In the beginning, Riku may have become the villain in most of the first game of "Kingdom Hearts" but he is able to redeem himself at the last minute which makes the players able to forgive him quickly and admire him a lot more. Then, throughout the games, Riku becomes a very helpful character and develops into a very mature and cool character. In my opinion, I have grown lots of respect and admire Riku as one of my favorite characters of "Kingdom Hearts." Thinking back on this character from "Kingdom Hearts" also helps me give me more confidence and encouragement when I go through my own life experiences. Here are three reasons why I believe Riku is one of the best characters from "Kingdom Hearts."

1. He is very caring

After his mistake of going to the darkness in the first game of "Kingdom Hearts," Riku values his friends very much. He tells Sora to not give up many times. There are times that Sora cannot deal with the opponent, Riku quickly stands up to the opponent and fight in his place. Riku is also very considerate of those who helped him such as Namine and returns her a favor by letting her go and instead of destroying her when he is ordered to do so by Diz. Moreover, Riku also thinks of his replica or the so-called the other Riku and knows that he wants to be his own person and tells his replica to take the vessel in "Kingdom Hearts 3," in which the replica Riku happily declines and disappears.

2. He is hardworking

According to "Kingdom Hearts," Riku is always working a lot more than the main character, Sora, especially from the first game and it's claimed again in "Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories." Riku works on the raft for Sora and Kairi when they plan to go out and see different worlds while Sora and Kairi laze around. Even when Sora, the main character continues to search for Riku in "Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories" and "Kingdom Hearts 2," Riku secretly helps Sora in the shadows and do all the things by himself. I think his hard work is eventually paid off when King Mickey acknowledges Riku and wants to accompany him throughout his journey. In other words, Riku earns both King Mickey's trust and friendship, especially it is demonstrated that King Mickey wants Riku to call him by his name since they are "pals" now.

3. He faces darkness by himself

In most of the games, the players see Riku all by himself and he has to fight the darkness that he has given into from the first game of "Kingdom Hearts." Actually, he has to face his own darkness many times, testing Riku whether he is afraid or not. In these encounters, Riku brushes away the fact that he is coward and keeps going onward to face the darkness. This aspect of Riku is very inspirational to me. Riku has to accept the darkness no matter what and he has to face the darkness all by himself as well but he still keeps going forward to help his friends. In my favorite scene of "Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories," Riku discusses with Namine saying that he does not need her to lock away his heart to defeat darkness and he still wants to face it head-on. I really admire this strong character trait of Riku.

Which character from "Kingdom Hearts" do you admire?