Roxas

Roxas, the Key of Destiny (めぐりあう鍵, Meguriau Kagi^?, lit Serendipitous Key) is the Nobody of Sora, and Rank XIII of Organization XIII. Like Naminé, he was born when Sora released his own heart in order to restore Kairi's. Although Sora's heart was soon restored, Roxas continued to endure and exist, oblivious to Sora's existence for most of his life. He has the ability to use the Keyblade, and wields light, using it to direct rays that strike opponents with great power. He commands the Samurai Nobodies. He strongly resembles Ventus, as Xigbar indirectly references in the Secret Reports.

Roxas was also one of the mysterious hooded figures in "Another side, Another story..." and "Deep Dive". During the prologue of Kingdom Hearts II, the player controls Roxas for a short time until Sora is awakened. Later in this same game, Roxas also acts as a minor antagonist. Roxas is the main protagonist in Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, which focuses on the time between Roxas's creation and when he leaves the Organization.

Personality[]

You should share some of that hatred with Sora. He's far too nice for his own good.

DiZ, to Roxas

Roxas, unlike other Nobodies, seems to possess real emotions, due to his possession of Ventus's heart that stayed with him once he and Sora were separated during Roxas' creation. Many ranges of feelings come from him depending on his situation. Being Sora's other half, his personality is similar to that of his counterpart, with some differences.^[1] For example, when Riku confirms that Roxas is Sora's Nobody after they meet in Dark City, Roxas's statement, "What are you talking about? I am me! Nobody else!" is nearly identical to Sora's later reactions when the Organization XIII members address him as Roxas.

For example, Roxas is less impulsive than Sora, but far more quick to anger; he is short-tempered, aggressive, blunt and stands his ground, characteristics that had mixed in his fighting style. He can be arrogant, confident, and cocky as proven in his battles, more so when he engages Riku in a fight, proclaiming that he could not beat him no matter how many times he attempted to. When blinded with anger, he lets go of all reason and focuses on venting his anger, as seen when he continually hacks at DiZ's computers and viciously attacks DiZ's hologram. His words have bite, and he isn't afraid to speak his mind. He even expressed some dislike for being compared to Sora early on due to their relation, which DiZ notes with amusement in their encounter. This type of main contrast between the boys is even portrayed in official art, with Roxas almost always having a dark, sort of fierce expression, while Sora's is a bit more loose and mellow.

With a devil-may-care attitude in terms of recklessness, he can be rightfully selfish in certain intervals, but not selfish enough to not, in the end, return back to Sora willingly in understanding. Throughout the game, Roxas is presented as the type to not just let things happen, to twiddle his thumbs and wait when there's something about himself he doesn't comprehend. He constantly rebels against what he's told is his "place" and is a strongly independent individual. On the other hand, Roxas tends to be ironically melancholy and stoic, solemn and distracted, especially as he comes to realize the truth about himself, and at other points when he's confused and lost.

Like Sora, Roxas has little patience for people who seem to be bending his will or trying to confuse him. He doesn't have an extreme lust for life as well, not taking everything in with a bright outlook, but he does wish and desire one of his own with fervor. And despite their differences, the traits he and Sora share are shown in how they deeply care for their friends as they are extremely protective of them, along with some instances where Roxas is happy, cheerful, kind, at ease, and carefree in good company—even shown laughing.

Being born with no memories when taken in by the Organization, Roxas at first unlike his other half had no information on the simplest topics or objects, making him comparable to a newborn who grows to learn them, and coming off slow and naive due to it, leading a few others, including himself, to refer to him as a "zombie". However, Vexen's demanding training on learning how to do recon on worlds and his continued appliance of the skill along with his mind advancing naturally as he is exposed to new things seems to have made him the smarter half of Sora, as he is not as easily fooled by his enemies and is more likely to think his actions through unless angered.

This is why Axel fulfills the role of enlightening him about his questions or thoughts, sometimes making Axel himself tongue tied on how to explain them. Roxas's attitude, nonetheless, was very apparent from the start, telling Axel after he accomplished a mission in the beginning that he could have done that blindfolded, and being greatly annoyed when Xigbar calls him "kiddo" or "tiger".

Another difference with Sora is their heroic status. Often times, Roxas shows how he'd rather not have anything to do with the Keyblade, longing to be a normal kid, with a normal life, and normal friends. This is something represented in Hayner, Pence, and Olette throughout the series, as he is shown a number of times watching them in wonder and interest. On the other hand, Sora, despite that he was more or less the same, was spurred on by the goal of finding his friends and took on the responsibility more passively, without much hassle.

In Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, Roxas shares his memories and emotions with Sora following DiZ's last instruction by giving Sora his hatred.

Instances of Roxas's emotional capacity are as follows:

• He screams and angrily attacks DiZ when the latter taunts him and continues to strike at the entity after realizing that it was just a digital image.
• He destroys Ansem's computer in the Old Mansion in anger after recovering his memories.
• He happily holds up the Champion Belt after winning the Struggle tournament.
• When he sees Hayner, Pence, and Olette hold up the Crystal Orbs he gave them, he looks sad after realizing he lost his, probably feeling left out.
• Beforehand, he had tried to cheer Hayner up immediately after beating him.
• He respectfully accepts his fate and rejoins with Sora after seeing him, despite initial refusal to do so.
• He continues to apologize to Hayner for disappointing the gang.
• When Sora, Donald, and Goofy depart from Twilight Town upon awakening from their year long sleep and after Roxas merged with Sora, a tear drops from Sora's eyes as he bids goodbye to Hayner, Pence, and Olette, indicating that it was Roxas who was crying inside Sora.
• He is truly sad when he hears that there were no survivors from Castle Oblivion, and is then greatly relieved when Axel appears to him alive and well.
• He is overjoyed when Axel returns from his mission at Castle Oblivion and says that he was worried about him.
• He worries about Xion when she goes to sleep.
• He yells in rage at Saïx when he calls Xion a 'creature' or 'it'.
• He yells "Stop!" in a horrified tone of voice when Axel and Xion start fighting.
• He sheds tears after Xion's death.
• When Sora sees Xion in The World That Never Was, he sheds a tear, indicating Roxas was happy to see her again.
• When Sora attempts to stop Xion from killing Lea in the Skein of Severance, he sheds a tear. He also says Xion's name, and it is spoken by Roxas' voice.
• He felt pity for Saïx when the defeated member admitted that deep down he was jealous when Lea made friends with him and Xion.
• He cried tears of joy upon being reunited with Lea and Xion.

Physical Appearance[]

As Sora's Nobody, Roxas's facial features closely resemble his, including his bright blue eyes, body build, and spiky hair (though it is not difficult to set them apart in the actual game). In contrast to Sora's brown hair, Roxas's is a golden blond. His hair style also separates them, as the front concentrates the spikes on the right side of his head as if windswept, and the back is smoother and more feathered. He also looks identical to Ventus, due to Ventus's heart having been within Sora's heart when Roxas was created.^[2]

When in Organization XIII, Roxas wore the usual Black Coat, with a number of small differences. His pants were different, looking more casual, and loose. He also did not tuck the legs of his pants into his boots like the other members did, though Roxas's "boots" more resembled black versions of his street shoes, and may not have been knee-high like the other members'. Roxas's cloak had a vague resemblance to the ones worn by Xigbar and Demyx, with slightly pointed shoulders and slightly close-fitting sleeves.

While living in the false Twilight Town, Roxas wore much more casual clothes. He wore a black, high-collared jacket with a zipper resembling the Nobody symbol. Over this, he wore another jacket, this one unzipped and white, with several black block designs and a gray hem on the end of each sleeve. This jacket's collar was red and pleated and folded back.

Roxas also wore two-colored pants; the legs of his pants were beige with several of what looked like buttons on the hem that appeared to attach the legs to the rest of the cloth, which were dark-colored. Roxas's shoes were colored in shades of gray and black, and had red straps in place of laces. Finally, Roxas wore a wristband with a black-and-white checkerboard pattern on his left wrist (similar to the one Ventus wears), as well as a plain black ring on his left index finger and a plain white ring on his left middle finger. Tetsuya Nomura has stated that the checkers on Roxas's clothing are meant to symbolize light and darkness. While in bed, Roxas wore a white shirt with gray sleeves, gray shorts and was barefoot.

History[]

Kingdom Hearts[]

Do you remember your true name?

Xemnas during his meeting with Roxas in the Dark Margin, Kingdom Hearts II

According to the Secret Ansem Reports, Roxas was born when Sora stabbed himself with the Keyblade of People's Hearts forged from the hearts of six of the seven Princesses of Heart in order to free Kairi's heart at the cost of his own. However, Sora spent little time as a Heartless, as Kairi's light had fetched Sora's heart from the darkness, restoring him to his former self shortly after he first became a Heartless.

Thus, Sora and Roxas co-existed, but Roxas was missing his memories, the memories of Sora, and the two were incomplete without one another. Still, Roxas's status as Sora's Nobody granted him the ability to use the Keyblade. This, as well as his capacity to experience actual human emotions, something that Nobodies are normally incapable of, makes Roxas a very unusual Nobody. However, as he wields a Keyblade, which serves as a homing beacon for the Heartless, he is constantly under risk of being attacked by them when not under the protection of other Organization members.

Roxas and Xemnas talked along the bank of the Dark Realm, the Dark Margin. This is where Xemnas said that he had been to see "him" (referring to Sora). This is referring to Xemnas's appearance as a secret boss in Kingdom Hearts Final Mix.

Roxas also appears to have a psychic link with Sora, as he begins to absorb Sora's memories as Naminé restores them and falls into a coma immediately after Sora is put to sleep.

Chain of Memories[]

Sora visits Twilight Town after Vexen gives him the world card. Sora doesn't recognize the world, but Donald and Goofy point out that he must, as it was created from his memories. Vexen tells Sora that it was made from the memories found on the other side of his heart. This references to Roxas as Vexen met Roxas before leaving for Castle Oblivion.

After finishing Riku's Story, there is a picture of Roxas that is shown after the credits. This was altered into a silent cutscene in Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories with Roxas seen with Hayner, Pence, and Olette. During the end credits, Axel is seen conversing with him, but Roxas is completely oblivious to his presence.

358/2 Days[]

Roxas was "born" in Twilight Town and soon discovered by Xemnas, who gave him his name. Having nowhere else to go, Roxas joins the Organization in hopes of finding the answers he needs. On Roxas's 6th day, he is summoned by Xemnas to the Dark Margin in the Realm of Darkness. Having met Sora during his visit to Hollow Bastion, Xemnas mentioned the boy's resemblance to Roxas. Roxas asks just who he is, but Xemnas only explains just what he is. When Roxas repeats the question, Xemnas states that his name is of no importance and asks Roxas if he remembers his own true name. Roxas attempts to answer, but then realizes that he doesn't know as Xemnas reveals the youth's identity as Sora's Nobody.

Two days after, Xemnas places Roxas under Axel's watch, and the two soon become best friends. When he visits Twilight Town, sometimes he catches sight of three regular kids: Hayner, Pence, and Olette, and wishes to befriend them. The following days, Roxas is trained by Marluxia, Vexen, Zexion, Larxene, and Lexaeus to hone his abilities while understanding the covert missions he would carry for the Organization. When Axel is sent to Castle Oblivion to interfere with Marluxia's plans to enslave Sora and overthrow Xemnas, Roxas is placed in charge of Xion, the newest member of the Organization and a girl about the same physical age as him.

Though emotionally distant at first, Xion soon opens up to Roxas, revealing to him that she can wield a Keyblade, and the two become close friends. Afterward, due to Sora being placed in suspended animation by Naminé, Roxas falls into a coma for several weeks. After awakening, Roxas attempts to spend time with Axel and Xion, but he begins to react to the process of Sora's memory restoration, and begins to question why he wields the Keyblade and doubt the Organization's motives. The memories manifest more during Roxas's missions.

As he spends more time with the Organization, Roxas grows increasingly impatient towards his unanswered questions. Meanwhile, he still works actively to assist the Organization in their plan for Kingdom Hearts, using the Keyblade to release the hearts within the Heartless. However, Xion, seeking answers to her own questions, departs the Organization to find herself. Roxas and Axel spend several weeks trying to track her down, and eventually, Axel brings Xion back by force, since then Roxas began to distrust Axel. When Xion left again, Roxas furiously demands Axel to answer why he let her go but the latter reveals that she's a puppet, but Roxas stubbornly refuse to believe it and runs off. Later Roxas confronts Axel about his true identity, but when he refuses to answer, he follows her example and defects from the Organization himself. On his way, he is intercepted by Axel, who attempts to persuade him to stay, warning him that the Organization would destroy him due to his betrayal. However, Roxas remains indifferent, saying "No one would miss me", and continues on his way. Axel yells at him, "It's not true!" and in a quieter tone, he admits he would miss Roxas.

At some point, Roxas, while searching Twilight Town, encounters Xion, who has discovered the truth behind her own birth (that she is not a Nobody, but an imperfect replica created from Sora's leaked memories by Xemnas, in the event that Sora turned out to be useless to his plans for Kingdom Hearts) and is reprogrammed by Xemnas. Roxas is shocked to discover that Xion has taken on the appearance of his past self, and even more so when he discovers that Xion desires to become the 'real' Sora, and wants to absorb Roxas stating it was the reason why she was created.

This is shown to be nothing but a ruse, in connection to her thoughts by her Secret Reports. She is aware that they cannot coexist, that Roxas was in danger if so, and decided to willingly disappear, and not let Xemnas succeed: a fact that she states when she later dies.

Knowing that Roxas would not be able to kill her, and Axel had admitted that he could not either in his own Secret Report, she forces Roxas to fight her instead. Xion then transforms into a giant armored monster. After a long and grueling battle, Roxas defeats Xion, who then regains her original appearance. Roxas, however, loses all of his memories of Xion after the battle. In her final moments, she informs Roxas of the true colors of the Organization, tells him that she is glad they were friends and pleads with him not to let Xemnas accomplish the completion of Kingdom Hearts before dying peacefully in his arms. At this moment, Roxas remembers who Xion is and her importance to him, but he is too late. Saddened, Roxas holds Xion's essence and degenerating crystallized body until she is completely gone, leaving behind a seashell on the ground, as he spills tears.

This marks the start of where he gains his signature ability to dual-wield, as he, with his will to not forget Xion, awakens what he percieves as Xion's Keyblade after her demise. The first time he uses them, they appear as two Kingdom Keys, his and Xion's, which quickly transform into the Oathkeeper and Oblivion. Xion's transforms into Oblivion, representing the fading memories of Xion that Roxas is desperately trying to hold on to, while Roxas' Keyblade transforms into Oathkeeper which is meant to represent his promise to fulfill Xion's dying wish to free Kingdom Hearts and in extension his promise to somehow get her back while fulfilling her wish.

Xion's absorption into Roxas, along with the knowledge of Xemnas's true plans, only further strengthens Roxas's determination to find Sora and the answers that he seeks. Before that, however, Roxas returns to The World That Never Was, planning to "set Kingdom Hearts free", in compliance with Xion's last words. He also desires to save Xion from within him, hoping that freeing Kingdom Hearts would bring her back and then they could go back to Axel. Upon his arrival, Roxas is attacked at Memory's Skyscraper by countless Neoshadow Heartless, which surround him.

Roxas draws out his Keyblades, ready to defend himself. However, even after slaying many Heartless, he realizes there are too many to fight alone.

Luckily, Riku suddenly appears at the scene on top of the Skyscraper, and Roxas tosses him his Oblivion Keyblade as he runs up, and they both defeat the Neoshadows once on the ground. However, both immediately turn on each other when done. Roxas beats Riku at first, but Riku taunts him by calling him "Sora" and saying that he should be "stronger than this", causing Roxas to reflexively answer with, "Get real. Look at which one of us is winning", something that only Sora would say.

Riku willingly unleashes his inner darkness and takes on the physical appearance of Ansem, Seeker of Darkness. Riku-Ansem disappears and reappears in front of Roxas, surprising him, before the Guardian grabs him and squeezes him hard enough to make him lose consciousness. DiZ then appears and opens up a portal to the old mansion in Twilight Town, where DiZ resides.

DiZ aims to join Sora and Roxas together in order to help Sora wake up faster after regaining his memories. However, he knows the Organization is hunting fervently for their missing member, so DiZ places him in a virtual Twilight Town. There, Roxas would be kept safely away from the Organization while he lived as a normal boy, unaware of his past. Even though Roxas begins to forget about Xion, she tells him that she'll always remember him and Axel. It showed that when Roxas began to forget, cutscenes including him, Axel, and Xion were changed by Xion being erased.

Kingdom Hearts II[]

Somehow, DiZ was able to alter Roxas's mind to cause him to believe that he lives a normal life in the digital Twilight Town. He has become best friends with three kids: Hayner, Pence, and Olette and even writes a diary of his time in town. It is this time in the digital Twilight Town that serves as the prologue to Kingdom Hearts II, similar to Destiny Islands in Kingdom Hearts. Roxas has lost all memory of his life with the Organization.

As Naminé nears the completion of the task of restoring Sora's memories, Roxas soon begins seeing brief fleeting memories of Sora through a number of his dreams. In addition, mysterious events start to occur around town. Strange white creatures, the Nobodies, begin invading the town, stealing photographs and attacking Roxas. These Nobodies had been sent along with Axel by the Organization, who had finally located their former member, in an attempt to capture him. However, in times of dire need, the Keyblade (a single Kingdom Key this time) inexplicably comes to aid Roxas, and disappears once the threat is gone.

Along with the Nobodies, Roxas comes into contact with Naminé several times, who seems to know things about Roxas that he himself doesn't and once saves him from the outburst of darkness resulting from the defeat of the Twilight Thorn on day three inside Roxas's Dive to the Heart.

Furthermore, as observed by DiZ, Naminé's contact with Roxas connects his heart with Kairi's, who Roxas remembered as a friend of Sora. He also meets a mysterious man in a Black Cloak, later revealed to be Riku, who at one point asks a cryptic question: "Can you feel Sora?" Roxas later meets another mysterious figure masked in red bandages, DiZ, who was responsible for his imprisonment.

Though the intentions of these characters are enigmatic to Roxas, Axel soon appears with a more straightforward goal. Axel needs to bring Roxas back with him under the orders of Xaldin and Xemnas. However, Roxas remembers nothing of Axel, whose claims of his relation with Roxas only confuses Roxas. Axel is soon forced to attack the young boy to accomplish his goal. He battles Roxas in the midst of the Struggle tournament, but only DiZ's timely interruption spares Roxas from defeat.

After the Struggle Tournament, Roxas falls off the Station Tower and somehow mentally attempts to contact Naminé, only to end up reaching Kairi, Naminé's true counterpart, instead. He recognizes her name from his dreams of Sora, and when Kairi inquires Sora's name, Sora himself, despite being asleep at that time, talks to Kairi through Roxas and gives her a hint of his name (Starts with an "S"...).

In addition to these mysterious people, Roxas also begins to see strange anomalies due to the nature of Digital Twilight Town. Time often freezes, and only he and select people seem to be unaffected. He also sees strange "glitches" around town that he could not explain. For some time, Roxas continues to be befuddled by all these events.

That all changes when summer vacation comes to a close, and the truth is revealed: Naminé informs Roxas that he is a Nobody, and that he is supposed to meet with Sora, the boy in red from his dreams, in order to complete him. Along with that, Roxas discovers that he is living in a digital Twilight Town, and that his friends aren't real, just data. He encounters Axel once again, who had been ordered to eliminate Roxas if he refused to return. DiZ, however, manages to freeze Axel in his tracks, along with the rest of the world, thus saving Roxas. DiZ then tells him to go to the abandoned mansion. He does so, and there he encounters Naminé.

She reveals to him information on Organization XIII and states that reuniting with Sora would not cause him to disappear, but make him whole. However, she is interrupted by DiZ, but before she is taken away, she promises him that they would meet again, even if they won't recognize each other. Desiring to see Sora, Roxas makes his way through the mansion and begins to recall his former life. In doing so he realizes that he had been captured and placed into the digital world by DiZ and the mysterious cloaked man. Roxas then destroys DiZ's computer in anger, even though it was just a digital copy.

Roxas then meets with Axel one last time, but despite the fact that Roxas has regained his memories, Axel states that it is too late. The two battle once more, but this time Roxas is able to call on all of his dormant abilities, including summoning his two weapons: Oathkeeper and Oblivion, and soundly defeats his old friend, though with great regret. Roxas hopes that they will meet again, though Axel chuckles and responds that only Roxas has a next life. Axel then retreats into the darkness, failing in his mission to capture or kill Roxas. Roxas then enters the pod room where Sora is kept, but not before seeing Donald Duck and Goofy slumbering in their own pods. DiZ is there to greet him, revealing his intentions and fueling Roxas's rage with cutting remarks about Roxas's purpose and nature.

In a blind rage, Roxas tries to cut down DiZ, but sees that this DiZ is only a hologram; even after this, Roxas continues to attack DiZ. He vanishes, and the pod in the center of the room opens. All his anger drains away when he sees Sora slumbering in the pod. Sadly smiling, he says to Sora, "You're lucky... Looks like my summer vacation is... over". With those words, Roxas respectfully accepts his fate and rejoins with his original self.

Right after the prologue ends, Sora hears Roxas call out to him, and wonders who it is before hearing Donald and Goofy do the same and waking up.

Though he does not actually appear to Sora throughout most of the game, Roxas is frequently mentioned. Most of the Organization members act as if Sora is Roxas and refer to him as such, which both frustrates and confuses Sora. Roxas himself manages to maintain a presence within Sora despite "resting". The first time this is hinted at is when Sora departs from Twilight Town for the first time, saying goodbye to Hayner, Pence, and Olette.

To his surprise, a tear rolls down his cheek, expressing Roxas's own sadness in separating from his own friends, and feels strangely sad to be leaving Twilight Town. Sora instinctively knows how to ride a skateboard, (a skill that was not touched upon in the first game) and is shown to be very skilled in doing so; presumably, this is an ability passed down from Roxas. Before leaving Yen Sid's Tower, when Sora said that the five of them were to stop Organization XIII he unknowingly changed the number from five to six indicating that Roxas had unfinished business with them.

During the second visit to Twilight Town, Roxas's presence within Sora is again apparent. As Sora looks through the crystal orb and at the orange sun, he subconsciously feels Roxas truly within him, and briefly takes on Roxas's appearance as he does so (at least to the player). Then, during Sora, Donald, and Goofy's brief stay in a Realm of Darkness after the Battle of the 1000 Heartless, Riku leaves two clues for them, one of which is a picture from the digital Twilight Town which shows Roxas, Hayner, Pence, and Olette standing in front of the abandoned mansion at Twilight Town.

Despite Sora having never seen or met Roxas before, he immediately knows his name. When Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Mickey enter the digital Twilight Town, Sora calls it "Roxas's Twilight Town", and we are then shown a flashback of Roxas destroying the computers. It is also made apparent that Axel is determined to transform Sora into a Heartless; if Sora became a Heartless, then Roxas would be reborn.

Finally, a dying Axel reveals his intent to Sora and his relation to Roxas before fading into nothingness from using all his energy. His death, as Xemnas said, was strong enough to finally, truly awaken Roxas at last. Only after the death of Saïx does Sora find out why the Organization thought that he and Roxas are one and the same.

The hints of Roxas's presence within Sora come to a climax in the World That Never Was. At Memory's Skyscraper, two Samurai Nobodies arrive and block Sora from Donald and Goofy. Then, Roxas, shrouded in a Black Coat, confronts Sora, summoning his Keyblades (much to Sora's surprise). The two are transported to the Station of Serenity, and they share an intense battle, which was originally depicted in a short cutscene, but became an actual boss battle in Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix.

During their fight, Roxas says that he is someone from the dark, and Sora wonders if he is Riku. His guess is incorrect, and Roxas says that he had defeated a Riku once. He also asks a strange question: "Tell me... Tell me why he picked you!" and attacks Sora in a rage.

At one point, Roxas floats from above, and sees the images of Riku, Kairi, Donald, and Goofy next to Sora, and finally understands that Sora has the Keyblade because of the bond with his friends. Still, Roxas continues to attack, and is able to knock the Keyblade out of Sora's hands. Sora, however, recovers the Keyblade and swiftly cuts a surprised Roxas down. Roxas, wounded, drops his weapons and his hood, revealing his face, and tells Sora, "You make a good other", disappearing with a satisfied look.

It is revealed that the encounter was actually a mental struggle between Roxas and Sora when Sora returns to the World That Never Was. He asks his companions about the mysterious Keyblade-wielding Nobody, but Donald and Goofy say that they saw no one other than themselves and that Sora had just disappeared, leaving them to fight some Nobodies. Sora is confused but continues on.

As Sora makes his way up the Organization's stronghold, the Organization members, before being cut down one by one, make more and more confusing remarks about Roxas. Upon Saïx's loss, Sora questions why the Organization calls him "Roxas", and Riku reveals that Roxas is his Nobody, which gave Roxas the power to use the Keyblade. Sora is taken aback by this at first but then remembers his brief transformation into a Heartless while attempting to rescue Kairi. Riku also explains that Roxas left the Organization, and Riku tried to bring him to DiZ but was defeated. Riku then took on the form of Xehanort's Heartless and used the darkness as a weapon.

He managed to bring Roxas back so that he may join with Sora in order to awaken him from his sleep. However, Riku realized that Roxas had left in the first place because he really wanted to meet Sora, and thus Riku didn't have to fight him. Sora sadly expresses that he wants to meet Roxas as well, not knowing that he had already met him during their battle at Memory's Skyscraper. Riku then points out that Roxas rests within him. On their way to fight Xemnas, DiZ (now revealed to be the real Ansem, Ansem the Wise) apologizes to Roxas for his mistreatment of him, though he didn't know whether or not he could hear him.

After Xemnas's seeming defeat and the demise of most of the Organization members, Roxas and Naminé reunite, with Roxas projecting himself through Sora after Naminé joins with Kairi. They are happy that they met again, and say that unlike other Nobodies, they got to meet their original selves and become whole.

Finally, Roxas and Naminé believe that as long as Sora and Kairi are together, they will be also, and accept their place within Sora and Kairi after being promised by their counterparts that they would always be together. With that, both Nobodies merge back with their original selves. Even though Roxas is gone at this point, he can be considered present when Sora and Riku go into the final boss battles against Xemnas, since Roxas and Sora are technically in the same body when Xemnas is killed.

Roxas and Naminé were seen one last time when Sora and Riku return to Destiny Islands. As Sora and Kairi reunite, they smile at each other, while Roxas and Naminé do the same. With the death of Xemnas, Roxas could be considered the only surviving member of Organization XIII, if only an ex-member.

Coded[]

A data version of Roxas makes an appearance in Kingdom Hearts coded and is fought as the final boss. In Castle Oblivion, Data-Naminé reveals to Data-Sora and King Mickey that Roxas is one of the people that, while gone, is still connected to Sora's heart.

Blank Points[]

Though non-canon, Roxas makes an appearance in the Birth By Sleep secret ending "Blank Points". He is seen with Xion and Axel, happily sitting together on the Clock Tower eating Sea-salt ice cream. The trio then looks into the sunset and together say Sora's name in unison.

Dream Drop Distance[]

Roxas makes an appearance in the opening scene. Sora transforms into Roxas, while being watched by Kairi, who herself changes into Naminé; this happening is representative of Roxas and Naminé statuses as Sora and Kairi's nobodies. Roxas is then shown falling down to a Dive to the Heart. After he lands, Xion appears and points the Kingdom Key at him, as occurred in Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. The scene changes to a scene where Roxas, Axel, and Xion are having a fun time at the clock tower while eating ice cream together.

The scene then changes back to Xion, who fades into light, causing Roxas to shield his eyes. Roxas's fight with Axel at Twilight Town then begins before the scene morphs to Xemnas's final battle with Sora and Riku, with Sora wielding Oathkeeper, while Riku wields Oblivion. He also appears at the end of the opening in the Keyblade Graveyard with Terra, Aqua, Ventus, Donald, Goofy, Sora, Riku, and Mickey in what appears to be a fight against Master Xehanort.

Roxas is then seen in Lea's flashback, just a second before the moment he awakens. Roxas reminds Axel about the promise he made to them before confronting Xion in Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, that no matter how many times they ran off, Axel would always be there to bring them back. Axel agrees that he remembers, then Roxas smiles to him and says, "Got it memorized?" and vanishes.

In The World That Never Was, Roxas makes his presence known at the start of the world. While Sora is being led around by his dreams, Sora first hallucinates Namine standing on a staircase, but shortly after, the dream shifts again to now show Xion instead of Namine. Seeing Xion causes Roxas's heart inside Sora to have an emotional reaction, culminating in Roxas shedding a single tear through Sora, who is left confused by what just happened.

Roxas then appears in The World That Never Was, while Sora is chasing after Xion. They start talking, and Roxas states his belief that Sora should have all feelings and memories he possessed, but Sora disagrees by saying that Roxas and he are not the same person at all and that Roxas should have been able to exist by himself. Roxas is surprised by this and he says "Sora, see? That's why it has to be you." He then moves his memories and feelings into Sora and vanishes, leaving a more aggressive and confused Sora alone in the Dark City.

Young Xehanort mentions that since Riku was not a suitable vessel for Master Xehanort any more, just like the Keyblade, they chose Sora. Roxas was supposed to be the next candidate from him to be the 13th vessel but he became too aware of himself and returned to Sora.

Roxas reappears within Sora's dream at the end of Riku's story along with Ventus and Xion. Roxas asks Riku a question and after answering it, he disappears in response.

Kingdom Hearts III[]

With the intention of restoring Roxas back to life, Sora decides to visit Twilight Town along with Donald Duck and Goofy. Sora notes that he feels like he hasn't been there for a while. Goofy then realizes that Sora must be feeling how Roxas felt when departing from his home. In addition, the Nobodies (specifically the Dusks) are still searching for their "liege", which is Roxas himself despite betraying Organization XIII.

Upon arriving at the Old Mansion, Sora and the others feel frustrated over not being able to find any clues on reviving Roxas. Sora strangely stares at the curtains of Naminé's room, taking on the appearance of Roxas for a brief moment, implying that Roxas, from inside of Sora, feels a sense of Deja vu from the familar sight. Afterward, Xemnas and Ansem appear to guilt-trip Sora about his method of bringing Roxas back via the latter's data from the Data Twilight Town. Despite their speeches, Sora angrily rebuffs that Roxas will never rejoin the Organization, adding that he'd never give himself into becoming a Heartless again.

After clearing out a horde of Neoshadows and Dusks sent by the Nobody and Heartless, Sora changes his plan to fully completing Roxas as his original body once again. Roxas is also mentioned in a conversation between Lea and Kairi, in which Lea reveals the reason he hasn't changed his outfit was so that Roxas could recognize him again in his iconic clothes. Kairi also wishes that there was a way that allows both Roxas and Naminé to become real again.

During Sora's visit to San Fransokyo, Hiro Hamada talks about his brother Tadashi wanted to help people out and make a difference in their lives. Sora tells Hiro that Tadashi will still live on through his friends' hearts, which causes the former to remember Roxas in the process. Sora then turns into Roxas again due to another feeling of Deja vu, this time reminiscing the times he spent with his data friends.

When the Second Keyblade War begins, the Guardians of Light and the Real Organization XIII clash for the fight of their lives. During Sora, Kairi, and Lea's struggle against Saïx and the revived Xion in the Keyblade Graveyard's maze, Xemnas brutally injures Lea and commands Xion to kill her former friend. Roxas then assumes control over Sora, confronts Xion with teary eyes by telling her that it's alright and that she can stop now and finally calls out her name with his own voice, showing Xion that he remembers her. Xion being remembered by Roxas was the spark needed to awaken her heart and memories that were kept safe inside Roxas's heart causing them to be released from his heart into her new body. In response to hearing her friend's voice and regaining her lost memories, Xion breaks down emotionally, struggling to compose herself, only for Xemnas to knock down both Sora and Xion.

Xemnas prepares to kill Xion for her treachery. Roxas, sensing that his friend is in grave danger, reaches out to Sora for help reclaiming something important that ties their friendship together. Sora then uses the power of waking to release Roxas' heart from his body and merges with a Replica sent from Ansem the Wise. A fully revived Roxas halts Xemnas' attack and briefly looks back at his friends with joy. Xemnas, shocked at Roxas’s return, demands to know how he returned, to which Roxas reveals that his method of return was the same as the Superior's. He then reveals that Xehanort had Replicas ready and waiting for most of the hearts of Organization XIII and that he owed his return to many, including Ansem the Wise and Zexion.

He also states the connection to his friends, Xion and Axel, was the main factor in helping him return to life. His connection to Axel was intact for most of the time, if not always, implying that his connection to Xion was the last thing he needed to be whole again. Roxas then calls out Xemnas for not being a very good manipulator towards others' hearts. With that being said, Roxas prepares to fight the outmatched Xemnas, only for the latter to take out both Sora and Kairi to even the field. Guided by Sora's heart, Roxas leads Lea and Xion to battle against Xemnas and Saïx. After a coordinated strike between Xemnas, the three claimed what Roxas was after all along: the x sigil given to the three former Organization XIII members by Xemnas upon their initiation that served as the foundation of their shared bond. Just as Sora and Kairi had recovered, Xemnas teleports and abducts the latter before spiriting away. Sora attempts to go after Xemnas but is halted by Saïx. While Lea rests due to his severe injuries, Roxas and Xion both join Sora and together defeat Saïx for good.

After Saïx is defeated, Roxas and Xion both express pity for Saïx as he reveals that he was deep down jealous of Lea's friendship with them. Sora then takes his leave, venturing deeper into the maze. Roxas then smiles back at Lea, only for the silence to broken with Xion sobbing tears of joy upon seeing her friends alive once again. Roxas runs up to her and tries to comfort her while Lea remarks that he should've brought ice cream for this moment. The three all share an emotional reunion, finally together after their constant months of suffering throughout the series.

Later on, Roxas, Xion, and Lea join Sora and the others to confront Master Xehanort. Roxas and Ventus also share a brief look at each other due to their resemblances. Sora tasks Roxas and the others with helping to seal Kingdom Hearts while he takes on Xehanort. Once Xehanort is defeated in Scala ad Caelum, Roxas and everybody else joins Sora in time to witness Xehanort surrender the χ-blade to Sora before perishing with Master Eraqus. Sora uses the χ-blade to shut Kingdom Hearts, and everybody returns to the Keyblade Graveyard.

After Sora sets off in search of Kairi, Roxas, Xion, and Lea return to Twilight Town, where they are joined by a reincarnated Isa, Hayner, Pence, and Olette atop Twilight Tower. At some point afterward, Roxas travels to Destiny Islands with his friends, finally being able to go to the beach after all these years. Roxas decides to race against Riku and Terra, in which he wins 2nd place. Later on, Roxas and the others watch Sora and Kairi having a sunset together, only for Kairi to shed a tear as Sora fades away.

Abilities[]

Being Sora's Nobody, Roxas holds half of Sora's power within him. Since Roxas's complete being's heart is made up of two Keyblade wielders' hearts, Roxas can dual-wield Keyblades,^[3] Oathkeeper and Oblivion and quickly shows outstanding skill in swordsmanship with them. In battle, he also uses light with great specialization, becoming a phenomenally dangerous foe. While initially using the same fighting style as Sora, over time, after acquiring his full power, he becomes far more aggressive than Sora by the time of Kingdom Hearts II, abandoning all the supportive abilities he had in 358/2 Days and constantly being on the offensive. His style and level of power is somewhat like Sora's Final Form.

Roxas has shown himself to be a very powerful and strong character. He defeated Saïx before accessing his full power, came out on top when Xion attacked him despite her enchantments (albeit mainly because she was holding back with the intention to let Roxas kill her), and soundly defeated Axel when he regained his memories and was able to once again access his full power. In addition, Roxas proved himself to be more than a match for Riku, not only having him knocked to the ground when both of them used only a single Keyblade, although Riku managed to take advantage of Roxas's eagerness to knock him out, but immediately wounding Riku enough to finally force the latter to use his inner powers of darkness to win the fight after he had both his Keyblades. When they fought in the Awakening, Roxas matched and even managed to briefly overpower Sora but was ultimately struck down.

Roxas has shown enhanced endurance and durability, able to regain consciousness moments after being initially knocked out by Riku. He's proved even more powerful than Saïx, even when the Luna Diviner has accessed the second level of his Berserk State; Roxas notably is much more powerful in their second fight.

He can glide at fast speeds, so fast in fact that he leaves behind a lens flare, and control thirteen sword-shaped shields of light energy which can connect to form a laser array. He can levitate his Keyblades in the air and whirl and spin them rapidly, showing a great deal of proficiency and skill with the blades, and can also counter any extended combo with a more powerful one of his own, even creating a ring of damage just by twirling them in a circle.

His special attack involves him floating in the air and shooting his thirteen light shields around the arena, which then light it up in a thick twilight mist as Roxas begins shooting blue spheres of light at his opponent from energy gathered in his hands. He'll often attack rapidly from side-to-side, confusing the opponent, leaving a trail of light behind him. He can also perform the Duel Stance technique where he rushes at his opponent and slashes at them quicker than the blink of an eye, causing intense damage if not repelled; the twist is that Sora can knock him into the air and briefly steal and use Roxas's Keyblades if he does repel the attack. However, when Sora steals Roxas's Keyblades, Roxas resorts to utilizing his light powers to full effect, before moving in to steal his Keyblades back from Sora.

Like Xion and Sora, Roxas has balanced, stabilized stats in Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. He also is shown to be considerably talented in Magic just as Sora, quickly becoming proficient in it after just a single lesson and able to weaken or even dispatch Heartless with the element they're weak at just like Sora could, although he lost the use of magic spells in Kingdom Hearts II.

In Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, Roxas has a Limit break called Event Horizon. During Event Horizon, Roxas rapidly darts around the field with his Keyblade enveloped in light, slashing away at enemies with great strength.

During Roxas's Final Limit, he summons four thin pillars of light that quickly move in straight paths towards the ends of the field, dealing heavy damage to any enemies in their path.

Dual Wielding Roxas's Limit Break is called Magic Hour. It has two variations: one used in Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days and Kingdom Hearts Re:coded, and the other used in Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix. In the former version, Roxas floats while a multitude of light beams are fired down at random. In the Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix version, he floats and a spell circle with the Nobody emblem appears below him, then he spins both of his Keyblades while firing a great number of homing light orbs.

Roxas's Limit Breaks both refer to light. The "event horizon" refers to the distance at which light can no longer escape from a black hole; the "magic hour" is a period during the sunset that has extremely favorable conditions for photography. In Melody of Memory, Roxas uses a special attack called "Black Hole".

Weapons[]

When in possession of his full power, Roxas dual-wields two Keyblades, Ventus’s and Sora’s, in the form of the Oathkeeper and the Oblivion (which represent Sora's link to Kairi and Riku, respectively), although originally he could only wield a single Keyblade, which could take different forms through the use of Gears. However, during the short period in Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days between his attaining the ability to dual-wield and reaching his full power, he could dual-wield two Kingdom Keys. Roxas is the first character in the series to be able to dual-wield Keyblades.

Roxas controls light and commands the Samurai Nobodies. Although it would normally be impossible for a Nobody to wield a Keyblade, Roxas can because of Sora’s ability to wield a keyblade as well. Of course, as the Heartless use the Keyblades as a homing signal, he is constantly under attack by them when not under the protection of Organization XIII. However, as the Organization's goal is to gather as many hearts as possible by using the Keyblade to extract them from Heartless, this phenomenon is actually a boon for the Organization.

Playing as Roxas[]

Kingdom Hearts II[]

Roxas's first actual gameplay appearance was in Kingdom Hearts II, during the beginning tutorials that took place in the Simulated Twilight Town (the First through Sixth Day). This appearance of Roxas was mainly in a non-combat setting. Again sharing the same aerial and ground combos as Sora, his full strength was accessed when Dual-Wielding in the second battle with Axel. Roxas had no access to spells in this gameplay incarnation, and was limited only to learning the following Abilities naturally:

• Guard
• Aerial Recovery
• Scan

Roxas could also be customized in this gameplay incarnation to a lesser degree than in Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, his Strength, Magic, or Defense raising very slightly depending on which Struggle weapon the player chooses in the first battle with Seifer. He would also grow in HP and other stats for meeting certain criteria in jobs or by defeating bosses. The main reason for playing as him in Kingdom Hearts II was to establish a plot and set the abilities and controls for the actual storyline, in which Sora is playable. Though it is incredibly tedious, it is possible to reach level 99 with Roxas while still in virtual Twilight Town.

Dual-Wielding[]

In Kingdom Hearts II, Dual-Wielding Roxas can only be played during the second fight with Axel, though toned down, with Roxas only gaining access to his dual signature blades, wearing his Kingdom Hearts II attire.

Roxas can also Dual-Wield in Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, in the last mission of the game, prior to fighting Riku, where he solely wields Oathkeeper. This mission places Roxas at a level of strength far higher than any other arrangement in the game, allowing him to slay the Neoshadow Heartless in a single blow. Roxas can Dual-Wield in Mission Mode if he has the Zero Gear equipped with three Ability Units.

Trivia[]

• The scene in Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix where Axel bids Roxas goodbye is similar to the one in Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days where Xion greeted Roxas on the Clocktower before their battle. In both cases, Roxas is seen cradling himself before being surprised by the appearance of his friends. He is then offered to share one final sea-salt ice cream with them.
• In the original version of Kingdom Hearts II, in Japanese, Roxas' voice sounded significantly younger than the new cutscenes in the Final Mix version.
• Roxas was originally planned by Nomura to be more akin to Sora in terms of physical appearance, before Ventus was created as a character.
• In Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, the names of the Keyblades that both Roxas and Xion can access through the gear system, for the most part, reference one of two themes: 1. The pain of parting/loneliness or 2. Light phenomena The Aubade Keyblade is an exception as it is the only one to reference both at once.

Gallery[]

References[]