KH2 Should Riku have paid more?

[Dave 5,715]

This is something that bothers me about Riku's story, and I want to hear some other opinions on it.

 

In KH1, Riku very nearly brings about the world's destruction. Now, before the response of "Ansem was possessing him" comes up, Riku did an awful lot of harm long before getting possessed. He fully gives in to the sins of Darkness (in his case, Lust, Wrath, Envy, and possibly Greed), and causes a great deal of harm, such as seeing to the kidnapping of Wendy, nearly killing the Beast, turning his back on his friend out of spite, almost getting Pinocchio killed, kidnapping Jasmine, and very willingly helping Malificient. In short, he has a hand in the near cataclysmic disaster which threatens to occur, and he did on his own free will.

 

But the thing is, in spite of all these actions reflecting directly back on him, Riku never really has to pay for any of it, both in canon and in the meta context. In canon, yes, he feels bad about what happened, leading to much inner turmoil, but the universe seems to instantly forgive him for everything. In the case of Sora this can be expected, but at no point does Riku have to face anyone in response for his actions except for his own ego and self doubt. Personally, I was hoping that he would have to go back to appear in Beast's Castle and have to own up to the Beast for taking a chunk out of him. In a meta text, Riku's sins are absolved so that he can be a brooding hero figure. The player is never led to question his past, only accept that he is very sorry and then get off on using his dark powers for their own pleasure. The darkness which made us fear him in KH1 is now the thing we are enjoying playing with. Any idea that this might have been a bad choice for Riku to make is swept under the rug and the player is never told to think about it.

 

So, does anyone else think that Riku really should have paid for his actions more than just feeling bad and moping?

[143436611Xxcc 1,105]

This is something that bothers me about Riku's story, and I want to hear some other opinions on it.

 

In KH1, Riku very nearly brings about the world's destruction. Now, before the response of "Ansem was possessing him" comes up, Riku did an awful lot of harm long before getting possessed. He fully gives in to the sins of Darkness (in his case, Lust, Wrath, Envy, and possibly Greed), and causes a great deal of harm, such as seeing to the kidnapping of Wendy, nearly killing the Beast, turning his back on his friend out of spite, almost getting Pinocchio killed, kidnapping Jasmine, and very willingly helping Malificient. In short, he has a hand in the near cataclysmic disaster which threatens to occur, and he did on his own free will.

 

But the thing is, in spite of all these actions reflecting directly back on him, Riku never really has to pay for any of it, both in canon and in the meta context. In canon, yes, he feels bad about what happened, leading to much inner turmoil, but the universe seems to instantly forgive him for everything. In the case of Sora this can be expected, but at no point does Riku have to face anyone in response for his actions except for his own ego and self doubt. Personally, I was hoping that he would have to go back to appear in Beast's Castle and have to own up to the Beast for taking a chunk out of him. In a meta text, Riku's sins are absolved so that he can be a brooding hero figure. The player is never led to question his past, only accept that he is very sorry and then get off on using his dark powers for their own pleasure. The darkness which made us fear him in KH1 is now the thing we are enjoying playing with. Any idea that this might have been a bad choice for Riku to make is swept under the rug and the player is never told to think about it.

 

So, does anyone else think that Riku really should have paid for his actions more than just feeling bad and moping?

 

 

I agree, i think saving sora wasnt enough to become master too..

[hatok 6,413]

That's sort of the problem. Riku goes through the same 'character arc' of being mad at himself in every single game, but it's always self contained

Then again, Riku hasn't encountered any of the people he wronged BESIDES Sora

Honestly, I think they missed a massive opportunity with Reverse/Rebirth by not having Riku interact with the worlds. I don't really think beating up bosses has much to do with washing away sins

It would have been much more interesting to have Riku visit these worlds and be outwardly antagonized by the Disney heroes, and have him ACTUALLY atone, adn try to win them over, as opposed to simply beating up Captain Hook or whoever

[CJ Smith 123]

I feel the same way about Riku as I do Terra, if they were smarter and didn't drop the guard things would have played out differently. I personally blame Xehanort

[GN_Otaku 70]

This is something that bothers me about Riku's story, and I want to hear some other opinions on it.

 

In KH1, Riku very nearly brings about the world's destruction. Now, before the response of "Ansem was possessing him" comes up, Riku did an awful lot of harm long before getting possessed. He fully gives in to the sins of Darkness (in his case, Lust, Wrath, Envy, and possibly Greed), and causes a great deal of harm, such as seeing to the kidnapping of Wendy, nearly killing the Beast, turning his back on his friend out of spite, almost getting Pinocchio killed, kidnapping Jasmine, and very willingly helping Malificient. In short, he has a hand in the near cataclysmic disaster which threatens to occur, and he did on his own free will.

 

But the thing is, in spite of all these actions reflecting directly back on him, Riku never really has to pay for any of it, both in canon and in the meta context. In canon, yes, he feels bad about what happened, leading to much inner turmoil, but the universe seems to instantly forgive him for everything. In the case of Sora this can be expected, but at no point does Riku have to face anyone in response for his actions except for his own ego and self doubt. Personally, I was hoping that he would have to go back to appear in Beast's Castle and have to own up to the Beast for taking a chunk out of him. In a meta text, Riku's sins are absolved so that he can be a brooding hero figure. The player is never led to question his past, only accept that he is very sorry and then get off on using his dark powers for their own pleasure. The darkness which made us fear him in KH1 is now the thing we are enjoying playing with. Any idea that this might have been a bad choice for Riku to make is swept under the rug and the player is never told to think about it.

 

So, does anyone else think that Riku really should have paid for his actions more than just feeling bad and moping?

 

I COMPLETELY AGREE

[TerraRedeemed 255]

He bear's the weight of his sins in Re:CoM, 3D and more arguably so in KHII and Days. In these games Riku is forced to wear the face of a man he considers a monster. Its torture on the soul.

[Kirux 1,224]

I always felt like Riku was being toyed with an manipulated from the very beginning of KHI. He obviously talked to the robed figure, and was swayed into believing darkness was not a thing to be feared. After which, Malificent was completely filling him with lies as well.

 

In short; Riku had Terra's story before we knew Terra had Terra's story.

 

At least Riku did SOME penitance and has come out a 'stronger' person for it. Being trapped IN the Realm of Darkness, going through CO, taking on Ansem's SoD persona in order to use the darkness to protect Kairi/Sora, getting Roxas and Xion back into Sora so the latter could wake up. Terra's just possessed, he couldn't fight the darkness.

 

At the end of BBS, the same thing happens with Terra. Everyone he knows personally absolves him of any wrong doing and just kinda act as though he wasn't the sole reason all the shit that was happening happened. He ends up getting possessed as a result, and Aqua still sacrifices herself for him.

 

None of the characters of KH have any sort of regard for the consequences of their actions (the biggest culprit, in my opinion, being Sora) and this is a majour flaw in the entire series.

[Dracozombie 4,554]

Well, this is KH we're talking about.

[Dave 5,715]

He bear's the weight of his sins in Re:CoM, 3D and more arguably so in KHII and Days. In these games Riku is forced to wear the face of a man he considers a monster. Its torture on the soul.

 

That's the problem, though: his pennance is entirely internal and self inflicted. He never actually has to face those he's wronged. An example where this repentance story was done right is in FFIV, when Cecil has to confront Rydia after killing her mother, and visiting the towns that he has had a hand in ruining, having to see the pain he's caused first hand, rather than simply thinking about how sorry he is and never having to face the music.

[razuthor72 89]

That's the problem, though: his pennance is entirely internal and self inflicted. He never actually has to face those he's wronged. An example where this repentance story was done right is in FFIV, when Cecil has to confront Rydia after killing her mother, and visiting the towns that he has had a hand in ruining, having to see the pain he's caused first hand, rather than simply thinking about how sorry he is and never having to face the music.

 

I completely agree with what you are saying, I think that would make for some very interesting dialogue between Beast and Riku, and perhaps even all of the Princesses of Heart. Like you said, he helped Malificient a ton, which isn't something everyone should overlook. Something added like this in the next installment would add a bunch of maturity to the story in my opinion, owning up to mistakes, forgiveness (if there would be any, Beast can be an angry guy).

[A mystery 346]

This is something that bothers me about Riku's story, and I want to hear some other opinions on it.

 

In KH1, Riku very nearly brings about the world's destruction. Now, before the response of "Ansem was possessing him" comes up, Riku did an awful lot of harm long before getting possessed. He fully gives in to the sins of Darkness (in his case, Lust, Wrath, Envy, and possibly Greed), and causes a great deal of harm, such as seeing to the kidnapping of Wendy, nearly killing the Beast, turning his back on his friend out of spite, almost getting Pinocchio killed, kidnapping Jasmine, and very willingly helping Malificient. In short, he has a hand in the near cataclysmic disaster which threatens to occur, and he did on his own free will.

 

But the thing is, in spite of all these actions reflecting directly back on him, Riku never really has to pay for any of it, both in canon and in the meta context. In canon, yes, he feels bad about what happened, leading to much inner turmoil, but the universe seems to instantly forgive him for everything. In the case of Sora this can be expected, but at no point does Riku have to face anyone in response for his actions except for his own ego and self doubt. Personally, I was hoping that he would have to go back to appear in Beast's Castle and have to own up to the Beast for taking a chunk out of him. In a meta text, Riku's sins are absolved so that he can be a brooding hero figure. The player is never led to question his past, only accept that he is very sorry and then get off on using his dark powers for their own pleasure. The darkness which made us fear him in KH1 is now the thing we are enjoying playing with. Any idea that this might have been a bad choice for Riku to make is swept under the rug and the player is never told to think about it.

 

So, does anyone else think that Riku really should have paid for his actions more than just feeling bad and moping?

 

I think you have brought a very interesting point. I personally think that Riku should have his own game in the series that explains all of the events that took place during Sora's adventure, but that's just me. I think inner turmoil is a fair price for Riku's actions. It is true that he gave into darkness and caused a lot of problems, but in the end he repented of his evil ways and tried to help Sora. Even though he may mope and feel bad a lot I think this experience made him a better person. Perhaps everyone else Riku wronged has followed the old, but wise concept of forgive and forget. Overall I think Riku is a great character, who has shown development throughout the series.

[Gambler'sApprentice 131]

This is something that bothers me about Riku's story, and I want to hear some other opinions on it.

 

In KH1, Riku very nearly brings about the world's destruction. Now, before the response of "Ansem was possessing him" comes up, Riku did an awful lot of harm long before getting possessed. He fully gives in to the sins of Darkness (in his case, Lust, Wrath, Envy, and possibly Greed), and causes a great deal of harm, such as seeing to the kidnapping of Wendy, nearly killing the Beast, turning his back on his friend out of spite, almost getting Pinocchio killed, kidnapping Jasmine, and very willingly helping Malificient. In short, he has a hand in the near cataclysmic disaster which threatens to occur, and he did on his own free will.

 

First complaint. Darkness is not the seven deadly sins. That is just weird. Riku accepts darkness because it offers two things, strength and freedom. Riku isn't even mad at Sora until it seems to Riku that Sora blows him off to hang out with his new friends. Also, Darkness isn't a moral code, it is a power. It is control. As for his actions, I believe it is first necessary to examine why he did this. While it does not excuse the actions, the fact that he's trying to save Kairi means he's not just wrecking havoc so he can watch the worlds fall. He has a goal, a good one even, and he's willing to do and permit the continuation of what evils occur. (Rather like the Organization in that respect, but that's a different argument) So in short, Riku did terrible things, for a good reason, he was a misguided youth, manipulated through his affections for Kairi and a desire for power. Maleficent didn't explain her plan, all she said was that in order to rescue Kairi they would have to get to Kingdom Hearts. Riku wasn't aware catastrophe would follow,So he kidnaps Pinocchio, That's it. Hook kidnaps Wendy, and Riku tells him it was a waste of time. The Beast is led off by illusions of Belle. He turns his back on his friend after he believes his friend has done the same to him. Jafar kidnaps Jasmine, and then they go to Hollow Bastion. And he helps Maleficent out of ignorance, he does not know that acquiring Kingdom Hearts is her goal.

 

But the thing is, in spite of all these actions reflecting directly back on him, Riku never really has to pay for any of it, both in canon and in the meta context. In canon, yes, he feels bad about what happened, leading to much inner turmoil, but the universe seems to instantly forgive him for everything. In the case of Sora this can be expected, but at no point does Riku have to face anyone in response for his actions except for his own ego and self doubt. Personally, I was hoping that he would have to go back to appear in Beast's Castle and have to own up to the Beast for taking a chunk out of him. In a meta text, Riku's sins are absolved so that he can be a brooding hero figure. The player is never led to question his past, only accept that he is very sorry and then get off on using his dark powers for their own pleasure. The darkness which made us fear him in KH1 is now the thing we are enjoying playing with. Any idea that this might have been a bad choice for Riku to make is swept under the rug and the player is never told to think about it.

 

So, does anyone else think that Riku really should have paid for his actions more than just feeling bad and moping?

 

End of KH I, he dooms himself to wandering the Realm of Darkness forever (he has no way of knowing CoM will happen) and gives up Kairi to Sora. Then he risks his life to fight the darkness within himself (CoM) and defeating Ansem. He then gives up his own life for a year, just to help Sora. Then he gives up his body, going about in the form of a mass-murderer who represents his greatest fear, that of falling once again to Darkness, to defeat Roxas and help Sora. And even after Sora is back, he's prepared to never return to his friends again, because he sees his form as proof that the darkness in him will always be a danger to them. Now this doesn't happen, because magic and Riku returns to his normal form, removed of the taint of Ansem. But he was going to live the rest of his life in solitude, to protect the worlds.

As for the reason we were terrified of Riku's darkness but loved it when we got to use it, that's simple. It's the same reason you're terrified of any boss, but love when you can add them to your party. They're extremely powerful and awesome. This is no different, it's not the darkness that was scary as much as the fact it was headed straight for us.

 

So, as a brief summary, Riku did bad things out of ignorance and affection. He was willing to give up the rest of his life for this. He went well beyond a proportinal sacrifice and I only want to see him apologize to one person.

Roxas.

[Heike 53]

True indeed

[Dave 5,715]

First complaint. Darkness is not the seven deadly sins. That is just weird.

Admittedly, it is my own interpretation of what Darkness is, at least in the first KH. Light seems to be virtues like Courage, Friendship, Selflessness, and Darkness is the corruption of those elements, which takes something good and twists it until it becomes a sin. Things like Riku wanting to protect Kairi starts off as noble enough, but then as he gives into more Darkness, it becomes an obsession, and leads to Envy against Sora in that he doesn't want him to come near Kairi and Lust in that he wants to keep her to himself. Actually, in the case of Riku, Envy seems to be the primary sin that Darkness plays off of: he's perfectly fine hooking up with Sora until he realizes that Sora isn't going to be his number 2 anymore, and then becomes occupied with trying to best him.

 

As for his actions, I believe it is first necessary to examine why he did this. While it does not excuse the actions, the fact that he's trying to save Kairi means he's not just wrecking havoc so he can watch the worlds fall. He has a goal, a good one even, and he's willing to do and permit the continuation of what evils occur. (Rather like the Organization in that respect, but that's a different argument) So in short, Riku did terrible things, for a good reason, he was a misguided youth, manipulated through his affections for Kairi and a desire for power.

Riku had noble motivations enough, and I'm actually glad for it, as it makes his story more interesting. The arc of Riku's story in the first KH doesn't bother me; in fact, it was one of the reasons that I liked the game so much. The problem comes with the fall out after KH1, where somehow, the ends suddenly justify the means. Riku is never held accountable for the things he's done to people who have no idea who Kairi is or know what Riku's motivations were. The idea that Riku was trying, at leat in the begining, to do the right thing is all that gets focused on, and somehow the shenanigans he pulled in league with Malificient are swept under the rug and not acknowledged.

 

Riku's story wants to have its cake (have Riku be a brooding, tortured hero) and eat it too (not actually have to apologize to the people he's wronged).

 

Actually, I might be wrong about this, but does Riku ever actually apologize to Sora? And I don't mean helping out here and there, I mean saying to his face that he's sorry for nearly getting them killed.

 

So he kidnaps Pinocchio, That's it.

In order to taunt Sora and try to get over the fact that Sora gets a Keyblade and Riku doesn't. Not very virtuous.

 

Hook kidnaps Wendy, and Riku tells him it was a waste of time.

Riku is the one giving orders on the ship. Hook says as much himself. To whatever extent this extends, his still willingly abeting a crime.

 

The Beast is led off by illusions of Belle.

Before entering the lobby. When Sora is still jumping up on the floating platforms, when Riku first steals his keyblade. We see Riku batting away the Beast AND taunting him about his love for Belle. It's hard to say that he still cares about love when he's so willing to have fun at another's expense in that regard.

 

Jafar kidnaps Jasmine, and then they go to Hollow Bastion

Jafar kidnaps her, but Riku's the one who brings her back. That's how he first starts using the portals to warp.

 

 

End of KH I, he dooms himself to wandering the Realm of Darkness forever (he has no way of knowing CoM will happen) and gives up Kairi to Sora. Then he risks his life to fight the darkness within himself (CoM) and defeating Ansem. He then gives up his own life for a year, just to help Sora. Then he gives up his body, going about in the form of a mass-murderer who represents his greatest fear, that of falling once again to Darkness, to defeat Roxas and help Sora. And even after Sora is back, he's prepared to never return to his friends again, because he sees his form as proof that the darkness in him will always be a danger to them. Now this doesn't happen, because magic and Riku returns to his normal form, removed of the taint of Ansem. But he was going to live the rest of his life in solitude, to protect the worlds.

His penance is entirely internalized, and that is precisely my problem. It easy to think and say that he's very sorry when he's brooding in a corner, but he's brooding in a corner. He never has to actually look at the people he's wronged and interact with them. Again, Cecil in FFIV had to face the music and see the faces. Riku never has to do that. It's simultaneously a self penance and a self forgiveness, because while the penance is there, it is a self inflicted one which comes from Riku, not from the people he's actually hurt. He feels bad because he feels bad, not because the people he's hurt feel bad. The people he's inconvinienced are completely forgotten. Riku's sadness is ultimately a self pity.

[Gambler'sApprentice 131]

Admittedly, it is my own interpretation of what Darkness is, at least in the first KH. Light seems to be virtues like Courage, Friendship, Selflessness, and Darkness is the corruption of those elements, which takes something good and twists it until it becomes a sin. Things like Riku wanting to protect Kairi starts off as noble enough, but then as he gives into more Darkness, it becomes an obsession, and leads to Envy against Sora in that he doesn't want him to come near Kairi and Lust in that he wants to keep her to himself. Actually, in the case of Riku, Envy seems to be the primary sin that Darkness plays off of: he's perfectly fine hooking up with Sora until he realizes that Sora isn't going to be his number 2 anymore, and then becomes occupied with trying to best him.

 

This is mostly a by-product of the difference in cultures between the West & the East. In Kingdom Hearts Light is things like hope, and caring. Darkness is power, control, etc. It also is highly corrosive, and so needs to be tightly controlled, which is why in BBS Terra uses Darkness when he gets emotional, he gets angry and loses control, allowing darkness to control him, rather than he control darkness. And I think you’re misunderstanding lust. Lust is a physical desire for sex. If Riku really lusted after Kairi he probably would have taken advantage of her while she was out. And What he mostly seems to mind is that Sora is ditching him.

http://kh13.com/videos/kh/eng-cut/85-found-riku/

http://kh13.com/videos/kh/eng-cut/86-replaced-with-new-companions/

He probably feels jealous of Sora’s Keyblade skills, and was hoping he could protect both himself and Sora and Kairi. That last bit is entirely supposition, but I think fits in with his character.

 

Riku had noble motivations enough, and I'm actually glad for it, as it makes his story more interesting. The arc of Riku's story in the first KH doesn't bother me; in fact, it was one of the reasons that I liked the game so much. The problem comes with the fall out after KH1, where somehow, the ends suddenly justify the means. Riku is never held accountable for the things he's done to people who have no idea who Kairi is or know what Riku's motivations were. The idea that Riku was trying, at least in the beginning, to do the right thing is all that gets focused on, and somehow the shenanigans he pulled in league with Maleficent are swept under the rug and not acknowledged.

 

Well, firstly, Riku doesn’t do that much to people (I’ll prove that shortly) and secondly for all of Days and almost all of KH II, he hasn’t been busy saving Sora, and hasn’t had time to do much apologizing. Especially since Several of the worlds disappeared between CoM and Days.

Riku's story wants to have its cake (have Riku be a brooding, tortured hero) and eat it too (not actually have to apologize to the people he's wronged).

 

There’s only so much brooding and torture someone can go through after they repair all the damage they’ve done. It’s necessary to some extent to have both.

Actually, I might be wrong about this, but does Riku ever actually apologize to Sora? And I don't mean helping out here and there, I mean saying to his face that he's sorry for nearly getting them killed.

 

In order to taunt Sora and try to get over the fact that Sora gets a Keyblade and Riku doesn't. Not very virtuous.

 

He kidnaps Pinocchio because a puppet with a heart might have clues as to how to help a person without one.

http://kh13.com/videos/kh/eng-cut/119-conscience/

 

Riku is the one giving orders on the ship. Hook says as much himself. To whatever extent this extends, his still willingly abeting a crime.

 

He doesn’t assist in kidnapping Wendy, and just tells Hook to leave her behind. So he comes onto the ship with Peter Pan in the Brig and Wendy locked up. He can’t be held accountable for that.

http://kh13.com/videos/kh/eng-cut/155-seven-chosen-ones/

 

Before entering the lobby. When Sora is still jumping up on the floating platforms, when Riku first steals his keyblade. We see Riku batting away the Beast AND taunting him about his love for Belle. It's hard to say that he still cares about love when he's so willing to have fun at another's expense in that regard.

 

He challenges Beast and defeats him. Yes, he’s somewhat mean, but he’s not mocking Beast’s love as much as his strength.

http://kh13.com/videos/kh/eng-cut/172-riku-takes-the-keyblade/

Jafar kidnaps her, but Riku's the one who brings her back. That's how he first starts using the portals to warp.

 

Could you tell me where Riku is here?

http://kh13.com/videos/kh/eng-cut/106-sealing-agrabahs-keyhole/

 

His penance is entirely internalized, and that is precisely my problem. It easy to think and say that he's very sorry when he's brooding in a corner, but he's brooding in a corner. He never has to actually look at the people he's wronged and interact with them. Again, Cecil in FFIV had to face the music and see the faces. Riku never has to do that. It's simultaneously a self-penance and a self-forgiveness, because while the penance is there, it is a self-inflicted one which comes from Riku, not from the people he's actually hurt. He feels bad because he feels bad, not because the people he's hurt feel bad. The people he's inconvinienced are completely forgotten. Riku's sadness is ultimately a self-pity.

 

The people he’s wronged, worst case scenario are

Pinocchio- Who has vanished after KH

Jasmine- Yes, he can apologize when ever

But before Riku could apologize he had to forgive himself, he had to learn that his darkness was not a sign of greater evil always present. This is what CoM does, but before that’s even finished he’s gives up the ability to do anything like that to help Sora. I would like it if he apologized to Beast, Pinocchio and Jasmine, but he hasn’t done much, Maleficent was almost done by the time KH started.

[_The Door To Light_ 1,507]

The player is never led to question his past, only accept that he is very sorry and then get off on using his dark powers for their own pleasure. The darkness which made us fear him in KH1 is now the thing we are enjoying playing with.

 

I disagree with this. We were shown in Re:COM and KHII that darkness doesn't have to be evil. It is evil in cases where it is used for selfish purposes or used to harm others.

Darkness can be good the same way light can be evil.

[Mystics Apprentice 2,397]

I understand what you're saying about Riku, but that's one thing I've noticed about Kingdom Hearts. They focus more on inner struggle and emotions rather than the physical worlds and consequences. I believe they chose for Riku to pay for his sins in the way of his inner struggle and his battle against darkness instead of having to redeem himself to those around him. I'm also uncertain how many people Riku's encountered since his fall to darkness. Apart from Sora, Kairi, Mickey, Donald and Goofy, I don't think there's really that many (if any at all). That could also be why we haven't seen him having to pay up for his mistakes.

 

Overall, I can definitely see your point, and I partly agree with you. It just doesn't strike me as that great of a surprise given that this is Kingdom Hearts we're talking about here.

[Dracozombie 4,554]

Riku certainly has some owning up to do with the non-Kairi Princesses of Heart, Pinocchio, Wendy, and Beast, but I personally don't mind Riku's guilt mostly being internal. Riku's a caring guy who knows he totally firetrucked up, and for anyone like him who knows they've done stupid, awful things, the guilt eats you up alive. Sometimes the internal guilt alone can be just as bad or even worse than other people acknowledging and giving them hell for what they did. Yes, he'd deserve it, and yes, some apologizes to the people he hurt in KH1 are in order, but the players who follow Riku's story and sympathize with him might not want it to happen. Since we've seen his story, we know what kind of hell he's already put himself through. Why add onto that by having someone like Beast (albeit rightfully) tearing Riku to shreds, verbally or physically? You have good points, but I personally want Riku to get a break here. And he did. Master Riku, anyone?

[deathrebirthsenshi 279]

I always felt like Riku was being toyed with an manipulated from the very beginning of KHI. He obviously talked to the robed figure, and was swayed into believing darkness was not a thing to be feared. After which, Malificent was completely filling him with lies as well.

 

In short; Riku had Terra's story before we knew Terra had Terra's story.

 

At least Riku did SOME penitance and has come out a 'stronger' person for it. Being trapped IN the Realm of Darkness, going through CO, taking on Ansem's SoD persona in order to use the darkness to protect Kairi/Sora, getting Roxas and Xion back into Sora so the latter could wake up. Terra's just possessed, he couldn't fight the darkness.

 

At the end of BBS, the same thing happens with Terra. Everyone he knows personally absolves him of any wrong doing and just kinda act as though he wasn't the sole reason all the shit that was happening happened. He ends up getting possessed as a result, and Aqua still sacrifices herself for him.

 

None of the characters of KH have any sort of regard for the consequences of their actions (the biggest culprit, in my opinion, being Sora) and this is a majour flaw in the entire series.

 

Not entirely true; Riku, while constantly stating that he did want to help Kairi...this wasn't his only motivation. He let the darkness into his heart because he was obsessed with becoming stronger, with seeing more, much like Xehanort. It's really not until DDD that he remembers the true reason he needs to be stronger: to protect what matters. At the time, Riku wanted strenght just for the sake of strength, and its this having something to protect that eventually becomes his greatest strength. Terra never intentionally gave into the darkness or intentionally did any wrong; he was always tricked or goaded. Riku was initially much more willing, even letting Ansem into his heart.

 

Having said that...I think there may be some future things about what he's done; I'm not sure that its anything that will ever truly leave him. There may even be problems with other heroes once they save them (ie Aqua, after 10 years in the darkness I doubt she'll want to put up with any argument about how darkness isn't "all that bad", it ruined all of her friends lives too). DDD shows Riku finally forgiving himself and being ready to stand and fight in the light. However, he may still have some things to do to face up to the light, and will probably eventually have to apologize/make amends for his actions further. Just a hope. CoM was more about him dealing with his darkness in the literal sense; there were obvious character flaws that were still largely present, and he doesn't really start the guilt over what he's actually done to everyone until Days and KH2. DDD was about him further recovering from this and, really, learning that there was penance for his actions, and that he really could come back from what he was; but the process may not necessarily be complete.

 

Basically, DDD=the badassness of Riku in KH1 and CoM, but without the evil. I was really happy with this switch, 'cause emo-Riku just...wasn't as nice. Too much like Cloud.