I don't like Riku in KH1

[AwesomeKHfan 1,250]

I like Riku but in KH1... He listens to creepy old dude in a cave watching 14 years old and ask them to open a door... Than Destiny Islands goes to hell and he just smiles while creatures of darkness enter the islands. ''We are finally free'' Yeah... Fighting for our lifes sounds great Riku.

Never apologised for it

[AngelTheWeirdStranger 504]

Yeah, he did let the darkness in and was controlled by all sorts of people but Riku has had A LOT of development and that's what makes him such a great character.

[Hero of Light XIV 2,381]

I'm pretty sure he's beaten himself up for it out loud and angsted enough over it and got confronted by his own literal inner demons so many times, that at this point he may as well have written "I am sorry for sinking my home into darkness" on a chalkboard a million times. The guy made up for it, cut him some slack.

[KHUndertaleFan25 2,858]

I liked him a bit at first, but when I saw what he had done, I started to hate him. What he did at the end of KH1, however (where Sora and the others had to close that big door), I felt bad about judging him and decided to forgive him. So you should, too.

[Felixx 6,646]

Not a big fan of Riku in general. His whole redemption thing is a bit over the top imo. I mean he redeemed himself in CoM actually, but then it was a topic in KH2 and DDD again.

[Sendou Aichi 2,356]

Not a big fan of Riku in general. His whole redemption thing is a bit over the top imo. I mean he redeemed himself in CoM actually, but then it was a topic in KH2 and DDD again.

I honestly wouldn't be surprised if it would be a topic in KH3 too.

[Felixx 6,646]

I honestly wouldn't be surprised if it would be a topic in KH3 too.

Please don't... -_- We all forgave him, just let it rest.

[Dave 5,715]

I'm pretty sure he's beaten himself up for it out loud and angsted enough over it and got confronted by his own literal inner demons so many times, that at this point he may as well have written "I am sorry for sinking my home into darkness" on a chalkboard a million times. The guy made up for it, cut him some slack.

 

Yeah, but throughout all of that sulking, he's never actually said, "I'm sorry," to anyone other than himself. Most of the reason he lurks in the shadows in KH2 is because he can't bring himself to look the people he's hurt in the eye and actually apologize to them. 

[Hero of Light XIV 2,381]

Yeah, but throughout all of that sulking, he's never actually said, "I'm sorry," to anyone other than himself. Most of the reason he lurks in the shadows in KH2 is because he can't bring himself to look the people he's hurt in the eye and actually apologize to them. 

Yeah but no one was ASKING him to apologize, now where they? He didn't need to, they already forgave him, that's why there's no point to fretting over it.

[Robbie the Wise 5,050]

KH1 Riku was the least cliche of all his appearances.

[Svard 164]

Not a big fan of Riku in general. His whole redemption thing is a bit over the top imo. I mean he redeemed himself in CoM actually, but then it was a topic in KH2 and DDD again.

 

To be fair here, how often do people really just get over their past mistakes, especially one as big as Riku's, who let the darkness take him to the point where he pointed his sword against his best friend? Being forgiven is one thing, but forgiving oneself is a whole other thing. Riku still carries that weight on his shoulders, even after so long, and he's always been scared of going back to that to some degree. Plus, he is constantly being haunted by Ansem SOD, who only keeps reminding him of his past mistakes. It's only natural that he would still carry the burden of his past.

 

Still, I do agree that SE likes to bring it up a bit much. In CoM, he accepted the darkness as his power and vowed to use that power for good. Then in KH2 and DDD, he carried the guilt of having accepted the darkness in the first place. I guess he maybe still ties it to the things he did in KH1, but hopefully after DDD, we won't have to have that whole "Riku vs the Darkness" theme over again.

[Firaga 5,947]

He didn't need to apologize. He spent two full games plus the majority of one another game trying to make up for it. Sora and Kairi aren't even the kind of people that would force an apology out of him either, especially not Sora. The point of their bond schtick is that they can endure through hardships with one another regardless of difficulty. So even when each of them spent a considerable amount of time from one another, and even everything they all went through, they can't still manage to stay friends and be happy with one another by the end.

 

Plus, even though they didn't ask him to say he was sorry, it was still implied that they took some offense to his actions and wanted him to do better. In the scene in KH2 after Riku is cleansed by the KH Encoder, Sora scolds him for his actions throughout the series and reminds him that he has friends to help him get through his hardships instead of doing everything on his own, which he in fact was doing. It was his decision to open the door in Destiny Islands, his decision to ally with Maleficent, his decision to work with DiZ and Namine, his decision to leave clues for SDG, etc. And Riku realizes this. Kairi doesn't even need to chime in because she and Sora are thinking the same thing. Only true friends can accomplish something like this with one another.

Edited September 17, 2016 by Firaga Sensei

[Felixx 6,646]

To be fair here, how often do people really just get over their past mistakes, especially one as big as Riku's, who let the darkness take him to the point where he pointed his sword against his best friend? Being forgiven is one thing, but forgiving oneself is a whole other thing. Riku still carries that weight on his shoulders, even after so long, and he's always been scared of going back to that to some degree. Plus, he is constantly being haunted by Ansem SOD, who only keeps reminding him of his past mistakes. It's only natural that he would still carry the burden of his past.

 

Still, I do agree that SE likes to bring it up a bit much. In CoM, he accepted the darkness as his power and vowed to use that power for good. Then in KH2 and DDD, he carried the guilt of having accepted the darkness in the first place. I guess he maybe still ties it to the things he did in KH1, but hopefully after DDD, we won't have to have that whole "Riku vs the Darkness" theme over again.

Your second part sums it up pretty much And about the first one, I do agree but Kh is not the real life, it's a video game. And having the same plot elements over and over again is bad storytelling, imo.

[Svard 164]

Your second part sums it up pretty much And about the first one, I do agree but Kh is not the real life, it's a video game. And having the same plot elements over and over again is bad storytelling, imo.

 

True enough. The tragic part is that it seems like Riku and Kairi will be going into the realm of darkness, which means we may still be forced with another "Riku vs the Darkness" episode. So yeah... godamnit, Nomura!

[The Transcendent Key 12,109]

Well, the point of Riku being a jerk in the first Kingdom Hearts was a result of his rivalry against Sora, and how he was always jealous of him.  And well, when it came down to save Kairi, Riku felt that he was the one that had to do whatever it took to save her, ya know?  Even if it meant succumbing to the darkness! He plunged in deep into darkness just to get off Destiny Islands, and once traveling the worlds, he wanted to do all in his power to save Kairi, whose heart was lost! Obviously, he was trying to do the right thing, but he went about it horribly, ya know?

 

That's what I love about him, though!  He's a flawed character, not a perfect hero!  His journey of redemption through the series has been a rewarding thing to see! Now he's a hero of the darkness, using his power to protect the things that matter!

[KairiKeybasH 851]

To be honest people hate Riku in KH1 because how of a jerk he is, I´m ok with his character in the first game. To be honest i find Riku a little eh...

 

The only role i enjoy of Riku in the games, is in Dream Drop Distance.

[Felicia Novita 419]

Actually, I'm also not a fan of Riku in Kingdom Hearts 1, since he's too annoying at the beginning (I agree if someone said that he's not really suitable to become villain). But In Kingdom Hearts 2, he's  different story! LOLOL

[PenguinRoxx 286]

Well yeah, I mean he only listened to Maleficient cause he was being all angsty when he thought Sora abandoned him and Kairi. Of course he was wrong to just assume that of Sora, but what do you expect? He was just a child and it was his first time in the outside world and away from Sora and Kairi without knowing where they were or how to find them. Maleficient, being the manipulative person that she is knew that and used it to get Riku to turn on Sora. He didn't need to apologize because Sora knew that he wasn't at fault for his behavior in KH1, and not to mention in CoM, Riku spent his time in CO trying to make amends for his past and fight off the control that the creepy old man had on his heart. 

 

Also consider who he inherited his keyblade wielding ability from...

Edited October 17, 2016 by PinappleRoxx