Video Game Character of the Month - September 2013 - Sora - Kingdom Hearts

Video Game Character of the Month

September 2013

Sora
Kingdom Hearts

Overview:

Sora is a great character and one that I have stuck with since I was about seven. It was the main character of the game that made me buy the PS2 in the first place. My first game was the original game Kingdom Hearts soon to be followed by every game in the series. A quick little bit information on Sora:

Sora is the main protagonist of the Kingdom Hearts series.

He wields the Keyblade

His best friends are Riku and Kairi

He is currently fighting against Xehanort

Origin of Sora:

I had always thought that Sora’s origins were easy. How wrong I was.

The Elevator Pitch:

Well the elevator pitch actually started outside of an elevator with a conversation by Shinji Hashimoto and Hironobu Sakaguchi about Super Mario 64. They wanted to create a game with the 3D freedom of Super Mario 64 but couldn’t think of any character that could rival Mario except for ones from Disney. Tetsuya Nomura overheard the conversation and volunteered to direct the production of the game.

Now comes the elevator part. Both Square and Disney worked in the same building in Japan and a chance meeting (in an elevator) by Hashimoto and a Disney executive lead to the creation of Kingdom hearts.

Sora Himself:

Originally Square wanted the main protagonist of the series to be Mickey while Disney wanted Donald Duck. But Nomura wanted to create a new character. This lead to the creation of Sora but not as we know him. He has the gloves, giant yellow shoes and red shorts due to Squares original preference for Mickey but was human except for the fact that he had a tail. Yes, that’s right, a tail. This tail was later removed to make him more different to the Final Fantasy IX protagonist Zidane Tribal who also had a tail.

Sora’s original weapon was one that was like a chainsaw but Disney thought that this wouldn’t work with their audience and characters and, so, this idea was scrapped and replaced with the Keyblade.

His name can be interpreted to mean sky in Japanese while Riku’s means land and Kairi’s means sea. Nomura made sure to make him seem like a normal kid and not a supernatural being so that it was easier to relate to him. Nomura wanted to give the message that even though they are not important people, they can have the opportunity to accomplish notable actions.

The Evolution of Sora:

Sora has evolved through the series from his age and clothes through to his personality. Although he has evolved the basic idea stays the same: that he is a kind and likeable boy with a forward personality that lets him become friends with multiple characters in the series.

Within the universe, Sora has changed. In Kingdom Hearts 1 Kairi’s heart is held inside of him although it is given to back to her at the end. In Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories, he loses all of his memories and is put to sleep for a year. In Kingdom Hearts 2 he gains these memories back along with getting new clothes and powers such as drives. His nobody is Roxas (whose name is an anagram of Sora with an added X). Ventus’s heart escaped from the darkness into Sora’s heart in Birth by Sleep. His heart is connected to almost all of the main characters in the story.

Games:

At the time of writing, Sora has been in 8/9 games spanning 10 years and is anticipated to be present in two more.

Kingdom Hearts 1 (main protagonist): released March 28, 2002 (Japan)/September 17, 2002 (North America)/(Europe) on November 15, 2002/(Australia) on November 22, 2002/(Japan - Final Mix) on December 26, 2002 on the PlayStation 2

Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories (main protagonist along with Riku): released (Japan) on November 11, 2004/(North America) on December 7, 2004/(Europe) on May 6, 2005 on the Gameboy Advance

Kingdom Hearts II (main protagonist): released (Japan) December 22, 2005/(North America) on March 28, 2006/(Australia) on September 28, 2006/(Europe) on September 29, 2006/(Japan - Final Mix) March 29, 2007 on the PlayStation 2

Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories (main protagonist along with Riku): released March 29, 2007 (boxed with Kingdom Hearts II in Japan)/December 2, 2008 (standalone title in North America) on the PlayStation 2 

Kingdom Hearts Coded: (main protagonist (digital version of himself) and background character) - released (Japan) on November 18, 2008 (Pre-Install Episode)/June 3, 2009 (Episode 1)/July 8, 2009 (Episode 2)/August 5, 2009 (Episode 3)/September 17, 2009 (Episode 4)/October 15, 2009 (Episode 5)/November 26, 2009 (Episode 7)/December 26, 2009 (Episode 7)/January 28, 2010 (Episode 8) on mobile devices 
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days (background character): released (Japan) on May 30, 2009/(North America) on September 9, 2009/(Europe) on October 9, 2009/(Australia) on October 22, 2009 on the Nintendo DS
Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep (background character): released (Japan) January 9, 2010/(North America) on September 7, 2010/(PAL) on September 10, 2010/(Japan - Final Mix) on January 20 2011 on the PSP

Kingdom Hearts Re: Coded (main protagonist (digital version of himself and background character): released (Japan) on October 7, 2010/(North America) on January 11, 2011/(Australia) on January 13, 2011/(Europe) on January 14, 2011 (Europe) on the Nintendo DS 

Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance (main protagonist along with Riku): released (Japan) on March 29, 2012/(Europe) on July 20, 2012/(Australia) on July 26, 2012/(North America) on July 31 2012 on the Nintendo 3DS

V CAST Kingdom Hearts: released October 1, 2004 (Japan)/February 4, 2005 (North America) on the Mobile Devices with V CAST
He has also been in a mobile version called Kingdom Hearts Mobile which was only released in Japan and has nothing to do with the actual storyline: released (Japan) on December 15, 2008 on Mobile Devices
Kingdom Hearts x: released (Japan) on July 18, 2013 on PC
Kingdom Hearts Unchained X/Kingdom Hearts Union X: released (Japan) on September 3, 2015/(North America) on April 7, 2016/(PAL) on June 16, 2016 on iOS and Android

Kingdom Hearts 1.5 Remix: released (Japan) on March 14, 2013/(North America) on September 10, 2013/(Australia) on September 12, 2013/(Europe) on September 13, 2013 on PlayStation 3 
Kingdom Hearts 2.5 Remix: released (Japan) on October 2, 2014/(North America) on December 2, 2014/(Australia) on December 4, 2014/(Europe) on December 5, 2014 on PlayStation 3

Kingdom Hearts 1.5 + 2.5 Remix: released (Japan) on March 9, 2017/(North America) on March 28, 2017/(Europe) on March 31, 2017 on PlayStation 4
Kingdom Hearts 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue: released (Japan) on January 12, 2017/(World Wide) on January 24, 2017

Anticipated:

Kingdom Hearts 3

That’s all on Sora but please don’t hesitate to comment if there is anything you think I should add or that I got wrong. Or if you want me to do any specific character for another month's Video Game Character of the Month then please comment as well.

Goodbye for now, Harry

Sources: 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sora_(Kingdom_Hearts)
And my own knowledge.