HeartsAndMinds

Hm...while the order seems fair enough, I do admit I think you're being a bit unfair at times. For example, while your proposal for the flower from Tangled is an interesting one, it does seem questionable for that to be a point against the world when it isn't so much a plot element that didn't pan out, but rather an idea that you had that Nomura didn't use. Ditto for the Zeus bit - I think we'd ought to judge the plot for what it is, rather than for not including ideas that may have never crossed Nomura's mind. I do think we need to keep our expectations in check when it comes to how the Disney worlds connect to the larger narrative. Yeah, Triton knew what a Keyblade was, but the first game was a long time ago, and I don't think the series usually does that sort of lore-seeding with the Disney worlds all that often...I mean, there's Verum Rex, but that's a whole different can of worms, and we're still not entirely sure what it means just yet; in any case, that's not so much connecting Toy Story lore and Kingdom Hearts lore so much as plopping original Kingdom Hearts lore into the Toy Story world (in what at first seems to be a joke). Point being, many Disney properties have larger restrictions at play (particularly Frozen), so there's only so much that's going to be allowed. More specifically, I question your assessment of Toy Box. I feel like Buzz being the suspicious one this time around makes sense, as after having his delusions crushed in the first movie, he's almost certainly much less inclined to take fantastical tales like Sora's at face value. Likewise, after Woody learned to open up and trust Buzz, he's probably more accepting of newcomers. As for Buzz being afraid of being turned against his friends, I don't think you'd need to set this after the 3rd movie to make sense of that - it's a perfectly natural fear for anyone to have in the situation. Finally...I don't really see how accepting their current situation goes against the themes of the films. There really isn't anything they can do about it, so all that's left for them is to have faith. Maybe they should be a bit more bummed out about it...but I'd say that Sora's optimism is pretty infectious, so that would probably help a lot, I feel. Anyway, a respectable ranking in itself, but I do take issue with some of the reasoning. Edit: Figured I might as well give my own list. From worst to best: Hundred Acre Wood - I always forget about this one. I don't hate it or anything, but it kind of made me impatient to get back to the action. If anything, it's short length was kind of a plus for me. Arendelle - I actually agree with pretty much everything you have to say, although it still has a couple highlights like Skoll, so I won't call it the worst thing ever. Olympus - Certainly an impressive spectacle, but overall a bit standard, all things considered. A decent introduction. Kingdom of Corona - I actually like this one a bit more than other people. While it does have its share of plot holes and has similar problems to Arendelle, I felt like this one was a lot better in making you feel like you're in the world of Tangled, by letting you bond with Rapunzel and doing stuff like the dance minigame. Monstropolis -Some very good use of Vanitas, but I'd have liked to seem more of him. I think my main issue is that it's mainly just a romp through the factory without a whole lot of plot, and I agree with you that it's fairly empty - a bit weird to say, since this was actually something that this game improved a lot on. Ah well, we'll always have Yeetus Vanitas. The Caribbean - For putting it so high, I actually do have a lot of issues with the plot, that being that Sora is thrown halfway across the world while the bulk of the plot is happening elsewhere without us (an issue that a lot of the worlds that follow the movie plot have to some extent). There's a hint of something interesting with Calypso, but it doesn't really amount to anything, and Davy Jones is disappointingly underutilized (I actually wasn't a huge fan of how the Dead Man's Chest was used? If only because I felt like there was some thematic stuff that they could have done with it...though maybe that's me throwing my own ideas in there this time). Gameplay-wise, however, I love it to pieces. Sailing! Exploring! Little of it is actually necessary, but my God, it's so cool. Dunno if it should be this high with all the criticisms I have of it, but hey, this is where it feels like it should go. Toy Box - I actually liked how Woody and Buzz are used here quite a bit, and while I would have loved the opportunity to explore more of Andy's House, Galaxy Toys is a pretty great original location. Yeah, the split world thing is kind of weird, and I would have loved to see more of the classic cast, but honestly, this has just about everything I love about Toy Story. I hope this world comes back so we can see more of Andy's house...or Pizza Planet. Either one would be great. San Fransokyo - I think we're pretty much in agreement here - I really love how the characters are used, the environment is great. Really, I think it just all comes together here.