KH2 Riku is basically an FF character

[yamibakura 10]

the hair, the build, the clothes, his weapon (Way to the Dawn), its 0% disney and 100% FF. You could swap him with Tidus or Squall and he would fit right in.

[ocean's rage 775]

  On 8/1/2021 at 8:19 AM, yamibakura said:

the hair, the build, the clothes, his weapon (Way to the Dawn), its 0% disney and 100% FF. You could swap him with Tidus or Squall and he would fit right in.

you know all 3 of them were designed by the same guy right?

[yamibakura 10]

  On 8/1/2021 at 8:57 PM, ocean's rage said:

you know all 3 of them were designed by the same guy right?

yep. but sora has a bit of a disney in him, goofy shoes, goofy fighting style, riku doesnt

[FadedSparkle 20]

@yamibakura - It's not just KH2 Riku it's Riku from the very first game through to the present. Originally he had a very Young Sephiroth look and feel to him, there was even artwork of Riku with wings something that didn't end up becoming a thing in the games until he could merge with Dream Eaters in Dream Drop Distance. Between 0.2 A Fragmentary Passage and KH3 Riku got a redesign that shifted him from looking like a Young Sephiroth to Noctis Lucis Caelum from FFXV.

There is also this old theory video somewhere on YouTube which covers the theory that Riku and Xehanort are the same person because they have the same facial structure. Like if you overlay them on top of each other in the various forms of Xehanort when he wasn't an old man they line up scarily perfect. Of course this didn't turn out to be true, but it is still very eerie how his face overlayed so perfectly with that of Ansem Seeker of Darkness, Xemnas, and Young Xehanort; before his redesign between 0.2 A Fragmentary Passage and KH3.

Story wise Riku's always been the more Final Fantasy of the Destiny Islands trio though. Sora and Kairi slot perfectly into the Boy Hero Who Always Saves the Day Somehow and Damsel Female in Distress leading men and women Disney is so famous for (especially during its Renaissance era), Riku is the wild card that aligns more with characters like Cloud and Squall from Final Fantasy and Vegeta and Sasuke from Naruto and Dragonball. Although he's never gone quite as far to the dark side as those last two because of him (and KH in general) being co-owned by Disney.

Edited August 2, 2021 by FadedSparkle

[yamibakura 10]

  On 8/2/2021 at 9:54 AM, FadedSparkle said:

It's not just KH2 Riku it's Riku from the very first game through to the present. Originally he had a very Young Sephiroth look and feel to him, there was even artwork of Riku with wings somethin

 

yeah but in kh1 they still gave him some goofy shoes and clothes to look a bit silly like a dinsey character

 

  On 8/2/2021 at 9:54 AM, FadedSparkle said:

Of course this didn't turn out to be true, but it is still very eerie how his face overlayed so perfectly with that of Ansem Seeker of Darkness

actually, ansem SOD, used riku's body as a base so he looks like an aged up riku albeit with xehanort's haircut. notice how SOD looks different than apprentice xehanort and xemnas because of that

 

  On 8/2/2021 at 9:54 AM, FadedSparkle said:

Sora and Kairi slot perfectly into the Boy Hero Who Always Saves the Day Somehow and Damsel Female in Distress leading men and women Disney is so famous for (especially during its Renaissance era), Riku is the wild card that aligns more with characters like Cloud and Squall

 

sora and kairi are a bit like younger version's of tidus and yuna albeit a bit goofier (at least in kh1). but true, riku is the most jrpg out of the three

[ocean's rage 775]

  On 8/2/2021 at 9:54 AM, FadedSparkle said:

being co-owned by Disney.

only owned by disney

@yamibakura ok why did that garner a "laugh" reaction?

Edited August 3, 2021 by ocean's rage

[SaulGoodman 1]

Agreed

 

 

[FadedSparkle 20]

  On 8/2/2021 at 8:52 PM, ocean's rage said:

only owned by disney

Wait, what? I thought they were co-owned. Especially since Nomura was the one who drew them.

  On 8/2/2021 at 6:38 PM, yamibakura said:

  On 8/2/2021 at 9:54 AM, FadedSparkle said:

 

actually, ansem SOD, used riku's body as a base so he looks like an aged up riku albeit with xehanort's haircut. notice how SOD looks different than apprentice xehanort and xemnas because of that

Yeah, ironically though outside of the darker skin color Ansem SOD doesn't look that different from the other non-elderly Xehanorts when overlayed with them. It'd be interesting if the series goes on long enough for Riku to get to an age where he's around Ansem SOD's age if Nomura actually gave Riku a design that made him look anything like Ansem SOD.

Edited August 3, 2021 by FadedSparkle

[ocean's rage 775]

  On 8/3/2021 at 11:35 PM, FadedSparkle said:

Wait, what? I thought they were co-owned. Especially since Nomura was the one who drew them.

nope. if you check out the game's copy right notice you'll notice that disney owns the game and SE are only noted for their stuff from outside KH ie the FF characters