Data Riku

The Data Riku is a character appearing in Kingdom Hearts coded and its remake, Kingdom Hearts Re:coded. While many similarities are present between him and the real Riku, the Data Riku is merely a physical manifestation of the memories contained within Jiminy's Journal. He even claims to be the Journal, itself.

The Data Riku had bound the memories contained within Jiminy's Journal together when they were strewn apart, but this restoration could not be completed because of the Bug Block infestation. Of all the memories inside the Journal, he was selected to be a vessel to hold the memories together and protect them from corruption. He even involved King Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and the Data Sora in this process to solve the mystery of the strange words that continued to appear in Jiminy's Journal by transferring Disney Castle to the Data World.

The Data Riku continues to aid the protagonists throughout the story, but he is eventually captured by Maleficent and Pete, the latter using a Bug Block-controlled version of the Data Riku to combat the Data Sora. The Data Sora is then tasked with debugging the Journal incarnate, losing his memories as a result of this quest.

Kingdom Hearts coded
In Episode 4, the black-coated man reveals himself to be the journal incarnate, using the form of Data Riku to communicate with Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Jiminy, and Data Sora. In the Data Olympus Coliseum, the journal tells Data Sora the reason he did not reveal himself to him earlier is because he wanted Sora to become stronger. He discusses with Sora whether they are data or artificial, and the Data Riku says that it does not matter as long as they can make an impact to the world and help their friends. It is revealed the reason the video kept showing things Jiminy never wrote about is because it shows the Journal's sleeping memories. Even the Data Riku does not know the reasons for the mysterious messages appearing in the Journal, the Bug Block corruption that appear in the Data Worlds, or what is happening to the Data World.

In Episode 6, he is captured by the real-world Maleficent and Pete. It is revealed that Pete took him into the Data Hollow Bastion. When Pete is losing to Sora, he summons the Bug Block-controlled Data Riku to fight Sora. King Mickey appears and tells Sora that unless all the Bug Blocks are destroyed, the Data Riku will never wake up.

In Episode 7, the Data Sora eventually manages to debug the Data Riku and awaken it. When the debugging reaches 100% completion, it is erased completely, taking Pete and Maleficent with it as well as wiping the Data Sora's memories. However, a new message claiming that a door to a new world has been opened appears, and Mickey enters the data world once again to investigate for himself.

Appearance
While he is merely a physical manifestation of the memories contained within Jiminy's Journal, the Data Riku takes on the form of Riku's 15 year-old body as it appeared in Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories. He is mainly seen wearing the black coat of Organization XIII, but his shared ability with the real Riku to enter Dark Mode allows him to wear the same bodysuit the true Riku wore under the possession of Ansem, Seeker of Darkness.

Personality
The Data Riku also acts in a fairly similar manner to his real-world counterpart. He is shown to care greatly for the Data Sora, even wanting him to become stronger as well. The Data Riku is calm and cool, much like the real Riku was in Kingdom Hearts. The Data Riku's personality also greatly changes to give him a more aggressive persona while under the influence of the Bug Blocks, much like what occured with the real-world Riku as he slowly lost his heart to darkness. The only major difference between the Data Riku and the real Riku's personalities would be the Data Riku's sense of responsibility. This is demonstrated by the Data Riku's wish to solve the mystery of the strange messages appearing in Jiminy's Journal and also to keep the memories contained within him safe from corruption.

Abilities
One of the many similarities between the Data Riku and the real Riku is the arsenal of abilities they can use in battle. The Data Riku can not only use Dark Shield and counter if the barrier he places before himself is hit (something Riku demonstrated during the battle with Roxas in Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days), but he can also use the deadly Dark Aura ability (something Riku has demonstrated in all appearances). The Data Riku is also capable of vanishing temporarily and striking the ground soon after, causing several Bug Blocks to spawn. The Data Riku lastly is able to wield a data version of the Soul Eater, a weapon used in the real world by Riku.

Fighting Style
The Data Riku is fought in two multi-phase battles. The first battle takes place in the Data Hollow Bastion. The second battle takes place within the Data Riku himself. While he only uses simple slashes and Dark Shields in the first phase of both battles, he gets more aggressive in later phases, using the same agility and abilities as the real Riku.

Trivia

 * The Data Riku is the first character affiliated with the song Organization XIII (which plays when the Data Riku first enters Disney Castle) to not be a member of the Organization, itself. He is also the only character to share another's main theme, the song Riku playing during the battles with the Data Riku.