The Gummi Ship is the main way of transportation between worlds in the Kingdom Hearts series. King Mickey, Sora, the Heartless and Nobodies use Gummi Ships to move about. These ships are made entirely of Gummi Blocks, due to the material's special ability to travel between worlds. Apparently, the ships were invented by King Mickey, and was invested by Uncle Scrooge McDuck. An alternate to Gummi Ship travel, commonly used by Heartless, is warping via a Corridor of Darkness.
Story
Origin
Gummi Ships are constructed of the meteors that assumingly fall upon the world as a result of its door being opened, as noted in the Ansem Reports by Xehanort's Heartless. King Mickey was the first to create a Gummi Ship.
Before Kingdom Hearts
King Mickey used the Gummi Ship to visit Ansem the Wise in Radiant Garden to discover the reason why the worlds were disappearing. Both Ansem and his apprentice, Xehanort, were fascinated by the Gummi technology, and discovered it was possible because the Heartless had destroyed the world barriers.
Kingdom Hearts
In Kingdom Hearts Sora, Donald, and Goofy all used the Gummi Ship to sail across the worlds. Using the most open routes possible the trio traversed the universe in hopes of locating the King and Riku. It was in this game that Riku first discovered that a Corridor of Darkness works faster than any ship, but drains one's lifeforce. After sealing the Keyhole to Hollow Bastion, Leon revealed that when the Heartless were extinguished, it would be impossible to traverse worlds anymore because the world barriers would be reconstructed. Sora, although disappointed, knew it would be for the best. It is unknown what happened to the Gummi Ship after the trio landed in the End of the World, but it probably stayed in the world until it collapsed, and then fell into the void of darkness.
Kingdom Hearts II
In Kingdom Hearts II in Twilight Town, Yen Sid had magically retrieved the Gummi Ship, and returned it to Sora and company when they arrived at his tower. King Mickey must have used his Gummi Ship to travel across worlds as well. In Radiant Garden Scrooge reveals how the Gummi Ships were made. This time around, the gang had to bust world barriers in order to make it across worlds before Heartless appeared there. Once again, it is unknown what happened to the Gummi Ship when the World That Never Was fell apart, although it probably fell into the void again. However, King Mickey left a letter, so it is possible that the Gummi Ships were found.
Teeny Ships
In Kingdom Hearts II, smaller ships, called teeny ships were added. Both ships are controlled by Chip and Dale.
Interior, Exterior, and Weapons
Gummi Ships, like most space faring ships, uses lasers to exterminate enemies. It can use anything from small head guns, to Energy Cannons on the back of the ship. Much like the Keyblade Gummi Ships can be rebuilt to fit certain needs. They range from the size of a shack to the size of a deluxe battleship. They seem to have seats within the front of the ship and one large viewing screen for watching battles. Fire, Blizzard, and Gravity are the three types of guns used on a gummi ship. Thunder weapons fired lasers and special gummi could hurt enimies on contact.
Control
In the Original Kingdom Hearts, Gummi travel was simple: The ship would move forward on it's own, and you could control up, down, left and right. The ability to brake was also included, but merely slowed the ship instead of a full stop. Numerous enemy ships would appear, and upon their destruction would leave a Gummi block or a blueprint for that enemy ship. The meters included in flight would consist of armor (substituting HP) and Power (substituting MP). Certain blocks added additional meters, such as shield (from the Shield and Shield-2 blocks) and turbo (from the Haste and Haste-2 blocks). On the garage menu, you could create your own ship, with a block limit almost impossible to reach. Blocks could also be turned and colored for use.
While Gummi travel did not appear in Kingdom hearts: COM, it appeared in a different form in Kingdom Hearts 2. Although the System was more complicated, the concept became that of a mini-game. A path would have to be traversed once to get to a world, and then that world would become available without the use of Gummi travel. However, each track has 3 missions with set goals and a score system, which acted as a side game that did not affect the story. Blocks would be awarded as prizes for score, and rarely dropped by a ship, which also included Nobody ships. The most notable features are the ability to turn the ship around during flight, the Overdrive feature, the concept of in-flight bosses, and the addition of Teeny Ships, smaller ships that can fly along side you. While the game allowed for the customization of ships, completed blueprints were awarded for flight, based off of the Highwind, Invincible, and the Falcon, all airships of the Final Fantasy series. Bonus ships included the Tonberry, Moogle, Chocobo, Cactuar, Cait Saith and Fenrir, all modeled and named after characters or enemies in the Final Fantasy series.
Also, ship customization was improved as well. Along with coloring blocks, the player also has the choice of using block skins, which have special designs. New blocks were included, such as blades, shields, saws, propellers, and even wheels. Also, each block has a cost, instead of a "Block Limit". The most abstract feature is the ability system, which grants certain powers to the ship during flight.
Modification
Gummi Ships can be modified and customized through the use of additional Gummi Blocks. The Gummi Garage, run by Chip and Dale, is where Ship modification can be performed.
Trivia
- Cid's Gummi Ship and Mickey's Gummi Ship have not yet been seen.
- Geppetto, like Cid, can build Gummi Ships.
- In the first Kingdom Hearts game, the name of Sora's Gummi Ship is either Highwind or the name you pick for thier raft because both the Gummi Ship and the raft were intended to help them reach other worlds.
See Also
Video