Reception
Various types of merchadising have been released based on Sora's character. There are several types of action figures which show Sora with a different appearance such as his original form, the Kingdom Hearts II design and others variants. Other accessories include plush, necklaces and phone charm straps.
In January 2010, Famitsu featured Sora as its reader's fifth most popular character of all time. They also featured him on its issue #1105 cover, gaving him a tribute, showing his many appearances through the years. UGO Networks placed Sora nineteenth on their list of "Top 25 Japanese RPG Characters" calling him a "charismatic and visually interesting" character. Although he did not make to the top ten of Electronic Gaming Monthly's "Top Ten: List of Videogame Characters", he was nevertheless an up-and-comer. In an ASCII Media Works poll in which fans voted selected whose video game or manga character would like to name their children after, Sora's name was second in the male category. In a Famitsu poll from 2011, Sora was voted as the most popular Kingdom Hearts character with his fight against Roxas from Kingdom Hearts II also being listed as the best scene from the series. He was also 15th in the GameInformer poll of best characters from the 2000s.
Overall, critics and fans have generally praised the character of Sora. When Sora's character was first revealed in 2002, GameSpot's Giancarlo Varanini regarded him as "an appropriate amalgamation of the Square and Disney universes." He also comically noted he "doesn't look like much, but you know how it goes." A 1UP.com writer called Sora "one of my all-time favorite Square characters", praising his cheerful personality. Gamasutra commented on Sora's journey along the series in their feature "The Birth of Collecting: The Osiris Archetype In Games" by Jason Johnson; While comparing Sora with Isis, Johnson found Sora's adventure appealing. IGN praised Sora's resilient character noting how such an ordinary "youngster" could face up to his challenges during his adventures for the sake of friendship, while RPGFan's Nicole Monet Kirk labelled him as an "extremely likable hero". Furthermore, in the book "Interactive Storytelling for Video Games: A Player-Centered Approach to Creating Memorable Characters and Stories" it is noted that while Sora follows a "standard hero archetype", his character becomes more believable and strong when worrying about his friends' fates. Haley Joel Osment, Sora's English voice actor, has also been praised by Gaming Target's Matt Swidder who mentioned Osment "makes a perfect fit for Sora". While remarking Osment's work, Louis Bedigian from GameZone mentioned that "Sora had something rarely found in video-game characters: depth" also praising his role in Kingdom Hearts. Game Informer's Bryan Vore found that in Kingdom Hearts II, Osment has improved in voicing the character, praising his work. In their Super Smash Bros Brawl list, IGN described Sora as "...the most active and evolved hero on this week's list." IGN listed him as a possible character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl; though he was not chosen as the "reader's choice".
Sora's transformations in the various Disney worlds in Kingdom Hearts II were commented to be entertaining by Julia Regen from Allgame due to how variated they are. Also reviewing Kingdom Hearts II, Greg Bemis from G4TV praised Sora's development in the game, including his growth and the fact each of his attacks from the title are entertaining. Although Computer and Video Games also found an improvement in Sora's movements due to sequences made with the Reaction Commands, they found them "fairly straightforward." RPGamer's Cortney Stone stated that Sora now moved "like an acrobatic honed fighter" in contrast to his "adolescent awkwardness" seen in the first Kingdom Hearts and remarked Sora's transformation into a lion seen in the sequel as enjoyable. His new outfit was also well received by GameSpy who found an improvement from the original one that looked like "wardrobe from Mickey Mouse's closet". GamesRadar had similar opinions and particularly focused on Sora's transformation and his new abilities. Game Informer viewed Sora's Drive Forms as well as his combined techniques with other characters as one of the best additions to the gameplay. Although IGN also praised Sora's growth in Kingdom Hearts II in their article "Kingdom Hearts III: The IGN Concept", they stated that in order to make his role in a future sequel more entertaining, he would need more development making him "be confident, collected and committed to the tasks at hand". Also commenting on his role in a future sequel, GamesRadar stated that having Sora's character older would be necessary to make the story more mature.
On the other hand, Sora also received negative comments regarding his characterization. He was third in 1UP.com's "Top 5 Most Irritating RPG Protagonists" with writer Bob Mackey commenting he is "a human version of Mickey Mouse", criticizing his original outfit and relationship with Riku and Kairi, and finding him to be less popular than the Disney characters featured in the series. In January 2007, Sora was listed the fourth "biggest dork" of 2006 by Game Informer, citing the Atlantica singing portions of the game. GameDaily listed Sora as an example of "The spiky-haired hero" archetype, type of characters who have appeared in RPG games since Final Fantasy VII.
Read more about this topic: Sora (Kingdom Hearts)
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