The rivalry between these two has been going on since they were children and has never been settled fairly.

In KH1 Riku was defeated multiple times by Sora after obtaining powers of darkness. In KH2's ending, the two stated they were quite jealous of each other. Riku has always been the person Sora has idolized, he wants to have the same attitude that Sora has, just being happy and following his heart. 

 

In KH3D, we see Riku ascending to the rank of a Master. Whilst Sora is portrayed as a dunce and having to be rescued by Riku.

 

KH3 should settle and expain this rivalry as it deepens the bond between our two heroes. By having Riku challenge Sora in a friendly battle as the final boss battle  (after MX and the 13 SOD) and Sora winning, it would show how far Sora has come in terms of power. 

 

This idea stems from the rivalry between Naruto and Sasuke. 

 

Thoughts? 

No, the rivalry finished until the end of KH2 (except Nomura is doing some time travel bullshit a la Riku = Xehanort).

KH3D showed that both are not interested in being better than the other.

KH3 should focus on more important things.

I thought it end at KH1.

They ended the whole 'rivalry' thing by KHII with their whole, 'I always thought I was better than you at stuff' conversation. By KHDDD, Sora doesn't even care that Riku passed and he didn't, he was just glad they made it out alive.

Like they said, their rivalry ended at KH2.

If anybody is going to act like the rival then it's going to be Lea. Another Sora and Riku rivalry will just bog down the story...

Its common for young adolescents to be competitive at things...like basketball, grades, having better possessions...etc

 

By the end of KH2 they both admitted their flaws to each other and set aside their differences (thereby feeding the SoraxRiku shippers) thereby putting aside their history of competition

 

Quote 1:

 

Riku: You know... I always figured I was better at stuff than you.
Sora: Really?
Riku: Are you mad?
Sora: No. I kinda always thought you were better at everything, too.

 

Quote 2:

 

Riku: What I said back there...about thinking I was better at stuff than you...To tell you the truth, Sora... I was jealous of you.
Sora: What for?
Riku: I wished I could live life the way you do. Just following my heart.
Sora: Yeah, well, I've got my share of problems, too.
Riku: Like what?
Sora: Like...wanting to be like you.
Riku: Well, there is one advantage to being me... Something you could never imitate.
Sora: Really? What's that?
Riku: Having you for a friend.
Sora: Then I guess...I'm okay the way I am. I've got something you could never imitate too.

 

Throughout KH3D we see that instead of competing against each other; they both work together to fight a common foe.

Honestly I think Riku was at his best when he was a bad guy, but I still love him as a good guy.

Their rivalry didn't exactly ended in kh2. they only acknowledge. Kingdom Hearts 3D actually did acknowledge that there was some form of rivalry going on, but it was more casual. I dont think its their rivalry that needs to be expanded, but they still need more of a dynamic going on.

Rivalry? There is no rivalry. Riku followed the dark path and fell to that darkness out of gullibility just like Terra. Sora saved Riku from the darkness and so Riku in KH3D saved Sora because he knew Sora needed him and (this is not explicitly said, but can be implied) he owed Sora for putting him through hell. He evened it out in KH3D. Sora was no dunce in KH3D. In fact, it only made him stronger for KH3. Everything was done out of friendship, not of rivalry.

Edited July 31, 201510 yr by KingdomHearts3

They were rivals when they were younger, sure, but right now, they've matured to the point that their rivalry is nonexistent.  I mean, sure, there may be things they can brag about, but at this point in the Xehanort Saga, their heads will be focused mainly on defeating big, bad ol' Nort!

Rivalry implies that Sora feels he has anything to prove to Riku. He really doesn't.

I think people are over doing it when they say there is absolutely no rialry. Keep in mind theres a difference between rivalry among enemies and rivalry among friends. In kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance, it was confirmed that there is still a friendly rivalry going on. But i think the bigger issue is that there is little room to develop friendships in the series.

 

The main story isn't about their dynamic except for 3D and chain of memories. but other than that, its been a search and rescue mission before then.

Why does Sora need to show how far he;'s come in terms of power? He ALWAYS beats Riku

it's not like we've had an arc of Riku being better than Sora that we can conclude with Sora finally besting him

Doubtful, but who knows. Nomura stated that this is not the end of the KH series. Xehanort was once claimed a master as well in the past. Riku could slowly have dark road here on out after 3, going the Naruto route. I just beat KH2 the other day again and was kind of eerie when Riku states in the world of darkness that he feels comfortable there and maybe should fall back to darkness. Once again, probably pretty unlikely but who knows. Would be an epic twist though (not in a way that I would like personally). But I'm assuming Nomura will blow our minds in some way or another in the secret movie. The same way 'Another Side, Another Story [Deep Dive]' and 'A Tale of Truth Yet to be Told [birth by Sleep] blew my mind when I unlocked them.

They should focus on the friendship of Sora and Riku and how well they work together. Like the end of KH2. 

If anything, I personally wish that there was a rivalry during kingdom Hearts 3D with sora being the cocky one as opposed to Riku. A nice hypothetical subversion but alas... it was not meant to be!