Game:Riku

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Riku is a recurring boss in the series, and is also the final boss of Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days.

Strategies

Kingdom Hearts

Riku (Duel)

Sora can fight Riku on Destiny Islands before reporting to Kairi for the first time. Riku is the most difficult challenge on the island. His attacks are similar to other battles with his normal strikes. He has two special attacks; if Riku gets knocked down, he will jump back up kicking Sora, this can be dodged by jumping out of the way. His other comes if Sora hits him while he is guarding three times, he will unleash a powerful strike though this can be countered or dodged. The difficulty of this battle comes from falling off the small battle arena (if Sora goes out of bounds, the battle ends in defeat). Riku is worth 5 EXP.

Riku (Soul Eater)

Sora will be reunited with Donald and Goofy. The Beast will not join Sora's party, so make sure his Strength and Defense are up. Riku can't be hurt by magic, so use Dodge Roll to avoid lunging attacks, then counterattack him from behind.

His moveset is about the same as the battle in Destiny Islands, but now that he has the Soul Eater with him, they can be very damaging. He moves very fast too, so Dodge Roll out of harm's way. Melee attacks are recommended for this battle and simply heal when necessary.

Consider summoning Tinker Bell to restore Sora's HP periodically and to revive him if he falls.

Riku (Keyblade)

Here, Sora is fighting a possessed Riku. Before approaching him, restock Sora's items and make sure that he is in top notch condition as he fights alone. It is strongly recommended that to equip Guard, Dodge Roll, Glide, and Counterattack. Also, it is highly recommended that Sora beat the three cups at Olympus Coliseum and get the Olympia Keyblade. The Metal Chocobo can be useful as well, if one doesn't mind losing some MP. Riku's HP is made up of several bars. In his first HP bar, he'll attempt to toy with Sora, passing around him and executing his standard two-hit combo; just simply dodge and attack him. Whatever combo that is used, try to refrain from executing the combo finisher (unless Sora has Blitz equipped); Riku has fast recovery and can unleash devastating counterattacks. If Sora has Ars Arcanum equipped, save it for later. Using magic only makes Riku counterattack with Dark Firaga.

After Riku's first life bar has been drained, he will start using a new attack; he'll spin around while swinging his Keyblade, similar to Sora's Vortex. He uses this attack very often, mostly to break Sora's combos. During this time, try keeping Sora at a safe distance, but not too far or Riku will make a high leap and attempt to stab him with his Keyblade, creating shockwaves that move sideways from his position. Now it will be a good time to use Ars Arcanum, but just use it a few times and try saving MP, because Sora will be needing it later.

Eventually, Riku will cloak himself with darkness and a purple aura will surround him. During this period, his speed and agility increase and he gains two new attacks; one involves throwing his Keyblade at Sora, similar to Strike Raid (be careful when countering this attack, as if it hits Riku he will use Dark Firaga) and his infamous Dark Aura. Fortunately, his thrown Keyblade can be deflected either by guarding or striking with perfect timing; for each successful deflect, Riku will receive damage and be momentarily stunned. Seize this opportunity and continuously hit him.

When Riku's health bar drops to his final one, he'll become more aggressive and uses Dark Aura very often (watch out for the phrases "Behold the power of darkness!" and "Open your heart to darkness!"). Riku's Dark Aura is a predictable move, but it can be difficult to dodge. When he begins floating and charging, stay a safe distance away from him and High Jump right before he starts shooting around. Immediately execute Glide and move around in a circular fashion. Near the end of his assault, repeat the phase and start Gliding again. Riku's finisher covers about 60% of the arena, so it'll be pretty hard to evade it. Alternatively, when he charges to one particular end of the arena (he usually starts with the top left corner), jump and stay there: Riku will not charge into the same area twice.

Attacking and counterattacking are good tactics while Riku is in this form, just pay attention to what he says and heal occasionally.

Note that aside from the first hit, he cannot use Dark Aura when Sora stands directly next to the computer. However, he will Strike Raid and combo Sora immediately afterward.

When Riku's health reaches critical levels, be sure to finish him quickly, as he will use Dark Aura very often, prolonging the fight. Aside from that, he'll start to keep his distance from Sora, so track him down and continue attacking.

A good pattern to get into that causes great damage is immediately after executing a full or half combo, Guard, and repeat, almost never giving him a chance to attack.

Kingdom Hearts II

Sora battles the hooded Riku in the form of Xehanort's Heartless in a one-on-one match in the Land of Dragons. While not a full-fledged battle, Riku attacks with slashing combos, dark magic, and the Dark Firaga attack. Both attacks can be dodged rather easily. He can be damaged with the Reaction Command provided by the Rapid Thrusters that surround him. If enough Ethers are stocked, a good way to damage Riku is by using Trinity Limit. The battle ends when Sora deals enough damage to Riku. If Sora is struggling, one could just battle the Rapid Thrusters since they are endless and try to level up.

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days

Mission 74

Riku will block almost all of Roxas's attacks, so the point is to simply attack with Keyblades or area spells like Aeroga in order to herd him to the southern tunnels. While several Heartless will appear throughout the area, just ignore them and focus on Riku. Once Riku is chased into the southernmost tunnel, he will escape through a Dark Corridor and the mission will end.

Mission 93

In this battle, Roxas will lose his Dual-Wield power and is left only with the Oathkeeper, while Riku wields Oblivion. Riku is particularly tough to defeat due to his high HP. His normal attack consists of a flurry of stabs, finishing off with a mighty thrust that comes out rather fast though this can be blocked fairly easily and a counter attack can be used (if the panel is equipped). Riku possesses several special attacks which are signaled through body gestures. If he raises his arm up, he will cast Dark Shield, which briefly raises up a barrier in front of him. Attacking him while the shield is up will cause him to immediately counter with a quick thrust. If he jumps back, he will cast Dark Firaga in which he shoots forth a blue energy blast. Unlike the previous games, Dark Firaga will home in on Roxas. It moves fairly slow however, and can be easily guarded and reflected. If it connects, he will immediately follow up with Helm Break. At times, he'll perform Dark Break, where he leaps into the air and teleports to Roxas's location and strikes the ground, releasing a radius blast of energy, which he repeats two more times. This can be avoided with Dodge Roll or more effectively by Gliding.

Once Riku is low on health, he will gather up power and infuse his Keyblade with dark energy, increasing his range and power. Here, he becomes much more aggressive in combat and immune to flinching. He will also begin to utilize Dark Aura, charging Roxas with powered thrusts from all directions and ending it with a downward thrust that releases small bursts of energy around him. Usage of Cure, Cura or Curaga and Limit Break will prove most effective in this battle.

In the Mission Mode version of this battle, Roxas must fight a dark version of Riku, Anti-Riku. The strategy to this boss remains the same with a few minor changes.

Videos

Riku I—Kingdom Hearts	Riku II—Kingdom Hearts	Riku III—Kingdom Hearts
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Mysterious Man—Kingdom Hearts II
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