Top 10 Kingdom Hearts minigames, ranked

As Kingdom Hearts is a game based on various Disney properties, it's a great canvas for fun minigames. From fighting waves of enemies in Olympus Coliseum to singing in a musical for the residents of Atlantica, there are a lot of shining Kingdom Hearts minigames to play and enjoy.

So let's take a look at the top ten minigames that we get to enjoy in the Kingdom Hearts series.

10. Lucky Emblems

Kingdom Hearts 3 is one of the most disappointing entries in the series, due to its rushed story and somewhat disappointing world selection, but it does have a fun exploration-based minigame, at least.

As Sora, Donald, and Goofy gallivant around the likes of Monstropolis and the Toy Box, there will be hidden Mickeys to find. Like a long-held tradition in the Disney parks, Sora takes photos of the Hidden Mickeys (Lucky Emblems in Kingdom Hearts 3) and gets rewards for having a great eye. It's a neat way to incorporate the new mobile phone-like device that the keyblade wielder has.

9. Light Cycle

Acting as a neat reference to the Tron movies and arcade game, Sora rides a cool light cycle in Kingdom Hearts 2. With the left and right shoulder buttons, you turn the light cycle at a 90-degree angle to try to avoid obstacles.

If that wasn't hard enough, you have to deal with the heartless swarming you. You can attack them, shield Sora from incoming strikes, and ram your foes. The action is intense. It's just a shame there's only one track. If Tron ever returns in a future Kingdom Hearts game, it would be great to see the light cycle resurface, perhaps in an open-world setting.

8. Poster Duty

This one from Kingdom Hearts 2 is simple but thrilling all the same. In Twilight Town, you can take a job from an assignment board that has Sora on poster duty. He can fly around placing posters across a specific area in Twilight Town. Jiminy's Journal challenges you to finish this minigame in a few seconds, and the fun comes in when you try to fly, jump, and dash to get the fastest time.

7. Hunny Slider

Another entry from KH2, Hunny Slider is an exciting albeit simple minigame that sees Sora and Pooh riding down multiple environments on a silly honey pot. You try to collect as many honey molecules as possible, and the situation in-game gets crazier. You're sliding through the words of pages from a book in stunning detail, and then you're trying to escape huge rolling snowballs Indiana Jones style. It's hard to explain unless you experience it yourself.

6. Skateboarding

Skateboarding in KH2 is a delight as either Roxas or Sora performs tricks across most worlds in the game.

There's even a minigame in which you score points like in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, grinding on rails and performing ollies. It even references the minigame's inspiration with a trophy or achievement called Pro Skater if you get over 5000 points. Regardless, it was neat to travel across larger parts of worlds with this radical method of transportation.

5. Atlantica rhythm games

Now, hear me out. Atlantica gets a lot of flak from Kingdom Hearts fans, but its inclusion in the second mainline entry is an entertaining detour from the usual action RPG fare.

You'll see Sora, Donald, and Goofy grooving to "Under the Sea" while experiencing an opera-like performance with the final boss section "Ursula's Revenge." It's neat to see the characters perform different animations if you succeed or fail the button press as well.

This is an improvement to the so-so combat from the first game's Atlantica interpretation, in my opinion, and does a great job of showing each character's personality, especially the happy-go-lucky Sora.

4. Gummi Ship in KH3

As a Kingdom Hearts fan, I always used to roll my eyes whenever Sora and the gang headed into the gummi ship. The gameplay is usually monotonous, and the action slows down to a crawl in the first Kingdom Hearts. In Kingdom Hearts 3, it's far more entertaining.

The action is thick and fast, you can upgrade your gummi ship to the gills with weapons and armor, and there are far more things to explore and do in a more open approach to the gummi ship than simple direct routes. There are even some bosses to encounter, including Schwarzgeist based on a little-known game called Einhänder from the PS1.

3. Command Board

The Command Board from Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep is basically Monopoly but engaging. The goal of the game is to place your commands on the board, level them up, and then have your opponent land on these spaces to get points. Once you collect enough by making enough routes around the board and land on the central space, you win.

Each board you unlock has unique mechanics to them. For example, on the Disney Town board, you can summon Captain Dark or Captain Justice. One takes away currency from you while the other steals it. It's a neat distraction to the main fighting and a genuinely great way to level up your commands. You can even unlock new abilities if you can capture them on the command board.

2. Mirage Arena

The Mirage Arena is a minigame in Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep that has you facing multiple waves of enemies and gaining experience from them. As you complete each run, you'll gain points to unlock new moves and other perks through its own unique store. On the PSP version of the game, you can also team up with your friends, making this a co-op experience. It makes you wonder what Square Enix could do with a live-service Kingdom Hearts game based on the Unchained X and Union X storylines. Just putting that out there.

To get back on topic, the Mirage Arena showcases its own exclusive bosses that can challenge you to the limit. One of them includes Pinocchio's Monstro. Another has you face Xehanort's No Heart armor in a daring battle of wits.

1. Olympus Coliseum tournaments

The best Kingdom Hearts minigame is the Olympus Coliseum tournaments in the first Kingdom Hearts. It constantly surprises you with who is next. Sora could face Cloud, Leon, or Yuffie along the way in a tough battle. The Hades Cup is intense as you face 50 rounds of enemies with each 10 acting as a checkpoint. You have to rely on your resources to keep your HP and MP high enough to succeed. This is when the original Kingdom Hearts can get to its most challenging points.

To me, the original Kingdom Hearts' Olympus battles are better than Kingdom Hearts 2's Underworld tournaments as you can get XP from your time in the first game's coliseum. The second doesn't allocate any XP for Sora and the gang and applies annoying restrictions. Kingdom Hearts 2 also applies annoying challenges in Jiminy's Journal regarding the Underworld tournaments.

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