List of Kingdom Hearts references in other media: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 02:21, 13 November 2023

This is a list of assorted media references to the Kingdom Hearts games shown outside of the series.

Video Games

CrossCode

The "Salty Ice Cream" is a reference to sea-salt ice cream. The item's description reads "Best enjoyed at sunset on top of a clocktower."^[1]

At the D23 Expo 2015, all attending fans were given a power disc which unlocked Mickey's Kingdom Hearts outfit in the game. The Keyblade appears in the game as the Ultimate Unlock, requiring players to purchase and scan every figure available for that version of the game.

The power disc unlocking Mickey's Kingdom Hearts outfit.
Screenshot of Mickey in his Kingdom Hearts outfit in-game.
Screenshot of the Keyblade being used in-game.

Disney Emoji Blitz

A few Kingdom Hearts characters appear as emojis for the player to collect, namely Sora, Aqua, and Donald and Goofy in their attire from the series. A Shadow was later added as a free collectible in honor of the Kingdom Hearts series' 20th anniversary, though it is unusable in the game itself.

Disney Tsum Tsum

Several Kingdom Hearts characters are available as Tsums, including: Sora (Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts III, Halloween, and Pirate versions), Riku, Kairi, Terra, Ventus, Aqua, King Mickey (in a black coat), Chirithy, Ansem, Xemnas, Young Xehanort, and a Shadow. Donald and Goofy in their Halloweentown appearances are also available.

In 2019, an event themed around Kingdom Hearts was held. During this event, players cleared stages in order to seal the keyholes in seven worlds: Traverse Town, Wonderland, Agrabah, Atlantica, 100 Acre Wood, Never Land, and Hollow Bastion.

Final Fantasy series

Main article: Final Fantasy Record Keeper

In Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy, DLC costumes are available for Cloud Strife, Squall Leonheart, and Sephiroth based on their appearance in Kingdom Hearts.
In Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy, when Tifa Lockhart is in EX Mode, she equips the Premium Heart gloves, which have the heart symbol from the Kingdom Hearts series on them.
In Final Fantasy XIII-2, a scene appears, involving Lightning and Serah, emulating the iconic scene in Kingdom Hearts where Riku reaches for Sora to follow him into the darkness, later echoed by Vanitas and Young Xehanort.
In the iOS port of Theatrhythm Final Fantasy and Theathrythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call, Auron is available as a DLC character in his Kingdom Hearts II appearance.
In World of Final Fantasy, Sora in his Dream Drop Distance attire appears as a limited-time free DLC Champion Summon.
In Final Fantasy XV, Prompto refers to the Keyblade by mentioning “a magical key that can unlock any door—like from the video games!”
In Final Fantasy Brave Exvius:
- In 2018, an event was held to commemorate the launch of Kingdom Hearts III. Sora, Riku, Cloud, and Sephiroth in their Kingdom Hearts attire appear as playable characters, while Darkside and Guard Armor appear as bosses for players to fight.
- In 2020, an event taking place in Scala ad Caelum was held. Sora, Riku, and Kairi in their Kingdom Hearts III appearances, as well as Young Xehanort in his Dark Road appearance, are available as playable characters.

Cloud Strife's Dissidia 012 DLC costume based on his appearance in Kingdom Hearts.
Squall Leonheart's Dissidia 012 DLC costume based on his appearance in Kingdom Hearts.
Sephiroth's Dissidia 012 DLC costume based on his appearance in Kingdom Hearts.
Tifa Lockhart's Premium Heart Gloves in Dissidia 012.
Lightning and Serah emulating the iconic scene in Final Fantasy XIII-2.
Auron's Kingdom Hearts II appearance in Theathyrthm Final Fantasy.
Sora's appearance in World of Final Fantasy.
Prompto referencing the Keyblade in Final Fantasy XV.

Marvel Heroes

Deadpool can wield a series of weapons named "Keyblades". However, they do not physically resemble the Keyblade from the Kingdom Hearts series. The in-game description of the Keyblades, "A heart, a heart, my kingdom for a heart", is a reference to William Shakespeare's Richard III, as well as a pun on the Kingdom Hearts series.

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart

A Wrench and Hammer Swap for the player characters called "Key" is unlockable. This weapon heavily resembles a Keyblade.

Saints Row (2022)

A skin for the pickaxe called the "Saintsblade" can be unlocked. This weapon strongly resembles a Keyblade, which includes a keychain, and will generate star-shaped particle effects upon hitting an enemy.

The Simpsons Game

Comic Book Guy quotes Ansem's "Every light must fade, all hearts return to darkness" in the Big Super Happy Fun Fun level of the game.
The Statues of Santa's Little Helper in the Super Happy Fun Fun level of the game have a Keyblade in their mouths.

Skullgirls

A skin for the character Eliza recolors her to be based on Sora, specifically on his appearance in Kingdom Hearts III; her lackeys, Horace and Albus, are additionally respectively recolored to be based on Donald and Goofy, and her Parasite, Sekhmet, is recolored to be based on a Shadow. Additionally, the character Marie, who has appeared in the game as the final boss and will be made playable via DLC, has been confirmed to have a recolor based on Ansem, Seeker of Darkness, with her skeletal partner, Hilgard, being recolored to be based on the Dark Figure, and her vacuum being recolored to be based on Soul Eater.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Main article: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Sora is available as a DLC fighter, based on his appearance in Kingdom Hearts. He comes with alternate outfits of his appearances in Kingdom Hearts II, Dream Drop Distance, and Kingdom Hearts III, as well as his appearance in Timeless River, Valor Form, Wisdom Form, and Ultimate Form. Hollow Bastion and the Dive to the Heart are featured as a stage, several characters are available as Spirits, and numerous songs from the Kingdom Hearts series are featured as music tracks.

Terraria

A melee weapon called the "Keybrand" can drop from certain enemies. The item bears a strong resemblance to the Kingdom Key and is swung in a similar fashion, hitting enemies with the blunt end of the weapon rather than with the key's teeth.

Undermine

An item called the "Key Blade" can be obtained. The item's description reads "A sword in the shape of a dull key. Not practical as a key or blade.""^[2]

Film and television

Archer

In the episode "Tragical History", Pam's keychain looks very similar to the Kingdom Key when she's opening the door to the office.

Amphibia

"True Colors" promo.

A promo for the episode "True Colors" mimics the "Heart" Key Art from Kingdom Hearts II.

The Big Bang Theory

In the episode "The Excelsior Acquisition", on the back of a comic that Raj is reading, there is a ad for Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days.

Chang Can Dunk

In the Disney+ original movie Chang Can Dunk, the Olympus level from Kingdom Hearts III is being played on a PS5 in the background when Chang gets locked in the basement during a party.^[3]

Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers

The Kingdom Key and Sora's hair are both featured amongst the items that have been stolen from the bootlegged characters.^[4]^[5]

DuckTales

In the episode "The Shadow War!", Mrs. Beakley creates a dessert which includes sea-salt ice cream and mentions it being Scrooge's favorite dessert, a homage to the Kingdom Hearts series.^[6]

My Adventures with Superman

In the episode "Kiss Kiss Fall in Portal", a holographic image of an alternate version of Lois Lane from Earth-24 is shown dressed in clothing similar to Sora's and holding a key that resembles a Keyblade.^[7]

OK K.O! Let's Be Heroes

The Shadowy Figure's outfit is similar to the black coats the Organization wears and in the episode "Plaza Film Festival", Rad wears a similar black coat. In another episode, "Wisdom, Strength, and Charisma", K.O. gives Enid a picture that looks like sea-salt ice cream. Also, in "A Hero's Fate", the character Hero is based off Cloud with his blade hilt having a guard and a keychain at the end of it.

The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder

In the episode "Home School", the character KG can be seen playing a game that looks similar to Kingdom Hearts, with him playing through a section that looks near identical to Dive to the Heart, and the side panels bearing resemblance to Destiny Islands.^[8]

Robot Chicken

In the episode "May Cause Numb Butthole", Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Master Xehanort were featured in the skit "Kingdom Hearts' Key Party", alongside other Disney characters.

The Wonderful Spring of Mickey Mouse

The Kingdom Key D appears amongst the objects in Mickey's house.^[9]

Wreck-It Ralph

Graffiti of what appears to be Sora's crown necklace is visible on a wall in the portal to the game Sugar Rush.^[10]

Miscellaneous

2020 Summer Olympics

During the 2020 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, "Olympus Coliseum" and "Hero's Fanfare" played during the Parade of Nations.^[11]^[12]

Ana on the Edge

Hayden is working on a Roxas cosplay for a Square Enix fan event. Ana plays part of the Kingdom Hearts game with him, though she is not very good at it.

Dragon Ball Heroes

The Key Sword (キーソード, Kī Sōdo^?) is a weapon that appears in the manga, anime, and game adaptions of Dragon Ball Heroes. Originally created to seal the Demon Realm, Xeno Trunks uses it to combat the Dark Empire. Its name, design, and function are references to the Keyblade.

Rick and Morty

In Rick and Morty issue 50 of the tie-in comic, the character of Morty is seen playing a videogame called Imagine Balls, featuring a key-wielding hero of appearance similar to Sora battling alongside a cartoon character, being a clear parody of Kingdom Hearts. Rick criticizes Morty for playing the game because of its premise, but later gets hooked into it, enough to buy a cosplay and changing his hairdo to be close to Sora's.^[13]

Tokyo Disney Resort

In November 2010, a statue inspired by Kingdom Hearts Re:coded was shown at the Ikspiari complex in Tokyo Disney Resort to promote the release of the game.

The Kingdom Hearts Re:coded statue at Tokyo Disney Resort.

Notes and references

[1] Kingdom Hearts Reference in CrossCode

[2] Kingdom Hearts Reference in Undermine

[3] KH13: Kingdom Hearts III makes cameo in Disney+ movie "Chang Can Dunk"

[4] KH13 "Kingdom Key spotted in latest trailer for Chip N' Dale: Rescue Rangers"

[5] KH13 "Sora's Hair has appeared in Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers"

[6] DuckTales references Scrooge McDuck's love for sea-salt ice cream in Kingdom Hearts

[7] Kingdom Hearts Reference in My Adventures with Superman

[8] Breana Williams on Twitter: "I thought...why not Kingdom Hearts?" Accessed via the Wayback Machine on the Internet Archive.

[9] Amber Leigh on Twitter: "I’d like to thank the Mickey Mouse crew for whoever let me get away with this, happy almost 20th anniversary KH ❤️"

[10] Screencap of Kingdom Hearts crown graffiti on the Disney Wiki

[11] Nikkei Asia "Japan rounds off entrance of teams to ceremony"

[12] Youtube "The Tokyo 2020 Opening Ceremony - in FULL LENGTH!" (at 1:01:14 and 1:24:47)

[13] Page of Rick and Morty #50

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@@ Line 113: / Line 113: @@
 ===''{{w|Ana on the Edge}}''===
-Hayden is working on a Roxas cosplay for a Square Enix fan event. Ana plays part of Kingdom Hearts with him, even though she isn't very good at it.
+Hayden is working on a Roxas cosplay for a Square Enix fan event. Ana plays part of the ''Kingdom Hearts'' game with him, though she is not very good at it.
 <!--===''{{w|Death Battle}}''===
 Sora appears in episode 92 in Rooster Teeth's Death Battle video fighting against Pit from Kid Icarus, with Sora emerging as the victor. In this video, Sora was voiced by Bryce Papenbrook.
 -->
 ===''{{w|Dragon Ball Heroes}}''===
 The {{nihongo|'''Key Sword'''|キーソード|Kī Sōdo}} is a weapon that appears in the manga, anime, and game adaptions of ''Dragon Ball Heroes''. Originally created to seal the Demon Realm, Xeno Trunks uses it to combat the Dark Empire. Its name, design, and function are references to the [[Keyblade]].