hello and welcome to my long rambling post about Keyblades! I just had a lot of thoughts I wanted to put on paper, and I figured I might as well post them, because maybe someone else has answers.
I did minimal editing on this, and there’s no concise points anywhere tbh, I was just rolling with my thoughts. I’m one of the unfortunate players who only ever had one or two consoles, so I’ve had to keep up with the series other ways, and I’m only just now getting to play the entries I missed; please forgive me if I overlooked any obvious information. And on that note, there’s definitely spoilers in here somewhere lmao
So. Keyblades.
[counterparts]
Obviously the first one we see is Sora’s, and as the protagonist for most of the series, his is kinda forefront. The Kingdom Key.
From what I remember, the only other time we see anyone using a Kingdom Key is Roxas and Xion, which makes perfect sense because they’re both extensions of Sora. Roxas’s Keyblades go on to evolve into their new default forms, and it seems like Xion’s Kingdom Key as of KH3 is explicitly classified as a replica, implying it’s not considered a true Kingdom Key— maybe even not a true Keyblade?
And then we get to the Kingdom Key D.
Apparently the D stands for “darkside,” and this Keyblade— used by King Mickey in KH1, and then across multiple games— is explicitly a Realm of Darkness counterpart to Sora’s Kingdom Key.
I guess the main thing I’m thinking with this is like. Are there Light and Dark counterparts for every Keyblade? I could easily see something like Oblivion or Rejection of Fate being Realm of Darkness Keyblades. Actually, several of Roxas’s keychains could suit that aesthetic, which I think would’ve been really cool given that he’s Sora’s Nobody.
Anyways, is there any reason that the Kingdom Key is the only one so far with an explicit counterpart, beyond “protagonist weapon?” I just think it’s an interesting concept.
[obtaining]
Bequeathing. I just think this is really interesting and we don’t see it apart from this one game, right? Terra made the active decision to grant Riku a Keyblade— but Kairi’s receiving one was accidental. I think my main question here is. . . can the Bequeathing be done with anyone? Or does it have to be someone who has the innate potential or strength of heart to earn a Keyblade on their own?
Also in the process of looking around for information while I wrote this big thing, I rediscovered an old interview with Nomura, and that kinda headed off my questions about Sora being chosen by Riku’s Keyblade. Since that’s a LiveJournal link I’m also just going to include an image here.
This does also have me thinking a little bit more, though; what are the “right qualities” for wielding a Keyblade? It’s very easy to think “it’s a hero’s weapon,” but Xehanort and Vanitas have Keyblades of their own, and Riku is able to regain one despite his stint in the darkness. Is it simply a matter of conviction? Strength of heart?
I also wonder a bit about Lea’s Keyblade, since we don’t get to see much of the process of him earning it. When we meet him as Axel, he’s no doubt a villain, and he seems to enjoy his role— it’s difficult to imagine that an attitude like that could earn a Keyblade. When he went off to train in Dream Drop Distance, as a reformed human instead of a Nobody, did he have to start at the very beginning? Or would his previous growth as a Nobody still be influential and contribute to a Keyblade, since he was growing a new heart?
[sharing]
One thing that really stands out to me is like. Under most circumstances, Keyblades seem to be individualized, reflecting specific aspects of their wielders. The main exceptions I’ve seen to that are:
1: Oathkeeper and Oblivion are both keychains Sora can obtain starting from KH1, and they go on to become Roxas’s default Keyblades. However, as Sora’s Keyblade clearly still uses Kingdom Key as its default form, I don’t really consider these shared Keyblades; I think Sora’s other Keyblade options are simply for the player, and he as a person only seems to use one form.
2: In BBS, Terra, Aqua and Ventus share a few keychains and can wield the same kinds of Keyblades across the three of them, but as with Sora’s keychains, that seems to be purely for the player, and in-story their Keyblades never seem to change from their defaults— except for when Terra becomes Lingering Will. The Lingering Will uses the Ends of the Earth Keyblade, as opposed to Terra’s default Earthshaker.
Anyways all this to say. Why do so many of the KHUX wielders have Starlight?
I don’t remember if it’s ever addressed, but it’s obvious that many other keykids have the Starlight Keyblade, and I only really think about it because it’s a protagonist Keyblade— in the same way the Kingdom Key is unique to Sora. Even if we ignored all the minor background characters, just under the impression they reused assets,,, Ephemera, Skuld, and Strelitzia use Starlight. I don’t believe they’re ever seen using other keychains, either.
We also see other keykids using the same Keyblades we could earn by progressing through the game— in that final image alone, one girl has Lady Luck, and the moogle boy, Mog, appropriately has Moogle O’ Glory. So clearly those Keyblades can be earned by multiple people— I assume they’re mostly tied to the worlds themselves, instead of depending entirely on the wielder— so. . . could we assume Starlight is the Daybreak Town Keyblade? In the same way you always earn Lady Luck from Wonderland, or Olympia from Olympus? That would explain why so many people have it.
[change and growth]
Another thing I wanna talk about, although I know it’s been covered by others before; as I’ve mentioned several times, some Keyblades have gone on to change over the course of the series. Roxas goes from one Kingdom Key to dual-wielding Oathkeeper and Oblivion; Riku goes from Way to the Dawn to Braveheart. I don’t recall it being extrapolated on in-series, but these changes clearly correlate with character growth.
So Ven’s Keyblade. In BBS and KH3, he uses Wayward Wind, and it’s obviously the current default form. But in KHUX, he uses Missing Ache.
That appears to be its third form as well, implying that he’s had it for quite some time. Do we still not know anything about this? Has it been acknowledged anywhere yet that his Keyblade changed? Also, and I’m adding this part way after I wrote this full section, I can’t believe Ventus has a Keyblade called Lost Memory lmaooo
In other instances, the transformation is an important one— I believe Roxas is first shown dual-wielding in Deep Dive, when he’s attempting to storm the castle and take down the Organization on his own. Riku’s new Keyblade in 3 is clearly representative of all the growth he’s gone through, as the same game also brings his storyline with Ansem to a close. After Terra is possessed, Lingering Will uses a new Keyblade instead of carrying on with Terra’s default keychain.
Maybe Missing Ache became Wayward Wind after Ventus appeared in the modern era? He’s explicitly amnesiac, so is it possible that his heart “regrew” a different Keyblade to match who he is now?
I’m going to assume this is part of Ven’s Mysterious Backstory, and given the character’s circumstances, I’d say we can also safely assume we’ll be getting more information. I’d just like to know why his Keyblade changed over time
[etc]
The only thing I could think of in terms of this section is just the idea of “alternate keyblades,” and I know that sounds really similar to some of what I’ve rambled about above, but I’m really just thinking about things that don’t suit the “standard,” even though that standard is so flexible.
Xion’s Keyblade. In both her original existence in Days, and her revival in 3, Xion inhabits a Replica body, but obviously her heart is her own now. So why is her Kingdom key still considered a replica as well? It does make sense to call it a replica during Days, but now that she’s returned and been through so much, has she not earned a true one? And any Keyblade she obtains next— would that be a replica too?
Vanitas is explicitly created from darkness, but he manifests a keyblade of his own despite not having a complete heart. The idea of Keyblades being restricted to the Light is obviously incorrect— Xehanort being the prime example, but also the previously mentioned Kingdom Key D that I talked about all the way back at the top of the page.
Ven doesn’t have a complete heart either, but I kinda chalk his Wayward Wind up to the fact that, as mentioned, he’s an ancient Keyblade wielder— he’s had one for centuries. But Vanitas doesn’t quite have the same excuse. Back in KHUX, we see that one of the Darknesses uses Ventus as a vessel; Darkness doesn’t have a Keyblade of its own, but if this one resided in Ventus for centuries and then was used to create Vanitas, is it possible that granted him a Keyblade? Simply through prolonged close proximity to a Keyblade-wielder’s heart?
And then,,, the Keyblade of Heart itself.
Apparently Keyblades of Heart are a given category of Keyblade, which implies that there’s more than just the one we see in the first game. One thing that stands out to me is this is the only Keyblade we see that manifests from people who aren’t Keyblade wielders; yes, the Princess of Heart are special in their own right, but apart from Kairi we have no indication that the other Princesses could ever wield a Keyblade of their own. Is that what sets this Keyblade’s origin apart from others?
It’s apparent throughout the series that Keyblades “originate,” for lack of a better term, within their wielders. Even after the Bequeathing in BBS, Terra and Aqua keep their own Keyblades— they simply passed on the ability for Riku and Kairi to manifest Keyblades of their own.
So. . . the fact that the Master of Masters explicitly creates the Foretellers’ Keyblades. I feel like that’s really glossed over. As mentioned, apart from the Keyblade of Heart, all other Keyblades have been manifested by their users— the fact that this presumably human man is able to draw Keyblades out of people’s hearts is absolutely crazy. Does this mean the Foretellers’ Keyblades can be considered Keyblades of Heart? They originate from the Foretellers, but not in the traditional way, being dragged out by a third party. And on that note, could the Master create a Keyblade from someone who wasn’t intended to wield one?
And then I think I’ll end this long thing by mentioning the Keyblade Graveyard.
We’ve seen throughout the series that Keyblades vanish, effectively. They’re summoned weapons— they can be dismissed, and it seems like whenever the wielder is disarmed, that’s exactly what happens. The Keyblade does not seem to be an item that can even be held by just anyone. So the fact that these Keyblades are all here, centuries after their wielders have passed. . . it’s striking. I assume it’s because now that the wielders are dead and gone, the Keyblades themselves effectively have nowhere else to go?
anyways. there’s my long and completely random thoughts on Keyblades. If you read this far then I’m going to be very 2005 and offer you a cookie. Thank you for your time!
