With Kingdom Hearts IV on the horizon, Square Enix has a plethora of untapped Disney properties to explore for the new game. Sora can adventure through the worlds of recent Diseny acquisitions and the latest Pixar films, not to mention turning the clock back and exploring some older Disney properties. Let’s run through the top ten potential new worlds I want to see in Kingdom Hearts IV.
Princess and the Frog’s New Orleans
Not only is The Princess and the Frog an underrated movie, but its world is underrated as well. This animated version of New Orleans is bumping with horn-playing gators, Mardi Gras parades, and voodoo men in the shadows. It would be a fun world to explore, and the bayou offers a perfect section to switch up the setting. I can see it already: Sora slaying some voodoo-inspired Heartless to help Tiana get her restaurant off the ground.
Walt Disney Animation Studios
Atlantis: The Lost Empire‘s Atlantic
Despite coming out in the post-Disney Renaissance doldrums era of the early 2000’s, Atlantis: The Lost Empire has plenty of Kingdom Hearts potential. Whether it’s traveling with Milo and company underwater on the massive ship, The Ulysses, or running around the actual lost empire, there are opportunities for unique level design, breathtaking visuals, and a gigantic underwater Heartless boss.
Walt Disney Animation Studios
Encanto’s Casa Madrigal
Disney’s latest animated film is just asking to be made into a Kingdom Hearts world. Encanto‘s enchanted house of Casa Madrigal, with its rooms (not confined to the laws of reality) and secret hallways (where someone we don’t talk about lives), would be a pleasure to explore. The children who fell in love with Encanto can be drawn to KH via Casa Madrigal the same way my generation was drawn to the original Kingdom Hearts games years ago.
Walt Disney Animation Studio
Coco’s Land of the Dead
If Pixar properties are yet again available, then Kingdom Hearts IV needs to tap into Coco. The Día de Muertos-inspired world would transform our heroes into skeletal versions of themselves and allow them to adventure through the beautiful Land of the Dead. It could also be the chance for the creators to touch upon the deeper themes of Kingdom Hearts, such as memories and connections. Maybe the level would culminate with Sora, Donald, and Goofy singing their own rendition of “Remember Me.”
Pixar Animation Studio
Cars’ Radiator Springs
Let’s get weird! Turn Sora, Donald and Goofy into cars! Let them race Lightning McQueen, get into shenanigans with Mater, and race around Doc Hudson’s track. It could be one of the oddball mini-game heavy worlds like the 100 Acre Woods or Atlantica, but if nothing else, it would be fun to see a Cars-version of Sora.
Pixar Animation Studios
A Goofy Movie’s … Open Road?
To be honest, I can’t really picture this one. Would it take place on top of Goofy’s car, at the Powerline concert, or in Max’s high school? How would Kingdom Hearts’ Goofy move through this world centered around a movie about his relationship with his son? How would he interact with Max? I don’t know the answer to any of these questions, but I do know few Disney movies have aged as well as A Goofy Movie, and it deserves the Kingdom Hearts treatment in whatever form it may take.
Disney MovieToons
Thor’s Asgard
Of all the potential Marvel worlds, is there a better choice than Asgard? Large. Bright. Mythological. The Avengers’ New York feels like the obvious choice to introduce Marvel into the mix, but narrowing it down to one Avenger’s world might be the cleaner move. Maybe Thor could hint about his time as an Avenger while you’re running around Asgard with him. Could this be a world where we see some Final Fantasy XV characters like Noctis too? There’s a lot of possibilities with Asgard, so let’s make it the first Marvel outing.
Marvel Studios
Raiders of the Lost Ark’s Booby-Trapped Temple
This one’s easy. Picture Sora, Donald, and Goofy in archaeologist outfits swapping an idol with a bag of sand and running away from a boulder chasing them down a hallway. Sounds delightful, doesn’t it? It’s easy to think Disney’s 2012 acquisition of Lucasfilm meant Star Wars and Star Wars only, but it also meant the Indiana Jones franchise now belongs under the Disney umbrella. With Indiana Jones 5 due out in 2023, getting an Indy world in Kingdom Hearts IV would only feel right.
Lucasfilm
Avatar’s Pandora
Disney has already established that they’re willing to milk the thirteen-year-old Avatar and make a whole world out of it in Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Why not milk it for Kingdom Hearts too? Can you imagine running through the dense forests of Pandora? Flying on the back of a mountain banshee above the Hallelujah Mountains? Swinging the Pandora-inspired keyblade Sora ends up with? Yes. Yes. And yes. With the sequel Avatar: The Way of Water (supposedly) coming out at the end of this year, it’s time we got a Pandora world.
20th Century Fox
Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope’s Tatooine
I’ve been seeing a lot of speculation that Endor will be the Star Wars planet that ends up in Kingdom Hearts IV, but why not the planet where it all began? Have the gang land in the middle of the desert with a message for Luke. Have them do battle with the Tusken Raiders. Give Sora a lightsaber-keyblade and escape the planet on the Millennium Falcon with Han Solo. Yes, there’s a whole galaxy you can choose from to be the Star Wars world for KH, but for the inaugural, let’s lean into nostalgia and go with ol’ reliable — Tatooine.
Lucasfilm
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