If you were to talk to me several years ago and state that Final Fantasy and Disney characters would appear in the same action RPG game, I would've laughed at you and said how terrible of an idea that would be. Nonetheless, Kingdom Hearts has become one of the most beloved franchises in gaming history and is a big showstopper at conventions. Who would've thought?
There have been many games in the series, and each of them takes Sora and his friends through various worlds inspired by Disney movies. There's a world based on Pirates of the Caribbean and Winnie the Pooh, among others. It's a crazy formula that has gone surprisingly well and has made the series familiar to newcomers, yet different to older gamers.
After all these years, Kingdom Hearts 3 is well underway and is supposed to release some time in the future. We don't know many details about the game as it stands now, but we do know that there will be worlds based on Tangled and Big Hero 6. This caused us to speculate what other worlds we could see in the game, considering the new Disney films and properties that have come out in the past few years.
There are definitely some worlds we want to see, but there are others that we would rather not make it in the game. Here are 15 that we don't want in Kingdom Hearts 3.
15 The Little Mermaid
There are a lot of Disney properties, but it's easy to see some worlds getting reused in Kingdom Hearts 3. One that we hope doesn't make another appearance is Atlantica from The Little Mermaid.
This world has already appeared in the series and is one of the poster boys for boring underwater levels. Sora and his friends get changed into mermaids, which drastically changes how the game is played. Whether in regards to action and movement, you'll be doing things very unfamiliar to you, and not in a good way. There are some fantastic worlds in the series, but Atlantica is not one of them. No offense to the movie it's taken from, we're just not fans of the gameplay.
14 Frozen
Oh please, let this one go, Disney. Frozen has taken over the pop culture world by storm and we're still trying to figure out why. The movie was good, but it wasn't anything worth the popularity it has received. Because of how many people simply love this film, Disney has taken every opportunity it possibly can to cash in on that. The logical next step for them would be to make it a world in Kingdom Hearts 3.
The reason we don't want to see this is because it would be a blatant cash grab. We would probably see Elsa use her powers a bit, see Olaf make a joke that isn't funny, and maybe even ride Sven for a few. Either way, there isn't enough from Frozen itself to make a fantastic world in Kingdom Hearts and we hope the developers see it too.
13 Marvel Cinematic Universe
Now that Disney covers a wide umbrella of different properties, they're not above crossing over big heroes like the Avengers with their cute little Disney characters like Phineas and Ferb. Be that as it may, I would be shocked if they didn't want to take it a step further and put Earth's Mightiest Heroes into Kingdom Hearts.
The problem with this is that Kingdom Hearts has a distinct whimsical feel that comes from incorporating Final Fantasy and the fairy tales of Disney. If they put in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it would feel horribly out of place. The Avengers are based on reality, not fantastical tales. Seeing Sora and his comrades fight through real world locations would be jarring at best, and we'd rather Cap and his team skip this game as a result.
12 Star Wars
Disney's other big property is Star Wars. Ever since they got the rights to the franchise, they managed to bring it back to life, spawning the creation of The Force Awakens and retconning all of the canonical universe. Since they've been cashing in on the franchise for a while, it would make sense for them to place it in Kingdom Hearts.
Granted, Star Wars would make a bit more sense than, say, the Avengers, but it would still feel out of place. Pirates of the Caribbean works because it's a fantasy tale, but injecting sci-fi into the game would be a little strange. There's no doubt that it could introduce some interesting gameplay mechanics, but, at the end of the day, it would take away from the setting the series has worked for years to establish.
11 Sword In The Stone
Be prepared to see a lot of poor Disney movies on this list. Sword in the Stone was one of Disney's worse adaptations of a classic myth and that's saying something considering that Chicken Little was a thing.
Besides, we've already had a few worlds based in this medieval setting (and Tangled will already capture that vibe for the game). What makes the possibility of a Sword in the Stone world more frightening to us is that the wizard Merlin has already appeared in the series. It would be all too easy for developers to throw in a world and have it make sense in regards to the story. We just hope that isn't the route they take when all is said and done.
10 Lady And The Tramp
While they have many whimsical tales at their disposal, Disney also has a few contained love stories that have stood the test of time. Take Lady of the Tramp for example. This classic film is still being referenced in other productions today (that classic spaghetti scene), but we hope that it isn't brought into Kingdom Hearts.
While it was a fine film, it would make for an extremely boring world. Nothing of consequence happens in Lady and the Tramp, and it would likely just be a backdrop for fighting Heartless. Or, they could instead try to insert some gimmick into the world to justify its existence. Anyway, the more we think about either possibility, the less we want to see it play a part in Kingdom Hearts 3.
9 The Jungle Book
We all loved The Jungle Book as kids, but going back to it as adults reveals that it's not as solid as we remember. The film is somewhat directionless and very little happens. That remake by Jon Favreau really shook things up by giving it some tense moments and white-knuckle action.
While we would love to see characters like Bagheera and Baloo in Kingdom Hearts, a world based on The Jungle Book likely wouldn't be very fun. As we stated before, not much happens in the course of the film, and that leaves little opportunity for a unique design in a video game. At the very least, it would be an excuse to include Bare Necessities into Kingdom Hearts 3, but that alone doesn't make for a great world.
8 Home On The Range
This is the one Disney film that many people forget (or they want to forget it). Home on the Range is one of the most lifeless Disney films, especially considering how much work went into their other productions. However, it still remains intact in terms of the Disney canon and that means it could still play a part in Kingdom Hearts 3.
Let me get one thing out of the way though: it would be really cool to see Sora, Goofy, and Donald in a Western world and getting involved in shootouts. However, that's a style that would be more suited to The Lone Ranger rather than a movie starring anthropomorphic cows trying to save a farm. If they're going to do something Western-inspired, we hope that it would be The Lone Ranger.
7 Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland
Wonderland has already appeared in Kingdom Hearts and, needless to say, it wasn't one of their best worlds. Because of this, we are even more motivated to wish that another version of it doesn't make it into Kingdom Hearts 3.
Tim Burton's version of Alice in Wonderland wasn't very well-done and it wouldn't translate well into Kingdom Hearts. Many of the characters look much too creepy to blend well with the style of the game. Furthermore, there wouldn't be much that could be done to differentiate it from the classic Wonderland, meaning that it would likely fall into the same gameplay traps that it did the first time around. Besides, the movies weren't even well-received, so it's better for the developers to leave this series behind.
6 Pete's Dragon
Don't get me wrong, I am fond of the Pete's Dragon remake. However, simply because something works as a film doesn't mean that it's worthy of being put into a video game.
Pete's Dragon doesn't have a unique setting or take on the fantasy genre. It's simply about a kid who has a dragon in the real world. This fact alone makes Pete's Dragon unworthy of becoming its own stage in Kingdom Hearts. While it might be cool to see Sora riding on Elliot's back (Elliot from the remake), that would function better as an add-on to the gameplay, not as its own world entirely.
To add the cherry on top, the original Pete's Dragon wasn't very interesting, so seeing it placed into such a popular game wouldn't make much sense either.
5 Pirates Of The Caribbean
Sailing the seven seas is always a setting that makes for great video games. Take The Wind Waker, Oceanhorn, or even the upcoming Sea of Thieves. That's why Pirates of the Caribbean worked well in Kingdom Hearts. Seeing Sora team up with Captain Jack Sparrow was a fun time, but now we want something different.
Considering that Dead Men Tell No Tales was poorly received at the box office, Disney should let this franchise fade into the night. However, that doesn't mean they have to give up on the nautical theme. Instead, they could use Moana to still offer some sailing, but feature enough differences that it remains interesting. It's a win/win situation. We just hope that they see it too.
4 The Emperor's New Groove
Here's another great movie. The Emperor's New Groove is intelligently written, perfectly paced, and well-animated. It's an underrated Disney film at and we love it for everything that it is.
As much as we would love to see Kuzco appear in Kingdom Hearts (or Disney acknowledge that this movie exists), we don't feel that it would make for a good world in the game. After all, the film was designed as a comedy that used the Incan civilization as a setting. While the scenery could certainly look good and reminiscent of the film, there wasn't much going on in the film that could make it a fantastic world (speaking in terms of gameplay, of course.) Then again, Tangled is being put into the game, so we could be proven wrong.
3 Hundred Acre Wood
If you told me that the Hundred Acre Wood from Winnie the Pooh would become one of the best Kingdom Hearts worlds in the series, I'd probably laugh at you. However, after spending some time with it myself, I see the appeal. Yet, I don't feel that it should return for Kingdom Hearts 3.
The reason that I feel this way is because they stretched the source material to fit the game. However, now that it's been done, I have a hard time seeing what else they could do in the same world. It's kind of like how Mario Party's minigames aren't nearly as good as they were back in the day. Keeping that in mind, it would be better to not put the world in than to add it with a bad gameplay mechanic.
2 Deep Space
A world based on Lilo and Stitch was a given. Due to the popularity of the little blue alien himself, it made sense that the film would make an appearance in Kingdom Hearts. That said, if the series returns to Kingdom Hearts 3, we want to see it take a much different form.
The world we got was Deep Space. It was in the Lilo and Stitch universe, but it was in space. This led to a dull setting with uninspired environments. However, if they had decided to take the setting to Hawaii (where the actual film takes place), that would be much more memorable in the long run. The Heartless would contrast perfectly with the bright colors and blue waters. If it returns, we want to see a Hawaii world.
1 Cars
As we've seen in the past, Kingdom Hearts isn't above giving Sora, Goofy, and Donald various transformations to fit whatever world they're in. However, one that we hope never comes to Kingdom Hearts 3 or the rest of the series for that matter is Cars.
One can only imagine the horror that would be Goofy transformed into a talking car. What makes this all more painful is the fact that the Cars franchise only exists nowadays to make more money for Disney. They know that it appeals to children and so they continuously make movies so they can sell more toys. We would hate to see how a Cars world would function in Kingdom Hearts. It'd probably be a poorly done version of Mario Kart, and nobody wants to see that in a AAA title.