History Foil / KingdomHearts

** Looking at the backstory revealed in ''Birth By Sleep'', Xehanort is one to Sora. They both grew up at Destiny Islands, they both became Keyblade wielders, they both became a sort of composite being (Xehanort steals the bodies and hearts of others to extend his life. Sora lets others share his body and heart to extend ''their'' lives.), they both became a Heartless and a Nobody. Sora is a [[IdiotHero Naive Hero]] and is increasingly portrayed as a MessianicArchetype, while Xehanort is a [[invoked]]MagnificentBastard who shows some FallenAngel symbolism. Also, like Sora, Xehanort came from a humbler background. Xehanort was an islander while Eraqus descended from the survivors of the Keyblade War. Sora was an ordinary boy while Riku was chosen by the Keyblade. But while Xehanort works to create new incarnations to further his goals and corrupts others to darkness, Sora's incarnations come about as a result of his selfless altruism and he tries to help those he meets.

* Xigbar/Braig have increasingly framed as an [[EvilCounterpart antagonistic variant]] to Axel/Lea with the two making their individual debuts as snarky, relatively comedic, laid-back yet very dangerous members of the villainous Organization XIII who have [[AlmightyJanitor little authority,]] [[DualWielding Dual Wield]] their signature weapons and later on develop into MetaGuy [[BreakoutCharacter Breakout Characters.]] That's about where the similarities end though as while Axel was incredibly manipulative and FauxAffablyEvil in ''Chain of Memories,'' working towards some unknown agenda, he later turned out to only be working for the benefit of his friends and his developing friendship with Roxas and Xion would drive him to pull a HeelFaceTurn later on. Not to mention, his original persona of Lea was nothing more than a cheerful, ordinary kid prone to trying to befriend everyone he meets. By contrast, Xigbar while initially coming off as [[AffablyEvil rather friendly if definitely shady]] in ''II'' whose odd vague statements indicate he knows way more than he lets on, it's later shown that his original persona of Braig was a sinister thug willing to resort to trickery and deception to aid the ambitions of the main antagonist for the apparently [[IJustWantToBeSpecial selfish motivation of wielding a keyblade himself]] and that he's always been privy to the [[AssimilationPlot malevolent true purpose of the Organization.]] There's also the fact that while Axel was a mostly close-range fighter that eventually gains his own keyblade after being recompleted as Lea, Braig/Xigbar fights from a distance in all appearances and regains his humanity only to give it up to continue working together with Xehanort as the Nobody Xigbar and seemingly perishes one last time in ''III'' lamenting his own lack of a keyblade.

* At the end of the day - Xehanort basically a male Maleficent, right down to the DarkIsEvil and the multiple comebacks. However - he excuses his actions as ForScience, NecessarilyEvil, etc., while she's a CardCarryingVillain who [[AtLeastIAdmitIt At Least Admits It]].

* To Maleficent. They're both powerful Magic-users who ''don't'' wield Keyblades [[note]] Yen Sid used to wield Star Seeker, but voluntarily gave it up[[/note]], they’re both known for their stern personalities, and they’re both drawn from the classic imagery of European fairy tales (with Maleficent's [[OneWingedAngel dragon form]] being a dark inversion of Yen Sid's WizardClassic gimmick). Appropriately enough, Yen Sid was originally King Mickey's mentor, while Maleficent takes Mickey's old nemesis WesternAnimation/{{Pete}} under her wing in the second game. To Master Yen Sid. Like him, she's one of the most powerful magic-users in the series who doesn't actually wield a Keyblade, she's known for her stern demeanor, and her character and appearance are drawn from the imagery of classic European fairy tales--but she wields Dark Magic instead of Light Magic. Appropriately, she even takes Mickey's nemesis WesternAnimation/{{Pete}} under her wing, just as Yen Sid took Mickey under his wing.

* Implicitly serves as one to Yen Sid. They're both {{Wizard Classic}}s, but Yen Sid is stern, laconic and introverted, and holds a powerful position as King Mickey's mentor; by contrast, Merlin is playful, talkative and sociable, and happily lives among the common people in Traverse Town and Hollow Bastion. To Merlin, the other major {{Wizard Classic}}s in the cast. While Merlin is playful, talkative and sociable, and casually lives among the common people of Traverse Town and Hollow Bastion, Yen Sid is stern, laconic and introverted, he lives in isolation in a tower, and he holds a powerful position as King Mickey's mentor.

** For Joshua and Riku, Both of them are TheLancer towards TheHero above. But while Riku is Sora's ChildhoodFriend, have a calm and calculated, and is much more serious and cautious about the situation at hand; Joshua on the other hand is Neku's friend he met at the Reaper's Game, have a flirty and playful personality, and is much more flippant and casual about the situation at hand. They are TheLancer which means they have contrasting personalities toward TheHero from their respective games.

** This contrast also extends to their fighting styles. In comparison to Sora's two-handed style, Riku attacks with a fast one-handed style with his Soul Eater/Way to the Dawn and he attacks very quickly with either weapon in combat in one-handed strikes ranging from thrusts to wide strikes focusing on more on slashing motions as opposed to Sora's clubbing/pummeling style. In the end, both are just as adept with their weapons as the other.

%%** Xion is an imperfect replica of TheHero Sora, who takes on the appearance of Sora and Riku's [[TheChick mutual friend]], Kairi, while Riku's replica is a replica of TheLancer Riku.

*** Sora is a StaticCharacter, starting off the series as a cheerful, always positive-thinking, and rather immature kid and still acting the same way by the time ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII'' rolls around. [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools Not that this is a bad thing]], as this very trait is what gives him the capacity to act as an independent thinker and [[SpannerInTheWorks foil several of the villains’ schemes]], something other protagonists in the series can't necessarily claim (and have suffered for as a result). By contrast, Neku is a DynamicCharacter whose experiences within the game have him massively change as a person, detailing him growing from a self-centered loner who was willing to let his own partner die in order to save his own ass into a genuinely altruistic young man who risks life and limb for the people he cares about and can’t even bring himself to shoot the one person responsible for all of his suffering due to him learning to value his relationships ([[EarnYourHappyEnding which actually ends up paying off in the long run]]).

%%** Riku's replica is led to believe that if he absorbs Riku's powers he can become the 'real' Riku, and meets his end in ''Chain of Memories'' attacking Riku for this purpose. Xion on the other hand involuntarily absorbs Roxas's powers overtime, which starts to turn her physically into Sora. She meets her end in ''Days'' after attacking Roxas, ''feigning'' that she's trying to defeat him to complete the process - but it's merely a ruse so she can pull a SuicideByCop.

%%** Lastly, he is one to Aqua. They are both loyal students of their masters and seek to uphold their legacy, but [[OrderVersusChaos Vanitas relishes in chaos while Aqua pursues order]]. Also, despite Vanitas sharing a physical connection with Ventus, it's Aqua whom he ends up having to fight over and over again throughout ''Birth by Sleep'' and ''III'', to the point that they can be considered [[ArchEnemy archenemies]].

%%** Axel forms this for Roxas in Organization XIII as well.

* Yozora's similarities appearance-wise to Sora makes the differences between the two all of the more striking and noticeable. As implied by the parallel between the meanings of their names - Night Sky for Yozora and Sky for Sora - his taciturn and borderline cold personality along with his mysterious and unclear intentions in his first, proper introduction to the audience heavily clashes against the more gung-ho, energetic, and open-hearted Sora. In regards to fighting, Yozora's technology-based weaponry and fighting style itself heavily contrasts Sora's own magically supported arsenal and approach to battle. Rather than going for wild, fast combos like Sora, Yozora goes for methodical, brief sword attacks; he doesn't use his wilder, faster sword combos until later in his combos and his second phase's drone laser-barrage slashes when he is more likely to have stunlocked Sora from his previous strikes.

* Vanitas is one to ''many'' characters.
** His closest counterpart is Ventus. Vanitas is literally the darkness to Ventus' light [[spoiler: (or so we thought). It's subverted in ''Re:Mind'' however, as Vanitas reveals that he isn't actually Ventus’ dark half, but rather a being that has existed inside of him for a long time before being extracted by Master Xehanort.]]
** Though the two have no direct relation or interaction, he also seems to be this for Xion. Looks like a member of the Destiny Islands trio with black hair? ArtificialHuman? Get screwed over by Xehanort? These two are living the same life with a different X.
** He's also one to Riku. They have the same battle stance, the same basic powerset and weapons, and Riku's Dark Mode resembles Vanitas's suit. Riku, however, is a good guy, if flawed, that cares about his friends and regrets all the evil he did in the first game. The implication is that had Riku never abandoned Xehanort's Heartless he could have become something just as bad as Vanitas.
** He is one to Sora, having Sora's versatility (he uses all three major elements in BBS) and energetic nature. He's enjoying most of what he's doing, but unlike Sora, his joy is manic and sadistic.
** He can be considered as one to Roxas as well. They were both born after being ripped out of someone (Ventus and Sora respectively), yet they end up looking different than the person they originated from (Roxas looks exactly like Ventus, while Vanitas looks like a black-haired, yellow-eyed Sora). Their character development also differs, as while Roxas has friends, grows vengeful against the Organization for what they put him and his friends through, rebels and is ultimately a good guy, Vanitas became a monster underneath Xehanort's tutelage and is ultimately alone. They both also end up getting new Keyblades at the climax of their stories, but whereas Roxas gets Oblivion and Oathkeeper and becomes a hell of a badass, Vanitas gets the singular χ-blade which is not even properly forged and as ''III'' shows, can be beaten by a strong enough Keyblade wielder and his two friends.
** Lastly, he is one to Aqua. They are both loyal students of their masters and seek to uphold their legacy, but [[OrderVersusChaos Vanitas relishes in chaos while Aqua pursues order]]. Also, despite Vanitas sharing a physical connection with Ventus, it's Aqua whom he ends up having to fight over and over again throughout ''Birth by Sleep'' and ''III'', to the point that they can be considered [[ArchEnemy archenemies]].

* To Ava. Both of them are ancient keyblade masters who lived long ago before Sora and his friends were even born, both of them are apprentices of the Master of Masters who were each given a secret role that their fellow Foretellers aren’t aware of, both of them share similar [[TheChessmaster chessmaster tendencies]] like their Master, both of them constantly question the Master’s motives and both of them miss their friends (the other Foretellers) and don’t want them to fight. However, the differences there are that unlike Luxu, who still blindly follows the Master of Masters’s orders despite knowing that he’s not being entirely honest with his students, Ava instead decided to bend the rules and eventually starts [[ScrewDestiny defying both the Master’s orders and his prophecy]]. Also, unlike Luxu, who only acts FauxAffablyEvil towards his enemies, Ava’s niceness is genuine and she even tries to act kind towards her enemies if she can. Plus, the roles that the Master of Masters gave them are polar opposites: Ava’s role is to ensure that other keyblade wielders survive the upcoming keyblade war to rebuild anew, while Luxu’s role is to ensure only his own survival ahead of everything else and to not try to intervene in the war to save anyone. To Luxu. Both of them are ancient keyblade masters who lived long ago before Sora and his friends were even born, both of them are apprentices of the Master of Masters who were each given a secret role that their fellow Foretellers aren’t aware of, both of them share similar [[TheChessmaster chessmaster tendencies]] like their Master, both of them constantly question the Master’s motives and both of them miss their friends (the other Foretellers) and don’t want them to fight. However, the differences there are that unlike Luxu, who still blindly follows the Master of Masters’s orders despite knowing that he’s not being entirely honest with his students, Ava instead decided to bend the rules and eventually starts [[ScrewDestiny defying both the Master’s orders and his prophecy]]. Also, unlike Luxu, who only acts FauxAffablyEvil towards his enemies, Ava’s niceness is genuine and she even tries to act kind towards her enemies if she can. Plus, the roles that the Master of Masters gave them are polar opposites: Ava’s role is to ensure that other keyblade wielders survive the upcoming keyblade war to rebuild anew, while Luxu’s role is to ensure only his own survival ahead of everything else and to not try to intervene in the war to save anyone.