Donald Duck is the royal court magician at Disney Castle and a major protagonist of the Kingdom Hearts series. He journeys with Sora and Goofy on their adventures to fight the darkness. Donald generally fights using magic with his staff.
Story[edit | edit source]
Kingdom Hearts III[edit | edit source]
Gathered at The Mysterious Tower, Master Yen Sid reminds Sora that their task is to gather several allies in order to defeat Master Xehanort and tasks Sora with going to visit Hercules in hopes of finding a way of regaining his strength. Donald and Goofy decide to join Sora on his journey once more. Once on the Gummi Ship, however, Sora is unable to figure out how to open a gate to Olympus Coliseum. Thankfully, spurred by Goofy quoting Master Yen Sid, he figures out how to summon the gate using the Keyblade, and the trio makes their way to Olympus.[1]
Sora, Donald, and Goofy arrive in Olympus, but don't recognize their surroundings and are disappointed not to find themselves surrounded by their friends in celebration of their return. Realizing Sora's gate has landed them far from the Coliseum, the trio decide to start making their way, heading up the mountain in the hopes of finding something familiar.[2] In their search for Olympus Coliseum, Sora, Donald, and Goofy become lost. Pausing at a mountain edge, Sora decides to shout for Hercules, but instead he catches the attention of Hades, who makes an unwelcome appearance. At first Hades is irate at the trio's mentions of Hercules, but he quickly calms himself and reveals that he is once again planning to conquer the cosmos. The trio are far from enthusiastic to see their old foe again and Sora openly dismisses Hades' aspirations. At this Hades calls upon the Titans, and suddenly Sora, Donald, and Goofy find themselves assaulted by earthquakes, icy cold, lava, and, finally, a veracious wind that sweeps them clean off the mountain and throws them off into the distance.[3]
In Olympus' township, Hercules is surprised by screams coming from up above and is shocked to see Sora, Donald, and Goofy flying through the air. He jumps to action and manages to save Sora and Goofy, but Donald is not so lucky and ends up getting caught in the mouth of a lion statue, where he furiously yells for help as he dangles helplessly. After being retrieved by Hercules, Sora and company are quick to notice the fiery destruction plaguing the town.[4] As the group continue their walk through Thebes, Hercules asks Sora why he has returned. Sora asks how Hercules was able to regain his strength when he saved Megara during their last visit to Olympus Coliseum. Hercules explains he isn't sure where his strength came from, only that he wanted to save Meg with all his heart. The trio fails to hide their disappointment in the lack of a solution for Sora's lost strength.
The reunion is interrupted when Donald sees fire raining from the sky and soon the town is swarmed by a rain of Heartless that quickly sets to lighting more fires around Thebes. Weapons are summoned and the heroes band together to make quick work of the Heartless menace.[5] After the fight they are visited by Megara and Philoctetes, who arrive riding atop Pegasus. Meg is happy to see the trio again and thanks them for helping the town. Concerned by the fire, Hercules tells Meg, Phil, and Pegasus to find safety while he and the trio will search the city for any trapped townspeople. Meg agrees and wishes them luck, before departing with Phil and Pegasus. As they watch Pegasus go, Goofy notices a call for help in the distance. He alerts the others and Hercules is able to find the source: a young girl trapped on a unsteady rock pile. Knowing running will not be able to get them to the girl in time, Hercules instructs the trio to climb onto the Hercules statue that was toppled during the Heartless attack. Once the trio are settled, Hercules lifts the statue and launches it in the direction of the girl. The girl is rescued and thanks the team before heading away to safety.
Sora, Donald, and Goofy are not alone for long, as a dark corridor opens behind them and Maleficent and Pete step through. Maleficent sneers at the presence of "the King's pawns", but is quick to deny involvement when Sora accuses her of summoning the Heartless. Pete seems to notice a difference in Sora, and is glad to point out that Sora seems weaker than before and possibly easy to defeat. Maleficent, however, dismisses this, citing a more pressing matter to attend. Pete lets slip that this is their search for a black box, a reveal that greatly irritates Maleficent. With one final pointed comment each about the trio's unimportance, Maleficent and Pete head back through the dark corridor, with Sora failing to stop them from getting away. Visibly upset by Pete's comments, Sora is left deflated and frowning, but insists he is fine when Donald and Goofy ask if he's okay. Knowing he isn't being entirely truthful, Donald and Goofy tell Sora that he'll definitely get stronger, a statement that only seems to frustrate Sora more.[6]
Making their way through Olympus in search of trapped townspeople, Sora, Donald, and Goofy find their path ravaged by a fire they can't get past. Sora confronts the flames to no avail, but Goofy decides to try as well, using his shield as a barrier. Realizing his shield is impervious to fire, Goofy suggests they use it for transport, something Sora and Donald are happy to agree to.[7] They eventually reach Thebes' Gardens, where they find a woman trapped atop a pillar, the ground below her filled with Flame Core Heartless. She calls desperately for Hercules, but it is Sora, Donald, and Goofy that discover her. They quickly run over to defeat the Heartless and--despite the woman's disappointment in being helped by a group of strangers instead of Hercules--battle ensues.[8] After they rescue her, the Olympus woman thanks Sora, Donald, and Goofy and remarks that as long as they keep training, they will become great heroes like Hercules someday. As she leaves, Sora is left disappointed by her comment, wondering if his lack of strength is really obvious. Though Donald teases that it is, Goofy remarks that they're all far from perfect, but that they can improve together, to which Sora heartily agrees.[9]
After clearing the rest of Thebes of townspeople, Sora, Donald, and Goofy reach a large building on the outskirts of the town. They head inside and find Hercules struggling to hold the collapsing building on top of his back, while three townspeople huddle below him. Things only get worse when the other side of the building collapses, blocking the exit, and then a horde of Flame Cores materialize. Hercules tells Sora to protect the townspeople while he keeps the building upright.[10] After they defeat the swarm of Heartless, Hercules orders the trio to get the townspeople out of the building before it falls. The group barely clears the area before a great rumble surrounds them and they are forced to huddle together as the building finally collapses. When the shaking stops and the dust clears, the trio are devastated to see the building in ruins, with Hercules still inside. Thankfully their grief is short-lived, as Hercules then emerges from the rubble unscathed.
As everyone celebrates Hercules' heroism, the opening of a dark corridor interrupts the joy. Xigbar appears, clapping sarcastically in mock of their triumph. While the trio and Hercules glare him down with open hostility, Xigbar admonishes their desire to put others first and goes on to dismiss the idea of strength through connecting hearts, insisting that putting too much power in one place will lead to those hearts breaking. Despite pushback from Hercules and Sora, Xigbar remains unmoved and leaves just as suddenly as he had arrived. Sora is left obviously confused and concerned, but Hercules assures him that eventually they'll prove that their sacrifices aren't in vain. Donald and Goofy follow up by pointing out that their teamwork has already proved successful, making Xigbar wrong already. Sora is cheered by their words and his sunny disposition returns, but as the group leaves they don't notice Sora lagging behind, furrowing his brow and pondering over Xigbar's words.[11]
The group continues until they reach the town center, where a giant Heartless is rampaging. Battle ensues and, upon the Heartless' defeat, Megara, Pegasus, and Philoctetes return. Meg informs them that no-one else is in trouble. Their victory is short-lived, however, as they quickly notice a dark storm brewing around Mount Olympus. Knowing the cause to be Hades, Sora, Donald, and Goofy determine to go with Hercules to defeat the villain once again.[12] The group discovers the water on the mountain is dangerously high and raging angrily, but through dispatching multiple groups of Water Cores, the rivers and waterfall return to their normal peaceful state. As Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Hercules climb further up Mount Olympus, the ground around them begins to shake. Concerned about the happenings above them, Hercules begins to worry for his family. He summons Pegasus and tells the others he will fly ahead. Sora is intrigued by the mention of his family and Hercules reveals that his dad is the king of the gods. Hercules and Pegasus fly off, leaving Sora, Donald, and Goofy in shock at the revelation that Hercules's dad is a god and whether that means that Hercules, by extension, might be one as well. This new information leads Goofy and Donald to think that Hercules will be okay, but when Sora reminds them that the Organization is in Olympus too, they realize they should continue on to offer help.[13]
Sora, Donald, and Goofy make their way up Mount Olympus, but their entrance to the Realm of the Gods is blocked by a confrontation with the Rock Titan. After a fierce battle, the Rock Titan falls off the side of Mount Olympus and the trio watch it go. Their enemy gone, the trio celebrate, with Goofy noting that the Titans aren't that difficult on their own.[14] Their path cleared, the trio's travels bring them to a golden staircase. They eagerly race up the stairs and burst through the doors at the top, marveling at the beauty and splendor of the area beyond. Their amazement is cut off when they are startled by the sound of trumpets, which they hope might be the fanfare they were expecting when they first arrived in Olympus. These hopes are quickly dashed as a horde of Satyr Heartless appears and another battle begins.[15] Once victorious, the trio hurry forward.
At the top of Olympus' Realm of the Gods, Hades has completed his conquest. The Ice Titan and Lava Titan have trapped Zeus in a rock prison and Hades sits back, pleased to finally be in charge. His victory is short-lived, however, as Hercules (atop Pegasus), Sora, Donald, and Goofy arrive. Hercules flies in and frees the rest of the gods Hades had in chains, then he joins Sora, Donald, and Goofy in facing the Titans in battle.[16] Although a valiant fight ensues, all three Titans remain standing. Things only get worse when the Rock Titan suddenly joins the battle. To assuage his doubts, Sora confidently reminds Goofy that there's four of them to take the four of the Titans, prompting Hercules to note that he can make it five. Hercules then jumps onto the rock cone imprisoning Zeus and breaks it apart, setting his father free. Zeus quickly gets to work, pelting the Titans with lightning bolts. The Titans attempt to flee, but Hercules captures the Tornado Titan and uses it to gather the other three Titans together. He flings the monsters far out into space, effectively destroying them. Hades fumes about his loss and prepares to attack, before being interrupted by Hercules and forced to leave.[17]
After defeating Hades and the Titans, Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Hercules make their way out of the Realm of the Gods. Sora, Donald, and Goofy ask Hercules if he's sure he wants to leave his home and family in Olympus, but Hercules explains that if he stayed, he wouldn't be able to be with the person he loves most, Meg. Sora determines that he'll find his strength by, like Hercules, finding something to fight for with all his heart.[18]
After their adventures in Olympus, Sora, Donald, and Goofy return to The Mysterious Tower. Master Yen Sid is disappointed to find Sora has not learned the power of waking nor regained his strength, but seems hopeful as he remembers that Sora's greatest strength is that magic happens whenever he is in need. Their discussion is interrupted by the return of King Mickey and Riku from the Dark World, who also come bearing bad news--they weren't able to locate Aqua. All is not lost, however, as Riku recalls how Sora was lost to darkness during his exam, but Riku was able to save him. He explains that if they are able to find someone who is close with Aqua, that person might be able to travel into the abyss and find her. Mickey and Yen Sid ponder this option, but things seem grim as they realize that everyone Aqua was close with is gone. Suddenly, Sora exclaims that he will save Aqua, though when the group reacts with shock to this suggestion, Sora becomes confused and admits he is unsure why he offered. Still, the declaration was convincing, so Sora is told to continue on his search for the power of waking with the end goal of visiting the realm of darkness to save Aqua. As the trio is about to depart, Jiminy Cricket appears, exclaiming that they can't take a journey without him there to chronicle it. The group follows with one final bow to the old Keyblade Master and then they all depart, Yen Sid wishing them well with an old saying as they go.[19]
Inside the Gummi Ship, Goofy and Donald are waiting for Sora to set their next path of travel when they are interrupted by a strange ringing sound. Sora pulls a device from the pocket of his new outfit and, confused, presses a button on the front. Dale and then Chip appear on the device's screen, revealing what Sora holds is a Gummiphone, something they created so they could keep in touch with Sora on his travels. They have called to tell Sora about some of Ansem the Wise's data that Riku discovered during their time in sleeping worlds. The conversation is joined by Ienzo, who has been examining the data Riku found, and informs Sora that they have learnt that Sora's heart doesn't completely belong to him. To the other's surprise, Sora is not shocked by the information, for he has suspected Roxas was inside his heart for some while. Intrigued, Ienzo signs off to continue his investigations, while Chip and Dale give a cheery farewell and the promise of help should the others ever need it. Thinking about this new information, Sora decides the best way to know where to go is by following Roxas' heart. With encouragement from Donald and Goofy, Sora summons his Keyblade and opens a gate to their next destination.[20]
Sora, Donald, and Goofy journey to Twilight Town. As the trio stroll down the street, they talk about the recent strange encounters they've had with past adversaries, but decide not to worry about them too much. As they reach the Tram Common, Sora is excited to see the trams again, which brings Goofy to suggest that maybe those feelings are from Roxas, excited to be back home. Sora recalls seeing Roxas in the sleeping worlds, and then Donald brings up Roxas' appearance in the datascape, which Goofy points out was part of a test to see if Sora was ready to handle hurt. Sora follows with the declaration that he is going to find Roxas, but as soon as he says the words out loud, a group of Dusks appear and the trio are forced into battle.[21] After defeating the Nobodies, Hayner, Pence, and then Olette appear, rushing through the streets to get away from the massive Heartless Demon Tide behind them. Sora, Donald, and Goofy jump to their rescue.[22] After fighting the Demon Tide off, Sora, Donald, and Goofy explain they are trying to bring back Roxas. Intrigued by a name that feels both unknown and familiar, Hayner, Pence, and Olette decide to ask around town about Roxas, while Sora, Donald, and Goofy decide to journey ahead to the Old Mansion. Before separating, the group take a photo together with Sora's Gummiphone.[23]
As Sora, Donald, and Goofy make their way through Twilight Town's Woods, they spy a small rat stuck up a tree that is surrounded by Powerwild Heartless. Without a moment's hesitation, they jump into action and save the poor creature.[24] After, the trio wish the rat farewell, but before they can leave the rat climbs atop Sora's head. The rat tugs on Sora's hair and Sora finds himself hijacked, turning this way and that at each pull of his hair. Controlling Sora—much to the amusement of Donald and Goofy—the rat makes it clear that he is interested in the fruit on the ground. Sora offers to help him collect the fruit, under the condition that he do so on his own and not under the control of the rat. When the trio has gathered the fruit, they ask the rat what he wants it for. He mimes his answer but Sora, Donald, and Goofy are unable to understand it, so they simply wish the rat well and continue on their way.[25]
Sora, Donald, and Goofy arrive at the Old Mansion just in time for the appearance of Hayner, Pence, and Olette, who reveal that their inquiries around town didn't yield any results. Knowing the Mansion is their last hope for clues, the group enters the abandoned building and return to the transporter in the basement. Pence attempts to access the transporter, but finds the program blocked. Ienzo then calls Sora on the Gummiphone and explains that while attempting to decipher Ansem's code, he received an alert that someone was trying to access the terminal in Twilight Town. With Pence's assistance, Ienzo is able to set up a network between the two worlds. Intrigued by the concept of a digital world within Ansem's computer, Ienzo explains that with Pence's help, he may be able to retrieve Roxas' data from the computer. Before hanging up, Ienzo reveals that Even, the former Organization XIII member known as Vexen, has disappeared and Sora and his friends should be careful.[26] As they emerge from the Old Mansion, Sora, Donald, and Goofy are shocked to find both Xemnas and Ansem waiting for them. The pair mock Sora's efforts to bring back Roxas and Xemnas claims that the only way to bring Roxas back is for Sora to submit to the darkness, so before they leave through a dark portal, he and Ansem summon enemies and force the trio into battle.[27] After fighting the enemies off, Sora decides he will restore Roxas, with Donald and Goofy enthusiastically agreeing to help. First, however, Sora, Donald, and Goofy decide they must return to the Tram Common to warn Hayner, Pence, and Olette about Ansem and Xemnas's presence.[28]
Having returned to the Tram Common, Sora, Donald, and Goofy run into Uncle Scrooge, who reveals that the little rat they rescued in the forest is actually Little Chef, the cook behind Scrooge's new Twilight Town restaurant, Le Grand Bistrot. Little Chef gifts the trio with a tarte aux fruit as thanks for saving him and says he'd like to cook more for the group, so Scrooge encourages them to find ingredients that he can use, a task Sora eagerly agrees to.[29] Soon after, Hayner and Olette catch up to the group. Sora tells the pair about Organization XIII's presence and warns them to keep safe. He also asks them to keep Roxas in their hearts and wish for his return, just like Donald and Goofy had once done for him.[30]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Kingdom Hearts III: "Prelude to Adventure"
- ↑ Kingdom Hearts III: "No Fanfare?"
- ↑ Kingdom Hearts III: "Return of the Titans"
- ↑ Kingdom Hearts III: "Dropping In"
- ↑ Kingdom Hearts III: "The Way to Find Strength"
- ↑ Kingdom Hearts III: "Maleficent's Desire"
- ↑ Kingdom Hearts III: "Shields Do Everything!"
- ↑ Kingdom Hearts III: "A Cry for Help"
- ↑ Kingdom Hearts III: "Not Quite Heroes Yet"
- ↑ Kingdom Hearts III: "The Collapsing Building"
- ↑ Kingdom Hearts III: "Xigbar's Admonition"
- ↑ Kingdom Hearts III: "Hades Makes His Move"
- ↑ Kingdom Hearts III: "Son of Zeus"
- ↑ Kingdom Hearts III: "The Rock Titan Rolls"
- ↑ Kingdom Hearts III: "Olympus's Splendor"
- ↑ Kingdom Hearts III: "Showdown with the Titans"
- ↑ Kingdom Hearts III: "A Sore Loser"
- ↑ Kingdom Hearts III: "Where He Belongs"
- ↑ Kingdom Hearts III: "A Fresh Start"
- ↑ Kingdom Hearts III: "Heart Within a Heart"
- ↑ Kingdom Hearts III: "Nostalgic Streets"
- ↑ Kingdom Hearts III: "Hello, Good-bye"
- ↑ Kingdom Hearts III: "The Friend They'd Never Met"
- ↑ Kingdom Hearts III: "A Forager in Distress"
- ↑ Kingdom Hearts III: "Under Control?"
- ↑ Kingdom Hearts III: "Datascapes"
- ↑ Kingdom Hearts III: "Ansem and Xemnas"
- ↑ Kingdom Hearts III: "Sora's Resolve"
- ↑ Kingdom Hearts III: "The Bistro's Little Chef"
- ↑ Kingdom Hearts III: "We'll All Wish"