One of the reasons why many fans consider Kingdom Hearts to be one of the best RPG video games series ever made is that there are plenty of epic battles that the characters fight in. Riku, who has been both a protagonist and antagonist throughout the games, has been in some of the coolest battles to have taken place in the series so far.

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Whether these battles were incredible moments for Riku's character or fun obstacles for players to overcome, certain encounters have left a huge impression on fans and are known to be his best fights.

10 Riku Fought His Own Replica In Castle Oblivion

Riku Replica battle Kingdom Hearts

In Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, Vexen, a member of Organization XIII, cloned Riku. This clone, known as Riku Replica, hated Riku when they first met, and the two of them fought against each other when Riku got to the castle's Twilight Town floor. Riku had a lot of inner conflict due to the mistakes he made in the original game, and Riku Replica reminded him of who he used to be. Therefore, this was an important moment for him. Through it, he was able to get a better understanding of why he needed to walk on the road to dawn.

9 Riku And Sora Saved Aqua From Herself

Riku and Aqua Kingdom Hearts

When Riku learned that Aqua was trapped in the Realm of Darkness, he wanted to do everything he could in order to save her. Throughout Kingdom Hearts III, he searched for her with King Mickey. When the two of them finally found her, they discovered that she had given in to the darkness and attacked them along with a Demon Tower.

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Though Riku fought hard, it was a tough battle. Luckily, Sora came to the rescue, and they defeated the Demon Tower together. While Riku took care of King Mickey, who was hurt by the Demon Tower, Sora continued the fight with Aqua and brought her back to the light.

8 Riku Fought Against Young Xehanort

Riku vs Young Xehanort Kingdom Hearts

After finding out that Organization XIII's true goal all along was to create thirteen Xehanorts, Riku fought against the youngest of them. Though Riku won the battle, that didn't stop Master Xehanort from returning and nearly turning Sora into another one of his vessels. Luckily, Riku, King Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Axel were able to fight off their enemies and rescue Sora.

7 Riku And Sora Fought Riku Replica And Xigbar

Riku Replica vs Riku Kingdom Hearts

When the Seekers of Darkness and Guardians of Light finally fought each other at the Keyblade Graveyard, Riku and Sora helped each other defeat Riku Replica and Xigbar one last time. While Riku Replica's defeat resulted in his vessel being used to bring Namine back, Xigbar only pretended to lose the fight, as he secretly left the battlefield to find the black box and reunite with his old friends, the Foretellers. Riku and Sora beat two of the Seekers of Darkness in this fight, but they would have more enemies to deal with shortly after.

6 Riku And His Friends Fought The Replica Xehanorts

Guardians of Light vs Xehanorts Kingdom Hearts

While Sora, Donald, and Goofy fought Master Xehanort, Riku and the other Guardians of Light battled against his replicas. While they all fought well together, they were each sealed inside a keyhole. As Mickey was about to be trapped inside one of them, Riku pushed him aside and was sealed instead. This made it so King Mickey had to fight the replicas on his own.

5 Riku Defeated Roxas By Accepting The Darkness Inside Him

Riku vs Roxas Kingdom Hearts

When Namine needed to repair Sora's memories in order for him to be awakened, Riku needed to bring Xion and Roxas to her. While Xion accepted her fate and was willing to save Sora, Roxas didn't want to, leading him to fight Riku. Riku nearly lost the battle. However, when he used his darkness, transforming himself into Ansem, he was able to win. By resorting to the last thing he wanted to do, Riku was able to help save his best friend.

4 Riku And Sora Teamed Up To Fight Xemnas

Sora and Riku vs Xemnas Kingdom Hearts

After a year since seeing each other, Riku finally reunited with Sora in The World That Never Was. However, they had to fight against multiple members of Organization XIII, with Xemnas being the last of them.

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Xemnas attacked them with everything he could, whether it be skyscrapers, lasers, and even his dragon, but the two of them were able to defeat the leader of the nobodies. However, Riku got hurt during the fight and needed Sora to help him as they tried to find their way back home.

3 Riku Fought Ansem In Castle Oblivion

Ansem the Seeker of Darkness in Castle Oblivion Kingdom Hearts

When Riku went to Castle Oblivion, Ansem tried to bring him back to the darkness. While Riku did eventually accept the darkness, he still didn't want to join Ansem, which led to their fight. After Riku defeated him, Ansem vowed to return, though that would take a long time. Riku finally learned that darkness wasn't bad as long as he knew how to use it for his benefit instead of becoming the Seeker of Darkness' pawn.

2 Riku Fought Ansem During His Mark Of Mastery Exam

Riku fights Ansem Kingdom Hearts

During Sora and Riku's Mark of Mastery exam, Organization XIII sabotaged it and tried to make Sora their thirteenth member. When Ansem told Riku about this, along with the fact that Riku had become a dream eater for Sora without knowing it, the two of them fought again. Riku ended up winning this battle and began searching for Sora, understanding that the two of them were on a much more dangerous journey than the Mark of Mastery exam they were supposed to take.

1 Riku, Sora, And Mickey Fought Ansem, Xemnas, And Xehanort

Ansem, Young Xehanort, and Xemnas Kingdom Hearts

When most of the Seekers of Darkness were defeated, Riku, Sora, and King Mickey teamed up to defeat three of their greatest enemies one last time, Ansem, Xemnas, and Young Xehanort. They fought against all three of them in the past multiple times but never at the same time. In their final moments, Xemnas finally understood how strong a heart could be while Young Xehanort returned to his timeline, knowing that everything that had happened would repeat once more. When Ansem was defeated, he admitted that he always knew that Riku would surpass him while Riku told him that he'd miss him. This brought together a perfect end to their story.

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