May your heart be your guiding key!
One of the most iconic weapons from all of video gaming is the keyblade of Kingdom Hearts. As you unlock new keychains, this strange weapon changes form, creating styles that adapt to the various Disney and Final Fantasy worlds Sora visits.
The best keyblade designs in Kingdom Hearts history include a dramatic tone, a well-placed callback to a Disney classic film, or a reference to the friendships that Sora and other characters have gathered across their adventures. Here’s a breakdown of ten of these cool styles.
Kingdom Key
You have to start with the O.G. This simple but cherished keyblade design features the iconic crown as the blade end and a Mickey Mouse symbol as a keychain. The metallic shine and the bright yellow hilt make Sora’s default keyblade pop on the screen. Whenever you see it, you’ll get a blast of nostalgia.
Dual Disk
Any fan of Tron would get a kick out of this keyblade. It has the shape of the light cycles used to traverse the data scape. In addition, there’s a little glow that emanates from this design, making it one of the best keyblades due to how unique it is. This might come from one of the worst worlds in the series, but it sure looks cool.
Ever After
Whenever you think of the movie Tangled and its world in Kingdom Hearts 3, you think of the bright, colorful visuals. That is reflected within the Ever After keyblade. Rapunzel’s Tower is symbolized perfectly by this keyblade, with the golden strands across the weapon as the princess’ hair. The grass is represented by the hilt’s green composition. What makes it even better is Rapunzel’s weapon of choice, a frying pan, is the keychain of Ever After.
Grand Chef
This Ratatouille-inspired keyblade looks magnifique while Sora is fighting the heartless and nobodies of Kingdom Hearts 3. The shining lights of the Eiffel Tower are showcased on the main section of the keyblade, while the rat Remy nestles on top. The transformation it takes fittingly turns into a frying pan that exudes fire as you strike. Gusteau’s cookbook is also used as a keychain, making for a neat reference to the Pixar movie.
Fenrir
One of the coolest weapons in all of gaming is the Buster Sword from Final Fantasy 7, so it’s neat to see Kingdom Hearts 2 taking on a spin with the overall design for a keyblade. Bandaged up and metallic in nature, this keyblade holds weight in battle. While it does cause a “Negative Combo” effect, which reduces your attack string by 1, Sora looks like a badass while carrying Fenrir. The design more than makes up for it. You can also see the Fenrir symbol that Cloud carries in the film Final Fantasy 7: Advent Children as the keychain.
Oathkeeper
The Oathkeeper is one of the more precious keyblade designs in the Kingdom Hearts series. It’s emblematic of Sora and Kairi’s relationship. The hero promises to bring back her lucky charm in the first game and then returns it when they finally see each other again at the end of Kingdom Hearts 2. This keyblade returns in Kingdom Hearts 3: Remind, and its transformation has Sora lancing at enemies quickly, disappearing into light as he dashes from place to place. The last form that this keyblade helps form is Sora duel wielding both Oathkeeper and Oblivion. There’s nothing cooler than having two keyblades at once.
The Stroke of Midnight
The Stroke of Midnight is a neat keyblade as it references the beloved castle from Cinderella and the Magic Kingdom theme park. It features the ever-important glass slipper at the end of the keychain. It also helps Ventus, Aqua, and Terra in landing critical hits early on each playthrough of Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep.
Ultima Weapon
With long-range and high offensive and magical stats attached to it, the Ultima Weapon is one of the best keyblades in Kingdom Hearts history. After getting all of the Orichalum+ in the game and finding other essential resources, this weapon is synthesized as proof of all your hard work. It’s also a neat reference to the Final Fantasy games it is partly inspired by, as it shares its name with many other powerful weapons in that series, including FF7.
Way To The Dawn
Riku’s original keyblade from the first Kingdom Hearts shows his initial struggle with the darkness and how it’s betwixt with his presence as a force for good. The dark black and red of the core keyblade clashes with the lighter feather hilt. There’s a heartless symbol dangling on the keychain and a creepy blue eye staring toward your soul when you look at it. The eye may actually be important, knowing recent information from the Master of Masters. Regardless, it’s a cool keyblade that fits the harsh journey Riku took from the first Kingdom Hearts through 358/2 Days and KH2.
Wheel of Fate
Exploring the Carribean in Kingdom Hearts 3 was a thrilling adventure for fans of the series, and once completing this world, they received the Wheel of Fate keyblade. It has the masts and flags of a pirate ship on the keyblade itself. The wooden steering wheel also acts as the point of the keyblade. It’s a fantastic design that embellishes the pirate spirit. The transformation also has Sora joust with the keyblade, making a stabbing motion rather than swinging it around. The differentiation in the combat makes the Wheel of Fate one of the best keyblades in the series.
