Let’s be real here, fellow gamers. Anyone who’s played Kingdom Hearts knows just how incredible yet crazy the series can be. What’s not to love about traveling to Disney worlds and protecting them from darkness as spiky-haired anime-esque characters? But with Kingdom Hearts, there is so much mystery surrounding the characters and plot. To this day, there’s still a lot of questions fans have about the series that may or may not be answered in Kingdom Hearts III.

But to get everyone even more excited for the latest game’s upcoming release, we’re going to discuss characters that are overpowered, while mentioning some that are rather weak. I’ll be honest though. Almost every character that has the potential to wield a Keyblade is on the overpowered list. Well, that’s almost. Not every character that currently wields this mystical weapon is ridiculously strong. Will this list potentially come off to some people as biased? You know, probably, because that’s just writing for you.

However, I’m mainly basing this list off of my own experiences, as well as what battles I’ve seen fans stress themselves over the most. This list also mainly focuses on characters that are original to the Kingdom Hearts series, but there are some on this list that are Disney characters as well. I’m also trying to be factual here. After all, there’s a lot of overpowered characters in Kingdom Hearts for a lot of reasons. Oh, and this is also the part where I warn you about spoilers. You aren’t safe here.

25 Overpowered: Master Xehanort

via KH Theories

Somehow, this crazy bald man has managed to be the villain in almost every Kingdom Hearts game. His many incarnations include Terranort, Ansem, and Xemnas. There’s even a younger version of him that serves as an antagonist in Dream Drop Distance. Just having the ability to more or less be the antagonist in every single game is a feat in itself. Also, he’s obviously pretty powerful if he has the ability to possess people and take control of their bodies.

24 Overpowered: Roxas

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Roxas is freakishly overpowered for a lot of reasons. First off, he’s Sora’s Nobody. Second, because of Ventus’ heart being inside Sora, Roxas is able to summon Ventus’ Keyblade during his battle with Riku. Even though he became weak in 358/2 Days due to Xion’s existence, once he regained his full power, he was a force to be reckoned with. It was to the point where Riku had to call on the darkness within him to defeat Roxas. And that’s why Riku ends up looking like Ansem through part of Kingdom Hearts II.

23 Weak: Naminé

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Naminé is strong, but to a point. She can conjure dark portals and also mess with Sora’s memories, which really messes things up for a lot of people who care deeply about the beloved protagonist.

She’s very intelligent, but she also possesses no type of weapon to protect herself.

Is there a possibility she could come back with a Keyblade in hand because of her connections to Kairi? Well, I’m not ruling that out as a possibility, but we shall see.

22 Overpowered: Riku

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Even though he gives in to the darkness, Riku is actually one of the very few characters we’ve seen overcome it. Terra, Ventus, and Aqua have in some way each been affected by Xehanort himself.

It does make me curious to know if Riku would fall the same way if Xehanort actually possessed him instead of Ansem.

But even besides the darkness, Riku is a strong Keyblade warrior. He even beats Sora in the Mark of Mastery exam in Dream Drop Distance.

21 Overpowered: Sora

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Speaking of protagonist Sora, he’s pretty strong, too. He’s a pretty skilled Keyblade wielder, but he also has a very powerful heart. It’s so strong that both Kairi’s and Ventus’ hearts sought refuge there.

I mean, don’t you think that says something when two strong characters think your heart is a nice place for them to chill while their bodies are out in limbo?

Sora’s not a weak piece of meat like some might think he is. In fact, he’s one of the characters that’s grown significantly in the franchise.

20 Weak: Xaldin

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I guess I always thought that Xaldin wasn’t really that intimidating. I mean, for the most part, all we really see him do is taunt the Beast, as he seems to really focus all his time at Beast’s Castle.

And he’s not a boss battle that I hear a lot of people complain about, so I don’t think he’s that difficult to fight, either.

Maybe people had different experiences than I did, but Xaldin. Yeah. What a guy, I guess?

19 Overpowered: Aqua

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I’m very biased toward Aqua, and I’ll admit that the latest Kingdom Hearts III trailer with her in it ripped me to shreds.

For more than 10 years, Aqua has wandered the Realm of Darkness, waiting for someone to come and rescue her.

I admire Aqua for surviving as long as she had in the realm until she gave in to Xehanort and was possessed by him. Shame on you, Mickey. You left one of the best girls there for way too long.

18 Overpowered: Axel/Lea

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Axel and Lea are basically as powerful as they are because of their interactions with other Keyblade wielders. Lea met Ventus in Radiant Garden and quickly befriended him. Lea’s Nobody counterpart, Axel, was extremely close with Roxas and Xion, both Keyblade wielders.

So basically, his friendliness and closeness to Keyblade wielders granted him the power to have his own Keyblade.

At least, that’s what I understand of it. How else would he have the ability to own a Keyblade?

17 Weak: Terra

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Is Terra strong in the sense of brute strength? I would definitely say so. Is he pretty weak because he gave in to darkness very easily? Absolutely. I have a very difficult time believing that all it took for him to succumb to darkness was fear of losing and shame.

I guess I feel like there’s a whole lot more to Terra’s story, and I want to know that.

Also, he got possessed by Xehanort. Yeah, Aqua did too, but if Terra hadn’t given in to darkness in the first place, I don’t think Aqua would be where she is right now.

16 Overpowered: Vanitas

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Vanitas is one of the more interesting characters in the series. I’d say he’s pretty powerful due to his origins and abilities. Not only is Vanitas a Keyblade wielder, but he’s also the physical embodiment of the darkness that once resided in Ventus’ heart. He’s also going to be an antagonist in Kingdom Hearts III, so he’s still a force to be reckoned with. Vanitas is also the reason why the Unversed came to be in existence, so because of his dark abilities, he’s pretty overpowered.

15 Overpowered: Xion

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With my experiences in the Kingdom Hearts franchise, I’ve learned that Xion isn’t as appreciated of a character. That news alone really upsets me since she’s my favorite character in the entire series.

Anyway, even though Xion was created to become as powerful as Sora, she does end up becoming her own person.

She’s very powerful at the end of 358/2 Days, having absorbed a significant amount of Sora’s memories as her own. At first she’s imperfect, but with time, she ends up becoming a powerful weapon for Organization XIII.

14 Weak: Kairi

via Kingdom Hearts Wiki

Now I’ll admit that Kairi has grown significantly stronger as a character, but there’s still some weak points. First off, she needs to start training in order to properly learn how to wield a Keyblade. Until then, she could be a valuable item for villains who want to upset Sora or Riku, and they might try to kidnap her. However, as far as we’re aware, she’s not one of the new seven hearts the Organization is looking for, so I guess she’s safe there?

13 Overpowered: Xigbar/Braig

via Kingdom Hearts Wiki - Fandom

Some members of Organization XIII, like Lea, for example, chose the side of light. On the other hand, Braig was always evil. He was a jerk in Birth By Sleep and he still is. I really don’t know why he’s one of the more overpowered characters in the series, but he is. He just always seems so willing to help out Xehanort with his plans, all for the sake of potentially gaining the ability to use a Keyblade. Even after getting permanently scarred, he continues helping Xehanort out.

12 Overpowered: Marluxia

via Kingdom Hearts Wiki - Fandom

Marluxia is also a very overpowered member of Organization XIII. He becomes so rebellious that he ends up turning others in the Organization against Xemnas’s way. Sure, in the end all the rebels are defeated, but you have to give Marluxia credit for having the guts to do something like this. He’s also extremely manipulative, which really helps him get there hand in a lot of situations. Marluxia is also a pretty difficult boss to fight in Chain of Memories.

11 Weak: Vexen

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You know what makes me laugh about Vexen? Out of everyone in the Castle Oblivion group, he was the highest ranking Organization XIII member. And yet, he’s the first one to die, and it’s not at the hands of Sora. Axel is actually the one who finishes Vexen off. I honestly couldn’t help but laugh when Vexen was eliminated because it was both so shocking and hilarious. For someone who was as intelligent as Vexen, he clearly lacked in physical fighting abilities.

10 Overpowered: Saix

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If I had to be honest, I’d say that Saix is even more powerful than Marluxia. Out of anyone in the Organization, he’s the most emotionless next to Xemnas. And even though he’s the seventh member, Saix is somehow the second-in-command in the entire Organization. How do you think that is if Saix wasn’t powerful? I mean, have you seen him go in Berserker Mode? He’s not one to be messed with. Don’t make Saix angry. You’ll absolutely regret it.

9 Weak: Luxord

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Continuing off of the discussion of Organization XIII members, I don’t think gamers had too much of an issue fighting Luxord, either. Sure, he’s got the time manipulation abilities and all, but even that doesn’t make it too difficult, especially if you’re a quick learner. However, I am interested to see how he is in Kingdom Hearts III. Will he become a more difficult boss that’ll be harder to deal with? Or will he be forever set in his regular old habits?

8 Overpowered: Master Eraqus

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Even though there’s only so much we know about Master Eraqus, he’s one of those passionate teachers who constantly reminds his pupils that light is good and darkness is very, very bad. However, he’s easily defeated by Terra because of, well, darkness. Eraqus, it looks like you didn’t do a great job teaching if all three of your pupils ended up enthralled to darkness, anyway. I’m hoping that we’ll get more backstory on him in Kingdom Hearts III so that we learn more about his true potential.

7 Weak: Ventus

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Now don’t get me wrong. I adore Ven because I think he’s one of the sweetest characters in the entire series. But he’s also extremely naive and impatient with a whole lot of aspects. Since he ran away from home, Aqua more or less went on a mission to bring him back. Sure, he does defeat Vanities, the darkness within him. But upon destroying him, Ven loses his heart. And that’s why Roxas looks the way he does! Because Ven decided to become heart mates with Sora.

6 Overpowered: Demyx

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Okay, but does anyone else remember the hilarious YouTube series Demyx Time? Yes? No? I hope so? Anyway, I always see people complain about fighting Demyx in Kingdom Hearts II, so that’s why I included him on the list. I mean, how annoying did it get listening to him constantly say, “Dance water, dance?” I am really curious to know how Demyx is going to get brought back into the franchise, though. I’d be very surprised if Xehanort ended up taking control of him.