With Kingdom Hearts III finally out, it's time for us all to look back on what has been a varied and eccentric journey through what many consider to be the most convoluted video games narrative of all time. We know that most people throughout the internet are going to be focusing on trying to tell everyone exactly what is going on and what pieces of story they hope will eventually be resolved by the time the credits roll round, but we decided that we wanted to take a look at the gameplay instead, something many people don't talk about much!

Yes, we're going to take a look at all of the companions that Kingdom Hearts hands to the player throughout the many games in the series, the characters from Disney and Final Fantasy that the player can have with them while they're take on the darkness. Obviously, some of these people are going to be better than others, which is why we've put them in this list for everyone to take a look at. We know that we all have our favorite characters, but that doesn't mean they made the best gameplay companions throughout the Kingdom Hearts series!

So, we think it's about time that we got started and took a look at all of these characters, so that people new to the franchise can make sure they only end up using the best companions possible!

25 Ping

via: imgur.com

Anyone who has ever seen Mulan will know that Ping is not known for "his" ability in combat, as it's actually just Mulan attempting to get by in combat while pretending to be a man! Yes, Kingdom Hearts proves that they often like to stick to the movie over making good gameplay, as Ping trips up while fighting and is unable to take on enemies the same way that other companions can!

Thankfully, it doesn't take long before Ping is out of the picture and players can forget they ever had to deal with them!

24 Peter Pan

via: imgur.com

As any fan of the first game can tell you, the guy has quite possibly the smallest attacking item of any character in the game, with his minuscule knife doing very little physical harm. Okay, maybe he's worth having around for the magic that he can sort you out with, right? Wrong! Yes, that's right, this guy doesn't even have magic spells worth using, as Donald will likely have much better version of the spells by the time people get this late in the game! Do yourself a favor and forget about this one.

23 Jack Sparrow

vg247.com

He may be one of the greatest pirates ever to sail the seas, but that doesn't mean the guy can hold up well when he's placed against monsters made entirely of darkness! Yes, believe it or not but we didn't think that this guy's sword skills actually came in handy that much while playing through the Kingdom Hearts series, which was a worry, because we were really excited when we found out that they were getting this franchise involved. It had so much to offer, but it just didn't work out!

22 Tron

via: khinsider.com

Okay, so for this one, we're not too sure if our judgement has been clouded by the fact that the entire Tron level in Kingdom Hearts was genuinely difficult to get through. If you ask us, it was pretty clear that they were only doing it in an attempt to drum up publicity for the movie, and it just ended up being difficult to get through. Really, it's a setting with such potential, but the team struggled to deliver and we were left wanting more from the character and from the world.

21 Simba

via: nocookie.net

This is more of a complaint that this guy was only a summon more than anything else, but to be honest, we don't think his summon offered that much either. For a lot of people, this is a guy that has been with them since childhood, a character that embodies a strong father, someone that we can all stand behind. Despite that, they relegated the poor guy to support rather than making him a team player, and that was what really annoyed us!

20 Jack Skellington

via: giantbomb.com

Seriously, we think this guy should've been one of the strongest people on this list, considering he's so well acquainted with the afterlife and all things spooky. If you ask us, they should've made this guy seriously powerful, but instead he ended up being pretty average in power, offering very little in the way strength or magic. Not only that, but he ended up being really annoying, which is definitely in character, but we thought they could've at least made him a little easier to stand...

19 Aladdin

via: imgur.com

You would think that a man who has lived on the streets, who seems to have lived on his curvy sword, would be able to bring quite a bit of attack power to the team, but apparently not! The fact that they didn't make Genie, the far more interesting character in the Aladdin world, the party member will always be a mystery if we're honest. Imagine how great it would've been having him run around and shouting quips as he punched the darkness down with his comically over sized fists. It writes itself!

18 Leon

via: imgur.com

Of all the characters in Kingdom Hearts, it was always going to be the ones from the Final Fantasy franchise that weren't as well received. They just can't compete with the Disney characters! Sure, Final Fantasy has a lot of hardcore fans, but we've all already seen them in video games before. We know what they look like in a fight. However, they could've at least compensated for this by making them stronger or tougher, but they didn't bother doing this for Leon, a decision we will never understand.

17 Mulan

via: imgur.com

So, this woman is obviously much better than Ping, and that is always going to be an improvement, but even then she's not bringing loads to the table that can't be found anywhere else! We can only imagine that Mulan probably wasn't one that the designers put a lot of design time into, despite being one of the Disney characters with quite an interesting narrative arc. It might be smarter for them to think about that for the next time, right?

16 Rapunzel

via: justpushstart.com

When we found out that this character would be making her way into Kingdom Hearts III, we were all too bothered about her inclusion, but we have to admit that we ended up being pleasantly surprised! Utilizing her hair in a way that only her character could makes her a worthwhile addition to the team, one that proves she has a lot more strength hidden under the surface. If somebody had told me the main character from Tangled would prove to be a great companion in Kingdom Hearts III, we wouldn't believe them.

15 Auron

via: imgur.com

Auron is one of the most popular Final Fantasy characters, so it would make sense that they would put him in Kingdom Hearts. In fact, if they hadn't made him at least moderately strong, we think there probably would've been a riot! While he's certainly not the strongest character that the player can choose to have in their party, there is no denying that the man is worth having around if you're looking for an all-rounder that can bring the strength when it is needed. He's certainly not the strongest party member around, but he's definitely not the weakest either!

14 Minnie

via: nocookie.net

While people probably wouldn't think of Minnie Mouse as being worth a look when it comes to strength in a video game, we have to say that this makes no sense really! Think about how many video game adventures this woman has been on after all, so it only makes sense that she picked up a few tips and tricks while she was out on her journey! Also, seeing as Micky is the main star of the show when it comes to the story, it only makes sense that his queen would end up having some of the strength that the man carries around with him.

13 Woody

via: imgur.com

When Kingdom Hearts III was announced, we knew that we were going to enjoy playing with the Toy Story characters more than any of the other characters that had been released in the trailers. However, we thought there was a chance that our nostalgia would get in the way of realizing they may not actually be any good at fighting...

Thankfully, we could not have been more wrong, as the developers made sure the Toy Story cast could handle the combat! We imagine this is because they knew that people would be most looking forward to hanging out these characters!

12 Ariel

via: imgur.com

Anybody that has played through the first Kingdom Hearts game in the series knows that the water level in The Little Mermaid world is notoriously bad, with many people arguing that it makes it a chore to even complete the game! However, this doesn't change the fact that while we were in the water world, we were happy to be followed around by this woman. It makes sense that a character who has such power over the oceans would end up actually being a really good fighter! We would have her in our party any day.

11 Riku

via: twitter.com

Throughout the Kingdom Hearts series, there is an odd relationship between Sora and Riku, one that sees them jumping between being friends and enemies. There is always competition between the two to see who can become the greatest keyblade master.

However, despite this competition there is no denying that this guy has some serious skills and can come in handy to fight beside whenever the player is given the option! Anybody that wants a strong companion that will push them to their limits should look no further than this guy.

10 Donald

via: forbes.com

Anybody that has played through the Kingdom Hearts series will know that having this character in the party can be pretty difficult, as he quite possibly has one of the most annoying voice in history.

That being said, the guy will pick up pretty strong magic spells very quickly, depending on which game in the series is being player that is! While we don't always have him around, if we're looking for a character that will always make sure we've got enough health, then we slot this guy into the party straight away.

9 Goofy

via: digitaltrends.com

We have quite a soft spot for this character, and while we know that a lot of players think he hogged the potions quite a lot in the first game, we think that he has proved himself quite the fighter now that we've entered the third game in the series!

Whenever we had to take out one of our standard party members in Kingdom Hearts to put in a character we really liked, we would always put Donald out of the party and kept Goofy in. Not only does he have great defense but he has proved himself to be a good fighter throughout quite a lot of the series!

8 Sully

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Despite the fact that the movie shows him to be a real soft personality, there's no denying that this man has size and strength on his side, so as soon as we were given the option to have him help us out with combat we put him straight in! We think that anybody playing through Kingdom Hearts III should see what this guy can do. Not only is it a pleasure to get to hear and see as much of this character as possible, he will bring a serious amount of strength to the party when it's needed!

7 Wreck-It Ralph

via: vox.com

Obviously, with this character solely being written to smash things up, it was no surprise when a game that includes Disney Characters decided to include him as a combat option. Despite the fact that we find his voice annoying and think that he moves way too slow, just his power levels alone are enough to put him this high on the list.

Plus, anyone that has seen the movies and is into games knows why we think this guy deserves a special place in the hearts of any video game fan the world over!

6 Baymax

via: comicbook.com

When Big Hero 6 first came out, we knew that Kingdom Hearts III would have to have a world that was dedicated to the universe, even if it was just to give players a chance to interact with Baymax. What with him being the standout favorite of audience members, it was an easy choice for them to put the guy in, but to have him as a useful combat member was more than we expected! We've put him this high on the list because playing with him is a joy and his size ensures that he has some serious strength behind his attacks!