Kingdom Hearts' Sora is a pretty well-rounded character, possessing traits that many don't think about at first when considering his personality. After hanging out with Donald and Goofy for so long, his carefree disposition has become his dominant characteristic, but he has plenty of others that make up who he is. There's one in particular that makes for some hilarious displays of Sora's duality whenever it surfaces.
Sora can be — and probably is — the most disrespectful character walking around the Kingdom Hearts universe. While he tends to be giving with his friends, he does not often share this side with his enemies. In fact, on several occasions Sora has shown his opposition no sympathy whatsoever, even going so far as to embarrass them if the confrontations get physical. He certainly has plenty of encounters like this, but a few in particular stand out.
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By the beginning of Kingdom Hearts 2, Pete has been a willing man-servant to Maleficent for the better part of 10 years. While she coveted Kingdom Hearts in the original game, he scoured the cosmos conquering worlds in her name. When Maleficent meets her end, Pete doesn't learn who did her in. Unfortunately for him, her killers stumble unto him in the midst of his mission, and they have no problem teasing him about putting Maleficent in the ground.
Sora, Donald, and Goofy have just awakened a year after wiping out a castle's worth of enemies. They arrive at Mysterious Tower in time to catch Pete plotting to take over, which he informs them of with little to no coaxing. Once he declares, with pride, how Maleficent will help him conquer all worlds, Sora, Donald, and Goofy meet his enthusiasm by laughing at him.
They laugh at the fact that Pete doesn't know that they killed Maleficent earlier in their journey, or as Sora himself puts it, "She's toast." It's a moment that acts as one of the first to show that Sora, and even Donald and Goofy, are not really in the business of sympathizing with people who are more-or-less genocidal maniacs. At least, not when the genocide aspect is the only thing they know about said maniacs.
While Xemnas has his conversation with "Aqua" in the dungeons of Ansem's lab, Demyx is selected to distract Sora, Donald, and Goofy. The only problem is that Demyx isn't a fighter or even strong-willed, not compared to his fellow members of Organization 13. Demyx knows this, but so do Sora, Donald, and Goofy. It became apparent to them when they faced the sitar-playing Organization member in Olympus' Underworld.
Never one to go easy on his enemies, Sora doesn't hesitate to throw Demyx's insecurities in his face, taunting him about his lack of physical ability and his place in the Organization. When Demyx momentarily drops his goofy and weak facade to challenge Sora and the gang directly, Sora plays with him, using Reaction Commands like "Show Stealer" to mimic Demyx style before striking him. To top it off, after destroying Demyx, Sora calls out any Organization members who might be listening and asks if they'd like to be next.
Sora taunts the rest of Organization 13 by telling them that if they get in his way, they'll be going the same route as their music-loving water master. This line does a fantastic job of showing that Sora has his rough edges; he's not someone who's above belittling his opposition or destroying them, and then simply moving on to the next opponent.
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When Sora and Aladdin survive his trap because of Iago's betrayal, Jafar enters genie mode and switches from trying to conqueror Agrabah to destroying it, a decision that leads him into a one-on-one confrontation with Sora. While Jafar's reality-warping abilities make him powerful, he finds himself weaker than the Keyblade wielder and ultimately loses the duel, a duel wherein he sustains so much damage that even his immortal form starts to destabilize.
While on the verge of dying, Jafar decides to throw one last insult at Sora, who hurls it right back at him. "How could I lose again to a pack of filthy street rats," Jafar asks in disbelief, to which Sora responds, "Don't mess with street rats," before flying away on Carpet and letting Jafar pop like a magic-filled balloon.
In moments like these, heroes usually try to help their villains see the error of their ways or understand why they lost — but not Sora. Sora simply lets Jafar die while holding onto his broken worldview. In a lot of cases, heroes like Sora usually tend to avoid killing their adversaries as often as possible. If their foes do kick the bucket, it's usually due to some wild accident or someone else getting their hands dirty.
Sora circumvents these tropes. Instead of shying away from the concept of apathy, Kingdom Hearts — specifically Kingdom Hearts 2 —treats it as something Sora needs to overcome, and it subtly shows him changing by the end of the game. After he sees Axel's sacrifice and learns more about Roxas, he starts approaching his fights a little differently. Once he reaches Xemnas, he's actively trying to sympathize with his enemies, as he tries to help the Organization leader take on a more positive worldview.
But at the point in the story when he's facing Jafar, Sora doesn't have the sense. Jafar made himself into a very dangerous enemy, so Sora treats him like one to the very end. He already tried sealing Jafar away, which didn't work, so he finishes the job this time.
Jafar's not the first opponent who Sora has killed, and he likely won't be the last, but what separates the genie from other slain villains is that he's Sora's first personal kill. With other villains like Oogie Boogie and Ursula, Sora had help when he ended them, but he takes Jafar out alone. In a way, something like this could be considered respectful. Sora respected Jafar's power enough to treat him like an actual threat, but the way he carries himself throughout the encounter gives off the opposite vibe.
Kingdom Hearts is available now on PC, PS4, and Xbox
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