- "Why did the Keyblade choose me? I have to know."
- —Roxas
Roxas is Sora's Nobody and a former member of Organization XIII, born when Sora took his own heart. Although Sora's heart was soon restored, Roxas continued to endure and exist, oblivious of Sora's existence for most of his life. Prior to the events of Kingdom Hearts II Roxas was Rank XIII within the Organization, and bore the title Key of Destiny (めぐりあう鍵 Meguriau Kagi, lit. Serendipitous Key) because of his ability to wield the Keyblade. He wields the element of Light, and uses it to command pillars of light to strike opponents with powerful blows. He commands the Samurai Nobodies.
Roxas was also the mysterious hooded figure in "Another side, Another story..." as well as in Deep Dive. During the prologue of Kingdom Hearts II, the player controls Roxas until Sora is awakened. In Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days for Nintendo DS, Roxas is the main character. This game focuses on the time period between Roxas' birth and his departure from the Organization, eventually leading to his capture at the hands of Riku and DiZ.
Journal Entries
Kingdom Hearts II
- Twilight Town Entry
A boy who lived in Twilight Town and saw Sora's memories in dreams.
His summer vacation has come to an end, and many of his thoughts and feelings with it.
- Character Link Entry
Organization XIII's Number XIII, a Keyblade wielder and denizen of darkness.
He vanished with a satisfied look after battling Sora -- but Sora was the only one who could see him in the first place.
Story
Kingdom Hearts
Birth
- "Do you remember your true name?"
- —Xemnas in the opening of Kingdom Hearts II.
According to the Secret Ansem Reports, Roxas was born when Sora stabbed himself with the Dark Keyblade 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's 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 true memories, the memories of Sora, and the two were incomplete without one another. Still, Roxas' status as Sora's Nobody granted him the ability to use the Keyblade. This makes Roxas a very unusual Nobody, besides his capacity to experience actual human emotions, something that Nobodies are normally incapable of. 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 also appears to have what appears to be a psychic link with Sora, as he begins to absorb Sora's memories as Naminé restores them and falls into a coma after he is placed in stasis.
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
Time in the Organization
- "Why did the Keyblade choose me? I have to know."
- —Roxas to Axel upon his departure from the Organization.
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 that same day, 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.
When Axel is sent to Castle Oblivion to interfere in Marluxia and Larxene'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 after Roxas falls into a coma for several weeks, linked to Sora being placed in suspended animation by Naminé. 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.
As he spends more time with The Organization, Roxas grows increasingly impatient towards his unanswered questions. Meanwhile, he still works actively to help the Organization in their plan for Kingdom Hearts, using the Keyblade to release the Heartless' hearts. However, Xion, seeking answers to her own questions, departs the Organization to find herself. Roxas soon 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.
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 clone of Sora created from his leaked memories by Xemnas in the event that Sora turned out to be useless to his plans for Kingdom Hearts) and gone completely insane. 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 in the hopes that this would do the job. Xion transforms into a Giant Monster in order to absorb Roxas. After a long and grueling battle, Roxas defeats Xion, who regains both her original appearance and sanity. Roxas and Xion share an emotional final conversation; Xion informs Roxas the true colors of the Organization, tells him that she is glad they were friends and pleads with him not to let Xemnas succeed before dying peacefully in his arms. Emotionally shattered, Roxas absorbs Xion's essence and degenerating body, gaining his signature ability to dual-wield Keyblades.
Capture
- "You can't beat me! No matter how many times you try!"
- —Roxas, engaging Riku
The death of Xion, combined with full knowledge of how evil and deranged Xemnas truly is, 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 kill Xemnas and "set Kingdom Hearts free". 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, after slaying many Heartless, he realizes there are too many Heartless to fight alone. Luckily, Riku suddenly appears at the scene, and Roxas tosses him his Oblivion keyblade and they both defeat the Neoshadows. However, Riku immediately turns on Roxas once the Heartless are defeated. Roxas beats Riku at first, but Riku willingly succumbs to his inner darkness and takes on the physical appearance of Xehanort's Heartless. The fight continues, and then comes to an end when Riku is overwhelmed by the darkness and the Guardian emerges to help, pummeling Roxas senseless and knocking him out. DiZ then appears and opens up a portal to the old mansion in Twilight Town, where Roxas came into being and 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.
Kingdom Hearts II
Digital Twilight Town
- "Sora, you're lucky. Looks like my Summer vacation is...over.."
- —Roxas, upon reuniting with the slumbering Sora
For some time, Roxas lives a normal life in the digital Twilight Town, becoming best friends with three kids: Hayner, Pence, and Olette and even writing 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. However, Roxas has lost all memory of his life before entering the digital Twilight Town, and believes he is an ordinary boy in a quiet town in summer vacation. As Naminé completes the task of restoring Sora's memories, Roxas soon begins seeing brief fleeting memories 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. Also, as observed by DiZ, Naminé's contact with Roxas connected 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 wants to bring Roxas back with him to the Organization's stronghold. 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 one 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' rage with cutting remarks about Roxas' 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. It 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 counterpart.
Resting and Hints
- "I wanted to see Roxas. He...was the only one I liked... He made me feel...like I had a heart."
- —Axel, during his last moments of existence
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 was 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' own sadness in separating from his own friends, and feels strangely sad to be leaving Twilight Town. Also, 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.
During the second visit to Twilight Town, Roxas' 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' 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' 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.
Encounter with Sora
- "You make a good other..."
- —Roxas, upon having been defeated by Sora.
The hints of Roxas' 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 an Organization cloak, 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!", referring to the Keyblade (the confusion stems actually from a mistranslation in dialogue) 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. But Sora defeats him in the end, after he surprises Roxas when the Keyblade comes back to him. A wounded Roxas drops his weapons, remembers the events after his "birth", drops his hood, revealing his face, tells Sora, "You make a good other," and leaves 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) apologizes to Roxas for his mistreatment of him, though he didn't know whether or not he could hear him.
Reunion With Naminé
- "I see myself the way you remember me, and you see yourself the way I remember you"
- —Roxas, when reunited with Naminé, before joining with Sora once again
After Xemnas' seeming defeat, Roxas and Naminé reunite, with Roxas projecting himself through Sora before 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.
Roxas and Naminé are 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.
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, stemming from the fact that he, like Naminé, is a special Nobody. Many ranges of feelings come from him depending on his situation.
For example, he is far more prone to anger than Sora; temperamental, aggressive, and stands his ground, characteristics that had mixed in his fighting style. He can be arrogant, confident, and determined as proven in his battles, more so when he engages Riku into a fight, proclaiming that he could not beat him no matter how many times he attempted to. 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 sometimes even portrayed in official art, with Roxas almost always having a dark, sort of fierce expression, while Sora's a bit more loose. 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 in other points when he's confused and lost. While he is also not as impulsive, like Sora, they both have little patience for people who seem to be bending their will or trying to confuse them. He doesn't have a extreme lust for life as well, but he does wish and desire one of his own. And despite their differences, the traits he and Sora share are shown in how they deeply care for their friends, along with some instances where Roxas is happy, cheerful, kind, at ease, and carefree in good company - even shown laughing.
Roxas also seems to be noted as 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.
Instances of Roxas' emotional capacity are as follows:
- He angrily attacks DiZ when the latter taunts him and continues to strike at the entity after realizing that it was just a digital image.
- Happily holds up the Champion Belt after winning the Struggle tornament.
- Beforehand, he tried to cheer Hayner up right after beating him.
- Respectfully accepts his fate and rejoins with Sora after seeing him despite initial refusal to do so.
- Continues to apologize to Hayner for disappointing the gang.
- Satisfyingly tells Sora "You make a good other" after their duel.
- Pleaded for Riku and DiZ to let Naminé go.
- Destroys DiZ's computer system in rage after regaining his memories.
- Yells "Stop!" in a horrified manner when Axel and Xion start fighting.
- He sheds tears while absorbing Xion.
Fighting Style
When he attacks with his full power, Roxas dual wields Keyblades, the Oathkeeper and the Oblivion, and uses the element of Light, becoming a highly dangerous foe. 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 Bout technique (similar to his Samurai Nobodies) 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 utilize Roxas' Keyblades if he does repel the attack. However, when Sora steals Roxas' Keyblades, Roxas resorts to utilizing his light shields to full effect, before moving in to steal his Keyblades back from Sora.
In comparison to Sora, Roxas seems to have a far more aggressive style: he is constantly on the offensive, and abandons any defensive moves he had previously used, such as the Guard technique, in favor of speed and strength. In their mental struggle in The World That Never Was, he briefly manages to overpower and disarm Sora with simple brute force.
Roxas' battle with Riku, as seen in Another Side, Another Story, involves him running up the side of Memory Skyscraper and passing by Riku as he leaps off. During the battle against Xemnas in the same location in Kingdom Hearts II, Sora can trigger a reaction command that mirrors this scene. Comparing the cutscene version to the Another Side, Another Story version, how Roxas runs past Riku after lending him Oblivion is different in the two. In the cutscene version, Roxas has nothing in his right hand, but in Another Side, Another Story, he has the Kingdom Key in his right hand as he's passing Riku.
Without the ability to dual-wield if not chosen, he uses the Kingdom Key. This appears to be his main form of fighting in Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. This is likely because he just joined the Organization, and his true powers hadn't awakened yet. This would have to be seen more as the story/game progresses. In the game, it is revealed that Roxas gained the power to dual-wield Keyblades after his absorption of Xion.
It is interesting to note that as well, when not dual-wielding, Roxas uses a fighting style similar to the one Sora used in the original Kingdom Hearts, since he is the Nobody of Sora.
In Roxas's character select screen in 358/2 Days, his stats are all equal and in the middle.
Weapons
When in possession of his full power, Roxas dual-wields two Keyblades, Oathkeeper and 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 358/2 Days between his attaining the ability to dual-wield and reaching his full power, he could dual-wield two Kingdom Keys. So far, Roxas is the first character in the series to be able to dual-wield Keyblades. Roxas controls the element of light and the Samurai Nobodies. Although it would normally be impossible for a Nobody to wield a Keyblade, Roxas can because Sora can. 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.
Quotes
"Why did the Keyblade choose me? I have to know."
"No one would miss me."
"Tell me...Tell me why he picked you!"
"You make a good other."
"Was that...Was that supposed to be a joke? Cause I'm not laughing!"
"No! My heart belongs to me!"
"I think I understand. I see myself the way you remember me, and you see yourself the way I remember you."
"Sora ...You're lucky. Looks like my summer vacation is...over."
Trivia
- Roxas' music theme is simply named "Roxas", however, when you fight him, a slightly faster-paced, version called "The Other Promise" is played. An orchestration of "The Other Promise" is included of Yoko Shimomura's Square Enix album Drammatica. The melody remains the same, but is played with the pace of and begins with "Roxas".
- Roxas is one of four Organization members to have their own battle theme; in his case, it's "The Other Promise." The other three members include Marluxia, Xemnas, and Xion
- Ven, a character in the yet to be released PSP title Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, bears a striking resemblance to Roxas. However it's unsure if they have any sort of connection.
- Before his name was revealed, he was often known as the "BHK" Meaning "Blond Haired Kid".
- Some media outlets confused him with Tidus, thinking that Tidus would take up a significant role in the series.
- Airwalk, incidentally, has a shoe model named after him, specifically the Roxas Dot. They also have a model named after Demyx.
- Besides Xemnas and Larxene (Re:Chain of Memories), Roxas is the only one who has been able to disarm Sora during battle.
- In a new cutscene featured in Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, a scene expanded from the original Kingdom Hearts II version, that takes place at the Dark Meridian, Xemnas reveals Roxas' true name, yet the name isn't heard. This further supports Nomura's statements that the Dark Meridian cutscenes in the beginning of Kingdom Hearts II are only representations of Roxas's wants, hopes, and desires.
- Tetsuya Nomura has stated that the checkers on Roxas' jacket represent light and darkness.
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