funniest thing for me with Mushu is that he isn't included in the KH1 manga (as he's just an optional summon). but in the KH2 manga they still include Mushus line about 'hey I remember you guys we fought side by side!' etc, but Sora and Co just look at him all confused because he wasn't in the manga. So manga mushu pulls out a copy of the KH1 manga to leaf through and is very annoyed that he wasn't included
I've never actually read the manga for the series as I didn't know if it would just be a 1 for 1 retread of the original story or so drastically different with people being out of character that I wouldn't like it. Wasn't aware they'd pull some 4th wall breaks. Is the manga worth checking out?
@@caldw615 it really is. Honestly, for me it's THE best way to enjoy 358/2 days as a story. Beautiful visuals unlike the DS version, and well paced story/character development unlike the Cutscene version
On Sora's pirate obsession, don't forget that he also has a like pirate ship hanging from his ceiling that we see right before his mom calls him to dinner.
@@michaelgillespie9112I mean they namedrop China too in Land of Dragons, it's more talking about the name rather than if countries are ever referenced
4:43 I love how Shimomura herself said in an interview retrospective with Nomura "yeah the musical in Atlantica kh2 was rough" I got the impression from the same interview that these elements aren't really FOR anyone else, they're just for Nomura hahaha
This is the same guy who considered turning Final Fantasy Versus XIII into a musical, or at least having a long musical section in the game. I'd believe it.
The Heartless bosses in Agrabah are...djinn. As in, the mythological elemental creatures that Genie is based on. It's actually a really fitting choice for the world.
When you were talking about the atmospheres of KH1 and KH2, I had a bit of a realization. You described KH1 as having Mystique and KH2 as familiarity, and I thought that makes a lot of sense. And that's when I realized that could have been vibes that they were intentionally going for, because in the intro of KH1 Sora talks about having strange (mystifying) thoughts, questioning whether things were real. In KH2, his little opening statement talks about memories, which would obviously generate feelings of familiarity. Of course, KH2 is also really focused on duality, with Roxas/Sora, and all that, but I think familiarity is a major component of that as well, with how they tend to experience Deja Vu. A lot of KH2 involves visiting the worlds of characters who were summons/party members, and revisting old worlds to find them changed in some way. I can't believe such a simple remark has given me an epiphany but I mean here we are.
@@josephochoa9861 Nope. I know nothing about the Manga, but in exchange, I know so much about the games that even the story of Unchained X is also in my head. Maybe I know too much..
@@josephochoa9861 I'm now wondering, is it anything like the Pokemon Manga, where you can see delights such as Zapmolcuno and an Arbok sliced in half? I'm just expecting the Organization XIII to be corpses.
Dolphin Kick is actually a reference to a line said by Triton in KH1: "You may fool Ariel, but you can't fool me, you don't know your dorsal fin from your tail." Which is something that Dolphins and Sharks have, not Mermaids or Mermen.
14:12 Totally agree, Pride Lands is always a big chore to get through, especially for the final-but-not-really disney world. I'd like to point out that scar, the main villian of the world, does not have any face articulation. His jaw just hinges open and closed. Simba and Nala have full articulation. This always bothered me most for some reason.
Pride Lands has always been one of my favorite and least favorite worlds. It's fun as hell to play as a lion and Sora is adorable but the world itself is just so... bland. My eyes glaze over running around in it until I'm in the jungle area. But the video makes a good point that there really wasn't any other option for the world since we have adult Simba in KH1. The best time for Lion King would have been in the first game, which is when it was supposed to be used, but it got cut and reused for 2 instead. Another good time would have been Birth by Sleep cause then you could explore the world during cub-simba time but I genuinely don't know what you'd be doing for that world, especially with 3 different characters. Then again Birth by Sleep made an entire world for the first like, 5 minutes of Lilo and Stitch so anything is possible I guess.
The main reason I adored Pride Lands, I realized, was because it was ALL OPEN EXPANSE. You run literally everywhere. You get to do zoomies constantly. Because it's not forcing you to do platforming, because in OG KH2 there was no platforming to speak of. So actually getting to use these wide open areas was absolute bliss compared to the horrendous emptiness of everything else. That said. No Nanaki? 7.8/10. Edit: I jumped off of Pride Rock more times than I could ever count.
I do adore KH2 a lot, but I agree a lot with your analysis of the worlds as a whole - the way you put forward your thoughts is compelling, and even if I don't agree 1:1 on some aspects, I honestly hadn't considered some of the things you bring up and it made me think, so I love this video a lot.
Sorry I missed this, UA-cam didn't give me a notif! Thanks for the kind words! I'm a lot nicer to the game in part 2 lol, but I'm glad I was able to raise some new points/ideas
Dude I thought you died. Not gonna lie, I'm kinda feeling like Sora when he finds Riku in TWTNW. Glad you aren't dead! Keep up the quality work, regular or not!
Haven't even watched the video yet. Just so glad to see ya pop up in my notifications! Welcome back sir. Cant wait to watch your video with my wife after dinner!
Cool list man. I really appreciate the time you take to formulate your thoughts on this series. It’s my favorite game series probably of all time, so it’s nice to have somebody give a good analysis of it. Way better than the knee jerk hyperactive “analysis” videos I’ve seen elsewhere.
10:05 Some games do minigames well, but Square Enix does NOT. They're always clunky and half-assed and heavily luck-based. The only way you'll get me to play a SE minigame is by dangling a rare synthesis item or an ultimate weapon as a prize. Now excuse me while I have trauma flashbacks to the FFX Chocobo race.
25:10 Can we talk about how underwhelming an army of little pointy bees is, and how it could be improved 100x by adding some Assault Riders (the centaur heartless)? How intimidating would it be to have 25 of THOSE running toward you? I do get that polygons are a problem, though I'm sure there would be methods to mitigate the slowdown issues.
One of my fondest memories was being in another room while my parents were having an intense heated screaming argument and my sister was playing "Swim This Way" on the living room TV.
I'm only somewhat through the video but if I were to guess, the fire lord and ice lord heartless in Agrabah are references to other kinds of genie in popular culture. Namely, the Ifrit and Merid. Compared to the Genie from Aladdin, Ifrit (or Efreeti) are closely associated with fire, while Merid are associated with water. They both have some degree of basis in Islamic and Hindu mythology, which Agrabah draws upon heavily, even being named specifcially in the Arabian Nights. The actual powers of the two is likely derivative of that and Final Fantasy's roots in roleplaying games like Dungeons and Dragons, where they tend to follow that logic very closely.
im currently replaying 2.5 and im not sure if i just wiped lion pete from my memory, but when i saw him the first time in this run i was so shocked and horrified. i dont remember ever seeing that thing before and if i did my brain made me forget to protect me
Your comments on Lion King now have me contemplating a world where that world is approached in a manner similar to Ocarina of Time and that is BEAUTIFUL
19:45 The thing that's weird to me is WHY did they decide that the undead pirates were the vulnerable ones? I kind of get the logic "don't let them see your true form." But just intuitively (to me, at least) The zombie versions would be the most invincible and the human versions would be hurtable.
Maybe it plays on the phrase "What happens in the dark, comes out in the light." The curse is the metaphorical embodiment of greed and only by returning it where it belongs does the curse become lifted.
I also think it probably plays a bit better on the cartoon violence thing to have sora burning and freezing skeletons instead of just, for the series at the time, very realistic humans, at least as regular enemies you kill rather than bosses
Am I the only one who finds that the revisit to Pride lands elevates the story? Something about the movie that bugs me if the idea that Simba can't really be his own man, he absolutely has to be king, nothing else. He has to stay on this predetermined road or those around him will suffer. While that's not the point of the story, instead the message is to not runaway from your responsibilities or who you are, and it does that well don't get me wrong, the implications I mentioned still bother me. On the revisit in KH we are shown how while Simba MUST take on this responsibility he is still very much *his own person* the additional lesson to not get too stuck on how his father would have done it, but instead focusing on making his own decisions is a natural evolution of his development and I quite like it. Now that you're king, what kind of king will you be?
i think that kh2 atlantica was made for me specifically. i used to turn on the game as a kid just to play swim this way over and over, and i still enjoy it because its so much more fun to enjoy it than complain through it. silly game does silly thing, i love it.
Last time you did a world ranking video, I practically wrote you an essay on my thoughts about them too. I'll spare you from that this time, however I suppose I could talk about some thoughts I had. I might be the only person with a positive experience with Atlantica. I guess if you want to enjoy Atlantica then be like 9 or 8 and have your younger sister, who's favorite movie is The Little Mermaid, watch as an audience. But yeah, if you're looking for the weakest world, Atlantica is easily it. Especially if all you want is that sweet sweet KH2 action gameplay. Although, I gotta admit, I kind of like it when games that are supposed to be adventures have minigames in certain areas. That's usually why I'm pretty okay with KH or Zelda having some minigames in them. These are long games, and long adventures for the characters too, and minigames can help differentiate a place more than just aesthetically differences. Obviously I don't want every world or location to have an obnoxious minigame associated with it. But if I were roadtripping across Europe, it would be a bit of a waste if I only ever ate mcdonalds and didn't sample the local culture and food sometimes, right? Also I love the jarring look of Sora, Donald, and Goofy standing next to Square's PS2 attempt at live-action people, it's just kind of fun to me. But I also like how in KH3 Sora is familar with the world so he dress up as a pirate ahead of time (at least that's how I imagine it. It could've been Donald's magic dressing him up, but the magic seems to work automatically, so lorewise they should've been dressed up in KH2 if that's the case. So I prefer to think it was a conscious effort by Sora and not just the art team going "people didn't like the clash of SDG in Port Royal last time!") Anyway, I'm' glad to see you upload again. Try not to worry too much about not having uploaded something in awhile. Times have a been a crazy, and I've been struggling to stay focused on my personal projects too during all of this.
Yeah in writing/thinking about the mini-game stuff, I often come to "variation" vs. "stick to what works." I also think a handful of the KH3 ones (like the Flans and Flash Tracer) are pretty good at striking a nice balance. Thank you for the kind words!!
I think the worst part of Atlantica is that Ariel, who already knows how treacherous Ursula is, acts like *nothing* from the first game happened, and just immediately goes along with the deal. Like... girl, you've *SEEN* what she's done! She put your father out of commission once with your help, you're gonna do it again???
Despite them butchering the acting and 2nd visit, Pride Lands has my favourite moment in the entire series. Simba reuniting with Sora, and giving him a big cuddle!
When I played KH2 I actually forgot to even do Atlantica so when I finished the game and saw the credits and saw the Atlantica part I was like "oh right that world existed" it was actually so boring I forgot to even finish it
Sonic Adventure 2 battle was a game i played for the mini game. You needed rings for the chao garden and like every 10 emblems you got would add to what eggs you could get from the black market. Luckily the core gameplay was fun, but I would have played it a lot less without the chao gardens
- Pride Lands might be one of the most egregious cases of "movie autopilot" in KH2. I mean, if Scar didn't turn into a Heartless, what purpose would Sora even serve here? Organization XIII isn't even involved with Pride Lands, as far as I can tell. - Is it kind of ironic that KH2 Jack Sparrow sorta sounds like if Tidus was constantly sloshed? Considering seeing his father get drunk was one of his pet peeves growing up? Anyway, as for the cursed pirates (and the Grim Reaper later), it is kind of interesting to explore how foreign magic clashes with world-native magic. - Still, could you imagine if Shan Yu charged down that hill with the Assault Riders? Those big buff oriental-looking centaurs that look MADE to substitute horse-riding Huns? Oh, also, "But what's he doing with Organization XIII?" Gee, Goofy, you're assuming that from the black cloak? Yet you never questioned why MICKEY wore a similar cloak?
25:10 I always thought that in these cases such as with clayton and shanyu that the heartless are drawn to the evil, and just agree to work with them because of a common interest.
If I recall the case with Clayton is that the heartless corrupted him and used him, I think it was said in the journal. Might also fall in line with Tarzan saying his heart isn't his, though that might also imply the heartless stole his heart, which would mean that he's a heartless in his fight, which doesn't really make sense. I don't know, it's kinda confusing.
As a kid I low key loved Atlantica, I liked having to do the songs twice for the journal. But as an adult looking back I have trouble remembering why. The minigame is pretty simple to the point I'm not sure what I enjoyed. I'm not particularly fond of The Little Mermaid, I don't remember actually seeing the movie. And while I do still like plenty of songs from kids shows, those songs feel mid at best. I kind of want to meet a kid that's like how I was and have them explain what is good about that world
When it comes to 100 Acre Wood (especially in the first two games), I saw it as an escape for Sora. He seems to genuinely enjoy kicking back and dealing with minor problems. He's a kid and this world gives him a break from the responsibilities that have been thrust upon him. Gameplay wise yeah it's not good.
Right, its sora's safe space where he doesn't have to worry about the world getting destroyed or his friends being in danger from the heartless He can just relax
Barbossa is one of the easiest fights on level 1 crit. Open the fight with a physical combo, but replace the last hit with a blizzard. Do a full combo, then another combo ending in blizzard. Repeat until you're low on MP, use an ether/drive form while he's frozen, continue.
I actually liked Pride Lands for the simple reason that its fast and fun sprinting as lion Sora. I also prefer this version of Atlantica simply because i didn't like the KH1 variation all that much either and it is at least quick.
I live how in the Pridelands, Donald gets the decency to be turned into an actual Duck, but Goofy has to be turned into a turtle just to keep up with his role as the shield user. It also happens in Atlantica and it's close but at least Donald has Octopi legs so he's also a bit fucked up, while Goofy's just a turtle again, but of the Sea variety
Some massive praise I have to give Port Royal’s inclusion in this game is how it introduced me to Jack Sparrow, who was the basis for my dog’s name I got a couple years later, who would be half of the inspiration for my online profile’s name.
.....it was for me. I Love Atlantica. I love the music and the rhythm game. I liked the original songs, my mind filling in that they are Sébastien songs for the princesses
At the time I was a huge pirates fan and I seen kh2 at the rental store and seeing the back cover feature pirates made me pick up the game and get into the series! Ultimately didn’t like the pain that was invincible pirates shooting you to death in the caves. Stay in the moonlight dammit!
34:00 Or you could justify it with you being regular in your irregularity ;). Love the content as usual, man! (I say usual even though I've been subscribed in just like, what, a week? But I've been binging 😉) Do it whenever you feel like it.
I got NOTHING out of Agrabah. The flying carpet segment was super fun but other than that, I do not remember a THING about it. AND I LITERALLY JUST PLAYED THE GAME. That combined with the color pallet not vibing with me, would make me put it above Atlantica. I also would have put the Pride Lands higher, purely because Lion Sora is SO freaking fun to use, and that final boss was ONE HECK OF A BOSS!!
With the exception of Disney Castle and maybe Land of Dragons, every world on this half of your list makes me feel a little more dead inside every time I play through them.
On the Shan Yu thing I don't know if this is a Final Mix exclusive scene or whether that's even relevant or not, but I'm replaying FM right now and there was a scene where Malificent explained that Clayton was not controlling the Heartless, but that he was being somewhat controlled by the Heartless and being prepped to be turned into one. Which uh, I guess makes sense considering, "Not Clayton!" And the fact Clayton doesn't speak at all in the cutscenes or during the boss fight. So my best guess is same case for Shan Yu.
Great list. I think it's true the Pride Lands is kinda a catch 22. You can't have it be cheerful and bright and visually interesting because it doesn't make sense because the whole point is the land is a barren, desolate wasteland, but then you have that problem of.... yeah, it's a barren, desolate wasteland. I almost feel like the best option, giving how well it worked mostly for KH3, is an original story set after the film. Maybe even after the sequel. An original story where the land is returned to its greatness, Simba is over his emo phase and the opportunity to tie the story and themes into the main game rather than just playing through the first movie. Not sure how myself yet, but I do agree with the size and scope and grandeur of the film, it's a bit meh. Also, "Lion Pete is the grossest thing made by man." Exactly and I love it for that.
Also Port Royal I initially sorta had a kind of respect for just for the fact they were willing to try something so different and putting so much effort into something that can't have been easy. But then you play KH3's Caribbean and as much as I love it it does kinda highlight how bad Port Royal is here.
If you want a game with mini games done well, may I recommend Chocobo Tales, a game that basically consists exclusively of mini games tied together by a story?
22:15 Well, Alice in Wonderland isn't the most exciting movie plotwise but I personally think it's aesthetically really iconic for a first romp at a Disney world, since it's a fantasy land and already exists as a world separate from reality (where Alice came from). So as a videogame level I think it works really well for an introductory level before the other Disney worlds, Land of Dragons is nice but the aesthetics kind of only stay for Mulan and not Disney as a whole like Alice
Story time, so I was listening to this video for the first time just now, and I didn’t look at the date created or anything like that but to hear that you hadn’t seen move on until after you had played kingdom hearts two I almost had a stroke then I looked at the timestamp and the date created and I said oh never mind I’m just old.😂😂😂😂
I've played Atlantica on mute consistently as far back as I can remember. I think the last time I willingly listened to Swim This Way was when I was 14 back when the game came out.
28:10 what makes you think its done for? I could see a pride lands sequel in KH4 give that world more time to catch up with the timeline of the Lion King Series
So funny enough little mermaid is the reason I got into KH at all. My dad's girlfriend got the game because she saw little mermaid on the back and thought it'd be a fun way for her to try and connect with me
The problem with Atlantica here for the fans of the movie is, if you're going to make it a purely musical world, USE ALL THE ORIGINAL SONGS from the movie! I really missed 'Poor Unfortunate Souls' and 'Kiss The Girl'.
8:00 I mean... The KH3 attractions are a thing. It's less horrible now that you can turn them off with the Re:Mind DLC, but still. At least Atlantica is only awful while you're in the world, you don't have to suddenly sing a song in the middle of like every third mid-boss.
As usual, love your work, agree with the vast majority of your takes. When you start getting a teensy bit existential about becoming disney property one day threw me into the briefest but definite super deep existential criseseses. I mean... I was an ff7 fan boy having been about your age when I got to play it on the ps1 as to when you got to play kh1 and I was definitely obsessed with both. But The Shinra have trained me to look at our world in such a way as to watch the mega corporations being born and what they'll do to the earth, it's people, and it's life. And I"m like fuck. One day... we'll all be property (not that we're not now just some of us have much nicer bars on our cage) Anyway, I've been having these weird thoughts lately.
i always played the alantica songs twice. once to win them and progress the story, and once to miss everything and watch the slapstick. but yeah, i was always embarrassed to play that game too. luckily i had a tv in my room so i could just close the door and turn the tv down in hopes that no one will hear it.
Speaking of Disney Castle being cut from KH1, I had the exact same feeling of disappointment when I first played KH3 and realised they cut mysterious tower from that
The two sides of Ping/Mulan, the two sides of Sora/Roxas. DAMNIT NOMURA YOU DID IT AGAIN! Edit: Oh, jokes aside, you apparently missed that one. Yeah the first visit to Land of Dragons isn't just about Kairi and such. It's about about how Sora and Roxas are stronger together in a similar way to when Mulan is herself.
I always thought the bosses throughout kh2 in the worlds' first playthrough were the heartless for the organization 13 members. Like fire and ice bosses were axel and vexens counterparts to get them back to "somebody"
KH2 Atlantica was actually the catalyst for me breaking up with a girl I was dating way back when. She's married now and lives a couple thousand miles away from where I am now.
I never understood Lion Pete, in no other world has he ever shown any care for trying to blend in and maintain the world order so why in this one specifically? Also is it Malificent who changed his form or does Donald's magic just effect him here too?
My least favorite world in Kingdom Hearts 2 is Disney Castle for the same reasons you mentioned, plus it felt so slow until you arrive at Timeless River.
funniest thing for me with Mushu is that he isn't included in the KH1 manga (as he's just an optional summon). but in the KH2 manga they still include Mushus line about 'hey I remember you guys we fought side by side!' etc, but Sora and Co just look at him all confused because he wasn't in the manga. So manga mushu pulls out a copy of the KH1 manga to leaf through and is very annoyed that he wasn't included
I've never actually read the manga for the series as I didn't know if it would just be a 1 for 1 retread of the original story or so drastically different with people being out of character that I wouldn't like it. Wasn't aware they'd pull some 4th wall breaks.
Is the manga worth checking out?
@@caldw615 it really is. Honestly, for me it's THE best way to enjoy 358/2 days as a story. Beautiful visuals unlike the DS version, and well paced story/character development unlike the Cutscene version
@@phoenixkh93 is it really a hot take when literally every single UA-camr to ever talk about 358/2 says exactly that?
Actually pulled out my manga to see this scene. Has the kingdom hearts logo and riku on the cover and everything 😭 oh mushu
THERE'S A MANGA TOO?
"Lion Pete is the grossest thing made by man." I couldn't agree more.
Like I said You can keep the sleep paralysis demon Lion Pete Xehanort’s death scene and the SRT Are the worst things ever conceived by mankind
@@starvoltnexus3139 Xehanort didn't die horribly. Ansem and Xemnas maybe.
On Sora's pirate obsession, don't forget that he also has a like pirate ship hanging from his ceiling that we see right before his mom calls him to dinner.
Plus, he wanted to be Captain of the raft for when they leave the island
He’s also like Monkey D. Luffy in more ways than he isn’t
@@m_winewood very low traditional inteligence with high emotional intelligenve
"Wouldn't it be funny to just have a world named China?" immediately after discussing the world whose KH3 counterpart is "The Caribbean".
...good point. for some reason that one works lmao
@@RegularPat In fairness, the Caribbean isn't really a country so much as a region.
There's literally British Flags in the Caribbean.
@@michaelgillespie9112I mean they namedrop China too in Land of Dragons, it's more talking about the name rather than if countries are ever referenced
Who else is here for their yearly viewing of Pats entire video catalogue?
4:43 I love how Shimomura herself said in an interview retrospective with Nomura "yeah the musical in Atlantica kh2 was rough"
I got the impression from the same interview that these elements aren't really FOR anyone else, they're just for Nomura hahaha
Lmao I had never heard this, that's great. In a way, I'd respect that.
This is the same guy who considered turning Final Fantasy Versus XIII into a musical, or at least having a long musical section in the game. I'd believe it.
Our boy Tetsuya fuckin loves a musical and he doesn't care who knows
@Zachary Kameron oh good. A creepy lier. Just what we all wanted to see here
@@casualvanilla You’re telling me we could’ve gotten a singing Noctis? I feel like I’ve been robbed.
The Heartless bosses in Agrabah are...djinn. As in, the mythological elemental creatures that Genie is based on. It's actually a really fitting choice for the world.
I just associate deserts with thunder
When you were talking about the atmospheres of KH1 and KH2, I had a bit of a realization. You described KH1 as having Mystique and KH2 as familiarity, and I thought that makes a lot of sense. And that's when I realized that could have been vibes that they were intentionally going for, because in the intro of KH1 Sora talks about having strange (mystifying) thoughts, questioning whether things were real. In KH2, his little opening statement talks about memories, which would obviously generate feelings of familiarity. Of course, KH2 is also really focused on duality, with Roxas/Sora, and all that, but I think familiarity is a major component of that as well, with how they tend to experience Deja Vu. A lot of KH2 involves visiting the worlds of characters who were summons/party members, and revisting old worlds to find them changed in some way. I can't believe such a simple remark has given me an epiphany but I mean here we are.
25:09 Manga version of _Kingdom Hearts II_ shows Xigbar helping Shan Yu by giving him Heartless army, which is one kind of explanation.
Wait, what, I'm sorry, the MANGA?!
*SINCE WHEN WAS THERE A MANGA?!*
@@parttimelazy4593 you didn't know about the manga?
@@josephochoa9861 Nope. I know nothing about the Manga, but in exchange, I know so much about the games that even the story of Unchained X is also in my head.
Maybe I know too much..
@@parttimelazy4593 yea they have a manga based on the first,chain of memories,the second,358/2 days and maybe birth by sleep
@@josephochoa9861 I'm now wondering, is it anything like the Pokemon Manga, where you can see delights such as Zapmolcuno and an Arbok sliced in half? I'm just expecting the Organization XIII to be corpses.
Omg i anticipated for the line "your poopsies are toast" hoping youd play the audio out loud and you did! Lmaooo
It's poetry
sora trying to trash-talk is one of the most hilarious things
Dolphin Kick is actually a reference to a line said by Triton in KH1:
"You may fool Ariel, but you can't fool me, you don't know your dorsal fin from your tail."
Which is something that Dolphins and Sharks have, not Mermaids or Mermen.
I like to think it is a reference to Tifa's limit break, Dolphin Blow.
14:12 Totally agree, Pride Lands is always a big chore to get through, especially for the final-but-not-really disney world. I'd like to point out that scar, the main villian of the world, does not have any face articulation. His jaw just hinges open and closed. Simba and Nala have full articulation. This always bothered me most for some reason.
I don't think it's that bad at all I think the sheer speed at which you move through the areas more than makes up for it
Pride Lands has always been one of my favorite and least favorite worlds. It's fun as hell to play as a lion and Sora is adorable but the world itself is just so... bland. My eyes glaze over running around in it until I'm in the jungle area. But the video makes a good point that there really wasn't any other option for the world since we have adult Simba in KH1. The best time for Lion King would have been in the first game, which is when it was supposed to be used, but it got cut and reused for 2 instead. Another good time would have been Birth by Sleep cause then you could explore the world during cub-simba time but I genuinely don't know what you'd be doing for that world, especially with 3 different characters. Then again Birth by Sleep made an entire world for the first like, 5 minutes of Lilo and Stitch so anything is possible I guess.
The main reason I adored Pride Lands, I realized, was because it was ALL OPEN EXPANSE. You run literally everywhere. You get to do zoomies constantly. Because it's not forcing you to do platforming, because in OG KH2 there was no platforming to speak of. So actually getting to use these wide open areas was absolute bliss compared to the horrendous emptiness of everything else. That said. No Nanaki? 7.8/10.
Edit: I jumped off of Pride Rock more times than I could ever count.
I loved going to the pride lands just to jump off of pride rock 😅
@@Madhattergirl122 Same.
I do adore KH2 a lot, but I agree a lot with your analysis of the worlds as a whole - the way you put forward your thoughts is compelling, and even if I don't agree 1:1 on some aspects, I honestly hadn't considered some of the things you bring up and it made me think, so I love this video a lot.
Sorry I missed this, UA-cam didn't give me a notif! Thanks for the kind words! I'm a lot nicer to the game in part 2 lol, but I'm glad I was able to raise some new points/ideas
Dude I thought you died. Not gonna lie, I'm kinda feeling like Sora when he finds Riku in TWTNW. Glad you aren't dead! Keep up the quality work, regular or not!
YOU GUYS LOOKED EVERYWHERE FOR ME!!! I also forgot to blame Animal Crossing as partly responsible for my absence.
Haven't even watched the video yet. Just so glad to see ya pop up in my notifications! Welcome back sir. Cant wait to watch your video with my wife after dinner!
Its like christmas came early. Seriously though, hype to see my favorite khtuber making videos
Okay for real how do you not have more subscribers? I just found your channel and have been going through your videos and loving every one of them!
Heya, thanks! Honestly never expected anything beyond 100 so everything past that has been a bonus
Cool list man. I really appreciate the time you take to formulate your thoughts on this series. It’s my favorite game series probably of all time, so it’s nice to have somebody give a good analysis of it. Way better than the knee jerk hyperactive “analysis” videos I’ve seen elsewhere.
Thanks so much! If there's two things I am not, it's knee-jerk and hyperactive.
I don't know about you not having knee jerk reactions.
10:05 Some games do minigames well, but Square Enix does NOT. They're always clunky and half-assed and heavily luck-based. The only way you'll get me to play a SE minigame is by dangling a rare synthesis item or an ultimate weapon as a prize.
Now excuse me while I have trauma flashbacks to the FFX Chocobo race.
Agreed. *shudders at the Chocobo race*
Those fucking balloons.
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Not sure if there's a joke there. Either way, respect.
25:10 Can we talk about how underwhelming an army of little pointy bees is, and how it could be improved 100x by adding some Assault Riders (the centaur heartless)? How intimidating would it be to have 25 of THOSE running toward you? I do get that polygons are a problem, though I'm sure there would be methods to mitigate the slowdown issues.
Those charging down the hill would be cooler than what we got in the game.
One of my fondest memories was being in another room while my parents were having an intense heated screaming argument and my sister was playing "Swim This Way" on the living room TV.
I'm only somewhat through the video but if I were to guess, the fire lord and ice lord heartless in Agrabah are references to other kinds of genie in popular culture. Namely, the Ifrit and Merid.
Compared to the Genie from Aladdin, Ifrit (or Efreeti) are closely associated with fire, while Merid are associated with water. They both have some degree of basis in Islamic and Hindu mythology, which Agrabah draws upon heavily, even being named specifcially in the Arabian Nights.
The actual powers of the two is likely derivative of that and Final Fantasy's roots in roleplaying games like Dungeons and Dragons, where they tend to follow that logic very closely.
I think I’m on hour 4 of your content now. What a good binge. Thanks for your great work!
Honored!
im currently replaying 2.5 and im not sure if i just wiped lion pete from my memory, but when i saw him the first time in this run i was so shocked and horrified. i dont remember ever seeing that thing before and if i did my brain made me forget to protect me
that's a reasonable reaction 😭 he just looks...weird
10:10 The Yakuza series has some pretty fun mini games that a lot of people love, especially karaoke.
Oh interesting! I've wanted to check out Yakuza for some time now
Ah shit, I just wrote basically the exact same comment-
Your comments on Lion King now have me contemplating a world where that world is approached in a manner similar to Ocarina of Time and that is BEAUTIFUL
Something both 100 Acre Woods have in common: Both are better than KH3's 100 Acre Wood.
it's true :(
Nice!! I needed this
Still rewatching this occasionally. 3rd time now. Love this kind of analysis. Love this video. Keep up the great work mate!
19:45 The thing that's weird to me is WHY did they decide that the undead pirates were the vulnerable ones? I kind of get the logic "don't let them see your true form."
But just intuitively (to me, at least) The zombie versions would be the most invincible and the human versions would be hurtable.
Maybe it plays on the phrase "What happens in the dark, comes out in the light." The curse is the metaphorical embodiment of greed and only by returning it where it belongs does the curse become lifted.
I also think it probably plays a bit better on the cartoon violence thing to have sora burning and freezing skeletons instead of just, for the series at the time, very realistic humans, at least as regular enemies you kill rather than bosses
Am I the only one who finds that the revisit to Pride lands elevates the story?
Something about the movie that bugs me if the idea that Simba can't really be his own man, he absolutely has to be king, nothing else. He has to stay on this predetermined road or those around him will suffer.
While that's not the point of the story, instead the message is to not runaway from your responsibilities or who you are, and it does that well don't get me wrong, the implications I mentioned still bother me.
On the revisit in KH we are shown how while Simba MUST take on this responsibility he is still very much *his own person* the additional lesson to not get too stuck on how his father would have done it, but instead focusing on making his own decisions is a natural evolution of his development and I quite like it. Now that you're king, what kind of king will you be?
i think that kh2 atlantica was made for me specifically. i used to turn on the game as a kid just to play swim this way over and over, and i still enjoy it because its so much more fun to enjoy it than complain through it. silly game does silly thing, i love it.
Last time you did a world ranking video, I practically wrote you an essay on my thoughts about them too. I'll spare you from that this time, however I suppose I could talk about some thoughts I had.
I might be the only person with a positive experience with Atlantica. I guess if you want to enjoy Atlantica then be like 9 or 8 and have your younger sister, who's favorite movie is The Little Mermaid, watch as an audience. But yeah, if you're looking for the weakest world, Atlantica is easily it. Especially if all you want is that sweet sweet KH2 action gameplay. Although, I gotta admit, I kind of like it when games that are supposed to be adventures have minigames in certain areas. That's usually why I'm pretty okay with KH or Zelda having some minigames in them. These are long games, and long adventures for the characters too, and minigames can help differentiate a place more than just aesthetically differences. Obviously I don't want every world or location to have an obnoxious minigame associated with it. But if I were roadtripping across Europe, it would be a bit of a waste if I only ever ate mcdonalds and didn't sample the local culture and food sometimes, right? Also I love the jarring look of Sora, Donald, and Goofy standing next to Square's PS2 attempt at live-action people, it's just kind of fun to me. But I also like how in KH3 Sora is familar with the world so he dress up as a pirate ahead of time (at least that's how I imagine it. It could've been Donald's magic dressing him up, but the magic seems to work automatically, so lorewise they should've been dressed up in KH2 if that's the case. So I prefer to think it was a conscious effort by Sora and not just the art team going "people didn't like the clash of SDG in Port Royal last time!")
Anyway, I'm' glad to see you upload again. Try not to worry too much about not having uploaded something in awhile. Times have a been a crazy, and I've been struggling to stay focused on my personal projects too during all of this.
Yeah in writing/thinking about the mini-game stuff, I often come to "variation" vs. "stick to what works." I also think a handful of the KH3 ones (like the Flans and Flash Tracer) are pretty good at striking a nice balance. Thank you for the kind words!!
I think the worst part of Atlantica is that Ariel, who already knows how treacherous Ursula is, acts like *nothing* from the first game happened, and just immediately goes along with the deal. Like... girl, you've *SEEN* what she's done! She put your father out of commission once with your help, you're gonna do it again???
Despite them butchering the acting and 2nd visit, Pride Lands has my favourite moment in the entire series. Simba reuniting with Sora, and giving him a big cuddle!
When I played KH2 I actually forgot to even do Atlantica so when I finished the game and saw the credits and saw the Atlantica part I was like "oh right that world existed" it was actually so boring I forgot to even finish it
You only go there to get your items and Blizzard upgrade, and nothing more.
@@casualvanilla I don't think I even entered the world once, hell I don't even think I did the gummi mission to unlock it
Sonic Adventure 2 battle was a game i played for the mini game. You needed rings for the chao garden and like every 10 emblems you got would add to what eggs you could get from the black market. Luckily the core gameplay was fun, but I would have played it a lot less without the chao gardens
- Pride Lands might be one of the most egregious cases of "movie autopilot" in KH2. I mean, if Scar didn't turn into a Heartless, what purpose would Sora even serve here? Organization XIII isn't even involved with Pride Lands, as far as I can tell.
- Is it kind of ironic that KH2 Jack Sparrow sorta sounds like if Tidus was constantly sloshed? Considering seeing his father get drunk was one of his pet peeves growing up? Anyway, as for the cursed pirates (and the Grim Reaper later), it is kind of interesting to explore how foreign magic clashes with world-native magic.
- Still, could you imagine if Shan Yu charged down that hill with the Assault Riders? Those big buff oriental-looking centaurs that look MADE to substitute horse-riding Huns? Oh, also, "But what's he doing with Organization XIII?" Gee, Goofy, you're assuming that from the black cloak? Yet you never questioned why MICKEY wore a similar cloak?
Too be fair, Goofy's only experience with riku, was when he was being gaslit or possessed
It would have been great to have an orchestral arrangement of I’ll Make a Man for battle in Land of Dragons
25:10 I always thought that in these cases such as with clayton and shanyu that the heartless are drawn to the evil, and just agree to work with them because of a common interest.
If I recall the case with Clayton is that the heartless corrupted him and used him, I think it was said in the journal. Might also fall in line with Tarzan saying his heart isn't his, though that might also imply the heartless stole his heart, which would mean that he's a heartless in his fight, which doesn't really make sense. I don't know, it's kinda confusing.
As a kid I low key loved Atlantica, I liked having to do the songs twice for the journal.
But as an adult looking back I have trouble remembering why. The minigame is pretty simple to the point I'm not sure what I enjoyed.
I'm not particularly fond of The Little Mermaid, I don't remember actually seeing the movie.
And while I do still like plenty of songs from kids shows, those songs feel mid at best.
I kind of want to meet a kid that's like how I was and have them explain what is good about that world
21:26 Wait, if he dies you lose the fight?! I never knew that.
Yes it's a bit annoying and doesn't even make sense considering he is under the effects of the curse at the time
When it comes to 100 Acre Wood (especially in the first two games), I saw it as an escape for Sora. He seems to genuinely enjoy kicking back and dealing with minor problems. He's a kid and this world gives him a break from the responsibilities that have been thrust upon him.
Gameplay wise yeah it's not good.
At least they're all pretty easy minigames so they basically just hand you rare items with every torn page
Right, its sora's safe space where he doesn't have to worry about the world getting destroyed or his friends being in danger from the heartless
He can just relax
You know Atlantica is bad when we now have a fantastic KH rhythm game that’s actually charted well.
He hath returned! It’s good to have you back pat, but take as much time as you need for part 2, I’ll be looking forward to it!
Barbossa is one of the easiest fights on level 1 crit. Open the fight with a physical combo, but replace the last hit with a blizzard. Do a full combo, then another combo ending in blizzard. Repeat until you're low on MP, use an ether/drive form while he's frozen, continue.
Love your kh videos keep up the good work
"Disney is disney and it only gets disnier every passing day" 3 years later theyre talking about selling lmao
I actually liked Pride Lands for the simple reason that its fast and fun sprinting as lion Sora. I also prefer this version of Atlantica simply because i didn't like the KH1 variation all that much either and it is at least quick.
I live how in the Pridelands, Donald gets the decency to be turned into an actual Duck, but Goofy has to be turned into a turtle just to keep up with his role as the shield user.
It also happens in Atlantica and it's close but at least Donald has Octopi legs so he's also a bit fucked up, while Goofy's just a turtle again, but of the Sea variety
Some massive praise I have to give Port Royal’s inclusion in this game is how it introduced me to Jack Sparrow, who was the basis for my dog’s name I got a couple years later, who would be half of the inspiration for my online profile’s name.
.....it was for me. I Love Atlantica. I love the music and the rhythm game. I liked the original songs, my mind filling in that they are Sébastien songs for the princesses
Been binge watching most of your stuff
At the time I was a huge pirates fan and I seen kh2 at the rental store and seeing the back cover feature pirates made me pick up the game and get into the series! Ultimately didn’t like the pain that was invincible pirates shooting you to death in the caves. Stay in the moonlight dammit!
34:00 Or you could justify it with you being regular in your irregularity ;). Love the content as usual, man! (I say usual even though I've been subscribed in just like, what, a week? But I've been binging 😉) Do it whenever you feel like it.
I got NOTHING out of Agrabah. The flying carpet segment was super fun but other than that, I do not remember a THING about it. AND I LITERALLY JUST PLAYED THE GAME. That combined with the color pallet not vibing with me, would make me put it above Atlantica. I also would have put the Pride Lands higher, purely because Lion Sora is SO freaking fun to use, and that final boss was ONE HECK OF A BOSS!!
Pridelands definitely looked a lot different than the movie, but the world was still pretty great
I didn't realize until you brought it up but, Oh my God, Eeyore wasn't in 3.
Oh boy, I sure can't wait for the KH:Com Riku's story world ranking.
21:40 Challenge accepted : China: Land of dragons
France: encanted dominion
Italy: Pranksters Paradise
Germany: Dwarf Woodlands/kingdom of corona
Norway : Arendale
Denmark: Atlantica (kinda)
The carribean : well the carribean
Greece : Olympus coliseum
PAT IS USING MY FAVORITE KEYBLADE!
With the exception of Disney Castle and maybe Land of Dragons, every world on this half of your list makes me feel a little more dead inside every time I play through them.
On the Shan Yu thing
I don't know if this is a Final Mix exclusive scene or whether that's even relevant or not, but I'm replaying FM right now and there was a scene where Malificent explained that Clayton was not controlling the Heartless, but that he was being somewhat controlled by the Heartless and being prepped to be turned into one. Which uh, I guess makes sense considering, "Not Clayton!" And the fact Clayton doesn't speak at all in the cutscenes or during the boss fight.
So my best guess is same case for Shan Yu.
"Games where minigames are more fun than the core gameplay"
Gwent- allow me to introduce myself
Well also due to Japan's respect of the dead king of thieves is impossible due to Robin Williams's passing
Your gonna rank KH3 worlds too, right?
Absolutely
Great list. I think it's true the Pride Lands is kinda a catch 22. You can't have it be cheerful and bright and visually interesting because it doesn't make sense because the whole point is the land is a barren, desolate wasteland, but then you have that problem of.... yeah, it's a barren, desolate wasteland. I almost feel like the best option, giving how well it worked mostly for KH3, is an original story set after the film. Maybe even after the sequel. An original story where the land is returned to its greatness, Simba is over his emo phase and the opportunity to tie the story and themes into the main game rather than just playing through the first movie. Not sure how myself yet, but I do agree with the size and scope and grandeur of the film, it's a bit meh.
Also, "Lion Pete is the grossest thing made by man." Exactly and I love it for that.
Also Port Royal I initially sorta had a kind of respect for just for the fact they were willing to try something so different and putting so much effort into something that can't have been easy. But then you play KH3's Caribbean and as much as I love it it does kinda highlight how bad Port Royal is here.
If you want a game with mini games done well, may I recommend Chocobo Tales, a game that basically consists exclusively of mini games tied together by a story?
22:15 Well, Alice in Wonderland isn't the most exciting movie plotwise but I personally think it's aesthetically really iconic for a first romp at a Disney world, since it's a fantasy land and already exists as a world separate from reality (where Alice came from). So as a videogame level I think it works really well for an introductory level before the other Disney worlds, Land of Dragons is nice but the aesthetics kind of only stay for Mulan and not Disney as a whole like Alice
Story time, so I was listening to this video for the first time just now, and I didn’t look at the date created or anything like that but to hear that you hadn’t seen move on until after you had played kingdom hearts two I almost had a stroke then I looked at the timestamp and the date created and I said oh never mind I’m just old.😂😂😂😂
I've played Atlantica on mute consistently as far back as I can remember. I think the last time I willingly listened to Swim This Way was when I was 14 back when the game came out.
28:10 what makes you think its done for? I could see a pride lands sequel in KH4 give that world more time to catch up with the timeline of the Lion King Series
minigame example gwent in witcher 3
i was underleveld on the hunt for new cards ran from village to village to fight the trader
Another great video!
So funny enough little mermaid is the reason I got into KH at all. My dad's girlfriend got the game because she saw little mermaid on the back and thought it'd be a fun way for her to try and connect with me
The problem with Atlantica here for the fans of the movie is, if you're going to make it a purely musical world, USE ALL THE ORIGINAL SONGS from the movie! I really missed 'Poor Unfortunate Souls' and 'Kiss The Girl'.
Plot twist: Quadratum is just NYC and sora just disappeared to an oliver and co world
As a girl gamer i LOVED Atlantica
8:00 I mean... The KH3 attractions are a thing.
It's less horrible now that you can turn them off with the Re:Mind DLC, but still. At least Atlantica is only awful while you're in the world, you don't have to suddenly sing a song in the middle of like every third mid-boss.
mini-game that might be better than the main gameplay, have you played gwent in witcher 3? because that is it
the entire Yakuza franchise loves mini games
A game where the mini games are more appealing than the main gameplay. Yakuza comes to my mind. (Especially the hostess club in Yakuza 0).
Woah! A video!
Honestly I am equally surprised
As usual, love your work, agree with the vast majority of your takes. When you start getting a teensy bit existential about becoming disney property one day threw me into the briefest but definite super deep existential criseseses. I mean... I was an ff7 fan boy having been about your age when I got to play it on the ps1 as to when you got to play kh1 and I was definitely obsessed with both.
But The Shinra have trained me to look at our world in such a way as to watch the mega corporations being born and what they'll do to the earth, it's people, and it's life. And I"m like fuck. One day... we'll all be property (not that we're not now just some of us have much nicer bars on our cage)
Anyway, I've been having these weird thoughts lately.
Life Lesson: Don't try if you cant deliver
Its hilarious seeing Atlantica get beat by 6 big empty rooms and an escort mission
RE: Minigames
Gwent.
Checkmate, Pat :P
Oh, and Triple Triad!
i liked the little mermaid world because the last song is one of the funniest moments in all of kingdom hearts
i always played the alantica songs twice. once to win them and progress the story, and once to miss everything and watch the slapstick.
but yeah, i was always embarrassed to play that game too. luckily i had a tv in my room so i could just close the door and turn the tv down in hopes that no one will hear it.
Speaking of Disney Castle being cut from KH1, I had the exact same feeling of disappointment when I first played KH3 and realised they cut mysterious tower from that
The two sides of Ping/Mulan, the two sides of Sora/Roxas. DAMNIT NOMURA YOU DID IT AGAIN!
Edit: Oh, jokes aside, you apparently missed that one. Yeah the first visit to Land of Dragons isn't just about Kairi and such. It's about about how Sora and Roxas are stronger together in a similar way to when Mulan is herself.
I always thought the bosses throughout kh2 in the worlds' first playthrough were the heartless for the organization 13 members. Like fire and ice bosses were axel and vexens counterparts to get them back to "somebody"
What were the other numbers by chance?
KH2 Atlantica was actually the catalyst for me breaking up with a girl I was dating way back when. She's married now and lives a couple thousand miles away from where I am now.
I am the only person who likes Atlantica in KH2 lol
They'd obviously call the Oliver and Company world "The Empire State"
I never understood Lion Pete, in no other world has he ever shown any care for trying to blend in and maintain the world order so why in this one specifically? Also is it Malificent who changed his form or does Donald's magic just effect him here too?
Can you do one of these for KH3? (Post remind so you can rank explorable Scala too)
Any of the yakuza games thrives on its mini game content, would recommend
My least favorite world in Kingdom Hearts 2 is Disney Castle for the same reasons you mentioned, plus it felt so slow until you arrive at Timeless River.