She sees herself as nothing more than a miserable shell of angry thoughts, without a hope that it will ever get better. Aqua’s transformation into a Xehanort puppet ( or being ‘ Norted, as the internet calls it) is more than a sacrifice of her life for her friends’ – it’s the equivalent of a suicide attempt.Īqua, like many of us who suffer from depressive thoughts, does not see herself as the reason her friends were protected… or the true reason why darkness ultimately did not take over at the end of Kingdom Hearts 1.5. Finally, feeling as though there is no other way out, she sacrifices herself. When we meet Aqua once again later in the game, it’s clear she believes she hasn’t done enough to protect those she loves from evil’s grasp. From playing the previous games, we know that their current state is dire. Finally, she gives into her thoughts and sacrifices herself for her friends by literally transforming into one of villain’s puppets.Īqua’s entire arc is based around how much she values her friends largely, the only thing keeping her alive is her desire to protect them from harm. Exhausted from struggling against herself, Aqua loses the ability to feel anything at all. In the meantime, Xehanort (the primary villain in the Kingdom Hearts series,) has the perfect opportunity to exploit her vulnerability and use her to complete his evil scheme. She continuously reminds herself of everything she could have done better the further she goes, the harder it is to continue to see light. She feels lost and alone, so no matter how tough she starts out being, and as she moves further into the realm, she spirals – making it harder and harder to disprove those dark thoughts…and this is just how the story begins!Īqua eventually doubts every aspect of her existence as she descends further into her mind, unable to fight off her most negative beliefs about herself. ” She pushes against all her worst fears as she worries that she is no longer loved and no one will ever care to help save her from the darkness. She battles awful thoughts about herself and all of her hard-earned achievements: “Are you really worthy of being a Keyblade Master?”, and “Your bonds of friendship only tie you down. Aqua is literally stuck in darkness, which is how I and others often refer to depression. Unlike the other Kingdom Hearts episodes’ connections to mental health, which were notably more subtle, the relevance of the subject in this story was unmistakable. This article also discusses themes of depression and suicide. SPOILER ALERT AND CONTENT WARNING – If you have not played Kingdom Hearts 0.2: Birth by Sleep – A Fragmentary Passage, be aware this article discusses the game at length. “People would be so much happier without you here.” “ Is there any point in continuing this fight?“ “ Just let go of everything and fade into the darkness.“ Image credit: Kingdom Hearts 0.2: Birth by Sleep Square Enix Games, Inc.
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