Donald Duck

This article is for the Donald Duck character, for the card see Donald Duck (card)

Donald Duck is a character from the Kingdom Hearts games.

Donald Duck, in Disney canon, is a sailor with a dangerously short temper. His debut is in The Wise Little Hen. In Kingdom Hearts, Donald is the Royal Magician of Disney Castle, resided over by King Mickey. He isn't very smart overall, and often provides comic relief more then advancing the the plot despite the amount time he appears in the series. He mostly is just a sidekick to Sora (along with Goofy), and is completely helpless without him.

Donald, along with Sora and Goofy, will reappear in Kingdom Hearts coded.

Disney Castle
Donald is a resident of Disney Castle, a world where many famous Disney characters, such as Mickey Mouse, the King, Minnie Mouse, the Queen Daisy Duck, a countess and girlfriend to Donald, and Goofy, the captain of the Royal Knights, among others, reside. He himself holds a respectable position as the Royal Magician for the King, and has trained under master Yen Sid. Apparently, he has been around long before the castle was even built--back when the world was called Timeless River.

He is also in a relationship with Daisy Duck. He also has several relatives that live in the castle: his nephews Huey, Dewy, and Louie, as well as his rich Uncle Scrooge.

Kingdom Hearts
One day, Donald goes to see the King in the morning, but is shocked to see that he has disappeared, leaving behind only a letter in the mouth of the King's pet Pluto, explaining his absence. Donald rushes to tell Goofy about the King's absence, but his secret is quickly discovered by Queen Minnie and Daisy.

King Mickey's letter explains that darkness is threatening the worlds, which appear as stars in the night sky, and have been blinking out one by one. Therefore, he left in order to study and counter the threat, and provides Donald and Goofy with the mission to seek out the "key to their survival". To start, they should head to a world called Traverse Town, and find a man named Leon.

Donald and Goofy, loyal to their king and concerned about his welfare as well as the worlds', agree to take on the mission. Queen Minnie also introduces them to another traveling companion, Jiminy Cricket, who will chronicle their travels in his journal.

With the three of them as well as Pluto, they take the Gummi Ship and begin their journey.

Meeting Sora
Donald and Goofy soon arrive in Traverse Town, having gained new, more casual, clothes. They set out in search of Leon and the key, but end up meeting Aerith, a friend of Leon. She explains to them the situation with the Heartless, the Keyblade, and the Ansem Reports, a document written by "Ansem" that details his findings on the Heartless. They also believe that the King might be searching for them.

However, things take a turn when Heartless attack the hotel that Donald and the others are in (with Leon, Yuffie and Sora, the Keyblade wielder they have been searching for, in the next room). After some confusion, Donald and Goofy arrive in the Third District, where they end up crashing into Sora. But many Heartless and the Guard Armor attacks, leaving the three to fight them off.

After the battle, the three introduce themselves. Donald and Goofy explain that they have been searching for Sora, and that if he travels with them, they can go search for the King as well as Sora's friends Riku and Kairi. Sora agrees, and the three set off.

Journey
Sora, Donald, and Goofy set off to many worlds, defeating Heartless, the Disney villains, and sealing keyholes that lead towards the hearts to worlds, as well as making many new friends. Of course, the journey is not without its problems: at Deep Jungle, Donald and Sora end up angry at each other after they have an argument involving their search for the King and Sora's friends. But friendship ultimately prevails, and the two make amends.

Hollow Bastion
The three eventually make their way to Hollow Bastion, the world that Leon and his friends hail from, and which Maleficent has turned into her base. To everyone's surprise, they encounter Riku (having not seen them since a second visit to Traverse Town), having just wounded an other-world resident named Beast. But that is not all: Riku manages to take the Keyblade from Sora, revealing that Riku is in fact the true Keyblade master.

Having been explicitly ordered to follow the Key, Donald and Goofy have no choice but to leave Sora and follow Riku. But eventually, with the aid of Beast, Sora catches up with Riku. With the Beast lured away by a Heartless feigning to be his beloved Belle, Riku attempts to eliminate Sora once and for all with a dark blast. However, Goofy comes to the rescue and blocks the attack, his friendship with Sora too powerful to ignore. Donald soon joins them, also guided by the friendship he has developed with Sora over time. Amazingly, the strength of their friendship also strengthens Sora's heart, and because his heart became stronger, he is able to regain the Keyblade, meaning that Donald and Goofy are no longer going against orders.

The trio then make their way through Hollow Bastion, confronting Maleficent as well as Riku, who is now possessed by Xehanort's Heartless and wields a Keyblade forged from the hearts of six of the seven Princesses of Heart. Unfortunately, Donald and Goofy are separated from Sora for the duration of the battle between Riku and Sora.

They also come across Kairi's body, devoid of her heart. When Sora discovers that Kairi's heart rests within his own, he chooses to release it by stabbing himself with the dark Keyblade left behind by Riku. Though Kairi is revived, Sora loses his heart to the darkness and becomes a Heartless. Donald desperately cries for Sora to come back, but to no avail.

Xehanort's Heartless makes his reappearance (and now in nearly total control of Riku's body) soon afterwards. Though Donald and Goofy are no match for Xehanort's great power, Riku is able to appear, holding back Xehanort temporarily. Donald and Goofy then attempt to escape with Kairi.

At the foyer of the castle, Heartless block their path. However, another Heartless, seemingly without hostile intentions, arrives. Kairi realizes it is Sora, and is able to revive him, much to Donald and Goofy's relief. The four then make their escape.

Kingdom Hearts
The trio then make their way back to Hollow Bastion, fighting their way through Heartless and sealing up the Keyhole opened up by the seven princesses. They then journey to the End of the World, the home of the Heartless. There, they confront Xehanort's Heartless at the remains of Destiny Islands, and then at the endless abyss, where the Door to Darkness that leads to Kingdom Hearts itself resides. After Xehanort's defeat, Sora, Donald, and Goofy attempt to seal the door, but their efforts are futile.

But then, the King makes his appearance, wielding the Keyblade of the Realm of Darkness. With the two Keyblades and the assistance of Riku, the Door to Darkness is sealed, and the worlds are restored. D However, the King and Riku are sealed in the Realm of Darkness, though the King leaves Donald and his companions with the knowledge that there will always be a door to the light Thus they travel along a long dirt road through grassy plains, searching for the King and Riku. There, they catch sight of Pluto, who again has a letter from the King. Opportunity arising, the three chase after Pluto, heading off towards another journey.

Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories
Sora, having encountered a mysterious figure, goes with Donald and Goofy to Castle Oblivion. Inside, they discuss going further into the castle, realizing that all four of them, including Jiminy, feel that Riku and the King are in the castle. But before they can progress, they meet the mysterious man once more. Donald, assuming the man to be a Heartless, attacks, but finds out that none of his spells will function. The man reveals that Sora and his friends forgot every single ability they knew as soon as they entered the castle. In addition, the figure remarks that in this castle, they will find someone they know. Granting Sora a card, the figure leaves, and the others are compelled to follow.

Sora, using the card, goes deeper into the castle, only to find that he is in Traverse Town. In addition, Donald and Goofy have disappeared, being at the mercy of the cards that control Castle Oblivion. After learning to battle, Sora reunites with Donald and Goofy, who have also gained new clothes. The three continue on, meeting memory versions of the people they have encountered in Kingdom Hearts.

Unfortunately, as they progress through the castle, they find that their memories are slowly fading. One example would be how Donald forgets the name of the castle they had visited before, Hollow Bastion. But at the same time, they experience memories they had forgotten long ago, such as Naminé, a supposed former resident of Destiny Islands, and a friend of Sora. But in truth, their memories are being manipulated by Naminé herself.

Also, they begin to encounter members of Organization XIII, including Axel, Larxene, and Vexen. All leave cryptic remarks about the nature of Castle Oblivion, including memories, and even about the other half of Sora's heart.

But they also meet Riku, who apparently is also striving to reach Naminé, but has once again turned on Sora. Donald and Goofy reason that Riku just forgot that Sora and he are friends, but Sora still slowly succumbs to anger at all the things that have been happening to him.

The three, after Vexen had been eliminated by Axel, become separated once Sora's anger at the Organization's manipulations overcomes him. When Sora is caught off by Riku, who in turn is knocked unconscious by Naminé shattering Riku's memories apart, Larxene comes in for the kill. But Goofy and Donald come in the nick of time, saving Sora and defeating Larxene. It is then that they learn of Naminé's true nature, as well as the fact that the Riku before them is only a replica of the real person. Naminé tells them that she can restore their memories, but only after they defeat Marluxia, the lord of Castle Oblivion. The three then travel to the 13th floor of Castle Oblivion. By this point, however, Donald and Goofy have forgotten about King Mickey, only recalling that they are looking for someone important.

As they make their way to Marluxia, the three also make an important promise: that no matter how far apart they are from each other, or if they have forgotten each other, they will always be friends. Using that promise as strength, they go on.

The trio then confronts Axel and Marluxia, with Marluxia using Naminé as a human shield. Marluxia escapes, but the three manage to defeat Axel, and soon after defeat Marluxia (after a round against a replica, and then the real thing). Naminé then leads them to stasis pods, where they can sleep while Naminé fixes their memories. Donald and Goofy say goodnight, and leave, while Sora and Naminé say goodbye.

Trivia

 * In the japanese version, Donald was voiced by popular seiyuu Kouichi Yamadera, who Disney involvement included characters that appeared in Kingdom Hearts (Genie, Sebastian, Beast, Mushu, Stitch) and others like Jaq from Cinderella and Roger Rabbit. Kouichi's Square Enix roles include Leonard of Drakengard, Ed from Brave Fencer Musashi, and Kain Highwind from the DS remake of Final Fantasy IV.