Terra has his issues like anyone else, at his core he is a hard-working individual with a good nature that will go to great lengths to protect those he cares about. He has a desire to gain power. In his heart, he wants to be strong - strong enough to protect the things/people that matter the most to him. Though its foundation is in noble intentions, Terra's desire for power has caused Darkness to take root in his Heart. He has been trying to suppress and control that Darkness, and has for the most part succeeded.

Due to Eraqus's negative views on Darkness, the fact that Terra has more Darkness in his heart than his friends weighs heavily on him. This 'flaw' has caused him to set ridiculously high standards for himself as to what a Keyblade Master should be. Every time he fails to meet his own standards, his self-esteem takes another hit and he works harder to make up for that 'failure'. That poor self-esteem has led to Terra being humble about his abilities.

His inner Darkness leads him to try and see the best in people and give those with Darkness that he can detect the benefit of the doubt. His choice to not pass judgment on people immediately, while an otherwise positive trait, lets those with less than noble intentions mislead Terra and manipulate him for their own ends.

His friends are the keystone in his motivation to become strong. He thinks of Ventus as a younger brother, and tries to be a good role model for him. Having grown up with her, Aqua is someone he cherishes like family. They see a side of Terra that is not often seen – a playful, often teasing and sometimes sarcastic side to the otherwise duty-driven young man.

The one sure way to anger Terra and push him into reacting is to threaten the well-being of those he cares about. Terra's biggest fear is not being strong enough to protect his loved ones, and playing on that fear is a huge risk for anyone trying to manipulate Terra into doing something foolish.

Whenever Terra is troubled, he tends to close himself off from his friends and become more distant. At his worst, he will even go to such lengths as actively pushing them away, stubbornly trying to keep them from being caught up in whatever he's gotten himself into.

Terra respects people with power – both those with greater experience than him and those that hold a higher station than he does. While he is polite and respectful as a default, he makes sure to straighten up and speak more formally when addressing someone he feels he owes a greater level of respect.


Growing up in isolation has left Terra with a lack of experience with the outside worlds, and thus a lack of experience on how cruel people can truly be. Without any frame of reference for trickery beyond the occasional prank, he's rather gullible, and sometimes easily confused.