Atlantica

Atlantica is a world that appears in Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, and Kingdom Hearts II. It is based on the setting of the 1989 film, .

Almost completely underwater, Atlantica is a rocky world with immense holes on its surface. Beneath the surface is an entire world full of fish, merfolk, and other aquatic species that make up King Triton's underwater kingdom. The Heartless that appear in Atlantica are unique to it, such as Sea Neons which resemble jellyfish. In all games, the boss of Atlantica is Ursula (occasionally accompanied by Flotsam and Jetsam).

King Triton is the ruler of this world, and its Keyhole is hidden in Ariel's grotto.

Settings and Areas
Atlantica has been the most drastically changing world throughout the Kingdom Hearts games. In each game it appears in, its gameplay is completely different. In Kingdom Hearts, Ariel joins Sora as a party member and things carry out much like in any other world, with the exception that the controls are different to fit Sora's new form. You are also restricted from using special attacks such as Ars Arcanum. In Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, Sora doesn't change form at all, and the world is treated just like all other worlds. In Kingdom Hearts II, possibly the biggest change is seen; only two areas can be accessed, and the story progresses through completion of mini-games, rather than through battling enemies.

Kingdom Hearts gives Atlantica a sprawling design that requires certain special abilities to navigate successfully. Sora and company arrive in the , where Ariel and Flounder host the swimming tutorial. From there, the party travels forward, practicing battle in the , following the trident marks to their final destination. One exit leads to the ironically-named , which plays host to a swift moving current that pushes Sora and his party around unless they use Ariel's dolphin friend or obtain the Mermaid Kick ability. The Mermaid Kick ability replaces the Dolphin originally required to get through the calm depths. Following the trident mark here takes the group to the Undersea Cave with a strong current of its own. Making it past the current leads to the , a vast area which leads to several other places in Atlantica. On the opposite side of the gorge are the entrances to ' and, under the crate, the end of a hidden tunnel that leads to the '. Somewhere in the middle is the entrance to ' and the ' within. Also there, but easily missed, is the , hidden to the left of the Palace entrance.

After getting into the ' area, Sebastian helps the party find a hidden door in the corner which leads to the creepy '; the right fork leads to the ', a room with a save point, while the left fork takes the party to the ' and, past that,  for the first of two encounters with the sea witch. Finally, using Mermaid Kick from the ', Sora and the party can reach the very end and find the entrance to the ', where their final encounter with Ursula takes place.

Kingdom Hearts II features a tiny Atlantica in comparison; only two areas are available for Sora and the party to freely explore. They arrive and interact the most in the , where the song mini-games are activated. On the opposite end from the save point is the entrance to , which holds other characters, but no Heartless. Ariel's Grotto, The Shore, and the Wedding Ship also appear, but only in cutscenes.

Kingdom Hearts
When Sora,, and Goofy arrive at this undersea world, Donald uses his magic to give them more appropriate forms. They are soon encountered by Ariel, Flounder, and Sebastion, who help them get used to swimming about, despite Sebastion and Flounder's reservations about the group. After Sora and company fend off a Heartless attack, Ariel asks them to accompany her and her friends to the palace, where they meet King Triton. Triton dispatches more Heartless with his trident and scolds Ariel for venturing outside the palace, and when Goofy mentions the group's search for the Keyhole, he angrily denies its existence. Ariel retreats to her lagoon, accompanied by Sora and company and followed from a distance by Sebastion, and she proposes they search for the Keyhole.

They explore the Sunken Ship, where they find a Crystal Trident resembling an indentation in Ariel's grotto, and they head back, fighting past the shark Glut on the way. At the grotto, Sora places the crystal into the indentation, but Triton arrives and, furious at Ariel's disobedience and upon seeing the crystal, destroys it. Crushed, Ariel leaves the grotto, and Triton confronts Sora about being from another world, declaring the Keyblade and its bearer as bringing ruin to worlds, and he tells him to leave the kingdom.

Meanwhile, Ariel is approached by Ursula, who promises to help her reach other worlds in exchange for her letting Ursula into the palace, so that she can find the Keyhole. Once inside, she steals Triton's trident and overpowers him; however, the Keyhole is not in the palace, and Ursula flees when Sora, Donald, and Goofy arrive. Ariel and Sebastion accompany them in pursuit of Ursula, and Sebastion opens the path to her lair. The group confronts Ursula and her minions, Flotsam and Jetsam, in the lair, and they defeat them in battle, destroying the two eels in the process. Ursula retreats into the open ocean, where she uses the trident to grow to a tremendous size. Sora and company follow, and after a drawn-out battle, they finally defeat her.

They retrieve the trident and return it to Triton, who apologizes for driving Ariel to helping Ursula and reveals that the crystal that was destroyed would have revealed the Keyhole in Ariel's grotto. He lends Ariel his trident so she can reveal the Keyhole and requests that Sora seal it. After it is sealed, Sora apologizes to Ariel for not telling her about being from another world, but she forgives him, expressing her wish to visit other worlds herself someday.

Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories
In Castle Oblivion, Sora, Donald, and Goofy use one of their World Cards to enter a fascimile of Atlantica based on their memories. They encounter Ariel, who has stolen Triton's trident from the palace. After speaking with Sebastion at the palace and following Ariel to her grotto, they discover that Ursula has promised to reunite her with Flounder, who Ursula claims is trapped in the human world. Sora and the others agree to accompany Ariel to confront Ursula and discover what really happened to Flounder.

When they arrive at Ursula's lair, however, Ursula reveals that she captured Flounder herself and demands the trident. Ariel reluctantly turns it over to her, and although she releases Flounder as promised, she uses the trident to grow to giant size and attacks. Sora successfully defeats her, however, and Ariel recovers the trident, deciding to tell the truth when she returns it to her father.

Some time later, Riku also enters a memory-based Atlantica in one of Casle Oblivion's basements, but he only encounters Ursula, who he defeats in battle.

Kingdom Hearts II
Ariel is swimming on the surface one night after a storm when she finds Prince Eric floating unconcious on a piece of wreckage, and she beings him to shore. Infatuated, she sings to him, but she disappears into the water when he begins to stir, leaving him wondering about the girl who saved him.

When Sora, Donald, and Goofy arrive back in Atlantica, they are reunited with Ariel, Sebastian, and Flounder, who reintroduce Sora to swimming. Sebastion tells the group about the concert he is planning and asks them to participate, in order to preoccupy Ariel and cheer her up. After Sora and the others learns the basics, they all perform a song together. King Triton comes by, and he tells Sora he hopes rehearsing for the concert will take Ariel's mind off the human world. When Ariel is still unable to focus on rehearsals, however, Flounder suggests they give her a statue of Eric that had sunk from his wrecked ship.

They bring the statue to Ariel's lagoon, to her delight. She sings about her fascination with life on the surface, and Sora promises to help her. In the meantime, Sebastion writes a new song, which celebrated life under the sea, and challenges Sora to learn it.

They perform the new song, but Ariel tells Sebastion she wants to sing about harmony between above and below the surface, to his dismay. Ariel threatens not to participate in the musical and leaves, and Sebastion laments that she has fallen in love with a human, which Triton overhears. On the surface, Ariel brings Sora and the others to the beach, where Eric has been looking for the girl who saved him. They see Eric lose a pendant in the surf, and it lodges under some rocks.

Ariel is excited when they retrieve the pendant, planning to return it to Eric. However, Triton confronts her, and despite her attempts to reason with him, he destroys Eric's statue. Ariel flees, devastated, and she is approached by Ursula, who offers to turn her into a human for three days in exchange for Ariel's voice. If Ariel can get Eric to kiss her before the three days are up, she will remain human; otherwise, she will return to her mermaid form and belong to Ursula. Sora and the others arrive too late to prevent Ariel from signing Ursula's contract, and they are unable to stop Ursula's magic. They help the now-human Ariel to the surface, and she is found on the beach by Eric. Although she is unable to speak, she returns his pendant, and he takes her into his home.

Over the next few days, Sebastion and Flounder keep an eye on Ariel, while Sora and the others try to find Ursula, to no avail. On the last night, Ariel and Eric nearly kiss, but Flotsam and Jetsam interfere. On the last day, with still no sign of Ursula, Sora, Donald, and Goofy return to the beach to see Ariel in tears and Eric walking with a black-haired girl, who sings in Ariel's voice. Flounder recognizes the girl's necklace as belonging to Ursula and concludes that she is Ursula in disguise. Sora uses a beam of light from the Keyblade to knock away and destroy the necklace, restoring Ariel's voice and freeing Eric from Ursula's influence. Eric realizes that Ariel is the girl who saved him, but the sun is already setting, and Ursula, back in her true form, takes Ariel back to the sea, with Sora and the others in pursuit.

Back underwater, Triton confronts Ursula and offers himself in Ariel's place, putting his name on Ariel's contract. Ursula transforms Triton into a polyp and takes his trident. She threatens Triton, but Eric, who followed Ariel underwater, grazes her arm with a harpoon. Enraged, Ursula sends Flotsam and Jetsam after him and uses the trident to grow to giant size. During the ensuing battle, Sora manages to destroy the two eels, then knocks the trident from Ursula's hand. Eric throws the trident, piercing Ursula and destroying her. After the battle, Ariel sadly shows Eric her mermaid form, but Eric reaffirms his love, and they embrace.

Later, while Ariel and Eric continue seeing each other, with Triton's support, Sebastion continues planning the musical. In order to make it the best ever, he asks Sora for his help with an idea he has. In the end, the concert features a song celebrating Ariel and Eric's love and peace between above and below the surface. After the concert, Sora opens a Gate with the Keyblade, but before they leave, Sora, Donald, and Goofy sing a goodbye song, saying that they will meet again.

Sometime after the defeat of Xemnas, Ariel has become fully human, and she and Eric are on their wedding cruise, waving to King Triton, Sebastian, and Flounder.

Character Design
Atlantica is unique in that Sora takes on a different form while in the world, courtesy of Donald Duck's magic. While in Atlantica, he is transformed into a "dolphin merboy", while Donald himself becomes a half-duck half-octopus creature, and Goofy a sea turtle. While in the Castle Oblivion version of Atlantica, however, Sora's party does not disguise themselves, and even remark on being able to breathe and walk despite ostensibly being underwater.

Trivia

 * Atlantica is one of two Disney worlds in the original Kingdom Hearts that didn't follow the plot of its original movie (with some alterations to suit the game's story), the other being Halloween Town. It didn't actually get to the movie's main plot until Kingdom Hearts II.

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