Roxas

Lore & Background

Roxas is a Nobody, born from series protagonist Sora after he briefly lost his heart during the events of the first game. Kingdom Hearts II reveals that Roxas is a member of Organization XIII, a group of Nobodies who recruit him for his ability to wield the Keyblade. "Serendipitous Key"). Director Tetsuya Nomura stated that Roxas was one of the first characters created for Organization XIII and was always intended to be its thirteenth member. The meaning of Roxas' name was meant to be revealed in a scene in Kingdom Hearts II that shows the letters in the word "Sora" rearranged with the "X" added to expand the connection between the characters, but this scene was omitted as Nomura found it difficult to implement time-wise. Physically, Roxas resembles Ventus due to his presence in Sora's heart during Roxas's birth. Due to his nature as a Nobody, he is an "empty shell" of Sora, created after he sacrifices his heart and becomes a Heartless during the events of Kingdom Hearts. As a result, despite his teenage appearance, Roxas is only about one year old when he rejoins Sora in Kingdom Hearts II—he was born on the day Sora became a Heartless, and rejoins him roughly one year later, though the exact timeline spans from late summer to early autumn of the following year. Unlike other Nobodies, Roxas retains some of Sora's memories (such as those of Kairi and Riku), which influence his personality and cause it to develop separately from Sora.

Reader's Guide

Roxas is a playable character in Kingdom Hearts II and the protagonist of Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. In Kingdom Hearts II, his story is a prologue set in a virtual Twilight Town, where he lives unaware of his true nature. Players control Roxas through his daily life, including missions and interactions with friends, before the narrative reveals his identity as Sora's Nobody. The game's director Tetsuya Nomura stated that Roxas' merging with Sora was one of the most memorable scenes in the series for him.

In Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, Roxas is the main protagonist, and the game focuses on his time in Organization XIII. The staff thought that Roxas' role as a member of the group would be a suitable theme for the plot. Roxas was chosen as the game's protagonist since the staff felt that having a protagonist other than Sora would help to introduce gamers to the series' first Nintendo DS title. Co-director Tomohiro Hasegawa explained that Roxas was originally shorter, and the staff decided he should grow taller as the game continued to develop.

Nomura wanted to portray Roxas' activities differently from Sora's, as Sora is on a journey around the world while Roxas always returns to Organization XIII after each mission. The staff constructed Roxas' interactions with the Disney characters differently from Sora's, as Organization XIII was meant to be secret in the game's story. Nomura told the writers that he wanted Roxas to learn something or have something to think about from each of his missions.

Nomura later clarified that Roxas' personality was different from how he was portrayed in Kingdom Hearts II, as he does not actively attempt to come into contact with other characters. With 358/2 Days, Nomura wanted to reveal why Roxas left Organization XIII. Nomura felt that Roxas' last words in the game marked its most significant plot point, as he wanted them to connect to Kingdom Hearts II's first scene that is almost identical. As a civilian, Roxas wears a white jacket over a black jacket as well as white trousers.

As a member of Organization XIII, he wears a hooded black coat that covers most of his body. His weapon is the Kingdom Key (キングダムチェーン, Kingudamu Chēn; Kingdom Chain), a Keyblade that resembles a skeleton key with a silver keychain extending from the hilt and a Mickey Mouse token on the end of it. In 358/2 Days, the player can modify Roxas' Keyblade using the game's panel system. Roxas gains the ability to dual wield Keyblades after leaving Organization XIII, and exclusively uses the weapon's Oathkeeper (約束のお守り, Yakusoku no Omamori; lit. "Promise's Charm") and Oblivion (過ぎ去りし思い出, Sugisarishi Omoide; lit. "Passing Memories") forms for each hand.

Did You Know?

• Roxas was originally shorter in development for 358/2 Days, but the staff decided he should grow taller as the game continued.
• Roxas was not originally meant to return in Kingdom Hearts III, but positive fan response led to his inclusion.