Editing Riku

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  |game5=Kingdom Hearts coded

  |game6=Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep

|journalUX='''KH Riku/Illustrated Riku'''<br>KINGDOM HEARTS (2002)<br>A childhood friend of Sora and Kairi.<br><br>'''KH II Black Coat Riku A/KH II Black Coat Riku B'''<br>KINGDOM HEARTS II (2005)<br>A childhood friend of Sora and Kairi who's fought Sora in the past.<br><br>'''KH II Riku'''<br>KINGDOM HEARTS II (2005)<br>A childhood friend of Sora and Kairi. Reliable and inquisitive.<br><br>'''KH CoM Black Coat Riku'''<br>KINGDOM HEARTS CoM (2004)<br>A childhood friend of Sora who struggles with the darkness inside.<br><br>'''Illustrated Riku B'''<br>KINGDOM HEARTS CoM (2004)<br>A childhood friend of Sora and Kairi. He dreamed of going off to the outside world.<br><br>'''KH 3D Riku'''<br>KINGDOM HEARTS 3D (2012)<br>A Keyblade-wielding boy who takes on the Mark of Mastery exam.<br><br>'''HD Riku'''<br>KINGDOM HEARTS 3D (2012)<br>A young Keyblade wielder who attempts the Mark of Mastery exam to test his potential.<br><br>'''Sora & Riku & Kairi'''<br>KINGDOM HEARTS (2002)<br>Three friends who live in Destiny Islands.<br><br>'''KH II Riku & Mickey'''<br>KINGDOM HEARTS II<br>A childhood friend of Sora and Kairi, and the king of Disney Castle.<br><br>'''Sora & Riku & Meow Wow'''<br>KINGDOM HEARTS 3D (2012)<br>A Medal celebrating KH 2.8.

'''Riku''' is one of the main characters in the ''{{c|Kingdom Hearts|series}}'' series. He is the secondary antagonist of ''{{c|Kingdom Hearts|game}}'', and a major playable character in ''[[Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories]]'' and ''[[Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance]]''. He has lesser playable roles in ''[[Kingdom Hearts II]]'' and ''[[Kingdom Hearts III]]'', only for individual battles. In ''[[Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days]]'', he is playable in [[Mission Mode]].

[[File:The Outside World 01 KH.png|thumb|Riku, Sora, and Kairi often spend the evenings at a tree on an attached islet.]]

Riku, Sora, and Kairi continued to live on the Destiny Islands together. The three work together to construct a [[Highwind (raft)|raft]] and gather supplies so that they can set out and search for other outside worlds. While Riku and Sora continue their rivalry through duels and races, Riku takes jabs at Sora over his relationship with Kairi, telling him that if Sora loses their race over the raft's name, he gets to share a [[paopu fruit]] with Kairi- although if spoken to afterward, he will claim it was "just a joke".<ref>'''''[[Kingdom Hearts (game)|Kingdom Hearts]]''''', '''Riku''': "What's that? Oh, the paopu thing? It was just a joke. You should have seen your face."</ref>

During Sora and [[Aladdin]]'s fight with [[Jafar]] in [[Agrabah]], Riku takes [[Jasmine]] to Hollow Bastion under Maleficent's orders. Maleficent reveals the whereabouts of Kairi's [[body]]. She claims that the only way to save Kairi, who appears to have lost her [[heart]] to the darkness, is to gain access to [[Kingdom Hearts]].

[[File:Shadow Sora 02 KH.png|thumb|Riku retreats with Kairi and summons AntiSora to battle Sora.]]

If Sora goes to Monstro after encountering Riku and Kairi on Captain Hook's ship, "Riku" shows up to kidnap Pinocchio. When Sora encounters "Riku" with Pinocchio, "Riku" mockingly asks Sora if he has forgotten his best friend, to which Sora responds that he is not Riku. "Riku" then summons the Parasite Cage and leaves through a portal of darkness.

At Hollow Bastion, Sora again meets Riku, stopping him from taking down the wounded [[Beast]]. Riku and Sora briefly talk then forcibly summons the Keyblade away from him, telling him that he was "just the delivery boy" and that Riku is the true Keyblade master. After leaving Sora with a [[Wooden Sword]] he used on Destiny Islands, he departs, and Donald and Goofy reluctantly follow him as per [[Mickey Mouse|The King]]'s orders.

Sora makes his way to the foyer of the castle, with the help of Beast. Riku, taking on a new appearance with the increasing strength of his dark powers, tells him to quit, but Sora refuses to leave without Kairi. Riku, intending to prove to Sora that he is the strongest of the two, attacks his old friend, but Donald and Goofy go to Sora's aid, finding themselves unable to betray Sora after all that they had been through together. With the strength of his friends, Sora reclaims the Keyblade, and drives Riku to fight him.

Riku, defeated, manages to escape, but he is confused as to why Sora was able to regain the Keyblade. [[Ansem, Seeker of Darkness|Ansem]] in his brown robe appears to him from the Darkness, telling him that only one with a stronger heart can claim the Keyblade, and Riku's was weaker than Sora. However, the figure tells him that plunging himself into darkness will make his heart stronger. Riku does so, and he is possessed by the dark figure.

The possessed Riku then comes before Maleficent, and warns her of the dangers of unlocking the [[Final Keyhole]]. When she claims not to be afraid, Riku shows her the [[Keyblade of heart]] created from six of the seven princesses' hearts. However, it doesn't react to the Keyhole. Realizing it is still needing Kairi's heart to be complete, Maleficent heads off to handle Sora and company. After Maleficent is defeated by Sora, Riku appears with his Keyblade and explains that unlike Sora's Keyblade, this Keyblade possesses the ability to unlock a person's heart, and Riku demonstrates this by piercing Maleficent's chest, allowing the immense darkness that is attracted to her to overtake her heart, transforming her into a giant dragon. When Maleficent is defeated again, he reappears, commenting on how Maleficent was being used by the Heartless from the start before disappearing again.

[[File:The Seeker of Darkness 01 KH.png|thumb|left|Ansem possesses Riku's body.]]

[[Game:Riku|Riku]], declaring himself to be Ansem, the Seeker of Darkness, confronts Sora in the Grand Hall and reveals that Sora has Kairi's heart in his body. While Donald and Goofy look on, Riku and Sora clash again, with Ansem's presence amplifying Riku's dark powers. He fades away when he is defeated, but after Sora stabs himself with the Keyblade to release Kairi's heart and disappears, Ansem reveals himself and attacks Kairi, Donald, and Goofy. Riku uses the last of his strength to hold back his possessor, and yells to the others to run. This leads to an internal struggle between the two that Riku ultimately loses; Riku's heart is sent to the [[Realm of Darkness]]{{Storylink|Kingdom Hearts Final Mix}} while Ansem takes complete control.

[[File:Closing the Door 04 KH.png|thumb|Riku tells Sora to take care of Kairi before the Door to Darkness is closed.]]

The overwhelming light of [[Kingdom Hearts]] envelops and destroys Ansem, allowing Riku to take back his body. He is restored in the Realm of Darkness, but is quickly targeted by a massive swarm of Heartless. Fortunately, Aqua and Mickey spot him, and Aqua uses her Keyblade to restrain the Heartless, unobserved by the boy, allowing Mickey and Riku to escape.{{storylink|Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep -A fragmentary passage-}}

[[File:In a Flash of Darkness 01 KHRECOM.png|thumb|Ansem possesses Riku for an instance and eliminates Lexaeus.]]

Riku sinks into the light as he begins to fade, but [[Naminé]] appears in the form of Kairi and tells him that he can't fade, because light can't destroy him, and neither can darkness, so he should accept both to drive away his fears. He awakens his dark powers again, admitting that it's a part of him and not evil, defeating Zexion. Zexion disappears, but is quickly eliminated by the Riku Replica with [[Axel]].

[[File:Where the Road Leads 01 KHRECOM.png|thumb|Riku walking the road to dawn.]]

|In the [[Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days (manga)|manga]], Riku sees Xion as Kairi, while in the [[Kingdom Hearts (novels)|novel]], it's implied he sees her briefly as Sora at the Destiny Islands.<ref>'''''[[Kingdom Hearts (novels)#Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days|Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days novel]]: '''''"Feeling uneasy, Riku lifted his blindfold just a bit to look at her. And just for an instant…she looked like someone else. Not Kairi or Naminé— but ''him''."</ref>|width=60%

[[File:Disorder 01 KHD.png|thumb|Riku tells Xion she has to come up with a solution which works best for her and everybody else.]]

[[File:The King and Riku Reunited 01 KHD.png|thumb|left|Riku asks Mickey to protect and guide Sora, Donald, and Goofy upon their awakening.]]

[[File:The Beginning of Everything 01 KHIIFM.png|thumb|Riku gives in to his darkness in a last-ditch effort to take out Roxas.]]

Riku continues to ally himself with DiZ, as they have a common goal: to help Sora awaken (though Riku finds his memories of Sora fading, being a side-effect of Naminé's toying with Sora's memories). Roxas's memory is erased by DiZ and he is placed into [[The Other Twilight Town]], to live out his days until the time comes for him to meet Sora. Meanwhile, Riku watches over Roxas, periodically entering the town in order to keep Roxas ignorant to the truth, including keeping Naminé from saying anything important to Roxas. He also takes some keepsakes of Roxas's during some of his visits. With all these deeds done, Riku finally demands to know what DiZ's true objective is. Upon hearing that it is merely revenge (DiZ does not disclose against whom it is), Riku clenches his fist, shocked and disgusted at how DiZ is merely using him and Sora for his own selfish reasons.

[[File:Versus Riku-Ansem KHII.png|thumb|200px|A hooded Riku confronts Sora in The Land of Dragons.]]

Upon learning that the Organization had kidnapped Kairi to force Sora to slay Heartless for them, Riku heads to the [[Castle That Never Was]] and protects Naminé and Kairi from [[Saïx]] after Naminé has freed Kairi from her prison. To Kairi's surprise, Naminé calls Riku by name, and disappears. Though Riku attempts to depart when Saïx escapes, he is stopped by Kairi and [[Pluto]]. Kairi, excited to see Riku, removes his hood, but is met with the face of Ansem, Seeker of Darkness. Though Riku felt ashamed to be seen in the form of their old enemy, Kairi took it in stride, as she could see the real Riku beneath the façade.

Near the top, Riku reunites with King Mickey and DiZ, who reveals himself to actually be Ansem the Wise. Ansem is using a [[Kingdom Hearts Encoder|machine]] to try and encode Kingdom Hearts into data, but Xemnas confronts him, and they trade bitter words. The machine then explodes, unable to handle Kingdom Hearts, sending Ansem the Wise to the Realm of Darkness while causing countless hearts Xemnas had collected into Kingdom Hearts to rain down on the world, creating a slew of Heartless. The explosion also cleanses Riku's heart and restores Riku to his original form, though he is still remorseful. After some encouragement, Riku traverses the rest of the castle alongside Sora, abandoning his cloak and blindfold. He and the others also encounter Maleficent and [[Pete]], who decide to hold off the hordes of Heartless that are overtaking the castle, but only so that they will eventually take the castle for their own.

[[File:To End Everything 01 KHII.png|thumb|Riku and Sora prepare to battle Xemnas.]]

[[File:Beneath the Hood 04 KHREC.png|thumb|Jiminy's Journal taking Riku's form.]]

After the [[Datascape]] simulation finishes, King Mickey goes to talk to Yen Sid, who advises him to summon Sora and Riku for a [[Mark of Mastery exam]]. Mickey writes a letter to Sora, Riku, and Kairi, which he sends in a bottle to Destiny Islands.{{storylink|Blank Points}} As they sit on the beach, Sora and Riku watch the waves and comment that Destiny Islands is a small world, but also part of a much bigger one, then jump to discussion about the Door to the Light. Kairi then appears with [[Mickey's letter]], which the trio reads together.{{storylink|Kingdom Hearts II}}

[[File:Power Over Time 02 KH3D.png|thumb|Riku faces off against Young Xehanort at the Sanctum of Time.]]

However, once all the seven [[Sleeping Keyhole]]s in the Dreaming Realm are sealed, Sora ends up trapped in sleep in [[The World that Never Was]], and Riku rushes to his rescue upon realizing this. He finds Sora in a comatose state inside the Castle, his heart having been damaged by Xemnas and the young man himself. The young man turns out to be an incarnation of Master Xehanort in his youth, who has been traveling to different periods in time to recruit several other incarnations of Xehanort together. Riku attempts to awaken Sora, but the darkness from Sora's nightmare turns into the [[Anti Black Coat]] that engages Riku. Riku manages to defeat the Anti Black Coat and carries on through the castle, eventually coming face to face with Ansem. Ansem reveals that Riku is actually a [[Dream Eater]], and, over the course of the exam, has been purifying Sora's dreams of [[Nightmare]]s. Ansem attempts to take over Riku's body again, but remembering his secret encounter with Terra, Riku resolves to make his inner darkness his own power for good and make Ansem become part of his light. Then the two battle each other once more. Ultimately, Riku prevails and eventually makes his way to the true Sleeping Worlds version of Where Nothing Gathers, where he finds Sora on an Organization XIII throne. [[Young Xehanort]] blocks Riku's way, but Mickey comes to Riku's aid by casting a [[Stopza]] spell. Young Xehanort, however, is unaffected by the spell and knocks Mickey aside to battle Riku. After a fierce struggle, Riku defeats Young Xehanort. However, the victory is short-lived, as Master Xehanort is finally revived and joined by the rest of his new Organization, among them are Young Xehanort, Ansem, and Xemnas.

Master Xehanort fills Riku and Mickey in on his past attempt to create the [[χ-blade]] by pitting Ventus and [[Vanitas]] against each other. The plan failed, but he had a backup: Master Xehanort had Young Xehanort create the [[real Organization XIII]] made of Master Xehanort himself and twelve vessels to harbor a piece of his heart in order to create thirteen darknesses to battle seven lights and recreate the χ-blade. The thirteenth vessel was intended to be Riku but he became unfit as he built a resistance to darkness. The Organization then sought to use Roxas, but he became too self-aware and returned to Sora, so now Sora has been chosen to be the last vessel. Riku and Mickey attempt to save Sora from Master Xehanort but are restrained by Ansem and Xemnas before [[Lea]] arrives and saves Sora. Ansem summons his [[Dark Figure]], who grabs Riku and Mickey, but the Guardian is defeated by Donald and Goofy, who arrive via Mickey's old [[Star Shard]]. His plans temporarily derailed, Master Xehanort retreats with his Organization.

Riku brings Sora's comatose body back to the Mysterious Tower and dives into Sora's heart with the [[power of waking]]. In the process, he is forced to battle Sora, clad in Ventus's [[Keyblade Armor]], which has been corrupted by a [[Armored Ventus Nightmare|Nightmare]]. Riku defeats the Nightmare and uses Sora's Keyblade to enter a memory of the Destiny Islands, deep inside Sora's heart. Here he meets projections of Roxas, Ventus, and Xion, who each ask a question before disappearing. After answering the three questions, Riku finds a bottle in the surf, and a data projection of Ansem the Wise approaches him. Ansem tells Riku about [[Ansem's Code]], research data contained in the bottle that he had hid inside Sora while he was asleep. He muses about Sora's ability to connect with others' hearts, and how it may be able to bring back those that have been lost. He tells Riku that by defeating the Nightmare and answering the three questions, he has successfully awakened Sora. Riku returns to the real world, reuniting with Sora and the others, and Yen Sid names Riku as a [[Keyblade Master]]. Riku and the other are shocked when Lea vows to catch up with him, reveals his plan of becoming a Keyblade Master, and successfully — albeit accidentally —  summons his Keyblade [[Bond of the Blaze]].

[[File:2.9 - The First Volume 04 KH0.2.png|thumb|Riku and Mickey head off with their new duds.]]  

{{Q|Sora. You don't believe that. I know you don't.|Riku encourages his friend.}}

Riku and King Mickey enter the [[Dark World]] in search of Aqua, losing her trail at the Dark Margin. A [[Demon Tower]] attacks and swallows Riku. After drowning in its darkness, Riku is saved by his replica's disembodied heart. His Keyblade is broken after the battle and Mickey convinces him to regroup and resupply. Before leaving, Riku plants his broken Keyblade on the beach for the Riku Replica to collect.

At the Mysterious Tower, Riku and Mickey are instructed by Yen Sid to search for Aqua in the worlds she had visited. After receiving the [[Braveheart]] from [[Merlin]], Riku travels with Mickey to [[Radiant Garden]], the last place Aqua visited. They discuss Xehanort's plans, realizing that when Aqua saved Terra, he was possessed by Xehanort. After meeting [[Ienzo]] and discussing the replica project, Riku concludes the Organization is planning to use replicas due to [[Even]]'s disappearance.

[[File:Braving the Darkness 01 KHIII.png|thumb|200px|Riku and Sora join their powers to take out the Demon Tower.]]

With no new leads, Riku and Mickey travel back to the Dark Margin. Attacked again by a Demon Tower, Mickey is disarmed and trapped within it. [[Anti-Aqua]] reveals herself and takes Mickey's [[Star Cluster|Keyblade]], planning to use it to the escape. Riku declines his replica's offer to return [[Way to the Dawn|his Keyblade]] before facing Aqua and the Heartless. Faltering, he speaks Sora's name. Sora then arrives to Riku's aid before freeing Aqua from the Darkness.

After preparing for the final battle at Yen Sid's tower with the completed [[Seven Guardians of Light]], Riku accompanies Sora and Kairi to [[Destiny Islands]] where he converses alone with his replica, who states he has "one last thing to do".

The next day, Riku joins the other guardians in the [[Keyblade Graveyard]], where [[Terra-Xehanort]] attacks, critically injuring several guardians before being ejected from the battlefield. A massive [[Demon Tide]] soon appears, devouring all the guardians, except Sora and Riku. When Sora breaks down in despair, Riku sacrifices himself for Sora's sake, putting his faith in Sora to save all of their friends.

Riku's heart makes its way to [[The Final World]]'s facsimile of [[Olympus]], where it is captured by a [[Lich]] before being freed and returned to the Keyblade Graveyard by a newly restored Sora. When Sora frees the rest of his friends' hearts, they reappear together, moments before Terra-Xehanort first appeared.

This time, they are rescued by the [[Lingering Will]], allowing Riku and the others to fight off the incoming Heartless while Sora, Donald, and Goofy defeat the Demon Tide. Finally, they advance to face the Organization within the Skein of Severance. Riku battles [[Dark Riku]], [[Xigbar]], and Ansem alone. When Sora joins the battle, Ansem leaves. Upon Dark Riku's defeat, the Riku Replica reveals Dark Riku is his past self and removes Dark Riku's heart from his body, leaving the vessel behind for Naminé. After Xigbar's defeat, Sora leaves to assist the other guardians, and [[Demyx]] arrives to retrieve Dark Riku's vessel on Ienzo's orders while Riku tells him to handle it with great care.  

Riku then meets Sora and Mickey again after nine seekers of darkness have been defeated. Ansem, Xemnas, Master Xehanort, and his younger self remain, and Master Xehanort reveals that their four clashes would forge the final keys he needed to form the [[χ-blade]]. Riku claims that even if Master Xehanort manages to open Kingdom Hearts, they would simply close it again. The two groups clash, and all but Master Xehanort are eliminated. As Ansem fades away, he and Riku reminisce on the journey they shared.

With one key left to forge, Xehanort reveals the kidnapped Kairi and slays her in front of them. Riku and Mickey are then frozen by a Stopza spell, and Xehanort summons Kingdom Hearts. The other guardians arrive as the spell wears off, and Riku presents the idea of using Xehanort as a [[portal]] and trapping him in it long enough to finish him. When Sora, Donald, and Goofy go to fight Xehanort, Riku joins the other Keyblade Wielders in holding off the power of Kingdom Hearts.

[[File:Ending 11 KHIII.png|thumb|200px|Riku watches Kairi and Sora sitting by the paopu tree.]]

Some time later, Riku takes Sora's [[Gummi Ship]] to Radiant Garden to collect Naminé, and returns with her to Destiny Islands along with all the guardians and their friends. He runs a race with Terra and Roxas before looking toward the paopu tree where Kairi sits with the fading image of Sora.

Riku begins having a strange dream where he wakes up in [[Quadratum]]. Disoriented, he walks the streets observing where he is, eventually finding himself at a {{w|Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building|large building}}, unaware that [[Yozora]] watches him from atop.{{storylink|Yozora (video)|Yozora}}

 

===''Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory''===

Afterwards, Riku reunites with Ansem the Wise and his apprentices to find that Kairi has awakened. The two share their findings and with Fairy Godmother's help, she refers to him and Kairi as two of the three keys that can help find Sora. The Keyblade wielders are brought to the Final World, where they meet the third key, the [[Nameless Star]] informing her what has happened the star recognizes the city Riku described as Quadratum. With that, he uses the power of awaking and the Nameless Star as a portal to go to Quadratum, leaving Kairi to tell the others where he had gone.

In ''{{ssb|Super Smash Bros. Ultimate}}'', Riku appears in the central clock, 2 o'clock, and 4 o'clock Stations in the [[Dive to the Heart]] sections of the {{ssb|Hollow Bastion}} stage, as an obtainable {{ssb|spirit}} in Sora's {{ssb|DLC Spirits (mode)|Spirit Board}}, and is represented by {{ssb|Corrin (SSBU)|Corrin}} in {{ssb|Spirit#Spirit Battles|Spirit Battle}}.

Riku is a teenage boy with silver hair with bangs, pale skin, bright blue-green eyes (green in ''Kingdom Hearts III''), and a muscular build. Since he is a year older than Sora and Kairi, Riku is the tallest of the trio. Riku's hair was originally shoulder-length, but in ''Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days'' and ''Kingdom Hearts II'', his hair has grown longer until it reaches his upper back. Sometime before ''Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance'', he cut it short to the length it was when he was a child. Much like Sora, while his general appearance does not change much throughout the series, Riku receives several costumes and form changes during the course of his adventures.

While his traits weren't very heroic for most of the first game, Riku becomes much more noble by the end. Since Riku had done everything he had out of care for Kairi, when Ansem was about to use him to use her along with the other six Princesses of Heart to open the Final Keyhole, he finally broke free and held off Ansem long enough for Donald, Goofy and Kairi to escape. When Riku finds himself in the endless abyss near the Door to Darkness, he is on his knees, overwhelmed with guilt for what he has done and, in ''Kingdom Hearts III'', considers the time he was consumed by darkness to be his "hour of weakness".

In ''Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories'', Riku makes many self-realizations, one of which is that he had let his heart become weak, and sometime after that, he would shy away from the darkness within it. Through his battles in Castle Oblivion, he makes another big realization: he can't get rid of the darkness in his heart and decides to use it without turning away from the light like before, declaring his path down the "road to dawn," also signifying his effort for redemption. Additionally, he forms a strong bond with Mickey during their time together in Castle Oblivion and later begins to address him familiarly throughout the rest of the series.  

In ''Kingdom Hearts II'', he shows a great amount of loyalty and protectiveness for his friends. He never wanted Sora and Kairi to find out about his time spent in the darkness and did everything he could to bring Roxas to DiZ to make Sora whole again, even going as far as giving up his physical form and assuming Ansem's. As Sora journeyed through the worlds, Riku left him valuable clues, such as the sea-salt ice cream and the picture of the Twilight Town gang, and almost died to protect him from Xemnas' attacks, which left him greatly injured after the battle. When he is finally found in the World That Never Was, he repeatedly shows signs of immense regret for his previous behavior. He could not understand how Sora is so willing to forgive him, telling him that he didn't actually want to be found, and almost refusing to come back to Destiny Islands because of his shame for his wrongdoings. Though Riku humbles significantly over the course of the series, he still retains a lighthearted and jokingly arrogant side, referring to Sora, Donald and Goofy as "wise guys" to [[the Emperor]], cracking a joke about Donald and Goofy's intelligence, and calling Sora a "total sap" before joining forces to confront Xemnas.

When he was young, Riku had been curious about everything that is outside of his world. Over time, his curiosity became an obsession, and he eventually opened his heart up to darkness in order to escape his "prison surrounded by water," as phrased by Ansem. This obsession completely vanishes throughout the year of Sora's slumber, most likely because of all the trouble it brought into his formerly simple life and how foolish he ended up acting once his curiosity was sated. When he returns to Destiny Islands in ''Kingdom Hearts II'', he still comments on how small a world it is, but agrees with Sora's remark that it is part of one much bigger. This shows that Riku has a much better view of his homeworld than before, making him all the more content.

Riku is shown to be fiercely dedicated to his best friend Sora throughout the series. In ''Birth by Sleep'', when first meeting Terra, Riku claims that he wants strength so he can protect his friends from harm. As Kairi had not yet arrived on the islands, it can be assumed he's talking about Sora.  Although many of Riku's actions in the first game were uncaring and cruel, it's shown his jealousy is spurned on in no small part by his feelings of being abandoned by Sora for Donald and Goofy.  In ''358/2 Days'', nearly everything Riku does is to ensure Sora eventually wakes up from his sleep to get his memories back. He even goes so far as to battle Roxas and then tap into his inner darkness to defeat the Nobody so he'll be forced to return to Sora, not caring if he's trapped in Ansem, Seeker of Darkness's form forever. In ''Kingdom Hearts II'', despite not wanting Sora to see what his appearance has become, he leaves clues for him as to Roxas's identity and works behind the scenes to support his best friend. Riku unconsciously dives into Sora's dreams in ''Dream Drop Distance'' after seeing Xehanort's Heartless on the Destiny Islands when they enter the Realm of Sleep, becoming a Dream Eater and remaining within Sora's own dreams throughout most of the game to protect him from Nightmares. Their [[Combined Keyblade]] also bears a paopu fruit as the charm once the two halves are merged together. After all of the other Guardians fall to the Demon Tide at the Keyblade Graveyard in ''Kingdom Hearts III'', Riku sacrifices his own life to give Sora the motivation to continue on and save their friends from their fate. Additionally, in a 2013 interview about ''Kingdom Hearts III'', series producer Shinji Hashimoto stated that the main focus of the series is Sora and Riku's relationship, and how it evolves over time.<ref>[https://www.ign.com/articles/2013/09/25/how-kingdom-hearts-iii-will-grow-up-with-its-players '''''How Kingdom Hearts III Will Grow Up With Its Players'''''], '''Shinji Hashimoto''': "The fact is that the main focus of the series is Sora and Riku; how their friendship develops, but also how they grow up."</ref>

Riku's Soul Eater changes into Way to the Dawn sometime between the second visit to Land of Dragons and [[The World That Never Was]]. When he turned into his "true form" in the end of ''[[Kingdom Hearts II]]'', his powers of light increased dramatically while his powers of darkness decreased. As a party member, Riku possesses various abilities that combine his dark powers with Sora's light powers. Riku can use a new Dark Aura that fires Dark Firaga orbs that inflict a [[Stop]] effect whenever Sora completes a combo, Dark Shield to project a barrier of darkness, as well as to numerous other powers.  

 

In his Limit with Sora, [[Eternal Session]], Riku is able to project waves of dark energy from his Keyblade in addition to unleashing fast combos and Dark Firaga barrages. At the end, Sora and Riku toss their Keyblades together to act as a super-damaging magnet.  

It should be noted, though, that despite the fact that Riku is a wielder of the Keyblade, he can't use any of Sora's [[Keychains]] while he is in the party.

In ''[[Kingdom Hearts III]]'', the Way to the Dawn is snapped in half by a [[Demon Tower]] in the [[Realm of Darkness]]. Riku leaves it behind for the Riku Replica, and goes to ask [[Yen Sid]] to help him get a new Keyblade to replace it. This Keyblade, [[Braveheart]], resembles a modern car key, and has a [[Hidden Mickey]] as the Keychain, similar to the one on the [[Kingdom Key]].

After accumulating enough [[DP]] on the [[DP Gauge]], Riku enters [[Dark Mode]], where he is faster, stronger and capable of using an array of special abilities. His regular combo is heavily upgraded as his combo finisher has the opportunity to stun enemies. His High-Speed Step becomes a clean dash. Most importantly, Riku has the ability to use three new sleights in Dark Mode by stocking together three attack cards. The sleight chosen depends on the sum of the card values. The lowest value sleight, [[Dark Break]], causes Riku to leap into the air and attack enemies from above. [[Dark Firaga]] shoots a bolt of dark energy at an enemy. Lastly, [[Dark Aura]], a sleight requiring the max value of 27, allows Riku to rush enemies repeatedly from all directions and then release a mass of dark energy at the end.

In ''Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories'', Riku can engage in card duels, and if he wins, he can perform a Duel Sleight. The Duel Sleight depends on the enemy and how many cards he needs to break to win the duel: [[Impulse]], [[Maelstrom]], or [[Barrage]]. The former deals damage to multiple enemies while the other two are concentrated on one enemy. Dark Mode upgrades the Duel Sleights into {{c|Dark Impulse|rec}}, [[Dark Maelstrom]], and [[Dark Barrage]]. He can also combine a Mickey friend card with two Soul Eater cards to perform [[Holy Burst]], with Dark Mode upgrading it into [[Inverse Burst]].

As a party member, Riku is very similar to Beast from ''{{c|Kingdom Hearts|game}}'', in the sense that he is the game's final party member, as well as the strongest. He has high strength, magic, and above-average defense. He has great flexibility in that he can deal high amounts of damage and he has the capacity to heal and block attacks.

Riku's main action abilities are executed as reaction commands that become available after certain situations. He can use [[Dark Aura]] after Sora performs a combo finisher to fire multiple dark orbs that stun enemies. When Sora takes damage, Riku can cast [[Dark Shield]] to protect him. Riku can also use one non-reaction command ability, [[Cure Potion]], which restores the party to maximum health.

His limit, Eternal Session, unleashes a joint attack between Sora and Riku that expels high amounts of damage.

He has access to some of the most useful support abilities, such as [[MP Hastega]], [[Second Chance]], and [[Once More]], in addition to ones with more miscellaneous effects, such as [[Item Boost]], [[Defender]], {{c|Auto Limit|support ability}}, and [[Hyper Healing]].

According to Young Xehanort, near the end of his Mark of Mastery exam, Riku's long-time exposure to darkness and the power he gained from accepting himself have made him immune to its corrupting qualities, preventing him from becoming one of Master Xehanort's new vessels.<ref>'''''[[Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance]]''''', '''Young Xehanort''': "Yes. We originally had our sights set on you. But, you developed a certain... resistance to darkness."</ref>

Riku is briefly playable after completing [[Olympus]] and once more after completing [[The Caribbean]] and [[San Fransokyo]]. Both times, he faces against a Demon Tower. Riku's stats closely correspond to Sora's stats at Level 65, and are equal to Aqua's. He has access to Thundaga and Curaga for magic and has a single Hi-Potion and Ether, although they replenish between battles. Riku does not have access to Shotlocks (except in ''Kingdom Hearts III Re Mind'') or Formchanges. Riku attacks swiftly and many of his attacks are wide and are performed with a 360° turn.

 

During the first fight, he wields his [[Way to the Dawn]] Keyblade. His guard is a joint barrier with Mickey, which can be followed with a joint Counter Blast. During this fight, Riku's finisher is called [[Double Duel]]. When performing this move, Riku and Mickey both perform a buzzsaw move similar to [[Shadowbreaker]]. In the second fight, Riku wields the [[Braveheart]] Keyblade, and his unique finisher is [[Dark Firaga]], which performs identically to its ''[[Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance]]'' appearance.

Riku's base stats as a party member are 235 [[HP]], 100 MP, 44 Strength, 45 Magic, and 42 Defense.

{|border=1 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=0 style="text-align:center; font-size:90%" align="center" width=700px

|colspan="2"|{{nihongo|'''Attack (Combo)'''|たたかう (コンボ)|<br>Tatakau (Konbo)}}

|5.1 [ground], 7.0 [air]

|Swings weapon repeatedly.

|-

|colspan="2"|'''[[Dark Firaga]]'''

|colspan="2"|'''[[Shadowbreaker]]'''

|8.0

!style="{{style|kh3|a}}; font-size:12px" colspan="6"|Support Abilities

|-style="{{style|kh3|b}}; font-size:12px"

|-

|'''[[Double Team]]'''

|'''[[Damage Control]]'''

|colspan="4"|Halve the damage you take when your HP is at 25% or below. Stack the ability to increase the effect.