Atlantica

Atlantica
Japanese	アトランティカ
Romaji	Atorantika
Games	Kingdom Hearts; Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories; Kingdom Hearts II
Allies	Ariel[KH I][KH CoM]
Assistants	Flounder[KH I]
Origin	The Little Mermaid (1989)
KH tracks
	Field theme - Under the Sea
	Battle theme - An Adventure in Atlantica
KHCOM tracks
	Field theme - Under the Sea
	Battle theme - An Adventure in Atlantica
KHII tracks
	Field theme - Isn't It Lovely?
Other worlds
Introduced in Kingdom Hearts
	Dive to the Heart \| Destiny Islands \| Disney Castle; Traverse Town \| Wonderland \| Olympus Coliseum; Deep Jungle \| Agrabah \| Monstro; Atlantica \| Halloween Town \| Neverland; 100 Acre Wood \| Hollow Bastion; End of the World \| Realm of Darkness
Introduced in Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories
	Castle Oblivion \| Twilight Town
Introduced in Kingdom Hearts II
	Mysterious Tower \| Radiant Garden; The Land of Dragons \| Beast's Castle \| Timeless River; Port Royal \| Pride Lands \| Space Paranoids; The World That Never Was \| End of Sea \| Keyblade Graveyard
Introduced in Kingdom Hearts coded
	Datascape
Introduced in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
	Land of Departure \| Mirage Arena; Dwarf Woodlands \| Enchanted Dominion \| Castle of Dreams; Disney Town \| Deep Space
Introduced in Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance
	La Cité des Cloches \| The Grid \| Symphony of Sorcery; Country of the Musketeers \| Prankster's Paradise
Introduced in Kingdom Hearts χ[chi]
	Daybreak Town
Introduced in Kingdom Hearts Union χ[Cross]
	Game Central Station \| Niceland \| Cy-Bug Sector \| Candy Kingdom
Introduced in Kingdom Hearts III
	The Final World \| Secret Forest \| Olympus; Toy Box \| Kingdom of Corona \| Monstropolis; Arendelle \| The Caribbean \| San Fransokyo; Scala ad Caelum \| Quadratum

Oh no! The water! I'm in big trouble if I don't fetch it!

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Issues: rewrite story to make it in-universe

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, The Little Mermaid.

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 Tranquil Grottoa small alcove-like area that is generally calm. From there, the party travels forward, at the Undersea Valley, an enormous valley under the sea with numerous alcoves, high-rising rocks and a current throttling upwards. One exit leads to the Calm Depths, which hosts a strong current that only pushes Sora and company without the help of the Dolphin or the Mermaid Kick ability. Following the trident marks, the part is led to a second part of the area which boasts another current of its own. Making it past the area leads to the Undersea Cave, a small dark area that boasts a few alcoves but is overall standard. Going higher up, the party reaches the Undersea Gorge, a vast area which, similar to the Undersea Valley, also boasts alcoves, a few podium-like rocks with clam shells on them and numerous exits to other areas in Atlantica. The first being Ariel's Grotto, a small room with shelves, stacked with knick-knacks and "thing-a-ma-bobs". Along the left side of the area, the Undersea Garden, a small room with a chaise-like rock and a lone clam shell. Another exit is to Triton's Palace, a large, colorful area full of different clam shells, a large, hollow conch shell and a long pathway to the Throne Room, an elegant round room where King Triton resides, a save point is present here. Along the right from the Undersea Gorge, close to Ariel's Grotto is a large sunken Treasure Chest that is also an exit to the Sunken Ship, a shipwreck site with a large ship in the middle.

After getting into the Sunken Ship area, Sebastian helps the party find a hidden door in the corner which leads to the creepy and dangerous Den of Tides, with numerous geysers and stalactites that hang from the ceiling, the right fork leads to the Cavern Nook, a small room with a save point and a clam shell, while the left fork takes the party to the Tidal Abyss, a path with numerous lowly sea creatures. Past that, Ursula's Lair awaits, a round room with a large conch shell at one end where Ursula resides, a cauldron in the middle of the room and a vanity to the right where the sea witch spends most of her time. Finally, using Mermaid Kick from the Calm Depths, Sora and the party can reach the very end and find the entrance to the Open Ocean, a large, dark area where their final encounter with Ursula takes place.

Kingdom Hearts II features a much smaller Atlantica in comparison, with only two areas available for Sora and the party to freely explore. They arrive and interact with the denizens of Atlantica in the Undersea Courtyard, a moderately sized and colorful room, filled with clam shells and undersea flora. Along the way is Triton's Throne, similar to the first game, a round room with Triton's throne in the middle and a save point. Numerous areas appear but only in cutscenes and the minigame, these include: Ariel's Grotto, identical to the first game, The Shore, an area over the surface with a vibrant blue sky, and Eric's castle in view and the Wedding Ship, an elegantly crafted ship with purple drapery and wedding decorations.

Story

Kingdom Hearts

Sora, Donald and Goofy arrive in Atlantica, Donald having used magic to alter their forms, they all take the form of undersea folk. Ariel, Flounder and Sebastian make their way to them unknowingly to them and end up introducing themselves to each other. Flounder puts Sora's swimming skills to the test shortly before a number of Heartless invade the light-hearted occasion, Sora and company fend off the Heartless. After the group comes back from hiding, Ariel asks Sora and his friends to accompany her to the palace, they accept. Once at the palace, they meet King Triton, ruler of all seven seas, while Sora and company were headed into the palace, a number of Heartless were following them but Triton dispatches them speedily. While Ariel is elated to see her father, the opposite can be said of her father who scolds her for venturing outside the palace, while Sora, Donald and Goofy talk with him, Goofy mentions the Keyhole to which Triton angrily denies its existence and upsets Ariel with further scolding. Ariel storms off with the group shortly following behind her, while Triton and Sebastian talk about the Heartless, they find out that they are coming from Ursula's lair.

When Ariel takes Sora and company to her grotto, she mentions her interest for the surface and a peculiar interest for a trident-shaped indent in her grotto. She proposes to look for the Keyhole and so they set off to look for it, with Sebastian closely following them. They head to the Sunken Ship and explore its innards to find a Crystal Trdent, resembling the indentation in her grotto. They head back, fighting the savage shark Glut on their way. Once in Ariel's Grotto, Sora places the Crystal Trident in the indent, only for Triton to arrive and noticing Ariel's disobedience, he destroys it. Ariel, crushed, rushes out of the grotto and spends some time in the Undersea Garden. Triton then confronts Sora of being from another world and declaring that the [[Keyblade] and its bearer as bringing ruin to all worlds and tells him to leave the kingdom.

Meanwhile, Ursula approaches Ariel and makes a deal with her, in helping her reach other worlds in exchange for entry to the palace to find the Keyhole. While Sora and company make their way to the palace, Ariel escorts Ursula to the palace and as soon as Sora and company arrive, Ursula grabs a hold onto Triton's trident and overpowers him, and while finding out the Keyhole is not in the palace, flees. Triton asks and advises the trio to go after Ursula and get his trident back so that she may be taken care of. Sebastian and Ariel accompany them in pursuit of Ursula. When they make their way back to the Sunken Ship, they find a rock with a peculiar rune on it, a small button is nearby of which only Sebastian can reach. They open the door with his help and make their way to Ursula's Lair, they confront Ursula and her minions, Flotsam and Jetsam, and defeat them in battle, destroying the two eels in the process. Ursula retreats in the Open Ocean, where she uses the power of the trident to make herself titanic, Sora and company follow her as she grows, and after a drawn-out battle, triumph over her.

After retrieving the trident, they return it to Triton who gives a solemn apology to Ariel for driving her into helping Ursula and reveals that the crystal he destroyed would have revealed the Keyhole in her grotto. He lends Ariel the trident so that she can reveal the Keyhole and requests Sora to seal it. Once they make their way to her grotto, Ariel places the trident causing the Keyhole to appear, Sora locks it and then apologizes to Ariel for not telling her he was from another world, but she forgives him and expresses 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.

Characters

Ariel
^{[KH I]} ^{[KH CoM]} ^{[KH II]}
King Triton
^{[KH I]} ^{[KH II]}
Ursula
^{[KH I]} ^{[KH CoM]} ^{[KH II]}
Sebastian
^{[KH I]} ^{[KH CoM]} ^{[KH II]}
Flounder
^{[KH I]} ^{[KH CoM]} ^{[KH II]}
Flotsam and Jetsam
^{[KH I]} ^{[KH II]}
Glut KH.png

Glut
^{[KH I]}
Dolphin
^{[KH I]} ^{[KH II]}
Prince Eric
^{[KH II]}
Andrina
^{[KH II]}
Attina
^{[KH II]}

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.[citation needed]