Jul 20, 2025
Heart Stations: Soriku
Riku's Heart in KH3.
Riku's Heart in Super Smash Brothers.
promo art for Chain of Memories ft renders from their CoM Heart Stations
Sora's Heart in Birth By Sleep.
Sora's Heart in Dream Drop Distance.
#kh heart stations#soriku#sora's absence from riku's heart is VERY CONSPICUOUS#so i assume that he's hiding somewhere behind the figure of riku#that or sora's absence represents how resigned riku is to “losing” sora?#heart stations are representations of self-identity: the things and people who shape the person you've become#the only disney princess with a love interest on her station is belle#that's bc she's the only “classical” disney princess with an actual romance#i do find aladdin/jasmine to be a good romance but her identity was fixed before she met him#so i doubt he'd show up on her station#contrast this with riku!#he grew up with sora! he had a villain arc over him! he's sacrificed his everything for him & is entirely devoted to his wellbeing!#SO WHERE IS HE ON RIKU'S HEART???#and does sora's absence have anything to do with how riku's eyes are open#probs not bc roxas & the wayfinders are awake on their stations too#which messes with a lot of older heart station theories#but i suspect that has more to do with animation crunch or something bc they're not as “crafted” as earlier stations were#for example: terra's heart station in kh3 very hillariously ft a ring of mickey heads#despite terra only meeting mickey that day#furthermore! aqua & terra both got the same generic cool pattern in place of a meaningful place#said pattern ft each of the important kh symbols in a tartan-esque print#not especially introspective nor lore relevant#which could mean that whatever depth the stations may first have foreshadowed has since become irrelevant &/or has been dropped#which... fair#i nonetheless hope we see updated heart station art for riku#(sora's replacing mickey in smash bros feels like more of a licensing thing than a lore thing)
