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What exactly makes someone worthy enough to pass the Mark of Mastery exam?



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Vulpes XIII

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I know that Riku and Aqua are masters because they passed there exams and proved their worthy of being Keyblade masters, but what I find weird is that although Sora failed his exam and that wasn’t even his fault it was Organization XIII interference it suddenly means because he got kidnapped one time he isn’t worthy of being a Keyblade master despite everything he’s done before the exam. Sora may of got kidnapped by Organization XIII but it not like he’s not strong enough to beat them he’s already won against them before and he even managed to eliminated some of them despite the fact that his memories were being messed with. Also considering the fact he saved the worlds several times and done all this while being self taught, wouldn’t that alone make him worthy enough to be a Keyblade master.

I know Sora and Terra couldn’t control the darkness and fell into the traps set up by the villains which lead to them failing,but if you think about it Riku fell into Maleficent traps back in KH1 and fell to darkness and although he overcame it eventually he still let it control him in the first place and Aqua despite being a master fell to darkness shouldn’t that technically mean she shouldn’t be a master anymore by that logic? Also I know that Sora didn’t get the power to wake a sleeping heart in Dream Drop Distance and Riku did, however did Aqua ever have that power herself it’s been a while since I’ve played Birth By Sleep I can’t remember

So I’m a bit confused how can someone who saved the worlds several times not be considered worthy but someone who was able to beat a few orbs of light without using darkness is? Also do you think they will ever let Sora be a Keyblade master? Thoughts
 
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Foxycian

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I’m not sure if I have the right Answer but for Sora I believe his naivety is to blame for him Falling the Test, the only One I consider to be a truly great keyblade master among the 4 is Riku, here is why

1. Sora
Despite being Given hints about the danger ahead from Young Xehanort in his exam, he still didn’t get the memo, Sora was slowly headed into a trap, basically he walked right into it Cause he didn’t use his head, to be A master is to be wise, Sora tend to rush into things for example in kh3 when he abused the power of waking, Again young Xehanort kept warning him but he chose to ignore it and blindly kept using it despite knowing what will happen to him, it just shows Sora is not ready for such power and great responsibility yet

2. Terra
Despite being a master level his Rage and lust for power clouds his judgment, His Naive at times but you could also call him a good person for not judging others based on how they look, Terra didn’t trust any stranger like how those memes portray him to be, he had doubts whenever he encounters someone suspicious, without a doubt terra should have passed the test like Aqua but master Xehanort sabotaged the test to make terra unleash his darkness, but like I said he may be a master level and should have passed but I honestly don’t believe he was ready for the title yet

3. Aqua
Altho she passed just like terra I believe she wasn’t ready for the title, She believed that light is absolute and darkness is evil, ofc Eraqus teachings is to blame, Aqua is wise but She often try to take all responsibilities, thinking that being a master puts her on a higher rank then her friends which what droved them away, since she acted like a master scolding a student (terra) in radiant garden, Her trying to take all responsibilities is one of her downfalls, when Zack offered to help her fight she refused, and when Sora offered to help her against Vanitas she refused (and ended up losing), like I said her being a master gave her sense of thinking that she should be the responsible one, she had low faith in terra and didn’t believe that Ventus could handle himself, I hope she finds out that Ven beat Vanitas one on one and later his struggle on the inside is what caused the X-Blade to be destroyed, maybe then she will realize he doesn’t need protection every time, Aqua despite being a young adult she is still young and not ready for the title

4. Riku
Not much to say here, Riku is wise strong reliable, balanced light and darkness, he confronted the darkness head on, for whole year he went on a redemption arc just to protect his friends from the shadows, Riku despite being less experienced then terra and Aqua he still deserves to be a master more then both of them cause being a master is not in how strong you are but in the strength of your will, Riku is the only one who did something in the final battle when everyone seemingly died against Demon tied, he was the only one who kept his heart strong and kept pushing even if the situation is dire, his strong heart and will and his strong mind and strong resolve, If anyone is truly a master it’s Riku.
 

Idreamaboutcats

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We don't know. Throughout the entire series, there has been no standard way to conduct the test, like, at all. There's going out on an interdimensional field trip, one-on-one sparring, waking up sleeping worlds, etc.

Apparently saving the world thrice over with self-taught skills isn't good enough.😬
 

palizinhas

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My headcanon is that Eraqus saw most of the Keyblade wielders he knew straight up disappear in their Mark of Mastery and was like "you know what? fighting light balls is enough". And that's why Terra and Aqua had it so easy compared to everyone else.
 

Sign

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My headcanon is that Eraqus saw most of the Keyblade wielders he knew straight up disappear in their Mark of Mastery and was like "you know what? fighting light balls is enough". And that's why Terra and Aqua had it so easy compared to everyone else.

We learn from Xehanort's letter that Eraqus was all ready to promote both Terra and Aqua without the exam. It was Xehanort who insisted on it by planting seeds of doubt in Eraqus and making him question if Terra was susceptible to darkness, thereby making him unworthy of being a master. He probably went went "yeah right, my son will show you" and made the exam super easy, thinking there'd be no way Terra would fail.

Of course DR trauma could also be a factor.
 
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Face My Fears

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The fact that Sora's efforts in KH1, CoM, 2, and 3 did not automatically warrant a promotion is strange. I can't imagine anything that Aqua could have done up to that point in BbS that could equate to what Sora did.

I suppose it comes down to actually having a master that trains you - which Sora and Riku didn't have until Yen Sid in KH3D. But I guess the justification to my statement above is that IF those games were exams for Sora, each one he somewhat botched - KH1 he killed himself to save Kairi, CoM he fell for Namine's manipulation, KH2 he continued to help the Organization's plan by killing heartless, and KH3 he allowed everyone to die and had to use time travel to undo it.
 

SweetYetSalty

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So far the two test we've seen were different from one another, but also both test were rigged for certain characters to fail (Sora, Terra) And the one in DR sounds fishy too.

This is a topic that comes up every once in awhile though. Sora doesn't need or want the title. If his past adventures don't make him worthy then what will? The series has been downplaying him for awhile and making him more reckless to show he's not fit to be a Master in favor of Riku and the Wayfinders. The dialogue in KH3 reflects it with the constant comparisons to them and his failure of the exam. Kairi will likely reach Master status before him, as I imagine she'll pass a Mark of Mastery test to conclude her training with Aqua and join Riku.

In previous games Sora was viewed as a boy who's heart could connect with others and it gave him limitless power and his Keyblade choose him through the strength of his heart and determination. Today the games view him as your typical unorthodox hero, who got lucky to gain the power he has compared to his peers, who's unpredictable style makes him unique and reliable, but not one you entrust full power to without proof.
 

Soldier

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The fact that Sora's efforts in KH1, CoM, 2, and 3 did not automatically warrant a promotion is strange. I can't imagine anything that Aqua could have done up to that point in BbS that could equate to what Sora did.

I suppose it comes down to actually having a master that trains you - which Sora and Riku didn't have until Yen Sid in KH3D. But I guess the justification to my statement above is that IF those games were exams for Sora, each one he somewhat botched - KH1 he killed himself to save Kairi, CoM he fell for Namine's manipulation, KH2 he continued to help the Organization's plan by killing heartless, and KH3 he allowed everyone to die and had to use time travel to undo it.
I think it's more of a matter that what he did was more out of necessity than anything else. He didn't really have a say in the matter on whether he wanted to be the Keyblade's chosen hero, as it chose him. Had he done nothing in KH 1, COM and 2 the worlds would be either nonexistent or well on their way towards destruction.

Also whether or not KH 2 is considered botched is up for debate. After the battle of 1000 heartless, SDG debate whether or not they should be slaying heartless anymore, as it furthers the organization's plan. But if they don't do that, more innocent people will be hurt and result in more heartless. So it's kind of skewed as to whether or not he really had any control.
 

Face My Fears

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I think it's more of a matter that what he did was more out of necessity than anything else. He didn't really have a say in the matter on whether he wanted to be the Keyblade's chosen hero, as it chose him. Had he done nothing in KH 1, COM and 2 the worlds would be either nonexistent or well on their way towards destruction.

Also whether or not KH 2 is considered botched is up for debate. After the battle of 1000 heartless, SDG debate whether or not they should be slaying heartless anymore, as it furthers the organization's plan. But if they don't do that, more innocent people will be hurt and result in more heartless. So it's kind of skewed as to whether or not he really had any control.
Yeah, but the fact is that Sora made the choice to kill Ansem, Marluxia, and Xemnas. He could have gotten the keyblade and been like "no thanks". In KH1, he got caught up in everything because he was looking for Riku and Kairi. He only hopped on the Gummiship to use Donald and Goofy to find Riku and Kairi, with the vague notion of saving the worlds in the back of his mind. But then he switches up when he realizes what is happening to Riku and becomes more dedicated to saving the worlds and his friends. Maybe he isn't a master because he was doing it for his own selfish purposes, rather than to save the worlds.

By KH2, it's to save the worlds genuinely (and find Riku). But Sora botched by basically helping Xemnas. Sora's one minute conversation about whether he should keep killing heartless wasn't that helpful. They didn't really discuss things and kept on like nothing ever happened.

I would have said KH3 warranted it, but he defied natural law to kill Master Xehanort, so... maybe that counts as cheating and disqualified him?
 
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