Kingdom Hearts II has a funny relationship with level design. Where the original Kingdom Hearts featured quite a bit of platforming– nothing atypical for action games of the era– the series’ first numbered sequel released at a time period where the action genre had ironed itself out, so to speak. With greater emphasis on technical combat, Kingdom Hearts II pushed level design aside.
Which isn’t to say the worlds featured in Kingdom Hearts II are poor. Some indeed are– merely retreading stories that were better in the source material– but a good few make up for a lack of interesting level design with interesting set pieces, meaningful story or character development, and excellent action all around.
10 Atlantica
It’s almost admirable Kingdom Hearts II would go to such lengths as to take everyone’s criticism against Atlantica in the original game and amplify them tenfold to create something truly disastrous. Composed entirely of rhythm mini-games, Atlantica serves as tribute to the musical era of Disney history.
In that regard, its inclusion is very easy to both understand and appreciate. Unfortunately, the execution is excruciating. Some of the songs are just downright maddening, and it’s hard to feel like playing around in Atlantica isn’t a waste of time when it doesn’t progress the plot or feature KH II’s core gameplay.
9 Land Of Dragons/Beast’s Castle (Tie)
Kingdom Hearts II has a fantastic opening followed by a first act that’s really just okay. Olympus Coliseum is actually pretty great (and we’ll get to it later,) but Land of Dragons and Beast’s Castle are honestly pretty underwhelming, especially in comparison to Wonderland and Deep Jungle, and especially in comparison to the rest of the worlds in KH II.
Land of Dragons ultimately suffers for bland, early game level design and a story that’s really just a much worse retread of Mulan, whereas Beast’s Castle, while quite interesting in terms of level design, doesn’t use Beast half as well as the first game, almost undermining him returning at all. Plus, Xigbar blows.
8 Agrabah/Port Royal (Tie)
To Kingdom Hearts II’s credit, Aladdin II: Return of Jafar and Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl are such unique choices for adaptation, it’s almost enough to make up for the fact they’re just lesser retreads of their films (albeit with enough changes where they’re not just their film counterparts.)
Agrabah and Port Royal both feature a healthy dose of action, but neither world is that interesting in comparison to the rest of KH II’s worlds. It’s nice to revisit Agrabah, as well, but it and Port Royal don’t leave all that much of an impression other than the novelty of their stories. Though that’s not worse thing in the world.
7 100 Acre Woods
As is the case with the first game, 100 Acre Woods gets a bad rap for not really aligning with the rest of Kingdom Hearts II’s core combat. Unlike Atlantica, however, 100 Acre Woods does abide by the core gameplay. While Sora will only be partaking in mini-games, they’re at least somewhat grounded in recognizable gameplay.
Plus, 100 Acre Woods is just a cute world. It was charming in Kingdom Hearts I, more or less putting Sora in Christopher Robin’s shoes, and its follow up here is a nice reminder of the more pleasant elements of Sora’s journey. It’s good for a game to give itself space to breathe sometimes. Even better when it’s optional.
6 Olympus Coliseum
Olympus Coliseum sees a huge upgrade from the first game. It isn’t as immediately charming considering it’s no longer just a glorified arena; but hey, it’s no longer a glorified arena. Olympus Coliseum has actual level design and Auron’s inclusion as the series first party member from Final Fantasy is a very nice touch.
Olympus Coliseum’s claim to fame will always be its tournaments, though. From the Pain and Panic Cup to the Hades Paradox Cup, players will find hours of content tucked away inside the Olympus Coliseum. Simply having an arena of sorts elevates it considering how much emphasis KH II places on its combat.
5 Disney Castle/Timeless River
They’re technically not the same world, but they might as well be. Disney Castle and Timeless River are essentially two halves of one whole, working together to create quite the interesting beat in Kingdom Hearts II’s story. Disney Castle takes Sora and company to King Mickey’s castle, now overrun with Heartless.
In the basement, players can access Timeless River, an ode to Disney’s animation from the late 20s and early 30s. Filled with great action set pieces and a ton of Disney charm, it’s hard not to love the dream team that is Disney Castle and Timeless River. Plus, Lingering Will can be found in Disney Castle post-game.
4 Pride Rock
It’s not always fun when a game locks your abilities or suddenly shakes up what you can do during gameplay, but it can genuinely enhance an experience. Case in point: Pride Rock. Transformed into a lion, Sora loses a decent chunk of his abilities, but he gradually builds up a new skill set on Pride Rock that ends up being just as fun as any of Sora’s Drive Forms.
Not just that, Pride Rock opts only to adopt The Lion King’s back half and with a few key changes, something that allows Pride Rock to narratively feel more in-line with the worlds from the first game. It’s also just fun having Simba in the party and traversing a jungle. If nothing else, Pride Rock does justify its empty space.
3 Space Paranoids/Halloween Town (Tie)
It’s always a treat when the party has to change their appearance for a world, and both Space Paranoids & Halloween Town do an excellent job at capturing the magic of Kingdom Hearts; visiting different worlds to piece together a greater story. This rings true in the case of the former especially, which actually weaves Xehanort into Tron’s lore.
Neither world is particularly large, but they both feature plenty of variety in terms of level design and the enemies fought. They’re fun worlds to just roam through and explore, and both their stories do more than just retread their respective films which is always a massive plus.
2 Twilight Town/Radiant Garden (Tie)
Booting up Kingdom Hearts II only to play as Roxas with no clear indication of how these two characters are even connected, it’s hard not to immediately give in to Twilight Town’s surreal atmosphere. It’s unlike anything else in the series, a world perpetually on the cusp of darkness but brimming with light. It’s a nice bit of theming.
Beyond the great opening as Roxas, Twilight Town makes frequent reappearances throughout the plot alongside Radiant Garden (Hollow Bastion for most of the story.) These two worlds are home to some of Kingdom Hearts II’s very best moments, both narratively and in terms of gameplay. It helps that Radiant Garden features quite a bit of post-game content.
1 The World That Never Was
Kingdom Hearts II’s grand finale and an excellent conclusion to a game that frankly just gets better the more you play, The World That Never Was is still the series’ best endgame. Filled to the brim with boss fights, highly emotional cutscenes, and storytelling that resolves almost every lingering plot thread in a satisfying manner, it’s hard not to love The World That Never Was.
Between Roxas and Xemnas, each boss here is a home run, to say nothing of level design that– while simple– does actually feel like level design! If nothing else, The World That Never Was balances its pacing incredibly well, making for a conclusion that closes Kingdom Hearts II on a higher high than KH I’s ending.
NEXT: 10 Possible Sequels Kingdom Hearts III Re:Mind Set Up
