Last week, I wrote a world ranking about the very first Kingdom Hearts game, and now it’s time to cover its even more impressive sequel, the aptly named Kingdom Hearts 2.  This game has some really good worlds…and some really dull ones.  I’ll be ranking these based off of everything, the general theming, the story, the boss fights, and anything else in between.  So follow your heart and peruse the following list.  And when it’s all done, feel free to tell us all about your favorite and least favorite worlds! (Also, I have a Kingdom Hearts 3 ranking from years back, if you’re interested!)

15: Atlantica – I’m sorry, but could the worst world really be anything else?  Atlantica, which wasn’t exactly fun to begin with during its debut in the first game, has now been reduced to a collection of goofy rhythm games.  Now I get to sit there and press buttons with precise timing as Sora, Donald, and Goofy sing and dance with Ariel.  No one enjoyed this or asked for it or wanted it.  Like Nobodies, this world shouldn’t exist.

14: Disney Castle – Should this place even be considered a world?  Because it’s so dang short, I almost forgot it existed!  We merely proceed through a courtyard and a hallway before escorting Queen Minnie to the throne.  They really should have done more with this place, but as it stands now, it’s just a means to enter the far superior Timeless River.

13: 100 Acre Wood – As usual, this visit to the world of Winnie the Pooh is a relaxing break from the action.  Charming though it may be, however, this world is basically a mini game collection.  And while I enjoyed the minigames better than those found in the previous game, I didn’t really enjoy the story.  The story of 100 Acre Wood wasn’t exactly complex in the first game (I don’t even remember what it was…), but the whole premise of Pooh forgetting his friends and slowly needing to remember them wasn’t exactly compelling in any sense of the word.  And for the first half of the world, I felt like Pooh came across as even more self-centered than he normally does.  I know Pooh is simple-minded and oblivious in a child-like sort of way, but in much of this world, he just came across as selfish and not too likable.  Luckily, he does redeem himself by the end, but this world made me unreasonably angry at a fictional plush bear!

12: Pride Lands – I didn’t really enjoy my time with the Pride Lands.  I don’t really mind playing as lion Sora, even though Drive forms aren’t available here.  This place just feels overly large and a good deal of it is very brown, though I do think the Oasis was quite lovely.  The second visit is especially a chore.  I didn’t enjoy the story, which revolved around Simba being a huge coward when faced with the ghost of Scar, the boss is a pain, and there’s a really annoying “battle” where you need to chase down and defeat the three hyenas as they run away from you.  It’s way more annoying than anything!

11: Port Royal – This world based on the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie proved that the PS2 was not ready for adapting a live-action movie to video game graphics, as the characters here look very uncanny, and the difference between the “realistic” pirates versus the more cartoony characters is quite jarring indeed.  This is also just a really boring world, where the action is frequently interrupted by a whole bunch of scenes taken straight from the movie.  I wondered why this was, and some quick research told me that this game was released shortly before the second Pirates movie, so clearly this was intended as marketing for the upcoming movie.  Also, Jack Sparrow was pretty dull and had very little personality compared to his movie counterpart, and the whole mechanic where the pirates can only be damaged in the moonlight is good in theory, but annoying in practice.

10: Land of Dragons – I don’t know what it is about this world, but as the first Disney world in the game, this place just felt really boring.  (Except for the part near the beginning where Sora and the gang get in a fight with those soldiers.  Donald was out for blood in this game, and I loved it!)  I disliked the whole morale thing where you need to keep it from running out as you fight enemies, the need to pretty much do the same battle multiple times at the start as part of Captain Shang’s missions felt like tedious time-wasting, and the story was pretty dull.  The world is…passable, but nothing about it really stood out to me, either.

9: Agrabah – KH2 Agrabah is not really as good as its iteration in the first game.  The city itself was less interesting and is mainly a bunch of bazaar stalls, and the Cave of Wonders feels less magical than it did in the original game.  I did enjoy the section during the second visit where we get to ride around on the magic carpet, though I also didn’t like the subsequent battle against a giant genie Jafar.  So basically, this version of Agrabah is pretty lackluster when the first game already managed to do it better.

8: Space Paranoids – I’m not the biggest fan of this computer-based world, which is pretty much all blue.  I also really didn’t enjoy the light cycle section where you need to ride on the motorcycle while defeating enemies.  I think the main thing that redeems this world for me is Tron himself, whose budding friendship with Sora and his pals is quite charming.  Strangely enough, that detail alone makes this level feel more memorable and charming than those that came earlier in this list.

7: Olympus Coliseum – While previously a pretty dull world, the Coliseum has been greatly upgraded since the last game to now include the Underworld.  And you even get Auron as your temporary companion, who is easily one of the coolest Final Fantasy characters out there (though I do wish he accompanied us more)!  Although the Underworld isn’t exactly the most interesting place to explore, I still enjoyed the story here, and the Underdrome tournaments were fun enough.

6: Halloween Town – This time, Halloween Town includes Christmas Town, where you can visit Sandy Claws himself!  I always love my time in Halloween Town because of my bias for anything related to The Nightmare Before Christmas, and I never fail to get enjoyment out of fighting alongside Jack Skellington while listening to “This is Halloween” play in the background.  With that said, I really expected more from KH2’s version of Halloween Town.  The titular town and surrounding graveyard has been downgraded in favor of Christmas Town, which is also pretty small, meaning this world is split between two rather insubstantial locations.  Our battle against Oogie isn’t quite as epic, either.  This version of Halloween Town is still a good time, but it really could have been better.

5: Beast’s Castle – Considering I always liked the source material, of course I was thrilled to visit the Beast’s towering castle, a foreboding place filled with gargoyles and surrounded by an unwelcoming forest.  Although I would have liked to see more of the castle, and maybe even the woods surrounding it, I still enjoyed my little romp through the halls, which includes a very movie-accurate ballroom.  This is also the world where we encounter Xaldin from the Organization.  And although he’s one of the toughest members, I’ll never not chuckle when Belle just elbows this guy in the stomach and escapes from his grasp!  Honestly, she should have fought him in my place!

4: Hollow Bastion – Hollow Bastion has become the hub world of KH2 just as Traverse Town was in the first game.  Now the scenery has been expanded to include a small town amidst a rocky wasteland.  The castle isn’t as grand as imposing as it once was, which I suppose makes sense, as the focus has been shifted to the surroundings rather than the castle itself.  But we do get some good story here, our first battle to the death with a member of Organization XIII, and the iconic battle against 1000 Heartless!  (Oh, and we finally learn that the world’s original name was Radiant Garden.  Makes sense the place would have a more pleasant name…even if Hollow Bastion sounds way cooler.)

3: Twilight Town – Twilight Town is a major location of the game, as we literally spend what is essentially a 3-hour tutorial here at the start!  On my first playthrough, I was genuinely interested in Roxas’ plight, the boy whose story we follow at the start of the game before being reunited with Sora and friends.  The mystery of what was happening to Roxas, the identity of the disturbingly flexible creatures that we later learned were lesser Nobodies called Dusks, and the 7 Wonders of Twilight Town were all quite intriguing on a first playthrough.  To be honest, on subsequent playthroughs, the prologue can drag a bit, but I still have fond memories of this place, securing this world’s ranking at an admirable number 3!

2: Timeless River – This black and white world, complete with somewhat muffled audio, is meant to emulate the rubber hose style of cartoons from the 1920’s and 30’s.  One of the most unique worlds to ever come out of Kingdom Hearts, I love the unique aesthetic, the whimsical music, and getting to meet Pete back before he turned evil and joined forces with Maleficent, which led to some rather humorous moments indeed!  The main downside is that this world is short, only gets one visit, and I really didn’t enjoy the part where you have to stop the building from burning down.  Those car Heartless are just the worst!

1: The World That Never Was – Once again, Kingdom Hearts knows how to end the game well.  This time, we have an eerie empty city, at the center of which is the massive castle of Organization XIII.  All of this is set beneath the ethereal beauty that is Kingdom Hearts, which basks the entire world in its glow like a massive pale moon.  The music gives off an uneasy vibe, and the gigantic white castle, which floats above an enormous crater, feels like something out of this world!  This is also the site of plenty of story, including reunions and battles against the last four remaining members of the Organization.  Like Hollow Bastion from the first game, this is perfection once again!