Sora (Japanese: ソラ) is a character and the main protagonist of Disney and Square Enix's Kingdom Hearts video game series.
Introduced in the first Kingdom Hearts game in 2002, Sora is portrayed as a cheerful teenager who lives on the Destiny Islands and has been best friends with Riku and Kairi since childhood.
For his depiction as a child in the prequel Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, Sora was voiced by Luke Manriquez and Takuto Yoshinaga in English and Japanese, respectively.
Nomura designed Sora with the concepts of the Disney characters in mind, basing his outfit on Mickey Mouse's trademark white gloves, red shorts and giant yellow shoes.
In early versions of development of Birth by Sleep, Nomura thought that Ventus would actually be Sora before being reborn, but due to negative feedback from overseas, that plot line was discarded.
[5] Moreover, the events from the endings of Coded and Birth by Sleep hinted at a new mystery regarding Sora's character, which would be revealed in Kingdom Hearts III.
Sora's final stage in Kingdom Hearts III was left ambiguous though Nomura suggested it might be related to the Square Enix game The World Ends With You.
[23] According to Luigi Priore, Vice President of Disney and Pixar Games, the company recognized that having Sora in Smash Bros. was something that fans had been asking for a long time, and the team was delighted to make it happen.
"[24] Nomura was actually more hesitant than Disney about Sora's inclusion because of potential conflicts with the lore established in the Kingdom Hearts series at first, but seeing the positive reception by the public led him to conclude that "the end result was really great.
The majority of his moves are inspired by his appearance in the original Kingdom Hearts, but per the limitations of the licensing agreement, Disney characters were not included as spirits or cameos.
[30] On the other hand, Osment's work in Re:Chain of Memories was noted to have made a poor impact in his portrayal as the young lead, as he no longer sounds like in the original Kingdom Hearts game.
[33] Koinya lamented the fact Miyu Irino's work was never made available for the Western audience, considering him talented alongside Mamoru Miyano (Riku).
[44] Arriving in Traverse Town, Sora allies with Donald Duck and Goofy, who are under instruction from their missing king, Mickey Mouse, to follow the "key".
[48] As the group travels to Hollow Bastion and defeat Maleficent, Riku becomes possessed by Ansem,[49] who reveals that Kairi's heart is in Sora's body.
[60] Sora embarks with Donald and Goofy to find Riku and King Mickey, traversing new and unfamiliar worlds to eliminate the threat of the remaining Heartless, Nobodies, and local villains.
[64] In Kingdom Hearts Coded, a computer program based on Sora's likeness serves as the primary protagonist of the game, finding out the truth behind a mysterious message found inside Jiminy's journal.
[67] In the game's secret ending, set after the events of Kingdom Hearts II, Ansem the Wise tells Aqua about Sora's adventures, and how he may help all the people connected to him.
[68] In Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, Sora and Riku undertake a Mark of Mastery exam in response to Xehanort's return.
[73] In Kingdom Hearts III, Sora goes on a journey to regain his strength, particularly the "power of waking" (眠りし心を解放する力, Nemurishi Kokoro wo Kaihō-suru Chikara, lit.
[82] In the aftermath, as depicted in the Kingdom Hearts III Re Mind DLC, Sora finds himself in the Final World, where he is accosted by a young man, Yozora, who claims he was sent to save him.
[89][90] In a collaboration between Square Enix and Japanese fashion brand SuperGroupies, Sora's image was used to create clothing based on his design from Kingdom Hearts III.
[113] IGN praised Sora's resilient character, noting how such an ordinary "youngster" could face up to his challenges during his adventures for the sake of friendship,[114] while RPGFan's Nicole Monet Kirk labelled him as an "extremely likable hero".
[116] Louis Bedigian from GameZone mentioned that "Sora had something rarely found in video-game characters: depth" also praising his role in Kingdom Hearts.
[32] Game Informer's Bryan Vore found that in Kingdom Hearts II, Osment has improved in voicing the character, praising his work.
[117] He was third in 1UP.com's "Top 5 Most Irritating RPG Protagonists" with writer Bob Mackey commenting he is "a human version of Mickey Mouse", criticizing his original outfit and relationship with Riku and Kairi, and finding him to be less popular than the Disney characters featured in the series.
[118] Sora's transformations in the various Disney worlds in Kingdom Hearts II were commented to be entertaining by Julia Reges from AllGame due to how varied they are.
[119] Also reviewing Kingdom Hearts II, Greg Bemis from G4TV praised Sora's development in the game, including his growth and the fact each of his attacks from the title are entertaining.
[126] Both IGN and Anime News Network said Sora and Riku's stories in Dream Drop Distance were just a preparation for their growth in Kingdom Hearts III, revealing that they are in a romantic relationship.
[149] Kyle Campbell of USA Today and Wesley Leblanc of Game Informer both praised the character's inclusion, stating that Sora's addition "is a big deal" and "perfect".
[150][151] Upon the reveal of the first Kingdom Hearts IV trailer during April 2022, Polygon noted that there were several fans of the character wanting to know the true location of Sora's apartment from the world of Quadratum which is heavily based on Shibuya, Japan.