Top 10 Best Kingdom Hearts Worlds, Ranked

Best Kingdom Hearts Worlds, Ranked

The Kingdom Hearts series is a crazy idea that somehow ended up working wildly well. The combination of Final Fantasy and Disney has worked wonders, and part of the appeal of the franchise is meeting classic Disney characters and exploring their worlds. Whether it’s Disney worlds or original ones, we’ve ranked the best Kindom Hearts worlds of all time.

10. 100 Acre Wood

The 100 Acre Wood presents a breath of fresh air for Kingdom Hearts, a chance to kick back and not worry about all those Heartless or the Organization. As you might expect from the cuddly Winnie the Pooh, this world is always focused around lighthearted minigames, like following the pattern that Tigger bounces or falling through the air while collecting honey.

Of course, Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore, and the rest of the gang are just as adorable and charming as ever, and the theme of the world helps remind Sora about the importance of friendship. All in all, The 100 Acre Wood helps break up gameplay nicely, and shows how important quiet time can be in games.

9. Agrabah

Aladdin is one of the all-time classic Disney movies, so it only stands to reason that Agrabah would be one of the classic Kingdom Hearts worlds. You visit this world in a majority of the series including Kingdom Hearts 1, KH2, Chain of Memories, Unchained X, and more.

Without a doubt, Agrabah has some of the best level design of the entire series, whether you’re exploring the dusty streets of the city or the Cave of Wonders. At the same time, who could forget fighting the giant genie version of Jafar?

8. Symphony of Sorcery

Despite being relegated to the 3DS, Dream Drop Distance has some fantastic worlds with brilliant level design. Chief among those is Symphony of Sorcery, the world based on Fantasia. The world is wildly imaginative as you make your way through different scenes from Fantasia; the icy hills that Sora glides across, or the gorgeous flowery forest that Riku makes his way through.

Unlike most Kingdom Hearts worlds, this one doesn’t have separate battle and exploration music. Instead, you’ll be fighting along to The Nutcracker Suite and other iconic scenes, helping set a whimsical overall tone for the Symphony.

7. The Grid

Kingdom Hearts II nearly doubled the amount of worlds, and also doubled down on giving the party a unique look. The Tron world, in particular, does a fantastic job of matching the source material’s style. Sora and crew get some bright blue outfits, and the world in general is built with blocky objects that look straight out of the classic film.

Jumping into a computer and teaming up with Tron is a brilliant Disney twist for Kingdom Hearts, and returning to The Grid for Tron Legacy in Dream Drop Distance gives you yet another taste of the neon-painted world.

6. Olympus and the Underworld

Ah Olympus Coliseum, home of some of the most challenging battles in the entire franchise. Olympus has featured into nearly every Kingdom Hearts game, and it’s almost synonymous with the franchise at this point. The tournaments here, again, provide some nice variation to the normal gameplay loop, but getting to explore The Underworld in KH2 was even more exciting.

It certainly helps that Hades might be the most charismatic Disney villain of all time, but the Final Fantasy cameos of Cloud, Auron, Sephiroth and Zack help make Olympus all the more memorable.

5. The World That Never Was

The World That Never Was is one of the many original worlds in Kingdom Hearts, and it’s by far one of the most visually striking. The neon metropolis looks like it should be a bustling city, but instead, it’s eerily empty and dark. The World serves a major story purpose throughout the series as the home of Organization XIII, and its design is about as Nomura-esque as you can get.

The World That Never Was is even more fun in Dream Drop Distance as you jump across skyscrapers and cut entire buildings in half while battling Dream Eaters and Xemnas.

4. Timeless River

If you’re talking about unique visual designs, the Timeless River world absolutely takes the cake. This world sees Sora traveling back to the very beginnings of Disney, Steamboat Willy. It’s such a unique idea that’s done incredibly well, and there’s unique gameplay to go along with it.

One section has Sora and the group traveling through multiple areas, trying to save Mickey’s room from a black hole, fighting outside a bouncing burning building, and more. All the animations are done in an exaggerated style, just like Steamboat Willie, and the voices and sound are muffled like you’re hearing them through water. Everything about Timeless River fits the world’s theme, and it’s an absolute blast from start to finish.

3. Traverse Town

The idea of Traverse Town in Kingdom Hearts is pretty a neat, a world that wanderers end up at after they’ve lost their own. The town instantly feels welcoming with its warm lighting and smooth jazz theme song. Traverse Town serves as a home base for Sora and crew in the first game, as well as where they meet Final Fantasy characters like Leon, Yuffie, and Aerith.

Dream Drop Distance expands on Traverse Town marvelously, adding some great new areas on and splashing the aesthetic design with graffiti from the cult classic game The World Ends With You. Hearing that jazzy theme song each time you visit Traverse Town just feels like a warm, familiar blanket.

2. Hollow Bastion/Radiant Garden

Hollow Bastion is probably the most important world in the series in terms of story, and and it’s another visually unique original world. In the days of Birth By Sleep the world was known as Radiant Garden, a happy town ruled by Ansem the Wise and inhabited by many of the Final Fantasy characters and original “Somebodies” of the Organization members.

Hollow Bastion is home to some of the most memorable moments of the series; the 1000 Heartless battle, the entire climax of the first game, and the final battle of Birth By Sleep. It’s visual design, despite being original, is clearly inspired by a few different Disney properties like Sleeping Beauty, making it fit the Disney theme remarkably well.

1. Halloweentown

There are few Disney movies as beloved as the Nightmare Before Christmas, and Halloweentown is the best-realized world in all of Kingdom Hearts. Seeing Sora, Donald, and Goofy decked out in spooky Halloween costumes is hilarious, and there’s some great level design in the town and Oogie-Boogie’s castle.

The return trip in Kingdom Hearts II is even better, however, taking players to Christmas town too. Halloweentown represents the pinnacle of how Kingdom Hearts uses Disney properties, sticking to the source material but using it in fun ways to help flesh out the story of Kingdom Hearts.

Those are our picks for the very best Kingdom Hearts worlds. Make sure to stick with Twinfinite for all things Kingdom Hearts.

For more related content check out our feature on how Kingdom Hearts’ greatest strength is its diversity in gameplay. You can also see our ranking of the entire series, or check out the 10 hardest video game boss battles, which features a notorious Kingdom Hearts battle.