The Caribbean

The Caribbean is a world in Kingdom Hearts III. It is based on the Disney film series Pirates of the Caribbean. It is an expansion to the Kingdom Hearts II world of Port Royal.

Development
The Caribbean was included in the game because Port Royal was a well-received and popular world in Kingdom Hearts II, and the developers wanted at least one live-action world in Kingdom Hearts III. It is based on the third film, At World's End, because the developers felt it was the most natural choice.

Kingdom Hearts III
Upon arrival in a familiar world, Sora, Donald and Goofy sail a raft for fun. Enjoying being a pirate captain, Sora is surprised when Goofy tells them they're running out of sea. Discovering he means a waterfall, Sora and Donald attempt to paddle away from it, but they've already been pulled into the flow of the fall and promtly fall into the abyss below. To their shock and confusion, they discover that the fall dropped them into a vast desert. Tredging on, they see the Black Pearl in the distance and are soon joined by Jack Sparrow, who asks for their help in catching his beloved vessel, which is being carried off by magic crabs. However, they first had to with Anchor Raiders that commandeered the ship.

Riding the Pearl to the shore, the quartet meet Will Turner, Elizabeth Swann, Joshamee Gibbs, Tia Dalma and a revived Barbossa who reveal Cutler Beckett is taking over The Carribean; Beckett has Davy Jones' heart, forcing him to obey his orders. Will and Elizabeth reveal to Sora, Donald and Goofy that they are currently in Davy Jones' Locker, an afterlife, and they've come to rescue Jack. Despite initial friction, Jack decides to cooperate with his old allies if it means escaping the Locker. As they sail, Tia Dalma reveals Jack owes a debt to Davy Jones and will be punished worse than the Locker for escaping. However, Sora is not afraid of Jones or the Kraken who took Jack to the Locker, surprising her as his kind of bravery is rare. When she mentions a box a Jack is after, Sora asks about it; Tia Dalma reveals it contains Jones' heart, which gives whoever has the chest leverage over him.

At the same time, Vexen and Luxord are in The Carribean as well. Vexen is puzzled by how Davy Jones can live without a heart, believing it holds the secret to perfecting his vessels. Luxord tells him to reign in his curiosity, and allow him to collect the chest as per their orders.

After a green flash at sunrise, the Pearl returns to the world of the living. Just as everyone take a breath of relief, the ship is attacked by the Raging Vulture Heartless and a swarm of Vaporfly. Once Sora takes out Raging Vulture, the Vaporflies vanish and he falls into the sea. Donald and Goofy wake him later, revealing their friends left them and Jack behind on an island. Finding a new ship, the Leviathan hidden deep in the island, they set sail and are surprised by a ship sailed by Luxord. Luxord parleys for a race to Port Royal in exchange for information about the chest. Despite summoning Heartless ships to attack the Leviathan, Luxord loses; however he manages to trick Jack into revealing the chest is on the Flying Dutchman and disappears.

Jack orders the ship to make dock at Port Royal for repairs. To their puzzlement, Sora, Donald and Goofy are told to find white crabs for the repairs. After finding enough, Jack uses them to restore the Levithan before asking Sora why he wanted a pirate ship. "To sail free as the wind" Sora answers. Impressed, Jack reveals he's a copy sent by the goddess of the sea and that the real him and their friends are facing Beckett's armada at Shipwreck Cove.

Arriving at the battle, they learn Jack was taken hostage and Tia Dalma was really the goddess of the sea Calypso; the pirates freed her in the hopes she'd help them, but it looks like she abandoned them. However, Sora encourages his friends to keep fighting. Elizabeth gives a rousing speech, yelling for all ships to raise their colors. The Pearl and the Dutchman enter a whirlpool, followed by the Leviathan. Luxord appears on Sora's ship, wishing to take the chest despite Sora telling him that it will serve no purpose for the Organization. Ignoring this, Luxord summons the Kraken to restrain the Pearl. Freeing the Pearl, Sora, Donald and Goofy board the Dutchman, where they help Jack fight Jones.

Will and Elizabeth join the fight, but Will is fatally stabbed by Jones. Sora, Donald and Goofy distract Jones, allowing Jack to help Will stab Jones' heart in the chest. Having been watching, Vexen is unimpressed a normal heart was what was inside the chest. Leaving Will behind, everyone returns to the Pearl; moments later, the Dutchman resurfaces with Will in command. Both ships fire on the Endeavor, killing Beckett and ending his reign of terror. Gibbs reveals Will was saved by taking on Jones' curse, but at the cost of having to ferry souls to the afterlife in exchange for one day a shore every ten years. Jack assures Sora that one day is enough for hearts to connect.

Later, after Xehanort's defeat, Elizabeth watches as Will leaves to carry out his duty. In Port Royal, Jack and Gibbs watch as the Black Pearl sails away.

Characters

 * The Brethren Court is mentioned.

Character Design
Unlike when Sora, Donald and Goofy previously visited the portion of the world near Port Royal, while visiting The Caribbean, they appear in proper pirate attire. As Sora is the de facto "leader", he appears in captain's garb, while Donald and Goofy wear crewman clothes.

Trivia

 * Jack's dialogue when he meets his allies in Davy Jones' Locker is censored. Originally, he said "four of you have tried to kill me in the past; one of you succeeded"; in the game it's changed to "four of you have tried to annihilate me."
 * Davy Jones' heart is not seen for the same reason, leaving it in the chest.
 * The Kraken is also still around, as opposed to the film, where it's dead. It replaces Davy Jones' crew in some scenes, where its tentacles knock people around.