Kingdom Hearts has changed a lot over the years, but if there is one thing that has continuously happened throughout the series, it's that the main characters have visited different worlds. In its first installment of the series, players were able to explore worlds based on classic Disney films, such as The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and Alice in Wonderland as well as a few locations that were made specifically for the title.
In this first game, Sora, Donald, and Goofy fight against the Heartless in these worlds, while searching for their missing friends. Sora must save the worlds by finding each of their keyholes and then locking them using his Keyblade. Each world in Kingdom Hearts features a variety of interesting things, but some are executed much better than others.
Updated December 10, 2022, by Justin Flynn: Since the Kingdom Hearts' debut in 2002, countless Disney worlds have graced the series with its presence. For Sora, Donald, and Goofy to achieve their goals, they must visit these iconic locations via their Gummi ship and solve whatever problems they encounter during their time there.
The Kingdom Hearts series has evolved a great deal since its inception, as evident through how Kingdom Hearts 3 chose to design its worlds. Judging from the Kingdom Hearts 4 trailer, it seems that Kingdom Hearts worlds are destined to become even more expansive as the series progresses. Many fans believe a Star Wars world was briefly showcased in the trailer, and though it's exciting to speculate on what other franchises may appear in the future, it's nice to look back on the Kingdom Hearts worlds that started it all.
14 Atlantica
Origin: The Little Mermaid (1989)
Allies: Ariel
Assistants: Flounder
Bosses: Ursula
Atlantica is based on The Little Mermaid and is one of the last Disney worlds that players can visit, though they don't actually need to go there to beat the game. When Sora, Donald, and Goofy arrive there, they transform into sea creatures and befriend Ariel, Flounder, and Sebastian.
After she gets into a fight with her father, Ariel is manipulated by Ursula, who the heroes then have to defeat in battle. Unfortunately, many players didn't enjoy the world due to how easy it can be to get lost in. The way combat functions underwater was also one of this Kingdom Hearts world's biggest problems. Perhaps if the fighting mechanics were better implemented, long-time fans of the series would have fonder memories of this portion of the game.
13 Monstro
Origin: Pinocchio (1940)
Allies: N/A
Assistants: Riku
Bosses: Parasite Cage
Though not technically a world, Pinocchio's Monstro the whale is generally considered to be one as Sora, Donald, and Goofy are swallowed up by him and forced to explore his insides. There, Jiminy Cricket, who had been traveling with the main trio, can find both Pinocchio and Geppetto.
Their happy reunion is cut short, however, as Riku also finds them and kidnaps the puppet. Luckily, Sora and his friends manage to save Pinocchio and escape the whale. Like Atlantica, Monstro's level design can make it feel like a bit of a maze, frustrating players as they explore each individual area.
12 100 Acre Wood
Origin: The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977)
Allies: N/A
Assistants: Winnie the Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, Roo, & Eeyore
Bosses: N/A
Worlds in Kingdom Hearts really can be found anywhere, from the inside of animals to the pages of children's books. When Sora, Donald, and Goofy meet Merlin in Traverse Town, players can go inside his book, which just happens to be based on the Winnie the Pooh movies.
While exploring the 100 Acre Wood, Sora meets Pooh and offers to help him find his friends by completing several optional minigames. When players want to take a break from fighting enemies and progressing through the main story, this can be an enjoyable and relaxing experience that many players thoroughly enjoyed.
11 Dive To The Heart
Origin: Original Creation
Allies: N/A
Assistants: N/A
Bosses: Darkside
Dive To The Heart is the first area that players get to explore and serves as a short tutorial level. There's nothing overly elaborate on offer, but what's there does an excellent job of guiding players through the game's key mechanics and thus serves as the perfect introduction to Kingdom Hearts.
Throughout the first few minutes of the game, players are also able to make a few difficult decisions that will impact their experience as they learn how to fight against the Heartless. It really is a great introduction to the title, perfectly setting players up for the journey that lies ahead of them. Since its first appearance, the Dive to the Heart has become a major staple of the series. It marks the beginning of each of Sora's grandest adventures, while also alluding to the series' darker themes.
10 Neverland
Origin: Peter Pan (1953)
Allies: Peter Pan
Assistants: Tinkerbell
Bosses: Anti-Sora & Captain Hook
Based on Peter Pan, Sora, Donald, and Goofy meet the boy who wouldn't grow up and his fairy companion Tinkerbell inside of Captain Hook's pirate ship. Naturally, the bloodthirsty pirate turns out to be working with Riku, with the pair teaming up in an attempt to capture their enemies.
However, when Sora learns how to fly, he and his friends are able to defeat Hook and emerge from the world unscathed. It's an excellent level, but unfortunately, players can only go to Captain Hook's ship or Big Ben, rather than being able to explore the entire setting of the movie. That said, the catastrophic feeling provided by this Kingdom Hearts world works exceptionally well for how the story here unfolds.
9 Deep Jungle
Origin: Tarzan (1999)
Allies: Tarzan
Assistants: N/A
Bosses: Sabor & Clayton
Deep Jungle is based on Tarzan and only appears once in the Kingdom Hearts franchise. It's a bright and vibrant world with an awful lot of character, although the need to repeatedly travel from one side of it to the other can make it feel a little bland at times.
After Sora and Donald get into a huge argument, they consider going their separate ways. After meeting some of the characters from Tarzan, however, they decide to put their difference aside to save the gorillas from Clayton. The payoff is arguably worth all of the back and forth, with the storyline punctuated by some truly excellent moments.
8 Halloween Town
Origin: The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Allies: Jack Skellington
Assistants: Zero
Bosses: Lock, Shock, Barrel, & Oogie Boogie
Halloween Town is from The Nightmare Before Christmas. However, Sora, Donald, and Goofy only get to experience the Halloween side of this world, as Santa and Christmas Town aren't shown. Though a little disappointing, the spooky side should be more than enough to satisfy most players.
Instead of taking over a holiday that isn't his, Jack, the Pumpkin King, wants to make a heart for the Heartless to dance. However, after Sora, Donald, and Goofy help him find what he needs to make the heart, Lock, Shock, and Barrel take it, causing the heroes to fight against them and the Oogie Boogie.
7 Destiny Island
Origin: Original Creation
Allies: N/A
Assistants: N/A
Bosses: Darkside
Destiny Island is an original, simple, and clean world that serves as the home of Sora, Riku, and Kairi. Players are only able to see one of the world's islands in the first Kingdom Hearts game and don't really get to do all that much on it. Even so, what's shown is beautifully designed and feels like a true tropical paradise.
Sora races and fights against Riku, as well as several Final Fantasy characters, including Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie. He also finds the food and supplies that he needs for the raft that he intends to travel on with his friends. Destiny Island is invaded by the Heartless at the beginning of the game, however, causing Sora to be separated from his friends. As Sora's home, Destiny Island remains one of the most iconic worlds in Kingdom Hearts.
6 Wonderland
Origin: Alice in Wonderland (1951)
Allies: N/A
Assistants: N/A
Bosses: The Queen of Hearts & Trick Master
As indicated by its name, Wonderland is taken directly from Alice in Wonderland and is one of the very first worlds that Sora, Donald, and Goofy can visit. There, they try to save Alice from the Queen of Hearts by searching for evidence to prove that she is not responsible for the Heartless' actions.
However, Alice disappears, and the trio has to leave the world empty-handed, so to speak. Though the events that take place there may be disappointing, the world itself is full of wonders and is one of the more interesting settings that players can explore. It's perhaps a little smaller than some would have liked, but it's very much a case of quality over quantity here.
5 End Of The World
Origin: Original Creation
Allies: N/A
Assistants: N/A
Bosses: Chernabog, Darkside, & Ansem
End of the World is, as the name might suggest, the last world that players get to explore in Kingdom Hearts. They'll need to fight a huge variety of difficult enemies and bosses there as they gradually make their way toward Ansem, the game's final and most challenging boss.
As this world is also connected to others, players get to see all the worlds that they visited one last time, ending with a corrupted version of Destiny Islands. After Sora, Donald, and Goofy defeat Ansem, they close the Door to Darkness with Riku and Mickey, bringing all of the other worlds back to the Realm of Light. While most Kingdom Hearts worlds are designed to look inviting, End of the World dismisses this idea and embraces its terrifying aesthetic.
4 Agrabah
Origin: Aladdin (1992)
Allies: Aladdin
Assistants: Carpet & Abu
Bosses: Jafar & Genie Jafar
Based on the classic Disney movie Aladdin, Sora, Donald, and Goofy team up with Genie and Aladdin almost immediately after they arrive in Agrabah. They hope to save Jasmine from Jafar, but doing so is far from easy and requires plenty of skill as well as a healthy serving of teamwork.
Though they are eventually able to defeat the world's villain, Jasmine ends up getting kidnapped. Agrabah is one of the most beloved worlds in the game, appearing in other installments throughout the franchise far more frequently than most of the others.
3 Traverse Town
Origin: Original Creation
Allies: N/A
Assistants: N/A
Bosses: Leon, Guard Armor, & Opposite Armor
Traverse Town is the world that Sora, Donald, and Goofy visit the most throughout Kingdom Hearts; at least in terms of the main story, anyway. This is also where the trio first meets each other as well as some of their comrades who are originally from the Final Fantasy games.
When Sora first arrives there from Destiny Islands, he meets Leon, Yuffie, and Cid, while Aerith finds Donald and Goofy. They then introduce the three main protagonists to each other and help them throughout the game by giving them Munny and working on the Gummi Ship.
2 Olympus Coliseum
Origin: Hercules (1997)
Allies: N/A
Assistants: N/A
Bosses: Cloud, Cerberus, Hades, & Sephiroth
While Traverse Town is the world that players return to the most throughout the main story, Olympus Coliseum gives players a lot of great optional boss battles to fight. Players are even able to fight two of the titans at the coliseum; Hades and Sephiroth, both of whom can be incredibly challenging if players are unprepared.
When Sora, Donald, and Goofy first get there, they enter the games, where they fight against Cloud from Final Fantasy 7 and Cerberus from Hercules. After they leave and progress through the story a little more, other tournaments become playable, allowing players to level up their party and unlock new weapons.
1 Hollow Bastion
Origin: Original Creation
Allies: Beast
Assistants: N/A
Bosses: Riku, Maleficent, Riku-Ansem, & Behemoth
Hollow Bastion is one of the most important worlds in the entire franchise, serving as the original home to many of the original and Final Fantasy characters. However, in the first game, it serves as Maleficent and the other Disney villains' main headquarters.
Players can fight Riku there a couple of times, as well as Maleficent herself. As they explore the worlds, players gain a lot of important information, such as Kairi being a princess and Ansem being a villain. This can completely change their perspective on a lot of the game's events and therefore leaves a greater impression than any of the other worlds did. Though Hollow Bastion is introduced as a nightmarish labyrinth, it remains one of the most beloved Kingdom Hearts worlds in the series.
Kingdom Hearts 1.5 + 2.5 is available now on Microsoft Windows, Switch, PS4, and Xbox One.