Ranking the KINGDOM HEARTS FINAL MIX Worlds

It's not surprising that the KINGDOM HEARTS franchise being released on Steam was an absolute success; after all, I am one of the many people who spent hours glued to the screen playing it when it first came out. Despite how much this game meant to me — and there are really no words to describe how much — I've only finished two of the entries and tried four. So, as soon as it was announced, my lovely wife told me she'd get it for me, and buy it she did! 

While I've used every free second I can, I've only been able to pass the first entry and a bit of KINGDOM HEARTS Re:Chain of Memories! So, while I have some time, let's rank the original game's worlds (quick spoiler warning here if you haven't finished!), starting with the absolute worst ones. 

#12 —End of the World

When it's been over 20 hours, and you're emotionally invested in the story, there's nothing more heart-wrenching than seeing an obvious decline in budget. It didn't start in this particular world, of course, but it was by far the most evident! What should've been a climatic world chock-full of epicness was a lazy revisiting of the places we just went to (which seems to happen a lot, looking at you, Chain of Memories… more like Chain of Endless Repetition!). Empty areas, anticlimactic battles, and a very trypophobia-inducing aesthetic are all that I got to experience before the end. Thankfully, it didn't detract from my experience — I understand budgeting is difficult, especially when you've got to pay for Disney property. Plus, the ending was still great. One can still think wishfully, though!

#11 — Hollow Bastion

As I said, the franchise is and has been incredibly personally impacting and important to me. Weirdly, though, despite how much my kid self claimed one of her favourite worlds was Hollow Bastion, I didn't recognise it! It's not weird that I don't remember things — actually, it's kind of "my thing" — but I didn't even get a déjà vu-like feeling! My wife and I were laughing at the long and awkward cutscenes of Sora, Donald, and Goofy just silently (and painfully slowly) moving inside the lifts because I kept braincrashing (as I do) and accidentally entering the wrong place. Speaking of being an idiot, I lost count of the times I fell down to the very bottom because I would miss a jump or get impatient! 

#10 — 100 Acre Wood

I don't really remember watching a whole lot of Winnie the Pooh as a kid, but I must have, as I know the characters by name and their stories. I'm aware that the developer might've not done a great job at properly introducing them into the game, so I can't say for sure, but I'm pretty certain I loathe most of the characters, particularly Pooh. Wow! What I thought was an adorable world as a child was nothing but a snooze fest with a side of annoying dialogue as an adult. Pooh is dreadful! He does nothing but think about himself. Additionally, the mini-games weren't all that fun (especially because a lot of them felt super clunky), so it wasn't as amazing as I remembered it was. Thankfully, it was also short, so in the end, it was quite rewarding to finish it! Still, in spite of all its flaws, 100 Acre Wood was gorgeous; Square Enix did a fantastic job at bringing to life the storybook feeling! I found myself taking screenshots all the time.

#9 — Neverland

While Hollow Bastion and End of the World made it to the bottom of the list because of world design or obvious lack of budget, this one is because of the former and also because I hate Peter Pan. I have no idea how I — or anyone, really — can like that character! While I understand his whole thing is that he's a brat because he won't grow up, he was downright insufferable in KINGDOM HEARTS FINAL MIX! But I digress; this is about Neverland, after all. The world was bland because everything looked kind of samey to the point where I didn't realise I was going in circles, and it was really difficult to find my way around! Even with my wife's help, we spent a good chunk of our time just going in and out of rooms trying to figure out what to do next. To this world's merit, however, the Kairi and Riku scenes were pretty harsh and emotional; I thought I was going to have nightmares with her heartless-but-still-alive look. 

#8 — Halloween Town

I think if I had to tag myself with what I think people remember me by, in the top three would be "obsessed with Halloween". Thankfully, this isn't a new thing, so I very clearly remembered being very saddened by Jack Skellington's world being so half-baked, and that's before I even really understood much of anything! It was a bit worse than I had remembered, but I was just grateful it even made it into the list of visitable places to begin with. Besides, unlike the other worlds, there are some great things about this one! For starters, it has some of my most favourite heartless styles (unsurprisingly), the music is phenomenal, and I was smitten by the textures. 

#7 — Atlantica

It feels wrong to put anything as better than Halloween Town, but I have to be honest! Atlantica had some of the prettiest areas in the game (especially as you're arriving at Triton's castle), and the swimming controls weren't as bad as they could've been. The only downside I saw were Ursula's boss fight, which had some of the most repetitive dialogue ever, and the boring heartless. I don't think they had much of a win condition in the latter, to be fair; if they had been harder to fight, the swimming mechanic might've become annoying! So, all in all, I think Atlantica was as good as it could've been, all things considered. 

#6 — Monstro

For someone whose memory lasts for as long as her attention does, I know that when I remember something, it was either amazing or horrible. In this case, it was the latter, as I am absolutely squeamish about being in "insides", particularly when they're twitchy and gooey like Monstro's! While it's not as horrible as The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time's Jabu-Jabu, it is pretty gross! Thankfully, that's about all the flaws. I enjoyed the heartless, I liked the boss fight, and I absolutely loved getting the high jump ability! Overall, Monstro might've been one of my least favourite as a kid, but I definitely enjoyed it this time around.

 

#5 — Deep Jungle

As a kid, I wasn't a super fan of Disney. It felt like most of the movies either traumatised me or were just not to my liking. Tarzan was a little bit of both but mostly the latter, and it had a lot to do with him creeping me out with his monkey noises. As an adult, that didn't change at all! I still hate how he talks, and I had odd flashbacks about the villain dying hung; I have no idea if this is really how the story ends, but it was terrifying regardless! Aside from not caring for the cast, however, the world itself was pretty great! The places were pretty, there was a nice variety, the heartless were fun to battle (especially the ones that give a ton of money!), and I really enjoyed the boss fight! I'm not sure if the mini-game of sliding through the branches was in the original game, but it was fun to do it this time around.

#4 — Agrabah

I wasn't the best player when I was younger; in fact, I barely understood or even knew how to manoeuvre around abilities and equipment! Thanks to this, I got absolutelypwn'd (or, for the non-World of Warcraft fans, "wrecked") when I visited this world back then. Thankfully, this time around, it wasn't that difficult — in fact, I had a lot of fun there! The music was a big highlight, and I really appreciated being able to explore the Cave of Wonders. Additionally, now that I'm much more adept at gaming, the Fat Bandits (I'm not being mean! That's their name!) were a welcome addition!

#3 — Olympus

Speaking of enjoying a challenge, the third-best world is Olympus! While it was a bit sad that we don't get to actually explore anything here, I was very pleased with the gladiator-style mini-game! Not only was it pretty fun and relatively challenging, but it gave some pretty fantastic rewards. Besides, I will play any game that gives me time with Hades because I love his anger bursts and sassy backtalk! 

#2 — Traverse Town

As someone who struggled being torn away from the country they grew up in and thrown into one they didn't like as a kid, Traverse Town really spoke deeply to me! The soundtrack, the appearance of Final Fantasy characters, and even just the general aesthetic really made an impression on me. Almost two decades later, and as a 30-year-old, I feel no different! I absolutely loved playing through it and exploring every District again. I loved going to Merlin's house, checking in on the Dalmatians, and looking for all the little secrets (like in the Gizmo Shop!). It's a fantastic world all around!

#1 — Alice in Wonderland

And last but not least, the Alice in Wonderland area. I was absolutely smitten by this world! The music was great, the areas were pretty, and the unique way you can interact with the world to solve puzzles and get rewards. It was a blast! I looked forward to going back to it every time because I was so intrigued by what the new Trinities I had unlocked would let me explore. I've never seen the movie, so I can't really compare fairly, but I feel like Square Enix did great at bringing the weird and magical world of the movie to the game! 

All in all, I have had the time of my life with Kingdom Hearts. It's a great game, even 20-something years after release. I couldn't be happier that it finally arrived on PC so that I can properly experience it as an adult once again!