Spoilers ► Where can Riku's character be taken?

[palizinhas]

If we're going to keep focusing on Riku, he needs a new arc.

We can't keep going back to "Riku feels guilty about kh1", because that got played out enough by DDD, but Riku also doesn't really have any characters flaws left. If his arc isn't over, and it seemingly isn't, where can his character be taken next?

KH3 found a new way to have Sora grow by having him be criticized as not being strong enough by everyone because of his failure in DDD, that when everyone dies, he initially feels useless without them, to the point he gives up and only finds the strength to keep going due to what Riku and Kairi did for him, so it's possible to find new things to explore about Riku too.

I suppose they could just have Riku stay the same and just react to what happens around him, but I'm not sure Riku's character as it is now is dynamic enough to carry an entire game with no character growth.

Any ideas?

 

[Face My Fears]

Riku can get a love interest (Sora)?

I think Riku's character is stuck because he's trapped with the same characters. He's been talking to Mickey, Sora, and Ansem for 15 years. Let him be around other characters.

But honestly, I can't really think of anything new for his character. I would have really preferred if Riku took a back seat in Phase 2 and Kairi gets more focus.

 

[pastel.goblin]

Personally I'd be happy for Riku to take the back seat for a little while and let someone else get some screen time/development for once, but we all know that's not going to happen aha.

 

[palizinhas]

Riku can get a love interest (Sora)?

I actually thought about that. A good way to move forward with Riku could be to have him explore his sexuality, and what his feelings for Sora mean. But yeah, don't think that's happening.

 

[Face My Fears]

I actually thought about that. A good way to move forward with Riku could be to have him explore his sexuality, and what his feelings for Sora mean. But yeah, don't think that's happening.

Yeah it's a shame that they won't do that. I was really hoping that Riku would take a backseat. I think he is an even tougher character to deal with going forward because he had such an amazing arc from KH1-3D. I hope Nomura doesn't just hold on to Riku's popularity and hope that just by having him around, that's all fans want.

 

[NoWay]

I just don’t see why exploring romances would be interesting for a KH game at all. Especially after seeing how weird SoKai was executed.

 

[Absent]

With the current folks at the helm...Hmmn probably repeat an old arc. If we're going by his motto "strength to protect what matters" or the Japanese "who matters" we can delve on that loss. His journey for self acceptance and honor was driven by that person, why not focus on how that's affected him. His insecurities? His relationships?

 

[Face My Fears]

With the current folks at the helm...Hmmn probably repeat an old arc. If we're going by his motto "strength to protect what matters" or the Japanese "who matters" we can delve on that loss. His journey for self acceptance and honor was driven by that person, why not focus on how that's affected him. His insecurities? His relationships?

Riku only has relationships with Sora, Mickey, Ansem, and DiZ. So I think that's a limited pool of options since one's dead and the other has a majorly reduced role.

Maybe his new arc can be about becoming stronger to protect Sora? I'd love for Riku to get introspective and blame himself for what happened to Sora, since he was there and died - leading Sora to make the sacrifice that he did. But I feel like he kind of already covered becoming stronger in his quest to overcome the darkness in himself and passing the Mark of Mastery. Having him obsess over Sora's protection is basically a rehash of his KHCoM-KH2 storyline (even his KH3D one). Which makes me want Riku to do something with other characters since he's basically reduced to Sora's guardian/savior.

 

[Kotaro14]

Spoiler Show

I thought before MoM was released was that the ideal scenario would have been Riku and Kairi going together, and there being an arc on what their relationship means without Sora. Perhaps, they’re only good friends through Sora, and with him not around anymore, there’s no mediator between them.

They also could’ve expanded on what Sora means to them on a more individual level. This has already been done in length with Riku, but considering he was alone for a year, I thought they could have had his character go through a depression of some kind.

Now, though… We know Kairi’s not coming along. So, most if not all of this won’t come to fruition. The second point I made could still work, but aside from an optional line of dialogue implying he’s been upset, there’s nothing to hint that his character will go in that direction.

I guess… They could explore his sexuality or have an arc that showcases the extremes he will go to for Sora. He did effectively end two people’s lives for him in Days… I’m not really sure anymore. I like Riku, but at the same time, I can’t help but agree that others need development.

I'm hoping for the best, though.