My favorite world design is BBS Radiant Gardens. It's so bright and happy with its colors, and the way its building and waterways are is so cool.
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I'm surprised people like the Hollow Bastion KH2 design. I mean, I guess I like the areas leading to the 1000 Heartless battle and where you fight Sephiroth, but most of it's a little too straightforward for me. And they put the marketplace off in a complete dead-end where I will never visit (and nobody lives?) unless I want to see what Cloud, Leon, and Aerith's text bubbles say. If they'd put a Save Point there or moved Merlin's House over there with everything else, I probably wouldn't say that.
But most of KH2's designs are about moving you from point A to point B and less about encouraging exploration.
Most of the worlds from 3D looked amazing, probably the best aspect of that game.
My favorite might still be Hollow Bastion from KHI though, hard to decide.
As for games in general Dark Souls (and Demon's Souls, that one might be even better) has to be my favorite followed by Bioshock with the best designed realistic world, both Rapture and Columbia look amazing.
Kingdom Hearts 1 was great in the fact that there were many optional things to explore. Hollow Bastion is where it really stands out. There's the optional areas in the Waterway, the bubbles that you can freeze and use as platforms (which I didn't even know about until I read the Bradygames guide!), the secret lift in the Library that takes you up to small platform at the top of the Lift Stop, and the switch at the High Tower that changes where said lift goes.
There were also many treasure chests and trinities and superbosses that you couldn't access until later, which made revisiting the worlds fun.
Dream Drop Distance also has many expansive-looking maps that also have little nooks and such with treasure chests. But it still doesn't compare to the first KH, although it comes close at times. The only real reason to revisit the worlds from what I know are the secret portals.
What was it about Enchanted Dominion that you didn't like?
In terms of design, Symphony of Sorcery to the ends of the freaking earth.
Now, firstly, DDD has an unfair advantage in this type of conversation, because that game was designed for extensive exploration and complex, scenic world design.
Now, them choosing to put in a world based on Fantasia was a stroke of pure genius, not just because the Sleeping Worlds existed in a different time period and it clearly showed Mickey's backstory (along with Country of the Musketeers) but because the movie Fantasia itself was all about sights and sounds and colors. The stories and feelings depicted through it were all very different, possessing their own feel, and what worked about Symphony of Sorcery so well is that, in each individual area, using the new world design mechanics of DDD, they were able to create a world that looked and felt like a freaking canvas.
I mean, come on. It was so pretty that even Trollanort had to acknowledge it.
Now, in terms of cool cameos, either Timeless River or Port Royal.
See, I think that KHII's biggest advantage over the original was the cleverness with which they characterized worlds. Each world had a different way that you played it (morale in Land of Dragons, bits in Space Paranoids, Lion abilities in Pridelands, thief powers in Agrabah, etc.) and each world's nature actually had some bearing on the story. /In the first game the worlds were little more than individual stages used to host battles between Sora and that world's villain.
In the second game the worlds serve actual purposes in the story. Timeless River was genius because not only did they create a throwback that, in a game series about breaking the fourth wall (and using the pieces of the fourth wall to build ships) stood out, but also because they did it with purpose. It was there because the heroes needed to go back in time.
Now, Port Royal just because it's the epitome of cool. All the journal entries were about how different the world "felt" (obviously due to the mature, PG-13 atmosphere and live action shooting) and how they all played for keeps there. Barbossa said he was gonna give Sora's tombstone an engraving. Bad ASS.
I have a weird fascination with Wonderland. The combination of the music and overall surrealism of the world always just rang nostalgia in me. It gave me that familiar Disney feeling in every installment is was apart of. In fact, most of the worlds in the original Kingdom Hearts gave me that feeling to different extents but I could give credit to the way the worlds and their stories were presented. You really felt like you were intervening in the worlds and its characters. Plus Wonderland heartless and the cards were fun to smack around!
If I had to choose a non-Disney world that I truly loved it would be a heated struggle between Twilight Town and Traverse Town. I always went through phases with these two worlds. One day I loved one world more and the next day I loved the other. I loved the setting of Traverse Town, the architecture, the night life that we (unfortunately) would never get to explore cuz c'mon they had a coffee shop and I'm sure there's bars and other fun things for those who've lost everything they know love to enjoy... Ahem. Just the idea of a refuge for those who've lost their homes and these worlds incorporating themselves into this one town was intriguing. I enjoyed Twilight Town for interestingly the opposite reasons. Twilight Town seemed quiet, mysterious, warm and welcoming as opposed to the cold setting of Traverse Town. Again, the architecture is beautiful plus being able to venture throughout the world and do little things like interact with activities around town and even "ride" the train is cool. It just added, in my opinion, a sort of the depth to the KH universe that there are people who live their lives while all this chaos is going on way out away from their normal lives. I appreciate that. Which is why I get disappointed with empty worlds without a soul or NPC to show that these worlds aren't just big rooms but are homes.
My favorite world design is BBS Radiant Gardens. It's so bright and happy with its colors, and the way its building and waterways are is so cool.
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hey guys, i had no idea where to start this thread- i hope this is the right place!
i study architecture, and i'm really into the idea of how video game worlds are designed. kingdom hearts has some great world designs that combine style/emotion with exploration and really fit into the plot- like Traverse Town itself look mismatched, like a bunch of broken worlds came together into one place, and it felt lonely, like a refuge for people whose worlds disappeared should. KH I's Hollow Bastion was a treat to explore, I still love replaying the game just to try and find all the nooks and crannies there- and it was so gorgeous! BBS overall did a great job in world design (except for Sleeping Beauty's world imo) especially with how they made exploring the same worlds 3 times over not feel too repetitive. I could go on!
So if you could tell me your favorite KH worlds in terms of design and what made them your favorites, or even other game franchises that have interesting world design, I'd love to hear your opinions :redface: