do Riku's voice for twenty years. Additionally since he has been doing it since we were teens, Miyano was able to truly see the changes in the cast through the games: "the growth of our bodies, our voices, and our hearts". He was able to perform something right from myself, true to life. By the time he recorded Kingdom Hearts II in his twenties, his sense of "self" as an actor had been formed. Miyano knew what kind of performances he wanted to give—and he found myself unable to really become Riku. So Miyano did so many re-takes. Thanks to that experience, he was able to create his performance in Kingdom Hearts III by prioritizing "becoming Riku" over his own desires.[15] His child persona is voiced by Eiji Shima.

In English, the character is voiced by David Gallagher. The actor said that Riku has a notable sex appeal which would make him famous within the female fans. As a result, he gives the character a deep, dark kind of sensibility to his voice similar to that of a rebellious teenager. He believes the reason for his popularity is how Kingdom Hearts uses both Disney characters and original characters as leads.[17] As a child the character is voiced by Ty Panitz.

Riku is a childhood friend and rival of Sora, who resides with him and Kairi on the world of Destiny Islands.[18][19] Originally appearing as a non-playable character in the original game, where he is introduced as a 15-year-old boy, 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. 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.[20] 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.[21][22]

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. Vexen from Organization XIII also create a replica to have as their pawn.[23][24][25] 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;[26] after the Heartless is destroyed by DiZ's exploding heart encoder, Riku returns to his regular appearance. Riku acquires another Keyblade of his own, the "Way to the Dawn". He and Sora return to the Destiny Islands together following Xemnas's defeat.[27]

He is also present in the multiplayer mode of 358/2 Days as well as the story mode of contacting Sora's replica Xion and as the final boss as he faces Roxas to use him to wake up Sora as seen in Kingdom Hearts II.[28] In Dream Drop Distance, he and Sora undertake a Mark of Mastery exam in preparation for Xehanort's return.[29] 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.[30] Returning to Yen Sid's tower, Riku releases his heart from Ventus's Nightmare-possessed armor, saving him. Riku then arrives in a simulation of the Destiny Islands and meets a virtual copy of Ansem the Wise, who gives him research data he had left in Sora's heart to help Sora save those connected to it. After Riku returns to the realm of light and reunites with Sora, Yen Sid commends Riku for braving the realm of sleep a second time to reawaken Sora, declaring him a Keyblade Master.[31]

He subsequently embarks with Mickey in Kingdom Hearts III to rescue Aqua from the realm of darkness. 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. He obtains a new Keyblade, "Braveheart".[32] During a visit to Radiant Garden, Riku analyzes digital copies of Sora and the Organization's members programmed into Cid Highwind's computer, hoping to uncover clues to Sora's whereabouts through their battles. After the analysis proves inconclusive, Riku is approached by the Fairy Godmother to meet Yen Sid, who suspects that they may find Sora through the dreams of Riku and two others. In Melody of Memory Riku explains his dream of a modern metropolis to the girl, who recognizes it as a city in her world called Quadratum, allowing Riku to open a portal to the other reality and begin his search for Sora.

Riku also makes an appearance in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as a spirit.[33] In a collaboration between Square Enix and Japanese fashion brand SuperGroupies, Riku's image was used to create clothing based on his design from Kingdom Hearts III.[34]

For the first game, Inverse noted he liked Riku's character and wanted to know more about him.[35] USGamer praised his role for giving the narrative a major impact as he takes over the role of the Disney villains in Hollow Bastion. The writer praised how strong he becomes as he defeats the Beast and takes over the Keyblade from Sora. Although Riku ends up being defeated, he being used by Ansem was noted to keep giving the narrative a darker tone.[36] Paste Magazine said that a vital part in Riku's characterization in Kingdom Hearts is how he embraces darkness in contrast to Sora especially after meeting Maleficent in a similar fashion to Terra during Birth by Sleep.[37] The inclusion of Riku in Chain of Memories as a playable character was praised by GamesRadar due to how enjoyable is his gameplay.[38] GamesRadar found Riku's fate strange as he ends sealing himself in the Door to Darkness with Mickey. The site noted Ansem still manages to further corrupt Riku, labeling his resulting personality as an "emo" who is unwilling to reunite with Sora. Meanwhile, Xemnas' handling in Kingdom Hearts II was called predictable as the now united Sora and Riku manage to destroy him alongside his lands. This led to more criticism as Ansem's and Xemnas' destructions lead to the return of the original Xehanort, making the heroes' action meaningless.[39] Paste Magazine felt that Riku and Sora's fight against Xemnas felt too long even for RPG conventions and felt their happy ending lasted shortly.[40] Although Riku and Sora are friends, GamesRadar stated that the several cutscenes they share in the first three games of the franchise often result into attracting the Yaoi fandom to the point Sora's love interest Kairi is removed from such interactions.[41]

Comic Book Resources still enjoyed Riku's handling of Ansem's powers as he manages to use them to overcome his inner darkness in both Chain of Memories and Dream Drop Distance. The same was said with how Riku once again used Ansem's power for justice in Kingdom Hearts II and 358/2 Days to defeat Roxas and help in Sora's awakening in the former game as Roxas was needed to awake the comatose teenager. The same site also listed Sora's and Riku's fight against Xemnas's as one of Riku's best action sequences in the entire series while also highlighting the multiple methods of attacks summoned by the Nobody. Comic Book Resources made an article citing his ten best fights, citing his fight against Xehanort's alter egos and he saving Aqua in Kingdom Hearts III.[42] In early trailers for the game Dream Drop Distance, GamesRadar was confused with Riku's younger appearance as the game is supposed to take place after Kingdom Hearts II and compared it with Chain of Memories as such game also recycled the cast's classic designs but still felt movements might be interesting gameplay.[43] Both IGN and Anime News Network said Sora and Riku's stories in Dream Drop Distance were just a preparation for their growth in Kingdom Hearts III.[44][45] Riku's new Keyblade, Braveheart, was commented by Scyfy to be one of the most interesting designs from the entire game, citing parallels with Cloud Strife's derived Keyblade Fenrir from Kingdom Hearts II as its design also stood out within other weapons featured in the film.[46] The character's inclusion in the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building during the Kingdom Hearts III secret ending was the subject of analysis as whether or not Riku might interact again with the cast from The World Ends With You as well as Yozora, an original character resembling him as well as Final Fantasy XV lead Noctis Lucis Caelum.[47] USGamer shared similar comments and noted that Riku might join forces with Sora again in the future but was confused with what was the actual significance of him appearing with Yozora and whether or not he might take place of the alternate Final Fantasy XV story as Tetsuya Nomura was originally going to be its director before there was a change of staff.[48] Hardcore Gamer liked in the inclusion of Riku as playable character in the DLC but lamented his few possible fights.[49]

The performance of David Gallagher as Riku's English actor was praised by GamesRadar and Hardcore Gamer as one of the best ones in Kingdom Hearts 3D and Kingdom Hearts III alongside Sora's and Aqua's English actors. His inclusion as a playable character in 3D was also praised due to his dynamic with fellow lead Sora.[50][51] Koinya lamented the fact Mamoru Miyano's work was never made available for the Western audience considering him talented alongside Miyu Irino (Sora).[52] In a poll from Famitsu, Riku was voted as the series' fourth best male character.[53] A perfume based on the character was also released.[54]