Kingdom Hearts: Three-Five-Eight Days over Two

## Story

The game covers the story of Roxas before the events of *Kingdom Hearts II*. On the day he is born as Sora's Nobody when Sora transforms into a Heartless in the original *Kingdom Hearts*, Roxas is found by Xemnas in Twilight Town, the leader of Organization XIII, who names him its thirteenth member. Roxas spent many days on missions collecting hearts and befriending another member named Axel.

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### Release date(s)

Japan May 30, 2009United States/Canada September 29, 2009 Australia/European Union October 9, 2009

### Platform(s)

DS

The game covers the story of Roxas before the events of *Kingdom Hearts II*. On the day he is born as Sora's Nobody when Sora transforms into a Heartless in *Kingdom Hearts*, Roxas is found by Xemnas in Twilight Town, the leader of Organization XIII, who names him its thirteenth member. Each day he is sent on missions to other worlds, either alone or accompanied by his fellow members, to destroy Heartless with the Keyblade and release captive hearts, with which the Organization can fulfill their goal of summoning Kingdom Hearts and become complete beings. Roxas is placed under the care of Axel, who he befriends and spends his spare time with at the end of each day, sitting atop the clock tower in Twilight Town, speaking what's on their minds and eating sea salt ice cream together.

Shortly after Roxas's induction, the Organization sees the arrival of a mysterious fourteenth member, Xion. Her appearance changes from person to person, depending on their relationship with her. Later, when Axel and several other members are assigned to Castle Oblivion (setting the stage for *Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories*), Roxas is paired with Xion. The two begin to bond, and the reclusive Xion begins opening up to Roxas, revealing her resemblance to Sora's friend Kairi, and her ability to wield the Keyblade. A few days later, Roxas falls into a coma for several weeks, around the same time Sora is put to sleep to regain the memories he lost in Castle Oblivion at the end of *Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories*. When Roxas finally awakens (and finds that all the members dispatched to Castle Oblivion, except Axel, have been eliminated), he suggests that he, Axel and Xion all spend time together, and the three become close friends. However, Roxas begins experiencing Sora's memories and grows frustrated when his questions about them go unanswered, becoming increasingly curious about why he wields the Keyblade and doubtful of the Organization's motives.

Meanwhile, Sora, who is still sleeping, is moved from Castle Oblivion to Twilight Town by DiZ and Naminé, who are overseeing the restoration of his memories. Xion also has a confrontation with Riku, who brings her identity and the authenticity of her Keyblade into question and suggests she leave the Organization to merge with her original self. Xion, however, is torn between doing so and staying with Roxas and Axel.

Eventually Xion discovers that she is an imperfect replica of Sora created by Xemnas from Sora's leaking memories should Sora, who Xemnas intends to use as part of the Organization's plans, turn out to be of no use. Her resemblance to Kairi is a result of Sora's strong memories of her; however, as Naminé attempts to restore Sora's memories, they affect Xion instead to the point where she begins to physically resemble Sora. Upon learning this, Xion becomes deeply confused and lost and leaves Organization XIII, desiring to become a true person, but also having a falling out with Roxas and Axel.

During a 'seek-and-capture' mission, Xigbar and Axel find Xion in Wonderland. As Xigbar prepares to fight her, he sees the appearance of Ventus. Suddenly, while Xigbar is distracted, Xion disappears and takes down Xigbar easily. Axel questions what has just happened before his eyes. Later, Roxas defects from Organization XIII to find himself, much to Axel's chagrin.

Upon being reprogrammed by Xemnas, Xion attempts to absorb Roxas and become whole, though this would mean the real Sora will never awaken. However, Roxas battles and defeats Xion, who reveals Xemnas's motives and intentions to him before merging with him, which, in turn, halts the restoration of Sora's memories completely. Xion then dies peacefully in Roxas's arms, completely crystallizes and turns into a blinding light, as the memories she has absorbed go back to Sora. She leaves nothing but a single seashell behind, as tears run down Roxas's face. Roxas inherits Xion's Keyblade, allowing him to use two Keyblades at once (Oblivion and Oathkeeper).

Soon afterward, he encounters and battles Riku, who had been dispatched by DiZ to capture him so that he may merge with Sora and complete the restoration of his memories. When Riku is nearly defeated, he taps into the growing darkness in his heart, granting him the power necessary to subdue Roxas, but also giving him the appearance of Ansem, Seeker of Darkness, who resides in his heart. Riku subsequently brings the unconscious Roxas to DiZ, who digitizes and places him into a virtual Twilight Town. The final scene, "Day 359: The First Day", shows Roxas in the virtual town thinking how everything seemed like a dream and wondering about his destiny while running and arriving at the Usual Spot, wondering if he, Hayner, Pence, and Olette will finally go to the beach.

The game covers the story of Roxas before the events of *Kingdom Hearts II*. On the day he is born as Sora's Nobody when Sora transforms into a Heartless in the original *Kingdom Hearts*, Roxas is found by Xemnas in Twilight Town, the leader of Organization XIII, who names him its thirteenth member. Each day he is sent on missions to other worlds, either alone or accompanied by his fellow members, to destroy Heartless with the Keyblade and release captive hearts, with which the Organization can fulfill their goal of summoning Kingdom Hearts and become complete beings. Roxas is placed under the care of Axel, who he befriends and spends his spare time with at the end of each day, sitting atop the clock tower in Twilight Town, speaking what's on their minds and eating sea-salt ice cream together.

Shortly after Roxas's induction, the Organization gathers in the Round Room to witness the arrival of a mysterious fourteenth member, Xion. Her appearance changes from person to person, depending on their relationship with her. Later, when Axel and several other members are assigned to Castle Oblivion (setting the stage for *Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories*), Roxas is paired with Xion.

The two begin to bond, and the reclusive Xion begins opening up to Roxas, revealing her resemblance to Sora's friend Kairi, and her ability to wield the Keyblade. A few days later, Roxas falls into a coma for several weeks, around the same time Sora is put to sleep to regain the memories he lost in Castle Oblivion at the end of *Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories*.

When Roxas finally awakens (and finds that all the members dispatched to Castle Oblivion, except Axel, have been eliminated), he suggests that he, Axel and Xion all spend time together, and the three become close friends. However, Roxas begins experiencing Sora's memories and grows frustrated when his questions about them go unanswered, becoming increasingly curious about why he wields the Keyblade and doubtful of the Organization's motives.

Meanwhile, Sora, who is still sleeping, is moved from Castle Oblivion to Twilight Town by DiZ and Naminé, who are overseeing the restoration of his memories. Xion also has a confrontation with Riku, who brings her identity and the authenticity of her Keyblade into question and suggests she leave the Organization to merge with her original self. Xion, however, is torn between doing so and staying with Roxas and Axel.

Eventually Xion discovers that she is an imperfect replica of Roxas created by Vexen from Sora's leaking memories should Sora, who Xemnas intends to use as part of the Organization's plans, turn out to be of no use. Her resemblance to Kairi is a result of Sora's strong memories of her; however, as Naminé attempts to restore Sora's memories, they affect Xion instead to the point where she begins to physically resemble Sora. Upon learning this, Xion becomes deeply confused and lost and leaves Organization XIII, desiring to become a true person, but also having a falling out with Roxas and Axel.

During a 'seek-and-capture' mission, Xigbar and Axel find Xion in Wonderland. As Xigbar prepares to fight her, he utters to himself, "You always had that smug face." Unknown to Axel, Xigbar sees the appearance of Ventus. Suddenly, while Xigbar is distracted, Xion disappears and takes down Xigbar easily. Axel questions what has just happened before his eyes. Later, Roxas defects from Organization XIII to find himself, much to Axel's chagrin.

Upon being reprogrammed by Xemnas, Xion attempts to absorb Roxas and become whole, though this would mean the real Sora will never awaken. However, Roxas battles and defeats Xion, who reveals Xemnas's motives and intentions to him before merging with him, which, in turn, halts the restoration of Sora's memories completely. Xion then dies peacefully in Roxas's arms, completely crystallizes and turns into a blinding light, as the memories she has absorbed go back to Sora. She leaves nothing but a single seashell behind, as tears run down Roxas's face. Roxas inherits Xion's Keyblade, allowing him to use two Keyblades at once (Oblivion and Oathkeeper).

Soon afterward, he encounters and battles Riku, who had been dispatched by DiZ to capture him so that he may merge with Sora and complete the restoration of his memories. When Riku is nearly defeated, he taps into the growing darkness in his heart, granting him the power necessary to subdue Roxas, but also giving him the appearance of Ansem, Seeker of Darkness, who resides in his heart. Riku subsequently brings the unconscious Roxas to DiZ, who digitizes and places him into a virtual Twilight Town.

The final scene, "Day 359: The First Day", shows Roxas in the virtual town thinking how everything seemed like a dream and wondering about his destiny while running and arriving at the Usual Spot, wondering if he, Hayner, Pence, and Olette will finally go to the beach, indicating the start of Kingdom Hearts II.

When Roxas first became part of the “Organization,” he spent many days on missions collecting hearts and befriending another member named Axel. However, when Axel was sent to “Castle Oblivion” on a special mission, Roxas teamed up with the Organization’s new, fourteenth member: a girl named Xion. Slowly, the two warmed to each other.

Once Axel returned from his mission, he, Roxas, and Xion developed a routine of ending each busy day by having ice cream atop the Twilight Town clock tower. There, they talked about work, friendship, their memories, and the meaning of a heart.

One day, Xion was ordered to dispatch an imposter–Riku, who had donned the Organization’s robes to protect Sora. But Xion was overpowered and told her Keyblade was a “sham”. After failing a second mission, she slipped into a coma.

When Xion finally awoke, Roxas’s daily routine resumed a kind of normalcy – but something in his friend had changed. Slowly, Xion began to question her own existence.

On Day 255, Xion visited Castle Oblivion and discovered “what” she was. Roxas waited for Xion at the clock tower, but she never came. The next day, he learned she had deserted the Organization.

Roxas tracked her down and tried to convince her to return, but Xion drew her Keyblade threateningly. It was only once Axel appeared that he and Roxas were able to bring her back by force.

After learning some of the truth about Xion, Roxas found his own existence thrown into question. He lost faith in Axel and the Organization, who had kept so much hidden from him, and decided to run away.

Meanwhile, Xion had tracked down a girl named Naminé, and decided to return her share of Sora’s memories to their owner. Axel hunted her down and made a double-edged promise: “Keep running – I’ll always be there to bring you back.” After barely managing to keep that promise, Axel collapsed, and Xemnas, the Organization’s leader, took Xion away.

Aimlessly, Roxas found himself wandering toward the clock tower. There, Xion revealed herself to not be a “her” at all, but a faceless puppet that the Organization had created as a cage for Sora’s memories. The last of those memories were inside Roxas–Sora’s Nobody – and she would have to take them from him to become a complete Sora replica.

The two fought, and Xion got her wish: she was defeated. As the memories that made her up returned to Sora, she ceased to exist, and vanished from the minds of all who knew her.

Confused and angry, Roxas decided to challenge Xemnas and the Organization, free the hearts they had collected, and destroy “Kingdom Hearts.” But Roxas was not strong enough to win, and if he fell here, Sora would never awaken, so Riku confronted it.

In his mind, Riku heard the last wish of a girl whose name he could no longer remember: to stop Roxas. He nearly failed, and had to allow the darkness in his heart to take over before he was able to subdue Roxas.

A boy named “Roxas” woke up in his room in Twilight Town after having a strange dream.

Excited, he ran off to meet his friends at their usual spot. Only seven days of summer vacation left…