Hey, everybody.

So in order to get myself through this final agonizing stretch until KH3, I've been playing through the Kingdom Hearts games at random. I was just starting the final battle for Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix when I noticed something about Ansem's speech about Riku wanting to escape the Destiny Islands. I couldn't find a video of just this clip so the video I'm sharing is like 40 minutes, but the scene I'm referencing should start when you hit play. If not, it starts around the 2:12 mark: 

If you listen to what Ansem is saying about Riku wanting to leave the islands, it seems like the game may have intended to draw parallels between Riku and Young Xehanort while he was still living on the islands. All that stuff Ansem says about the island being a prison surrounded by water and how "this boy sought out to escape from his prison." Hasn't it been confirmed that young Xehanort felt the exact same way? I'm wondering now if more parallels will come up between the two in KH3.

What do you guys think? Am I just grasping at straws or do you agree?

3 minutes ago, Allwil13 said:

Hey, everybody.

So in order to get myself through this final agonizing stretch until KH3, I've been playing through the Kingdom Hearts games at random. I was just starting the final battle for Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix when I noticed something about Ansem's speech about Riku wanting to escape the Destiny Islands. I couldn't find a video of just this clip so the video I'm sharing is like 40 minutes, but the scene I'm referencing should start when you hit play. If not, it starts around the 2:12 mark: 

If you listen to what Ansem is saying about Riku wanting to leave the islands, it seems like the game may have intended to draw parallels between Riku and Young Xehanort while he was still living on the islands. All that stuff Ansem says about the island being a prison surrounded by water and how "this boy sought out to escape from his prison." Hasn't it been confirmed that young Xehanort felt the exact same way? I'm wondering now if more parallels will come up between the two in KH3.

What do you guys think? Am I just grasping at straws or do you agree?

No, you're not grasping at straws.  I have been kind of looking at the similarities that Sora and Xehanort have in common.  Both were from Destiny Island, they have somewhat similar color schemes depending on the outfit, black and red and both of them retained their human body when they both became Heartless.  I guess, there can parallels drawn between Sora, Riku and Xehanort.

6 minutes ago, ienzo628 said:

No, you're not grasping at straws.  I have been kind of looking at the similarities that Sora and Xehanort have in common.  Both were from Destiny Island, they have somewhat similar color schemes depending on the outfit, black and red and both of them retained their human body when they both became Heartless.  I guess, there can parallels drawn between Sora, Riku and Xehanort.

Glad to see I'm not the only one. I imagine that at least some of the parallels were intentional. The scene I shared in particular cannot be a coincidence; it makes me wonder just how much of the story they had mapped out during the first game.

4 minutes ago, Allwil13 said:

Glad to see I'm not the only one. I imagine that at least some of the parallels were intentional. The scene I shared in particular cannot be a coincidence; it makes me wonder just how much of the story they had mapped out during the first game.

I think it might be kind of based on some old tropes.  You know where the bad guy shares some sort of commonality with the protagonist.  It would also be interested in how it plays into the downfall of the villain.

Just now, ienzo628 said:

I think it might be kind of based on some old tropes.  You know where the bad guy shares some sort of commonality with the protagonist.  It would also be interested in how it plays into the downfall of the villain.

Oh, definitely. There's no way they can set up these parallels and not do anything with them. I think that Riku and Xehanort are examples of how a person can embrace the darkness. Xehanort embraced it and it kind of consumed him; the guy went super dark. But Riku realized that he was stronger than the darkness and that he shouldn't bend to the darkness' will; it should bend to his.

1 minute ago, Allwil13 said:

Oh, definitely. There's no way they can set up these parallels and not do anything with them. I think that Riku and Xehanort are examples of how a person can embrace the darkness. Xehanort embraced it and it kind of consumed him; the guy went super dark. But Riku realized that he was stronger than the darkness and that he shouldn't bend to the darkness' will; it should bend to his.

I wonder if Xehanort shared a similar relationship to Eraqus as Riku and Sora had.  Riku pretty much had to save his best friend and pretty much got pitted against him in the form of the Roxas (Sora's Nobody), Sora in Ven's cursed armor and Sora's Nightmare.  Maybe Riku serves more as the opposite of Xehanort because Xehanort did ultimately kill friend whereas Riku did all he could and rescued his friend.  Riku even took on the appearance and abilities of Ansem SoD just so he could get Sora back his memories and to wake up. 

1 minute ago, ienzo628 said:

I wonder if Xehanort shared a similar relationship to Eraqus as Riku and Sora had.  Riku pretty much had to save his best friend and pretty much got pitted against him in the form of the Roxas (Sora's Nobody), Sora in Ven's cursed armor and Sora's Nightmare.  Maybe Riku serves more as the opposite of Xehanort because Xehanort did ultimately kill friend whereas Riku did all he could and rescued his friend.  Riku even took on the appearance and abilities of Ansem SoD just so he could get Sora back his memories and to wake up. 

It certainly seems like he did. Eraqus and Xehanort have been heavily implied to have been very close friends when they were younger. Heck, even when they're older Eraqus speaks so highly of Xehanort and clearly still sees him as a friend. And it makes sense; didn't they train under the same master? And yeah, this further serves as an excellent parallel to show just how similar yet different Riku and Xehanort are. Riku learned to use the darkness to his advantage without letting it consume him, while I am pretty sure Xehanort has been consumed by darkness even though he's convinced he has it under control.

2 minutes ago, Allwil13 said:

It certainly seems like he did. Eraqus and Xehanort have been heavily implied to have been very close friends when they were younger. Heck, even when they're older Eraqus speaks so highly of Xehanort and clearly still sees him as a friend. And it makes sense; didn't they train under the same master? And yeah, this further serves as an excellent parallel to show just how similar yet different Riku and Xehanort are. Riku learned to use the darkness to his advantage without letting it consume him, while I am pretty sure Xehanort has been consumed by darkness even though he's convinced he has it under control.

MX and Eraqus also serve as complete opposites of each other; Eraqus wants to get rid of darkness while MX pretty much we all know is stance on light and darkness.  Riku managed to make it work for him while MX just wants to exploit darkness and became a tyrant.

Just now, ienzo628 said:

MX and Eraqus also serve as complete opposites of each other; Eraqus wants to get rid of darkness while MX pretty much we all know is stance on light and darkness.  Riku managed to make it work for him while MX just wants to exploit darkness and became a tyrant.

Truer words were never spoken. I think in a way Riku has surpassed Xehanort as a keyblade master because of this. He found a way to embrace both the darkness and the light because he accepted that he is both.

8 minutes ago, Allwil13 said:

Truer words were never spoken. I think in a way Riku has surpassed Xehanort as a keyblade master because of this. He found a way to embrace both the darkness and the light because he accepted that he is both.

Riku also sees people as friends whereas MX sees people as potential pawns.

4 minutes ago, ienzo628 said:

Riku also sees people as friends whereas MX sees people as potential pawns.

Another good point. Not to mention Riku is so selfless. I mean, in KH3d he dove right back into the realm of sleep to save Sora without a second thought. Not to mention spent almost the entirety of Kingdom Hearts 2 looking like AoD to help Sora and his friends take down Xemnas.

1 hour ago, Allwil13 said:

Another good point. Not to mention Riku is so selfless. I mean, in KH3d he dove right back into the realm of sleep to save Sora without a second thought. Not to mention spent almost the entirety of Kingdom Hearts 2 looking like AoD to help Sora and his friends take down Xemnas.

It should be interesting to see how MX falls and if he can somehow come back to his senses.  Eraqus was also an extremist since he wanted to take out Ventus to prevent MX from getting his point.  I am sure Riku would be more in line to hold Sora back if he went out and did something evil like MX did instead of killing the pawn.  Eraqus seemed like he was covering MX's "mistake" and Terra wouldn't standby that.

26 minutes ago, ienzo628 said:

It should be interesting to see how MX falls and if he can somehow come back to his senses.  Eraqus was also an extremist since he wanted to take out Ventus to prevent MX from getting his point.  I am sure Riku would be more in line to hold Sora back if he went out and did something evil like MX did instead of killing the pawn.  Eraqus seemed like he was covering MX's "mistake" and Terra wouldn't standby that.

Seems even Eraqus couldn't completely resist the darkness. GOtta admit, trying to kill Ventus was a pretty dark thing to do. I do really like the parallels between terra and Riku too, though I do find some of them are a bit too on the nose.

2 minutes ago, Allwil13 said:

Seems even Eraqus couldn't completely resist the darkness. GOtta admit, trying to kill Ventus was a pretty dark thing to do. I do really like the parallels between terra and Riku too, though I do find some of them are a bit too on the nose.

Yeah, Riku and Terra might as well be the same character.  I hate how throughout BBS that Terra was treated as some sort of buffoon that later got tricked and taken over by MX.  How come Riku could eventually overcome Ansem but Terra couldn't overcome MX?  It was also kind of powerful when Riku finally got to meet MX but Sora didn't.

Are tou kidding.......

 

terra is a dumbass whre

 

that is how  reflection of the differences int...

 

 

terra had to do so as a comepleter vicitm of hs cirucmstances (help his friends after fallignot tdarknesss wihtout any ability to help himeslef out fo it.....

 

however, riku, through hsi abiltiy to bbe saved by Mickey,was able to actively infleucen after hsi body was alledgeley S"tolen" by Anse SoD

 

terra coudlnt' do that for all his heroim after losing his body...

 

The are

 

The divergence of simialrity bewteen Riku and Xehanortis deifentley made greater however, by the fact that Xehanorts story has roots with a time cycle outside of the  the BBS Three-Sora and Friends/Dark Seeker Saga  where as Riku-Sora (in order of keyblade inheritance)- and Friends are largely a product OF This Cycle and of the Events before it that were largely out of their control.

 

That,as KH3 will doubtless prove, will prove the massive, as well as a test of How True their Assumed "Strength of Heart" Will Prove in the Face of Powers Far older than they are!

 

 

On 12/24/2018 at 7:01 PM, ienzo628 said:

Yeah, Riku and Terra might as well be the same character.  I hate how throughout BBS that Terra was treated as some sort of buffoon that later got tricked and taken over by MX.  How come Riku could eventually overcome Ansem but Terra couldn't overcome MX?  It was also kind of powerful when Riku finally got to meet MX but Sora didn't.

I disagree. There is a reason Terra failed the Mark of Mastery exam while Riku passed. 

To be honest, Terra was a bit of a buffoon, resentful, reckless and gullible. A seeker of darkness, Hook, was easily able to trick him into stealing a trivial fortune, a treasure chest for him. He was able to be manipulated into slaying his master. 

Riku, on the other hand, while also manipulated into the darkness was so under the pretense of saving Sora and Kairi. 
 

Terra succumbed to MX while Riku overcame Ansem and learned to wield something of a twilight power in the name of the light. 

Terra was just written poorly. 

3 hours ago, Ventus_ said:

I disagree. There is a reason Terra failed the Mark of Mastery exam while Riku passed. 

To be honest, Terra was a bit of a buffoon, resentful, reckless and gullible. A seeker of darkness, Hook, was easily able to trick him into stealing a trivial fortune, a treasure chest for him. He was able to be manipulated into slaying his master. 

Riku, on the other hand, while also manipulated into the darkness was so under the pretense of saving Sora and Kairi. 
 

Terra succumbed to MX while Riku overcame Ansem and learned to wield something of a twilight power in the name of the light. 

I think Terra was just so desperate for approval that he was very naive. He was overlooking some pretty obvious stuff because Xehanort was telling all these things that he wanted to hear, like calling him "Master Terra", for example. I think Terra was really proud. Too proud.

11 minutes ago, Allwil13 said:

I think Terra was just so desperate for approval that he was very naive. He was overlooking some pretty obvious stuff because Xehanort was telling all these things that he wanted to hear, like calling him "Master Terra", for example. I think Terra was really proud. Too proud.

That could be it. 

On 12/31/2018 at 6:05 AM, ienzo628 said:

That could be it. 

It might be kind of cool if Terra and Riku met and were able to learn from one another. I'm sure Terra could learn from Riku since Riku was able to harness both his darkness and his light, while Terra... well, Terra wasn't.

Yes, there's definitely parallels to Riku and Xehanort. I guess you can say that they are both different sides of one same coin. Riku is an example of what balance between light and darkness is, of what it should be, while Xehanort is an example of darkness gone to the extreme. He believes in balance, but the way he's going about it is questionable. But they definitely do have their similarities, such as their pursuit of power, the desire to reach out to worlds beyond their own and whatnot. The only difference is that Riku didn't let the darkness get the best of him after he started down his path to redemption, while Xehanort just stared into the abyss for too long, ya know?

16 minutes ago, The Transcendent Key said:

Yes, there's definitely parallels to Riku and Xehanort. I guess you can say that they are both different sides of one same coin. Riku is an example of what balance between light and darkness is, of what it should be, while Xehanort is an example of darkness gone to the extreme. He believes in balance, but the way he's going about it is questionable. But they definitely do have their similarities, such as their pursuit of power, the desire to reach out to worlds beyond their own and whatnot. The only difference is that Riku didn't let the darkness get the best of him after he started down his path to redemption, while Xehanort just stared into the abyss for too long, ya know?

Yes, exactly! That's kind of what's made me believe in the whole "Xehanort is possessed/being manipulated" theory. It seems odd to me that his plan is to attain a perfect balance between light and dark, and yet he's consumed by the darkness. It's like some unknown entity has been whispering in his ear and manipulting him.

On 1/1/2019 at 12:48 PM, Allwil13 said:

Yes, exactly! That's kind of what's made me believe in the whole "Xehanort is possessed/being manipulated" theory. It seems odd to me that his plan is to attain a perfect balance between light and dark, and yet he's consumed by the darkness. It's like some unknown entity has been whispering in his ear and manipulting him.

I really hope MX is not possessed. 

On 1/1/2019 at 1:48 PM, Allwil13 said:

Yes, exactly! That's kind of what's made me believe in the whole "Xehanort is possessed/being manipulated" theory. It seems odd to me that his plan is to attain a perfect balance between light and dark, and yet he's consumed by the darkness. It's like some unknown entity has been whispering in his ear and manipulting him.

That is a pretty intriguing assumption to make. It's something that would definitely be a twist, but I'd find such a twist to be predictable, ya know? I would much rather that Xehanort's actions are actually of his own volition and not because someone's been manipulating him, but hey, I guess we'll find out in 23 more days!

2 hours ago, The Transcendent Key said:

That is a pretty intriguing assumption to make. It's something that would definitely be a twist, but I'd find such a twist to be predictable, ya know? I would much rather that Xehanort's actions are actually of his own volition and not because someone's been manipulating him, but hey, I guess we'll find out in 23 more days!

If he were to be manipulated say by Dark Chirithy or MoM than it would be somewhat predictable since people have been theorizing about.  I rather have MX separate from the next KH major villain.

On 1/6/2019 at 4:19 PM, ienzo628 said:

If he were to be manipulated say by Dark Chirithy or MoM than it would be somewhat predictable since people have been theorizing about.  I rather have MX separate from the next KH major villain.

Exactly! I want Xehanort's machinations to have been of his own volition and not because some other force was driving him to do it, ya know? Over the course of the series, we've always believed Xehanort has done what he's done for the pursuit of knowledge and to seek the balance of light and darkness, ya know?