Setting Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days takes place concurrently with the events of the
original game and
Chain of Memories. Like other games in the series, the player progresses through a collection of various worlds, based on various locales from the
Disney animated features canon: Agrabah from
Aladdin; the Beast's Castle from
Beauty and the Beast; Olympus Coliseum from
Hercules; Halloween Town from
The Nightmare Before Christmas; Wonderland from
Alice in Wonderland; and Never Land from
Peter Pan, which features a string of islands rather than
Captain Hook's
pirate ship and
Big Ben, which were featured in the
first game. The game also features several worlds created specifically for the series by
Square Enix. The most prominent world is The World That Never Was, which first appeared in the secret ending of
Kingdom Hearts and serves as the game's main hub; as well as Twilight Town, a frequently-explored locale. Castle Oblivion and Destiny Islands also appear in cutscenes.
Characters The game revolves around
Roxas, who was first featured at the beginning of
Kingdom Hearts II. Roxas is the
Nobody of
Sora, the series' protagonist, and was born when Sora's body vanished as he briefly lost his heart and became a
Heartless. Like Sora, Roxas has the power to wield the
Keyblade, a weapon used to battle darkness. At the start of the game, Roxas joins
Organization XIII, a group of powerful Nobodies who serve as the antagonists of
Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories and
Kingdom Hearts II. The other members of Organization XIII play a prominent role, particularly
Axel, Roxas's best friend who debuted in
Chain of Memories. The game also introduces a new member: Xion, a girl resembling
Kairi who, like Roxas, can wield the Keyblade. Other characters include
Naminé, a girl with the power to manipulate memories;
DiZ, an enigmatic man wrapped in bandages;
Riku, Sora's best friend; and
King Mickey, Riku's ally and the ruler of Disney Castle. Sora is featured prominently in the plot, along with his allies
Donald Duck and
Goofy, though they appear infrequently in several flashbacks and memory-induced scenarios. Also appearing are
Pete, a persistent villain who first appears in
Kingdom Hearts II, and
Hayner, Pence, and Olette, a trio of friends living in Twilight Town who also appeared in
Kingdom Hearts II. As with other games in the series, each Disney world features several characters who appear in the films their worlds are based on; on the other hand, no
Final Fantasy characters are featured aside from a
Moogle managing a shop for the Organization.
Story The newly born Roxas is discovered in Twilight Town by
Xemnas, the leader of Organization XIII, who recruits him as their thirteenth member. Unlike other Nobodies, Roxas lacks memories of his original self, Sora, and develops his own personality over time. Under the tutelage of Axel, whom he befriends, Roxas is sent on daily missions to other worlds to destroy Heartless and release stolen hearts with his Keyblade, which furthers the Organization's goal of creating Kingdom Hearts and becoming complete beings. After Axel and several other members are reassigned to Castle Oblivion, Roxas partners with Xion, a fourteenth member who was inducted shortly after him. Roxas and Xion bond over their similarities, including Xion's ability to wield a Keyblade and inability to recall her human life. Some time later, Roxas falls into a
coma caused by the alteration of Sora's memories, and does not revive until several weeks later, when Axel returns from Castle Oblivion as the group's only survivor. Over time, Xion befriends Roxas and Axel, who routinely eat sea-salt ice cream together after missions at the Twilight Town clock tower. Xion soon falls into a coma after failing to eliminate Riku; like Roxas, she has visions of Sora after waking. In time, Xion questions her own existence and distances herself from Roxas and Axel to learn more about herself. She eventually discovers that she is a Replica, an artificial human created as a fail-safe for Roxas, and that she has been inadvertently absorbing Sora's memories, preventing them from being completely restored. Xion is torn between staying with her friends and merging with Sora as per Riku's advice, but chooses to escape from the Organization after she begins siphoning Roxas' strength. Axel allows Xion to escape, but loses Roxas' trust. Upon learning Xion's identity from Xemnas, Roxas begins to question his own identity and defects from the Organization in search of answers, leaving Axel dejected. At Twilight Town, Xion attacks Roxas, having been altered by Xemnas to perform her initial purpose of absorbing Roxas and becoming a perfect copy of Sora. Upon being defeated, Xion's body dissipates and her heart merges with Sora's, causing all memory of her existence to gradually vanish. Upon returning to the World That Never Was to stop Xemnas' plan as per Xion's last request, Roxas encounters Riku, who attempts to capture him for DiZ and resume Sora's memory restoration process, which has halted. When Roxas overpowers him, Riku releases the darkness suppressed within his own heart, giving him the power to subdue Roxas, but also giving him the physical form of Xehanort's Heartless, Ansem, who resides in his heart. DiZ inserts Roxas into a virtual simulation of Twilight Town without any of his memories of the Organization so that he may eventually merge with Sora. ==Development==