From the beginning,Kingdom Heartshas been a fascinating exploration of Disney. Pitched as a fusion between Disney and Square Enix properties,Kingdom Heartshas been delighting fans for two decades with plenty of nostalgic fan service. Combined with original flavor of its own, theKingdom Heartsseries has built up an iconic setting few other franchises can hold a candle to.
Kingdom Hearts 3left off at a point where the story could travel to radical new locations. Fans are excited by the possibility of a setting refresh, asKingdom Heartsalways finds some way to make its worlds memorable. A lot of people hope Marvel Comics orStar Warsworlds will appear inKingdom Hearts 4, but there are plenty of other worlds that could make an appearance or return in a new way.
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Worlds Introduced in Kingdom Hearts 1
Kingdom Hearts 1started the franchise off strong with a set of original and Disney worlds, almost all of which have appeared in future games. It was a great base to build on for future titles.
Aside from Deep Jungle and End of the World, each world in the first game has featured in other titles. Even Monstro shows up as a Mirage Arena boss inBirth By Sleep. Olympus has become a sort of staple world for theKingdom Heartsseries, though itsKH3incarnation lost the iconic Coliseum.
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Worlds Introduced in Chain of Memories
Chain of Memoriesintroduced no new worlds apart from Castle Oblivion, a place where Sora’s memories of manyKH1worlds could be brought to life. It turned out the Castle was more than justan Organization 13 base, as it was the ruined Land of Departure turned into a labyrinthine fortress by Aqua. She reverted its transformation inKH3to rescue Ventus, so it’s unlikely Castle Oblivion will appear ever again.
Worlds Introduced in Kingdom Hearts 2
Kingdom Hearts 2was another hallmark entry of the franchise that introduced plenty of worlds. There was a fair amount of overlap withKingdom Hearts 1andChain of Memories, but what worlds were recycled were mostly taken in new directions.
Enough was done with the Disney movie worlds acrossKH2’s multiple visits that they don’t necessarily need to come back any more.Revisiting Timeless River’s conceptwould be great, butKH4’s new setting might lend itself better to an alternate version featuring Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.
Worlds Introduced in Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep
Birth By Sleepalso repeats several worlds, but it does its best to fill in some gaps other games left. Namely,BBSfinally shows the worlds of the Princesses of Heart who have gone underutilized in past entries.
Some of these worlds have all been thoroughly explored, especially the Keyblade Graveyard and Realm of Darkness. Themultiplayer-optional Mirage Arenadoes present an interesting idea that could be brought back in future games, but that’s up to Square Enix.
Worlds Introduced in Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance
Dream Drop Distancehas fewer worlds overall, but it puts a lot of work into making them unique and function with Flowmotion.
The sleep-centric setting ofKH3Dallows for unique interpretations of existing worlds. The generic Disney Castle settings of past games are replaced with theThree Musketeers, a properFantasiastory is finally used after Yen Sid and Chernobog have been present for years, Pleasure Island is the focus of Prankster’s Paradise instead of Monstro, and The Grid adaptsTron: Legacyinstead of the originalTron. Such reinterpretations should be the way future returning worlds are treated, even ifKingdom Hearts 4uses mostly new worlds.
Worlds Introduced in Kingdom Hearts Cross
Daybreak Town is the only new world introduced inKingdom Hearts Cross,and serves as the player’s base of operations. It appears againinUnion Crossas a digital copyand serves much the same purpose. The world is destroyed by the end of the story, so it’s unlikely it will be seen again.
Worlds Introduced in Kingdom Hearts Union Cross
The only new world inKingdom Hearts Union Crossis Game Central Station, which is special due to its unusual format. This world adapts the plot of the firstWreck-It Ralphmovie, and is thus a hub for several smaller worlds. These worlds are Niceland, Cy-Bug Sector, and the Candy Kingdom, which adapt the individual game worlds from the film. This is an interesting format for a world that should return, and it would also be nice to seeKingdom Hearts 4giveWreck-It Ralpha 3D adaptation.
Worlds Introduced in Kingdom Hearts 3
While it hosts a few returning places,Kingdom Hearts 3props itself up with a strong collection of Disney and Pixar worlds.
Considering whereKingdom Hearts 3ends off, there is little doubt thatQuadratum will be the main hub worldin the nextKingdom Hearts. The Final World will probably also be addressed at least one more time now that the heroes have an easy way of traveling there. The rest ofKH3’s worlds have been thoroughly explored, but that doesn’t mean more of Disney Pixar’s contemporary output can’t show up inKingdom Hearts 4.
Beyond the worlds already suggested,Princess and the Frogwould be a great “classic” addition toKH4.Moana’s Motunui could serve as a water-based world in the same vein as the seafaring Caribbean, but with a much smaller boat.CocoandRaya and the Last Dragonboth have visually inspired worlds ripe for exploration, and it would be nice to seeLightyearadapted as a counterpart toKH3’sToy Storyworld. Some older Disney works likeRobin HoodandThe Black Cauldronwould also be nice additions, and plenty of fans are ready for there to be a world based on other Square Enix properties.Kingdom Hearts 4is full of possibilities, and the community will hopefully get a sneak peek at what those are whenever news drops.
