Kingdom Hearts Terra Guide: Birth by Sleep's Hero Explained

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Cody has been in the video game business as part of media and content creation for more than 10 years. During that time, he has contributed and even led some of the largest sites in the world dedicated to gaming and entertainment. He has also dabbled some in PR and was a tester for Activision in the past working on the Call of Duty series. When not playing games or writing about them, he enjoys cooking, sharpening his Japanese skills, and watching the latest anime shows.

Bottom Line Up Front

Terra is one of the three main characters in the prequel PSP game Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep. In this title, Terra’s role is as one of the three students aiming to become a Keyblade Master long before Sora and his friends would try to do the same.

In the end, Terra is manipulated and revealed to have some natural darkness in his heart. He goes on a journey to contain it and becomes swept up in the mission that Xehanort has for taking over the entire world and unlocking the Kingdom Hearts. Terra appears in a few games after Birth by Sleep, including Kingdom Hearts 3.

Kingdom Hearts Terra Overview

Everyone loves certain games and series for different reasons. But I feel like I am not the only one who appreciates Kingdom Hearts for its characters. Without a doubt, Square Enix created some of the best JRPG characters with all of the various heroes and villains that war against one another.

Of course, with such large casts of characters in the Kingdom Hearts game, there are inevitably those who fall through the cracks in terms of fans. Despite being one of the franchise’s main characters, I feel Terra is by far one of the most underrated main characters.

Compared to his counterparts from his own game, like Aqua and perhaps even Ventus, Terra is someone who doesn’t get a lot of love. This is even worsened when he is so similar to one of the best and most beloved characters like Riku. For this reason, I want to show why he is so good, too.

Terra is by far one of the most mature characters, especially for his young age. His journey is a dark one that is arguably more complicated and disturbing than even the one that Riku goes on for most of the numbered games.

The bulk of his storyline happens in Birth by Sleep, the prequel Kingdom Hearts game he stars in. For everything that you need to know about Terra, his presence in the franchise, and why you should totally stan him, look below.

Appearance Explained

There are a few different appearances for Terra in Kingdom Hearts, as is the case for most characters. Though you could include one particular form (more on that further below) as Terra, I won’t include it for the sake of spoilers here. As such, it really comes down to his standard form and his armored version.

In the standard version of Terra, which is his most iconic, he wears an intriguingly long skirt that has a light brown tinge to it. He has a black sleeveless top that has a large belt and some other accessories throughout it. He wears gloves and boots and has his signature brown hair that flows and flips on the side but has a spiky point on top.

His armored form shows up occasionally and is quite different. In his Keyblade armor, he looks both menacing and sharp at the same time. The armor has a unique mix of brown and brass to it, which sounds meh, but the execution is phenomenal. The coloration is fantastic, the patterns are great, and there is something sci-fi about the pointy helmet that gives off such a solid vibe—definitely one of the better Keyblade armors.

Which Kingdom Hearts Games Is He in?

Terra is one of the primary characters in the Kingdom Hearts series, at least in the few games he appears in. As you might expect, he isn’t every game in the series but only a few. That said, his appearances in these particular games are outstanding and well worth checking out.

Here are all of the games in which Terra plays at least a significant role:

Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep: This is by far Terra’s most prominent game, where he is a main character from start to finish.
Kingdom Hearts 2: He has a brief mention, but there isn’t much to find here.
3D Dream Drop Distance: Terra makes a brief cameo appearance in a couple of scenes and even has some name-drops throughout the main storyline of this title.
Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep – A Fragmentary Passage: Though this follows Aqua, Terra plays a significant enough role as someone who influences her character.
Kingdom Hearts 3: Terra reappears here in his second-most significant game. He plays a prominent enough role in the game’s final act as the story wraps up and reaches its climax.

How to Play as Terra in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep

Terra is playable as one of the three main characters in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep. Players have the option to play the three main characters’ storylines in any order they want, however, the suggested order is to play as Terra first and then check the others out.

What is intriguing about this PSP game-turned-modern remake is that all three characters control so vastly differently. This goes doubly so for Terra who is by far the most frustrating to use in fights since he works considerably differently compared to his pals, Aqua and Ventus.

Here’s what you need to know to master playing as Terra in Birth by Sleep. This will help you succeed during his journey to the 10 worlds and locations that he visits during the Terra arc of the story.

How He Compares to Aqua and Ventus

For starters, there is the general gameplay that Terra has. The game describes him as the bulkiest of the trio, being someone who is focused more on brute force and physical attacks, unlike his companions. This rings true but there is undoubtedly more to the story, which is why he was my least favorite to play when I first played Birth by Sleep.

Compared to Aqua and Ventus, who are at least somewhat similar to one another, Terra is slow and prodding in fights. He is the bulkiest of the team, so he moves noticeably slower. The trade-off is that he deals the most damage out of the group.

However, this is only truly helpful at the start of the game. Once you get to a certain point, the others catch up to him. He is a character that is all about offense, especially since his defenses, movement, and even block move are lackluster compared to the other two.

When I play as Terra, the goal I have is always to be dealing damage. If you aren’t hitting opponents, you are leaving yourself open to being destroyed by them. You can help offset this by making use of the various features this game has for Terra, such as the D-Links and Shotlocks.

D-Links

D-Links are essentially the summons in the other Kingdom Hearts games. It represents the bonds that the character — in this case, Terra — has made with others. He is able to summon them to help out with powerful attacks in combat.

He shares most of the same D-Links as the other two members of the Keyblade Masters-in-training trio. Now, you can’t use this all the time as there is a bar that fills up the more you fight. Once the bar is complete, the player is able to summon a D-Link, which changes their skills in combat.

While most are shared, there are a few exclusives that Terra is able to use in fights, as follows:

Ventus: Unlocked right from the start of the game.
Aqua: Also available for Terra from the beginning. She is very useful with her strong abilities.
Maleficent: This lets Terra channel his inner Disney villain darkness.

Exclusive Shotlocks

Shotlock is an intriguing feature that is unique to Birth by Sleep. This feature lets the player hold down a button to then lock onto all of the nearby enemies. Once they are ready, they can then unleash a special attack on all of the targeted foes at once.

Of course, this decisive move is only available when the player has their Focus gauge up. In general, using these Shotlocks attacks also requires the player to complete a short minigame button combo depending on the type it is. While some of the Shotlocks are shared between the characters, Terra has a few that are exclusive to only him:

Dark Volley: Barrage type. One of the best for Terra since it is capable of locking onto a large number of foes and blasting them with several dark energy attacks.
Sonic Shadow: Random style. This exclusive Terra Shotlock is available at the start of the game. It lets Terra transform himself and hit every target and blind them in the process.
Ultima Cannon: Timing style. This is the final and best Terra Shotlock. You can unlock it by completing the Mirage Arena’s Keepers of the Arena challenge. This causes his Keyblade to grow into a gigantic version that can deal insane amounts of explosive damage to enemies.

Lingering Will Kingdom Hearts 2 Boss Fight Guide

Lingering Will, the other form for Terra, is one of the secret bosses you can face off against in Kingdom Hearts 2 Final Mix. The only way to unlock it is to go through the process of unlocking The Gathering, which is the secret ending cutscene in this game.

Once you have it, head to the Hall of the Cornerstone in the Disney Castle, and you’ll find a way to teleport to the Keyblade Graveyard. Here, you will face off against the Lingering Will version of Terra. This is one of the most challenging bosses in this entire game, so come fully prepared.

You should have nearly everything on Sora, including his skills and combos, maxed out, if possible. You’ll want to pack your inventory with plenty of items to ensure you are ready for the lengthy fight ahead. In general, the entire idea of this battle is to master blocking and reflecting techniques.

If you aren’t ready to block any hit that comes your way, get ready to. Terra has a mostly predictable moveset, but it is immensely powerful here. He will usually do a combo of a few hits that fly toward Sora, but you can dodge or block these once you’ve seen it a few times.

He will also directly hit Sora with his Keyblade in a combo that ends in a random form change. The uncertainty and unpredictability of this move can be annoying, but it is easy to avoid by simply being ready to block every single time he is about to do his form change.

The idea here is to block his attacks first and foremost and then unleash as many attacks against him as possible. In general, you want to stick to around a four-move combo set, as more than this will likely cause him to counter you. Rinse and repeat this somewhat predictable moveset until you eliminate all of his roughly dozen health bars.

If you are able to defeat Lingering Will in this actual test of your strength, you will receive the Proof of Connection key item. This is one of the three essential items that upgrade the cosmetic crown Sora can wear on his head in this ultimate version of Kingdom Hearts 2.

Key Moments in the Kingdom Hearts Series

As you saw above, Terra plays a significant enough role in some of the games in the Kingdom Hearts franchise. As such, you should expect there to be full-on spoilers below. If you don’t want to be spoiled about anything, especially if you haven’t finished Kingdom Hearts 3, this is your warning to turn around now. Let’s take a look at a summary of his life.

Channeling the Darkness in His Heart

Terra’s story begins just before Birth by Sleep’s prequel plot for the Kingdom Hearts series. He is a young man with immense Keyblade talent who grows up training alongside Aqua and, later, Ventus as his closest friends and sparring partners.

Eventually, they train up to the point where they are able to take on the Mark of Mastery exams. This will allow Terra and his friends to become true Keyblade Masters. However, over the course of the test, it is revealed that there is darkness deeply rooted in the heart of Terra.

Because of this darkness that he struggles to control, he fails the exam and is unable to become a Keyblade Master. This troubles Terra and causes a lot of distraught in his heart. In the process, he sets out on an adventure to control this darkness and finds himself across various Disney-themed worlds.

Finding a True Successor

In the process of trying to discover his true self and control the darkness in his heart, Terra stumbles upon the Destiny Islands, where Sora, Riku, and Kairi grow up. During this time, he meets Riku, and their connection here allows Riku to become the successor to Terra in the future unknowingly.

They connect on a deep level as Terra sees the darkness that exists in Riku’s heart and how it is similar to the one inside his own. But he also sees how Riku will do whatever it takes to protect the ones that he loves, similar to how Terra is in his life.

After finding his successor to take his place as a Keyblade wielder in the future, Terra continues on his journey. Little does he know that he is being manipulated by Master Xehanort the entire time. He is the reason behind the darkness manifesting so much during Terra’s exam and the evil that is happening in the various worlds.

Over time, he is groomed by Xehanort and saves the old Keyblade Master, who acknowledges Terra in the way he always wanted to be. In turn, he is manipulated and serves Xehanort as his true master in classic Star Wars fashion.

This leads to Terra unknowingly doing the wrong things and causing more harm than good. This results in Terra thinking he is going after Vanitas to save Ventus and ends up taking down Master Eraqus, who is one of the few people truly on his side and wishing for the best for him.

His Lingering Will

In the final battle of Birth by Sleep, Terra realizes all too late that Master Xehanort had been tricking him the whole time. Once he learns the Keyblade Master’s actual plans, Terra tries to stop him, but it isn’t enough. In the end, the Keyblade Master attacks Terra and possesses his body.

This body that was formerly known as Terra now becomes Xemnas, one of the main villains in the Kingdom Hearts series and a leader of Organization XIII. However, there is so much strength in Terra that he doesn’t fully lose himself even though his body is taken over.

In the process of being possessed, he is able to transfer his soul at least and mind into his Keyblade armor, where he is now known as the Lingering Will. He fights Xehanort back to save his body but loses and is abandoned in the Keyblade Graveyard, where he spends the rest of his days until Kingdom Hearts 3.

In the final battle in the Keyblade Graveyard in Kingdom Hearts 3, Aqua and Ventus help the gang to take down Organization XIII once and for all. During the battle with Terra’s former body, Aqua and Ventus are saved by the Lingering Will of Terra in his suit of armor, and they are able to free him and bring him back to his body.

Terra is then finally back to his usual self after several years and is able to reunite with his best friends. Together with them, they are able to defeat Xehanort once and for all. He is then able to live a seemingly happy life in the epilogue alongside his two best friends.

Special Abilities Explained

There are a couple of special abilities that Terra has. As one of the best Keyblade Wielders of his generation, it should come as no surprise that he is an impressive Keyblade user. However, there is more to his character than meets the eye. He has a significant power in his heart that is so much more than simply using a Keyblade.

Immense Keyblade Power

For starters, Terra is one of the better Keyblade wielders of the universe of Kingdom Hearts. It is hard to say who is ultimately the best fighter out of himself, Ventus and Aqua, but I wouldn’t be surprised if some said that Terra is number two of those three or perhaps even number one.

Terra has immense power and strength that is unlike almost anyone else. I would even categorize him as a brute force fighter who uses his overwhelming strength to take down most foes that he comes across. His skill with a Keyblade is more raw and unorganized, but there is so much unbelievable strength behind it.

While others might have more discipline and skill, there is something to be said about the outright wrath that Terra is able to fight with.

Darkness Incarnate

That wrath also plays into the other power that Terra has, and that is the strength within his heart. Like Riku, Terra is someone who has darkness within his heart. However, unlike Riku, he is able to use that power to his advantage far more and in such a raw manner.

His dark powers are unbelievably strong and unfiltered. He is able to command this darkness to give him power far beyond what other Keyblade wielders can use. This can be a blessing and a curse in the end, though. It can give him the unstoppable power to destroy his foes, but it can consume him at the same time.

If he were able to control his darkness and use it correctly, Terra could be one of the most talented fighters in the entire series.

Terra Voice Actor

The voice actor you hear for Terra will depend on which version of the game you’re listening to. Both the English and Japanese voices for Terra are fantastic, deep, and emotional, so you can’t go wrong with either one. But, chances are, if you grew up with this series like me, chances are, you probably heard the English voice actor Jason Dohring.

You might know Dohring from his previous roles in live-action, as Kingdom Hearts is the only series where he had a prominent voice-acting role. You may know Dohring from some of the series he was in, in the past, such as iZombie, Veronica Mars, and The Originals. I don’t know how Kingdom Hearts nabbed so many well-known live-action actors, but that is the case here.

On the other hand, there is also the excellent Japanese voice for Terra. The voice actor for him in this version is none other than the immensely talented Ryotaro Okiayu. You might know him from his roles in the past involving games and anime, such as Shigure in Fruits Basket, Treize in Gundam Wing, and Kokushibo in the upcoming season of Demon Slayer.

Key Relationships

The theme of Kingdom Hearts is friendship and the connections we have in our hearts. As such, Terra’s relationships are crucial not just to his life but to the entire storyline involving him. That said, I would argue that his relationships mainly come down to four critical people, with the other connections being much more minor.

The first of these critical relationships is his friendship with Ventus, which you could argue is perhaps his most important one. Terra meets Ventus when he first joins their group, and they train together to become Keyblade Masters. They are best friends, much in the way that Sora and Riku are.

That said, their actual relationship is quite complicated. You could argue that the two characters aren’t as close as they should be, which is what leads to the decisions that Terra makes in Birth by Sleep. What happens with him and Ventus haunts Terra for the rest of his life, being the driving force for everything he does after that game.

Then there is Terra’s relationship with Aqua. While you could want to ship these two, I don’t see much of a romantic engagement between them two. In fact, their friendship is an odd one that seems to be clearly based on rivalry and admiration of each other’s strength than anything else. Sure, Aqua wants to help Terra but their friendship is a complex one.

From there, there is Terra’s relationship with his successor, Riku. The two are quite a lot alike, which is something that Terra notices. Riku becomes like the new Terra, which is something that is likely to be admired by Terra. Their relationship isn’t fully explored, but it seems that Terra wants to see Riku learn from his mistakes.

And last but not least, there is the most spoilery relationship, and that is with Xehanort. This is the man who changed and ruined Terra’s life for good. They have a hateful antagonistic relationship with one another, as Terra hopes for nothing more than to get revenge and his body back. Other than Ventus, this is the other motivation in his life.

FAQs

Question: Is Terra Still Alive in Kingdom Hearts?

Answer: Yes, Terra is still alive currently in Kingdom Hearts. Even when he wasn’t in his own body, he was still, technically, alive through the armor that he was now possessing, Fullmetal Alchemist-style.

Question: Is Terra Evil Kingdom Hearts?

Answer: No, I don’t think that Terra is evil in the Kingdom Hearts series. He has darkness in his heart, and probably more than even Riku does in the main series games, but Terra is by no means evil. However, his body is used for evil acts under the guise of his new identity as Xemnas.

Question: Who Does Terra Become?

Answer: Terra eventually becomes two things. His body becomes Xemnas or Terra-Xehanort while his soul and mind become Lingering Will. The latter is where he takes over his suit of armor from his past life.

Which Keyblade Wielder to Check Out Next

Terra is one of the most impactful Keyblade users in the Kingdom Hearts series. As one of the core three wielders in Birth by Sleep, he is one of the main heroes that causes much of what happens in the main games. His storyline plays a massive role for what happens to the main characters.

That said, I feel like Terra is one of the more underrated Kingdom Hearts characters. Despite his complicated and sometimes frustrating personality that is enjoyable to see, it seems that most fans tend to focus on other characters that are much more popular.

If you want to check out a fellow Keyblade wielder who seems to be much more loved than Terra, I suggest checking out someone like Aqua. I also like her a little bit more, too, but that is mainly because you get to spend so much more valuable time with her. You can find out more about this in our Aqua Kingdom Hearts guide.

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Kingdom Hearts Terra Guide: Birth by Sleep’s Hero Explained