Way back in March 2017, I ran an article about the information we knew so far about Kingdom Hearts III. This was just after a big update with some trailers and screenshots. Later on, a month later to be precise, I wrote another article about eight worlds I wanted to see in the game and seven shouldn’t happen. Well as a small update to that piece, that I will take credit for, Square Enix heard my cries about Toy Story. It seems like an awesome fit for the game. In turn, they also showed off Wreck-It Ralph as a summon. I wanted a whole world, but at least the man himself is in it. Needless to say, we have a lot more information now than ever before.
This new article is like a combination of those two previous ones. Since we now know the release date, January 29, 2019, I thought it was prudent to go over the ten confirmed worlds. And as one last-ditch effort to maybe entice Square Enix, if they’re reading, I also wanted to wish on some new ones. I tried not to reuse anything from those older pieces. Mostly that is, but there is one in particular that I just had to have back on here, which you will see in a bit. So how did I do? Were there any movies, or ideas you didn’t read and would like to see in Kingdom Hearst III? Let us know. For now, read on!
25 Confirmed: Frozen
As I said in the intro my worst fears have come true. I say that jokingly again especially after seeing this world in action at Microsoft’s E3 press conference. I know it may be cliché to say, but it really looks like this is straight from the real Frozen movie except with Sora, Donald, and Goofy added in. The voices even sound spot on although at this point it’s unconfirmed if they are the real deal, or just good duplicates. Either way now that I’ve seen it in action I can’t wait.
24 Unannounced: The Emperor’s New Groove
Stevenduffy drew this on Tumblr. Once we get into the 2000s all bets are off in terms of Disney quality. They were in a rut, but they weren’t all bad. One of the shining gems, The Emperor’s New Groove, doesn’t get enough credit.
I love Aladdin as an all-around package, but this might be funnier. I’ve seen it dozens of times and it still makes me laugh. Do I want it included in Kingdom Hearts III for the comedy? No. I just want it to get another shot in the limelight however it can.
23 Unannounced: Coco
The Nightmare Before Christmas has been cool in the past, but I’m crossing my fingers it doesn’t return. There’s a new Disney underworld utopia that could translate just as easily. I’m referring of course to last year’s Coco. Just thinking about the culture and colors that could come out if this — let alone the incredible music. Here’s my pitch: This is going to be a solo mission for Sora wherein he passes away and has to escape the land of the lost. It’s not like he hasn’t tried something like this before.
22 Confirmed: Pirates Of The Caribbean
After Frozen I thought that that was going to be the extent of what Square Enix was going to showcase at E3 in regards to Kingdom Hearts III, but I was wrong. The next night, at Sony’s press conference, there was a new trailer which revealed a world based on Pirates of the Caribbean was going to return, which looks like it’s based on the third film. I didn’t think I wanted this again until I saw how good the faces were and the implementation of ship combat akin to Assassin’s Creed. Now I’m into it!
21 Unannounced: DuckTales
Sakuyamon drew this on DeviantArt. Okay, I lied. I want to go to Duckburg, which in my mind is a good way to involve not just the DuckTales crew, but Darkwing Duck as well. Plus it could shed some light on Donald’s past. I’d be so down to run around with the kids like the art up above teases. Of all the Disney Afternoon shows this one has the most chance since DuckTales just got rebooted.
20 Unannounced: The Great Mouse Detective
ALS123 drew this on DeviantArt. This is an underrated Disney classic that reimagines Sherlock Holmes as a pint-sized mouse. No, it’s not as funny as the 90s cartoons like Aladdin, but it is a treasured one in my collection nonetheless.
Jack the Ripper was a Heartless all along.
Turning into mice and running around London sounds like a blast. Best of all there could be room for Jack to show up as some kind of weird Heartless beast. I finally solved the riddle!
19 Confirmed: Toy Story
Including Toy Story was the obvious choice seeing as this was Pixar’s first animated feature. Not only that, but Woody and Buzz almost made it into Kingdom Hearts II nearly a decade ago. You can see their scrapped assets if you dig into the game’s code. I hope this is one of the first worlds we get to tackle, because it’s going to be a dream come true. The big question on my mind is this. Will Sid be a boss, controlling creepy heartless toys? That would make this inclusion perfect.
18 Unannounced: Star Wars
Vitor-Aizen drew this on DeviantArt. Since we’re getting Big Hero 6 I’m positive there will be no Marvel planet. That said I do think it’s prime time for Star Wars to show up. I’ve thought which film would fit best and I’ve come to the conclusion that it should be Return of the Jedi.
I demand a Keyblade Lightsaber!
Sora facing off against the Emperor and turning Vader’s heart from dark to good seems like a good fit. Most importantly it has Ewoks, which fits right into Kingdom Hearts’ jolly nature.
17 Unannounced: Up
Kingdom Hearts can get emotional, but nothing in the series thus far has forced me to cry unlike Up. Yes folks, I’m opening the ballot for a world based on Up. Just, you know, with maybe less sadness.
Don’t tell me you wouldn’t squeal if you flew around a majestic jungle in that house while old Mr. Fredricksen beat up Heartless with his cane. The images in my head right now are too much to contain. Do it before Ed Asner passes way. This is your shot Square Enix!
16 Confirmed: Big Hero 6
A world based on Big Hero 6 was first teased in 2015 via the artwork above. In a recent interview with the director, Tetsuya Nomura, he said that the world is coming together nicely and almost ready to show. Seeing as it’s coming out in January there are three likely times it could get shown. The D23 Expo in July, which is where it was originally teased. Gamescom is in August, and then PlayStation’s fan event, PSX will be in December. Whenever we get to see it, I can’t wait.
15 Unannounced: Kim Possible
Rinacat drew this on DeviantArt. Kim Possible was my secret obsession as a teenager. There was a period of my life where I lived in the country and my parents refused to pay for a satellite dish. All we got were the basic channels. So the only time I got to see cartoons was on Saturday mornings and this was my favorite. Yes, it was girly but I was okay with that. Now Sora really hasn’t done the spy game before so this would be the perfect property to try out some Assassin’s Creed like stealth missions.
14 Unannounced: The Rocketeer
Another great live action film would be The Rocketeer. Yes, it too was kind of a failure. It has its moments but —by and large— it’s kind of dull. That is until the climactic final act wherein Nazis show up. That’s the movie I thought I was signing up for. So basically all I want is for Sora to himself faced with real work problems. This will never happen for a million reasons, but it sure would be funny. Can you imagine the controversy this would stir up?
13 Confirmed: Tangled
Tangled was one of the first Disney worlds shown off, but it didn’t feature any familiar characters. Now with the latest slew of E3 trailers we’ve seen Rapunzel, Flynn, and his trusty horse. Rapunzel is what I’m most interested in since it shows her fighting alongside Sora as an ally. Not only that, but it looks like her hair can be used for traversal purposes. I’m glad she’s not stuck in the role of a damsel in distress just like in the movie. Hooray for women fighters!
12 Unannounced: National Treasure
I desperately want Sora to meet up with Nicolas Cage via National Treasure. Say what you will about Cage., Yes he makes some pretty terrible movies, but this movie —and its sequel— is legitimately good. Can you imagine a game where Sora has to go tomb raiding with Cage to uncover a conspiracy? Gasp! What if they encounter Lara Croft along the way? She’s with Square Enix now too. Boom! I nailed this one. Count this one in the confirmed category.
11 Confirmed: Monsters, Inc.
Monsters Inc. is a no brainer even though Sora, Donald, and Goofy look creepy. I mean the series is all about fighting monsters so what better movie to showcase all the weird, horrific creations Square Enix has been holding back on than this? The one thing I’m not looking forward to is saving Boo. Kids can get in the way and I’m not looking forward to her gumming up the works. I’m sure that’s just an over exaggeration, but we shall see.
10 Unannounced: Atlantis
Lamperougegirl drew this on DeviantArt. So far there is no underwater world right? Well, what about we split the difference and go on a deep-sea dive to a lost city. That’s right. I want Sora to join the expedition to Atlantis via the film of the same name. It too suffers from that 2000s shun. It’s weaker than most, sure, but I think the visuals and imagination in terms of the gadgets and characters are second to none. I want to see that reimagined into a video game.
9 Confirmed: Hercules
There’s yet another world based on the movie Hercules. Nomura, or someone over on his team, must love it. While it may be disheartening in loo of a brand new world, what we’ve seen looks actually different.
Most of the incarnations up to this point have either been coliseum based, or a trip down under. This time it looks like you’ll be scaling Mount Olympus, which looks pretty dope. I can’t wait to fight the Titans while riding on Disneyland rides.
8 Unannounced: Chronicles Of Narnia
FerioWind drew this on DeviantArt. Now I know Disney doesn’t technically own the license to The Chronicles of Narnia. In fact, their movie license deal may have vanished by now too. Whatever the case may be here’s my plea. RPGs were born in fantasy, which is to say they featured knights, wizards, dragons, goblins and the like.
You could say Sleeping Beauty was a fantasy world, but nothing comes close to Narnia. I’d like to see what a true fantasy setting would look like in Kingdom Hearts specifically The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
7 Unannounced: Tomorrowland
Seeing realistic humans next to cartoon characters is a juxtaposition that is mind-boggling at least in regards to Kingdom Hearts. That said I wouldn’t mind a few new additions. One of them involving Tomorrowland. Yes, the George Clooney one.
Welcome to the world of tomorrow.
While it didn’t ignite the box office I admired its inspirational messaging about looking forward to the future instead of thinking it’s going to be a bleak apocalypse. Running around a futuristic city and fighting all kinds of crazy robots sounds like my kind of game.
6 Confirmed: The One Tower (Yen Sid)
This is kind of a throwaway world as there’s not much to Yen Sid’s Tower, but it is confirmed nonetheless. It will be interesting if there will be more to it than just the small yard outside and the spiraling staircase up to Yen Sid’s office. That’s all there has been before, but it could expand since this is running on a much beefier system. This could be an easy way to set up some of the worlds I have in mind as sort of a hub world.