Aqua Kingdom Hearts Guide

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Adam Braunstein

Adam is RPG Informers resident VR enthusiast and a dedicated member of the team. He loves RPGs more than any other genre and enjoys nothing more than getting lost in a huge open world. His standout titles are Fallout 4, Skyrim and Bloodborne, and longs for the day when RPG's release on VR platforms as standard.

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Kingdom Hearts is one helluva complex franchise, and there are so many moving parts and characters that look similar to each other that it can be very hard to keep track of sometimes.

One of those characters that’s both mysterious and fascinating is Aqua, who made her debut in Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep and has gone on to be an incredibly important part of the series despite never being the main character in any game aside from the one she debuted in.

Aqua is one of the most powerful characters in the series and seeing as Kingdom Hearts 4 is on the way, I believe we’re sure to get a whole lot more of the blue-clad warrior before this series has had its swan song.

I started my Kingdom Hearts fandom on day one of its release, and for the past 20 years, I’ve found it to be one of the most intriguing stories in videogame history.

Despite the obviously bizarre combination of Final Fantasy and Disney characters, the story crafted involving Sora, Riku and company has been one of the more heartfelt and outright insane stories I’ve ever seen.

Whether you love the twists and turns that the series regularly introduces or find them to be intolerable, the Kingdom Hearts story is nothing if not completely original.

Within that story lies Aqua, who has seen her closest friends fall to Darkness on more than one occasion and is in many ways the sole survivor to make it through Birth By Sleep chaos that unfolded. For all the Aqua fans out there and those that are looking to find out about her in the first place, here is everything you need to know about Aqua.

Who is Aqua in Kingdom Hearts?

Aqua is one of the Keyblade Wielders in Kingdom Hearts like Sora and Riku. She is one of the original three to train to become Keyblade Masters before Sora and co are even off of Destiny Island, and her dream from the beginning is to one day become a Keyblade Master.

Aqua’s personality is somewhat similar to Kairi’s in Kingdom Hearts, and she is always very caring and protective of her friends. She’s fiercely loyal to them as well, going so far as to sacrifice her life for the sake of her friend’s survival.

She’s an extremely good-hearted person and, unlike other characters in the series, is never wrong about the choices she makes. In Birth By Sleep, she is seen as the leader of the three main characters and has to often keep Terra and Ventus in line when they start acting up.

Despite her considerable skill and power, she doesn’t see herself to be anything more than a normal person, even though she wields one of the most powerful weapons in the universe. Of the three that train to become Keyblade Masters in Birth By Sleep, Aqua is the only one to actually achieve the title.

Aqua’s appearance is unique in that she’s one of the oldest-looking characters you can play in the Kingdom Hearts series. She has striking blue hair, and most of her clothing is either blue, grey, or silver.

She has an upside-down moon on her breastplate, and her Keyblade armor that she can use is blue and silver as well. Her armor is notably more than her other two friends in Birth By Sleep, suggesting that she takes her Keyblade training a bit more seriously than Terra and Ventus.

Aqua’s Fighting Style

Aqua is a unique fighter compared to her friends in Birth By Sleep because she is the only magic-based fighter. She’s also incredibly quick, giving her the ability to get in quick melee strikes while retreating to a safe distance to fire off magic attacks without being hit.

In the world of Kingdom Hearts, she is referred to as the third most powerful magic user in all the universe behind Xehanort and King Mickey.

Compared to series protagonists Sora and Riku, she is actually superior to them on the Keyblade as well. Aqua’s magic is different than others in the series, as she casts custom varieties of commonly seen spells, suggesting that her magic expertise has led to her creating her own style of spells.

Aqua is slender, making her tough to square up with enemy attacks and her Keyblade and magic abilities combine to give her an extremely versatile fighting style that is unmatched by another character you play throughout the series.

What is Aqua’s Story in Kingdom Hearts?

Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep

Aqua’s story begins in Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep as an aspiring Keyblade Master entering training with her best friends Terra and Ventus.

Ventus is new to the group, being introduced into the class by Master Xehanort, and although he is questioned harshly by Terra and Aqua at the start, Aqua takes a sister-like care over him as she is told he no longer has any memories.

The Keyblade Mark of Mastery exam comes quickly for the three, and on the day of the test, only Aqua passes as Terra fails due to his inability to control his Darkness, which slowly overtakes him throughout the game.

Aquas is assigned by Master Eraqus to bring Ventus back out of worry for him as well as to watch over Terra and find him as well after the two of them leave the initial area, the Land of Departure.

Aqua then sets out to find her friends across the Kingdom Hearts’ various Disney worlds. Aqua ventures to each of the Disney worlds, helping various characters out like Peter Pan in exchange for information on her friend’s whereabouts.

During her travels, she ends up meeting Kairi, who accidentally touches Aqua’s Keyblade, giving her the power of a Keyblade user in the future.

Aqua finds Ventus and Terra, but a massive battle takes precedent, and after the fight, Terra refuses Aqua’s wishes to return home. Terra and Ventus both rebel against Aqua, jealous of her position as Keyblade Master.

With both of her friends turning on her, Aqua wonders what to do next. She meets Merlin and, shortly thereafter, encounters Vanitas, who looks strangely like Ventus in his stature.

Aqua encounters Terra on Destiny Island, and the two of them meet Sora and Riku for the first time. Aqua sees Darkness in Riku much like she sees it in Sora and warns Sora about it and makes him pledge to help him if it overtakes Riku,

Aqua then encounters Mickey, who she takes to the Mysterious Tower. Shortly after, Yen Sid, one of the Keyblade training masters, tells her that Master Eraqus has been killed, though she isn’t sure by who initially.

It is then revealed to Aqua that Vanitas has stolen Ventus’s heart. Aqua dedicates herself to getting Ventus’s heart back and tries to save him by taking him back to the Lands of Departure.

Remembering what Master Eraqus once told her about saving the land if he ever died, Aqua seals the Keyhole to the Lands of Departure, transforming it into Castle Oblivion, an area that players will know well from previous and future games in the series.

Aqua sees no other way to get Ventus’s heart back than to go through Terra, who is now fully under Xehanort’s control. She defeated Xehanort in Terra’s body, and in the aftermath, Xehanort locks Terra out of his own body and casts him into the Realm of Darkness.

Aqua, still believing she could save her friend, jumps in after him and sacrifices both her armor and Keyblade in order to save Terra. Terra gets sent back to the normal world under the influence of Xehanort, while Aqua becomes lost in the realm of Darkness.

Interestingly, this heroic act by Aqua ends up being the worst thing to happen to the Realm of Light as Xehanort retains control of Terra and creates a Heartless and Nobody from him, who go to become Ansem, Seeker of Darkness, and Xemnas, the main antagonists of Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2. Had she let Terra fall to Darkness, Xehanort would’ve had nobody to pass his power and mind onto.

Stuck in the Realm of Darkness, Aqua gives up all hope until Terra and Ventus’s Keyblades show up to save her. Aqua’s resolve strengthens, and she continues on until finally coming across the Castle of Dreams, which is now completely shrouded by Darkness. Aqua’s story ends here.

In the secret ending of the game, she meets Ansem the Wise 12 years later, suggesting she’s been stuck in the Realm of Darkness for that long. Ansem the Wise tells her of all of Sora’s heroics and how Riku fell to the Darkness. Aqua puts all of her faith in Sora, knowing he is the one who will save her and her friends.

Kingdom Hearts II

After leading the show in Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, Aqua isn’t really seen in Kingdom Hearts II. While she continues her path through the Realm of Darkness, only Aqua’s armor and Keyblade remain in the Realm of Light.

The armor is spoken to by Xemnas, who refers to it as a friend, and Xigbar overhears a conversation between Xemnas and the armor, saying that he heard a voice come from the armor.

It is suggested that Terra takes over Xemnas on occasion and communicates to Aqua in the Realm of Darkness in this way.

Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance

Aqua makes her first appearance here in the opening cutscene, which apparently shows her alongside all of the Keyblade users getting read to fight Master Xehanort.

It’s looked at as a vision of the future and doesn’t quite come to pass in the game. Aqua appears one more time at the end of the game, but it’s revealed it’s just Sora’s heart projecting an image of someone that is permanently linked to him.

In the secret ending here, Aqua is seen at the Dark Meridian, which is seen as the end of the world in many games in the series.

What she is doing here isn’t yet revealed, but it should be noted that this is where Roxas speaks with Xemnas in Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days, so it’s obviously accessible by characters who can traverse the Darkness.

Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep- A Fragmentary Passage

Aqua stars again in Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep- A Fragmentary Passage. Aqua reappears here on the path to the Castle of Dreams which is where we last saw her in Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep.

At the start of the game, Aqua recounts events from Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, causing her to doubt herself once again, almost losing sight of her goal before setting out on the path again.

She wonders aloud about how much time has passed in the real world while she wanders trapped in the Realm of Darkness. She traverses more of the path to the castle before coming to a broken bridge and, after figuring out the puzzle involved, then fixes it, assuring her path forward.

Although the story is brief, it catches players up to the events from past games and frames Aqua as an important character going forward.

Kingdom Hearts III

We find Aqua following her talk with Ansem the Wise from the secret ending in Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep. She states that she will not be going anywhere but rather waiting for someone to come find her, namely, Sora.

Aqua goes to leave, but Ansem, Seeker of Darkness, appears to try and extract information from Ansem the Wise; Aqua fights him without the help of her Keyblade and gets thoroughly beaten and thrown into the dark waters. The Darkness overtakes her, transforming her into a being known as Anti-Aqua.

In her corrupted state, all of Aqua’s goodwill towards her friends and Sora disappear, and she instead takes her anger out on Mickey while being accompanied by a device called the Demon Tower, which is a mass of Heartless that takes up the shape of a long, twisting serpent.

Anti-Aqua encounters Sora and Riku, with Riku taking on the Demon Tower and Sora being left with no choice but to fight Anti-Aqua. Sora defeats her, and the Darkness leaves Aqua’s body, causing her to fall into another pool of Darkness, sinking to the depths, appearing to cause her death.

As Sora and Riku turn away, a light appears, and Aqua’s voice is heard from below, Sora saves her with help from Riku and Mickey, and the group returns to the Realm of Light.

Aqua shows the group Castle Oblivion, and due to her locking it up in the first place, is able to turn it back into The Land of Departure, where they find Ventus.

Ventus has been sleeping since Birth by Sleep, and Aqua tries to wake him but fails. Vanitas arrives and battles Aqua, but she loses. As Vanitas goes for the killing blow on Aqua, Sora uses his own heart to wake Ventus, who revives and saves Aqua.

Aqua joins the rest of the Keyblade Masters to prepare for the final battle.

They arrive at the Keyblade Graveyard and find Terra, though he is still possessed by Master Xehanort. Aqua is overcome by Darkness once again, but Sora saves her again.

Aqua and Ventus take on Vanitas and Terra Xehanort and finally manage to save Terra from Darkness after many years.

Aqua is ensnared with Chains along with Ventus but is saved by Terra’s Heartless.

Aqua arrives to help Sora and Riku, just as Master Xehanort completes the legendary X-Blade and manages to open Kingdom Hearts. She uses her power alongside the rest of the Keyblade users and seals Xehanort in another world where he and Sora have one final showdown.

Aqua finally reunites with her friends, Terra and Ventus, and returns to The Land of Departure, where the weight of their journey finally hits home.

They remember their teacher, Master Eraqus, and mourn him together. They then head to Destiny Island and find the rest of them in time to see Sora and Kairi one last time before Sora fades away for good, possibly on a journey to find Kairi, who was seemingly killed by Xehanort.

Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory

Aqua trains Kairi after Kairi has a discovery about Sora’s whereabouts in another realm.

Aqua’s Key Relationships

Terra

Terra and Aqua begin tutelage together under the watch of Master Eraqus; they are of the same age and have a very brother and sister-like relationship, which makes it all the more difficult for her when he is taken by the Darkness.

Aqua sacrifices herself to keep Terra in the Realm of Light, which leads to her wandering the Realm of Darkness for 12 years. She finally reunites with him in Kingdom Hearts III, freeing him from Xehanort’s grasp once and for all.

Ventus

Ventus is the third apprentice that shows up to join Aqua and Terra under Master Eraqus. Although he is shunned at first, Aqua takes a protective nature over him much in the way an older sister would act, and Ventus’s tragic journey impacts Aqua a ton, though her drive to push forward is solely due to her desire to save Terra and Ventus.

Ventus saves Aqua’s life when Vanitas comes close to killing her, showing he reciprocates the care that Aqua shows him throughout the series, and the two of them get the happiest ending of all, reuniting at the end of Kingdom Hearts III.

Sora

Sora and Aqua have a very unique relationship as she visits him when he’s very young and tells Sora that one day, Riku may be taken by the Darkness and will need to save him.

She also considers giving Sora her ability to wield a Keyblade, but due to her not wanting Sora and Riku to go through with what she and Terra have gone through refrains.

She does become linked to Sora through her meeting with him, though, and in Kingdom Heart III, Sora saves her on multiple occasions from being swallowed by the Darkness. It appears Aqua knows where Sora is going when he disappears at the end of Kingdom Hearts III.

Kairi

Aqua meets Kairi at a young age and bestows a spell of protection on her, meant to last her the entirety of her life. Kairi accidentally comes in contact with her Keyblade as well, which gives her the ability to become a Keyblade user and becomes responsible for training Kairi when she takes the Mark of Mastery exam.

Kairi and Aqua are similar in their personalities, though Aqua is more steadfast and reliable while Kairi ends up having to be saved most of the time.

Master Xehanort

As the main villain of the Kingdom Hearts series, Master Xehanort has key relationships with many of the characters, but few have such hatred towards him as Aqua does. Master Xehanort is responsible for the torture of Ventus, including freezing him in perpetual sleep.

In addition to this, Aqua sees her best friend Terra possessed by Xehanort and sacrifices her life in order to keep Terra safe. It’s safe to say that Aqua has quite the bone to pick with Master Xehanort and if you ask me, she should’ve been the one to land the final blow on him, not Sora.

Ansem the Wise

At the end of her rope, while she’s wandering the Realm of Darkness, Ansem the Wise appears to her due to his machine Kingdom Hearts Encoder breaking down. Ansem the Wise tells her that 12 years had passed since her disappearance in the Realm of Light, making Ansem the first human Aqua had seen in that period of time.

Aqua gets filled in by Ansem on what’s going on in the real world, and he acts as a guide that sets out to put her back on the path that will lead her out of Darkness. They don’t have a lengthy relationship, but a short and powerful one that gives both characters a lot more meaning.

Master Eraqus

While Terra and Ventus resist Master Eraqus’s teachings following the Mark of Mastery exam, Aqua praises and loves Master Eraqus and treats him with the utmost respect.

He sends Aqua on her mission to bring Terra and Ventus home. His death at the hands of Terra pains Aqua tremendously and drives her forth on her quest to rescue Terra from the clutch of Xehanort.

What are Aqua’s Abilities in Kingdom Hearts?

Aqua is a skilled combat in Kingdom Hearts games when you get to play as her, but she’s also arguably the toughest to use due to her unique focus on magic compared to other characters in the series.

She has several Command Styles that she is able to summon while using her Keyblade.

Spell Weaver

This style lets her float her Keyblade in the air, giving her extended melee reach while causing her magic attacks to be significantly upped as well. If you fill the Command Gauge with mostly magic-type attacks, you will activate this style.

During Spell Weaver, you can perform a finishing move that involves Aqua spinning with magic surrounding her, which can then be controlled by moving the stick around on the controller. This attack does a devastating amount of damage to enemies.

Ghost Drive

If you use Thunder, Reprisal, and Magnet-based attacks, you will fill activate the Ghost Drive. This style turns Aqua into a super-fast version of herself that can attack so fast that after images appear, and her parkour-like movements make her tough to square up for enemy attacks as well.

The finisher here has Aqua planting magical pikes into the ground before a massive explosion sets off, causing heavy damage to those in the area.

ShotLocks

Aqua has a series of special attacks called Shotlocks, and each one does something different.

• Prism Rain – Aqua activates seven colors from her Keyblade, which proceed to home in on enemies. Each ray does damage based on when you execute the button command that you will be prompted to perform when it’s activated.
• Bubble Blaster – Aqua gets surrounded by a massive bubble and, from there, blasts smaller bubbles that seek out enemies. If you perform the button prompt, you will launch two more bubbles on top of the normal ones.
• Light bloom – The strongest Shotlock you will get throughout the game has Aqua twirling while unleashing a massive salvo of white light orbs. Aqua’s twirls get more and more intense as the destruction rains around her.

What is Aqua’s Equipment?

Aqua’s equipment, for the most part, remains pretty static from an appearance standpoint. She wears blue, silver, and grey armor with a pendant that she shares with Terra and Ventus.

Keyblade

Aqua is a Keyblade Master and therefore wields one of the legendary weapons. Her most powerful Keyblade is Royal Radiance, which she obtains towards the end of Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep. You will start off with her basic weapon called Rainfall in each game you play as her in.

Is Aqua a Boss in Kingdom Hearts

Aqua is one of the protagonists of the Kingdom Hearts series, but at a certain point in Kingdom Hearts III, she gets possessed by Darkness and becomes Anti-Aqua, leaving Sora no choice but to fight her.

Anti-Aqua Boss Fight

Anti-Aqua is a very tough fight that takes place in the latter half of the game, and if you played as her in any of the prior games, you will know what to expect from her combat-wise.

She utilizes her Spellweaver form at the beginning of the fight, meaning she’s going to be dishing out some high damaging magic attacks. She also has extended melee reach, so you’ll need to avoid that as much as you can.

Anti-Aqua has a few moves that are incredibly dangerous and the first of which is her teleportation. She has the ability to appear anywhere on the battlefield at any point, which she uses to dodge your attacks and also unleash a combo on you if you get too close.

Her other attack that will cause some big issues is her clones. She will summon multiple clones that will attack you, and they look identical to Anti-Aqua, so figuring out which is the true one is crucial.

When you attack the actual Anti-Aqua, all of the clones will disappear, so use any area of effect attacks that Sora has to get rid of those clones quickly.

The last set of attacks Anti-Aqua will attack you with is ice-based magic, which can be avoided fairly easily as long as you keep your eye on her.

Do not use Blizzard magic against her as she’s very strong resistance to it. She will be attacking you throughout with her clones at her side, and her quick movements make her a tough fight, but dodging at the right time will open her up to high damage attacks, and you should be able to take her down with some patience.

At low health, Anti-Aqua unleashes two ultimate attacks which you need to avoid. The first has her teleporting into the air and firing ice shards everywhere, and the second is the finishing attack from the Spellweaver form, where her clones all start spinning in a wide arc around the battlefield.

You can dodge both of these attacks, but I wouldn’t recommend trying to block it as it’s pretty easy to mess up the timing.

FAQs

Conclusion

Aqua’s role in Kingdom Hearts only grows with each game, and following her exodus from the Realm of Darkness in Kingdom Hearts III, it’s possible we see her in a starring role going forward, and I’m looking forward to that possibility.

Looking for more interesting readings? Check out:

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• Axel Kingdom Hearts Guide – Got it Memorized?
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