Sora starts out in a "Dive to the Heart," a place inside of himself that acts like a dream. You gain control at the Snow White Platform where you must choose one item and sacrifice another. These choices serve as a starting point for your stats and also determine your skill order while leveling.
Dream Rod
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
The power of the mystic.
Inner strength.
A staff of wonder and ruin.
Dream Shield
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
The power of the guardian.
Kindness to aid friends.
A shield to repel all.
Dream Sword
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
The power of the warrior.
Invincible courage.
A sword of terrible destruction.
The choice you really need to make is going to be whether you want +2 Item Slots or want 3 MP instead of 2. Taking the Dream Rod will always net 3 MP at the start of the game and 10 MP at the end. Taking the Sword or Shield will have you start with 2 MP and finish the game with 8 MP. The Shield always gives the +2 Item Slots so choosing Sword has no statistical benefit since you can increase your Strength, Defense, and AP through items to reach their maximum.
Sora's Stats - Level 1
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯|
| CHOOSE | SACRIFICE | HP | MP | AP | STR | DEF | ITM | ACC. |
|========|===========|====|====|====|=====|=====|=====|======|
| Rod | Shield | 18 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
|--------|-----------|----|----|----|-----|-----|-----|------|
| Rod | Sword | 18 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
|--------|-----------|----|----|----|-----|-----|-----|------|
| Shield | Rod | 18 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
|--------|-----------|----|----|----|-----|-----|-----|------|
| Shield | Sword | 18 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
|--------|-----------|----|----|----|-----|-----|-----|------|
| Sword | Rod | 18 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
|--------|-----------|----|----|----|-----|-----|-----|------|
| Sword | Shield | 18 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
|________|___________|____|____|____|_____|_____|_____|______|
Sora's Stats - Level 100
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯|
| CHOOSE | SACRIFICE | HP | MP | AP | STR | DEF | ITM | ACC. |
|========|===========|====|====|====|=====|=====|=====|======|
| Rod | Shield | 87 | 10 | 51 | 48 | 46 | 6 | 3 |
|--------|-----------|----|----|----|-----|-----|-----|------|
| Rod | Sword | 87 | 10 | 51 | 46 | 48 | 6 | 3 |
|--------|-----------|----|----|----|-----|-----|-----|------|
| Shield | Rod | 87 | 8 | 49 | 48 | 49 | 8 | 3 |
|--------|-----------|----|----|----|-----|-----|-----|------|
| Shield | Sword | 87 | 8 | 51 | 47 | 49 | 8 | 3 |
|--------|-----------|----|----|----|-----|-----|-----|------|
| Sword | Rod | 87 | 8 | 49 | 49 | 46 | 7 | 3 |
|--------|-----------|----|----|----|-----|-----|-----|------|
| Sword | Shield | 87 | 8 | 51 | 49 | 45 | 7 | 3 |
|________|___________|____|____|____|_____|_____|_____|______|