Be brutally honest: what is the absolute worst world in the kh franchise?

[Rydgea]

I must be out of touch, because I loved worlds like Deep Jungle, Atlantica and Symphony of Sorcery. Even KH2's Atlantica has warmed on me; from the context that it's a minigame world, conceptually, it's so unique. Also, it's hard to be mad at it considering it's entirely optional.

My least favorite off the top of my head is Pride Lands. By design, I find KH2's worlds generally lacking, but this one just seems stripped of all the film's joy.

 

[HotGarbage]

KH2 worlds are extremely boring, linear, empty and uninspired.

The worlds of KH1, BBS, DDD, RE:CODED and KH3 are much more fun and creative.

So my answer is all KH2 worlds, because I can't pick one they're all terrible.

 

[Oracle Spockanort]

As a cartoon person, I love Disney Town because of its cartoony & rubberhose aesthetics, KH1 Atlantica has me hooked with its story, and in all honesty, despite nothing really happening, I can't really say KH2 Atlantica is even that bad.

....It's LITERALLY....just Wonderland in EVERY game it's been in. We got worlds like Olympus, Traverse Town, Deep Jungle, and even Agrabah, yet here we fucking are with Wonderland.

The most claustrophobic and blandest world in the entire series, with a storyline that could easily be replaceable, and no fucking doubt the most ANNOYING boss in the first set of worlds. On top of its field music being so jarring.

There is NOTHING music-wise, story-wise, gameplay-wise, and aesthetic-wise that's enjoyable about Wonderland. End of fucking story.

Side note, I'll say it again, I blame Disney's 'Princess line' for making me so...desensitized into believing that Ariel's more fitting as a PoH instead of Alice. Yes, I get it, Princesses of Heart aren't found in royalty...but, for some reason Ariel ALWAYS makes more sense to me than Alice, and I blame Disney for constantly advertising these 6 as like...the main 6.
View attachment 14672

Actually one of the reasons why Ariel wasn’t a PoH was because they didn’t know what to do about her having her fins. Because of that, they figured they’d just go with a character that had feet.

 

[Lulcy]

Atlantis in KH2. The world is nothing but a rythm mini game, wouldn't be a bad thing if that was the core gameplay of KH2 but it isn't and thus the world has a poor place in the game.

 

[disney233]

Actually one of the reasons why Ariel wasn’t a PoH was because they didn’t know what to do about her having her fins. Because of that, they figured they’d just go with a character that had feet.

I know, I know. It just bothered me for some reason that it's not her, specifically.

If anything I'm almost hesitant on thinking they should've reenacted the Little Mermaid plot in KH1 instead of KH2 (Almost seems better that way because of how it's almost as if everyone's memory of the events of KH1 Atlantica got FACTORY REBOOTED)

OR BETTER YET, AND I THOUGHT OF THIS, have Maleficent curse Ariel, herself. The witch turns her into a human upon delivery, but if she even dared to even try to leave the castle, the spell will revert the moment Ariel reaches the castle gates, and she'll be turned back into a mermaid.

Only the defeat of Maleficent can break the curse, but either A - the spell breaks instantly and Beast takes her to the Rising Falls with him, and they together wait for SDG, Or B, she has a limited amount of time before she turns back into a Mermaid.

How she'll get back to Atlantica is...really anyone's guess. Because how did the Princesses get back to their worlds in the first place? I can potentially see either Cid dropping them off, or Merlin teleporting them back to their proper worlds.

 

[Oracle Spockanort]

I know, I know. It just bothered me for some reason that it's not her, specifically.

If anything I'm almost hesitant on thinking they should've reenacted the Little Mermaid plot in KH1 instead of KH2 (Almost seems better that way because of how it's almost as if everyone's memory of the events of KH1 Atlantica got FACTORY REBOOTED)

OR BETTER YET, AND I THOUGHT OF THIS, have Maleficent curse Ariel, herself. The witch turns her into a human upon delivery, but if she even dared to even try to leave the castle, the spell will revert the moment Ariel reaches the castle gates, and she'll be turned back into a mermaid.

Only the defeat of Maleficent can break the curse, but either A - the spell breaks instantly and Beast takes her to the Rising Falls with him, and they together wait for SDG, Or B, she has a limited amount of time before she turns back into a Mermaid.

How she'll get back to Atlantica is...really anyone's guess. Because how did the Princesses get back to their worlds in the first place? I can potentially see either Cid dropping them off, or Merlin teleporting them back to their proper worlds.

Hahaha I like that idea but we know the KH crew was never that creative to think outside the box like that.

As to your question about how they got home, it was when Sora closed the Door to Darkness. By defeating Ansem and closing the door, all of the princesses worlds that were destroyed were restored. The ones who had homes were also magically returned to where they belonged because magic lol

 

[MATGSY]

Or just have Ariel just kinda sit around HB.

 

[Elysium]

I must be out of touch, because I loved worlds like Deep Jungle, Atlantica and Symphony of Sorcery. Even KH2's Atlantica has warmed on me; from the context that it's a minigame world, conceptually, it's so unique. Also, it's hard to be mad at it considering it's entirely optional.

Tastes will differ, yeah, but Symphony of Sorcery in particular is one of the best worlds in the series. I also consider KH1 Atlantica one of those, but I know that's more of an acquired taste because most people would say, "But the swimming!!" There's always going to be at least one person who hates every world though; I've heard criticism of KH3's The Caribbean before.

As for Ariel, you could just have Ursula turn her human and send her to Maleficent. They return to their worlds automatically at the end of KH1. No, I think the bigger hurdle they were stuck on when making KH1 was that Ariel being PoH would leave you without a party member in Atlantica.

 

[Rydgea]

Tastes will differ, yeah, but Symphony of Sorcery in particular is one of the best worlds in the series. I also consider KH1 Atlantica one of those, but I know that's more of an acquired taste because most people would say, "But the swimming!!" There's always going to be at least one person who hates every world though; I've heard criticism of KH3's The Caribbean before.

As for Ariel, you could just have Ursula turn her human and send her to Maleficent. They return to their worlds automatically at the end of KH1. No, I think the bigger hurdle they were stuck on when making KH1 was that Ariel being PoH would leave you without a party member in Atlantica.

And The Caribbean is my favorite KHIII world! I don't know, a lot of people struggle with the swimming mechanics like... fish out of water, but I took to them and flying without much issue. But yeah, to each their own. I get it. There are worlds that I just do not care for. See: Arendelle.

I also happen to LOVE that Alice is a PoH and not Ariel (and I'm saying this as a HUGE Ariel stan, she's my favorite princess). Compared to the other princesses, Alice is the most parallel to Kairi, and so thematically I love her inclusion. And I like that that Alice is given a special honor and time to shine among the other PoH, because she is excluded from the stuffy princess line. Technical limitations be damned, my head canon is that Ariel is too much of a rebel and a badass to be a PoH. Also, we get her as a party member (one of the few gals we are able to do that with), and I much prefer we fight alongside her than try to rescue her.

 

[WaltK]

Wonderland

I don't like that it's claustrophobic rooms, and it doesn't feel like an actual world because of that.

X/UX actually made it better and dropped the whole room thing. There's an actual SKY in it.

Honorable mention for Halloween Town in Days for giving the Cameraman Lakitu a seizure.

KH’s take on Wonderland in general was just weird. I still don’t get why all the outside areas where made to look like they were inside boxes.

 

[Keyblade Knight 1st Class]

KH’s take on Wonderland in general was just weird. I still don’t get why all the outside areas where made to look like they were inside boxes.

I've always thought that even though it is one of the first worlds you visit in the game, it was probably one of the last that was designed and they probably had to rush it to meet a deadline. Or maybe I just hope that it was rushed as opposed to just poorly made.

 

[TRA2]

I have a few but if im not picking 100 acre wood then I gotta go with Halloweentown just always hated it I hate the movie so that might be why

 

[Face My Fears]

Well @disney233, what would they have done differently with Ariel then? Bear in mind Disney had little confidence in KH during the time the first game was made, so they were limited in what they could do. Plus, it would've been very likely she would've remained in her mermaid form, which would make it difficult for her to move around once rescued (unless she went into the waterways...).

LOL! That would have been kinda funny to see Ariel separated from the rest of the Princesses of Heart and swimming in the waterway (or splashing around in a puddle).

I think they didn't use Ariel because they wanted her to be in the party in the post-game. I don't believe you need her for anything after Atlantica... however, since Atlantica is skippable, that's also probably why she isn't a PoH. Imagine skipping Atlantica, then finding out that she's a PoH. I suppose the solution would be to make Atlantica NOT skippable. Also, if they didn't mind taking Rapunzel out of the party in KH3 just because she cut her hair, I don't see a problem removing Ariel in KH1 (even though I would miss her). If they needed to have Ariel in Hollow Bastion with the other princesses, they could have easily given her one of the bubbles from outside Hollow Bastion to float in.

As a cartoon person, I love Disney Town because of its cartoony & rubberhose aesthetics, KH1 Atlantica has me hooked with its story, and in all honesty, despite nothing really happening, I can't really say KH2 Atlantica is even that bad.

....It's LITERALLY....just Wonderland in EVERY game it's been in. We got worlds like Olympus, Traverse Town, Deep Jungle, and even Agrabah, yet here we fucking are with Wonderland.

The most claustrophobic and blandest world in the entire series, with a storyline that could easily be replaceable, and no fucking doubt the most ANNOYING boss in the first set of worlds. On top of its field music being so jarring.

There is NOTHING music-wise, story-wise, gameplay-wise, and aesthetic-wise that's enjoyable about Wonderland. End of fucking story.

Side note, I'll say it again, I blame Disney's 'Princess line' for making me so...desensitized into believing that Ariel's more fitting as a PoH instead of Alice. Yes, I get it, Princesses of Heart aren't found in royalty...but, for some reason Ariel ALWAYS makes more sense to me than Alice, and I blame Disney for constantly advertising these 6 as like...the main 6.
View attachment 14672

I don't particularly like Wonderland post KH1 and I don't particularly like it in KH1, however I do think it is a really good introductory world for KH1. The reason being that it teaches the player that the world can be interacted with and that there are rewards to explore the worlds. It also does that organically, rather than just info-boxes popping up suggesting that you look around more. Also, having Alice kidnapped instead of Ariel was just way easier to execute storywise... and DISNEY probably didn't care too much about Alice being used in main story stuff over Ariel. And... I actually think that Ariel isn't at a state where she can actually qualify as a Princess of Heart. She's unsure of herself and selfish (when we meet her). I would love for her to be one of the New 7 Hearts, but the original group I can't see it.

 

[Soldier]

I don't particularly like Wonderland post KH1 and I don't particularly like it in KH1, however I do think it is a really good introductory world for KH1. The reason being that it teaches the player that the world can be interacted with and that there are rewards to explore the worlds. It also does that organically, rather than just info-boxes popping up suggesting that you look around more. Also, having Alice kidnapped instead of Ariel was just way easier to execute storywise... and DISNEY probably didn't care too much about Alice being used in main story stuff over Ariel. And... I actually think that Ariel isn't at a state where she can actually qualify as a Princess of Heart. She's unsure of herself and selfish (when we meet her). I would love for her to be one of the New 7 Hearts, but the original group I can't see it.

I know what you're leading up to fears, a world based on the direct to DVD hit Little Mermaid 2: return to the sea. Oh it'll be great, Ursula's crazy sister, that french chef, and those manta rays. I can't wait!

 

[Elysium]

Also, if they didn't mind taking Rapunzel out of the party in KH3 just because she cut her hair, I don't see a problem removing Ariel in KH1 (even though I would miss her).

The people making KH1 and KH3 weren't exactly the same; KH1 is a much more intuitive and well-constructed game than the rest in the series.

Besides, to me not being able to use Rapunzel anymore in 3 was an unnecessary mistake.

 

[Face My Fears]

I know what you're leading up to fears, a world based on the direct to DVD hit Little Mermaid 2: return to the sea. Oh it'll be great, Ursula's crazy sister, that french chef, and those manta rays. I can't wait!

I really want Atlantica to return, especially with the underwater controls clearly improved. Not only that, but the clear capability to explore land and sea. Now that Ariel knows that Sora is from another world (and theoretically becomes a princess of heart), Donald's magic can be used on her too and the team can traverse on land and sea. I would probably have Atlantica a reverse of The Caribbean where there's more underwater stuff than land stuff.

I don't really care if it's Morgana as the villain or Ursula, I just really want a proper underwater world again. As much as I loved The Caribbean, it felt weird that there was no explanation for the team being able to stay underwater without a form change or magic, especially when it's made a point in KH1.

The people making KH1 and KH3 weren't exactly the same; KH1 is a much more intuitive and well-constructed game than the rest in the series.

Besides, to me not being able to use Rapunzel anymore in 3 was an unnecessary mistake.

I wish they didn't remove her. They should have just let her stay on the team and just not do the limit or whatever that no longer was doable due to the hair being cut.

What does the game being well-constructed have to do with Ariel being a princess of heart in KH1? I mean, I don't think she would have qualified or made sense with what we saw of her in KH1. Who she became post-KH2 I can buy as a princess of heart.

 

[Soldier]

I really want Atlantica to return, especially with the underwater controls clearly improved. Not only that, but the clear capability to explore land and sea. Now that Ariel knows that Sora is from another world (and theoretically becomes a princess of heart), Donald's magic can be used on her too and the team can traverse on land and sea. I would probably have Atlantica a reverse of The Caribbean where there's more underwater stuff than land stuff.

I don't really care if it's Morgana as the villain or Ursula, I just really want a proper underwater world again. As much as I loved The Caribbean, it felt weird that there was no explanation for the team being able to stay underwater without a form change or magic, especially when it's made a point in KH1.

I wish they didn't remove her. They should have just let her stay on the team and just not do the limit or whatever that no longer was doable due to the hair being cut.

What does the game being well-constructed have to do with Ariel being a princess of heart in KH1? I mean, I don't think she would have qualified or made sense with what we saw of her in KH1. Who she became post-KH2 I can buy as a princess of heart.

But, it's Ursula's crazy sister, URSULA'S CRAZY SISTER!

and the removal of Rapunzel was more than just the limit, a lot of her attacks involved the use of her hair to swing around the battlefield or use as a whip against foes. That would result in an entirely new combat model needing to be reworked entirely to suit the change.

 

[Face My Fears]

But, it's Ursula's crazy sister, URSULA'S CRAZY SISTER!

and the removal of Rapunzel was more than just the limit, a lot of her attacks involved the use of her hair to swing around the battlefield or use as a whip against foes. That would result in an entirely new combat model needing to be reworked entirely to suit the change.

They could have just had the short hair model do the non-hair attacks and have a different combat model (for running/defense). I don't think it would be that hard to do. The DISNEY party members have already been reduced to just background noise in recent games, so it's not that big of a deal if she literally was just running with you and using the frying pan alone to attack post-haircut.

I think it would be cool to have Morgana revive Ursula. It would be a nice throwback to KH1 where you got 2 DISNEY boss fights back to back in a DISNEY world. Morgana can be the first form battle, then you have to fight giant Ursula.

Talking about this makes me so sad that we didn't get proper DISNEY boss fights in KH3, let alone the way they did it in KH1 with two forms per DISNEY villain. I wish Agrabah would come back so we could do Snake Jafar and Genie Jafar PROPERLY. It still gets to me that they did Genie Jafar 3 times and he was always bad. He should have been one of the coolest boss fights.

 

[disney233]

Talking about this makes me so sad that we didn't get proper DISNEY boss fights in KH3, let alone the way they did it in KH1 with two forms per DISNEY villain. I wish Agrabah would come back so we could do Snake Jafar and Genie Jafar PROPERLY. It still gets to me that they did Genie Jafar 3 times and he was always bad. He should have been one of the coolest boss fights.

I'm almost inclined to think that the idea of 'proper' Disney bosses disappeared after we killed off almost all of the literal faces of the Disney villain brand. And after fighting the same ones 3 or 4 times, it's also at a point where doing more or reviving dead villains back....solely to fight them would just be...tedious.

It also kinda goes back to a Twitter thread from Saberspark I saw the other day, on how he misses when Disney villains were irredeemable powerhouses like with Maleficent, Jafar, Ursula, etc. And I kinda agree with him. We haven't really had one of those since Facilier. The rest were either twist villains, or villains that turn out...not villains.

Kinda also makes me feel that we're running out of villains that would make...y'know fun bosses. Sure we can just plaster the darkness stamp on them, but Gothel & Hans wouldn't really make interesting bosses compared to both their predecessors like Maleficent, Jafar, etc, or the Heartless counterparts.

But hey, at least Facilier's still on the table.

 

[Face My Fears]

I'm almost inclined to think that the idea of 'proper' Disney bosses disappeared after we killed off almost all of the literal faces of the Disney villain brand. And after fighting the same ones 3 or 4 times, it's also at a point where doing more or reviving dead villains back....solely to fight them would just be...tedious.

It also kinda goes back to a Twitter thread from Saberspark I saw the other day, on how he misses when Disney villains were irredeemable powerhouses like with Maleficent, Jafar, Ursula, etc. And I kinda agree with him. We haven't really had one of those since Facilier. The rest were either twist villains, or villains that turn out...not villains.

Kinda also makes me feel that we're running out of villains that would make...y'know fun bosses. Sure we can just plaster the darkness stamp on them, but Gothel & Hans wouldn't really make interesting bosses compared to both their predecessors like Maleficent, Jafar, etc, or the Heartless counterparts.

But hey, at least Facilier's still on the table.

I really don't think people would mind people like Jafar, Ursula, Maleficent coming back for boss fights in a modern era. Just like I don't think people would have issues seeing classic DISNEY worlds in PS5 graphics, especially after seeing what they can do in KH3.

It's been over 10 years and 2 game-console generations since those characters and worlds were actually used in a main title KH game. There are plenty of new fans as well, that probably would prefer (and are used to) higher quality boss fights/graphics for DISNEY bosses... especially iconic villains like Jafar.

It's true that the DISNEY villains nowadays aren't iconic, let alone powerhouses like Jafar or Ursula. But there are still some that can work from films never featured in KH before:

The Dragon from ONWARD
King Candy/Turbo/Cy-Bug King Candy from Wreck-It Ralph
Shere Khan from The Jungle Book
Mad Madam Mim from The Sword in the Stone
Cruella de Vil from One Hundred and One Dalmatians
The Horned King from The Black Cauldron
Dr. Facilier from The Princess and The Frog
Namaari from Raya and the Last Dragon
Hopper from A Bug's Life
Syndrome from The Incredibles
Ernesto de la Cruz from Coco
Souls from Soul (they can be corrupted by darkness)

With that said, I do think there is a greater discussion to be had on the fact that more recent DISNEY films don't really have worlds/stories that accommodate being translated into KH. Especially given the enormous worlds that we can have now. Like if Halloween Town wasn't done in KH1 or 2, I wouldn't even consider it for KH3 or future games because I couldn't see how it would fill the size of the worlds. Granted, I do think Halloween Town could return (you visit all the other holiday worlds).

Also, to the argument about worlds "being done to death", would there be such an uproar of disgust doing a world like Agrabah again and fighting Jafar over visiting a new world that awkwardly fits into the KH story and ends with a giant heartless boss fight? I would have taken a returning world over (what we got for) Arendelle any day. I think it adds some depth to the story, where Sora can actually visit a world and have history there, so it doesn't feel like we're starting brand new in each world. That way, some main story stuff can be covered in that world instead of looking at the new, shiny world. On top of that, we wouldn't have to "maintain world order".