Throughout the Kingdom Hearts games, Sora and his friends have explored many worlds from other Disney properties, with Kingdom Hearts 2 having a lot of memorable ones. KH2 is remembered fondly not only for its combat but also for the unique approach it took to some of the worlds such as Halloween Town and Timeless River.
After their first Kingdom Hearts journey, Sora, Donald, and Goofy continued their search for Riku and King Mickey as they fought against returning foes such as the heartless and Organization 13, and this search took them across a lot of worlds. But, which worlds did it best, and which ones do fans commonly forget are even in the game at all?
Updated on December 10, 2022, by Justin Flynn: Since its series debut in 2002, Kingdom Hearts has implemented a variety of unique and engaging original and Disney worlds for players to explore. Though the original game is nowhere near as expansive as more recent installments, it did an excellent job of using unlikely properties to tell a standalone story.
Some fans were disappointed with the lack of worlds in Kingdom Hearts 3, but the sheer size of each world more than made up for the lower number of Disney properties featured in the game. With Quadratum said to act as the hub world for Kingdom Hearts 4, fans can rest easy knowing that a key part of KH2's world layout is destined to return. Kingdom Hearts 3 expanded on what a world could be, but this would not have been possible without the groundwork laid down by all the worlds in Kingdom Hearts 2.
15 Disney Castle
While Disney Castle doesn’t really “feel” like a world given that it has two to three rooms at most and is basically just a vehicle to get players to the Timeless River realm, it does still technically count. Players access it through the Gummi Ship, there are chests and items to find within it, random encounters happen in the form of Heartless spawning in, and there’s technically even a "final encounter" in the form of defending Minnie Mouse as she journeys to the Throne Room.
Honestly, because Sora and crew go through the “rounds” of a normal KH2 world so quickly in Disney Castle, it almost feels more “complete” in comparison to some of the more fleshed-out worlds. But, no matter how decent it is, the fact that it uses the 1995 Mickey Mouse Club March on repeat is unforgivable. It’s a fantastic song, no doubt about it, but it’s only a minute long, meaning players will be hearing it in their brains 100+ times, especially if they're even thinking of taking on the Lingering Will, the game's secret boss. Disney Castle may be charming, but it's easily one of the most forgettable worlds in Kingdom Hearts 2.
14 Atlantica
Atlantica from The Little Mermaid was never a world that the majority of KH1 fans enjoyed, but the treatment of this world in Kingdom Hearts 2 was the most disappointing. Rather than playing as an exploring map like most of the other worlds, players were put into a boring rhythm game that retold some of the events from the trio's first visit under the sea. As much as Square Enix wanted their players to have some finny fun, the players had no interest in it.
Sure, going back to it nowadays is fun in a satirical sort of way, but the whole of Atlantica in KH2 is nothing more than a punchline, at best. To make matters worse, Sora will need to complete each level in Atlantica if he hopes to obtain some of KH2's most powerful spells. While some players will wish to avoid Atlantica at all costs, those who wish to acquire the best abilities in the game will need to push through it.
13 Port Royal
Based on Pirates of the Caribbean, Sora, Donald, and Goofy met Jack Sparrow, Will Turner, and Elizabeth Swann here. Here, the party fought Barbossa and Luxord (for the first time).
Port Royal is an odd world, as it sort of showcased how art style really matters when it comes to Sora and crew exploring different worlds. Thankfully, in KH3, the return to the Pirates of the Caribbean universe looks better, but it still has some flaws. That said, in terms of pure design and gameplay, Port Royal is sort of cramped, repetitive, and basic. It's one of the KH worlds that basically retells the story of the first game, but with Sora, Donald, and Goofy involved.
12 100 Acre Wood
100 Acre Wood is a world inside Merlin's book that can be found in Radiant Garden. In the original game, Sora became friends with Pooh, Piglet, and the other characters in the story, acting as a pseudo-Christopher Robin. And, when he gets his memory back in KH2, Sora is excited to see them all again! Sadly, a group of heartless damaged the book this world is contained in, and the pages were spread all across the multiverse. Characters and settings were removed, entire chunks of the environment are missing, and Pooh lost his memory, causing Sora to have to search for the pages all over again.
In terms of actual design, 100 Acre Wood is an odd case. Players seem to really resonate emotionally with the conversations between Sora and the crew of the book, but the actual gameplay segments are so painfully slow and tedious. That said, they're nothing in comparison to the stripped-down version of the world fans got in Kingdom Hearts 3.
11 The Land Of Dragons
Like many of the Disney worlds in this game, Sora, Donald, and Goofy go to the Land of Dragons, from Mulan of course, twice. While their first visit follows the movie closely, their second had more of an original story. Most of Sora's second visits to the worlds in KH2 offer the player a closer look into the Organization's plan. While the second trip to Beast's Castle is considered the best, Sora's return to The Land of Dragons leads him to briefly reunite with Riku, his long-lost best friend.
Any world that just "retells" the original story is automatically losing a few points, but add onto that this world's environmental design, completely empty Emperor's Palace, and just basic enemy placements, and it's obvious as to why The Land of Dragons is one of the lesser beloved KH2 worlds.
10 Agrabah
Agrabah (from Aladdin) had changed a lot since Sora, Donald, and Goofy last visited it. Nearly every area was completely different, yet it still felt like the same world from the original game.
With more areas to explore and having a less complicated level design, some fans prefer this version of the world, while others like the original one as they enjoyed the platforming and weren't huge fans of the Magic Carpet sections. All in all, the theme, bosses, and overall design of Agrabah are decent to pretty good but never fantastic.
9 Twilight Town
Twilight Town is where the adventure begins and is also the big barrier stomping people from replaying KH2 worlds nowadays. Back then, starting the game as Roxas and slowly figuring out what was going on and/or what happened to Sora was really intriguing. But, on a second playthrough, Twilight Town just feels like one gigantic tutorial or introduction sequence.
Still, no matter what players felt about Twilight Town, they liked Roxas overall and were sad to see him go. Then, after Sora returns as the MC, he returns to Twilight Town both in KH2 and in KH3, both times it has this odd nostalgic feeling to it that players loved as Sora can't quite figure out why he feels so at home here. Design-wise, story-wise, and in terms of music, Twilight Town is one of the best. But, as far as gameplay, it's a big thumbs down.
8 Space Paranoids
Inside of Hollow Bastion, Ansem the Wise's computer can be found, which brings Sora, Donald, and Goofy to Space Paranoids, a world quite obviously based on Tron. Space Paranoids has one of the most unique designs out of all of the worlds, has Sora and the crew dawning new outfits, and has some incredibly unique Heartless designs.
Compared to Port Royal, where the divide between Sora's art style and Jack Sparrow's art style was as clear as day, it works much better in Space Paranoids, and it's a shame this world has yet to come back in any future installments.
7 Pride Lands
Pride Land aka the Lion King world has to be the most unique approach to a world Kingdom Hearts has ever attempted. Rather than just a costume change, Sora, Donald, and Goofy all literally become different (more realistically proportioned) animals so that they'll better fit into the internal logic of this setting. And, not only that, but this change also modifies both the way Sora moves and how he fights, now wielding his Keyblade in his mouth rather than in his hands.
Overall, Pride Land is just a fantastic world that holds a special place in many people's hearts thanks to its fun movement and well-designed environments. But, overall, it does feature a lot of running around aimlessly, backtracking, and janky combat.
6 Beast's Castle
Back in the original title, Sora met Beast and Belle (Beast even helps him climb Hollow Bastion in KH1) but never went to their world. Now, traveling to it in KH2, Beast's Castle is probably one of the best in terms of difficulty, enemy placements, and overall story. It's one of the only KH2 worlds where the actual Disney Character interacts with the Organization 13 member, Xaldin, and that means a lot.
Visually, it's just a castle, so it's not quite as eye-catching as say, the Pride Lands or even Space Paranoids, but it does the job. Beast's Castle earns this spot on the list primarily due to the gameplay featured within it, as the visual aspects of it are passable at best.
5 Olympus Coliseum
The characters in Kingdom Hearts have traveled to Olympus Coliseum multiple times throughout the franchise, but the first game nailed the "Coliseum Cups" concept of it the best. In KH2, it's back, but this time most of the world takes place in the Underworld, the realm of Hades. Like the original game, Sora will be returning here multiple times to challenge the different combinations of challenges against Heartless and Final Fantasy characters alike to attempt to earn the rewards.
But, additionally, players will also be exploring the Underworld Caverns and the Cave of the Dead as part of the narrative. This is why Olympus Coliseum in KH2 is so memorable, it massively diverges visually from the first game, has more of the battle arena fights that fans loved in KH1, and also has more explorable areas with a story that isn't just a re-telling of the Disney movie. Sadly, the Coliseum Cups don't return in KH3 but thanks to some faithful modders, there's a way around that.
4 Halloween Town
Like Agrabah, Halloween Town changed a lot since Sora, Donald, and Goofy last visited in the first game. A lot of fans liked this newer version more as it also added Christmas Town, the other main setting in The Nightmare Before Christmas. Halloween Town in KH1 was so incredibly memorable thanks to the costumes the crew was wearing as well as the overall faithful implementation of the original's style, but the levels felt very cramped and tight.
In KH2, that's all been improved upon as well as giving Sora a whole other "Town" to explore, making it an overall more enjoyable upgrade to the first version of the world. Though the world is quite small when compared to most of the other KH2 worlds, it manages to stay interesting thanks to its contrasting areas. While the first visit loosely follows the plot of the movie, Sora's second journey there allows him to learn more about the heart before fighting one of the most unsettling bosses in the entire series.
3 Timeless River
Timeless River is the realm that players access through Disney Castle, but it's by far large enough to be considered its own "world". Everything about this old-fashioned Steamboat Mickey-esque design is just nailed so perfectly, especially the Monochrome Keyblade, one of the best designs in the franchise. From the designs of Sora, Donald, and Goofy to the sound effects and animations, it's all fantastic.
Timeless River is, by far, the best-designed world in KH2 visually. The only reason it isn't at the top of this list is simply that the gameplay of Timeless River, at its core, boils down to a lot of repeated rooms and tediousness. While it felt like an inconsequential world during the game's release, it was the first world to touch on the concept of time travel before developers embraced the idea in Dream Drop Distance.
2 The World That Never Was
The World That Never Was was Organization 13's headquarters and where players spend the last few hours of the game. It's a completely original world that isn't an homage to some other Disney or Final Fantasy property, and it feels like it. The sprawling cityscape, the literal Kingdom Heart moon, and all the neon lights work perfectly together to create one of the biggest fan-favorite worlds in any Kingdom Hearts game.
Combine that with facts like this is one of the hardest areas in the game, is where the lightsaber-esque duel against Xemnas takes place and has Sora fighting against all the Organization members in a row, and The World That Never Was is clearly one of the worlds that should top this list.
1 Radiant Garden
Radiant Garden is the best world in both Kingdom Hearts 1 and Kingdom Hearts 2. In the original title, Sora went to Hollow Bastion, which was just a small part of a much greater world. Fans can go inside Hollow Bastion once again in KH2, though it looks very different than it did when Maleficent took over the place.
This world is also connected to 100 Acre Wood and Space Paranoids, causing players to return here the most. And, let's not forget about the Cave of Remembrance that was added in the Final Mix version of the game, as this is one of the best-designed platforming areas and also where all the Data Organization 13 battles take place. Finally, it's the world where the most memorable moments in the game happen such as reuniting with Mickey, fighting 1,000 heartless at once, and (hopefully) defeating Sephiroth. Sadly, the only time the player gets to visit this reclaimed town in KH3 is during the Re Mind DLC, and even then they are confined to Merlin's House. Radiant Garden is one of the best worlds in the series, but its best depiction came from KH2.
Kingdom Hearts 1.5+2.5 is available now for Microsoft Windows, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.