Kingdom Hearts is a franchise that has endured for almost two decades, yet seems unlikely to exist when written on paper: a joint effort between two of the biggest companies in their respective fields, Square Enix and Disney. Over the course of nine games, a handful of mobile titles and multiple console generations (that finally includes PC) fans have been taken on a journey alongside Sora, Donald, Goofy, Riku, and Kairi. On their adventures, countless memorable moments have occurred, so here is five of the most emotional moments of the franchise.
“Looks like my summer vacation is...over.” (Kingdom Hearts II)
Kingdom Hearts II has one of the most ambitious openings to a video game ever. For many fans of the franchise, chances are that they only played the first game when the third was released. Early on, however, Squaresoft (which went on to become Square Enix), was making it difficult to obtain the entire series on one platform, as the franchise’s second entry was only available on the Game Boy Advance. Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories was entirely canon, as it picked up directly where the first ended. In the finale for that game, you are introduced briefly to a new world and character. That is where Kingdom Hearts II begins, as you take control of Roxas, not Sora.
In this opening sequence, you live the life of Roxas, as he tries to collect money to go to the beach with his friends. However, strange things are happening to him. It turns out he shares a connection with Sora, the franchise’s central protagonist, and a character able to wield the keyblade, a weapon that can seal keyholes to worlds. It’s revealed that Roxas is Sora’s “Nobody”, a being left over when someone loses their heart. He’s living in a constructed world, a plan devised in hopes to get him to merge with Sora. He learns that he is from Naminé, a mysterious girl being kept against her will in Castle Oblivion. Like Roxas, she’s also a Nobody, though she comes from Kairi.
After finding Sora in a suspension pod, Roxas stands there, and says the line, “Looks like my summer vacation is...over.” It’s one of the most effective line reads in the series, thanks in large part to Jesse McCartney’s performance, and it hits harder after the player has now spent the past handful of hours getting to know Roxas and his group of friends, his troubles, and his dreams. Players watched these illusions come crumbling down just as he had, as he was met with the realization of what he truly was. It’s one of the most important scenes in all of Kingdom Hearts II, and it perfectly encapsulates Roxas as a character and as a fan favorite.
Xion and Axel’s Confrontation (Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days)
Up until this moment in Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, Axel, a member of Organization XIII, has been stuck with the difficult task of retrieving Xion, a flawed replica made from Sora’s memories, and returning her to the Organization. Once friends, they’re now having to fight each other. It’s one of the most effective moments in the series for both characters. Much like Roxas in Kingdom Hearts II, Xion realizes where she needs to return, but both she and Axel know that that means her destruction.
She pulls out her keyblade, pleading with him not to hold back. Having had enough trouble with Roxas, Axel then delivers one of his greatest lines, telling her that she can keep running, but he’ll always be there to bring her back. It’s the relationship between the Sea Salt Trio (Axel, Xion, and Roxas), that makes them beloved amongst fans in the Kingdom Hearts community, and it’s scenes like these that showcase why their relationship is so powerful.
Blank Points (Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep)
Out of all the games in the series, Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep is one of the most interesting, as out of all the mainline titles (not mobile), it comes first in the timeline. Though the franchise is often mocked for how convoluted its story can get, it’s a series that rewards long-time fans who have taken the time to read the notes you pick up throughout the various titles. By doing this, chances are you’ll have a strong understanding of the main plot. There’s no better reward for this than the Blank Points secret ending of Birth by Sleep. This game allows you to initially choose from three separate characters to play as: Terra, Ventus, and Aqua. All three are students training to become keyblade masters. Throughout each character’s campaign, you grow to understand their complex relationships with each other, such as Terra and Aqua’s sibling-esque bond.
After sacrificing herself in hopes of saving Terra, Aqua aimlessly wanders through the Realm of Darkness, as she finds a hooded figure sitting at a familiar beach. This man turns out to be Ansem, a character that players have known from several earlier games. He begins to regale Aqua with stories of “a boy he once knew”. He goes on to describe him, talking about his keeping true to his friends, and battling the darkness. It’s at this point the player will no doubt put together that the boy in question is Sora. Ansem’s speech highlights the characteristics as to why Sora has become one of the most iconic video game characters over the past two decades. You hear him talk about these stories, of which you were involved in if you had played the previous games, and it sounds magical.
The game then cuts away from the beach, and we visit Naminé as she draws and says “Sora”. You see Xion for the first time since the end of 358/2 Days, sitting with Axel and Roxas in Twilight Town, as all three mention Sora. The game then takes us to Ventus and Terra, as they look into the sky, an apt image, as the word Sora translates directly to “sky” in Japanese. Finally, the game returns to the beach, and you see tears streaming down Aqua’s face, as she remembers Sora, the name of the little boy she once met so many years ago on Destiny Islands. After wandering for years, she has hope again in the form of Sora. It’s a stunning conclusion to one of the best entries in the franchise, and it’s a great reminder of the incredible journey that players had been on in the series up until this point.
Destiny Islands Reunion (Kingdom Hearts II)
Many of the moments on this list come near the end of their respective games, and for good reason, as the finales for the Kingdom Hearts titles tend to backload their emotional punches, and the end of Kingdom Hearts II is no different. After a gruelling battle between Sora, Riku, and Xemnas, the end of the game finally allows you to put down the controller and relax for a second. Your heroes are finally reunited, as Sora, Riku, and Kairi are back together on Destiny Islands for the first time since the original Kingdom Hearts. You're also greeted with a great reunion between Sora, Donald, and Goofy. This is also when Square Enix Image Studio Division (formerly Visual Works), gets to come in and flex their muscles, as their CG cutscenes for the games are still some of the most memorable of all the Square Enix titles of that era.
The music used in the game has always been an effective tool to set the tone. This reunion is marked by what could be considered Utada Hikaru's best song in the series: "Sanctuary". Hikaru's music, along with Yoko Shimomura's, is imbued in the DNA of Kingdom Hearts just as much as Tetsuya Nomura's writing and artwork. The end result is one of the most memorable endings in a video game. Couple that with great editing, as Kairi welcomes Sora home, and the two morph into Roxas and Namine, respectively. Honestly, it feels like this could have been a brilliant endpoint for the series (if not for the scene that follows after the credits), but what we got after was still great.
Sea Salt Trio Reunion (Kingdom Hearts III)
Kingdom Hearts III as a game has a lot of problems, but for long-time fans of the series who had stuck with it across various consoles, the payoffs were immense when it came to the end of the game. There was no bigger resolution than that of the Sea Salt Trio, however - the group of friends, originally introduced in 358/2 Days: Xion, Axel, and Roxas. Like the previous entry on this list, this one also concerns a specific reunion of characters, although this one was a much longer time coming in comparison to the other.
For audiences and for the players themselves, Xion was essentially lost up until this point. Her only real appearances outside of 358/2 Days were incredibly short, as she was largely left on the side-lines. That's what makes her reappearance, and subsequence reunion with Axel and Roxas so effective. For many, the Sea Salt Trio is the best of the trios in the series, and finally being able to see them together and happy again for once was really something special. You're thrown quickly into facing other problems not soon after, but for that brief moment, you're reminded of their everlasting friendship.