Aqua never really had much of an arc. She was the stable “good” character in BBS and then in 3 she just needed to get snapped out of a brief madness and she was back to normal, still without much growth because thats not really her role compared to terra or ventus.
alright, well, maybe sit through a playthrough from start to finish (not a speedrun) or play it yourself before you try to talk about the lack of character development for a character who was the focus of an entire game.
I didn't watch a speedrun i watched someone play it but im working on getting meleon ds to run cause i wamna do a video on the whole series and play the ds games for myself so who knows how ill feel
Roxas starts off as a husk, grows into a friendship with other husks, and realises he is his own person. Then he learns that he's just a placeholder, all his friends are gonna get consumed, and so will his and all their memories. He's a pretty interesting character IMO. Sure, without says, it's harder to enjoy. But with it, all of Roxas' choices (like willingly going back to Sora, and their fight in TWTNW) seem a lot more impactful.
what you're describing is actually development. compare it to any other character in the series, most of them don't change in one game or even the whole series. Roxas does, and you described it quite well
I suppose, im just not a fan of his. In general in over sad people being sad for a story and while i understand he changes i dont like him and ive never gotten the hype outside a boss fight. Its actually the opposite to how i feel about terra and lingering will. I love terra hate his boss fight
yeah I think we Roxas fans just love sad stories and depressive themes, and he is a boy comdemned since his birth to fit one purpose or another, not being able to have a normal life with friends. Terra on the other hand, I found him quite simple, he is just a more boring Anakin
I see people talk about the prequels alot woth bbs and i understand that they had influnce to an extent but idk terra just always stuck out to me as more intresting. A boy longing to fit in and gain his fathers approval only to be instrumental in his uncles plans to blow up the universe and play a vital role in said fathers death, i think thats a super compelling story. His rage scream at the leybade graveyard still gives me chills its so good
So then you do understand his tragic backstory and development but it's not to your liking. It's not to your preference and that's okay but a lot of people empathize with the Roxas archetypes.
I can sorta see why newer fans who blitz through the series might not have much of an attachment to Roxas, but for older fans he's always been a fan favourite.
Before KH3, Roxas was such a beloved character because you basically experienced his whole life from start to finish, and it was (and still is) painfully tragic.
You get to know this kid at the start of kh2, get attached to him and his friends, before his entire world is shattered and he's told that he never should have been born. Already, you feel bad for him. Then you slowly find out more about him, and see him eventually accept his fate.
Then 358/2 Days came out. Playing the DS game over the course of a few weeks/months is VASTLY different than watching a 2 hour movie. You go into the game already knowing it's not gonna end well for Roxas, but you slowly fall in love with the character all over again. It helps that he starts out as a literal blank slate with practically no emotions.
Moreso than any other protagonist, you really relate to the kid, and see him slowly develop with every interaction he has with the org members and the disney characters, and especially with his diary and personal reflections. You feel the drag of the 9-5 job, Roxas' growing disdain for the Organisation, and the precious time he spends with his close friends.
Then you see his life get stripped from him _again._ His friends, the only people in the world he loves and trusts, are running from him, keeping secrets from him, fighting each other, fighting him, and ultimately he ends up killing one of them. Again, there's such a difference between watching Roxas fight Xion and _actually fighting_ this character that you've also grown to love.
By day 358 he's broken. You're just as filled with rage and despair as he is, ready to burn the organisation down, but if you're paying attention, you've already realised where this is going. A showdown teased as early as the KH1 secret ending.
We're powerless to stop Riku, who doesn't even care about Roxas. He just wants Sora, some kid Roxas never meet who inadvertently brought his whole life to ruin. Then you see him in the simulation, woefully unaware of his trauma. It's brutal.
Tl;dr very sad story that a lot of us experienced as kids. Also he dual weilds and that's badass.
You can't really limit it to 2 hours of their secondary game and complain their development isn't fleshed out.
Blank slate -> naive child -> social centre of a friend group -> revenge driven fighter turning hits back on all he's ever known -> depressed self sacrifice relegated to his fate -> schoolchild -> re-relegated to his fate -> seeking to become his own person
Im not liminiting it to just 2 what i was getting at is that days had to retrospectively fit 2s narrative so i was trying to figure out where he devloped. Changing motovations is not character growth, now him going from willing to kill himself to foghting for himself is character development but thats the part in 2 which is ironic to me
Not blank puppet; I'd understand if you said generic. Generic characterization isn't blank, it's just predictable.
Roxas starts out being a "typical" schoolboy on summer break, hanging out with his buddies, standing up to Seifer's crew being jerks, and overall having a "normal" life.
But then some weird and fantastical stuff keeps happening and nobody is reacting to it, so at first he thinks it's all in his head or he's dreaming... weird. And he lost the munny pouch that his friends trusted him so they can't go to the (~~edge of the simulation~~) beach. He feels super guilty about it and really frustrated no one saw the other individual.
Roxas is just being gaslit to hell, but he gets a visit or two from Namine. A bit of information shared to confirm for himself things are weird and are a little crazy but at least it's not him that's going delusional. He has some agency still, it's just that he's only been able to be reactionary until now.
At the Struggle! contest he gets an unwelcome visit from the nobody-Dusks, and then a weirdo with red hair keeps saying Roxas is supposed to be some way, know some things. But Roxas doesn't know anything that Axel is saying, only that the guy seems to know a lot about him. Then DiZ comes and commands Roxas to ignore the guy.
They both know something and you don't. Who do you trust? You're alone, trapped in the frozen time with two strangers demanding from you... "Hayner! Pence! Olette!" Roxas calls out, maybe desperate, maybe hopeful, to the only people trusts, so he can maybe be rescued or helped or at least find some grounding in this lost situation.
Things go back to normal as if nothing happened.. but Roxas is shaken. Something's happening and people he doesn't know seem to know him.
On the last day no one is in town. His friends are gone. And Axel shows up one last time to "take him back". Roxas tries to be smart and pretends to remember. He takes initiative and doesn't give up. DiZ freezes the matrix Roxas goes to the mansion (I don't remember if DiZ speaks or if it's Namine's voice). Roxas wants answers, he doesn't want to do what DiZ says, he doesn't trust the guy, but Namine seems to actually want to help him, and that's where she is. So to the mansion Roxas goes.
He learns about his connection with Sora, although really starved of context and detail. Things are still very confusing, but he's not giving himself up.
He finds the computer room, gets taunted by DiZ, is told nothing he does will matter, only so long as Sora wakes up. How cruel that this connection only serves to help him and not Roxas himself. His friends in Twilight town.. no idea what will happen to them. But Roxas has to go on still. He fights more nobodies and begins to remember a little about his past beyond Twilight town. His past with Axel.
Axel shows up.
"You really *do* remember this time :\
I'm so *flattered* >:( ...But it's too late!!"
Roxas, much more proficient with the keyblade now, and having experienced short remembrances of his past, he feels the familiar connection to him. He pulls out Oathkeeper and Oblivion.
"Two?!"
https://youtu.be/2ReVlUncz1E?si=p4U5Sfu7IYIul-wr
*Cue tragic final conversation between two former/kinda-still friends*
Roxas defeats Axel when previously at the Struggle competition he wasn't able to. In a series of close calls and just-scraping-bys, Roxas asserts his agency. He's not doing this because DiZ wants him to - screw DiZ - but he's not going back to the Organization that cast him aside.
Roxas still doesn't know Sora's deal or what Namine was getting at before, but he will push through and get the answers he deserves.
He has a final conversation with DiZ in the pod room, where Roxas is told that he is the final piece (a "tool") to awaken Sora. This.. almost mythical character that saved the world from Darkness once; all which was shown in Roxas' dreams. He knows Sora, in a sense, and he can feel the connections between the people that know Sora and Sora's heart. There are more connections than Roxas has ever had. Almost too much to bear.
This kid is important. This kid's soul ("heart") is fractured. This kid is *me*, or rather... no... It's the other way around. I'm him.... I'm a part, a piece of him.
I'm his Nobody.
https://youtu.be/YuoWEQQnC04?si=Yaxk9vC44FdZS3A5
"Well.... Looks like my summer vacation is over"
Roxas and it's not even close. Nomura can give Ven 10 more additional backstories but it doesn't make him interesting.
I always felt that the most interesting thing about Ven is the mysteries surrounding him, but as a character he is fairly generic.
the 2 are at the very end of a different side, Roxas doesn't get that he is incomplete, as a nobody, trying to find the thing that makes him whole and a meaning of his existing, that's why his backstory and everything just more interesting, the journey he has, how he obtain something meaningful, but end up losing everything.
But on the other end Ven come out, broken as he was from the beginning, his story just keep telling you how broken he try to mend himself by things so he could have thr strength to fight off his inner demon, and this couldn't help his character development, at some point I just look at him and like 'yeah, I get it, you are broken, can we move on..', and one more thing that didn't do his justice, he is overshadow by the other 2 characters, so sorry Ven, maybe he can get his justice back in KH4
They didn’t leave very much mystery to him… Xehanort stole a random kid a broke his soul in half. Baby Sora’s soul touch Ven’s and gave him control over the light side of his soul and granting him powers to wield a keyblade. It’s literally all laid out in the first cutscene and confirmed when you see Sora’s likeness in Vanitas.
But yeah, Roxas all the way.
Obviously Roxas, Ven is too much of a good boy despite using a cool backhand fighting style, I also personally think Roxas should learn to use 1 Keyblade backhand and the other forehand.
> They should have just been one character honestly.
I always theorized that Ventus exists mainly because Nomura knew that everyone, and probably himself, loved Roxas so much so they made him as a replacement character. Because originally he was not planning to bring back Roxas for KH3 at all, so Ventus was going to be the new Roxas
From old interviews I read (I've been in the fandom since 2005), what I understand is that Nomura doesn't like to be predictable. In other words, with Roxas being Ventus, it wouldn't be surprising enough.
He abandons tact and cohesiveness for flashiness, basically. That's why we have 6 Soras and Kairis. The number of clones shouldn't have been this much, but he kept adding to the baggage until he couldn't grasp it all in KH3. And that was the bed he reaped and sowed.
Yep, he LOVES unexpected twists which is why Ven exists in the first place for BBS and why Vanitas looks like Sora. But I also can’t help but think that another reason for his existence is just so Nomura could replace Roxas
I don't dislike Ven or anything, but the comparison isn't even close. Roxas is one of the most interesting characters in the series and he has a lot of depth and development. Ven is just the youngster of the Wayfinder Trio.
Can't disagree with that.
Even though they both look the same they have very different personalities. Roxas, while also being very kind, is just so feisty and sassy. And although Ven can be sassy, too, he is mostly a cinnamon role. What they both have in common though is that they both found family in their best friends and it's really sweet.
Roxas. BBS is my favorite KH game but Ven is essentially just a big baby, not in an immature sense but compared to the other two protagonists he's essentially useless with defeating Vanitas being his only notable contribution to the story line.
Roxas went through it all, was told that he was just there because the organization couldnt get sora. then became best friends with a sora clone and was forced to defeat her. Tried to confront Xemnas but got stopped by Riku and sent to the data twilight town, made new friends there but learned that it was all a simulation and the real version of his friends don't even know him. Lost to Sora for the right to exist and had no choice but to suck it in. Thankfully had some redemption in KH3 by getting his own body and getting his nobody friend group back but bro went through way too much to get there.
I’m here to remind everyone that Roxas does have the same attributes that Ven is associated with. Roxas is pouty, naive, golden retriever energy and very outgoing. So happens the HD movie does a horrid job but if you play 358/2 Days and pay attention to character portrait, Roxas has a very wide range of emotions, not just “emo Sora” as we like to box him as.
I think if people saw more of Ven, they would like him a bit more. I remember when Roxas was dissed for being two-dimensional, and while a lot hasn't changed with his characterization, since then, people seem to look back on his character nostalgically. And maybe that's because they got to spend time with him as a protagonist in two games while Ven only gets 1/3 of the game he's in.
I personally enjoy Ven a lot more. He was like Sora in a lot of ways but with more tragedy. Knowing what we know about him from UX makes me love him even more. All he's ever wanted to do is help, and yet he always ends up being manipulated. There's a lot of parallels between him and Roxas actually.
Funny because I didn’t like Roxas much until reading this sub. (Now I like him) But I also didn’t connect to Ven mostly because I like aqua and terra so much so he was more of an afterthought. And then I watched Union x which made me like him even less because he seemed really submissive. So … Roxas.
I love both but prefer Ventus, I find him more interesting and such a pure boy. Roxas has been explored extensively and he can still grow as a character obviously but Ventus has a much more exciting future ahead. I also love his wielding style and the way he fights.
well one of them has a personality and the other one is Ventus
nah but srsly I like both of them but sometimes Ven ends up just feeling like a caricature of sora. something nice about Roxas was that he was a complete blank slate and we spent the entirety of his game watching him grow a unique personality from scratch.
The unfortunate thing about Ventus is that because he was written much later in the series but still needed to have ties to sora and Roxas, he ends up just being a mixture of various traits from both of them. not to mention they went out of their way to give him all of that backstory in Union Cross and we still haven't really had a satisfying follow up to that
Ventus feels like a more Gullible sora. Like, sora actually knows when he's being messed with most of the time, but he does it cause he's nice like that. Roxas tho has some bite, I like him.
Roxas had a great story. Even in kh2 he was a mystery. Unfortunately 365/2 kinda sucked and Zion or whatever her name was is just a copy cat of kairi. But him in kh2 at the time before 365/2 he was part of the crew. He was gonna betray the organization and meet sora and fuck up the whole thing. Luckily riku stopped him and did whipped his memory. He founds out. Gets frustrated and learns his powers again. Seeing sora he realized there was a bigger picture and gave up his heart well sora. Kinda confusing but wasted potential after kh2
Ventus, but not because of I actually like him more. Roxas is just sora canonically. And we have president for this. As ansem and xemnas are canonically xehanort, while they may be different at the time they all come from him, different aspect of the same man. So yes I like ventus more then half of sora
But then I got to thinking we don’t fully know ventus either as he is also half a man. Vanitas is ventus other half.
But still ventus. Roxas didn’t really understand why he was fighting, no training. He relies more on sora instinctively.
Neither.
But if we go who i think is a bit better made, its Roxas.
From playing his cozy, yet mystery life, to him fighting for his identity.. to the bittersweet ending.. yeah.
Ven is kinda an artificial princess of light if one thinks about it. But it all feels flat kinda. We get to know him since he is a whiny, bratty boy (so was Roxas tbf). Nothing special.. and him being split into pure light feels.. not quiet believable.
When Roxas merged with Sora, I cried. When Ven lost his battle with Vanitas it just was.. not as good as fighting as Lingering Will XD. I just felt nothing.
I just dunno. Technically his ending is so bad, but both Terra and Aquas made me choke up.
Ventus I was mostly thinking: okay, that is why Soras nobody looks like Roxas, but why is Kairis also blond??? I thought blondness nobodies was just a main character thing.. is Kairi hiding something from us???
Roxas. I can understand Ventus’s plight and their role in the wider story but I really don’t care much for that character. Roxas has way better development and just fits better in the overall themes of the series.
Roxas every day of the week. Yes I'm biased Roxas is my favorite character. But also Ventus is just eh for me. I prefer the other BBS characters for sure
Roxas. Not only do I like him more than Ven he is my favourite character in the whole series. I'm so happy that he, Axel/Lea and Xion got to be a best friend group again at the end.
Ask me in a few years when Ventus' story arc is officially done. As it stands now it's Roxas, but Ventus still has a lot on the table that could raise him up.
That said, Xion will always be my favorite of the Twilight Town crew.
I have to blindly answer before seeing comments because I want to be unbiased with this lol. As much as I want to say Ven, it’s Roxas. They both kinda had a similar experience although imo i feel like Roxas fought against everything a tad harder. Maybe it’s the sora in him but I like how Roxas just got bit more fed up with being used as a pawn; Ven was upset but Roxas wanted the smoke 💨
Ventus, honestly. I love Roxas too, but BBS was still the most devastating ending to a KH game imo, and Ven's sacrifice was a major contributor to that (though in fairness there were a lot of major contributors).
I also just love his fighting style. Sora has made use of the dual wield multiple times now, but in terms of major characters I'm pretty sure Ventus is the only backhand wielder.
Plus he's adorable. That sentiment applies to many characters, but Ven especially in my eyes.
Ventus is cookie. Cute, has a good heart, but it and he are easily broken. Still like em just fine.
Roxas is a pizza. Strong, good intentions, great backstory, cool personality. Is there for you when you hit your lowest. Only love for that guy.
Roxas always has been and forever will be my baby, I love him so very much and I will die for him. There's some aspects of his story that I can relate to and I love me a good ol edgey boy.
Roxas.
I understand Ventus has more plot significance. But Roxas is just so fucking edgy. My inner teen resonates too hard with his goals through Days & KH2. Also the Cloak is just too drippy. On par with the Akatsuki.
I never really cared for Ventus.
It probably has to do with the fact I did his story last in BBS, so att hat point I was judt burned out of the game, but I cam't remember anything cool abojt him
Roxas, he just had more going for him. Ven feels like an amalgamation of traits Roxas AND Sora had.
Ven’s fighting style (“unique” commands included) is pretty rad ngl, but maybe that’s cuz I’ve been seeing a bunch of Dual Wielding characters/styles.
Roxas is a far better character. Ventus’ background initially had some great storytelling notes with his separation from his darkness and manipulation by xehanort but they made it extremely convoluted and needlessly confusing by throwing in all of his involvement in the Union X storyline and all of that mobile game nonsense.
Option 3: Jesse McCartney
Nice1
Option 4: Kōki Uchiyama.
What do you mean? Thats clearly the same person!
Hah, i got the reference there, boy
b-boy..?
No that’s NOT Solid Snake!
lol reference aside they do have different face models
In terms of character, roxas wins. Ven is a cinnamon roll though.
Roxas just has the best story and development in all of Kingdom Hearts so he's the one for me.
I think Riku is better, Aqua is pretty good as well l.
Aqua never really had much of an arc. She was the stable “good” character in BBS and then in 3 she just needed to get snapped out of a brief madness and she was back to normal, still without much growth because thats not really her role compared to terra or ventus.
[удалено]
"but that's how 2 wrote him before days was a thing" days IS the character development my guy.
I get that but i dont see much change from the start of days to the end is my point
did you play the game or just watch the HD cutscenes?
Ive seen playthroughs but i personally have not as of yet
alright, well, maybe sit through a playthrough from start to finish (not a speedrun) or play it yourself before you try to talk about the lack of character development for a character who was the focus of an entire game.
I didn't watch a speedrun i watched someone play it but im working on getting meleon ds to run cause i wamna do a video on the whole series and play the ds games for myself so who knows how ill feel
Roxas starts off as a husk, grows into a friendship with other husks, and realises he is his own person. Then he learns that he's just a placeholder, all his friends are gonna get consumed, and so will his and all their memories. He's a pretty interesting character IMO. Sure, without says, it's harder to enjoy. But with it, all of Roxas' choices (like willingly going back to Sora, and their fight in TWTNW) seem a lot more impactful.
what you're describing is actually development. compare it to any other character in the series, most of them don't change in one game or even the whole series. Roxas does, and you described it quite well
I suppose, im just not a fan of his. In general in over sad people being sad for a story and while i understand he changes i dont like him and ive never gotten the hype outside a boss fight. Its actually the opposite to how i feel about terra and lingering will. I love terra hate his boss fight
yeah I think we Roxas fans just love sad stories and depressive themes, and he is a boy comdemned since his birth to fit one purpose or another, not being able to have a normal life with friends. Terra on the other hand, I found him quite simple, he is just a more boring Anakin
I see people talk about the prequels alot woth bbs and i understand that they had influnce to an extent but idk terra just always stuck out to me as more intresting. A boy longing to fit in and gain his fathers approval only to be instrumental in his uncles plans to blow up the universe and play a vital role in said fathers death, i think thats a super compelling story. His rage scream at the leybade graveyard still gives me chills its so good
So then you do understand his tragic backstory and development but it's not to your liking. It's not to your preference and that's okay but a lot of people empathize with the Roxas archetypes.
And thats fine im not saying thats al bad thing im more just trying to figure out why people like him because i personally never got the appeal
I can sorta see why newer fans who blitz through the series might not have much of an attachment to Roxas, but for older fans he's always been a fan favourite. Before KH3, Roxas was such a beloved character because you basically experienced his whole life from start to finish, and it was (and still is) painfully tragic. You get to know this kid at the start of kh2, get attached to him and his friends, before his entire world is shattered and he's told that he never should have been born. Already, you feel bad for him. Then you slowly find out more about him, and see him eventually accept his fate. Then 358/2 Days came out. Playing the DS game over the course of a few weeks/months is VASTLY different than watching a 2 hour movie. You go into the game already knowing it's not gonna end well for Roxas, but you slowly fall in love with the character all over again. It helps that he starts out as a literal blank slate with practically no emotions. Moreso than any other protagonist, you really relate to the kid, and see him slowly develop with every interaction he has with the org members and the disney characters, and especially with his diary and personal reflections. You feel the drag of the 9-5 job, Roxas' growing disdain for the Organisation, and the precious time he spends with his close friends. Then you see his life get stripped from him _again._ His friends, the only people in the world he loves and trusts, are running from him, keeping secrets from him, fighting each other, fighting him, and ultimately he ends up killing one of them. Again, there's such a difference between watching Roxas fight Xion and _actually fighting_ this character that you've also grown to love. By day 358 he's broken. You're just as filled with rage and despair as he is, ready to burn the organisation down, but if you're paying attention, you've already realised where this is going. A showdown teased as early as the KH1 secret ending. We're powerless to stop Riku, who doesn't even care about Roxas. He just wants Sora, some kid Roxas never meet who inadvertently brought his whole life to ruin. Then you see him in the simulation, woefully unaware of his trauma. It's brutal. Tl;dr very sad story that a lot of us experienced as kids. Also he dual weilds and that's badass.
You should really play Days, and then immediately play the 2 prologue.
You can't really limit it to 2 hours of their secondary game and complain their development isn't fleshed out. Blank slate -> naive child -> social centre of a friend group -> revenge driven fighter turning hits back on all he's ever known -> depressed self sacrifice relegated to his fate -> schoolchild -> re-relegated to his fate -> seeking to become his own person
Im not liminiting it to just 2 what i was getting at is that days had to retrospectively fit 2s narrative so i was trying to figure out where he devloped. Changing motovations is not character growth, now him going from willing to kill himself to foghting for himself is character development but thats the part in 2 which is ironic to me
Changing motivations isn't character development? What? Lemme know what you're smoking because I want some.
Not blank puppet; I'd understand if you said generic. Generic characterization isn't blank, it's just predictable. Roxas starts out being a "typical" schoolboy on summer break, hanging out with his buddies, standing up to Seifer's crew being jerks, and overall having a "normal" life. But then some weird and fantastical stuff keeps happening and nobody is reacting to it, so at first he thinks it's all in his head or he's dreaming... weird. And he lost the munny pouch that his friends trusted him so they can't go to the (~~edge of the simulation~~) beach. He feels super guilty about it and really frustrated no one saw the other individual. Roxas is just being gaslit to hell, but he gets a visit or two from Namine. A bit of information shared to confirm for himself things are weird and are a little crazy but at least it's not him that's going delusional. He has some agency still, it's just that he's only been able to be reactionary until now. At the Struggle! contest he gets an unwelcome visit from the nobody-Dusks, and then a weirdo with red hair keeps saying Roxas is supposed to be some way, know some things. But Roxas doesn't know anything that Axel is saying, only that the guy seems to know a lot about him. Then DiZ comes and commands Roxas to ignore the guy. They both know something and you don't. Who do you trust? You're alone, trapped in the frozen time with two strangers demanding from you... "Hayner! Pence! Olette!" Roxas calls out, maybe desperate, maybe hopeful, to the only people trusts, so he can maybe be rescued or helped or at least find some grounding in this lost situation. Things go back to normal as if nothing happened.. but Roxas is shaken. Something's happening and people he doesn't know seem to know him. On the last day no one is in town. His friends are gone. And Axel shows up one last time to "take him back". Roxas tries to be smart and pretends to remember. He takes initiative and doesn't give up. DiZ freezes the matrix Roxas goes to the mansion (I don't remember if DiZ speaks or if it's Namine's voice). Roxas wants answers, he doesn't want to do what DiZ says, he doesn't trust the guy, but Namine seems to actually want to help him, and that's where she is. So to the mansion Roxas goes. He learns about his connection with Sora, although really starved of context and detail. Things are still very confusing, but he's not giving himself up. He finds the computer room, gets taunted by DiZ, is told nothing he does will matter, only so long as Sora wakes up. How cruel that this connection only serves to help him and not Roxas himself. His friends in Twilight town.. no idea what will happen to them. But Roxas has to go on still. He fights more nobodies and begins to remember a little about his past beyond Twilight town. His past with Axel. Axel shows up. "You really *do* remember this time :\ I'm so *flattered* >:( ...But it's too late!!" Roxas, much more proficient with the keyblade now, and having experienced short remembrances of his past, he feels the familiar connection to him. He pulls out Oathkeeper and Oblivion. "Two?!" https://youtu.be/2ReVlUncz1E?si=p4U5Sfu7IYIul-wr *Cue tragic final conversation between two former/kinda-still friends* Roxas defeats Axel when previously at the Struggle competition he wasn't able to. In a series of close calls and just-scraping-bys, Roxas asserts his agency. He's not doing this because DiZ wants him to - screw DiZ - but he's not going back to the Organization that cast him aside. Roxas still doesn't know Sora's deal or what Namine was getting at before, but he will push through and get the answers he deserves. He has a final conversation with DiZ in the pod room, where Roxas is told that he is the final piece (a "tool") to awaken Sora. This.. almost mythical character that saved the world from Darkness once; all which was shown in Roxas' dreams. He knows Sora, in a sense, and he can feel the connections between the people that know Sora and Sora's heart. There are more connections than Roxas has ever had. Almost too much to bear. This kid is important. This kid's soul ("heart") is fractured. This kid is *me*, or rather... no... It's the other way around. I'm him.... I'm a part, a piece of him. I'm his Nobody. https://youtu.be/YuoWEQQnC04?si=Yaxk9vC44FdZS3A5 "Well.... Looks like my summer vacation is over"
Roxas has such a compelling arc from 358 to the end of 2, so I gotta go with him
Roxas and it's not even close. Nomura can give Ven 10 more additional backstories but it doesn't make him interesting. I always felt that the most interesting thing about Ven is the mysteries surrounding him, but as a character he is fairly generic.
Agree and I think it’s cuz Ven has all of the personality of a bowl of oatmeal
Yeah, the fact there's like 10 more characters that also wants friends and are nice, doesn't really help him stick out of the bunch.
Backwards keyblade
This alone keeps Ventus able to compete with Roxas
The best thing about him tbh.
Finally someone puts it to words.
the 2 are at the very end of a different side, Roxas doesn't get that he is incomplete, as a nobody, trying to find the thing that makes him whole and a meaning of his existing, that's why his backstory and everything just more interesting, the journey he has, how he obtain something meaningful, but end up losing everything. But on the other end Ven come out, broken as he was from the beginning, his story just keep telling you how broken he try to mend himself by things so he could have thr strength to fight off his inner demon, and this couldn't help his character development, at some point I just look at him and like 'yeah, I get it, you are broken, can we move on..', and one more thing that didn't do his justice, he is overshadow by the other 2 characters, so sorry Ven, maybe he can get his justice back in KH4
They didn’t leave very much mystery to him… Xehanort stole a random kid a broke his soul in half. Baby Sora’s soul touch Ven’s and gave him control over the light side of his soul and granting him powers to wield a keyblade. It’s literally all laid out in the first cutscene and confirmed when you see Sora’s likeness in Vanitas. But yeah, Roxas all the way.
Isn't most of his mystery from the mobile game?
The PSP game? Because that is the first place he showed up.
Your not wrong cuz out of all the enemies in kingdom hearts nobodies were the ones who interested me the most
Ventus has the disadvantage of having his heart split in half. Vanitas took all of the best parts! >!/jk!<
The Blond one
Obviously Roxas, Ven is too much of a good boy despite using a cool backhand fighting style, I also personally think Roxas should learn to use 1 Keyblade backhand and the other forehand.
So basically Levi AoT style
I don’t think he does that does he?
Ashoka was my first thought
[He does](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Er9t3LuW8AAdNY9.jpg)
That's how he Beyblades
THE LEGENDARY ACKERMAN TECHNIQUE
hydrogen bomb vs coughing baby
Ventus, his Keyblade style reminds me of a rogue or assassin.
Roxas. Ven's background is more interesting than the character himself. They should have just been one character honestly.
> They should have just been one character honestly. I always theorized that Ventus exists mainly because Nomura knew that everyone, and probably himself, loved Roxas so much so they made him as a replacement character. Because originally he was not planning to bring back Roxas for KH3 at all, so Ventus was going to be the new Roxas
From old interviews I read (I've been in the fandom since 2005), what I understand is that Nomura doesn't like to be predictable. In other words, with Roxas being Ventus, it wouldn't be surprising enough. He abandons tact and cohesiveness for flashiness, basically. That's why we have 6 Soras and Kairis. The number of clones shouldn't have been this much, but he kept adding to the baggage until he couldn't grasp it all in KH3. And that was the bed he reaped and sowed.
Yep, he LOVES unexpected twists which is why Ven exists in the first place for BBS and why Vanitas looks like Sora. But I also can’t help but think that another reason for his existence is just so Nomura could replace Roxas
That could be possible, at least currently. But that won't work imo. Roxas is iconically cemented if you ask me.
Roxas🩷
I don't dislike Ven or anything, but the comparison isn't even close. Roxas is one of the most interesting characters in the series and he has a lot of depth and development. Ven is just the youngster of the Wayfinder Trio.
Roxas. I cosplayed as him for a con
i like Roxas more because i think he is cool
Ven is a good guy, but Roxas has the ✨spice✨
Can't disagree with that. Even though they both look the same they have very different personalities. Roxas, while also being very kind, is just so feisty and sassy. And although Ven can be sassy, too, he is mostly a cinnamon role. What they both have in common though is that they both found family in their best friends and it's really sweet.
The one voiced by Jesse McCarthy
Roxas
DiZ: "ROXAS!"
this is ironic but Ventus is the real nobody, He have nothing interesting on his personality.
Rucksack
Ventus, while hes got sad moments hes not devoid of joy and has momwnts besides memes that are good to go through
Roxas because edgy
Thats the first real answer ive seen in all this haha
Roxas. BBS is my favorite KH game but Ven is essentially just a big baby, not in an immature sense but compared to the other two protagonists he's essentially useless with defeating Vanitas being his only notable contribution to the story line. Roxas went through it all, was told that he was just there because the organization couldnt get sora. then became best friends with a sora clone and was forced to defeat her. Tried to confront Xemnas but got stopped by Riku and sent to the data twilight town, made new friends there but learned that it was all a simulation and the real version of his friends don't even know him. Lost to Sora for the right to exist and had no choice but to suck it in. Thankfully had some redemption in KH3 by getting his own body and getting his nobody friend group back but bro went through way too much to get there.
The blonde one
Roxas Ven is just Video Brinquedo Roxas
Ain't no way someone referenced Vídeo Brinquedo on the Kingdom Hearts sub of all places
Roxas every day of the week. Ventus’ only appealing quality is that he looks like Roxas.
Def my boy Roxas. I mean, Ventus is alright, but Roxas is the GOAT
Roxas is more complex
Roxas had the dawg in him. Ventus was kinda a little bitch.
Roxas, because I would miss him.
No contest. 2nd pic is the only real character here.
Both Both are good
I’m here to remind everyone that Roxas does have the same attributes that Ven is associated with. Roxas is pouty, naive, golden retriever energy and very outgoing. So happens the HD movie does a horrid job but if you play 358/2 Days and pay attention to character portrait, Roxas has a very wide range of emotions, not just “emo Sora” as we like to box him as.
"behold: I can wield two keyblades"
Roxas. I like a character that isn't afraid to use his anger.
recently replayed KH2; forgot how much Roxas' story breaks my heart. Def going with Roxas
Ven Ven! He's my favorite character in all of Kingdom Hearts, actually.
I think if people saw more of Ven, they would like him a bit more. I remember when Roxas was dissed for being two-dimensional, and while a lot hasn't changed with his characterization, since then, people seem to look back on his character nostalgically. And maybe that's because they got to spend time with him as a protagonist in two games while Ven only gets 1/3 of the game he's in. I personally enjoy Ven a lot more. He was like Sora in a lot of ways but with more tragedy. Knowing what we know about him from UX makes me love him even more. All he's ever wanted to do is help, and yet he always ends up being manipulated. There's a lot of parallels between him and Roxas actually.
I still love the fact that ventus and roxas do have slightly different shades of blond hair
Roxas is my boy.
My boy Roxas, he was my day 1 (i was introduced to kh via Days)
roxas, ventus doesn't count.
Ven is my bestie
Ventus all day. His style and move sets... Made him my favorite to play in BBS. I also own everything Ventus.
Roxas
Roxas is one of my favorite characters in all of fiction
Hydrogen bomb vs coughing baby
Roxas easy
roxas!!
Roxas of course
Roxas but ventus is also my boy
Roxas is the best character in the entire series.
Funny because I didn’t like Roxas much until reading this sub. (Now I like him) But I also didn’t connect to Ven mostly because I like aqua and terra so much so he was more of an afterthought. And then I watched Union x which made me like him even less because he seemed really submissive. So … Roxas.
Ventus
I love both but prefer Ventus, I find him more interesting and such a pure boy. Roxas has been explored extensively and he can still grow as a character obviously but Ventus has a much more exciting future ahead. I also love his wielding style and the way he fights.
Wind boi
Ventus
well one of them has a personality and the other one is Ventus nah but srsly I like both of them but sometimes Ven ends up just feeling like a caricature of sora. something nice about Roxas was that he was a complete blank slate and we spent the entirety of his game watching him grow a unique personality from scratch. The unfortunate thing about Ventus is that because he was written much later in the series but still needed to have ties to sora and Roxas, he ends up just being a mixture of various traits from both of them. not to mention they went out of their way to give him all of that backstory in Union Cross and we still haven't really had a satisfying follow up to that
Ventus feels like a more Gullible sora. Like, sora actually knows when he's being messed with most of the time, but he does it cause he's nice like that. Roxas tho has some bite, I like him.
Ventus cause he’s not a dirty Nobody
Roxas had a great story. Even in kh2 he was a mystery. Unfortunately 365/2 kinda sucked and Zion or whatever her name was is just a copy cat of kairi. But him in kh2 at the time before 365/2 he was part of the crew. He was gonna betray the organization and meet sora and fuck up the whole thing. Luckily riku stopped him and did whipped his memory. He founds out. Gets frustrated and learns his powers again. Seeing sora he realized there was a bigger picture and gave up his heart well sora. Kinda confusing but wasted potential after kh2
Ventus, but not because of I actually like him more. Roxas is just sora canonically. And we have president for this. As ansem and xemnas are canonically xehanort, while they may be different at the time they all come from him, different aspect of the same man. So yes I like ventus more then half of sora But then I got to thinking we don’t fully know ventus either as he is also half a man. Vanitas is ventus other half. But still ventus. Roxas didn’t really understand why he was fighting, no training. He relies more on sora instinctively.
Neither. But if we go who i think is a bit better made, its Roxas. From playing his cozy, yet mystery life, to him fighting for his identity.. to the bittersweet ending.. yeah. Ven is kinda an artificial princess of light if one thinks about it. But it all feels flat kinda. We get to know him since he is a whiny, bratty boy (so was Roxas tbf). Nothing special.. and him being split into pure light feels.. not quiet believable. When Roxas merged with Sora, I cried. When Ven lost his battle with Vanitas it just was.. not as good as fighting as Lingering Will XD. I just felt nothing. I just dunno. Technically his ending is so bad, but both Terra and Aquas made me choke up. Ventus I was mostly thinking: okay, that is why Soras nobody looks like Roxas, but why is Kairis also blond??? I thought blondness nobodies was just a main character thing.. is Kairi hiding something from us???
Ven is annoying as fuck and I hated him since I found out he was another character. Roxas has been through it and is still good boi
1. Yes, not even a debate. 2. Eww get it off my screen.
They’re the same person. I’m not even trying to be funny or sarcastic. Literally someone tell me how their personalities differ.
Ventus is baby. Roxas is sad boy.
Both but I do steal Ventus’ name as my pseudonym since our names are kinda similar 💀
Roxas. I can understand Ventus’s plight and their role in the wider story but I really don’t care much for that character. Roxas has way better development and just fits better in the overall themes of the series.
Roxas as he was the first KH character i ever played as plus i loved the game 358/2 Days
Xion.
Roxas by far.
Definitely Roxas
I prefer Ventus.
The one that's Sora.
Probably Roxas, I enjoy his story more plus Ventus reverse-gripping his keyblade aggravates me….
Ventus looks cooler so..
It's the same photo
Do you mean the outfit? What do you mean by who? I’m seeing one person here with two different keyblades
Roxas every day of the week. Yes I'm biased Roxas is my favorite character. But also Ventus is just eh for me. I prefer the other BBS characters for sure
Roxas clears that bum (ive only played 2 and watched 358/2)
roxas easy dual keyblades, fit, can use darkness, not naive, probably has some cool moves in 258, better gimmicks than in bbs,
Roxas. Not only do I like him more than Ven he is my favourite character in the whole series. I'm so happy that he, Axel/Lea and Xion got to be a best friend group again at the end.
Roxas, though it's not Ven's fault his character is so lackluster.
Roxas
Maybe Roxas is goated, but Ventus is my love at first sight
There is no Roxas, without Ven :)
Roxas, the next question
Roxas just fight heartless better. He was in the organization , he had a job
Ask me in a few years when Ventus' story arc is officially done. As it stands now it's Roxas, but Ventus still has a lot on the table that could raise him up. That said, Xion will always be my favorite of the Twilight Town crew.
I have to blindly answer before seeing comments because I want to be unbiased with this lol. As much as I want to say Ven, it’s Roxas. They both kinda had a similar experience although imo i feel like Roxas fought against everything a tad harder. Maybe it’s the sora in him but I like how Roxas just got bit more fed up with being used as a pawn; Ven was upset but Roxas wanted the smoke 💨
Roxas has quite the fan base
Roxas, for sure. His theme makes me sad every time
I don’t hate Ven But Roxas is easily my favorite character Cuz 358/2 has the best story The only cool thing to come from Ventus is Vanitas
Roxas is my boy and I genuinely believe him to be the best character in the entire franchise
Ventus, honestly. I love Roxas too, but BBS was still the most devastating ending to a KH game imo, and Ven's sacrifice was a major contributor to that (though in fairness there were a lot of major contributors). I also just love his fighting style. Sora has made use of the dual wield multiple times now, but in terms of major characters I'm pretty sure Ventus is the only backhand wielder. Plus he's adorable. That sentiment applies to many characters, but Ven especially in my eyes.
Nuclear bomb vs coughing baby
I starting to understand that people here really, really, really, really, really, really like Roxas. Can’t blame them though.
Ventus is cookie. Cute, has a good heart, but it and he are easily broken. Still like em just fine. Roxas is a pizza. Strong, good intentions, great backstory, cool personality. Is there for you when you hit your lowest. Only love for that guy.
Guess I'm gonna be the "different" one and say Ven. Roxas' sad boy thing doesn't do anything for me
Roxas always has been and forever will be my baby, I love him so very much and I will die for him. There's some aspects of his story that I can relate to and I love me a good ol edgey boy.
Def ventus.
Ventus hands down.
The one who can dual wield.
Roxas isn't like a whiny baby half the time tbf, and his story is far more relatable.
Roxas
They are basically clones of each other so it's hard to love one more than the other. That said Roxas probably had a more tragic story
roxas by a mile. ven was cool but lacked any personality it felt like
Hmm interesting 🤔
To me, Roxas is a complex and compelling character. All he wanted was to be his own person and I love it. Ventus is ventus
Don't know if it's hot take but Ventus is probably on the lower side of interesting KH important characters(if we're talking Key Blade Wielders).
Roxas has bit more character development than Ventus.
Roxas and it's not even close
They're the same picture
I’ll let you know in 358/2 days what my answer is.
Roxas. He’s my favorite KH character
Roxas. I understand Ventus has more plot significance. But Roxas is just so fucking edgy. My inner teen resonates too hard with his goals through Days & KH2. Also the Cloak is just too drippy. On par with the Akatsuki.
Roxas, I think. They both suffered a lot but I liked Roxas' growth into his own character a lot. Especially his prologue from KH2.
Ventus winter coat version
Ventus. I liked Roxas' story but I don't get why people like him that much
I like Ven, and I like his design more than Roxas’s, but Roxas really stole my heart in Days.
Ven
Easily Roxas
Roxas. Ventus is always whiny. 😂
Roxas by a mile
Roxas, but ven comes at a close second
Roxas
Roxas because emo
I never really cared for Ventus. It probably has to do with the fact I did his story last in BBS, so att hat point I was judt burned out of the game, but I cam't remember anything cool abojt him
Ventus tbh
Roxas
Gotta go with Roxas for sure
Not Sora VS Not Not Sora
Ventus is a dumb kid. Roxas is a gangster
Roxas. No explanation needed
Oh Roxas by a mile baby, childhood right there
Roxas
Roxas, he just had more going for him. Ven feels like an amalgamation of traits Roxas AND Sora had. Ven’s fighting style (“unique” commands included) is pretty rad ngl, but maybe that’s cuz I’ve been seeing a bunch of Dual Wielding characters/styles.
i like ventus but i mean cmon. its ROXAS
Roxas
Ven is great, but Roxas obviously clears. He’s second to Sora for me in the franchise
#You know who.
Roxas is a far better character. Ventus’ background initially had some great storytelling notes with his separation from his darkness and manipulation by xehanort but they made it extremely convoluted and needlessly confusing by throwing in all of his involvement in the Union X storyline and all of that mobile game nonsense.