Quote: “You make a good other.”
Oh hey, remember when I told you in the Kingdom Hearts II writeup that I really liked Roxas? Well, here he is! I have to admit I was a little dubious at the concept of Roxas when we first learned about him before Kingdom Hearts II came out because it was blatantly obvious what he was supposed to be, but seeing what the series has done since then, it doesn’t seem so bad! Seriously though, I didn’t like the idea of a Sora clone at first, but once I played Kingdom Hearts II, I was quickly won over by Roxas when he turned out to be much better than the original.
First of all, Roxas has a more interesting personality than Sora, which is strange considering he’s supposed to be a Nobody with no heart and no feelings. I think Roxas is supposed to be an exception to that rule due to the special circumstances of Sora not being a Heartless for very long and the fact that he’s alive at the same time as his Nobody, unlike all the other Organization XIII members. Regardless, Roxas actually shows a wide range of emotion, and he’s not strictly a goody-goody “let’s play the hero” type of character like Sora is. DiZ even mentions once that Roxas ought to share some of his anger with Sora since he’s far too kind for his own good. He’s much more aggressive and passionate when it comes to both his emotions and his actions. Roxas just wants to live a normal life away from all of the Heartless and Nobody stuff, but alas, it was not meant to be for him.
But what probably endears me to Roxas more than anything else is the story surrounding his life. I honestly can’t help but feel sorry for the guy because the fate he was dealt just plain sucked. It’s not like he chose it for himself. He was thrown into a no-win situation from the beginning, and all he can ultimately do is accept it, although he does try to fight against it for a while to no avail. Man, DiZ is such a jerk at the end of Roxas’s section in KHII, mocking him about the futility of his existence and how his only purpose is to complete Sora. I mean, I understand that it was necessary for the two of them to unite and all, but I still end up feeling bad for the guy because he was used by Organization XIII and he was used by DiZ, and it seemed like whenever he was on the verge of understanding himself and who he was, it was taken away from him. The feelings of sympathy are only further compounded by discovering what happened to him while he was a member of Organization XIII during 358/2 Days.
I do like the scene where Roxas shows up to challenge Sora in The World That Never Was. I heard Final Mix turned that scene into an actual boss fight, but of course, we never ended up getting it here in the U.S. Anyway, I do like the quote after Sora beats him, and Roxas, with a smile, says, “You make a good other.” It’s like this is the moment where he’s finally at peace with his fate and realizes that joining with Sora to help save the world maybe isn’t so bad after all. Nobody else may know who he is, but he’s still alive in a sense within Sora. It may not have been ideal, but it still ends up being a happy ending for the guy.
You know, I’ve been reading the Clone Saga in the Spider-Man comics (which was written in the ‘90s), and I’m seeing a lot of similarities between the intertwined stories of Sora and Roxas, and the connected fates of Spider-Man and the Scarlet Spider. It’s pretty cool. I know this means nothing to most of you since I imagine hardly anybody here has any idea who the Scarlet Spider is, but I thought it was neat.
Bonus Question: Who is your favorite Kingdom Hearts character?
This doesn't have to be limited to original KH characters, but your answer should be based on their KH role alone.
--
"I can set you free, mate."
"My freedom was forfeit long ago!"