The Shadow Sora is a Pureblood Heartless found in Kingdom Hearts. It is one of the eight enemies in Kingdom Hearts which do not have an entry in Jiminy's Journal.

Development

An early screenshot for Kingdom Hearts coded shows Sora facing off against Shadow Sora in Traverse Town.

Story

Kingdom Hearts

Sora and his party encounter Riku on Captain Hook's ship, where he reveals that he now has control over the Heartless. To prove it, he creates a Heartless replica of Sora before their eyes, and then throws them into the ship's brig. As Sora fights his way back to the ship's deck, he encounters many of these Shadow Soras, which only he can defeat. However, they have no weapons and often vanish before he can even attack them. Once Sora reaches the Captain's Cabin, Riku creates a more complete replica of Sora, this one able to wield a shadowy Keyblade. After being defeated, it fades back into darkness, and the other Shadow Soras no longer appear.

They are identical to Sora in appearance, but fight without the Keyblade and are very easy to defeat.

Design

A Shadow Sora is a pitch black silhouette of Sora, and as a result, no details normally visible on Sora's body and clothing are visible on it. Sora's spiky hair, large shoes and hands, his shorts, and his gloves are all visible. It does not possess the glowing yellow eyes of other Heartless. Unlike the AntiSora, a Shadow Sora does not carry a Keyblade.

The Shadow Sora's name is a clear reference to the fact that it is a completely black copy of Sora, identical to his shadow.

Strategy

Shadow Sora doesn't pose much of a threat. All it can do is dance in the air, as if it was mocking Sora and kicks him if he get too close. After losing half of its HP, it will run away. However, it will give Experience, HP and MP prizes. The Shadow Sora also can vanish occasionally and create clones. Due to the high Experience earned, it is recommended to target Shadow Sora over any other enemy on the field.

Technique		Element	Tech	Power Bonus	Guard?
Kick Up (蹴り上げる, Keriageru)		None	x0.1	4	Repellable (Recoil: 50)
		Kicks up with right foot.
		When Kick Up misses, Shadow Sora has a low probability to drop (1) Munny x3, (5) Munny x2 When Kick Up hits Sora, he drops (20) Munny x3
Fly Around (飛びまわる, Tobimawaru)		None	x0	2	Repellable (Recoil: 100)
		Flies quickly with arms wide.
Guard: Repellable = Can be blocked and interrupted; Returnable = Can be blocked and deflected back; Preventable = Blockable by Goofy's shield only.

Other appearances

Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories

In Link Mode, the second player's avatar is depicted as a darker version of Sora. Just like Shadow Sora, it lacks the yellow eyes of the Heartless, but can still wield a Keyblade like AntiSora.

Kingdom Hearts V CAST

In Kingdom Hearts V CAST, an alternate version of Shadow Sora is conjured by Maleficent. The entity is unnamed in game, only described as "[Sora's] own shadow", but is named "Shadow Sora" in the game files. Unlike the Shadow Sora in the PS2 Kingdom Hearts, this version had white eyes and can wield a copy of Sora's Keyblade. Shadow Sora can perfectly mirror all of Sora's movements and abilities.

Maleficent summons Shadow Sora at a Heartless altar on Swashbuckler's Island. Sora faces off against the dark entity, tricking his reflection into falling into a pit; however, a tentacle of darkness emerges from the pit and pierces Sora's heart with a dark curse. Later, Sora explores the potion room hidden within Maleficent's Castle to find a way to restore the Keyblade's magic, and he discovers a mirror which reflects Shadow Sora. Sora is able to use the mirror to control his reflection and learn the Thunder spell.

Gallery

• 

  Early screenshot of Kingdom Hearts coded showing Shadow Sora.
• 

  Shadow Sora in the Kingdom Hearts manga.

Notes and references

See also

• AntiForm
• Anti-Riku
• Anti-Saïx

• Pureblood Heartless
• Kingdom Hearts enemies