This. We're taking about FromSoft here, people. Let them cook. They make good games, and I doubt eithe🃏r✨ of the new games are gonna break that trend.

Experimentation is how we got here 𒊎in the first place. If they don't wanna make single player games right now, let them make kick-ass multꩵiplayer games and wait for their next big solo game and stop complaining.

(reply to the reply)

Riku couldn't possibly have that memory, because RR never had any of Riku's memories to begin with. They were all either just observations of the real Riku, or Sora's memories of Riku. Sora was always the one to make that promise. If Riku was present, it was as the recipient of the promise, which would be wildly out of character for him. Add in the context that the Seashell Char🐼m was always representative of Kairi, and the entire conflict between Sora and RR is meant to mimic the "love triangle" from KH1, and the official🎶 translation makes sense.

I don't want to diminish the importance of Sora and Riku to one another, but once Sora and Riku (Replica) meet and Sora has clear mem👍ories of him, I think that solidifies Kairi as Sora's "important person." Specific lack of mention of Kairi's name in the plot highlights her as she is the one being replaced, not Riku. Riku never needed protection, Kairi/Namine did.

I do agree that Namine was also hijacking elements of the Sora/Riku relationship, especially Sora's specific search for Riku(he di💜d ever CO looking for him), but I don't believe that that memory ever contained Riku.

While I don't want to diminish the importance of Riku and Sora to each other, unfortunately this entire theory is based on a falsehood: that Riku Replica ever had any of Riku's memories. RR was created from data manually recorded by Vexen and memories taken by Sora, so how could the true Riku ever be the one who made that promise? It was always Sora. And while Riku could be the recipient of that promise, it ᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚwould be wildly out of character for him. Additionally, Kairi's charm being hijacked liked that - and replicated for RR - is a clear callback to the "love triangle" between the Destiny Island trio. Since the charm always represented the connection between Sora and Kairi, it only makes sense for the true recipient of the promise to be Kairi.