Terra

Unreleased

Terra is a character from the upcoming game Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep. He is one of the former Keyblade masters before Sora. He is the tallest and the oldest of the three Keyblade knights; the other two are companions Aqua and Ven.

"Birth by sleep"
In the opening of the secret trailer, Terra, in his knight's armor seems to be standing triumphantly, holding his massive Keyblade behind his back. He then notices something from off screen and jumps down. As he walks away, the object he was standing on blows away into dust. As Terra walks to the middle of the crossroads, Aqua appears from another direction, along with Ven appearing in the opposite. Three Keyblades lie in the center: Kingdom Key, Way to the Dawn and Kingdom Key D. Terra picks up the Kingdom Key while Aqua picks up Kingdom Key D and Ven picks up Way to the Dawn. Then they all notice a shadowed figure off in the distance.

Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
Terra makes his first appearance in the Kingdom Hearts series as far as chronology goes, in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep. Part of a Keyblade wielding trio comprised of himself and friends Aqua and Ventus, he is one of three characters the player can choose from at the beginning of the game, having his own scenario or storyline that supposedly will tie into the other two storylines of the game, upon their completion.

Terra is seen to arrive at the Enchanted Dominion, coming before the evil fairy Maleficent in the sleeping Princess Aurora's bedroom. She tells the Keyblade warrior of seven hearts of pure light, and how whomever brings the seven princesses together will be ruler of the worlds. She sends Terra on a mission that would later be hers to gather them from their home worlds, Terra believing these seven Princesses of Heart to be the key to learning about Master Xehanort's wishes. Terra later battles a large Unversed, the Wheel Master, in King Stephen's Throne Room, coming out victorious and embarking on his quest while Maleficent concocts a scheme to cause friends Ven and Aqua to loose faith in him. What is this plot, exactly? Using her upmost coniving, Maleficent wishes to tell Aqua and Ven that Terra has succummed to the darkness.

When Terra arrives in Castle of Dreams on his quest for the Princesses of Heart, he finds himself face to face once again with the dreaded Unversed. On the search for Master Xehanort and the heart of pure light said to reside in the world, Cinderella, the Keyblade master even has to protect the princess in the Grand Hall of Prince Charming's Castle against the beasts. He later converses with Aqua about the true intention of the bald enigma, Xehanort, and his apprentice. He also hints toward the Princesses of Heart, Aqua questioning who or what they were.

Terra later found himself in Snow White's World, a world said to contain another Princess of Heart, Snow White, battling the Unversed once again. He eventually finds the young princess in a lush meadow, the Keyblade warrior surprised when the girl calmly noticed him without shock.

Terra then travels to the world of Deep Space. Unknowingly aiding the mischievous Experiment 626 with his escape from a prison spaceship set for a desert asteroid, the Keyblade warrior must destroy the large blasters that constantly shoot at the little alien, also battling his "cousin", Experiment 221.

Terra visits the Destiny Islands sometime towards the end of his journey. While all seems peaceful to the Keyblade master, he is intrigued when he sees two boys, one at age four and the other at age five, sword-fighting on the beach.

As Terra gets closer and closer to solving the puzzle that is Master Xehanort, he comes to Radiant Garden. He finds his friend Ventus, wounded by a currently unknown cause. The brave Keyblade warrior carries his friend, arm wrapped around his shoulder, throughout the Dark Depths, protecting him against every threat they come up against. When the young Keyblade wielder awakens, Terra confirms their friendship, thanking Ven for being a friend to him.

Terra's quest finally drew to a close, coming before Master Xehanort at the Gathering Place. The subject of conversation during their stand-off was at first the bald enigma's apprentice. Master Xehanort claiming that those on the side of darkness could not wield the Keyblade and were monsters, he begged Terra to "correct his mistake." Whether this "mistake" is taking on the apprentice or siding with darkness is currently unknown. This discussion did not last, however, Terra then asking what had become of a "friend's" heart. He summoned his massive Keyblade, the next events in this climatic showdown unknown as of yet.

Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix
In the "Birth By Sleep" cinematic, unlocked at the end of Final Mix, the story is continued; the three are portrayed as the protagonists against Master Xehanort and his companion, and he, like the others, wields a Keyblade. He begins the battle by rushing at Master Xehanort, but the old man avoids him by separating himself from the others with a makeshift cliff. Terra is hit by a blast of lightning from the old man's guardian, but ignores him to pursue Master Xehanort.

He is at first unable to reach the man because of the cyclone of Keyblades, but after being aided by Aqua's magic, he is able to reach the man's cliff and attack him. The old man, wielding a Keyblade of his own, is able to fend him off with a freezing spell. Once the old man gets a hold of Ven, a younger knight, Terra is thrown off the cliff by the Keyblade cyclone, ending his involvement in the struggle. He is seen one last time after the appearance of Kingdom Hearts, when he takes off his helmet to gaze up at it, while his eyes turn yellow.

In Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix, a secret boss known as the Lingering Sentiment appears. Although it is not confirmed, it is believed to Terra. It first mentions Aqua and Ven and mistakes Sora as "the one he has chosen" (possibly Riku, who was originally chosen by the Keyblade), then wonders if Sora is "Xehanort" before finally attacking him. Unlike Sephiroth, another secret boss in the game, the Sentiment fights against both Sora and his main companions, Donald and Goofy. After losing once, he can be challenged again, this time saying that he has nothing more to give to Sora except his hatred for "Xehanort". It's unclear why he actually attacks Sora, though he may just be testing his abilities just as Xemnas had been. After the fight, he acknowledges Sora as a Keyblade Master.

The Lingering Sentiment is the most powerful enemy in Final Mix, and is arguably the hardest boss in the series.

Terra or the Lingering Sentiment?
Because there is little known about Terra and the fact that the Lingering Sentiment uses Terra's Keyblade and wears Terra's armor, it has been left up to speculation if Terra is actually the Lingering Sentiment. The most likely explanation is that the Lingering Sentiment is actually Terra's Keyblade acting on its own will in a manner similar to the Absent Silhouettes, considering it never speaks normally.

Battle Style
Terra is the most powerful of the trio in terms of the damage aspect. He uses slow, but very heavy and hard-hitting attacks to decimate his enemies. On top of that, he has access to both a variety of magical spells as well as heavy physical strikes. His known Mode Changes are:
 * Fatal Mode: A powerful fighting style that utilizes slow, but heavy hits to their maximum.
 * Thunder Bolt: A swift mode change that unleashes powerful lightning upon attacks.
 * Fire Blazer: A ranged and versatile mode change that focuses the keyblade to erupt flames while attacking.
 * Rock Breaker: A powerful and long-ranged style that works best on the ground.

Trivia

 * While Terra's name means 'earth' in Latin, Riku's name means 'land'. Any connection between the two is un-confirmed, however similar name meanings also apply with Sora/Ven and Kairi/Aqua.
 * Terra is the second original Kingdom Hearts character to share a name with a character from the Final Fantasy series, sharing his name with Terra from Final Fantasy VI, the other being Riku, who shares his name with Rikku of Final Fantasy X. Strangely, all of these names mean 'earth' in Latin or Japanese, as stated above.
 * Terra will be voiced by Ryotaro Okiayu, who previously voiced Setzer (a character originally from Final Fantasy VI) in Kingdom Hearts II.
 * One of Terra's "modes" seems to be similiar to Sora's Wisdom Form.
 * Terra's belt buckle slightly resembles the symbol of the Nobodies, except turned upside down and yellow. The badges on Ven's and Aqua's chests have the same form as Terra's buckle, except white. In its current position, it vaguely resembles the symbol of the Heartless
 * Terra has a physical resemblance to Zack Fair from Final Fantasy VII.
 * Terra is the second superboss in the series to gain a playable role, succeeding Xemnas.

Videos
Terra