Kingdom Hearts 3 Worlds Ranked From Worst to Best

Welcome to Every Kingdom Hearts 3 Worlds Ranked From Worst to Best. Today, I will be taking the story, exploration, and gameplay from each Kingdom Hearts 3 world and comparing them. Some are short, while others overstay their welcome. Of course, I would like to hear your thoughts on this as well. If you don’t like it, then boohoo. Anyway, let’s begin with number 14.

14. 100 Acre Wood

Story Summary:

First up is 100 Acre Wood. Once again, Sora visits Pooh Bear and friends to see why he disappeared from the book’s cover. We quickly realize it is due to Sora’s weakening heart connection to Pooh because of the events in Dream Drop Distance. Due to this, Sora helps out the 100 Acre gang by harvesting Rabbit’s crops, and reestablishes his connection to Pooh and the others.

My Thoughts:

100 Acre Wood is dead last on this list because it really is the least memorable one. You spend at most thirty minutes doing back-to-back mini games. The worst part is that all of the mini games are practically the same. Other than that, there are some chests and Lucky Emblems to collect, and Sora gets the Honey Blaster Keyblade for completing the world. I will say that the Keyblade is a nice touch because of the Harvester ability, letting you harvest ingredients at a quicker pace. At best, 100 Acre Wood lets the game breathe a little by wasting your time doing boring mini games.

13. The Final World

Story Summary:

Up next is the Final World. This place is the limbo world for souls that have unfinished business in the living world. After Sora’s friends get their hearts taken, Sora is transported to the Final World. Here, he has to repiece his own heart and use the Power of Waking. By tracking down his friends, he is able to finally save them and redo the beginning events at the Keyblade Graveyard. 

My Thoughts:

I know that the Final World is a very important place and is beautifully designed; however, the lack of gameplay is what really sets it back. All Sora is able to do is run around the area and recollect himself. That’s it. No chests. No Lucky Emblems. The worst part is you aren’t even rewarded with a Keyblade. I think Square Enix missed their chance of giving you the Oathkeeper here, considering how important Kairi is during this part of the game. The only other notable part is the Nameless Star who seems to have ties to Quadratum. Other than the story elements, the Final World is far from the best worlds in Kingdom Hearts 3.

12. Land of Departure 

Story Summary:

After Aqua is recovered from the Realm of Darkness, the half-pint trio and she travel to Castle Oblivion to rescue Ventus. Here, Aqua is able to transform it back to its original state: the Land of Departure. Upon reaching the Chamber of Waking, the group is ambushed by Vanitas, Ventus’s dark half. Aqua defeats Vanitas, and Sora returns Ventus’s heart from inside his own. Now with Aqua and Ventus at their side, Sora, Donald, and Goofy travel back to the Mysterious Tower. 

My Thoughts:

Conceptually, I love the Land of Departure. It’s a Kingdom Hearts original world introduced in Birth By Sleep where new Keyblade wielders are made to train. Unfortunately, in Kingdom Hearts 3, this place is only visited once and only briefly. You go there just to save Ventus and that’s it. You can’t even go back there ever again in the game. The only thing saving it from being dead last is you get to fight against Vanitas as Aqua. Other than that, Land of Departure is severely under utilized which is a big shame for me. 

11. Dark World

Story Summary:

Another Kingdom Hearts original world follows up on the list. Dark World is visited twice in Kingdom Hearts 3. The first visit has Riku and Mickey searching for Aqua. There the duo encounters the Demon Tower where their Keyblades are damaged. With new gear, the two return and encounter the tower again. This time Anti-Aqua reveals herself to them. Fortunately, Sora saves Riku and Mickey by defeating Anti-Aqua. This reverts her back to good old Aqua. 

My Thoughts:

Again, it’s just another area where you can’t really explore. You just do a few fights and call it a day. The only reason I have it above the others is the gameplay portion. You at least get to fight as Riku which was pretty epic. Sora’s fight against Anti-Aqua was amazing as well. It was one of the best-designed fights in the entire game. As I said, the only thing setting this back is exploration. We got the awesome design in 0.2 Birth by Sleep, where Aqua sees distorted Disney Worlds, but in Kingdom Hearts 3 it’s just the beach area. Overall, just missing the exploration part. 

10. Arendelle

Story Summary:

The first Disney World to make the list is Arendelle from the movie Frozen. During Sora’s travel here, he meets Elsa, Anna, and the rest of the Frozen gang. He also meets Larxene, but he doesn’t remember her. Larxene’s purpose here was to stall Sora, Donald, and Goofy by trapping them in this giant Ice Labyrinth. Why? Larxene is after the New Seven Hearts to forge the X-Blade and unlock Kingdom Hearts. Upon learning this, Sora makes sure to save Elsa by finding his way out of the labyrinth. Eventually, the hero defeats the boss Skoll and saves Elsa from Organization XIII, Larxene’s group.

My Thoughts:

Man oh man is Arendelle all over the place. Let’s begin with the exploration. This place SUCKS. While the Ice Labyrinth isn’t too bad, Sora is forced to climb to the top of North Mountain three times! It’s so annoying to get to the top several times and then climb up this snowy hellhole again and again. Also, the introduction of the New Seven Hearts goes absolutely nowhere. Why bring up this plotpoint and then forget about it right after. It’s beyond ridiculous.

The only thing saving Arendelle from being dead last is that it’s an actual world with stuff to do. You can fight enemies. You can collect loot, chests, and Lucky Emblems. The only thing you can’t collect is your time back from climbing the damn mountain. Don’t even get me started on the sled ride minigame or the horrible final boss of this place. Absolutely the worst of the Disney Worlds.

9. Kingdom of Corona

Story Summary:

Of the early game Worlds, Kingdom of Corona is by far the worst. Sora, Donald and Goofy travel to the Kingdom of Corona where they meet Rapunzel and Flynn Rider. They set out on a journey to get Rapunzel to experience the Lantern Festival. During the journey, Sora encounters yet another Organization XIII member, Marluxia. Marluxia is there to monitor Rapunzel to gather intel on the New Seven Hearts of Light. Eventually, Sora has to fight a boss and save the world from Darkness. Blah blah blah.

My Thoughts:

As far as the story goes for the Kingdom of Corona, it is absolute dog water. I mean every Disney World is close to a 0/10 when it comes to story, but man is this one of the worst. It actively feels like Sora, Donald, and Goofy are just there. There is no part of me that believes there is any chemistry between Sora, Flynn and Rapunzel. Also, Square Enix just redid the movie scenes and slapped Sora, Donald, and Goofy for fun. The only reason I have it above Arendelle is that the world is absolutely beautiful. You can actually visit the damn kingdom unlike in Arendelle. Oh yeah and the Keyblade you get is one of the best in Kingdom Hearts 3. Ever After is a super good magic based Keyblade with a great Keyblade Transformation as well.

8. San Fransokyo

Story Summary:

The final Disney World, San Fransokyo, is up next. Sora encounters the Big Hero 6 after the events of the movie. During his travels here, Sora helps out the Big Hero 6 by taking out Heartless all over San Fransokyo. Over time, they learn about the Darkubes. They are microbots that Hiro Hamada cast aside long ago, but they went corrupt after Dark Riku got a hold of them. Here, Dark Riku informs Sora about his experiment with data and hearts. By collecting data, Dark Riku was able to extract the data into the original Baymax, turning him into Dark Baymax. Sora and Baymax number two defeat Dark Baymax, and he returns to his former self.

My Thoughts:

While I think the story elements of San Fransokyo were somewhat interesting, the exploration portion was just super annoying. It was essentially just one big room with absolutely zero charm. Without a proper guide, you would CERTAINLY waste several hours tracking collectibles. I tried for a bit but man was it a slog. I just couldn’t do it anymore. Also, the bosses were some of the worst designs in the whole game. The Catasrochorus, the Darkubes, and Dark Baymax were all relatively boring to play. Honestly, I don’t think I have anything good to say about this world, but it definitely didn’t piss me off as much as Arendelle did.

7. The Caribbean

Story Summary:

Sailing its way to the list is The Caribbean. The plot follows the third movie titled Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. In the beginning of the Disney World, Sora helps Captain Jack Sparrow return from Davy Jones’ Locker. Eventually, the crew defeat a bunch of Heartless that are controlled by Beckett and Davy Jones. Throughout the events, Luxord toys with Sora and Jack about a certain box we all know as the Master of Masters’ box. At the end, Sora defeats Davy Jones and Will Turner becomes the new captain of the Flying Dutchman.

My Thoughts:

Yeah, the story is all over the place. It doesn’t help that they completely skipped the second Pirates of the Caribbean movie and condensed the third movie in less than fifty minutes. It was hard trying to even watch it. Other than that, I think it was pretty decent. Yes, the world was a little big, but at least it wasn’t that annoying to find chests like in San Fransokyo. There were tons of islands that made it much more manageable to explore. Also, the ship fights were actually not bad at all. No complaints there. The best part of this Disney World was the final showdown with Davy Jones. The fight actually felt fair and balanced unlike most of the Disney World final bosses. Overall, a solid experience with some Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag shenanigans. 

6. Twilight Town

Story Summary:

Twilight Town is what most people would say is the most disappointing Kingdom Hearts 3 world. The trio make their way to Twilight Town early on in the game. There, Sora, Donald and Goofy search for a way to bring back Roxas. Along with Hayner, Pence and Olette, the group discovers there is still data of the simulated Twilight Town left behind by Ansem the Wise. Also, the trio meets Remy the rat chef who helps cook them up meals. 

My Thoughts:

Honestly, I was super disappointed by Twilight Town’s return in Kingdom Hearts 3. How Square Enix managed to make it smaller than what it was in Kingdom Hearts 2 is beyond me. The visit was super short and only offered three to four distinct fights (the Demon Tide was so annoying at first). At least they gave Twilight Town something considering Square Enix didn’t feed us one lick of Radiant Garden. Honestly, the only good about Twilight Town was just seeing it in the beautiful Unreal Engine 4. It’s just a shame they only showed us parts of the town and the mansion/forest area. 

5. Keyblade Graveyard

Story Summary:

Ah, the Keyblade Graveyard where Keyblade Wielders go to die. Sora and the rest of the Guardians of Light travel here to stop Xehanort’s plan. During the time here, Sora uses the Power of Waking to save his friends and fight off Organization XIII. He fights off wave after wave alongside the Guardians and even manages to help restore Roxas and Terra. Unfortunately, Xehanort destroys Kairi’s body, and Sora pursues him into Scala Ad Caelum. 

My Thoughts:

As far as storytelling, this place is number one among the Kingdom Hearts 3 worlds. I know a lot of people hate it due to how all of the story is placed at the end. Also, there isn’t any exploration. Just a boss rush. While I agree for the most part, I still enjoyed the story beats. Most of all, the boss rush features most of the better fights in Kingdom Hearts 3. Overall, I enjoyed it, but it definitely can feel like a slog at times. 

4. Scala Ad Caelum

Story Summary:

Of all the original worlds in Kingdom Hearts 3, Scala Ad Caelum is the best. Sora’s last stop to save the worlds from Master Xehanort is here. After the events at Keyblade Graveyard, Sora goes to Scala Ad Caelum through a portal. Upon reaching the city, Sora immediately fights a bunch of hooded figures. Here, Xehanort is able to merge all his vessels into one. His plan to summon Kingdom Hearts comes to fruition. However, Sora fights and defeats Xehanort in multiple fights.

My Thoughts:

The biggest complaint about this place is that we can’t explore the city because of the immediate final boss fights. Fortunately, the ReMind DLC gives us the chance to actually explore. It was very much needed because it is definitely one of the most beautiful worlds in all of Kingdom Hearts. The white buildings with water surrounding them are just insane visuals. Also, the showdown with Xehanort is honestly pretty great. Learning that Xehanort thought his actions were for good was so interesting. I’m excited to see him again in Kingdom Hearts 4. Personally, I really loved the whole vibe of this place even though it didn’t hit the mark initially.

3. Monstropolis

Story Summary:

The third-place prize goes to Monstropolis. Sora, Donald, and Goofy meet up with Sully and Mike to take out the Unversed and get Boo to safety. While navigating through Monsters, Incorporated, Randall reveals himself to the group, stating he has returned to take over the company. He wants to revert their energy to screams and negative energy, not laughs. After defeating Lump of Horror and sending Randall packing, Vanitas shows himself to give trouble to the group once again. His purpose is to take the negative energy in Monstropolis to reconstruct his heart. Luckily, Sully and Mike also send him packing.

My Thoughts:

Overall, the story is pretty well done. For some reason, the Pixar movies got the good story treatment while the Disney ones were just a retelling. The surprise factor of seeing the Unversed and Vanitas again was also cool. Other than that, the factory setting was ok. I wish it was a bit more, but for me it still worked. The only gripe I had with this world was the Lump of Horror boss fight. Fighting this guy with all pro codes on is no joke, especially when you randomly get hit by a fireball from off-screen. We need more Pixar worlds, Square Enix.

2. Olympus

Story Summary:

Taking up the next slot is Olympus. Sora travels here in hopes of regaining his strength after losing it all during the Mark of Mastery Exam in Dream Drop Distance. Along with Donald and Goofy, Sora meets up with Hercules, who is busy defending Thebes from Hades. So, the four of them set out to rescue citizens and Herc’s family. Finding their way to Mount Olympus, Sora and the gang defeat the Titans that were released by Hades. Once again, Hades is thwarted by the half-pint trio and Hercules.

My Thoughts:

I still remember when Kingdom Hearts 3 was releasing trailers and Square Enix showcased Olympus. Everyone started jumping up and down in excitement when Sora jumped off the cliffs, showing us just how big the worlds in Kingdom Hearts 3 will be. It was awesome finally getting to explore Mount Olympus. Plus, the Hero’s Origin Keyblade is simply fantastic once you understand how it works. One of the only downsides was the exclusion of the Underworld. Also, no voice lines for Phil made it just so awkward. Olympus feels like the most complete of the Disney Worlds, but I have one world that I enjoyed slightly more.

1. Toy Box

Story Summary:

Finally, my number one pick for the best Kingdom Hearts 3 world is Toy Box. Sora meets Woody, Buzz and Rex and discovers their world has been split into two. Famously, this is where Verum Rex, a video game in Toy Box, is introduced and Rex mistakes Sora as Yozora. Along their travels to save Woody and Buzz’s friends, Young Xehanort reveals himself to the group. There, he states his experiment on testing if hearts and darkness are living within toys. Sora and the gang defeat the Heartless at Galaxy Toys which keeps Young Xehanort at bay for the time being. Unfortunately, we weren’t shown Woody and Buzz reuniting with the other reality.

My Thoughts:

Overall, Toy Box is definitely my pick as the best among the Kingdom Hearts 3 worlds. I found the story very interesting as it wasn’t actually following the plot of any of the movies. It happened between Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3. So, the entire plot actually made it feel like Sora, Donald, and Goofy were actually part of the universe there and not just slapped into preexisting scenes. Also, Verum Rex being shown here is super important, considering it ties directly to Kingdom Hearts 4 and Quadratum, also known as “unreality.” 

While a lot of people will argue Toy Box is just one big map, it at least felt enjoyable to explore. Unlike Arendelle and San Fransokyo, each room felt uniquely designed, and it didn’t feel like a slog to 100% the world. Especially with the “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” arrangement playing in the background. I was happily exploring and taking my time with that beautiful track. While the fights themselves weren’t all that great, Toy Box was definitely the most memorable and enjoyable Kingdom Hearts 3 world.

Until Next Time

Thanks so much for reading. I definitely enjoyed the two Pixar worlds more than the others in Kingdom Hearts 3. I believe many would agree with that.

Again, if you would like to share your thoughts, feel free. Other than that, check out my other articles on Kingdom Hearts 1, Kingdom Hearts 2, or One Piece if you like anime.