USGamer praised Riku's role for giving the narrative a major impact as he takes over the role of the Disney villains in Hollow Bastion, defeating the Beast and taking the Keyblade from Sora. Though he is defeated, the reveal that he was being used by Ansem was noted as giving the narrative a darker tone.
Paste Magazine stated that a vital part in Riku's characterization in
Kingdom Hearts is that he embraces darkness, similar to Terra during
Birth by Sleep. The inclusion of Riku in
Chain of Memories as a playable character was praised by GamesRadar due to his enjoyable gameplay.
Comic Book Resources listed Sora and Riku's fight against Xemnas as one of Riku's best action sequences in the series. Riku's quest to be free and the sacrifices he makes in the first game to save Sora were commented on by William Humberto Huber from
UC San Diego as symbolizing he and Sora's loss of innocence. The arrival of Heartless in Destiny Islands being caused by Riku's darkness was seen as an "allusion to the arrival" of
Matthew C. Perry's ships in Tokyo Bay in 1853, which had a major impact on Japan. In
Kingdom Hearts: A Search For Identity, writer Michelle Pina describes Riku as a "bratty" youth who tries to act superior to Sora in early appearances in the first game. However, in later installments, he is described as a teenager who suffers from an identity crisis due to the inner conflict between him and Ansem after he gives up himself to the darkness within him.In the book
Kingdom Hearts II (Boss Fight Books Book 16), Alexa Ray Corriea argues that Terra saw Riku's full potential when giving him the power to wield the Keyblade, claiming that, while Riku was a child when they first met, Terra saw through Riku's original intention of wanting to protect others, which may come across as a retcon when contrasting with previous installments. In "Playing God: An Analysis of Video Game Religion", Riku's inner struggle with the darkness and his eventual sacrifice to seal himself in the Door to Darkness was seen as a reference to the gates of hell being unleashed as demons are about to take over the planet; Riku's actions make him look like
Jesus Christ in his sacrifice to save the universe. Riku's constant struggles with Xenahort were as how people face the idea of Christian facing the devil's temptation and choosing the light of Christ instead. Riku was also compared with the inner struggle for
Muslims to be better people, giving
Kingdom Hearts multiple varieties of themes the narrative touches. Riku's new Keyblade, Braveheart, was commented on by
Syfy as being one of the most interesting Keyblade designs in the game, citing parallels with the Keyblade Fenrir in
Kingdom Hearts II. Hardcore Gamer liked the inclusion of Riku as a playable character in the
Kingdom Hearts III DLC, but lamented his few possible fights. The character's inclusion in the
Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building during the
Kingdom Hearts III secret ending was the subject of analysis as to whether he could interact with the cast from
The World Ends with You as well as
Yozora. With the end of
Re Mind,
GameInformer said that Riku came across as a more developed character than Sora, despite Sora being the protagonist. With the ending of
Kingdom Hearts III and the first trailer of
Kingdom Hearts IV,
GameRant believed Riku should no longer appear in future games as across all games Riku has dealt with a character arc that dealed with his corruption to his redemption throughout his multiple encounters with Xehanort's alteregos. Although Riku keeps looking to the missing Sora in the end of
Kingdom Hearts III, GameRant said that "After everything the character has been through, he deserves a break". The performance of
David Gallagher as Riku, along with
Haley Joel Osment as Sora and
Willa Holland as Aqua, was praised by GamesRadar and Hardcore Gamer as one of the best performances in
Dream Drop Distance and
Kingdom Hearts III. His inclusion as a playable character in
3D was also praised due to his dynamic with Sora. Koinya lamented the fact that
Mamoru Miyano's work was never made available for a Western audience, considering him talented alongside
Miyu Irino as Sora. In a poll from
Famitsu, Riku was voted as the series' fourth best male character.
Relationship with Sora Although Riku and Sora are friends,
GamesRadar stated that the several cutscenes they share in the first three games of the series often resulted in fans
shipping them while ignoring Sora and Kairi's relationship. Additionally, Riku has
LGBT fans who interpret him through a
queer lens due to parallels seen in his journey with self-acceptance and real-life experiences of accepting one's sexual identity.
Anime Feminist also saw Riku and Sora as potential lovers across the story due how sensitive both are portrayed whenever a scene involves the other. This is also expanded with how Kairi does not show notable interest in the other two as lovers in the first game. While Sora and Riku act antagonistic to each other in the first game,
Chain of Memories and
Kingdom Hearts II were analyzed by the writer to feel like an attempt to fix their relationship in such a way that Riku's character rotates more around Sora's now that he lost his romantic interest on Kairi. The subtext is downplayed in
Kingdom Hearts III as Kairi cements her feelings on Sora, making them look like a couple. In ''The Kingdom's Shōnen Heart Transcultural Character Design and the JRPG'', Rachael Hutchinson noted that the early characterization of Riku and Sora seems to be influenced by that of
Sephiroth and
Cloud Strife, respectively, in order to portray their rivalry, with Ansem taking elements from Sephiroth's appearance. Riku and Sora being forced to oppose each being caused by Kairi's weakness was compared to the sense of loss that Cloud suffers in
Final Fantasy VII following
Aerith's death. Riku's fate was noted to be similar to
Tidus' disappearance in the ending of
Final Fantasy X, with his return in latter games being compared to that of characters in
shōnen manga as he becomes heroic due to friendship and perseverance, common themes in such manga. In "Kingdom Hearts II Is Full Of Bad Romances And Rad Bromances",
Kotaku noted the biggest selling point of
Kingdom Hearts II is Sora's obsession of finding the missing Riku to the point of overshadowing Kairi's story. The emotional reunion Sora has with Riku is noted to have a soft soundtrack with Sora acting happy and distraught as he finally found Riku, giving a major romantic subtext. However, the writer found it nonromantic despite how sensitive the portrayal is of the two male characters. This was compared to other male characters from
Final Fantasy designed by Tetsuya Nomura who share strong friendships like Cloud and
Zack Fair as well as Auron and Jecht. The bond Riku and Sora share also stands out in gameplay when the two fight Xemnas in the end of
Kingdom Hearts II as well as how gameplay works in
Dream Drop Distance. Following Xemnas' defeat, Sora and Riku have an emotional reunion as they confess how important they are to each other in a nonromantic way. In regards to Riku's characterization in
Kingdom Hearts III,
TheGamer believed the English translation was not completely faithful to portrayal of the original Riku's feelings he has been expressing previous games; When Terra asks the infant Riku why does he want before giving him the ability to wield the Keyblade, the child replies by that he wants to learn what he wants to protect. In
Dream Drop Distance, Riku gains this answer when saving a comatose Sora by solving Ansem's questions, knowing the power he wants is the one used to protect Sora. This theme is explored in
Kingdom Hearts III in early cutscenes where
Hercules tells Sora that the reason he became strong is due to finding the love he wanted. Similarly, when Riku and Mickey enter the Realm of Darkness, the latter remarks that the former became stronger in this world since the last time he was. When Riku reflects on this comment, he recalls his answer from
Dream Drop Distance. While the writer does not claim that Riku loves Sora in a romantic fashion, he still views him as one of the most important things he wants to protect and the Japanese version was more direct and appears to reference Hercules' newfound strength. ==References==