List of Kingdom Hearts references in other media

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."

Disney Infinity 3.0

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.

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  The power disc unlocking Mickey's Kingdom Hearts outfit.

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  Screenshot of Mickey in his Kingdom Hearts outfit in-game.

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  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.

Epic Mickey

There is a key called Casey's key looks similar to Destiny Embrace. The Blot and it's creations are similar to the Heartless. Mickey getting his heart stolen is a similar concept of hearts stolen from the Heartless.

Final Fantasy series

• 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.

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  Cloud Strife's Dissidia 012 DLC costume based on his appearance in Kingdom Hearts.

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  Squall Leonheart's Dissidia 012 DLC costume based on his appearance in Kingdom Hearts.

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  Sephiroth's Dissidia 012 DLC costume based on his appearance in Kingdom Hearts.

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  Tifa Lockhart's Premium Heart Gloves in Dissidia 012.

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  Lightning and Serah emulating the iconic scene in Final Fantasy XIII-2.

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  Auron's Kingdom Hearts II appearance in Theathyrthm Final Fantasy.

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  Sora's appearance in World of Final Fantasy.

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  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.

Pokemon GO

A Team GO Rocket Grunt using Dark-types has her say "Wherever there is light, there is also a shadow.", a reference to a line said before the first Darkside battle in the first game

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

• 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 as it appears in Kingdom Hearts, as well as Dive to the Heart, are available as a combined, transforming stage.
• Night of Fate, Destiny's Force, Shrouding Dark Cloud, Hand in Hand, Blast Away! -Gummi Ship II-, Hollow Bastion, Scherzo Di Notte, Fragments of Sorrow, Destati, and Dearly Beloved -Swing Version- are available as music tracks.
• Spirits representing Kairi, Riku, Roxas, Axel, Xion, Terra, Ventus, and Aqua are available.

Gallery

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  Sora's P1 costume, based on his appearance in Kingdom Hearts.

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  Sora's P2 costume, based on his appearance in Kingdom Hearts II.

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  Sora's P3 costume, based on his appearance in Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance.

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  Sora's P4 costume, based on his appearance in Kingdom Hearts III.

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  Sora's P5 costume, based on his appearance in Timeless River in Kingdom Hearts II.

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  Sora's P6 costume, based on Valor Form.

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  Sora's P7 costume, based on Wisdom Form.

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  Sora's P8 costume, based on Ultimate Form.

Video

Battling with Sora	The Last Key

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.""

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. Additionally, the episode "Hop 'Til You Drop" features a cactus resembling Cactuar in the mall's art gallery, mirroring the Cactuar statue's placement in Galaxy Toys in Kingdom Hearts III.

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.

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.

Codename: Kids Next Door

In the episode "Operation: UTOPIA", there is a girl name Katie, who befriends Nigel Uno/Numbah 1. She bares some resemblance to Kairi in the first game while her home, which is an island, is a reference to the Destiny Islands.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Miscellaneous

2020 Summer Olympics

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

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.

Dead Fantasy

A video series created by Monty Oum centers on female Final Fantasy characters fighting against female Dead or Alive members. Kairi appears in Dead Fantasy II alongside Riona Heartilly and in the preview of Dead Fantasy VIII, Kairi transforms into Namine to fight Momiji and Ryu alongside Vincent Valentine.

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.

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.

Starbomb

Music group Starbomb wrote a song for their third album, The TryForce, called "The Simple Plot of Kingdom Hearts", with Sora recounting the events of Kingdom Hearts.

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.

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

YU-GI-OH!

A card, Key Man the Key Warrior, is based on the keyblade master with a keyblade like sword and a keyblade like armor. Another card, Gravity Behemoth, greatly resembles the Behemoth monster. Another card, Maestroke the Symphony Djinn, is based on the Symphony Master.