He wears a yellow vest with a large collar and blue trim which is zipped down below his collarbone. Riku's bangs are also more side-swept than later on in his life. In Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep and some parts of Kingdom Hearts, he is much shorter, due to being a young child. In Kingdom Hearts, his hair was shoulder-length, later in Kingdom Hearts II and Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, it has grown longer, past his shoulders, reaching down to his upper back, but in Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, it is cut short like when he was a child in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep and certain scenes in Kingdom Hearts. Riku is a tall and muscular teenager with pale skin, bright blue-green eyes and silver hair. Though Riku matures significantly over the course of the series, he retains some of his more youthful personality from Kingdom Hearts, particularly his sense of humor he refers to Sora, Donald, and Goofy as 'wise guys' when talking to the Emperor, cracks a joke about Donald and Goofy's intelligence at their expense ('Sora never did pick the brightest friends'), and calls Sora a 'total sap' when going to confront Xemnas. Examples of this would be his sacrifice to protect Sora from Xemnas' attacks during their final battle in Kingdom Hearts II, and his willingness to accept the darkness in order to subdue Roxas in Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. Riku later stated that the real reason he wanted to explore outside of his home world was because of Terra.Ī positive personality trait demonstrated by Riku is a strong desire to protect his friends. When he returns to Destiny Islands in Kingdom Hearts II, he still comments that it is a small world, but agrees with Sora's remark that it is only a part of one that's much bigger. This obsession appears to have diminished throughout the year of Sora's slumber, most likely because he had by then travelled to a number of worlds. Over time, his curiosity turned to obsession, and he began to think of his world as a prison surrounded by water. Riku had been curious about what lay outside of his world ever since his early youth in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep.

He matures immensely during this period, and leaves behind some of his less likable personality traits. However, as the story progresses, Riku realizes that it is possible to use the darkness to achieve his goals. During his time spent in Castle Oblivion, Riku begins to confront the darkness which lingers within his heart. Though his traits are not akin to those of a protagonist in Kingdom Hearts, he becomes more heroic in Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories. He eventually snaps out of it and feels tremendous guilt and remorse for all he had done. This jealousy results in numerous fights with his former friend throughout Kingdom Hearts, and opens the door for Ansem, Seeker of Darkness to possess him. His jealousy grows when he learns that Sora owns a Keyblade. When he realizes that Sora has acquired new friends in the form of Donald and Goofy, Riku feels that he has been replaced. Due to the influence that Maleficent has on him, Riku also becomes increasingly jealous of Sora. He shows his competitive side when he challenges Sora, saying that his heart is stronger than his friend's. His exclamation of, 'I'm not afraid of the darkness!', further illustrates this point.ĭuring Kingdom Hearts in particular, Riku has a strong competitive streak. This is illustrated by his lack of fear while stepping into the dark portal during Destiny Islands' demise. In Kingdom Hearts, Riku is a calm, cool, collected teenager who is not afraid to push the boundaries.

Buckles on kingdom hearts characters