A Definitive Ranking of All of the Disney Worlds in Kingdom Hearts (Part 1)
Let us begin.
And so here we are. For some reason, I came up with the cockamamie scheme to rank all of the Disney worlds in the Kingdom Hearts series. Of course, considering we are talking about all of the games between Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts III, there’s a lot of ground to cover.
So, I decided to break this up into parts, each with a few more entries to the list until we reach the top. (The list will be in ascending order, fwiw.)
But first, I figure this will be as good a time as any to get this out of the way:
N/A - Game Central Station (Wreck-It Ralph)
If you aren’t playing the Kingdom Hearts mobile games (which, frankly, is probably for the best), you may not even have known there has already been a Wreck-It Ralph world in the Kingdom Hearts series. Sure, Ralph himself was a summon in Kingdom Hearts III, but players can actually visit his home turf in Union χ. But that’s exactly why this world isn’t included. The mobile games are such a departure, gameplay-wise, and considering you can’t actually explore the worlds on your phone like you can on your consoles, we’re just going to leave this one out.
And with that out of the way, time for the official ranking…
32. Atlantica (The Little Mermaid)
Is this the most-maligned world in the Kingdom Hearts series? If not, it’s definitely close. It’s also the world that’s had the biggest identity crisis in the series. While this world gives new forms to Sora and friends (which is always a plus), their new aquatic appearance also creates a new playstyle, as you now have to swim your way through the world. What resulted was a world that was almost impossible to navigate, so much so that the developers had to create signs pointing where to go. Add in a clunky control scheme, which made combat that much harder, and you got a real stinker of a level. At least Ariel joined your party.
The negative reception to the world in the first game led to a complete overhaul in Kingdom Hearts II. No longer was Atlantica a combat-focused world like the rest of them, the world now one where you could engage in…rhythm games! As you can expect, it wasn’t great. Mercifully, though Ariel has reappeared in the series, we haven’t had to venture back to under the sea since.
31. Arendelle (Frozen)
Frozen in Kingdom Hearts III was a no-brainer. The most successful Disney animated movie of all time was going to make its way into Kingdom Hearts. It’s a shame that the Frozen world was such a miss.
The worlds in Kingdom Hearts III were much more expansive than prior games. Think something akin the sandbox-style worlds of Super Mario Odyssey. Unfortunately, these more open worlds could be as much a hinderance as they were an improvement. Arendelle is perhaps the biggest offender of this. Wide-open snowy fields, where everything is a different shade of blue, creates a level that is a nightmare to navigate. And that’s not even mentioning the ice labyrinth that literally comes out of nowhere.
To make it all worse, Sora and company don’t even do anything of consequence in this world. As is a recurring problem in this game, the plot of Frozen just happens in the background as Sora, Donald, and Goofy do their own thing. Throw in some truly whiplash-inducing musical sequences (like the entirety of “Let It Go,” which I know was inevitable), and you get the weakest of the Disney worlds in Kingdom Hearts III, which unfortunately were a low point for the game overall.
30. Country of the Musketeers (Mickey, Donald and Goofy: The Three Musketeers)
And now we come to possibly the strangest pick for a world in a Kingdom Hearts game. The only world so far that’s not based on a theatrically-released movie, this world really is a head-scratcher in many ways. A forgettable world based on a forgettable movie, it’s not helped by the shortcomings of Dream Drop Distance. The technical limitations of the Nintendo 3DS resulted in worlds that are big…but empty.
There’s simply not much to say about this world. It does get props for having probably the coolest Reality Shift, in which the events on-screen are transformed into a comic book panel. But besides that, I don’t have much else. I honestly forget about this world sometimes, save for the fact that it creates some mind-breaking questions about how time works in the Kingdom Hearts universe.
29. Deep Space (Lilo & Stitch)
This one’s a bit weird. While it’s technically a world in the sense that this is a gameplay level…it’s really just a ship. And not even an exciting one at that. Its inclusion in Birth by Sleep is cool for the fact that it was the lone modern-era Disney (if you consider the 2000s “modern”) in a game that skewed heavily old-school. Plus it focusing on the time before Stitch lands on Earth does tie with its prequel naturel. Outside of that that, however, I just wish there was more pizazz to this world.
I get that we couldn’t necessarily travel to the homeworld (wherever that is) of Stitch, Jumba, etc., because we’ve never seen it on-screen. And going to real-world Hawaii probably wouldn’t work, either. So maybe this world shouldn’t have been included at all? I appreciate the ties to the Lilo & Stitch TV series with the Sparky boss fight, and I’m glad Stitch himself is still a recurring character in the series. Overall, though, this world was a misfire.
28. La Cité des Cloches (The Hunchback of Notre Dame)
When a world based off of The Hunchback of Notre Dame was announced for Dream Drop Distance, I think a lot of people were excited. Its one of the darkest Disney movies ever made, and could translate to a really fascinating world in a Kingdom Hearts game. Sadly, the world we got was just a lot of wasted potential.
Dream Drop Distance had the biggest, most expansive worlds pre-Kingdom Hearts III. Unfortunately, because this was a 3DS game, this amounted to worlds that are essentially big open boxes with nothing to them. While the Festival of Fools is featured in this level, the technical restraints mean that its a festival with literally no one present. And exploring the city is a slog, too. At least the music is good.
27. Kingdom of Corona (Tangled)
I wanted to like this world so much. When Tangled was announced as the first Disney world in Kingdom Hearts III, I was incredibly excited. Tangled is one of Disney’s most visually stunning films, and to explore that world was sure to be a treat. However, it fell into many of the same pitfalls as Arendelle did.
Kingdom of Corona is lush and vibrant, more than any other world in this series. However, it’s also big and expansive, and trying to make your way around it can be a real chore sometimes. What makes it beat the worlds below it, however, is its variety. You’re not just wandering the lush fields, but also a dark, foreboding forest, and even the bustling kingdom itself, which is full of people! And having Rapunzel and Flynn fight alongside your party isn’t too bad, either. Sadly, it’s not exactly a place you’re itching to revisit.
And that’s it for this week! What will the rest of this list look like, and do you agree? Doesn’t matter, because this is my list.