Search the Community

Kingdom Hearts II is a widely beloved entry in the series, being many fans’ favorite. And, I believe it’s safe to assume that a significant degree of that love stems from it housing the best world in the franchise, Atlantica. Now, while Atlantica is one of the more well-liked worlds in the first game, its musical implementation in Kingdom Hearts II is masterful, causing many fans over the years to question why the entirety of the game and subsequent sequels didn’t play like this world. Unfortunately, we’ll likely never receive an answer to that prominent, collective fan inquiry, and we’ll have to keep replaying the 5 stellar musical numbers this area boasts. With it being the series’ 20th anniversary, I found it only fitting to reflect on the peak gameplay of the titles and rank the playable musicals from worst to best. 5. "Part of Your World" This is easily the most abhorred song of Atlantica, and part of why is because it doesn’t include the magnificent vocal talents or dancing of Donald and Goofy. Sora’s compatriots provide fantastic vocal and visual range, capturing the essence of these performances far more effectively than any of the other characters. It’s also the shortest song, further providing ample reason for this being on the bottom of the list. Lastly, the fact that players can simply obtain 5 Excellent ratings and skimp out on the rest of the track is unfortunate. Fans want to interact with these musical minigames more and not just view them as spectacles, despite how epic they are. 4. "Ursula’s Revenge" Ah, yes. The best boss battle of not only Kingdom Hearts II but the franchise as a whole. It’s almost depressing how the series hasn’t even come close to reaching the quality of this encounter. Still, that just goes to show how legendary it is. Ursula utilizes the power of King Triton’s trident and enlarges herself, becoming a genuinely threatening foe. Players have to time cleverly incorporated button presses aligned with Ursula’s ever-growing power, resulting in a climactic encounter that will leave you with an undeniably cathartic sense of delight. While Donald and Goofy don’t sing during this battle, the sheer well-induced terror of this scene nearly absolves that fault. If only Xemnas received such a similarly praiseworthy encounter… 3. "Under The Sea" "Under The Sea" boasts sublime metaphorical imagery throughout its duration. The right side of the screen hosts a gauge determining Ariel’s yearning for the outside world or accepted complacency with the life she’s come to know. The player’s performance determining the state of Ariel’s mentality illustrates a terrific relationship between their actions and results. Essentially, the effects of gameplay are transparently depicted in a manner affecting character growth. Further, the necessitated avoidance of Sebastian for success subtly implies his actual existence as a Darkling, serving as a corrupting influence on Ariel’s strained psyche. There is just an almost insane degree of storytelling depth poured into this performance, but the fact that there are still 2 more surpassing it is astounding. 2. "Swim This Way" Despite being the initial performance, "Swim This Way" expertly introduces players to the majesty of this world’s rhythm-based gameplay. Sebastian being the motivator for Sora, Ariel, and the others is a colossal reason for this monumental quality. As alluded to in the prior placement, it’s evident that Sebastian is a Darkling utilizing some manner of camouflage to veil his authentic, horrific appearance. His motives are still unclear, but Dark Road’s final update may finally shed light on this long-running point of contention the fanbase has possessed for over half a decade. Regardless, what makes this performance so noteworthy is Sebastian’s seemingly two-faced nature. While he is a force of corruption during "Under the Sea", his congenial deliverance of praise and motivation seems real here. And, if that’s the case, what is Sebastian enduring throughout this world’s story events? Are the influences of Sora and the gang combating the inherent darkness his existence comprises? It’s a simultaneously inspiring and fearsome thought. Aside from Sebastian, though, Sora’s use of magic and the entirety of the group dancing with one another is a wholesome, endearing sight. You’d be hard-pressed to identify a better first song in any rhythm game experience. 1. "A New Day is Dawning" Finally, we have reached the indisputably best track in the world; "A New Day is Dawning". The sheer, infectious joviality present from every participant in this massive ensemble performance is almost tear-jerking. After defeating Ursula, peace has been restored, and the sea’s denizens celebrate that occurrence, as well as Ariel’s eventual marriage to Prince Eric. King Triton smiling, Sora, Donald, and Goofy’s passionate singing, and the countless dancers emphasize the immense scale of these events. This is also the most challenging song to complete, with a steep score to achieve. Additionally, the remaining presence of the Sebastian icons that must be avoided informs the player that darkness still lurks within this world, and there’s no telling when it will sprout. When Atlantica returns in a future game, we’ll assuredly witness Sebastian’s tragic reveal as a Darkling. Still, until then, this song represents long-desired fulfilling tranquility. Alas, it also is a meta-textual metaphor for how the best world is nearing its end, and players will have to move on. After all, A New Day is Dawning. Not all of life can be enthusiastically joyful. So, while the conclusion of this world can be melancholic due to its qualitative nature ceasing, it teaches players the valuable lesson of how life lacks permanence. Change is always approaching from behind the corner, and despite its confrontations differing in timing for every individual, it’s inescapable. And that was indisputable Top 5 ranking for each Atlantica song in Kingdom Hearts II. Still, do you somehow disagree with this placement? And if so, what does your ranking look like? Let us know in the comments below! View full article

Which song from Atlantica would you like to see most in Melody of Memory?

The Kingdom Hearts Series Character Files translations for the world stories of Atlantica, and Wonderland are now available! The Kingdom Hearts Series Character Files features over 200 characters from the entirety of the series thus far, with several short stories from Tomoco Kanemaki (the writer of the Kingdom Hearts light novels). You can purchase the book for ¥3,080 (approx. $28.03) from the Square Enix e-Store directly or from AitaiKuji, who deliver official and exclusive Japanese pop culture items! You can check out more exclusive character and worlds stories from Kingdom Hearts Series Character Files below: We have covered translations for: Xion's Story Saix's Story Naminé's Story Riku Story Riku-Replica's Story Roxas' Story' Larxene's Story Marluxia's Story The story of Daybreak Town Sora's Story Kairi's Story Xigbar's Story Luxord's Story Demyx's Story Axel's Story Aeleus' Story Dilan's Story Ansem the Wise's Story Ienzo's Story Vexen's Story Aqua's Story Terra's Story Ventus' Story Terra-Xehanort's Story Vanitas' Story Ansem's Story Xemnas' Story Young Xehanort's Story The story of Twilight Town The story of Traverse Town Master Xehanort's Story Master Eraqus' Story The Story of Enchanted Dominion The Story of Castle of Dreams The Story of Dwarf Woodlands The translations for Atlantica's Story “Under the Sea”, and Wonderland's Story “Golden Afternoon” can be viewed below! Translations are courtesy of LilyGinnyBlack. View full article

Hi there! I'm 13th Vessel, some of you may remember me for some stuff that I found in the past, like the weird rooms in KH3D or the Jungle Book colission file that was inside that same game. This time I wanted to do my research with KH2 and surprisingly I found a lot of unused stuff that was hidden inside the game files. This is a dense research that covers almost every file of the game and it's very interesting because it's strongly tied to Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories, so please take a look if you like This video took me a lot of hours, not only the research itself but the video editing too (+15 hours doing the research and +20 making the video). Also, while I was doing the research I noticed that some part of the stuff was previously found by other friends of the KH hacking community, but the thing is that most people ignore it, so I added some names in order to let you know if someone found any of these before. I consider this one of my most ambitious works so I hope you enjoy the video! Lots of regards! 13th Vessel~ This post has been promoted to an article

Finding Mansex is pretty good.

I don't normally like being a killjoy; however I'm here today to perhaps voice what might be an unpopular opinion about transformation. Here's a few reasons why I hope Sora doesn't become another Merman/Lion/Frog etc unless there are needed changes. Let's get this straight; I appreciated the Pride Lands plot and even Atlantica's plot in KH1 ( I'm still having nightmares about Donald's singing from Kh2...). However my issue with both worlds was the fact we got transformed. Yes it's a cool concept however.... 1) the control- Merman Sora I'm sorry in KH1 was an absolute nightmare to control; you spend the whole game getting used to the camera/the movement settings then all of a sudden it's redundant in Atlantica. Part from getting lost which wasn't a huge task; one of the main issues was with the controls; it wasn't fun in the end. The same applies for Lion Sora; yes he was easier to control and was more in tune to normal Sora; but there's no denying he was a Lion Flash and it did help make a huge workd easier to navigate: there were plenty of times you'd have to double back on yourself to fight heartless; over look a treasure chest etc. It wasn't perfect either. 2) loss of abilities- this is a real kick in the teeth for me; you work hard levelling up for abilities; you equip abilities Which benefit you; then once again you transform and a lot of your abilities become redundant. This was seriously annoying; yes I gather there needs to be a sense of realism eg you can't have aerial combat underwater; however to strip us down isn't benefiting the player; but a hinderance. Also there is no guarantee if we transform in Kh3 we'll be able to use abilities such as Keyblade transformations/attraction flow etc and due to the fact this game will be more intense; the more options I have in battle the better. I'd rather not be in a situation where I could use aid; but can't because ( example only) I'm a blasted bear cub in a Brother Bear world. In situations like that the coolness of transforming doesn't outweigh the restrictions of abilities. That being said; I really don't like being a killjoy so there are a few ways if used to rectify the situation; then transforming should not be an issue. 1) control- if they insist on transforming us; do not make the control alien to the player; keep it simple and keep it the same way as any other world. Also keep Sora's speed the same in all world's; excluding a quick run ability if it's implemented. This will again keep things smooth. 2) do not restrict our essential abilities- like I said before; sometimes in order to keep things realistic; some abilities will need to be restricted; such as no aerial combat underwater etc. However allow us to keep crucial abilities; combat abilities and due to the map scale of kh3 flow motion. Thereby enhancing rather than hindering the player. 3) make us make the most use of our forms- by this I mean; make the forms feel unique and fun; etc if we become a frog; make us make use of the ability to swim underwater; take camouflage amongst lilies to avoid heartless detecting us; squeeze through smaller gaps. That would be perfectly fine and whilst the Pride Lands were ok; imagine how much more cooler it would have been to have been able to stalk heartless using a stealth Attack; ( seeing as npcs will help the fight) have the other lionesses help lead the heartless to you for Attack etc. That would be clever actually and would make it enjoyable. Overall; transforming at its current state is nothing short of a pain to the players in reality and if it is to return in KH3 needs vital changes; otherwise in my opinion- human sora is perfectly fine by me.

I was recently watching some old cutscenes from the first KH game and something Triton said actually got me wondering, who exactly was he referring to when he was talking about the role of the Keyblade Wielder; it was along the lines of ' As the Keyblade Wielder, you must already know- one must not meddle in the affairs of other worlds.' Ok how does he know any of this? Maleficent knew from Xehanort and thus how the Council of Villians knew; but how does Triton know about the other worlds? How did he know what the keyhole was and where it was located? And also what Keyblade Wielder has he encountered before? Sora- he just met and already had the knowledge ( Riku and Kairi can too be ruled out for obvious reasons) TAV- stating the obvious that Atlantica wasn't in BBS and it seems unlikely they visited worlds before then Mickey- possibility; but again unlikely since BBS seemed to be the first time he ventured away; maybe between the 10 years gap; but I cannot think of a reason for him going there at all This leads us to the interesting possibility that Xehanort might have visited the world in the past; that might explain why Triton is Initially sceptical of the Keyblade due to Xehanort's past actions there.. Or it could be a brand new character? Either way; this guy possess info most don't tend to have ame is obviously referring to someone he has had contact with.... Any ideas?

I don't recall his singing voice being so good in the original.

Sorry if this topic has already been made and such, but... That scene in KH1 where King Triton tells Sora 'not to meddle in the affairs of other worlds' and 'the key bearer shatters peace and brings ruin'... why does he say that? The TAV trio has never been to Atlantica afaik, but could the KHx Keyblade War have something to do with it? Or maybe Xehanort? Or are there keyblade wielders/masters we don't know about yet? The way King Triton acts in that scene... it almost seems to me like he's met a Keyblade wielder before and has bad experiences with them. What do you think?