Radiant Garden


 * This article is about the world. For the castle itself, see Hollow Bastion.
 * For the article about the mines below the castle, see Cavern of Remembrance.

The Radiant Garden (レイディアントガーデン) is a world in Kingdom Hearts II and Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep. However, it appears in the other two games as Hollow Bastion, the castle which lies in the center of the world. The rest of the world is destroyed in those two games. The world itself was named Hollow Bastion during Xehanort's Heartless and Maleficent's reign of the castle. It regains its name in Kingdom Hearts II after Tron finds a record of it in the computer's database and shows everyone what the town looked like when it started out. Everyone from the Radiant Garden remembers the name. This world was run by Ansem the Wise during Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, Maleficent and Xehanort's Heartless in Kingdom Hearts and the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee in Kingdom Hearts II.

In Kingdom Hearts II, the Radiant Garden plays a similar role to Traverse Town from Kingdom Hearts, as a sort of "home base" for Sora before he returned to Destiny Islands.

Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
Radiant Garden was once a glorious kingdom known as a capital of light throughout the worlds. The three Keyblade wielders, Terra, Ventus, and Aqua, all arrive in the town at roughly the same time. Terra arrives here looking for Vanitas, but only finds a swarm of Unversed in the center of town. He then sees Master Xehanort walking down a street and follows him. Along the way he meets the wizard Merlin and then sees a large Unversed fly towards a mining area outside town.

Aqua arrives here shortly after the Terra's arrival. She first meets Scrooge McDuck, who says he saw someone heading towards the castle. She runs to the castle, where she meets a young Kairi being attacked by the Unversed. Mickey then appears from the sky and the two protect the young girl. They also sense the pure light from Kairi, but Mickey disappears due to his Star Fragment. Kairi offers Aqua flowers as thanks for helping her, and Aqua places a spell in Kairi in order to protect her light should it ever be threatened. Kairi's grandmother arrives and tells her story of the origin of light to Kairi as they head home. Aqua then sees a giant Unversed and chases it through town.

Ven, meanwhile appeared in Radiant Garden after Mickey's Star Fragment sent him there. He runs towards the castle gates thinking Mickey might be there, but the guards, Dilan and Aeleus prevent his entrance. But a giant Unversed appears, causing Ven it chase after it. The guards prepare to follow, but are reprimanded by Even, who says that the boy can take care of himself and also senses that Ven has no darkness in his heart, or rather it was taken out. In the town square, Ven defends Scrooge McDuck from the Unversed so the miser offers him three passes to Disney Town. Ven thanks him and runs after the Unversed, meeting Merlin along the way.

All three heroes arrive at the same place by chasing their respective Unversed. They are surprised to see each other, but first defeat the Trinity Armor that forms. They fight together and win. Ven shares his tickets to Disney Town with his friends. Ven tells of his journey and how he even defeated a masked boy who bad mouthed Terra. Terra knows this is Vanitas and bids him to go home with Aqua. Aqua wonders if Terra has gotten too close to the darkness. Terra is insulted and feels that Eraqus sent her to spy on him. As Terra leaves to follow his own path, Ven cannot believe Aqua's claims and goes to look for Terra, but not before telling a disheartened Aqua that she has changed.

Terra enters the lower portions of the castle where he meets Braig, who openly tells him that he has captured Master Xehanort. Terra goes further into the castle to find the last person he trust, but is approached again by Braig who wants the Keyblade for himself. The two battle, with the captured Xehanort imploring Terra to give into his darkness. Terra ventually does so, and shoots a burst of dark energy that hits Braig's face, giving the scars he appears with later. Terra and Xehanort form a pact to work together to destroy Vanitas. Terra then prepares to leave, even after Ven wants to come with him.

Aqua, meanwhile, left towards the town square, meeting Merlin on the way there. In the town square, she meets Vanitas, who taunts her and then attacks. Aqua wins the battle, but Vanitas escapes, telling her only to get stronger. Ven then arrives, wanting to go with her as well, but Aqua leaves alone, as she wants him to go home and be safe.

Ven, after the battle with the Trinity Armor, passes by young Ienzo, being attacked by a swarm of Unversed. He helps the boy as Even arrives. The scientist thanks Ven for rescuing the orphan, and also notes that they may be connected in the future. Ven then meets up with Terra and Aqua, but is saddened by being left behind. He plays with Terra's old wooden Keyblade, but drops in front of two teenagers, Lea and Isa. Lea wants to battle with Ven, but loses embarrassingly. Isa says it is time that they left, with Lea saying that he and Ven will meet again someday because they are friends now. Isa has no clue as to why Lea is so friendly, but Lea responds he wants to be a part of many people's memories. The two look towards the castle and leave. Reminded of his friends, Ven leaves for new worlds.

In the last chapter, Aqua comes to Radiant Garden looking for Terra after creating Castle Oblivion. She finds Terra, however possessed by Master Xehanort's dark heart. Aqua struggles when he tries to strangle her, but she tries to make him remember his true self. Terra cannot overpower Xehanort's heart, leaving Aqua no choice but to battle her friend. Terra awakens the darkness in his heart in the form of the Guardian Heartless. However Aqua proves victorious, and Terra tries to release the darkness in his heart by sending himself to the Realm of Darkness. Aqua jumps in after him wearing her armor as protection. Unfortuntly, Aqua cannot save both of them, so she gives Terra her armor and Keyblade and sends him back to the Realm of Light, while she stays in the darkness.

Terra's unconscious body is found in Radiant Garden hereafter by Braig, who brings Ansem the Wise and Dilan to retrieve the stranger. Terra can only remember the name, Xehanort, causing Braig to smile deviously. They also find Aqua's armor and Keyblade although they are unsure of what it is. Later, Terra, now using the name Xehanort, has become Ansem's apprentice, and making an ally in Braig. Ansem and Ienzo then walk by, catching the boy's attention and the scientist's suspicion.

During the end credits, Lea and Isa are seen getting thrown out of the castle by Dilan and Aeleus. Later, Lea buys some sea salt ice cream from Scrooge McDuck and shares it with Isa. Kairi is also seen picking flowers and gazing up at the sky above her.

Story Between Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep and Kingdom Hearts
Hollow Bastion was once a glorious castle towering over the Radiant Garden and owned by a respectful king, Ansem the Wise. Much of the history of the castle is unknown, other than that Ansem ruled from it. However, eventually Ansem's apprentice Xehanort overthrew his former mentor, and remodeled the castle to include mechanical components. The result was a twisted bastion; half beautiful castle, half distorted factory. According to Leon, Maleficent invaded Hollow Bastion's world with her Heartless nine years before the events of Kingdom Hearts. Some residents managed to escape, many of whom ended up in Traverse Town. However, the youngest known resident, Kairi, was sent into the oceans of the worlds by Xehanort and ended up in Destiny Islands. During her reign in the castle as one of Ansem's minions, it is probable that Maleficent either created or remodeled the castle's keep, which has decorations and models of roses and her thorned plants.

First Visit
Sora and his friends reunite with Leon, Yuffie, Aerith, and Cid, who have started the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee, an organization attempting to rebuild the world that they once lived in. After reuniting with Merlin as well, Leon makes Sora, Donald, and Goofy honorary members of the committee and takes them to view the restoration work on the Bailey. There, after a surprise attack, the party has their first real encounter with Organization XIII in the form of taunts and cryptic messages. After defending the town from Nobodies and unlocking the pathway to other worlds via his committee card, Sora heads out to search for King Mickey and Riku.

The party returns briefly to visit and assist Merlin, who has a surprise: Pooh's book, the entrance to the 100 Acre Wood. However, a raid by Heartless damages the book when they try to steal it from Sora's group, leading to Pooh's amnesia and the search for the book's Torn Pages.

Second Visit
When the party is called again to Hollow Bastion, they reunite with Cloud, who vows to go after Sephiroth. They then are sent by Cid and Merlin to assist Leon in the Bastion itself; along the way, they meet the Gullwings for the first time. After reaching the Bastion, they first see Ansem's study and are introduced to his seemingly malfunctioning computer system after a brief encounter with Tifa. After an unplanned trip to Space Paranoids courtesy of Stitch, they finally meet with the King in Ansem's study, who promises to talk after they finish helping Tron. Sora and his party copy Tron's scrambled data, finding out about Ansem the Wise.

Mickey explains about Ansem the Wise, his impostor, and the Heartless and Nobodies that resulted, most notably Xemnas. While he explains many things to them, Sora learns that the King can't tell him about Riku. He charges them to go find the missing Riku and Kairi, but there is a sudden explosion outside the Bastion. Heartless and Nobodies are pouring through a hole blown in the outer wall. Sora's party encounter Maleficent, who orders her Heartless to attack, and the Gullwings, who they trick into joining Leon's side. They also find Sephiroth, looking to fight Cloud.

The party makes their way to the Bailey, where they witness the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee, the Gullwings, Cloud, and Tifa's attempts to stop the Heartless, as well as an encounter between Cloud and Sephiroth. Mickey orders them to find Riku and Kairi instead of fighting the Heartless, but Sora refuses and leaps into the fray, joined by Donald and Goofy. Their first encounter is with Demyx, who attempts to eliminate Sora again. However, Sora and his group take out Demyx for good. Mickey catches up with them and admits his earlier decision was hasty. An explosion caused by a Heartless causes a boulder to fly at Mickey; Goofy takes the blow instead and is seemingly killed. Spurred on by his sacrifice, the three jump into the battle, assisted by the other residents of Hollow Bastion. Goofy is alright in the end and reunites with them; together, they work to halt the Heartless invasion.

They are triumphant in the end, but are confronted by Xemnas and Saïx, who reveals, with help from Axel, Organization XIII's master plot. Maleficent appears and attempts to claim Kingdom Hearts for her own. She helps Sora escape so he can help her find a way to get rid of the Nobodies by sending him and his friends into the Realm of Darkness. There, they find the two clues needed to unlock the identity of Roxas, as well as the way to unlock the second set of adventures in each World.

Third Visit
On the third and final main visit to Hollow Bastion, the Master Control Program has taken over Cid and Ansem the Wise's computers, causing the claymores in Hollow Bastion to go crazy and attack the residents. Sora, Donald, and Goofy go into Space Paranoids to contact Tron while Cid works on a program to delete the MCP. When downloaded into Tron, the party is able to retake control of Hollow Bastion's computers and restore order. In addition, Tron finds information on Ansem's data of Hollow Bastion's existence before the Heartless came, then reveals it to all residents, reminding everyone its true name and nature: the Radiant Garden.

Alternatively, Sora and co. find and fight Sephiroth at Villain's Vale after Radiant Garden's chaotic situation is solved. As an extremely powerful opponent, it takes most of Sora's time, power and mind to defeat him. After he is proven vivctorious, Sephiroth tells him to find Cloud so that they may finish everything once and for all. Cloud and Sephiroth emit in a great battle until Tifa arrives and fuels him with light, giving him extra power. Cloud and Sephiroth disappear to places unknown, to once again finish their longtime battle. Tifa gives Sora the Fenrir Keychain as token for her gratitude for "helping her".

The Town
Sora first arrives in the Radiant Garden (still known as Hollow Bastion at the time) at the Marketplace where all the shops are located. Down the stairs past the item shop is the Borough, which seems to be a residential area and where Merlin's House is located. It's also the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee's base of operations and leads to the world 100 Acre Wood.

If you continue, you will come across the Bailey which at first allows a look of the Villain's Vale and access to the Restoration Site. After the events of your first journey to Space Paranoids, the Bailey is changed, with the outer wall of the city broken down and you can walk to the Castle Gate.

If you go to the Restoration Site, you will find equipment to restore the city. It is also changed after your first visit to Space Paranoids, which allows you to get two new treasures. At the end of the Restoration Site you will find the Postern. The Postern leads to the Corridors under the castle which lead to Ansem's study. Ansem's study includes of his desk and personal library and his computer room. Ansem's study leads to the world Space Paranoids and the Heartless Manufactory.

Outside of the Town
If you go to the Castle Gate from the Bailey, an old gate similar to the one in Kingdom Hearts. From the Castle Gate, you will reach the long and winding Ravine Trail that eventually leads to the Crystal Fissure, a small cave-like area with glowing crystals. This leads to The Great Maw, a large area where the Battle of the 1000 Heartless is fought. The next and last area is the Dark Depths where you can fight Sephiroth after your third and final visit.



Villain's Vale
From here you have a view of the Villain's Vale which is an unreachable in Kingdom Hearts II. It acts as a base of operations for Maleficent and her forces of darkness. After learning that Maleficent was killed, Pete showed up here, to see if it was true. He found an empty fortress, but was soon greeted by a Diablo and a resurrected Maleficent. She begins to use it as a base of operations, even though now there are only two in her league.

When Sora and co. first arrive in Hollow Bastion, at the base of the Vale is a swarm of Shadow Heartless. Leon and the rest of the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee wish to restore the city but need to get rid of the Heartless first. After the Battle of the 1000 Heartless, the base of the Vale is no longer surrounded by Heartless. The Heartless were probably amassed together by Maleficent and Pete for their army and then used to attack Hollow Bastion. The Heartless, however, sided with Organization XIII and did not finish attacking the city.

Villain's Vale appears in several flashbacks (or rather, flashforwards) seen in Timeless River. As Maleficent treats Pete badly after his failure, the latter begins wishing he could return to the old days when he captained the Steamboat Willie. In response, the worlds gave Pete a doorway to his past to atone for his mistakes. He shows the door to Maleficent, who orders him to go to the past and destroy the Cornerstone of Light so that they may take control of Disney Castle in the present.

The fortress also acts as the driving force of most of Maleficent's actions during this game. After losing Hollow Bastion to the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee, she deems the crumbling fortress unworthy, and begins searching for a new, grander castle in which to rule, setting her sights on both Disney Castle and the Castle that Never Was.

Cavern of Remembrance
In Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix, new areas are added including the Cavern of Remembrance and the Garden of Assemblage (where data of defeated Organization XIII members can be accessed and fought against). These areas can be accessed from a new hole in the Postern. Alternatively, after completing all stages in the Cavern of Remembrance, the Garden of Assemblage can be accessed via an entrance hewn out of the rock in the left side of the Restoration Site, thus saving players the trouble of scaling the mineshaft in the Cavern of Remembrance.

Heartless
Devastator, Magnum Loader and Strafer only appear in the Radiant Garden's streets during the time when the MCP has gained control of the town's defense systems.

Trivia

 * Although Kairi and Ansem the Wise, two characters original to the Kingdom Hearts series, called this world home at some point, this world can be looked at as the only world based on Final Fantasy in the series as most Final Fantasy characters in the game are originally from here. Scrooge McDuck, Huey, Dewey, and Louie are from Disney Castle originally.
 * Prior to Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep this was the only world to have a change of name. This trait is now shared with the Land of Departure, as well as Timeless River, though the actual name of the world in question is unknown.
 * Eight members of Organization XIII come from this world. Notably, Sora lost his heart and his Nobody was born (although it was known as Hollow Bastion at the time).