When Kingdom Hearts was first released in 2002, it could’ve been best described as a relatively straightforward story about a boy with oversized shoes and an oversized key traveling to worlds based on some of the most iconic Disney properties like Hercules and Little Mermaid. Of course, one of gaming’s most convoluted franchises would go on to become so much more.
As Kingdom Hearts grew in both story and scope, digressing into many multimedia spin-offs, it also began to introduce fans to an ever-expanding roster of new characters. One individual who quickly rose to stardom is franchise protagonist Sora’s other: Roxas. While the two share a kinship in heart and body, they couldn’t be more different as leading characters.
10 Sora Is The Franchise’s Original Protagonist
When compared to his Nobody, Sora holds a distinct advantage of having a much longer run in the franchise. After all, he’s the lead and sole playable character in the franchise’s original game. The Sora of the first Kingdom Hearts is one of the franchise’s strongest depictions of the spiky-haired boy.
Sora’s child-like naïvety and unyielding optimism are perfect fits for an introduction to a star-studded game of established Disney properties. The young keyblade wielder works as the optimal vehicle to mirror the emotions of players as they interact with popular icons like Aladdin, Jack Skellington, and Peter Pan that defined the childhoods of multiple generations.
9 Roxas Takes A More Hands-Off Approach
As Sora’s opposite, Roxas takes a completely different approach when it comes to visiting new worlds. Where Sora barges headfirst into the thick of it when first arriving in a world, Roxas adopts a more cautious and calculated approach. Following the Organization’s directives, No. XIII prefers to observe how events in the world unfold from the shadows.
Roxas’ approach is emphasized in his spin-off title—Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days. Released solely on the Nintendo DS in 2009, Days offers fans something they hadn’t seen before in a Kingdom Hearts game: a new perspective. As a member of the villainous Organization XIII, lead by the Nobody of franchise antagonist Xehanort, players are given insight into some of the franchise’s most memorable antagonists through Roxas’ eyes.
8 Sora Can Make Friends With Anyone
One of Sora’s most distinct qualities is his undying need to befriend almost every person he comes across while trekking across the Ocean Between. While it definitely feels like Sora’s need to be a people pleaser becomes incessant in later titles, the trait also gives developers Square Enix a convenient excuse for him to travel to the number of worlds he does and meet new people.
Sora’s gung-ho personality also seems to be infectious, speaking to the strength of his character as a protagonist. When Kairi suggests in Kingdom Hearts 0.2: Birth by Sleep – A Fragmentary Passage that Riku sounds more like Sora with his newfound enthusiasm, the deuteragonist responds it’s more fun to just follow his heart before realizing that he does indeed sound like his best friend.
7 Roxas Grapples With Existential Questions
One of Sora’s strengths is his infallible conviction in his beliefs—it’s a rare trait that typically makes for unrelatable storytelling. Roxas is the antithesis of this. While chilling on the Twilight Town clock tower with his two best friends Axel and Xion, the Nobody often ponders some of the greatest unanswered questions about life.
Days is fascinating in that it allows players to contend with what it means to be human in a franchise that seems so wrapped up in heavyweight properties like Disney and Final Fantasy. As Roxas continues his missions, he jots down some of these existential questions that plague him in his journal: What is love? What is a heart? What does it mean to be a friend?
6 Sora Is The Stronger Keyblade Wielder
The critically acclaimed Kingdom Hearts II finds Sora, Donald, and Goofy on yet another quest to find his childhood friends and stop the nefarious Organization XIII. However, Sora’s arrival in the Organization’s world—The World That Never Was—likely coupled with the recent demise of Axel, triggers Roxas’ brief return to challenge the keyblade wielder.
A visceral fight ensues in Sora’s Dive to the Heart where the two combatants seem to be evenly matched in combat. When it seems like Sora is defeated after Roxas outmaneuvers him by pinning Kingdom Key to the ground with Oathkeeper, the boy from Destiny Islands catches No. XIII off guard by summoning his keyblade back to his hand to deliver a fatal blow.
5 Roxas Struggles To Find His Identity
While not intentional, Sora nevertheless casts an intimidating shadow over his counterparts in Days. Both Roxas and Xion struggle with their own identities. As Xemnas even remarks late on in the game, the Organization never anticipated for the Nobodies to struggle so hard to fight for the right to exist.
The protagonists’ inevitable demises are truly some of the most heartbreaking sequences the Kingdom Hearts franchise has to offer. And while it’s admittedly necessary to shift the pieces into place for Kingdom Hearts II, the fight to find one’s place in the world beyond another’s shadow makes Roxas relatable to fans in a way Sora just can’t replicate.
4 Sora Travels To More Worlds
As the most frequent recurring protagonist of any Square Enix property, Sora has had more than his fair share of screen time. Consequently, he’s been to an absurd number of worlds by the end of Kingdom Hearts III that simply gives him a more robust repertoire of knowledge than any other character in the series.
The efficacy of the lessons Sora learns along the way are sometimes met with mixed results—proving anywhere from highly ineffective like in Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance to profoundly life-changing like in Kingdom Hearts III. Fortunately, some of the lessons, in spite their cheesiness, resonate enough with Sora to get through his darkest moments.
3 Roxas Has Better Character Development
For the number of games it has taken to get Sora to the character development he is at now, it has taken his Nobody just one. When all is said and done, Days sees Roxas go from essentially a lifeless husk to an individual capable of wielding and acting upon a full range of emotions and a life’s desire for honest camaraderie among friends.
The events of the Kingdom Hearts series do elicit a wide array of emotions from Sora, but he doesn’t start at ground zero like Roxas does. Roxas’ feelings are raw and justly articulated. He’s enraged when he learns Axel has been hiding secrets from him; he grieves when Xion perishes; and, he expresses frustration with being constantly compared to Sora.
2 Sora Embodies What Disney Is
Light, whimsical, friendly, welcoming—these are some of the traits when describing Sora. These traits also share an aesthetic relationship with the branding Disney has made itself famous for. Sora, in essence, is the bridge between Disney and Square Enix that allows the Kingdom Hearts franchise to exist.
Kingdom Hearts stands apart from other titles in Square Enix’s gargantuan catalog of franchises because it’s intrinsically tied to Disney. Part of the allure that draws fans into the crossover franchise is the promise of exploring Disney’s beautiful worlds and meeting their beloved characters.
1 Roxas Embodies What Kingdom Hearts Is
But, if Sora and Disney are the aspects that draw fans into the franchise, Roxas and the multi-faceted narrative are the reasons fans stay. Angsty, depressed, and introspective, Roxas fits the trope of the JRPG protagonist like a glove. Look at Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy VII or Neku Sakuraba from The World Ends With You.
While Kingdom Hearts treads on the ultimate theme of friendship, the myriad trials and tribulations the characters must endure—possession, replication, disassociation, even loss—paired with the unmistakably cheesy humor and over-the-top fighting has transformed the franchise into something unequivocally JRPG in nature. While Sora may embody the spirit of Disney, Roxas highlights what Kingdom Hearts actually is.
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