Should Riku have been the one to save Terra in III?

[Iscreamer1 100]

Because he had a more personal and emotional connection to Terra than Sora ever was and to see him being saved by his successor would have been a very huge payoff.

[ocean's rage 774]

it would have been that much of a payoff, the set up was literally sora's was gonna save everyone

[SweetYetSalty 330]

It also would have been good to see Riku and Mickey save Aqua too. I was quite surprised that Riku played no role at all with Terra though. In base KH3 they don't even acknowledge one another. It would have been nice for Riku to do something since he really didn't accomplish much in KH3, but at this point it's not important. The main KH games are Sora's domain.

[FadedSparkle 18]

I was less disappointed that Riku didn't play a role and more disappointed that Terra mostly saved himself. There was a minor assist from Sora in there (especially without the Remind DLC factored in) but for the most part Terra really saved himself. It was pretty embarrassing to see how hard they over-complicated things for the sake of honoring Sora being the one who saved everyone instead of just letting certain plot threads reach their natural conclusions though. Aqua keeping her promise to Ven, Mickey and Riku actually having a proper role in Aqua's rescue (Sora didn't even necessarily not have to be there just make it a team effort and Dark Aqua a tougher boss) and involve Riku in saving Terra even if you keep Sora involved.

Edited December 12, 2021 by FadedSparkle

[ocean's rage 774]

32 minutes ago, FadedSparkle said:

I was less disappointed that Riku didn't play a role and more disappointed that Terra mostly saved himself. There was a minor assist from Sora in there (especially without the Remind DLC factored in) but for the most part Terra really saved himself. It was pretty embarrassing to see how hard they over-complicated things for the sake of honoring Sora being the one who saved everyone instead of just letting certain plot threads reach their natural conclusions though. Aqua keeping her promise to Ven, Mickey and Riku actually having a proper role in Aqua's rescue (Sora didn't even necessarily not have to be there just make it a team effort and Dark Aqua a tougher boss) and involve Riku in saving Terra even if you keep Sora involved.

i think its up to the writer to decide what the natural conclusion of the story is

[Allwil13 754]

It would have been nice if Riku had been the one to save Terra, as they have a lot in common and they go way back.

Honestly, none of the other Guardians of Light never really did that much in the game, because Sora is the big hero and apparently he has to be the one to do all the work. I would say the only other Guardian of Light who really did anything was Aqua in that she changed Castle Oblivion back into the Land of Departure. But then she got her butt whooped by Vanitas and Ventus had to intervene as soon as he woke up... thanks to Sora.

[ocean's rage 774]

1 hour ago, Allwil13 said:

It would have been nice if Riku had been the one to save Terra, as they have a lot in common and they go way back.

they met once and had one conversation it was hardly the friendship of a lifetime

[Allwil13 754]

2 hours ago, ocean's rage said:

they met once and had one conversation it was hardly the friendship of a lifetime

Yeah, but if it wasn't for Terra, Riku may never have been a Keyblade Wielder. Plus, they have a lot in common in that they both struggled with the darkness. It would have been kind of poetic if Riku had been the one to save Terra.

[ocean's rage 774]

1 hour ago, Allwil13 said:

Yeah, but if it wasn't for Terra, Riku may never have been a Keyblade Wielder. Plus, they have a lot in common in that they both struggled with the darkness. It would have been kind of poetic if Riku had been the one to save Terra.

perhaps but we knew that was never gonna happen from the start. 

[Allwil13 754]

3 hours ago, ocean's rage said:

perhaps but we knew that was never gonna happen from the start. 

Can't argue with you there. Since Sora is the main character he's the only one allowed to do anything of consequence in the series.

[ocean's rage 774]

10 hours ago, Allwil13 said:

Can't argue with you there. Since Sora is the main character he's the only one allowed to do anything of consequence in the series.

well the others get to rescue sora so he can rescue everyone else

[Ventus_ 396]

On 12/12/2021 at 11:13 AM, FadedSparkle said:

I was less disappointed that Riku didn't play a role and more disappointed that Terra mostly saved himself. There was a minor assist from Sora in there (especially without the Remind DLC factored in) but for the most part Terra really saved himself. 

Terra went an entire decade without being able to do so despite his Lingering Will, therefore he did require a level of enabling from Sora and the other wayfinders however I felt all three of the wayfinders' rescues were rushed and anti-climactic. 

The whole thing is a bit of a mess. 

Riku having been the lynchpin in Terra's rescue at the very least would have tracked better with the Lingering Will's chastising Sora for not being his chosen one (secret boss in KHII) as would Mickey having been the one to rescue Aqua with his guilt for having left her in the Realm of Darkness but on the other hand Sora having conducted both rescues on some level were consistent with Coded setting him up as the one who needed to rescue them all. 

I understand that Sora is meant to be the main hero but I would have preferred more of the team effort Riku's being Terra's chosen one and Mickey's guilt over Aqua seemed to set-up. Having Sora do all of it made it feel muddled and again rushed which reduced some of the strength of the individual predicaments. I.e Sora spent the entire game searching for how to reclaim his lost powers and gain the power of awakening. 
Ven: "Dude, just call it." 
Sora: "Oh ok."
So when he released Kairi's heart to revive her he created all sorts of chaos via becoming a heartless and Roxas but...uh...ok? That felt like a simple concept to spend an entire game on, essentially several entire games on but sure I guess? 

One thing in particular that disappointed me was that there was no interaction between Aqua and Mickey after her rescue regardless of his role in it, no relief or apologies from him to address his guilt over her predicament as though it had just vanished. I feel that was inconsistent.  

I think an entire game devoted to rescuing the Wayfinders with involvement from Sora (Ven), Riku (Terra) and Mickey (Aqua) would have been stronger especially considering there is an entire game devoted to the backstories of their predicaments.