The Land of Dragons

The Land of Dragons (ザ・ランド・オブ・ドラゴン) is a world from Kingdom Hearts II based on the 1998 Disney film "Mulan". The world is in fact located in old China, mentioned by several of the world-specific characters, notably Mulan and The Emperor. The world is one of the first Disney-based worlds that is unlocked in the game, after Sora clears Hollow Bastion for the first time.

Setting and Areas
Sora and company enter at the tranquil Bamboo Grove, and have a reunion with Mushu here. This reunion takes them to the Encampment, where a division of China's army trains and lives. Their missions send them to the nearby Checkpoint, a set of gates near a beautiful waterfall and stream; the area serves as a sort of crossroads where the world's paths intersect.

Going left takes the party to Mountain Trail, a twisting and curvy path full of ledges, dead ends, and treacherous Heartless. Clearing out the boulders blocking the way allows the army to enter the Village, an abandoned Chinese village near the edge of battle that also holds the world's Moogle shop. Off of the main path is the Village Cave, where a clever trap is laid for Sora and his friends; continuing on the main path takes the party to the Ridge overlooking a beautiful valley below. Continuing up the path takes them to the final area, the Summit of the mountain, where many major encounters take place.

Going right at the Checkpoint takes the group to the Palace; they arrive in Imperial Square, a wide-open area that plays host to a number of enemies and a boss battle. Continuing up the stairs takes them to the Palace Gate, where one of the world's boss battles take place. At the end of their second visit, Sora and his party are granted access to the palace itself; entering the Gate leads them to the Antechamber, and from there the Throne Room, headquarters of the Emperor.

First visit
Sora, Donald, and Goofy encounter their old friend and Summon Mushu guarding and guiding a young soldier-to-be, Mulan, disguised as a boy named Ping. The group makes their way to a nearby army encampment, where they persuade the general, Li Shang, to allow them to join after some training. Unfortunately, Ping's attempts to prove himself cause problems for the army and Sora's party, and when Ping is unmasked as Mulan, things get more complicated still.

Li Shang, outraged by Mulan's gender, kicks Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Mulan out of the army. When Mulan discovers Shan-Yu is still alive after the avalanche she had caused, she goes to warn Li Shang. Li Shang refuses to believe Mulan, Sora, Donald, and Goofy at first, but when Hayabusa is spotted soaring above the palace, Li Shang realizes he was wrong and guards the Emperor while Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Mulan eliminate Shan-Yu once and for all. The Emperor presents Mulan with Shan-Yu's sword as proof of her bravery, and it reveals itself to be a gateway to another world.

Second visit
When Sora returns, he finds Mulan searching for a man in a black coat. Sora, Mulan, Donald, and Goofy follow the man up to the Summit, where they fight a swarm of Rapid Thruster Heartless and Sora faces the Mysterious Man, whom Sora believes to be Riku after seeing his weapon. After the fight the man disappears. Mulan, Donald, Goofy, and Sora go back down the mountain to see the enormous Storm Rider fly towards the Imperial City.

They rush to the Imperial Square to find that everything is fine, though the door to the Palace is locked. Mulan, Donald, Goofy, and Sora sneak in through a window, only to find a man in a black coat at the door to the throne room. Sora asks the man if he is Riku, only for him to be revealed as Xigbar. Inside the Throne Room, The Emperor tells them that the other black-coated man came to warn them of the danger of the Heartless, and the team rushes out to the Imperial Square to defeat it. When they return, Sora asks the Emperor if the man in the black coat said anything else. Captain Shang answers that the man said "Three wise guys would take care of everything." Sora smiles, realizing that Riku really was there.

Trivia

 * A minor typo in the U.S release named Chien Po simply Po. This can be found if you speak to Chien Po walking around before your first mission to go through the mountain pass, during the first visit.


 * By talking to the NPC soldiers it is shown that they turned into Heartless because of the despair in their heart.


 * It is also one of two Disney worlds based and referred to after a real-life location, the other being Port Royal. (Neverland would be included in this for Wendy does mention London in Kingdom Hearts, and you do visit Big Ben, but Neverland is not counted as a part of London.)

Terre des Dragons