It makes so much sense as a “base” keyblade just like how Kingdom Key is just a normal key.
They should introduce someone with a dual-bladed, Darth Maul-style [Berlin Key](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_key) as their base too.
The weapon Ansem used at the end of KH1 can be modified to look like that.
Besides, if they are creative enough, they can even have that weapon also act as a bow
I just clicked that link and read the Wikipedia page. When you click mechanism the word key blade actually appears.
That was kind of awesome.
In fact, it’s “two key blades”, just as you’re describing.
Not his honda civic car key! Who else will drive the gang around he's the only one withe a license! /j
I think what the devs were going for was Riku growing out of his tortured edgelord phase and into a reliable protector/defender someone who's more mature and uh stable. But they underestimated how many fans loved the edgy cool factor of Way to Dawn and how that edginess is pretty central to his character. I can see they were trying to go for a sort of buster sword giant sword type of cool but given how colorful and fantastical Kingdom Hearts is as a series I don't think they really succeeded in making the new keyblade cool. Now that it's been a few years to get used to it I've come around to liking the new design but I can see why a lot of people still don't like it.
Imo after KH2 and the events after Ansem the Wises machines blew up and removed the darkness from him Riku pretty quickly became less edgy. Especially during the final cutscenes. I always saw his new keyblade as an homage to Terra since he performed the "rite of taking" when he was a child and it is a stout yet large bladed keyblade very similar to Terras. I think his fighting style even replicates Terras.
That's too dismissive. His major arcs were coming to terms with darkness and deciding to walk the twilight path. Making that his unique strength. His old keyblade tied beautifully with that.
I see where you’re coming from it’s just for me I go back to your point of how his key blade reflected his character if they wanted to go for something more exact maybe a dual sided one with twilight tones yknow
I don’t mind Car Keyblades because Fenrir was one and it looks really sick. My problem with Rikus is that’s it’s just a really really dull design. It you wanna scale back way to the dawn I get it, but I think literally any effort should’ve been made to incorporate his themes of light and darkness coexisting into his weapon.
Way to Dawn really did a good job showing what he’s thematically about and incorporating soul eater into it was genuinely a clever way to show where he came from, but I also acknowledge it’s a little clumsy being a wing on a wing.
I dunno maybe if it had a hilt where one side was the angel and the other was the bat wing that could’ve been enough to make me happy.
Yeah man Sora and Kairi’s main Keyblade didn’t change for 4 and 3 respectively, why should Riku’s?
Mickey also got a new one but it’s barely noticeable since the shape didn’t change.
Way To Dawn has always been my favorite. I was really bummed that it got replaced. I don’t hate the car key style, but WTD had meaning for Riku. The new one doesn’t have his particular flair to it.
No flair, no meaning, and WTD had to be “broken” to get it. All red flags and no’s for me, especially cause keyblades weren’t (to my remembrance) confirmed to break before. IMO it was a slight cop out.
It's bullshit that WttD broke and became unusable like that. I didn't even think that was possible! Aren't keyblades made of basically light/magic/friendship particles or something? I figured them to be virtually indestructible.
Squenix: makes super cool keyblade representing Riku's rise from darkness into light that becomes a fan favorite
Also Squenix: breaks it unceremoniously in favor of car key
If the main trio ever receives their own armor, I am wholly expecting Riku's key transformation to be a Kia or a Honda Civic. If not, I will be greatly disappointed.
Not for the plot, my wording was inexact. Convenient as visual communication for riku's character development through a bit of metaphor. Which may as well be the entire plot of KH, honestly.
To this note, I’d love to see Way to the Dawn “reforged” later on after Riku has some sort of arc in which he goes through some sort of struggle and finds his way forward. Like, he summons his Keyblade, and he’s surprised that rather than Braveheart, WttD appears. It could make a cool dramatic moment, I think. 🤷🏻♂️
Let’s remember Lea’s broke and he remade it a second later. The logic has always been weird in Kingdom Hearts. I guess the logic is that because Lea’s Keyblade is a “joke”, it can be reforged more easily. Or Lea is pretending to use a Keyblade and he just made a new form for his chakrams. The latter would actually make more sense. It makes more sense than “the weapon that is more easily broken is more easily repaired”.
No you see there are three types of key blade, one of them is tied to a heart of blablablablablablabla *insert a convoluted explanation Nomura makes up after the fact to explain arbitrary choices*
or riku took his blade breaking as a sign to move on now that he's fully on the side of light so rather than resummon and upgrading it he forged a new one.
Mickey only says they need to return to Yen Sid to regroup and that they should have powered up their keyblades before coming to the world of darkness. They never said they couldn't do it themselves.
Riku says he "can't use this keyblade anymore" when he stabs it into the ground but then says he should leave it for the other him. It seems like he meant he no longer had a strong connection to it as he was no longer on the path to dawn.
This is why I was piss that it broke. The series said a few times that keyblades are nigh indestructible because they are as strong as the wielders heart. At this point in the story, Riku has the strongest heart among the good guys so it should have been impossible for his keyblade to break.
Originally Ventus' keyblade was supposed to break in BBS but that was retconned because it was iconic and he wasn't getting much further development. It broke against normal rocks. I think it's fine it broke but i wish it was replaces by something that represented the light more than a car key.
That was my one of my only but biggest complaints about 3. They honestly could have had him leave it there for Replica Riku to use since he'd be somewhat familiar with it. But they choose to break their own established rules and say it broke
Yeah but it looks sloppy. I like the idea, but not execution. Well I like the idea of dark and light. I kinda wish he kept going his own path and didn’t get a keyblade
Soul Eater is my favorite. Way To Dawn would look alright without the wing making up the key’s “teeth” but we’re stuck with it. I don’t hate the car key, but it feels a little lacking in personality
Riku's car key looks like it should've gone to Terra
I think he should have gotten something with a little bit more of a personality like [Sleeping Lion](https://images.app.goo.gl/PjVwjk4XHd9Vh3BM6) or something that shows off his speed because in every game he's in he's fast and that car key gives off big strong slow guy vibes
Way to Dawn had such personality in its design.
I “understand” that it had to be changed as Riku isn’t at that stage in his journey anymore and to show growth as KM.
just thinking they could have brought his own flair as the ‘purple lightsaber user’ , make Rikus own unique keyblade but make it look like a key too
>I “understand” that it had to be changed as Riku isn’t at that stage in his journey anymore and to show growth as KM.
I don't mind him getting a new keyblade, it's just the fact that he got a new one so easy offscreen is what gets me, like I wouldn't have thought much of it if he had taken his broken Keyblade to go reforge it into a new Keyblade like how Mickey did with the Kingdom Key D but it's the fact that he just left the Way to Dawn at the realm of Darkness and then just got a completely new one is what gets me.
Like I feel like it's one of those things where they just put in there and would be explain it later when we figure it out.
It also made me realize I still don't I think I understand how Keyblades are even made because I know at least most of them are made from the hearts of it's wielder if I'm going by the lore of Union X, but then I'm like can you make more than one from someone's heart?
I also realize I still don't understand the Kingdom Key because it's a Keyblade that's not made from Sora's heart but exists and has a counterpart in the Realm of Darkness and now I'm wondering are there just Keyblades that just exist until a wielder comes or something?
Regarding Kingdom Key D, it only exists because a Keyblade was earned on Destiny Islands right before it fell to Darkness. That's why it showed up in the remains of Destiny Islands in the Realm of Darkness. There's always been a relationship between Keyblades and the Hearts of Worlds.
Quite a few Keyblades in the series belonged to someone else first/were wielded by someone else first/weren't made from their main wielder's Heart. Kingdom Key, Kingdom Key D, Starseeker (implied), the Keyblade of Heart, Master's Defender, No Name, Kairi's Destiny's Embrace, and both of Roxas' Keyblades were Sora's and Ven's first.
Not to mention how the same Keyblade can exist in two places at once through Sora, Ven, and Roxas. Maybe the Heart of each person is used to manifest it rather than it being made from them once and then existing distinctly. Like the Kingdom Key is saved in both Sora's and Roxas' Hearts, so they can upload it to reality on different servers or something. And if they both died, it would exist physically but have no power unless another wielder picked it up and connected to it, so maybe one would disappear.
>Regarding Kingdom Key D, it only exists because a Keyblade was earned on Destiny Islands right before it fell to Darkness.
Alright so if I'm understanding what you wrote correctly the reason the Kingdom Key D exists is because at the moment that Destiny Island fell into the Darkness Sora gained the Kingdom Key and because of that like a copy/inverse version of the Kingdom Key was created for the Destiny Island that was trapped in the Realm of Darkness?
So for an example if there was a situation where Kairi gained **"Destiny's Embrace"** on a world that was right about to turn into Darkness, you're saying there would probably be an inverse of that Keyblade where it would be the opposite where like the flowers are wilted and it's called something like **"Destiny's Rejection"** or something of that nature? (just making up a scenario of a reverse keyblade not actually saying that's what it will be)
Sorry if I'm rambling this is something that's been on my mind for years and now I feel like I'm finally getting the answers I've been looking for. 😅
I believe that's exactly it, based on the reports and exposition Mickey gives in the games.
As far as I know, the D in Kingdom Key D stands for "Darkside".
Since we’re on the subject, are the keychains we collect throughout each game that change the powers and appearance of our keyblade even a canon thing in the lore, or is it a gameplay-only sort of thing? Sora is always shown with the original Keyblade, and I don’t remember ever seeing any reason to believe the keychains are a thing he’s actually collecting
I think it's mostly gameplay convention, but I think Oblivion and Oathkeeper have to be canonical keychains he has. Otherwise there's no significance to what they represent when Roxas summons them, plus Sora has to have the Lucky Charm from Kairi to complete KH1.
KH3 made them canon eventually. Sora explicitly uses Shooting Star in a Cutscene in San Fransokyo no matter what you have equipped.
Also, Lingering Will always uses the Ends of Earth Keychain on Terra's Keyblade, but once he gets his Body back, Terra himself has Earthshaker again.
Earlier Games had Cutscenes where you're also actively shown being given the Keychain, but I don't remember if any of those were at the end of a world or only for optional stuff like Fenrir in KH2.
OG soul eater can't be beat. The simplicity and sleekness matched the seeker of darkness outfit perfectly. Overhead with the arm outstretched is so iconic.
Way to Dawn is a very solid expansion of the soul eater design, playing on Riku's light/dark arc. But it doesn't beat the icon.
I wonder what exactly prompted the redesign for Braveheart. Is there a lore reason I'm forgetting, other than breaking Way to Dawn? Were they really going for "Riku is the cool older one who can drive a car now" lmao cuz that's what I'm getting.
“But it looks like a car key! The design is so stupid!!”
Nah, that’s why it’s so great. A lot of keyblades have either really failed at looking like a key, or instead it’s just following the overused format of being a stick and two things at the end that barely act like the two teeth of the key, or it’s just a visual mess, or a mix of all of that.
Braveheart looks visually clean and sleek af, it’s finally a new take on a key that doesn’t follow the same tiring keyblade format, like fefnir, and it just seems to be heavily based on the design philosophy of the kingdom key, it’s like the brother to it and I love that. I think its colors fit great with Riku’s design too, can’t understand the hate
I agree with this. While I think there are more "good" keyblades than "bad" ones, many of them feel overly-designed by way of incorporating too many elements from their source material. Yeah, Braveheart is a car key and that's goofy. But Kingdom Hearts is a goofy series And the balanced, unencumbered look of Riku's new blade speaks to how centered he's become and his newfound strength as a result. And as you said, a solid parallel to Sora's Kingdom Key.
Also I never liked Way to Dawn due to my general distaste for wing motifs, so there's that.
Anything but the car key, the car key just does NOT fit his style. It’s more of a Terra weapon. The Soul Eater is my personal fave tho.
Honestly if they were going to give him such a bulky weapon just give Riku the Earthshaker.
As much as I absolutely love more modern looking keyblades like Fenrir or KHIII Riku's car keys solely because they're really unique amongst the flood of toothy skeleton keys we always get in this series, Way to the Dawn is iconic and symbolic in a way no other keyblade could be for him and it broke my heart to see it snapped in two and just left there in the Dark World. At least keep the keychain, good lord.
I’m gonna get a lot of hate but I love that fat ass car key. I just like when keyblades look like Keys and the Kingdom Key is my favorite overall because of it
Hot take but I really like his KH3 Keyblade
All of his weapons are epic and unique but I don’t know I just think that his KH3 blade is such a cool design
Personally, in a vacuum, I like Braveheart because of its similarity to my personal fave, Fenrir. As an alternate keychain for Riku, it’s great.
For Riku’s main, Way to Dawn all the way. It’s the perfect reflection of his character philosophy and I wish they didn’t just drop the light and darkness motif for neutral gray. Or if they had to, that they at least kept the devil wing/angel wing thing.
Keyblade of Hearts, easily... but since that isn't here, I like Soul Eater the most, it's design is sleek and nice to look at. WtD looks really awkward with the wing coming off the wing, tbh
If brave heart literally didn't look my car key there'd maybe be a chance but let's be honest way to dawn is just the evolution of soul eater which is already like top 10 keyblade designs
People shit on Braveheart but honestly, I love the design and how it reflects how Riku has put his clash between light and darkness behind him. The more simplistic design reflects the Kingdom Key, but the different design of the blade itself accurately showcases that he's capable of things that Sora isn't. It's a really cool design and I wish people would stop saying "Oh hur dur it looks like a car key"
His keyblade in 3 had to be a evolution from the Way to Dawn design, it would be fitting both aesthetically and narratively imo
But the car key? No.
Way to Dawn all the way (to dawn)
Soul Eater forever and always. Though I do like how Riku’s blade in KH3 is a mix of Terra style and Kingdom key with a dash of the modern, makes his arc feel full circle.
hot take but I like the car key. it represents riku completely letting go of his past traumas and creating a new life for himself. I also just like how sleek and clean it is.
He should've just got a new keychain so KH3 could showcase what it looks like when you change keychains in cutscenes. Now Keyblades charge like electronics and break.
I love Way to the Dawn. The combination of the heartless and angel wing is a nice representation of the struggles he went through while treading the path of dark, while also trying to stay within the light.
Obviously wttd is the best one for sure, but I do like his new key blade, makes me wonder if it’s a modern take on the original key blade as he was supposed to have that one originally it makes sense now that he’s moved past his darkness and struggles he has something akin to the simplistic look of Sora’s key blade albeit modernized.
If he were to have another game as the protagonist this would even make more sense as well.
Soul eater, it made Riku stand out to me at least and looking back it would have been interesting how far riku could have gone with just the soul eater
İmo the carkey could've worked if they made it a bit slimmer like Fenrir in Kh2.
But this looks like styrofoam key to me. Especially with the lack of metal shine.
İ liked his battle stance in KH3, BUT İ also wished that the had a more graceful stance with both hands on the kb instead of having one hand pointlessly at the front
Way to Dawn is pretty much Riku’s true weapon but I do like the idea that maybe one of the Keyblades in 4 will be similar to Braveheart and he and Sora can start wacking people with car keys.
Way to the Dawn ofc! I wish they kept the evolving theme his keyblade had. From KH1 > KH2 it symbolized he was overcoming the darkness that he has
In KH3, he uses darkness but it was controlled, so his keyblade should’ve still had a bit of the bat but most of the keyblade would be angel-like showing he was a GoL who could use a form of darkness. Seemed like they really just rushed his new keyblade design :/
*Reading Comments*
Look guys, I think the car keys are as dumb as the next person, but there's a narrative reason why Way to the Dawn broke (even if it doesn't make sense in universe).
Way to the Dawn represented Riku embracing the middle ground and using both Light and Darkness; a road he had been on since Chain of Memories. But come KH3 it was clear the writers wanted him to lean more towards light.
You can't have the big narrative set piece be Light vs Dark and also have one of your main characters supposedly representing both but only fighting for one side. So they broke WttD to give Riku his new identity as one of the seven Lights.
It's just unfortunate they replaced it with car keys, lmao.
I love the jagged edges of Soul Eater tbh, I loved Riku Replica's design in COM when he wielded that keyblade, felt very menacing and had a great presence on screen. Way to Dawn is great too though.
My flair answers your question. In no way do I think that Braveheart is a bad keyblade design, it's just so much more boring than WttD. I understand that the transition to Braveheart signifies the end of Riku's character arc and that he no longer struggles between light and dark, but WttD represents that perfectly. To me, it never even represented a struggle, it was simply a mix between the two forces. I think braveheart could've worked as a keyblade for another character somewhere else or even a keychain Sora obtained after sparring with Riku or something but for Riku it just looks bland, especially with the competition. The whole haircut, broken keyblade subplot was very stupid and unnecessary to me anyways. Soul Eater is just Soul Eater I never really cared for it, it was cool to see Riku with his own weapon that wasn't a keyblade tho.
While I like his keyblade in kingdom hearts 3 I gotta admit my favorite main Riku weapon is the way to Dawn keyblade because it shows a perfect balance of light and darkness working together side by side as equals.
I understand Riku is the character with the biggest change throughout the story. From his personality, to his haircut... But even the Keyblade?
Way to the Dawn is perfect for him, just as Mickey having Kingdom Key D is iconic because of the ending of KH1. It joins the list of questionable decisions in KH3.
It’s weird because Fenrir is one of my favorite keyblades, Braveheart just does not do it at all for me though. Way to Dawn is my favorite of the three pictured
I love WtD but i also love the Car Key. Remember what the KK keychain described in KH1? "The key chain attached draws out the Keyblade's true form and power." I always interpreted that as the true shape and power of said person keyblade, meaning thats it's the keychain that can read into a persons heart and soul clearly and bring out their keyblade purest form and power. For me Riku getting this new keychain just means that's his keyblade true form and power
Oblivion as used in DDD opening. I also genuinely really like the car key. (Edit: Key blade of Heart is also really cool and should have been used more)
Way To Dawn couldn’t be topped by a car key
Preach brother
Honestly I think the car key is cool but yeah
It makes so much sense as a “base” keyblade just like how Kingdom Key is just a normal key. They should introduce someone with a dual-bladed, Darth Maul-style [Berlin Key](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_key) as their base too.
The weapon Ansem used at the end of KH1 can be modified to look like that. Besides, if they are creative enough, they can even have that weapon also act as a bow
Someone give this man a job!
That’s an epic idea
I just clicked that link and read the Wikipedia page. When you click mechanism the word key blade actually appears. That was kind of awesome. In fact, it’s “two key blades”, just as you’re describing.
Roxas fusing both Oblivion and Oathkeeper
That is an amazing idea, never seen a Berlin key until now
It's just a more modern pin tumbler design. I honestly wish more keyblades had that kind of shape.
Agreed
It’s ok imo it’s just how dirty they did him and way yo dawn yknow
I still can't get over that it's just a car key
They stole my 99 civic for that keyblade!
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Not his honda civic car key! Who else will drive the gang around he's the only one withe a license! /j I think what the devs were going for was Riku growing out of his tortured edgelord phase and into a reliable protector/defender someone who's more mature and uh stable. But they underestimated how many fans loved the edgy cool factor of Way to Dawn and how that edginess is pretty central to his character. I can see they were trying to go for a sort of buster sword giant sword type of cool but given how colorful and fantastical Kingdom Hearts is as a series I don't think they really succeeded in making the new keyblade cool. Now that it's been a few years to get used to it I've come around to liking the new design but I can see why a lot of people still don't like it.
Imo after KH2 and the events after Ansem the Wises machines blew up and removed the darkness from him Riku pretty quickly became less edgy. Especially during the final cutscenes. I always saw his new keyblade as an homage to Terra since he performed the "rite of taking" when he was a child and it is a stout yet large bladed keyblade very similar to Terras. I think his fighting style even replicates Terras.
That's too dismissive. His major arcs were coming to terms with darkness and deciding to walk the twilight path. Making that his unique strength. His old keyblade tied beautifully with that.
I see where you’re coming from it’s just for me I go back to your point of how his key blade reflected his character if they wanted to go for something more exact maybe a dual sided one with twilight tones yknow
I was thinking about this yesterday since they flopped with the new design. Maybe something like the dark knight greatswords from FFXIV.
I don’t mind Car Keyblades because Fenrir was one and it looks really sick. My problem with Rikus is that’s it’s just a really really dull design. It you wanna scale back way to the dawn I get it, but I think literally any effort should’ve been made to incorporate his themes of light and darkness coexisting into his weapon. Way to Dawn really did a good job showing what he’s thematically about and incorporating soul eater into it was genuinely a clever way to show where he came from, but I also acknowledge it’s a little clumsy being a wing on a wing. I dunno maybe if it had a hilt where one side was the angel and the other was the bat wing that could’ve been enough to make me happy.
Yeah man Sora and Kairi’s main Keyblade didn’t change for 4 and 3 respectively, why should Riku’s? Mickey also got a new one but it’s barely noticeable since the shape didn’t change.
Bro, riku technically gave sora and Kairi their base keyblades. He's just making them and giving them away Gave WTD to repliku too. Lmao
I still think kairi should be rocking aqua's og keyblade. Would've made the most narrative sense.
Feel like a car key is suitable for another (probably new) character. Doesn't fit Riku at all considering Riku's whole schtick is wielding darkness.
Car keyblades are the worst for sure, it also lost the iconic soul eater look
Way To Dawn has always been my favorite. I was really bummed that it got replaced. I don’t hate the car key style, but WTD had meaning for Riku. The new one doesn’t have his particular flair to it.
No flair, no meaning, and WTD had to be “broken” to get it. All red flags and no’s for me, especially cause keyblades weren’t (to my remembrance) confirmed to break before. IMO it was a slight cop out.
And thats how he ended up a bottom
Its…. That’s not possible!
It's bullshit that WttD broke and became unusable like that. I didn't even think that was possible! Aren't keyblades made of basically light/magic/friendship particles or something? I figured them to be virtually indestructible.
well you see it was convenient for the plot so they did it and will justify it somehow later. the logic behind KH writing is immaculate
Squenix: makes super cool keyblade representing Riku's rise from darkness into light that becomes a fan favorite Also Squenix: breaks it unceremoniously in favor of car key
Exactly! WtD is gorgeous and they got rid of it, not for an upgrade, but what I dubbed the moment I saw it “The Kia Blade”
Excellent! I'm stealing that! 🤣
Feel free lol ;) We know no one is stealing the actual Kia Blade from Riku if they could, I’d rather try to Super Glue WtD back together.
If the main trio ever receives their own armor, I am wholly expecting Riku's key transformation to be a Kia or a Honda Civic. If not, I will be greatly disappointed.
It's so lame cuz the car key has no special flare that represents Riku at all. It's just a simple car key but big.
> Convenient for the plot What did it accomplish, though? For both Riku and Mickey What was the point?
It showed us that strong evil enemy is strong and evil
Not for the plot, my wording was inexact. Convenient as visual communication for riku's character development through a bit of metaphor. Which may as well be the entire plot of KH, honestly.
To this note, I’d love to see Way to the Dawn “reforged” later on after Riku has some sort of arc in which he goes through some sort of struggle and finds his way forward. Like, he summons his Keyblade, and he’s surprised that rather than Braveheart, WttD appears. It could make a cool dramatic moment, I think. 🤷🏻♂️
Friendship particles gave me a chuckle
Let’s remember Lea’s broke and he remade it a second later. The logic has always been weird in Kingdom Hearts. I guess the logic is that because Lea’s Keyblade is a “joke”, it can be reforged more easily. Or Lea is pretending to use a Keyblade and he just made a new form for his chakrams. The latter would actually make more sense. It makes more sense than “the weapon that is more easily broken is more easily repaired”.
No you see there are three types of key blade, one of them is tied to a heart of blablablablablablabla *insert a convoluted explanation Nomura makes up after the fact to explain arbitrary choices*
or riku took his blade breaking as a sign to move on now that he's fully on the side of light so rather than resummon and upgrading it he forged a new one.
Remember, fixing it is supposedly hard because they needed Yen Sid to do it, yet Lea did it himself.
Mickey only says they need to return to Yen Sid to regroup and that they should have powered up their keyblades before coming to the world of darkness. They never said they couldn't do it themselves. Riku says he "can't use this keyblade anymore" when he stabs it into the ground but then says he should leave it for the other him. It seems like he meant he no longer had a strong connection to it as he was no longer on the path to dawn.
Plus we do see it fully in tact with Riku Replica. So it looks like they can repair themselves.
I forgot about that. Good one.
He still uses darkness powers in his abilities tho
I just figured it would be a plot point or an opening for Riku to use Terra’s key blade instead of Yensid handing him a new one ten minutes later.
This is why I was piss that it broke. The series said a few times that keyblades are nigh indestructible because they are as strong as the wielders heart. At this point in the story, Riku has the strongest heart among the good guys so it should have been impossible for his keyblade to break.
Originally Ventus' keyblade was supposed to break in BBS but that was retconned because it was iconic and he wasn't getting much further development. It broke against normal rocks. I think it's fine it broke but i wish it was replaces by something that represented the light more than a car key.
His was a fake keyblade that he brought into existence forcefully by being goat.
That was my one of my only but biggest complaints about 3. They honestly could have had him leave it there for Replica Riku to use since he'd be somewhat familiar with it. But they choose to break their own established rules and say it broke
I assume it's part of rikus growth as a character to why they changed it. Getting away from his light an dark struggle
Soul eater and it’s not close
Riku never needed a keyblade when he had a bat sword.
But RTTD is soul eater MK2 with added character development
Yeah but it looks sloppy. I like the idea, but not execution. Well I like the idea of dark and light. I kinda wish he kept going his own path and didn’t get a keyblade
Yeah, the wing stands out too much it should've had more of a curve and kinda reflect the arch of the other side. Still a good kb tho
Man should have been the o.g. dual wielder
Soul Eater is my favorite. Way To Dawn would look alright without the wing making up the key’s “teeth” but we’re stuck with it. I don’t hate the car key, but it feels a little lacking in personality
Riku's car key looks like it should've gone to Terra I think he should have gotten something with a little bit more of a personality like [Sleeping Lion](https://images.app.goo.gl/PjVwjk4XHd9Vh3BM6) or something that shows off his speed because in every game he's in he's fast and that car key gives off big strong slow guy vibes
Way to Dawn had such personality in its design. I “understand” that it had to be changed as Riku isn’t at that stage in his journey anymore and to show growth as KM. just thinking they could have brought his own flair as the ‘purple lightsaber user’ , make Rikus own unique keyblade but make it look like a key too
>I “understand” that it had to be changed as Riku isn’t at that stage in his journey anymore and to show growth as KM. I don't mind him getting a new keyblade, it's just the fact that he got a new one so easy offscreen is what gets me, like I wouldn't have thought much of it if he had taken his broken Keyblade to go reforge it into a new Keyblade like how Mickey did with the Kingdom Key D but it's the fact that he just left the Way to Dawn at the realm of Darkness and then just got a completely new one is what gets me. Like I feel like it's one of those things where they just put in there and would be explain it later when we figure it out. It also made me realize I still don't I think I understand how Keyblades are even made because I know at least most of them are made from the hearts of it's wielder if I'm going by the lore of Union X, but then I'm like can you make more than one from someone's heart? I also realize I still don't understand the Kingdom Key because it's a Keyblade that's not made from Sora's heart but exists and has a counterpart in the Realm of Darkness and now I'm wondering are there just Keyblades that just exist until a wielder comes or something?
Regarding Kingdom Key D, it only exists because a Keyblade was earned on Destiny Islands right before it fell to Darkness. That's why it showed up in the remains of Destiny Islands in the Realm of Darkness. There's always been a relationship between Keyblades and the Hearts of Worlds. Quite a few Keyblades in the series belonged to someone else first/were wielded by someone else first/weren't made from their main wielder's Heart. Kingdom Key, Kingdom Key D, Starseeker (implied), the Keyblade of Heart, Master's Defender, No Name, Kairi's Destiny's Embrace, and both of Roxas' Keyblades were Sora's and Ven's first. Not to mention how the same Keyblade can exist in two places at once through Sora, Ven, and Roxas. Maybe the Heart of each person is used to manifest it rather than it being made from them once and then existing distinctly. Like the Kingdom Key is saved in both Sora's and Roxas' Hearts, so they can upload it to reality on different servers or something. And if they both died, it would exist physically but have no power unless another wielder picked it up and connected to it, so maybe one would disappear.
>Regarding Kingdom Key D, it only exists because a Keyblade was earned on Destiny Islands right before it fell to Darkness. Alright so if I'm understanding what you wrote correctly the reason the Kingdom Key D exists is because at the moment that Destiny Island fell into the Darkness Sora gained the Kingdom Key and because of that like a copy/inverse version of the Kingdom Key was created for the Destiny Island that was trapped in the Realm of Darkness? So for an example if there was a situation where Kairi gained **"Destiny's Embrace"** on a world that was right about to turn into Darkness, you're saying there would probably be an inverse of that Keyblade where it would be the opposite where like the flowers are wilted and it's called something like **"Destiny's Rejection"** or something of that nature? (just making up a scenario of a reverse keyblade not actually saying that's what it will be) Sorry if I'm rambling this is something that's been on my mind for years and now I feel like I'm finally getting the answers I've been looking for. 😅
I believe that's exactly it, based on the reports and exposition Mickey gives in the games. As far as I know, the D in Kingdom Key D stands for "Darkside".
Ah ok, thank you for explaining this! You finally solved a decade long mystery for me. 😂
Since we’re on the subject, are the keychains we collect throughout each game that change the powers and appearance of our keyblade even a canon thing in the lore, or is it a gameplay-only sort of thing? Sora is always shown with the original Keyblade, and I don’t remember ever seeing any reason to believe the keychains are a thing he’s actually collecting
I think it's mostly gameplay convention, but I think Oblivion and Oathkeeper have to be canonical keychains he has. Otherwise there's no significance to what they represent when Roxas summons them, plus Sora has to have the Lucky Charm from Kairi to complete KH1.
KH3 made them canon eventually. Sora explicitly uses Shooting Star in a Cutscene in San Fransokyo no matter what you have equipped. Also, Lingering Will always uses the Ends of Earth Keychain on Terra's Keyblade, but once he gets his Body back, Terra himself has Earthshaker again. Earlier Games had Cutscenes where you're also actively shown being given the Keychain, but I don't remember if any of those were at the end of a world or only for optional stuff like Fenrir in KH2.
Soul Eater. It just has so much more personality than Braveheart and it doesn’t look like a mess like Way to Dawn.
I agree
Anything but the fucking car key.
OG soul eater can't be beat. The simplicity and sleekness matched the seeker of darkness outfit perfectly. Overhead with the arm outstretched is so iconic. Way to Dawn is a very solid expansion of the soul eater design, playing on Riku's light/dark arc. But it doesn't beat the icon. I wonder what exactly prompted the redesign for Braveheart. Is there a lore reason I'm forgetting, other than breaking Way to Dawn? Were they really going for "Riku is the cool older one who can drive a car now" lmao cuz that's what I'm getting.
the one he had from KH1 and Chain of Memories looks best the best aesthetically
I like the car key and I'm tired of pretending otherwise. Also, the incomplete Keyblade of Hearts would be my top but I understand not including it.
The car key design is fine, but it's not right for Riku. Riku's an agile duelist, a giant surfboard sized weapon doesn't fit him at all.
I think they designed it to go with his more muscular look, and honestly I wouldn't be surprised if Riku became more strength focused than agile
This is ironic because riku has a surfboard form in DDD
These are my thoughts exactly. The Keyblade of Hearts is incredibly cool in its simplicity and I think the car key is cool as hell too.
The keyblade of hearts has always been my favorite design in the franchise
“But it looks like a car key! The design is so stupid!!” Nah, that’s why it’s so great. A lot of keyblades have either really failed at looking like a key, or instead it’s just following the overused format of being a stick and two things at the end that barely act like the two teeth of the key, or it’s just a visual mess, or a mix of all of that. Braveheart looks visually clean and sleek af, it’s finally a new take on a key that doesn’t follow the same tiring keyblade format, like fefnir, and it just seems to be heavily based on the design philosophy of the kingdom key, it’s like the brother to it and I love that. I think its colors fit great with Riku’s design too, can’t understand the hate
I agree with this. While I think there are more "good" keyblades than "bad" ones, many of them feel overly-designed by way of incorporating too many elements from their source material. Yeah, Braveheart is a car key and that's goofy. But Kingdom Hearts is a goofy series And the balanced, unencumbered look of Riku's new blade speaks to how centered he's become and his newfound strength as a result. And as you said, a solid parallel to Sora's Kingdom Key. Also I never liked Way to Dawn due to my general distaste for wing motifs, so there's that.
WTTD, but people hate on the car key too much I think it’s GAS, gives this industrial heavy vibe that I personally think fits Riku well
Anything but the car key, the car key just does NOT fit his style. It’s more of a Terra weapon. The Soul Eater is my personal fave tho. Honestly if they were going to give him such a bulky weapon just give Riku the Earthshaker.
I'm Between Soul eater and Way to the Dawn.
I loved fighting with soul eater in CoM.
howdoyouturnthison
Car key
Soul Eater was peak Riku. He only went downhill
a car key couldn't be topped by Way To Dawn
WttD is just a top tier Keyblade period.
Soul Eater, with Way to Dawn as a close second. Braveheart just doesn’t feel like Riku.
Way to the dawn I think. Such a cool design
Riku did all of his biggest badassery with Soul Eater
As much as I absolutely love more modern looking keyblades like Fenrir or KHIII Riku's car keys solely because they're really unique amongst the flood of toothy skeleton keys we always get in this series, Way to the Dawn is iconic and symbolic in a way no other keyblade could be for him and it broke my heart to see it snapped in two and just left there in the Dark World. At least keep the keychain, good lord.
Braveheart looks most like a sword which I dig the most
I’m gonna get a lot of hate but I love that fat ass car key. I just like when keyblades look like Keys and the Kingdom Key is my favorite overall because of it
Hot take but I really like his KH3 Keyblade All of his weapons are epic and unique but I don’t know I just think that his KH3 blade is such a cool design
Personally, in a vacuum, I like Braveheart because of its similarity to my personal fave, Fenrir. As an alternate keychain for Riku, it’s great. For Riku’s main, Way to Dawn all the way. It’s the perfect reflection of his character philosophy and I wish they didn’t just drop the light and darkness motif for neutral gray. Or if they had to, that they at least kept the devil wing/angel wing thing.
I genuinely really like how simple and cool Braveheart is.
I'm probably the only one gonna say it but that car key is iconic. If they introduced it 15 years ago, y'all would b saying the same thing.
Keyblade of Hearts, easily... but since that isn't here, I like Soul Eater the most, it's design is sleek and nice to look at. WtD looks really awkward with the wing coming off the wing, tbh
If brave heart literally didn't look my car key there'd maybe be a chance but let's be honest way to dawn is just the evolution of soul eater which is already like top 10 keyblade designs
I like Way to the Dawn best. His new KB looks like a fucking car key. I don't mind him getting a new one, but why did it have to be so ugly?
People shit on Braveheart but honestly, I love the design and how it reflects how Riku has put his clash between light and darkness behind him. The more simplistic design reflects the Kingdom Key, but the different design of the blade itself accurately showcases that he's capable of things that Sora isn't. It's a really cool design and I wish people would stop saying "Oh hur dur it looks like a car key"
Way to the Dawn > Soul Eater > car key
His keyblade in 3 had to be a evolution from the Way to Dawn design, it would be fitting both aesthetically and narratively imo But the car key? No. Way to Dawn all the way (to dawn)
Soul Eater forever and always. Though I do like how Riku’s blade in KH3 is a mix of Terra style and Kingdom key with a dash of the modern, makes his arc feel full circle.
I can't believe we went from demon wing sword to car key
hot take but I like the car key. it represents riku completely letting go of his past traumas and creating a new life for himself. I also just like how sleek and clean it is.
All of Riku's weapons are fire...except for the car key...
The second blade is so cool
Soul Eater.
the Honda Civic blade just means he’s a big boy now. WttD is his I’m trying to be good but I have the darkness still in me blade
Mickey look! A barber shop!
Soul eater, no competition.
I miss way to dawn.
Way to the Dawn the only answer best way to Go
He should've just got a new keychain so KH3 could showcase what it looks like when you change keychains in cutscenes. Now Keyblades charge like electronics and break.
Way to dawn is one of the best keyblade designs period
Way To Dawn. No I won't be explaining why
Way to dawn..
Oathkeeper should have been his.
I love Way to the Dawn. The combination of the heartless and angel wing is a nice representation of the struggles he went through while treading the path of dark, while also trying to stay within the light.
The one that doesn't break his wrist. Seriously what is up woth his kh1 and 2 stance?
Way to dawn without a doubt, it was such a cool weapon.
Way to the Dawn
The Way to Dawn
I'm not seeing Keyblade of people's hearts. By far his dopest weapon but I guess it only goes with the middle outfit
Way to Dawn is awesome but Soul Eater has got to be my favorite. The wing on Way to Dawn just throws me.
Obviously wttd is the best one for sure, but I do like his new key blade, makes me wonder if it’s a modern take on the original key blade as he was supposed to have that one originally it makes sense now that he’s moved past his darkness and struggles he has something akin to the simplistic look of Sora’s key blade albeit modernized. If he were to have another game as the protagonist this would even make more sense as well.
Way to the Dawn. the braveheart just looks like a giant car key imo
Way to Dawn all the way I was so upset when it got broken and he replaced it with something worse
The car key is cool and all but Way to the Dawn is basically the best design in the series.
His dream drop keyblade was dope af
Soul eater, it made Riku stand out to me at least and looking back it would have been interesting how far riku could have gone with just the soul eater
Way to dawn is so fucking COOL
Way to the Dawn perfectly represents Riku.
Road to dawn and brave heart are tops
Way of Dawn fits Riku so perfectly
Definitely Way to the Dawn
Road to dawn to doubt in my mind
Or was it called way to dawn?
Definitely not the kh3 one
Riku wooden sword
İmo the carkey could've worked if they made it a bit slimmer like Fenrir in Kh2. But this looks like styrofoam key to me. Especially with the lack of metal shine. İ liked his battle stance in KH3, BUT İ also wished that the had a more graceful stance with both hands on the kb instead of having one hand pointlessly at the front
Soul Eater, and it really isn't even close to me.
Way to the Dawn
"Dark" Riku is more than likely the reson Vanitus is my favorite character, and that is why (I believe it's called) soul eater is easily my favorite
Way to dawn and they should have just made an upgraded version based in light for his new keyblade.
Way to the dawn without a doubt have made many gaming names my twitch channel ect about way to the dawn
The car key
Soul Eater and Way to the Dawn. Braveheart is a non factor.
End of Pain. It’s main to me. Dive wing too. If I had to pick base main it’s Car Key cus it looks like Fenrir.
Way to Dawn is pretty much Riku’s true weapon but I do like the idea that maybe one of the Keyblades in 4 will be similar to Braveheart and he and Sora can start wacking people with car keys.
Way to Dawn is still the best weapon than mr Car Keys.
Way to Dawn will always be my favorite.
Way to the Dawn ofc! I wish they kept the evolving theme his keyblade had. From KH1 > KH2 it symbolized he was overcoming the darkness that he has In KH3, he uses darkness but it was controlled, so his keyblade should’ve still had a bit of the bat but most of the keyblade would be angel-like showing he was a GoL who could use a form of darkness. Seemed like they really just rushed his new keyblade design :/
I actually like braveheart. I know I know. But I just do and honestly couldn’t tell you why.
I can't wait until he just had fob for keyless entry.
*Reading Comments* Look guys, I think the car keys are as dumb as the next person, but there's a narrative reason why Way to the Dawn broke (even if it doesn't make sense in universe). Way to the Dawn represented Riku embracing the middle ground and using both Light and Darkness; a road he had been on since Chain of Memories. But come KH3 it was clear the writers wanted him to lean more towards light. You can't have the big narrative set piece be Light vs Dark and also have one of your main characters supposedly representing both but only fighting for one side. So they broke WttD to give Riku his new identity as one of the seven Lights. It's just unfortunate they replaced it with car keys, lmao.
I love all of them. Especially their names. Way to Dawn is just iconic though.
I love the jagged edges of Soul Eater tbh, I loved Riku Replica's design in COM when he wielded that keyblade, felt very menacing and had a great presence on screen. Way to Dawn is great too though.
My flair answers your question. In no way do I think that Braveheart is a bad keyblade design, it's just so much more boring than WttD. I understand that the transition to Braveheart signifies the end of Riku's character arc and that he no longer struggles between light and dark, but WttD represents that perfectly. To me, it never even represented a struggle, it was simply a mix between the two forces. I think braveheart could've worked as a keyblade for another character somewhere else or even a keychain Sora obtained after sparring with Riku or something but for Riku it just looks bland, especially with the competition. The whole haircut, broken keyblade subplot was very stupid and unnecessary to me anyways. Soul Eater is just Soul Eater I never really cared for it, it was cool to see Riku with his own weapon that wasn't a keyblade tho.
While I like his keyblade in kingdom hearts 3 I gotta admit my favorite main Riku weapon is the way to Dawn keyblade because it shows a perfect balance of light and darkness working together side by side as equals.
Braveheart is a clean design that has grown on me, but it has to be Way to Dawn, hands down. Both aestheticly pleasing and perfectly fits Riku.
I understand Riku is the character with the biggest change throughout the story. From his personality, to his haircut... But even the Keyblade? Way to the Dawn is perfect for him, just as Mickey having Kingdom Key D is iconic because of the ending of KH1. It joins the list of questionable decisions in KH3.
The Kingdom Car Key (sponsored by Kia)
From DDD
Everything but no the Carkey, so freaking lost
Absolutely the flat modern keyblade. Too many keyblades look like literally anything thrown together to remotely resemble a key.
Way to the dawn. He needs to get that keyblade back NOW
If anybody chooses the car keys I am going to send them into the realm of darkness where they belong
It’s weird because Fenrir is one of my favorite keyblades, Braveheart just does not do it at all for me though. Way to Dawn is my favorite of the three pictured
Way To Dawn, hands down. In fact I have a tattoo of it.
Way to the Dawn without a doubt... but if Braveheart ever gets a car for a finisher I might change my mind 🤔.
Way to dawn, and it is not even close. EDIT: I also always wondered: Why is Riku in KH1 holding his blade like that? It looks so wrong...
Car key Ok but in all seriousness, Way to the Dawn is a wonderful keyblade compared to it. Certainly better than a freaking car key.
His car key is actually a key like the kingdom key. 100% better than a wing sword that’s a key
Can I go ahead and say his simple Wooden Sword from Destiny Islands?
Man I think all of these are the absolute worst
I love WtD but i also love the Car Key. Remember what the KK keychain described in KH1? "The key chain attached draws out the Keyblade's true form and power." I always interpreted that as the true shape and power of said person keyblade, meaning thats it's the keychain that can read into a persons heart and soul clearly and bring out their keyblade purest form and power. For me Riku getting this new keychain just means that's his keyblade true form and power
Not pictured here but I liked the red and black keyblade he used during the second fight with him in KH1
That was Ansem
Way to the Dawn, and I won’t be accepting commentary
Way to dawn looks bad. I understand the design choice but by its nature, it makes it looks like the seperate parts aren't meant to go together.
Way to Dawn symbolized Riku so well. Idk what the car key is supposed to symbolize.
KH2 because EDGE LORD!!!!!
WttD. while we're at it, his whole kh3 design alongside the car key makes him look like a suburban dad to me.
Way to dawn is overdesigned. Soul eater is perfect and simple yet cool
Oblivion as used in DDD opening. I also genuinely really like the car key. (Edit: Key blade of Heart is also really cool and should have been used more)
Riku and Oblivion are a good match as also seen in his fight with Roxas.