Donald Duck

Donald Duck is a character from the Kingdom Hearts series. 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, presided over by King Mickey. He isn't very smart overall, and often provides comic relief more then advancing the plot despite the amount of time he appears in the series. Despite his rash and aggressive personality, he is loyal to his friends.

Though he initially only cares about Sora as a means to track down King Mickey, Donald soon grows to deeply care for him as a friend.

Kingdom Hearts
''Royal Magician. Skilled in magic, but can be short-tempered and stubborn. He set out in the gummi ship with Goofy to find the king. Donald has joined forces with Sora, the key bearer alluded to in the king's letter.''
 * First Entry

Donald made his screen debut in "The Wise Little Hen" (1934).

''Royal Magician. Skilled in magic, but short-tempered and stubborn. Because Mickey said to follow the key bearer, he once left Sora to follow Riku. But friendship soon led him back to Sora.''
 * Second Entry

Donald made his screen debut in "The Wise Little Hen" (1934).

Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories
Court Wizard at Disney Castle who set out with Goofy after the king's disappearance.

His short temper sometimes gets him into trouble, but he is very brave.

Donald is currently seeking clues to what happened to the king after he was locked behind the door to darkness.

Kingdom Hearts II
The Royal Court Magician.

''Not long ago, Donald left Disney Castle with Goofy to search for King Mickey. During that quest, they met Sora and became fast friends.''

After they helped Sora save the worlds from darkness, Donald and Goofy continued their search for King Mickey, who had decided to stay behind in the realm of darkness.

But before they could find the King, the three friends were plunged into a deep sleep.

Note: The descriptions of Donald in this game change in every world.

Story
Donald is a resident of Disney Castle, a world where many famous Disney characters, such as Mickey Mouse (the King), Queen Minnie, 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 also has several relatives that live in the castle (at the end of Kingdom Hearts II): his nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie, as well as his rich uncle Scrooge McDuck.

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 dog 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 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). Donald and Goofy are about to go talk to Leon, but Yuffie dashes out of the room and crushes Donald with the door in her haste. Donald and Goofy arrive in the Third District, where they attempt to fight some Heartless, but are unable to defeat them, and a massive explosion sends them flying through the air and right on top of Sora, where they immediately recognize the Keyblade in his hand. However, before they have a chance to formally introduce themselves, they are attacked by a giant Heartless known as the Guard Armor, starting a fight that they manage to win.

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; however, Donald secretly tells Goofy that he doesn't know if they'll find Sora's friends, but they need him either way if they expect to find the King. Donald proceeds to tell a depressed Sora to cheer up if he wants to come with them ("You can't come along looking like that, understand? No frowning, no sad face. Okay? This boat runs on happy faces!"). Sora attempts to look happy, but only ends up making a fool of himself, much to Donald and Goofy's amusement. Nonetheless, Sora agrees to accompany them, 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 like 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 their 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, much to their regret. 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, finding himself unable to betray Sora after all that they had been through together, and Donald rejoins them as well, saying, "All for one, one for all." 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. Upon their first encounter with the possessed Riku, Donald leaps to attack him, but is easily swatted away, and he and Goofy are separated from Sora by a barrier set up by Riku to prevent them from interfering.

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, despite Donald and Goofy frantically trying to convince him otherwise. While Kairi's heart is restored, Sora's is lost, and he becomes a Heartless. Donald is clearly distraught by this, running over to Sora as he fades away and desperately screaming for him to come back to no avail.

Xehanort makes his reappearance (and now in nearly total control of Riku's body) soon afterwards, planning to kill the revived Kairi now that her usefulness to him has ended. Donald and Goofy bravely make a stand against Xehanort, but both know that they might be no match for him alone. Before Xehanort can make his strike, however, Riku is able to take control, 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. Donald shouts at it to get lost and bonks it over the head with his staff, but 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 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. 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.

Enter Castle Oblivion


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.

Lost and Found
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 Roxas, 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.

Truth Revealed
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.

Final Floor
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.

New Journey
Donald, like Sora and Goofy, have been asleep in special chambers to regain their lost memories. Donald is unknowingly visited by Roxas, Sora's Nobody. Donald and Goofy are the first to wake up out of the trio, Donald having to try to wake Goofy up properly using a freeze spell, but freezes himself instead (seen in a trailer of the game). Sora awakes and is reunited with Donald and Goofy. The three encounter Hayner, Pence and Olette when they enter Twilight Town, and then a group of Nobodies at the train station, but are saved by the timely arrival of King Mickey, who sends them off to the tower of Yen Sid, who Donald is a big fan of. The trio also encounter Pete at the tower.

Donald and Goofy journey with Sora across the stars again in search of the missing Riku, who is actually following them and leaving them clues to his location and Roxas' connection to Sora. Donald helps out several times during the journey, including finally killing Oogie Boogie by stepping on the bug that is his core conscious. However, Donald seems to develop an attraction to jewelery, as seen in Agrabah, where he fights Abu for a red diamond, and in Port Royal, where Sora and Goofy share a joke about Donald being lost to the curse of the Aztec gold, much to Donald's irritation.

It is also hinted that Donald has a terrible singing voice; in Atlantica, when Ariel keeps getting distracted while rehearsing for Sebastian's musical, Donald offers to sing her part in the musical, and Sora immediately declares, "No way! Not a chance!"

Battle at Hollow Bastion
Donald is overjoyed when he is reunited with King Mickey, practically leaping upon his king to hug him, eventually having to be pushed off by Mickey himself. During the Battle of Hollow Bastion, King Mickey orders the trio to go search for Riku and Kairi and leave the Heartless to them. Sora is extremely reluctant to leave, so Donald and Goofy go against King Mickey's orders and assist Sora in helping Leon and the others, apologizing to the king as they do so. When Goofy seems to die during the Battle of Hollow Bastion, Donald is deeply upset and rushes off to destroy Heartless. Goofy later appears unharmed and an enraged Donald hits him in the kneecap with his staff, telling Goofy never to do a stunt as realistic as what he did.

Final Battle
Donald travels with Sora into the digital Twilight Town and sees the death of Axel. They journey through The World That Never Was and are reunited with Riku and Kairi. Donald helps defeat Xemnas and leaves with the other Disney Castle residents through a portal opened by Naminé.

He is reunited with Sora and Riku when they return to Destiny Islands. Donald later returns to Disney Castle with Goofy, King Mickey, Pluto, his nephews and Scrooge McDuck to be hugged by Daisy.

Kingdom Hearts coded
Donald will appear in Kingdom Hearts coded with Goofy to be party members of the digital Sora. Whether he is made of data or not is still unconfirmed.

He is also present in the library of Disney Castle along with Goofy, King Mickey, and Jiminy Cricket to figure out the mystery of Jiminy's Journal and its mysterious message.

Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep
Donald is set to appear in the upcoming game Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep with Goofy. So far only one scene at Yen Sid's Tower revealed his appearance. It is noted he will not play as a major character in the game.

Skillset
In contrast to Goofy who is a supportive party member, Donald focuses on his magic in battle. He equips rods, and capable of conjuring all the magic that Sora has learned (excluding Summon magic). Overall, Donald is a good support in terms of offense, as well as healing Sora in tight situations. His Limit commands unleash a variety of powerful magical attacks.

Throughout the games, Donald's most notable weapon is the Save the Queen, his ultimate weapon.

Kingdom Hearts
Donald's equipment slots and item slots increase as he levels up. Donald attacks using magic and as such his abilities focus on increasing his magic power. Donald can learn the following abilities during the game:


 * Berserk: Boosts attack power when HP is critical. Learned at Level 10.
 * MP Haste: Increases rate of MP restoration. Learned at Level 15.
 * MP Rage: Restores MP when attacked. Donald learns this ability twice, at Level 20 and Level 40.
 * Second Chance: Ensures 1 HP is retained after being hit with a critical attack. Learned at Level 25.
 * Treasure Magnet: Attracts HP/MP and Munny balls. Donald learns this ability twice, at Level 30 and Level 45
 * Second Wind: Recovers from KO quickly. Learned at Level 35.
 * Jackpot: Recieve more HP/MP and Munny balls from enemies. Learned at Level 50.
 * Lucky Strike: Increases the chance of an enemy dropping a rare item. Learned at Level 55.
 * Cheer: Increases Summon's MP gauge. Learned after defeating Maleficent.

Kingdom Hearts II
Donald's Limit abilities let him execute powerful magical attacks with Sora. Donald can equip two armor pieces, three accessories, and three items. His abilities are as follows:


 * Donald Thunder: Donald casts Thunder. Donald begins the game knowing this.
 * Donald Cure: Donald casts Cure. Donald begins the game knowing this.
 * Donald Fire: Donald casts Fire. Acquired after defeating Possessor.
 * Donald Blizzard: Donald casts Blizzard. Acquired after leading Abu to the jewel pedastal in the Cave of Wonders.
 * Draw: Draws in orbs. Acquired after defending the Medallion in Port Royal.
 * Jackpot: Increases the amount of orbs enemies drop. Acquired after defeating The Experiment in Christmas Town.
 * Lucky Lucky: Increases the chance of an enemy dropping a rare item. Acquired after defeating the Nobodies outside the mansion in Twilight Town.
 * Fire Boost: Boosts the power of Fire attacks. Acquired after defeating Scar at Pride Lands.
 * Blizzard Boost: Boosts the power of Blizzard attacks. Acquired after defeating Demyx in Hollow Bastion.
 * Thunder Boost: Boosts the power of Thunder attacks. Acquired after accessing the DTD in Space Paranoids.
 * MP Rage: Restores MP when attacked. Acquired after defeating Demyx in the Underworld.
 * MP Hastera: Increases rate of MP restoration.
 * Auto Limit: Sets the Reaction command to Limit, if a Limit has been equipped. Acquired after defeating Pete the first time in Timeless River.
 * Hyper Healing: Quickly revives a fallen party member and restores their HP. Acquired after defeating Prison Keeper in Halloween Town.
 * Auto Healing: Restores HP when switched out for another party member. Acquired after defeating Xaldin in Beast's Castle.
 * Limit abilities: Comet, Duck Flare. Comet is acquired after defeating Pete the first time in Timeless River, and Duck Flare is acquired after defeating the Grim Reaper the second time in Port Royal.

Battle Quotes:


 * "Sora!"
 * "Goofy"
 * "WAAA!"
 * "Take That"
 * "Get Them!"
 * "Com'on!"
 * "I Got It!"
 * "AHHH!"
 * Hey, Fellas!!"

Forms
While he retains his typical appearance in most worlds, in certain worlds Donald's appearance is altered in order to allow himself to blend in with the inhabitants of those worlds. His appearance alterations are listed here:

Kingdom Hearts

 * Atlantica: In Atlantica, Donald appears in the form of a half-squid and half-duck. In this form, he is able to use all kinds of magic he's learned in his prior adventures.


 * Halloween Town: In Halloween Town, Donald's body is almost completely covered by mummy-like bandages. A gap in the bandages shows that there is nothing under them. The make-up is used mostly everywhere.

Kingdom Hearts II

 * Timeless River: When Donald visits the Timeless River with Sora and Goofy, they are all converted into old-style cartoon characters - Donald takes on his original appearance from The Wise Little Hen.


 * Atlantica: When Donald, Sora and Goofy visit Atlantica again, he is once again turned into a half-duck, half-squid. However, this time he is not able to use any magic as that world is converted into progressing the story through songs.


 * Halloween Town: Donald once again becomes a mummy creature in Halloween Town, this time his weapon is covered by dust, making it more related to the Hallween decorations. In Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix, his mummy looks are altered to a snowman when he visits Christmas Town. In this form, he has thin sticks for arms, an orange scarf around his neck, a blue bucket for a hat and three blue-and-orange buttons. He wears decorated spats on his feet, albeit festively red and fluff-lined like his Uncle Scrooge's.


 * Pride Lands: In the Pride Lands, Donald transforms into a tropical bird, often floating near Sora and Goofy, or Simba. Unlike his usual form, he holds onto his staff all of the time.


 * Space Paranoids: In Space Paranoids, Donald and his friends, like Tron, are converted into data forms with circuit patterns all over their bodies, which makes them look like robots. Even their weapons are converted into data.

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 Jacques 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.


 * Donald's attire in the games fairly resembles his sailor suit.


 * Strangely enough, at the beginning of CoM, Goofy and Donald's clothes have changed from their current attire to their old cartoon clothes and they act surprised when it changes back to their KH outfit.


 * Unlike Pete, Donald and Goofy change into their original appearances in the Kingdom Hearts II world "Timeless River". If Pete didn't transform because his old version was already there, it could be speculated that Donald and Goofy weren't originally from the Disney Castle area, or didn't even exist yet. This idea is further supported by the original Donald's and Goofy's absences. However, their changing appearances compared to Pete's may have happened because of their mode of transport. Evidence to this theory is Sora changing into a cartoon version, despite the fact that he never appeared in any media prior to the Kingdom Hearts franchise.


 * Yuffie, in the Kingdom Hearts II vol. 2 manga, called Donald, "Ronald."


 * Strangely, Donald seems to be King Mickey's best friend in the series. In the Disney cartoons from the 1950s onwards, Mickey and Donald are rivals because Donald is jealous of Mickey's fame and wants to be Disney's mascot; however, the rivalry is mostly one-sided on Donald's part, as Mickey is often oblivious to Donald's dislike of him. However, despite this, Donald does indeed seem to deeply care for Mickey as a friend, as he is faithful to him in tough situations and is often grouped with Mickey and Goofy as a trio to suit the theme of the current cartoon.

Donald Duck