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2007 saw the return of the Kingdom Hearts franchise with “Kingdom Hearts II,” later re-released as “Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix” with additional story elements. Taking place a year after the events of “Kingdom Hearts I” (2002) (KH1) and “Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories” (2005) (Re:CoM), the story builds upon what was set up in Re:CoM and improves upon what drew people to the franchise in KH1.
Where KH1 focused on friendship and connections, its numerical successor focuses on promises. Sora promised Kairi that he’d find Riku and return one day. He promised Donald and Goofy to help them find their king. At the end of Re:CoM, Sora made one more promise that he’s forgotten but still remains in his heart: find Naminé. There are quite a few promises that Sora needs to keep and we’ll see how his efforts pan out in the events of “Kingdom Hearts II” (2007).
The Dark Margin
On a coastline called The Dark Margin within the Realm of Darkness, two hooded figures have a brief conversation. We only hear the voice of the one on the right. He states that he’s “been to see him,” “him” being Sora in the Hollow Bastion castle, making this man the Unknown from the first game (( Prima Games Staff. “Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX – The Secret Bosses.” Prima Games, 1 October, 2021. )). He asks his companion if he remembers his “true name” to which the man seems uncertain.
Familiar, brief scenes of Sora’s time on the island with Riku and Kairi appear. They’re different, staticky, almost fractured and don’t feel whole.
Twilight Town
A boy named Roxas awakens in his bedroom in Twilight Town, a fabricated world once visited in Castle Oblivion. Now it seems we’ll be exploring the real Twilight Town. Roxas says aloud that he’s had “another dream about him” (Sora), but it puzzles him since he doesn’t know Sora.
The 1st Day
He’s with his friends, Hayner, Pence, and Olette, in the “Usual Spot” discussing a series of robberies around town. A boy named Seifer has been accusing them of these wrong-doings. Roxas suggests they clear their names by finding the real culprit.
Pence then exclaims that their photos have been stolen, but he can’t say the word “photo.” The others can’t either. Roxas deduces that whoever the thief is, they’ve not only stolen the object but the word as well. Hayner calls the group to action to get to the bottom of this. However, just as Roxas is about to leave, he suddenly collapses. A disembodied voice observes that someone’s heart is returning and this person will awaken soon. Roxas recovers, albeit confused, and follows after his friends.
They go into town to investigate with the local shop keepers, all of whom express dissapointment specifically at Roxas for having taken photos from them. The group decides to confront Seifer and find him and his crew in the sandlot.
Seifer demands the return of his photo and is ready to fight. Roxas rushes forward into a short brawl with Seifer and wins. Pence takes a picture to commemorate this victory, but just as he does this, a strange white creature appears and steals the camera.
Roxas chases after the creature through the woods to the front gates of the old mansion. The creature communicates to Roxas, saying “We have come for you, my liege.” Roxas is confused, but he fights the creature anyways. His club transforms into the Keyblade, a weapon he is unfamiliar with. Even so, he is able to defeat the creature and it leaves behind all the stolen photos.
Roxas takes these back to the group and as they go through them they realize that Roxas is in every single image, which is why everyone thought they were the thieves. Everyone else leaves and a boy’s voice rings in Roxas’s head asking where he is and who Roxas is. The scene immediately cuts to a static screen and an automated voice saying “Restoration at 12%.”
We cut to a room with Diz, the man Riku met in Castle Oblivion, and a hooded figure. Diz shares that Organization XIII has found them. The hooded figure asks why Nobodies would want to steal photographs. Diz explains that it’s all data to the Nobodies and they can’t tell the difference, suggesting that they might in fact have actually wanted Roxas instead. He states they are running out of time and that Naminé has to hurry. At the end of Re:CoM, Sora was put to sleep so that Naminé could repair his tangled memories. The “restoration” is Sora’s progress to awakening.
The 2nd Day
Roxas has another set of dreams of the start of Sora’s journey in Traverse Town. When he awakens, he understands that the weapon he held was the Keyblade.
On his way to the usual spot, Roxas encounters Diz’s hooded companion but he leaves without a word. At the usual spot, Pence wonders if they’ll always be together like this. Hayner doubts so since it’s a part of growing up. He explains it’s not important how often they see each other, but how often they think about each other. It’s noticeable that Roxas always sits farther from everyone when they’re together — a visual representation of Roxas perhaps not being fully a part of the group.
Hayner, upset with summer vacation ending soon, proposes they all go to the beach. The only problem is they don’t have money for a train ticket, but he has a solution. They all head to market street where Hayner suggests he and Roxas join the Struggle Tournament in two days; this way one of them will win and they can split the prize between the four of them. With that settled, they all go to raise money for their beach trip.
After doing odd jobs around town, they reconvene at the train station. Roxas is put in charge of their earnings and as they’re going to buy tickets, he encounters the hooded figure again. He says something to Roxas and then disappears. As they’re about to buy the tickets, Roxas realizes that the money is gone. The man had stolen all of it, but no one saw him.
Unable to go to the beach, the group sits atop the clock tower above the station to watch the sunset. Roxas wonders at the man’s words: “Can you feel Sora?” Another static screen and “restoration” is at 28%.
Back with Diz and the hooded man, it’s confirmed he stole the money on Diz’s orders because “making a beach” would provide the Organization with another entry point. Diz also notes that “objects from that town must be kept out of the real world” and tells his companion to “delete” the money. This suggests that the Twilight Town Roxas has been in is not real, but a fabrication.
The 3rd Day
More dreams of Sora as he explored other worlds, met new friends, and thought of Kairi. The memory always cuts in the middle of Kairi’s name, as if Sora can’t fully remember her yet.
Down at the usual spot, Hayner left a message for Roxas telling him to meet at the train station. He’s determined to go to the beach. Roxas runs into Pence and Olette on market street and suddenly the two stop mid-stride, as if frozen. Roxas is still able to move and Naminé appears before him. She explains that she wanted to meet him at least once and then leaves. As soon as she does, Pence and Olette are un-frozen. Preoccupied with what just occured, Roxas leaves his friends to follow Naminé to the old mansion.
When he enters the woods, Nobodies appear and try to grab him. He shakes them loose and runs to the sandlot where Seifer and his gang are. Nobodies follow and everyone comes together to fight. Time freezes again and Naminé appears, instructing Roxas to use the Keyblade. He’s attacked by a Nobody in that moment and is transported to Sora’s heart station.
Station of Serenity
Here Roxas summons the Keyblade again and fights off the Nobodies. A mysterious door appears and a disembodied voice warns Roxas that beyond that door is a different world, but he shouldn’t be afraid. He walks through the door and finds himself at the Station of Calling.
He fights Nobodies up the spiral staircase and goes through another door where a giant Nobody called Twilight Thorn appears. This mirrors Sora’s encounter with Darkside in the beginning of KH1. Roxas defeats the Nobody and is pulled out of the consuming darkness by a helping hand.
He’s in a white room with Naminé. She formally introduces herself to him and she asks him if he remembers his true name. Before he can answer, the hooded man appears and warns her to stop speaking, stating it’s best that Roxas doesn’t know the truth. He summons a darkness corridor and sends Roxas back to his world.
Back Home
Roxas awakens in the sandlot and Hayner, Pence, and Olette arrive. Hayner isn’t happy to find Roxas there with their rival and leaves.
Roxas meets them back at the usual spot and tries to explain the situation. They didn’t go to the beach because Roxas wasn’t with them. He apologizes and suggests they go tomorrow but remembers they have the Struggle Tournament. Another static screen and “restoration” is at 48%.
Back with Diz, when Naminé appeared in Twilight Town, she had “hijacked the data” which caused some problems. He’s upset that he cannot control her. He further explains that so long as Naminé finishes her work, it doesn’t matter what happens to Roxas, suggesting that they are using him.
The 4th Day
Dreams of Sora during his time in Hollow Bastion fill Roxas’s mind. He’s finally able to say Kairi’s full name. We are reminded of Sora’s sacrifice to save her and his promise to return her good luck charm to her. Roxas awakens troubled as he remembers his promise to be in the tournament with Hayner.
At the sandlot, the Struggle Tournament commences and Roxas and Hayner are pitted against each other in the first round. Roxas apologizes again and Hayner clarifies that he’s not upset with him anymore. With the air cleared, they have a clean fight with Roxas coming out the victor.
The fight between Seifer and Vivi ends quickly with Vivi as the surprising winner. Seifer warns that it’s not the real Vivi, however. Roxas wins his match against Vivi. Time freezes again and it’s revealed that Vivi is actually a Nobody in disguise and more appear to surround Roxas.
Roxas defeats the Nobodies and another person appears to congratulate him on his victory. It’s Axel and he seems to know Roxas, but Roxas doesn’t know who he is.
Axel is surprised that Roxas doesn’t “remember” and declares that regardless, he’s still taking him. The Nobodies have been trying to take Roxas on orders from the Organization. With many failed attempts, they’ve now sent Axel. Roxas demands to know what is going on and Axel simply states,
“Number 13. Roxas. The Keyblade’s chosen one.”
Axel doesn’t make sense and Roxas decides to fight him. Diz intervenes, declaring that Axel’s claims are false. Both Diz and Axel try to draw Roxas to their side, resulting in him managing to break out of the freeze and putting the world back to normal. They both have gone.
Roxas is declared champion in his fight against Vivi who is back to normal. In the title match against Setzer, Roxas comes out the winner and takes home the trophy and championship belt.
The group is back at the clock tower and Roxas gives each of them one of the four crystals from the trophy. Suddenly, Roxas falls off the tower and the screen goes static.
Destiny Islands
We see Kairi, now 15 years old, with Selphie on the main land. She inquires about “the boys” they used to hang out with. They only recall Riku, but Kairi is sure there was another boy. She can’t remember his face nor his name and can no longer hear his voice. She promised herself that she wouldn’t return to the island until she remembered.
She suddenly hears Roxas’s voice in her head. He’s still falling from the tower and thinks she’s Naminé, but Kairi corrects him. Roxas recognizes her from his dreams as the “girl he likes.” She enquires about who he means and another voice cuts in, teasing at how she could forget his name. She begs for a hint and he gives her one.
Back on the island, Kairi had collapsed and awakens with excitement over what just occurred. She rushes to the shore and places a bottled message in the ocean. It’s a letter she wrote to the boy, telling him that no matter where he is, she’ll find him. Another static screen and “restoration” is at 79%
Back with Diz, he explains that Naminé’s encounter with Roxas put his heart in contact with Kairi’s, which is how he was able to communicate with her. This in turn affected Sora’s progress. Diz explains that Naminé wasn’t born like other Nobodies. Her ability to affect Sora’s heart and those connected to him is unique to her. The hooded man inquires about whose Nobody she is and Diz agrees to reveal this if the man tells him his true name. He removes his hood and identifies himself as “Ansem,” eliciting a laugh from Diz.
In a meeting room with the remaining members of the Organization, Axel’s been ordered to get rid of Roxas for having turned his back on them. One of the members points out that Axel is being oddly hesitant since he’s had no trouble carrying out this order in the past, hinting at the events in Castle Oblivion.
Axel argues that this time is different because Roxas didn’t betray them, he just isn’t able to return. He is then given an ultimatum: either he brings Roxas back or they turn him into a Dusk. Axel begrudgingly gives in to their demands.
The 5th Day
Roxas wakes with a start, unsure of what parts of his dreams are actually dreams. At the usual spot, Roxas is still preoccupied about the events of the day prior and asks if he fell off the tower. Hayner points out that he wouldn’t be here if he did. Olette focuses their attentions back to their summer assignment and they brainstorm ideas for their independent study topic. They decide on the “Seven Wonders of Twilight Town,” and split up to investigate the rumors.
As they investigate some not-so-wonderful wonders, they come upon Wonder Number Six: the Ghost Train, rumored to have no driver, no conductor, and no passengers. The group waits for the train on Sunset Hill and when it arrives, Roxas is surprised that the rumor is true; the others seem hesitant, however. He leads them to the station where he sees the train and when he attempts to board, Hayner holds him back. Roxas is confused by this and when he turns back the train is gone. Was it ever there? No one else saw it.
The 7th Wonder
They head back to town to write their paper, but Roxas is still curious about the last wonder. Pence tells Roxas that it’s about the old mansion in the woods. They head there and Pence explains that it’s rumored a girl appears in the second floor window even though it’s abandoned. Roxas looks closely at the window and finds himself transported to a white room with drawings on the wall.
Naminé speaks to him as he looks at a drawing of him and Axel. She explains that they are best friends and asks if he wants to know the truth of who he is. He approaches a drawing of Sora, Donald, and Goofy and recognizes them from his dreams.
Naminé explains that a year ago, events happened and she’s had to fix Sora’s memories which is in turn affecting Roxas. He is connected to Sora and that’s why he’s been having the dreams. Naminé goes on to say that in order for Sora to become “whole,” he needs Roxas because he holds half of what Sora is.
Roxas asks her who she is and she simply states that she is a witch as Diz calls her. Roxas expresses that he feels like he doesn’t know himself anymore and inquires as to what she knows about him that he doesn’t. She sorrowfully explains that he was never meant to exist.
Roxas is back in front of the mansion with Pence. He exclaims that he’s seen the girl but when Pence looks, it’s just the curtains moving. He declares the wonder a bust and they go back to the usual spot. Olette shares that the report is done. She observes that they only have two days left together, leaving Roxas apprehensive. It’s possible that he is beginning to feel that his time is limited after his conversation with Naminé, but doesn’t understand why.
In the mansion, Diz asks if Ansem’s memory is returning, which the man affirms. The same is happening to everyone who’s had a connection to Sora. The more Sora’s memories are restored, the more everyone else connected to him remembers.
Ansem wonders what Diz wants, why he is doing all this work. Diz’s simple answer is revenge. He then states that it’s time for Naminé to disappear and entrusts this task to Ansem. Another static screen and restoration is at 97%.
The Final Day
Roxas’s dreams are filled with the end of Sora’s journey from KH1 and the beginning of his journey in Re:CoM. Back to the Dark Margin, we learn that the other person was Roxas.
We then see Roxas in an Organization coat in an unfamiliar world, surrounded by Neoshadows. He summons two keyblades and fights them off. Riku appears then and the two engage in battle, much like the secret ending from KH1. Riku demands to know why Roxas has the Keyblade, but is refused an answer.
When Roxas goes down to the usual spot, things aren’t right. He tries to speak to the group but no one can hear nor see him, in fact they go right through him as if he were a ghost. He finds a group picture and he’s not in it, even though he originally was.
When he leaves, he’s cornered by Axel who expresses discomfort at the potential of having to destroy Roxas. Just as they are about to engage in battle, Axel is frozen and Diz’s voice commands Roxas to the mansion. Once Roxas leaves, Axel is un-frozen and sad that the Roxas he knew is no more.
Concealed Truths
At the mansion, Roxas goes through the gates and “Ansem” appears to keep the Nobodies at bay. The weapon he holds looks like Riku’s Way to Dawn from Castle Oblivion.
Inside the mansion, Roxas makes his way to the white room and sees a drawing that triggers a memory: Axel is confronting him as he is about to leave an unfamiliar world. He needs to know why the Keyblade chose him, but Axel warns that he can’t turn on the Organization. Back in the white room, Naminé is there and Roxas expresses that the Organization is a bad group. She’s not sure whether they are bad or good but they’re a group of incomplete people who want to be whole and they’re looking for Kingdom Hearts to accomplish this.
Roxas wants to know what will happen to him. Naminé is about to answer but is sent away by Diz. He appears and Roxas declares he has a right to know the truth, but Diz disagrees. To him, a Nobody has no rights, not even to exist. Roxas wants to know what a Nobody is. Naminé intervenes to explain that Nobodies like them are only half a person. Roxas won’t disappear, but instead be whole. Diz silences Naminé and tries to take her away before she can reveal more. She manages to tell him that they will meet again one day; they may not know it’s each other but it will happen, it’s a promise.
The Whole Truth
Roxas is left alone and makes his way to the basement where he finds Diz’s computer room. Another memory is triggered and we see all of the original members of Organization XIII, including Roxas. Back to the fight with Riku, Roxas is subdued and is placed in the custody of Diz and “Ansem.”
Diz explains that they have to maintain a simulated town until Naminé finishes with Sora’s memories. The Twilight Town Roxas has been in was fake and is controlled by Diz. He further explains that until it’s time for Roxas to return Sora’s powers, Diz will give him a different personality to keep the Organization from finding him.
Roxas finally understands the truth of what he is and how he’s been used. In a fit of rage, he destroys the computer. He further explores the basement and runs into Axel. Despite Roxas remembering him, Axel instigates a battle, but Roxas defeats him.
We’re brought back to the memory between Axel and Roxas. Axel warns that the Organization will destroy Roxas if he gets on their bad side. Roxas doesn’t care, declaring that no one would miss him and leaves. Axel would though. Back at the mansion, Axel wishes for them to meet again “in the next life.”
Summer Vacation Is Over
Roxas enters a room full of pods and sees Donald and Goofy asleep in two of them. In the final room, he finds a giant pod and Diz. He’s pleased to see “the Keyblade’s chosen one” and Roxas questions who he’s speaking to: him or Sora? Diz clarifies he is speaking to half of Sora, not even regarding Roxas as his own person. He explains that Roxas resides in Darkness and what Diz needs is someone in the realm of light who can destroy the Organization. Roxas wonders why he wants this and Diz states he is a servant of the world and reduces Roxas to being his tool.
This frustrates Roxas and he exclaims that he hates Diz. He is unbothered by this and suggests Roxas share some of that hatred with Sora since he’s too nice. Roxas refuses and declares that his heart belongs to himself. When he tries to attack Diz, the pod opens, revealing a sleeping Sora inside. Roxas looks at him with a pained look of understanding and speaks to him, calling him lucky. His summer vacation is over.
Awakening
A lot is revealed in this prologue. Roxas is Sora’s Nobody, a defected member of Organization XIII, can wield two keyblades which has never been seen before, and he’s developed a sense of identity separate from Sora and the Organization.
He’s unique for a Nobody. He’s not driven by a desire to be “whole” as the Organization is and actively tries to resist going back to Sora, stating multiple times that he is his own person. His end is tragic because he knows that ultimately he can’t resist, he has to go back to Sora. There is no choice. Either he willingly gives himself over to Sora or the Organization takes him away and possibly destroys him anyway.
Despite not having a “right to be,” Roxas made the most of his existence. He enjoys his time with his friends even if it wasn’t real and defies Diz’s beliefs until the end. We see a harmful side to keeping a promise in Roxas’s story. Naminé promised to restore Sora’s memories but at the cost of Roxas’s existence. While technically an order, Axel promised to bring Roxas back, which drove him further away from the Organization.
With Roxas back with Sora, it’s time for the hero of the story to awaken from his year-long slumber. New adventures, new worlds, and new revelations are waiting for Sora on the other side.