On Birth By Sleep, when Terra meets a younger Riku, he turns into Young Xehanort, then to the Riku we all know and love and then back to his younger self as a vision in Terra's mind.

 

Also, Riku kept complaining how small his world was back at Kingdom Hearts I. Young Xehanort does the same in Birth By Sleep and Dream Drop Distance.

 

Riku and Young Master Xehanort share some similiar skills, the way they grab their keyblade, their agility, darkness control, etc...

 

Riku's hair is the same colour as Xehanort, kinda off. Xehanort is only that dark-skinned because of the darkness inside of his heart.

 

Ansem SoS was able to control Riku very well - but maybe that's not the case, but he still haunts him to this day.

 

 

So, what's this all about? Is Riku Xehanort somehow? Or does he shares something important?

 

It doesn't make any sense...

It's possible, especially with time travel involved and knowing that time travel affects memories

Or Riku is an alternate path of Xehanort, or something

I really hope not though, I'm tired of Riku having connections with all the villains, and I really don't want the Riku as a villain thing being rehashed

Riku and Xehanort both followed the same path .They also both ended up being consumed by darkness. However, Riku has learned to utilize and control his in a positive way eventually whereas Xehanort was consumed and became corrupt by it hence his evil plan for mass genocide in a Keyblade War..

 

Also the scene you first mentioned means this :

 

 

What's the meaning behind the several puzzling images in Terra's chapter where we cross over into his mind?

Nomura: Firstly, when he hears the name of the masked boy from Master Xehanort at the mysterious wasteland, and we see an image of Aqua and Ventus defeated, that's a hint of the future. On the Destiny Islands, when he makes Riku his successor, he has a special view of him and catches a glimpse of his future. However, this isn't to say that Terra has the ability to see the future - it was a directive nuance intended to portray the future connection between Terra and Riku.

Edited October 30, 201411 yr by Flaming Lea

The connection between Riku and Xehanort:

 

They both have gray hair. The end/shot

 

Okay, seriously now: They have gray hair. And that's it.

Edited October 30, 201411 yr by Firaga Sensei

On Birth By Sleep, when Terra meets a younger Riku, he turns into Young Xehanort, then to the Riku we all know and love and then back to his younger self as a vision in Terra's mind.

 

Also, Riku kept complaining how small his world was back at Kingdom Hearts I. Young Xehanort does the same in Birth By Sleep and Dream Drop Distance.

 

Riku and Young Master Xehanort share some similiar skills, the way they grab their keyblade, their agility, darkness control, etc...

 

Riku's hair is the same colour as Xehanort, kinda off. Xehanort is only that dark-skinned because of the darkness inside of his heart.

 

Ansem SoS was able to control Riku very well - but maybe that's not the case, but he still haunts him to this day.

 

 

So, what's this all about? Is Riku Xehanort somehow? Or does he shares something important?

 

It doesn't make any sense...

 

It actually makes perfect sense, you just managed to make it even denser than it already is. It would really suck if it was him, and the only reason why I'm saying it sucks is because I don't know what Nomura is thinking. 

This is all a very interesting concept.  Riku is obviously connected to Xehanort, but like Lea mentioned, Riku followed the path of darkness but learned to conquer it, while Xehanort gave in to it.  That doesn't mean they are one and the same.  And speaking off topic a bit, doesn't anybody else notice Repliku inside Monstro when playing as Riku in Dream Drop Distance?  And that character entry was never ever recorded in the journal...I'm getting the feeling Repliku is a member of the true Organization XIII!  Anyways, back on topic, Riku will obviously always have a connection to Xehanort because of the experiences that he went through, but I'm sure Riku won't let the darkness take hold of him again.

Also Vanitas and Dark Riku have the exact same armor only Vanitas' is red and has a heart-like shape on the chest. And they both reach their hands out during intros. I find this very intriguing. It makes me wonder what surprise they might reveal for Riku. 

Riku is Xehanort form the furure where Sora and co killed Xehanort sent him to the past and was reborn as Riku.tht or Riku shares the same family tree

I have a feeling they'll end up making Riku go back in time and lose his memories and become Xehanort. Its not a terrible ending but I would prefer something different. 

The connection between Riku and Xehanort:

 

They both have gray hair. The end/shot

 

Okay, seriously now: They have gray hair. And that's it.

You could argue that Riku and Y Xehanort's battle stances are eerily similar and that's not just by coincidence.

 

"There are no coincidences in Kingdom Hearts, everything is true or false."

 

~ Tetsuya Nomura.

You could argue that Riku and Y Xehanort's battle stances are eerily similar and that's not just by coincidence.

 

Or not.

Edited November 1, 201411 yr by Firaga Sensei

They're both Libras.

Xehanort seeker of darkness (the one in brown cloak) stole riku's body. After that he can release he's old darkness.