358/2 Days
Terms and lore
Nobodies. What Roxas learned he was, along with every member of the Organization: somebody who came into the world without a heart. The Organization's members, by Roxas's account, are powerful enough to keep the memories of their human lives. Roxas and Xion remember nothing of theirs. According to Xigbar, nothing is left of a Nobody once it is gone, because there is no heart to leave behind.
Number XIV. Roxas's place in the Organization, announced in the Round Room, where every member has a chair, as "one of the Keyblade's chosen." Members are numbered, go out on missions, and return to the castle when the work is done.
Collecting hearts. The Organization's work. A heart released by a Keyblade from a defeated Heartless is collected for Kingdom Hearts. A heart released any other way just finds its way into another Heartless, which is why the Organization needs Keyblade wielders. Without her Keyblade, Xion feared she would be made into a Dusk.
Kingdom Hearts. A great heart-shaped moon in the night sky over the Organization's castle, made of all the hearts they have gathered, "hearts full of rage, hate, sadness, and bliss." The Organization's stated goal is that Kingdom Hearts will complete them and they will have hearts of their own. Its leader spoke of gaining power over the human heart. Xion's last request was that Roxas set those hearts free.
Sea-salt ice cream. Salty, but sweet too. Axel called it "the icing on the cake" after a successful mission, and every day after work Roxas met him on the clock tower in Twilight Town to eat one. Some of the sticks say WINNER, and a WINNER stick can be traded for an extra bar.
Twilight Town. The town where Roxas came into the world, with the clock tower above it and the sunset over it. Axel's explanation for the colour: light is made of many colours, and red travels the farthest.
The seashells. Xion picked one up on every mission and left them by Roxas's bed while he slept. Held to his ear, one sounded like the ocean, and it sounded familiar. When Xion slept for three weeks, he did the same for her.
Replicas and the Program. Vexen's work at Castle Oblivion, continued after him: copies that duplicate the Keyblade wielder's memories, and through them his powers. Xion was the finest of them, No. i. She was never meant to have a mind of her own. What she looks like depends on who is looking. Saïx sees simply a puppet. To the man who reported on the Program she sometimes takes the hero's form. Axel saw someone who looked just like Naminé, and Xion herself learned from Riku that Kairi is the one who looks so much like her. Through Roxas, she was gathering Sora's power, and at the end she wore Sora's face.
Sora's sleep. Somewhere far from the Organization, the man in red bandages and Naminé were trying to put a boy's memory back together, and could not finish. Riku told Xion why. Her memories really belong to Sora, and while part of them is inside her, Sora cannot wake up. She chose to go back to him.
The other Twilight Town. A copy of the town Roxas knew, built by the man in red bandages to hide him where the Organization would never look. Roxas woke up there with no memory of the year, three friends waiting for him, and the last week of a summer vacation to get through.
Characters and where they stand
Roxas. Came into the world knowing nothing but his name, and for a long time could barely form a sentence. He grew curious, stubborn and fiercely loyal to his two friends, and he kept asking what the work was for when nobody would answer. Xion's last request made him leave the Organization to set Kingdom Hearts free and to find out who Sora is. Riku stopped him, and his memories of Xion were taken. He is living in the copy of Twilight Town with no memory of the year, looking forward to the beach. In a basement there, he met a boy his own age dressed in red.
Xion. Quiet at first, then warm and funny, and troubled by questions nobody in the Organization had a use for: what they needed hearts for, and what she was doing there. She could use the Keyblade like Roxas. She learned she was a replica built from Sora's memories, and that holding them kept Sora asleep. She chose to go back to him. Before she went she fought Roxas, asked him to free Kingdom Hearts, and told him and Axel they were her best friends. Everyone's memories of her went with her, and she left a seashell behind.
Axel. Roxas's mentor and then his best friend: easygoing, sarcastic, and always asking whether you have it memorized. He came back from Castle Oblivion the only one of six, and he would not talk about what happened there. He knew what Xion was and decided she was his friend anyway. On orders he brought her back, twice. Roxas has left the Organization, and Axel expects to be sent after him. He wishes the two of them could share ice cream again someday.
Saïx. Cold and exacting, the one who hands out the missions. He called Xion a mistake and a puppet, and he tried and failed to stop Roxas leaving.
Xemnas. The Organization's leader, who showed them Kingdom Hearts and promised it would complete them. He placed Xion among them because Sora is the connection between her and Roxas, and he did not mind which of the two absorbed the other, so long as Sora's power ended up his. Once, somebody corrected his name to Xehanort.
Xigbar. Offhand and knowing. He told Roxas that nothing is left of a Nobody once it is gone, and that Roxas and Xion were "exceptional."
Luxord. A gambler who talks about everything as a game with house rules, and missed half the poker league when six members left for Castle Oblivion.
Riku. Wearing an Organization coat, searching for a way to conquer the darkness in him while Sora sleeps. He told Xion the truth about her memories and let her choose. When Roxas went looking for Sora, Riku fought him, and to win he let the darkness change him. He brought Roxas to the man in red bandages introducing himself as Ansem, ready to live in darkness if that was what it took to wake his friend. He asked Mickey to be there for their friends.
Naminé. Working with the man in red bandages on Sora's memories. Xion came to her ready to go back to Sora, and asked her to watch over Roxas.
The man in red bandages. Impatient, bitter, and working on Sora's memory with Naminé. He regards Nobodies as things that had no business existing. He hid Roxas in the copy of Twilight Town. Of Riku he said: "Riku was the victim of my revenge."
Sora. Asleep somewhere, with his memories being put back together. He could not wake while part of them was inside Xion. She has gone back to him now.
Questions
Who is the man in red bandages, and what revenge did he mean?
Why did somebody call Xemnas "Xehanort"?
What does the Organization really mean to do with Kingdom Hearts?
Who is Roxas's Somebody, and will Roxas ever learn who Sora is?
Who is the boy in red that Roxas met in the basement?
Why did a few people keep their memories of Xion?
Will Sora wake now that Xion has gone back to him?
Will Riku ever get his own face back?
Will Axel find Roxas again?
Fun facts
Ice cream from the park. Nomura first tasted sea-salt ice cream at Tokyo DisneySea. He thought a salty ice cream sounded strange, found it delicious, and worked with Disney to put it in the series.
A story about someone else. Early in development it was decided that this game should not focus on Sora. Roxas became the main character so the game could tell his story and his connection to the Organization.
Born from Dissidia. The game's multiplayer mode grew out of Dissidia Final Fantasy, which Nomura had first imagined as a Kingdom Hearts spin-off. It was one of the reasons he chose the Organization as the game's main characters.
Never paired. Saïx and Xemnas are the only Organization members who never go on a mission with Roxas.
A last performance. The game was Wayne Allwine's final performance as Mickey Mouse, and its credits are dedicated to him.