The worlds featured within theKingdom Heartsseries are as much a draw of the games as Square Enix’s action combat and winding narrative. However, looking at the history of the series, it is interesting to note how fewunique worlds any oneKingdom Heartstitle has that don’t appear in another entry.
While the spin-off and side installments ofKingdom Heartsreuse worlds often,Melody of Memorywill have to be left out since its role as a recap game means that it revisits every level from the series. With that stipulation, the list is initially impressive, until fans realize that the majority of these worlds were only recently introduced into the series.
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Deep Jungle
The first of only two worlds to not be revisited from thefirstKingdom Hearts, Deep Jungle takes Sora to the story of Disney’sTarzan. This world’s removal from future titles is actually an interesting story on its own. Unlike any world that Square Enix just decided not to revisit, this world never returned because Disney’s licensing rights for the Tarzan IP ran out after the firstKingdom Heartsappeared. So, this is likely one world that will never return for legal reasons.
End of the World
The final world of the originalKingdom Heartsis also the only world that the game has chosen not to return to. From a lore standpoint, however, there’s at least a good reason for the world to have not appeared since being the location of thefinal battle against Ansem/Xehanort. That would be the fact that the End of the World was a temporary place where worlds destroyed by the Heartless gathered and were released again after beating the game.
Land of Dragons
Similar to the original title,Kingdom Hearts 2also boasts only a few worlds that have remained unique in the history of the series. TheMulan-inspired Land of Dragons stands as an impressive use of the original movie’s beautiful set pieces to make for incredible locations to fight against hundreds of heartless and some stellar bosses. It makes for a unique experience that might be best left as it is without overusing the impressive world.
Timeless River
The Timeless River was easily one of the biggest selling points forKingdom Hearts 2, as it promised to bringclassic Disney cartoonsto the mid 2000s. While the idea was novel back when the game first launched, it would certainly be welcome for a return trip with the new visuals available fromKingdom Hearts 4’s engine. Another return to the black and white, rubber hose era of Disney would be a great addition to the next game.
Pride Lands
TheLion King-inspired Pride Lands stands out amongKingdom Hearts 2levels, as well as against the rest of the series as a whole. This is due to the way thatDonald’s transmog magictransforms Sora into a lion and lets Goofy spin-to-win so that the group can blend in with the African wilderness. For longtime fans of the series, this level also acts as a small nod to an older design for Sora where he was an anthropomorphic lion-boy with a chainsaw.
Disney Town
WhenBirth by Sleepfirst launched, it actually introduced a number of worlds that were unique among the series. Now, Disney Town stands as one of few areas to only appear in this one title thanks toKingdom Hearts Union Xrevisiting so many series locations. Even so, Disney Town is a fun little side adventure for Ventus, Aqua, and Terra to visit for a series of mini-games.
Deep Space
Stitch has made a few appearances in theKingdom Heartsseries at this point, but the character has only been given one chance to excel in his own world. Given that this left out some ofLilo & Stitch’s fan favorite characters, a trip to Hawaii might be a good pick for a future game. For now, Stitch’s Deep Space level acts as a great example of an interstellar world if Square Enix ever wants to dive into aStar Wars-themed world.
Daybreak Town
Coming fromKingdom Hearts Union X, Daybreak Town may be the most important world to future of the series during the Lost Masters Arc, outshining even theupcoming Quadratum. Technically, this world has appeared in more games in a way, but it hasn’t actually been seen by any of the lead characters fromKingdom Hearts' Dark Seeker Saga. This is because Daybreak Town was flooded after the Keyblade War and the world of Scala ad Caelum has been built above it.
Game Central Station
Another worldintroduced inKingdom Hearts Union Xis Game Central Station, theWreck-It Ralphinspired hub area that leads to a handful of other locales within the single level. This world will also be setting the stage for the future of the series as well, withKingdom Heartsdiving deeper into the concept of datascapes with each new entry. On top of the lore implications, Game Central Station is also home to one of the longest and most successful storylines in the mobile title.
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Country of Musketeers
As the series moved toDream Drop Distance, Square Enix toned down the amount of retreading that each game would spend time on. The result is levels like Country of Musketeers, which follows the 2004 filmMickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeersfrom both Sora and Riku’s perspectives. This particular world is most notable due to the way that it fills in some of the time beforeMickey becomes king of Disney Castleand gives another face-off against Pete.
