Olympus Coliseum
First Appearance: KINGDOM HEARTS (2002)
Origin: Hercules (1997)
Olympus Coliseum is a hotspot for those wishing to prove themselves as heroes and champions, and is therefore home to the demi-god Hercules. The world's arena-like status is made obvious to Sora, Donald, Goofy and Jiminy upon their arrival by a notice board advertising a survival tournament, which competition-hungry Sora can't wait to compete in. The young Keyblade wielder is even more eager to participate once he reads that the mysterious Hercules will personally be participating, too, and so runs off with his friends to complete the preliminary course, which is a small rite-of-passage needed to enter the survival cup. However, what the gang doesn't know is that stoic, fierce loner Cloud Strife is also participating in the tournament, hired to take out the revered Hercules by the god of the Underworld Hades - the facetious and satirical resident villain - on the basis that he restore his erased memory.
Sora and co. seemingly make it through the preliminaries unscathed, much to the surprise of Hercules' personal mentor, Philoctetes, who is a short chubby satyr with a big attitude. Phil is so surprised that he tells the group that they'll be knocked down by Hercules because they aren't hero material. Sora and his friends want none of this, so to prove Phil wrong, they beg for a chance to show their stuff, and as if the gods had willed it themselves, Hercules shows up, vouching for them! In fact, it seems that if Phil doesn't allow Sora to enter the Cup, the tournament will have to be cancelled due to Phil's notorious standards. So, with this possibility staring him in the face, Phil has no choice but to let Sora compete, much to his dismay - that is, he's dismayed until a new challenger comes in, having survived the preliminaries, and it is none other than Cloud Strife. Now with an audience, Phil explains the rules and the tournament officially begins.
The tournament is actually an obstacle course and the aim is to finish it the fastest, but in the event that there is a tie between two parties, a battle will decide the winner. And what's more is that it is perfectly within the rules to interfere with another party's progress. With the rules in mind, Sora and his friends set off. Some way into the tournament they come across Cloud who is seemingly immobile, which Donald takes for Cloud wanting to interfere with their progress, but the blond warrior lets them pass without altercation. Goofy, the ever amiable guy he is, thinks this is Cloud being a good ol' pal, but he doesn't know how wrong he is, because really, Cloud is only looking to skip a fight with the gang so he can take Hercules on by himself and seal his deal with Hades! Not wanting to miss out on the opportunity to take on the son of Zeus, Sora challenges Cloud to a fight. Even though Sora wins a hands-down victory, the blond warrior zips off to the finish line, and the crew has no choice but to chase after him - or forfeit their victory!
When Sora and co. finally catch Cloud up, they find him weakened and wounded after a battle with Hercules, whom is a little wary after a fight with Cloud. Even though both parties are dwindling on energy, Cloud refuses to give up a fight he feels he must win for his memories, and so, against Hercules' warnings, takes him on again - but this time, Sora comes to the aid of the demi-god to stop the angry blond. However, before the battle can begin, the meddling Hades shows his face to fire Cloud since he feels that Cloud hasn't done his job properly. After all, the deal was to get rid of Hercules, which Cloud has not managed to do, so Hades must silence Hercules himself. Without fear in his heart, Sora steps forward to fight for the weakened Hercules.
Sora wins a landslide victory against Hades, who disappears right after the match. Even though the danger is now gone and the participants can continue with their tournament, Phil cancels it due to the contestants being too tired out, which would be detrimental to Sora's pride if he were to fight Hercules in a worn-out condition. So Hercules promises Sora a fight once he is rested up, but other priorities call; Cloud has come round from being knocked out by Hades during one of the god's violent explosions and now that he is rested-up, he apologizes for ruining the tournament experience and turns to leave; but happy-go-lucky Sora is a real friend to Cloud and tells him that even though the memories might be gone, if they're important they'll come back - and he even asks Cloud to accompany him, Donald, Goofy and Jiminy on their adventures! Cloud, after a moment of consideration puts on his impassive façade once again, the gives Sora a summon card to aid him in his battles, and this, at the end of a long day, is Sora's cue to leave in search of other worlds.
In Reverse/Rebirth Riku feels right at home in Olympus Coliseum, since he is a natural born fighter and this place is absolutely for those kinds of people, and he proves this by fighting the numerous Heartless that pop up along his way. After squashing these petty foes, he finds himself bigger fish to fry - much bigger fish, in fact, as he goes up against none other than the lord of the underworld himself, the satirical Hades. Riku proves too hot for Hades to handle and sends Hades right back to the fiery pits of hell from whence he came. With nothing more to do, Riku departs.
