Summary
Symbols play a major role in theKingdom Heartsseries. Some of these symbols are used in a gameplay capacity, while more often they are used to unite various characters under one banner or to denote some shared relationship of some kind.
With dozens of different symbols in the game, it can be a bit confusing to keep them all straight. We dived into the expansive world of the Kingdom Hearts games to try and get to the bottom of all these symbols, from the Heartless emblem to Dream Eaters and even the Recusant’s Sigil.
Kingdom Hearts Symbols - The Heart
Starting off with perhaps the mostimportant symbols in the Kingdom Hearts games, the heart is shown in tons of places, many of which might be missed if you’re not paying close attention. This heart symbol takes several different forms, though is most recognizable in the logo of most games.
The heart symbol is pretty recognizable as a heart, with little curls that curve inwards at the top, though there are some deviations in the design depending on how it is being used. This heart symbol is found on every single card in Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories, on outfits and a number of different Keyblades, and perhaps most notably, the Kingdom Hearts itself.
The heart itself is not aligned to any central group, as the Kingdom Hearts is desired mostly by villains but isportrayed as a pure and generally good force in the games.
Kingdom Hearts Symbols - The Heartless
The next most recognizable symbol across the Kingdom Hearts games is that of the Heartless.It could be interpreted as a corruption of the heart, the Heartless are entities made of pure heart, but since they are missing the soul and body, they lack emotion and any other indicators of an intelligent being, giving them the name, Heartless.
The Heartless symbol appears all over the place in the Kingdom Hearts games, from lowly enemies to prominently displayed on Ansem’s chest. This symbol appears to be based on the design of the heart, with the same overall shape and the curls at the top, though it is generally shown with a black and red coloring and has a fleur-de-lis at the base, which is the lily-shaped flare at the bottom of the symbol.
Kingdom Hearts Symbols - Nobody
Most commonly associated with Organization XIII and its Nobodies, the Nobody symbolinverts the heart symboland gives it a silver motif. The Nobody symbol also appears to be a thinner design, with spikes over it, as if to represent that the Nobody is missing something that even the Heartless have.
This symbol seems to be more widely used on various enemies, buildings, outfits, and more compared to other symbols, but that might just be because it seems to be more overtly used. There are several Nobodies shaped like the symbol, including the Proof of Nonexistence and the Ordeal Badge, while you can find the symbol all over the Castle That Never Was.
The symbol originates from Terra’s personal emblem, which Xemnas took and paired with Terra’s broken memories.
Kingdom Hearts Symbols - The Unversed
Found primarily in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep and Kingdom Hearts III, the Unversed are beingswho come from negative emotions that Ventus and Vanitas experienceand are intrinsically tied to them. If Vanitas were to be destroyed or go away, then every Unversed would disappear as well.
The Unversed symbol is designed to depict a heart expressing deep emotions, with pointed corners, deep curves, and long, straight lines to help show that. In the center of the symbol is another heart, though one with a cross through it. Each and every Unversed bears this symbol on it, with the exception of the Flood enemies.
Kingdom Hearts Symbols - Dream Eater
The Dream Eater symbol comes from Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, and comes in two distinct forms. There is the softer, more rounded Spirit version, and the darker and sharper Nightmare form.
Dream Eaters come from people’s dreams as the name suggests, and are generally much cuter than most other enemies in Kingdom Hearts. The symbol appears on most Dream Eaters, both Nightmares and Spirits, as well as on Riku at one point when he enters Sora’s dreams.
Kingdom Hearts Symbols - Terra’s Mark
This symbol has gone by many names and has been used to denote several different things in the Kingdom Hearts games.Theearliest known use was in Kingdom Hearts Union X, where the Keyblade wielder Brian had the symbol on his Keyblade. Since then, it has been used on various Keyblade wielder’s outfits and in the architecture of Scala ad Caelum.
The symbol is vaguely heart-shaped, while also somewhat resembling the Heartless logo. Notably, the symbol is more blocky than most other symbols in the Kingdom Hearts games and is often shown in shades of gold and silver.
Kingdom Hearts Symbols - Crown
The crown plays a prominent role in the Kingdom Hearts games, with several characters depicted as wearing a crown in some way or another in their designs. Sora is shown with a silver crown necklace in most games, and a crown is represented in several different outfits over the course of the games.
Cards in Castle Oblivion have a crown at the top of them, while items like the Draw Ring and the Ultima Weapon key blade have crowns in their design. The crown does not appear to have a more significant meaning beyond a stylistic choice but is prominent enough that it is even used as the symbol for Sora in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Kingdom Hearts Symbols - Recusant’s Sigil
One of the more important symbols in the Kingdom Hearts universe, the Recusant’s Sigil comes from Master Xehanort and is often represented in an ornate ‘X’. The ‘X’ is the Greek letter Chi, and can be pronounced as either ‘key’ or ‘kye’.
This letter is important to Xehanort,who views the character as the oldest letter, one that represents death and an ending. The ‘X’ inspires the X-blade, both in name and form, which is two Kingdom Keys crossing over in an X shape.
Xemnas also uses the ‘X’ symbol and is the one to name it as the Recusant’s Sigil. The letter is added to the name of each member of Organization XIII, and with it, he can track the location of someone once they’ve been marked with it.
Kingdom Hearts Symbols - Less Common Symbols
There are plenty of other symbols that pop up across the Kingdom Hearts games, some more frequently than others, but often have less of an impact on the game than the ones above. The most prominent of these symbols, Stars, are a common emblem across all the games, though it lacks a single defined concept it represents. The others are either used sparsely throughout the series or have more of a meta-game meaning, like the Hidden Mickeys giving players items when used in a Trinity Limit, orthey might represent a different filmor world.
