does anyone have a theory of why riku became a master and not sora?

[killerkhfan 1]

Like why its important

[Hero of Winds 2,576]

This is something to discuss in general & other titles, but Riku became a keyblade master because he saved Sora from the darkness.

[killerkhfan 1]

I thought it was good here since it leads to kh3. Thanks though. Yeah but after everything sora has been through. Yeah riku was consumed and beat darkness, sora did let himself become a heartless to save kairi

[Hero of Winds 2,576]

Well, Yen Sid said both were honored the title, but he could only give it to one of the two. Riku had finally lifted himself out of the darkness, but he dove back into the darkness to save a close friend. 3D was a Riku title more or less.

[killerkhfan 1]

Thats true since the final battle with riku was much more rewarding then sora's. Just kinda seems unfair. At beast castle when fights with a useless stick then wins keyblade back. And saveing the lives of so many people.

[Col.Random 3,683]

Well he beat Ansem SoD twice, beat the nightmare that was possessing Sora's dreams, beat YMX, beat the Ventus armored nightmare and didn't get taken by darkness despite the fact that half his powers are darkness.I think that's worthy of becoming a Master

[killerkhfan 1]

Im not saying riku isnt worthy. Just that sora should of also become a master

[EternalReckoning 1,135]

I dont think title matters much, both are exceptional keyblade wielders. That doesnt make riku any different he just has a fancy title.

[VentusXlll 37]

Im not saying riku isnt worthy. Just that sora should of also become a master

Here is the problem..sora felt into master xehanort plan of becoming the 13th vessel. even after all the stuff he has done in the past.

riku on other hand, after all he did  in the past, he has a resistense against the darkness.

[ZOBLIVION 13]

He said that that they needed a new Keyblade Master, with a new kind of power. Riku is very resistant to darkness, and can wield it as well. And like people said, he also saved Sora, and defeated Xehanort.

[MythrilMagician 6,963]

It's his strong will that made him become a master. True Sora also has a strong will but Riku's resistance against the darkness could also be why. And remeber that Riku risked his life to save Sora from an eternal slumber. So that could also be the case.

[Hazimie 1,595]

Riku became a Keyblade Master because he's not just locking the Keyholes in every Seven Worlds,he saved Sora and defeating Anti-Black Coat,Ansem SoD,Young Xehanort and Sora himself with Ventus's Nightmare Armor,including that he has strong resistance to darkness like Young Xehanort said.Also,the fact that Sora can't become a Master yet because he can't protect himself from Darkness and that's why he's not ready yet,even if he has locked the Keyhole in every Seven Worlds...

[Caity 3,946]

Most likely to be a "plot twist", the main protagonist of the series doesn't get his masters but his friend who feel into darkness and was working against us for the majority of the first game, no one saw that coming right.  

[PrinceNoctis 1,011]

Because he passed and Sora failed? O.o sorry, I just don't understand the question...

[The Protagonist 332]

The reason sora failed was because he chased the dreams and fell into the darkness and riku had to save him.

[Dave 5,715]

Because reaping the dividends of nearly destroying the world is obviously far more fruitful than NOT nearly destroying the world.

[KingdomHearts3 2,591]

It's because he went into Sora's dreams twice and saved him from endless sleep.

[Connected 978]

Riku is much stronger, you can see that even by play him (Like Com and 3D) Riku was always stronger then sora even sora was a higher level.

 

But he can wield the darkness and thats pretty strong

[Rob 5,571]

No need for a theory when its been confirmed for a year.

 

— This title is the first KH game in a while to feature Sora and Riku as protagonists.

Nomura: I heard from many fans that they wanted to play as Sora again soon, and I felt I wanted to answer them. However, the true protagonist in plot for this title isn’t Sora, it’s Riku. The story depicted in this title is of Riku’s growth as he changes stance and makes the darkness he had been locking inside himself up until now into his own power. This is symbolised by Riku being chosen as a Keyblade Master at the end.

 

http://kh13.com/forum/topic/34430-spoilers-kingdom-hearts-3d-ultimania-nomura-interviews-completely-translated/

 

— I see. Were there certain intentions in that scene with the Dream Eaters?

Nomura: That scene was added in the final stages of production. It wouldn’t feel right to have worked so hard raising the Dream Eaters without some sort of closure. Also, since Sora has obtained the power to open doors into the worlds of sleep, I purposely wanted to show a scene where he used that power.

 

http://kh13.com/forum/topic/34334-spoilers-nomura-talks-kingdom-hearts-in-famitsu-talks-unannounced-title-kh3d-demo-in-na-kh3d-secrets/

[Squall Leonhart 49]

honestly, i think the title of "master" is just something keyblade weilders use to boost their ego, It's up to someone else to name them "master" but that doesn't really matter because as long as you have the right credentials you're a master and all your missing is for your teach to name you master. So technically both sora and riku are masters the only difference is Riku gets the title  

[luka 23]

What Rob posted . Interviews trump all.