7 Disney Worlds That Should Be in Kingdom Hearts IV

The world waits with bated breath for more information on Kingdom Hearts IV. They showed off some new screenshots recently, and announced that they were still working on the game, whilst simultaneously cancelling the hotly anticipated mobile title, Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link. But, we still don't know that much about the new game. 

 

As is tradition with the franchise, the game will surely feature several Disney-themed worlds. Personally, I really don't want to see Star Wars or Marvel properties, but I'm sure we will; Disney can't help themselves, even though they've been an atrocious steward of Star Wars, and Marvel has fallen off a cliff in quality. We've been to some worlds far too many times, like Mount Olympus, while other classic Disney universes have never been explored in any capacity in Kingdom Hearts. I can think of a few that I would personally love to see finally get the Kingdom Hearts treatment.

 

Treasure Planet

I'm of the mind that Treasure Planet is the coolest movie that Disney ever made. The fact that we never got sequels to this masterpiece is mind-boggling. The sci-fi reimagining of Treasure Island into a swashbuckling, space adventure with interstellar classical wooden boats and interesting technology and creative alien designs stands out as a wonderfully unique setting. Since we will never see more Treasure Planet content, beyond the love that it thankfully received in Lorcana, I think this world would be absolutely perfect for Kingdom Hearts IV. It would feel unlike any world we've seen in the franchise up to this point. You could do the solar surfing like in the movie, get some sweet summons from the colorful cast of characters in the movie, and best of all, get more story from this amazing cast from Treasure Planet. I don't expect this ever to happen, but I think it would be an amazing move from Square Enix to include it.

 

Atlantis: The Lost Empire

Another of Disney's deeply underrated classics, Atlantis: The Lost Empire would be an absolute blast in Kingdom Hearts IV. The World War 1 era technology and unique, mythical setting would provide an amazing world to play in. We've been underwater in Kingdom Hearts before, in the Little Mermaid's world, but this would feel incredibly different and much more mature, which I think would be fitting for the more serious tone that the series has garnered as the story has progressed. I could imagine Sora and the gang having to recruit Milo to lead them back to Atlantis or something, making a whole adventure out of just finding the city, and then exploring Atlantis and its wonders, once you've found it.

 

A Goofy Movie

 A Goofy Movie is simply one of the best Disney movies ever made. It is hilarious and heartwarming, and if you find Goofy annoying like I do, the movie makes him incredibly endearing. Personally, I'd love to see Max, Goofy's son, make his appearance in Kingdom Hearts, and I feel like they could make a compelling story around it too, since Goofy is one of Sora's companions. You could assist Goofy in rescuing Max from danger or something. Also, Powerline would basically have to be a summon. I feel like this could be a shorter world, but something fun to explore. Especially because A Goofy Movie just celebrated its thirtieth anniversary. Good God, I'm getting old.

 

The Black Cauldron

 The Black Cauldron is an infamous Disney movie. Not necessarily because of its quality, but for being the movie that people think really sent Disney down one of their rough roads where they were struggling financially and making critically disappointing movies. It is a uniquely dark Disney movie, and it's based on The Chronicles of Prydain book series, which is in turn inspired by Welsh mythology. We don't often get spooky settings for Kingdom Hearts, unless it's The Nightmare Before Christmas-themed, so it would be fun to visit a new eerie locale in the franchise. Also, with the film having a bad legacy, it would be really cool for Disney to allow Square Enix to revisit it and tell a new story with these characters and potentially put some much deserved respect on the film.

 

The Rocketeer

 

Disney doesn't technically own The Rocketeer, but they made a film based on the character. The Rocketeer as a character is largely known because of the excellent Disney movie, which was an adaptation of the comic book series that the character stars in. It would be neat to see Disney utilize the character again. I am an absolute sucker for old pulp action stories like this, and that style would feel entirely new to the Kingdom Hearts franchise. The art deco visual style, with steampunk technology and old 1930s outfits and cars would lend such a fresh design to Kingdom Hearts IV. Imagine Sora and the gang teaming up with The Rocketeer and battling a villain in a giant airship or something. That would be so cool.

 

 

Additionally fellow Netto's Game Room writer Ben had two picks of his own to add to this list. Here is what he had to say:

 

Moana

I'll admit that Moana isn't a movie I watched until a few years ago, but it quickly became one of my favorites. Seeing the Polynesian culture is great, and the world itself provides so many opportunities for Kingdom Hearts IV to take advantage of. It is unlikely that we will be seeing a pirate world again, but Moana would give Sora an excuse to once again sail the seas, and jump island to island. The music is top notch as well, and they could have a lot of fun with their song selection for the game! Plus who wouldn't want to see Sora, Donald, and Goofy interact with Maui?

 

Coco

Coco is my (Ben's) number one choice for Kingdom Hearts IV! The movie itself is Pixar's wonderful trip through the land of the dead, and has a huge focus on family, friends, and memories. The movie itself touches on dementia, and how important it is to remember those close to you. Sora himself has experience with losing his memories, and became forgotten by everyone at one point. Memories and his connections to his friends are extremely special to Sora, and are two things he keeps very close to his own heart; something the final song of Coco Proud Corazón focuses on as well. "Our love for each other will live on forever In every beat of my proud corazón." (Corazón meaning heart!) Additionally, the world seen in the Kingdom Hearts IV trailer is considered an "afterlife" for people like Sora, so an adventure through another afterlife world would make a lot of sense. Plus, imagine how amazing this world would look being brought to life with modern tech!

 

And now Jeremy's final entry...

 

Heavyweights

This is obviously total sarcasm, but Kingdom Hearts IV should absolutely include a world themed around the Disney classic, Heavyweights. Imagine this. Sora, Donald and Goofy become husky teenagers who need to lose some weight, so Mickey sends them to Camp Hope to get in shape and have a fun summer vacation. But, the dastardly Tony Perkis Jr. and his lackey Lars appear and try to "Perkisize" our heroes. We've seen a live-action franchise get the Kingdom Hearts treatment before, with Pirates of the Caribbean, so there's a non-zero chance that this could happen. Come on Disney and Square Enix. "Step on the scale. Step off the scale."

 

What do you think? What Disney movies would you like to see appear in Kingdom Hearts IV? Do you agree with my choices or do you have other suggestions? Comment down below!