The Mark of Mastery exam is an important test in the Kingdom Hearts franchise where keyblade wielders try to prove they are worthy of becoming masters. Many characters throughout the series have taken their Mark of Mastery exams, including Sora, Riku, and Aqua, though each exam is different based on the teacher who oversees it.
The Mark of Mastery played an important part in Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance, and Kingdom Hearts: Dark Road, resulting in some character development and devastating consequences. It's likely the exam will play a role in future titles, so it's worth knowing how they've played thus far.
Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep's Mark of Mastery
Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep introduced the Mark of Mastery. In the beginning of the game, Terra and Aqua were tested to see if they were worthy of becoming keyblade masters, something they had dreamed about for a long time. Their test was the easiest of all the Mark of Mastery exams shown so far, as they simply had to fight Orbs of Light that Master Eraqus summoned. However, Master Xehanort wanted to test them further, and used his abilities to corrupt the orbs with darkness. After that, Terra and Aqua had to fight each other.
Because Terra accidentally summoned the darkness in his battle against Aqua, he failed his exam. This allowed Master Xehanort to manipulate him throughout the remainder of Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, convincing him that Eraqus simply didn't want Terra to pass. Aqua passed her Mark of Mastery, but as the test was so simple, she didn't gain the experience she needed to face obstacles that would soon come her way. Due to his choices on how to test his students, Eraqus ended up failing them.
Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance's Mark of Mastery
Sora and Riku were given the Mark of Mastery exam in Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance, where Master Yen Sid sends them to awaken seven sleeping worlds. While this was a much more difficult task than the Mark of Mastery Aqua and Terra took, things became even more challenging when Master Xehanort and the Seekers of Darkness intervened.
The Seekers of Darkness captured Sora and intended on turning him into Xehanort's 13th vessel, beginning a second Keyblade War. However, Riku saved Sora, leaving the Seekers of Darkness to battle the Guardians of Light in Kingdom Hearts 3. Despite the test being more difficult, Master Yen Sid only passed Riku at the end of the adventure.
Kingdom Hearts: Dark Road's Mark of Mastery
Kingdom Hearts: Dark Road is the latest game in which the Mark of Mastery was relevant. Long before Xehanort was a keyblade master, he was sent on a mission to search for keyblade wielders who had gone missing alongside Eraqus and their classmates. These keyblade wielders, the upperclassmen, were preparing for their Mark of Mastery exam when some were killed.
Throughout the game, each of the keyblade wielders with the exception of Xehanort and Eraqus are killed off, leaving none of them to take the Mark of Mastery exam. This explains why Eraqus made Terra and Aqua's exam so easy, as he didn't want to risk harm coming to his students. At the end of Kingdom Hearts: Dark Road, Xehanort and Eraqus prepare to take their Mark of Mastery exam as well, though their test was never shown. With characters like Riku and Aqua now being keyblade masters, as well as characters such as Kairi and Axel currently learning how to wield keyblades, it will be interesting to see the Mark of Mastery exams to come in future games.
Kingdom Hearts: Dark Road is available on Mobile devices.