Though he often takes a backseat to his chronically optimistic, spikey-haired counterpart, Kingdom Hearts’ Roxas is an extremely important character across the massively popular games. So let’s turn this Nobody into a somebody as we look at KH Roxas‘ personality, role, keyblades, fight, and more.
If you want to get familiar with Sora and his other friends, be sure to check out our Kingdom Hearts characters article, and follow our guide to all the Kingdom Hearts games in order.
Here’s everything you need to know about Kingdom Hearts Roxas:
Who is Kingdom Hearts’ Roxas?
When the darkness consumes a being’s heart, they usually become a Heartless. However, when the darkness consumes a strong-willed person’s heart, the husk they leave behind becomes a Nobody instead. There are different types of Nobodies, but those who possess the strongest hearts before consumption by the darkness take a more humanoid form that closely resembles the human they were before. This is the case with all of the members of Organization XIII, including Roxas.
Roxas is Sora’s Nobody, born when Sora is briefly consumed by darkness while saving Kairi at the end of Kingdom Hearts I. It’s only possible for both Sora and Roxas to coexist because Kairi’s light is strong enough to restore Sora’s heart and bring him back.
Because of Roxas’ coexistence with Sora, he lacks the memories of his previous life and creation and is able to feel emotions, unlike other Nobodies. Due to his ties to Roxas, he’s also able to wield a keyblade from the start, drawing the attention of the Heartless and imbuing him with the ability to release their hearts.
When Organization XIII catches wind of this they quickly take him into their ranks, hoping that his ability to release the hearts of the Heartless will help them in their goal to free Kingdom Hearts and, thus, regain hearts of their own.
Roxas makes firm friends with Kingdom Hearts’ Axel and Xion while in the Organization, building an extremely close bond with the two. However, and I’ll try to keep the short considering how deep this lore runs, Roxas later turns against the Organization, and is kidnapped by DiZ and Riku, who intend to return him to the now-comatose Sora in order to wake him and restore his memories.
This is where we find him at the beginning of Kingdom Hearts II, where he’s living a seemingly normal life in a Twilight Town simulation alongside his friends Hayner, Pence, and Olette, until it’s time for him to fuse with Sora once again.
Don’t worry though, this isn’t the end of Roxas – and we get to see him eating ice cream with his pals atop that tower once again. But, in order to avoid too many spoilers, that’s as far as we’re going to dive into his story for now. You’ll just have to complete Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, Kingdom Hearts II, and Kingdom Hearts III to get the full story – and you can check out our Kingdom Hearts games in order guide to help you along the way.
Why does Kingdom Hearts Roxas look like Ventus?
So, if Roxas is Sora’s Nobody, why does he look so much like Ventus? Well, the answer to that is simple. Kinda. Sora’s heart is connected to Ventus’, and, as Roxas is made from Sora’s heart, which in turn was made with fragments of Ventus’, Roxas took on an appearance closer to Ventus’ than Sora’s. Does that make sense? Not really, but just go with it.
What is Roxas’ personality?
Despite Axel initially describing him as zombie-like during his early days at the Organization, Roxas is generally affable and kind, especially with his close friends. He’s fiercely loyal to those he’s close to, but due to his vulnerability and the tragedy he faces, he also displays a wrathful, bitter, and aggressive side.
Due to his angst and suffering, he often struggles to see his own self-worth and value to the world and has trouble distinguishing right from wrong. However, he ultimately proves himself to be both brave and kind, and puts his friendships above all else.
Kingdom Hearts Roxas’ keyblade
Roxas wields a variety of keyblades across the series, with the most iconic being his dual keyblades. When at his full strength, Roxas can use his Synch Blade Ability to wield both Oathkeeper and Oblivion – with Oathkeeper symbolising Sora’s memories of Kairi, and Oblivion symbolising Sora’s memories of Riku.
Roxas is able to wield these two keyblades at once because of his status as Sora’s Nobody, which gives him the power of both Sora’s heart and Ventus’ heart, as mentioned above. To find out more about the different weapons you can wield in the games, check out our Kingdom Hearts Keyblades guide.
Kingdom Hearts Roxas games
Roxas appears in several Kingdom Hearts games. They are:
- Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
- Kingdom Hearts II
- Kingdom Hearts: Coded
- Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance
- Kingdom Hearts III
- Kingdom Hearts Union X
Roxas also appears as part of Sora’s DLC pack in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and makes a cameo as a Dive into a Hearts as part of the Dive Into the Heart portion of the Hollow Bastion stage.
Who is Roxas’ voice actor?
In the Japanese games, Kōki Uchiyama voices Roxas, and in the English dubs, Jesse McCartney takes up the mantle.
Kingdom Hearts 2 Roxas fight
Of course, one of the most iconic moments of Roxas’ screen time (aside from his scuffle with Axel where he says ‘no one would miss me’ and Axel replies ‘that’s not true! …I would’ which breaks my heart every single time I think about it) is the Kingdom Hearts 2 Roxas fight.
In Sora’s oversized shoes, you take to an epic battle against Roxas in a boss fight that has seen many keyblade warriors throw their controllers down in dismay. Check out the playthrough video above from the Boss Fight Database YouTube channel to get some visual tips on how it’s done.
Our main tips on how to beat the Kingdom Hearts II Roxas fight are to reserve plenty of mana, and make sure you heal often through your cure spells and potions to keep your HP up. You should also use the Duel Stance Reaction Command whenever it’s available to steal his keyblades, then unleash your fury and hit Roxas with everything you’ve got. It may seem pretty tough on higher difficulties, but believe us – we’ve done it, and you can too!
That’s everything we’ve got on Kingdom Hearts’ Roxas for now. If you’re looking for more adventures to explore, check out our list of the best Switch RPGs. Or, for some more Disney dreams, head over to our top picks for the best Disney games on Switch and mobile.