The Best Kingdom Hearts 3 Worlds, All 9 Ranked

Best Kingdom Hearts 3 Worlds

9. 100 Acre Wood

Obviously we’re going to be talking about the worlds of Kingdom Hearts 3. If somehow you clicked this article anyway not realizing this, then this is your last chance to not get spoiled on anything other than 100 Acre Wood if you’d like for it to all be a surprise.

The 100 Acre Wood has never been a huge feature in the Kingdom Hearts series, but it’s repeatedly appeared as a small sidebar, minigame focused experience. The same holds true in Kingdom Hearts 3, and while it’s nice to see Pooh and company again, the world just feels all too brief.

Now 100 Acre Wood was never long, but this time there’s only one minigame to play with three variations, and one single area to explore. You can beat the world in roughly 30 minutes, although you can return to play the minigame anytime you want.

Considering how fleshed out all the other worlds in Kingdom Hearts 3 feel, this is definitely a bit disappointing. The 100 Acre Wood is a fun little jaunt that breaks up the action, but it just leaves you wanting a bit more.

Best Kingdom Hearts 3 Worlds

8. Twilight Town

Twilight Town is the only original world featured in Kingdom Hearts 3, at least the only one you actually get to run around and explore. The calming sunset-soaked city is as gorgeous as ever, and the new rendition of the theme is absolutely gorgeous.

There are quite a few fun things to do in the city, including cooking food at the Bistro with Ratatouille, heading through the sewer system to the forest, and hunting for all those Lucky Emblems. It’s definitely great to be back in Twilight Town, but there’s one thing holding it back from being on par with the other worlds, the length.

Twilight Town just feels so much more limited in its scope than it did in Kingdom Hearts 2. The city is smaller, and you’re restricted to one area, no being able to go to the Train Station, or through the tunnel system, or into the old mansion.

Yes it’s definitely a treat for fans to see Hayner, Pence, and Olette again, but it feels like Twilight Town just could have been much more.

Best Kingdom Hearts 3 Worlds

7. Olympus

Besides Pirates of the Caribbean, Olympus is the only returning Disney world, and in Kingdom Hearts 3 is serves as a kind of tutorial world. This is where most of the new elements and gameplay mechanics of Kingdom Hearts 3 are introduced, and as such it feels a little more limited than most of the others.

What is really cool, however, is getting to see the world of Hercules more fleshed out than ever before in the series. In past games, you only got to visit the Colosseum, but now Sora and company can roam the streets of Thebes, climb Mount Olympus, and even explore the Realm of the Gods.

Having Hercules actually join your party is a nice touch as well. But the big difference between Olympus and the other worlds, is that Olympus doesn’t have its own unique gimmick.

Every other world has a unique minigame or mechanic to it, but because Olympus is working as an introduction to the game, it simply lacks this. Olympus isn’t bad by any means, it’s just all the others stand out more.

Best Kingdom Hearts 3 Worlds

6. Arandelle

Frozen is probably the hottest Disney property of the last decade. After all, who doesn’t know at least part of the lyrics to “Let It Go.” Obviously, Frozen’s inclusion in Kingdom Hearts 3 had a lot of people excited, and for the most part, it lived up to the source material.

Arendelle is a stunning tundra blanketed in white, making it starkly different from the other locales in the game. The game tries to mix things up by having you explore original locations, like a massive Ice Labyrinth that you can practically feel the chill coming off of.

Still, because Arendelle is entirely snow-based, it just ends up not feeling as diverse as some of the other worlds. Anna, Else, and the other Frozen characters also don’t have as involved of a role in the story as other Disney characters. Most of the story in Arendelle boils down to Sora, Donald, and Goofy repeatedly trying to get to one specific location.

Still, Arendells does capture the essence of Frozen, and the wintery music has some nice holiday flair. And if you love Let It Go, you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Best Kingdom Hearts 3 Worlds

5. Monstropolis

Bringing Pixar into the fold for Kingdom Hearts opens up a whole new world of possibilities, and Monsters Inc. was a dead ringer pick. Taking place after the original Monsters Inc., Sora and company come upon the company as a horde of mysterious creatures, the Unversed, are taking it over.

Sully, Mike, and Boo have just as wonderful a dynamic as they do in the movie, and looping Sora, Donald, and Goofy into that is tremendously fun. Monsters Inc. is such an imaginative world, and Kingdom Hearts 3 lets you explore more of the company, taking a look into the factory, riding on the rails in the door vault, and jumping through maintenance areas.

Everything is themed around the core ideas of Monsters Inc., and there are even multiple points where the party has to get Boo to laugh in order to power up a machine or door. Of course, the party’s monster designs are another fun alternate look, easily one of the best so far.

Monstropolis pays great homage to the 2001 hit, while providing some interesting new character moments.

Best Kingdom Hearts 3 Worlds

4. Kingdom of Corona

You could easily make the case for Tangled being the best animated Disney movie ever, and it still holds up incredibly well to this day in terms of storytelling, voice acting, and animation. It also just so happens to be one of the best worlds in Kingdom Hearts 3.

Out of all the worlds that follow their movie’s storyline, Corona does it the best. Everything feels natural with Sora, Donald, and Goofy meeting Flynn Rider, and subsequently being manipulated by him. The trio is simply along for the ride with Flynn and Rapunzel, but it feels natural. It’s also easy to replace the villains of the movie with the Organization and Heartless.

It’s one of the most diverse worlds in terms of environments. From the beautiful green fields and forests, to the creepy misty swamp, and the bustling city festival.

Flynn and Rapunzel make for fun party members, with Rapunzel actually using her hair to fight and Flynn clumsily riding on barrels among other things. It even has the best minigame in all of Kingdom Hearts 3, with a fun little dancing game that has Sora busting out his best moves.

The Kingdom of Corona manages to perfectly capture the whimsy of Disney movies like Tangled, and graphically it’s a stunning world very accurately reflects the film.

Best Kingdom Hearts 3 Worlds

3. San Fransokyo

Superheroes are all the rage these days, and Big Hero 6 help set itself apart with a fantastic setting, interesting premise, and really strong characters. Those are all things that return in Kingdom Hearts 3, and what truly makes this world special is the interactions between Sora, Donald, and Goofy and the Big Hero 6 team.

Instead of weaving together multiple zones, San Fransokyo gives you one giant map to run around in as a whole city.

The story has you fighting crime and saving the city from the Heartless, but it even continues on narrative threads from the Disney film. Because of this, everything feels far more natural than something like Arandelle, and there are some really great moments of development for both Sora and Hiro.

The minigame Flash Tracer helps shape things up by putting a big emphasis on your traversal abilities, something you probably didn’t think too much about up to that point. One of the best parts of the world is the music, a far cry from the orchestral tracks of the rest of the game.

San Fransokyo has some heavy electronic music that plays during battles and exploration, with a seriously heavy beat behind it. It’s quite different but really works for the setting of the film.

Out of all the worlds in Kingdom Hearts 3, San Fransokyo feels the most natural and faithful to its film counterpart, and it’s truly impressive how Square Enix has done that.

Best Kingdom Hearts 3 Worlds

2. Toy Box

As good as the Monstropolis world is, Toy Box feels even better, translating the definitive Pixar movie into a wonderful gameplay experience. By far, Toy Box is the most visually impressive world in the entire game.

Turning the entire party into toys works really well, and there’s a plastic-y kind of sheen to everything. There’s an absurd amount of detail, as you can even see the notches on the screws in Sora’s body, and the places where his joints connect.

On top of this, the sound is changed so that everything sounds like plastic, footsteps, Keyblade strikes, enemy attacks, everything. It all adds up to an experience that really makes you feel like you’re playing with toys. Of course, the unique feature of the world also helps with this, letting you take control of giant Gigas mech toys to wreak havoc on enemies.

Toy Box is yet another world that tells an original story, set between the events of Toy Story 2 and 3. The Toy Story movies always put a big emphasis on friendship, and this is something Toy Box does as well by displaying the bond between Buzz and Woody.

Exploring a giant toy store is something the inner child in everyone can love, and Toy Box manages to be one of the most memorable experiences in all of Kingdom Hearts 3.

Best Kingdom Hearts 3 Worlds

1. The Caribbean

Pirates of the Caribbean wasn’t exactly the best world in KH2, and depending on who you ask it wasn’t even that good at all. But that’s exactly what makes Kingdom Hearts 3’s The Caribbean so surprising, as it manages to do justice to the film while providing the most varied gameplay experience in the entire game.

Following the events of At World’s End, The Caribbean gives Sora his very own ship to roam around the sea with. Surprisingly, the whole thing plays out like a miniature version of Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, with ship battles against the Heartless on the sea, and even a few ships you have to board and fight on.

When you aren’t blasting away Heartless ships, there are a handful of little islands to explore to look for secrets and treasure, and underwater combat changes Sora’s moveset entirely, adding even more variation.

The Carribean also looks stunning, with most of the character models looking eerily similar to their real-life counterparts. The voice actor of Jack Sparrow also does a spot-on Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow, and it’s honestly hard to even tell the difference.

At the end of the day, The Caribbean simply is the world that feels the most varied and exciting to play, on top of being graphically gorgeous.

Check out our Kingdom Hearts 3 wiki for tons of tips and info on the newest game, and for more on the series, you can see our ranking of every game as well as the best worlds.