The top 10 Kingdom Hearts Moments [Spoilers!]

With Kingdom Hearts III looming over the horizon, we take a look back at some the most iconic moments that the series has to offer.
With Kingdom Hearts III looming over the horizon, we take a look back at some the most iconic moments that the series has to offer.

The Kingdom Hearts series is filled with incredible moments. The storyline has gone from relatively simple to incredibly complex, with dozens of characters' fates interweaving and affecting one another in subtle yet important ways. With all of these characters and games in the franchise, narrowing down the top 10 best moments in the series was no easy task, but these are my picks.

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10. Kingdom HeartsISecret Ending: "Another Side, Another Story [deep dive]"

Kingdom Hearts was a fairly long game, and unlocking this ending was no easy task. You needed to conquer the Hades Cup, find all 99 dalmatian puppies, seal every keyhole, and complete Jiminy Cricket's journal - but boy was it worth it.

Not only was this beautiful to look at, but it set up so many pieces of the story that would later become so crucial to the entire Kingdom Hearts franchise that left us completely dumbfounded back then. And let's be honest, seeing this hooded figure dual wielding keyblades was nothing short of bada$$.


9. Closing the Door to Darkness

After finally defeating Ansem and thinking this guy just needs to give up, he pulls one last trick out of his sleeve and tries to open the door to Kingdom Hearts. Darkness starts spewing out of it, and basically everything looks like it's gone to hell until Sora kindly reminds Ansem that Kingdom Hearts is "without a doubt" light.

Ansem gets swallowed up by the light, but the door remains open. Sora, Donald and Goofy are desperate to close it before all of the Heartless escape. Having a hard time closing this door, a restored Riku lends a hand to try and close it from the inside, but quickly gets surrounded by very powerful Heartless. King Mickey appears on the inside where Riku is and reassures Sora and the gang that there will always be a door to the light. Eventually they push the door closed and Sora and Mickey lock the door for good.

Shortly after, we see Sora briefly reunite with Kairi before having to depart to find Riku once again. The two people who you have been after the entire game were literally in arm's reach of you and you had no choice but to let them slip away.


8. Starting Kingdom Hearts II as Roxas

After the events of Chain of Memories, it almost seemed as if the game would mean nothing more to Kingdom Hearts story than a mere dream. When we started Kingdom Hearts II, we quickly found out that this is not the case.

Starting the game off as Roxas was a bold decision for designers to make, as players were very attached to Sora by that point, but it was a decision that paid off. This made Roxas's story hit home that much more and the game made you grow just attached enough to the character before ripping him away from you to allow you to control Sora again.


7. Sora loses the keyblade...and his friends

In a shocking turn of events near the end of the original Kingdom Hearts game, Riku shows up to confront you and Beast in the world of Hollow Bastion. Claiming that there can only be one keyblade master, Riku then somehow takes possession of the keyblade, and Sora is left with nothing more than a wooden sword. He falls down in defeat. Just as we think things can't get any more crushing for our hero, his two faithful companions for the entire game leave him.

Donald and Goofy leave a defeated Sora since he no longer has the keyblade and no longer serves his purpose for their mission. It was a cold and heartless act that really made me feel alone in the game.


6. The True Organization XIII

After the Organization is basically obliterated during the events of Kingdom Hearts II, it seemed all but destroyed. Xehanort seemed to have other plans, though.

He reveals in Dream Drop Distance that the Organization was originally made up of Nobodies so that each one could house a piece of his heart. This has been the plan since the beginning of Kingdom Hearts so that he could obtain true power of the keyblade and control Kingdom Hearts. He plans on using Sora as his last vessel, but Mickey, Riku, Donald, Goofy, and Lea interrupt him perfectly setting up the events for KHIII.


5. Ventus vs Vanitas

Vanitas captures and threatens the life of Aqua and Terra. The only way for Ventus to save his friends is to meet Vanitas in the only place that the the x-blade can be forged: the Keyblade Graveyard.

Ven knows that the destruction of Vanitas and his x-blade means the destruction of himself since they were forged from the same heart, but he engages in order to save his friends anyway. Ven emerges victorious, but that of course means he will pass as well. Ventus's heart is able to find its way into Sora's, though, allowing him to wield a second keyblade.


4. Sora vs Roxas

In keeping up with the theme from my 5 pick, number 4 features the inevitable clash between Sora and his Nobody, Roxas. 

At the time the battle takes place, Sora has no idea who Roxas is or the significance this battle has, only that this guy in the hood is 'evil' and claims to have defeated Riku before.

On the reverse side, the audience and Roxas understand just how important this battle is. And while Sora may be the hero, you can't help but empathize with how hopeless Roxas is feeling, since all he was trying to do was understand his existence.

Besides the emotions that come along with this battle, the battle itself is a good challenge and yields some impressive cutscenes.


3. Goofy's Death

After all of the insane-looking monsters this guy has fought, we see him get taken out by a boulder to the head. That's right, in an effort to save King Mickey's life, Goofy pushes Mickey out of the way and ends up getting clobbered with a boulder that appears to kill him.

Donald and Mickey are pissed, and it's the perfect reaction to their long-time friend getting killed. This was honestly one of the most heartbreaking moments in the entire series, and makes the ensuing battle that much more satisfying.


2. Battle of the 1000 Heartless

Maybe it's a little unfair for me to split up Goofy's death and this battle since they basically feed into one another, but I feel that both were huge surprises for fans.

This is an all out war and it is glorious. This game pushed the PS2 to its limits and actually taking on these 1000 heartless made you feel like an invincible god in the best way possible. Although this battle can be beaten fairly easily with the help of certain enemy types, taking out your anger on the things that almost killed your friend makes this one of the most memorable scenes from the series.


1. Sora's Sacrifice

Kairi is asleep, and Sora doesn't know how to wake her up. He sees Riku's keyblade lying on the floor and uses it to unlock his own heart to save Kairi. This means basically stabbing himself in the heart and dying in order to free his friend's heart.

Donald and Goofy pleading with Sora to rethink his actions coupled with his reassuring smile right before he does it is emotional to say the least. The waterworks really start flowing when Kairi wakes up to see the remnants of the man who just saved her disappear.

The focus then suddenly shifts to a very prominent heartless figure for some reason, but who knows why.

Many people may disagree or have different moments, but these are the ones that I can vividly remember that either surprised me the most or evoked the most emotion. If you disagree or have any other moments, let me know in the comments below!


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Author
Larry Iaccio
Lover of all things media, especially music and video games. Been playing drums in the Philadelphia pop-punk scene for years. Final Fantasy VII, Bioshock, GTA V, The Legend of Zelda & Super Smash Bros. are among my favorite games, so I'm all over the place. When I'm not gaming or playing music I'm usually watching way too much anime. Let's talk about stuff!