Highlights
- Kingdom Hearts’ world of Atlantica, regardless of being criticized by the group, provides a singular and refreshing change of tempo with its underwater exploration and reliance on magic for fixing puzzles and fight.
- Atlantica additionally introduces a significant narrative twist – a revelation provides depth and complexity to the story of Kingdom Hearts.
Kingdom Hearts incorporates numerous secrets and techniques inside its worlds. Hidden paths that result in treasure, or direct shortcuts to shave time, and so they require curiosity to search out these spots and the willingness to work together with out-of-the-box pondering. It is a divisive design for loads of followers. Gamers like myself love being extra concerned, whereas others get misplaced and confused.
Of all Kingdom Hearts’ worlds nonetheless, just a few have emerged as essentially the most reviled by the group. Deep Jungle and Monstro are accused of being mazes, however neither of them are as infamous as Atlantica, residence of The Little Mermaid. Even from the very starting, I by no means agreed with these criticisms. Easy exploration and curiosity solves the maze points, and as soon as mastered, you’ll all the time keep in mind the structure. Every world additionally provides to the general tone and story, and that features the a lot hated Atlantic.

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Swim This Approach
It is becoming we simply had an article from our Vlad Mazanko about Soulslike platforming failures, as I really feel Kingdom Hearts 1 has some similarities to FromSoftware’s design. Clues about the place to go are purposefully cryptic, and sure, there’s numerous non-compulsory platforming to search out uncommon synthesis supplies and stat boosts, one thing you possibly can ignore if you’re so inclined, however are rewarded once you pull it off.
Atlantica sees you swimming as a merman as an alternative of platforming, and Sebastian the crab even makes certain you may have your sea legs by a fast tutorial. Maintain sq. to swim down, circle to swim up, and you may swim on to something you lock-on to. It’s nonetheless a sudden shift in gameplay, so even with a tutorial, I perceive why gamers can be put-off by it. Nonetheless, between the robust tutorial and the simple controls, it manages to nonetheless really feel at residence with the remainder of the sport. It is taste to make this world stand out extra, and I all the time felt it nailed it.
The Atlantica part additionally marks one of many greatest narrative twists in the whole sequence.
However removed from the cumbersome slog followers complain about; all it’s important to do is maintain sq. to go down and circle to go up, and you may even swim on to something you lock-on to! With leaping now not potential, Atlantica as an alternative asks you to depend on magic to unravel environmental puzzles. Utilizing hearth to blow up a sea urchin that unlocks a shortcut, or the color-coded clams that give Mythril Shards when attacked with the matching spell.
Atlantica grows on you extra when you notice the answer to your issues is counting on magic for exploration and fight. Many enemies are out of attain, so magic closes the hole. Magic can even forestall Sheltering Zone Heartless from changing into small Sea Neons, not like once you depend on smacking them.
The important thing to having fun with Atlantica is knowing this rule. Suppose like Ursula, and depend on your magic over every part else.
Dive To The Coronary heart
The Atlantica part additionally marks one of many greatest narrative twists in the whole sequence. That is the world the place King Triton drops an enormous lore bomb: that the Keyblade wielders aren’t the heroes Sora was instructed they’re, and that as an alternative they carry chaos and wreck. It is the precise reverse of every part we have heard earlier than, however there’s by no means a counterpoint to show Triton is mistaken. Sora proves he is a seeker of peace, however the actuality that Keyblade wielders are villains is a chilling revelation.
The place story points are tougher to swallow is the Kingdom Hearts 2 model of Atlantica. Like many Disney worlds, it was lowered to a retelling of the Little Mermaid film with little distinctive plot. And this time, it was a musical minigame marathon.
And but I’ve grown to like this model of Atlantica too. Positive, utilizing songs immediately from the film is fairly on-the-nose by way of references, however that is The Little Mermaid we’re speaking about! There are unique songs too, and so they kinda blow, however in a so-bad-it’s-good kinda approach. You’ll be able to even replay these missions and refuse to hit the prompts, laughing on the chaos you’ve got ensued. Guess Triton was proper about Keybearers bringing destruction.
Kingdom Hearts would not be the identical with out Atlantica. Between the intelligent use of magic, the lore drops, and sure, even the swimming and the singing. I’ll all the time love how Kingdom Hearts portrayed Atlantica. For me, it was and all the time will probably be a welcome change of tempo, crammed with the secrets and techniques and story beats that make Kingdom Hearts what it’s.

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