Destiny Islands

Destiny Islands, named Destiny Island in Kingdom Hearts II, is a world from the Kingdom Hearts series. It is the home world of Sora, Riku, and Kairi (although Kairi is originally from Radiant Garden), the three main characters of the games. The world seems to be led by an unnamed mayor, who is mentioned as Kairi's foster father.

The Destiny Islands are playable only in Kingdom Hearts, during the prologue. However, the remains of the Destiny Islands reappear at the End of the World. A memory-based version of the world appears in Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories. In Kingdom Hearts II, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, and Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, the world is not playable and only appears in cutscenes.

The main function of this world in the original Kingdom Hearts is to serve as an extended tutorial where one could get the hang of battle mechanics against opponents without being incapacitated, gain experience, and receive items for future battles.

Locations
The main island is where the residents live and go to school; Kairi and Selphie are known to go to the same school. The main island also has a small beach and dock. There appears to be a fairly large town in the background, with a long clay path leading to the beach. Sora's House can briefly be seen before Sora encounters the Darkside. However, the only portion of the house which can be seen is Sora's bedroom during the storm.

The smaller island, where Sora, Riku, Kairi, Selphie, Tidus, and Wakka play, is where all of the playable scenes take place. It is reached by canoe from the main island. The Seashore area is naturally covered in yellow sandy beaches, exotic trees and shrubbery, and wooden constructions. There is a Seaside Shack and a somewhat treehouse built into a large tree. The Seaside Shack contains the island's only Save Point. A miniature island is settled next to the island and can be reached by crossing a bridge (which can be accessed by using the stairs in the Seaside Shack mentioned above or alternatively, by swimming towards a ladder on the opposite side of the island, and then climbing it). Sora can also have duels with Wakka, Selphie and Tidus nearby in the first game. Sora and Riku often practice their sword fights at the place where the friends can watch the sunset—past the Bridge, on the miniature island. On that island is a crooked palm tree that grows Paopu Fruits. Local myth dictates that the two people who share one will have their destinies intertwined. The Cove at the back of the island has an obstacle course which Sora and Riku use during their competitive challenges.

The Secret Place is a cave hidden behind the island's waterfall, where the children visited during their childhood. Sora and Riku first discovered it when they were young children. There is a door in the cave which is actually the Keyhole of the world. The cave's walls are covered in chalk drawings, some hinting at the earlier encounters of the children. Among them is a drawing of Sora and Kairi sharing a Paopu Fruit. Riku enters here near the beginning of the game and opens the door, unleashing the Heartless onto the islands. Whether he did so knowingly and willingly is unknown, though it is likely that the words of Xehanort influenced him to do so.

Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
At the beginning of Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, a young man stares at the sunset and states that the world was too small. Many years later, he returns, intending to leave his seemingly dying, comatose apprentice, Ventus, at the islands for his final days. However, Ventus's broken heart connects with that of the newborn Sora, and he revives, summoning his Keyblade. Seeing further use in the boy, Xehanort immediately takes him to Master Eraqus at the Land of Departure.

Terra is the first of the three Keyblade wielders to visit Destiny Islands. There, he watches a young Sora and Riku practice sword-fighting. After asking Riku why he wants to leave the islands, Riku explains that a man once left the islands to visit other worlds, and that he wants to do the same. Terra sees a vision of the man, then sees what Riku will become, convincing him to choose Riku as his successor so that one day he may wield the Keyblade.

Ventus later arrives on the island, where he finds Vanitas and learns the truth about his past, but never encounters Sora or Riku.

Aqua is the last to arrive on the island. After recognizing that Sora and Riku's friendship is identical to the bond between Ventus and Terra, she decides to choose Sora as her successor, but when she discovers that Terra has already chosen Riku, she changes her mind, not wanting to force the friends to fight. Instead, she asks Sora to save Riku if he were to ever fall into darkness.

On a night after Master Xehanort and Vanitas are defeated, Sora and Riku watch the stars on a beach facing the Small Island. As they prepare to depart home, Sora suddenly feels Ventus's sadness connecting with his heart. Riku advises him to try and reach out to that sad heart, and as Sora connects to Ventus's heart he enters his first Dive to the Heart. He joins his heart with Ventus's, hoping to make it happy again, then tells Riku that he was right as they go back to watching the stars.

Kingdom Hearts
In a prophetic dream, Sora is swallowed by the tide while trying to save Riku, and is transported to another world.

When Sora awakens from his Dive to the Heart, he meets with his friends Kairi and Riku. The three plan on building a raft and to set sail across the sea to find other worlds away from the island. Destiny Islands is a small world, which often leads to the boredom of its inhabitants, especially Riku, who desires to leave the islands and see the other worlds out there. Tidus once said that once you sail a certain distance from the islands, you simply can't go any further, but the other islanders believe he merely turned back and made up the story.

While gathering materials for the journey, Sora climbs into the Secret Place - a tiny cave on the island where the children scratch drawings onto rocks - and met a figure in a strange cloak who told him cryptic messages about the time to come. Sora's confusion lasts long into the night. Resting up in his bedroom, he sees a dangerous storm approaching, and hurries off the island to save the raft.

Upon arriving on the second island, Sora discovers his friends came too, but only finds Riku, who confuses him further by telling him to accept the darkness, after which, Riku disappears. He then finds an apparently-ill Kairi in the Secret Place. The two disappear in the growing darkness, but Sora returns as the Islands slowly crumble into darkness with the Keyblade in hand. He fights with the Darkside boss, but fails to save his home, and is whisked away on his journey to Traverse Town.

As his first journey ends, Sora and Kairi meet up on the shores of the reforming islands. Sora, knowing that his job is not finished, and that he must still save Riku and King Mickey from the Realm of Darkness, leaves Kairi in the safety of her hometown and promises to return to her as soon as Riku and King Mickey are found.

During the credits, you see Tidus, Selphie, and Wakka running on the beach in a similar way to Riku, Sora and Kairi do earlier in the game.

Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories
After the Riku Replica is defeated on the 11th floor of Castle Oblivion, he drops his Wayfinder charm, which is revealed to be the World Card for Destiny Islands. Sora rushes to use it in order to get to Naminé, but when Goofy and Donald urge him to be cautious, he angrily rebukes them, and goes through the memory world alone. Naminé manipulates his memories to make Sora believe she also lived on the Destiny Islands, and Sora is urged by his memories to rescue her. However, after he defeats a memory Darkside, Naminé appears and reveals the truth about Kairi, herself, and what she has been doing to Sora.

After Riku defeats Lexaeus, Zexion appears with a world card and entices Riku to enter his own version of Destiny Islands. Unlike Sora, Riku finds no one on the islands, except a memory of his Darkside, the one who devoured the islands. After defeating the monster, he sees "Sora", who is in actuality Zexion in disguise. "Sora" accuses him of being a monster of darkness, and attacks him with light. In the light, Riku considers giving up, but Naminé (disguised as Kairi) speaks to his heart and urges him to use both his light and his darkness, which are invincible together. Riku sees through Zexion's disguise and attacks, forcing Zexion to flee.

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
Roxas is seen near the bent palm tree with Axel looking in the distance while talking. Xion is also known to have visited the Destiny Islands, as a scene showing a discussion between her, Axel and Roxas is shown. Xion has also been seen on Destiny Islands speaking to Riku, and it is implied that the seashells she brought Roxas while he was unconscious came from the islands. During Xion's nightmare, she transforms into Roxas, Riku, and Sora while listening to the speech that Zexion gave Riku near the bent palm tree.

Kingdom Hearts II
During Sora's sleep, the residents of the Islands forget all about Sora, due to Naminé breaking the chains of his memories. Kairi, however, being so close to Sora, still retains vague memories of the boy, and begins to remember before anyone else. She sends a message in a bottle across the sea, hoping to find Sora.

In an attempt to draw Sora, and with him, Roxas, back to Organization XIII, Axel goes to the Islands to kidnap Kairi. She refuses to go with him, and flees with Pluto into a portal to Twilight Town.

Finally, after Xemnas is defeated, all the characters meet up on the Islands for one last time. King Mickey, Jiminy, Donald, Pluto, and Goofy return to Disney Castle, and leave the others on Destiny Islands. But, in an extra video after the credits, it is seen that Mickey has sent a letter in bottle back to the islands for Sora, Riku, and Kairi.

Kingdom Hearts coded
After King Mickey and Jiminy discover a message in Jiminy's Journal, they create a data version of Sora. After Sora exits his Awakening, he finds out that the island is covered with Bug Block Corruption which Data-Sora must delete. Afterwards, he encounters Jiminy's Journal wearing the Black Cloak. He then finds the Data Keyhole behind the waterfall of Destiny Islands. After he opens it he fights Darkside, the island's source of Bug Block corruption. Then the data island is destroyed, just as it was in the first game. The scene then shifts to Disney Castle where a cutscene is played. It shows Ansem, Seeker of Darkness appearing and opening the Corridor of Darkness for Riku to step in. The real Destiny Islands appear in the game's final scene, where Mickey sends Sora the bottled letter (the same one from Kingdom Hearts II), which Sora reads with Riku and Kairi.

Blank Points
While Sora is leaning on the bent palm tree, Riku approaches him and asks him if he had decided, about what is unclear. Sora replies to Riku that he had. When Kairi approaches the two, Sora tells her that he has another long journey to make, one that might be even more difficult than all of the others they have had. Kairi then gives Sora her Wayfinder charm and tells him to hurry back.

Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance
In one of the few screenshots revealed for the game, Sora and Riku are seen standing together on the beach. In the trailer, Sora and Riku are seen sitting together by the Paopu Tree, Riku vanishing in a flash of light while Sora calls out for him and begins to search for his missing friend. After several unconscious Soras rain down from the sky in Traverse Town and one fights off several Heartless, Sora snaps awake to find himself back on the Destiny Islands sitting with Kairi by the Paopu Tree.

Characters

 * Sora's mother can be heard calling him down for dinner before the storm in the first Kingdom Hearts, and Riku mentions Sora's father to Terra in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep. Riku mentions his own parents in the first game as well. The mayor of Destiny Islands is also briefly mentioned as Kairi's adoptive father. None of these characters make any physical appearances.

Trivia

 * Inside the Secret Place in Kingdom Hearts, there are sketches of Donald, Goofy, and a Chocobo on the right side. On the left there are sketches of a dragon, Disney Castle, and a world that has a crown on the top on one of the lower rocks. Even the four suits of cards and what seem to be Bit Snipers can be seen.
 * The orientation between the Main Island and the Small Island is somewhat ambiguous. Although both Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days depicts the Small Island's miniature islet (accessible from the Small Island by bridge) as facing the open ocean and the setting sun, the scene in which Kairi stands on the beach of the Main Island in Kingdom Hearts II depicts the Small Island in the opposite position, with the miniature islet facing the Main Island and the Cove facing the setting sun. However, if this was its correct orientation, the Main Island would have been visible from the islet's Paopu tree, and previous games show the view from said tree as simply endless ocean and an unobstructed view of the setting sun.
 * There are several Hidden Mickey insignias in the Kingdom Hearts version of Destiny Islands. Easy-to-spot insignias include one on the ground in the Cove, and a patch of purple in the trees.
 * Destiny Islands is an anagram for "it's Disneyland."

Gallery
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