I feel like this is some kind of Mendela effect but your reference of kingdom hearts being around since 2002 is a little bit off, because I remember being able to play kingdom hearts 2 when I was 15 and I recall renting it from a blockbuster at that time. So of course I was 15 in 2002. When did one come out then?
Fun fact: one of the artists for Archer named Shannon is a huge Kingdom Hearts fan and has a KH podcast(Kingdom Smarts) and even themed her whole wedding around the game so that keyblade in Archer was something she snuck in
My favorite part about Sora in Smash Ultinate is that he was confirmed the most requested character in the franchise but KH in Robot Chicken was so hilarious 😂😂😂😂😂😂
@@DiademAce Apparently she was considered to be the “most negotiable” at the time so there were most likely some issues regarding Sora’s inclusion, especially for Tetsuya Nomura’s case.
@@Styxiami Yeah I remember hearing nomura didn’t want to put him in cause he didn’t want people thinking this was canon or he wasn’t sure Sakurai would do him justice
A little bit after the reveal for KH4, there was a ad for Taco Bell's Mexican Pizza with a rap, and one of the lines is "Key to my Heart like Sora." It ain't much, but I thought it was super cool.
I think the best part about all these references is that since Kingdom Hearts is a series based on crossovers, you can consider almost all of these canon.
Most people don't know this, but Disney has made several movies as references for every world in Kingdom Hearts. Walt was himself, in fact, a huge Kingdom Hearts fan.
There is a slight Kingdom Hearts reference in the Masked Singer, a singing competition show about masked celebrities who give clues to their identities throughout. One of them was Jesse McCartney (VA for Roxas/Ventus) who included a subtle KH reference in one of his sections.
@@Blubbpaule I can't remember the exact section, but he said something along the lines of "I've got the keys to this kingdom and the heart to win it all" or something fluffy and vague like that. I remember figuring out right then though who it was.
1:58 Rip Way To The Dawn (KH1 - KH3) You where the coolest keyblade ever made, the main reason I loved playing as Riku in Dream Drop Distance.... ill never forget you my precious.
The music used in the actual Olympics totally surprised me the most. I would ask myself how I missed that, but it's fine since I am new to this whole fandom
3:44 If people still clown this line by the way, let me remind them that « eating ice cream is something friends do ». So, « who else will I eat ice cream with » in that context really means « who else will be my friend » as Roxas loses his last true friend (save for Axel but they were angry at each other at that point).
It's one of two things: 1. It was a product of its time and the translation was a bit spotty. On the other hand, the Final Fantasy VII Remake has the infamous "you owe me a pizza". 2. Tetsuya Nomura sucks at writing dying dialogue.
here's one for you; In final fantasy record keeper (another final fantasy mobile game), there was another kingdom hearts colab that saw not only the main character Tyro get an organisation XIII cloak outfit, but also gave you the chance to get sora, Riku, Axel and Roxas, and various keyblades from the series. they even did an additional event where sora got his KH3 costume and Riku got his KH2 costume.
Actually both Riku and Sora received their KH3 outfits as their Wardrobe Records. However, Riku's KH2 outfit was his Awakening Arcane Soul Break relic.
@@jackycheung2781 sora did get his KH3 outfit, but when the kingdom hearts colab happened Riku got his KH2 skin. Go ahead and double check if you need to.
@@brittical-hitna bro I had all the kh characters and done all the quests when it was available. Sora and Riku (first KH appearance) got KH3 skins, Cloud got KH skins, Squall became Leon, and the mc got the cloak, while Axel and Roxas didn't get any skins. It wasn't KH2 Riku skin bc they only did KH and KH3 collab. Roxas and Axel just joined when KH3 Collab happen.
You missed Disney Emoji Blitz! The game features Sora, Aqua, and the KH versions of Donald, and Goofy. There have even been KH events in the game pitting you against Maleficent in an effort to stop the darkness from spreading. And the emoji’s powers are direct references to the series as well. Sora’s referencing his faith in the power of friendship, Aqua using Bubble, and Donald and Goofy using their team attacks from KH3. Donald’s rounds also always end with him casting Zettaflare. It’s a very cool, cute reference. I hope we get more characters when KH4 comes out.
Yu-Gi-Oh! Has a archetype that references KH. It’s the MagiKey archetype. And the card “Clavkiys, the Magikey Skyblaster” is the Yu-Gi-Oh! version of Sora; especially if you read the flavor text: “Everyone is full of possibilities. Everything you do, moving forwards, stopping, closing, opening, is all in your hands. There are many doors in this world. To open them requires the Magic Key... 2 keys and 1 door... 2 wills and 1 body. Once the doors are opened, the worlds will be connected and the great power revealed.” In Disney Emoji they’re was an event where you can unlock Sora and Aqua emoji’s for the game and your keyboard. The “Big Bang Theory” as a reference in the episode “Justice League Recombination” when Penny’s boyfriend picks up a comic that has an ad for Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days. In the masked Singer Season 3, Jesse McCarnney makes several hints toward KH as Turtle through out the season. There was an episode of American Housewife that had a person dressed up as a soldier heartless at a convention.
In Dissidia NT you can also get cloud, leon and Sephiroths KH outfits, and you can get profile pic avatars that are the KH versions of the FF7 cast that are in KH1
The costumes are DLC which is the reason I never got them. That and the fact that NT is not as good as the classic dissidia games on PSP where there were also costumes for Cloud and Sephiroth as DLC.
The fighting game Skullgirls has a ton of pop-culture references, especially in the alternate color palettes. Eliza's 27th palette makes her resemble Sora's KHIII appearance, with her parasite Sekhmet as a Shadow Heartless, and her allies Horus and Albus as Donald and Goofy.
CrossCode has a few more KH references as well. The names of stat boosts such as Lucky Lucky and Once More reminded me of KH, and an optional boss fight has a gimmick that is directly inspired by the Grim Reaper from the Pirates world in Kingdom Hearts II. Also small correction at 5:48, CrossCode was actually developed by an indie company called RadicalFishGames, and Deck13 were actually the publishers of the game.
There's also the Star Fruit item which has the description "Star-shaped fruit. Its origin dates back to a small island in the ocean" being a reference to Paupu. The devs of Crosscode love KH, there's so many references xD
In the Big Hero 6 series, there's a character named Karmi who writes fanfiction and loves Captain Cutie (an alias of Hiro). She has a username called "KHeartsQT". The context is "Karmi Loves Captain Cutie", but lots of people are confident that it was intentionally a subtle Kingdom Hearts reference.
The wreck it Ralph one isn’t a reference. The person you think is sora is actually a cowboy with a red vest and brown cowboy hat. This cowboy is in the original tapper arcade game.
I’m a huge Kingdom Hearts fan ever since the first game came out in 2002. Im also a huge fan of Final Fantasy XIV, the MMO. There are a few KH references in there too :) subtle, but noticeable to any KH fan. Like the black mage staff you get from the Gold Saucer is called Heartless and is in the shape of the KH logo.
I've been playing FFXIV for a years and mained BLM for a vast majority of it and never knew about this staff lmao. Then again, i never do Gold Saucer stuff. welp, time to go buy it with some of the free GP i got
Oh snap, I never knew about the BLM weapon a the Gold Saucer (my fashion report wins go to minions and mounts lol). I’ll have to snag that for my glam!
Yeah another super subtle hint that I remember in ff xiv is one of the side quests in amh araeng being called "Pranksters Paradise" after the world in DDD.
Last year when the Mexican Pizza came back to Taco Bell there was a rap commercial for it where one of the lines he dropped was “key to my heart like Sora” and people freaked OUT (& ofc made fanart of it).
Disney's Amphibia was pretty frequent with KH references. Heck even promo poster for series had them - for example final promo poster for final episode of Season 2 - "True colors" - had exactly the same design with background and character placement as the KH2 Box art (For regular version, not Final Mix one).
As being both a Kingdom Hearts fan and a Ratchet and Clank fan i loved the key skin in Rift Apart. When i first saw that i was thinking to myself on how that makes sense and then i remembered both of their first games were released in 2002
There was also a KH crossover with Final Fantasy Record Keeper. Another mobile game Sora, Riku, Roxas and Axel were added into the game, Cloud and Squall got their KH outfits and sprites of enemies and locations from the series were made
Rumbleverse! Sadly, the game has been shut down, but in one of the updates, they added a bunch of weapons, including one called the Keybat. It's insanely rare, but very powerful (but will eventually break). Not only that, but it gives you the same attacks Sora has, like his standard 3-hit combo, his air combos, Strike Raid, and even his Glide. It works so well in Rumbleverse. I wish I could play the game again.
Okay, first off, I am SO mad at myself for not noticing Rad's coat - I binged that series last year, and I caught it when there's a photograph of K.O., Rad, and Enid all eating square blue ice cream pops and I'm like "I KNOW WHAT THOSE ARE, EVERYONE IN A PARTICULAR DEMOGRAPHIC KNOWS WHAT THOSE ARE" but I somehow missed the coat! I wish I remembered what ep that photo was in, though, or I'd point you to it... But also, the episode that cameos Hero from Ian's other project RPGworld! I'm pretty sure Hero is based at least in part on Sora - the design comes from Cloud, but the personality is very Sora and there's a "keychain" on his weapon. A perfect JRPG amalgamation! But anyway - there are some I've been mulling over/wondering about, especially in other Disney crossover properties where there's something strikingly similar. So in Dreamlight Valley, one of the earliest allies you can recruit is Remy, and Remy's plot is intertwined with partnering his restaurant with Scrooge McDuck's clothing and furniture store. And we all know where we've seen those two be business partners before! Then over in Mirrorverse, Scar's Mirror version is a dark shadow lion, and I'm pretty sure this is a reference to "the ghost of Scar" in KH2. Can't confirm this, but the animation looks QUITE like KH Darkness (as does the Darkness in Dreamlight, now that I think about it) Then in one of the early seasons of Red vs. Blue, there's a running joke about one of the Halo swords being a key and at one point I think it's Church who says something to the effect of "The sword isn't a key, that would be stupid" and again, I'm sorry I don't have an exact episode title for you, but I'm pretty sure that was supposed to be a friendly jab at KH Over in the fighting game Skullgirls, there are a lot of color palette swaps for the fighters based on different pop-culture characters that the game devs liked, and I know there's more KH rep than just this, but the one I know about is that my favorite fighter, Eliza, actually has a Sora color palette! Which...is kind of a weird choice since she's a sadistic, bloodthirsty villain :-D Then this is, like, barely a piece of media at all, but I use the HeroForge website a lot to design original characters, and one of the gear items you can put in a character's hand is a giant key (unfortunately, they do not hold it like a Keyblade). And I'm pretty sure there's a very specific reason your figure can be holding a giant key (that reason being "the KH fans want to put their KH OCs in D&D" and I don't blame them one bit). Now, I know what one I'm WAITING to see - I've recently gotten done watching playthroughs of the No More Heroes series, which has spoofed just about every video game genre there is, and the most recent game did have a parody battle of Final Fantasy in which you actually win by attacking the command menus themselves (and Bahamut is briefly namedropped). If ever there is another entry, I know they're going to be absolutely ruthless making fun of KH but still and all, I would like to see it. Show me an assassin who just flings a giant house key around and have Travis make fun of what a stupid weapon it is before it beans him in the face. It hasn't happened yet, but my goodness, it is way way overdue and I need to see it
Hopefully all these references that have appeared in pop culture in general will imply that we could get a Kingdom Hearts movie someday from Disney or even a trilogy or even a series, but a trilogy of movies would be more exciting because it’ll have a bigger impression on general audiences and maybe even boost its popularity, especially if it’s classified as an official Walt Disney Animated Feature and especially if it’s featured on ads while not revealing too much about the movie even if us fans already have an idea about what would happen in the movie, if it’s featured on ads it’s one of the best ways to spread the word, the Mario movie was featured on ads quite a bit and look at how much it’s grossed at the box office as a result. It’s about time Mickey, Donald, and Goofy get to feature in an official Walt Disney Animated Feature, and not have them feature in just a short section of classic Fantasia & Fantasia 2000, shorts, offshoot Disney movies like the 3 musketeers and so on, they’re practically the icons of Disney for crying out loud, and just to have Sora and the many other KH original characters like Riku & Kairi and many other classic Disney characters from the official animated features from Snow White to Zootopia and possibly Pixar from Toy Story to Inside Out maybe in a sequel, and hopefully having Cloud & Sephiroth appear would make it worthwhile as well. If you have any Final Fantasy characters in a Kingdom Hearts movie, Cloud & Sephiroth are absolute must haves. At least for me anyway Kingdom Hearts just wouldn’t feel the same even though Sephiroth is an optional boss in the games, could you imagine how cool it would be if he was given a bigger role as a villain in one of the movies for a trilogy? (With of course Xehanort having a big role as well) Not to mention Sephiroth is the 4th most iconic video game villain of all time, with Ganondorf being 3rd, Dr. Eggman being 2nd, and Bowser being 1st. Also giving Cloud a bigger role in the story as one of the people who more regularly accompanies Sora. Donald & Goofy would still almost regularly accompany Sora, Mickey would accompany Sora every now and then as well. That way the movies can be a little more distinct compared to the games, at that point you could just say they’re not canon to the games and are just movie adaptations but still faithful adaptations to the games and just show slightly different ways to portray the story and as a result it won’t be quite as predictable to the fans of the games if it deviates a bit from the games to make it fit a movie format. Now that Pokémon, Sonic, and Mario have their movies and upcoming movies for them, which were definitely among the most deserving to have movies based around them, the only others left that don’t have movies of them yet that are most deserving to have movies based around them would be Legend of Zelda and Kingdom Hearts.
Something fun to mention as a tsum tsum fan is Kairi is top tier in terms of her ability to help grind out coins and she was released recently. Even funnier is she cries when her ability is used so you are converting her tears into raw cash xD
Sky, amazing video, hands down. There was actually a few in this video that I had no idea that are CLEARLY kh references. Thank you so much for making this video and please please pleeeeease keep up the great work! Love ya
Hell yea someone else knows about it. It was honestly really good and the ending was golden. It started getting all confusing by the 4th issue and I was like “wtf is going on” until they made it clear that it was just satire/commentary on the story 😂
I love that KH is getting more and more references. The only one I can think of that was missed was the game Disney Emoji Blitz game. Sora and Aqua are unlockable emoji characters.
Fun fact: The Hero's Duty armor Ralph steals to enter Hero's Duty gives him a little warning with a slightly altered pitch of the Kingdom Hearts Damage Warning.
People clown so much on Roxas' ice cream line, forgetting the fact that Axel told him friends eat ice cream together. He wasn't asking who was gonna have ice cream with him. He was asking who else will be his friend.
Here’s an obscure one! In the phone game: Defender of Texel (also know. As D.O.T.) has a character named Verdoffer that is holding the Ultima weapon from KH II. I still have a picture of it since back when I saw the character sprite, I had to show my friends how this unpopular phone game had no issue giving a rando one of the most powerful keyblade.
There are some references in the Disney game Twisted Wonderland based on the villains. With hidden mickeys in the background and in some of the map layouts in events (such as Endless Halloween) and so much more!!
don't forget in OK KO Let's Be Heroes, in some episodes, photos of Enid Rad and K.O. show them hanging out, eating a light blue popsicle, possibly referencing the Sea Salt Ice Cream another trio of Kingdom Hearts, Roxas, Axel, and Xion, share when hanging out as well
I was surprised how accurate the Robot Chicken parody was when they said how old Sora was. They were a year off but its to be expected given how long it takes to animate
6:47 no it is not a sequel; it's a separate universe, with their own continuity.... there's absolutely nothing connecting connecting the Adventure series and Savers (Data Squad in the US), other than the fact that they're both part of the Digimon franchise. Think of it as the Final Fantasy series, each game is it's own separate universe, with it's own story and characters.
Ok knowing that now about Rachet and Clank Rift Apart makes me want the game even more now !! I love both franchises!! Also that love that joke about "sealing keyholes" from Robot Chicken 😂. When I started getting into Kingdom Hearts last year I had a hard time hearing that and not thinking dirty things about that lol
Not a reference but it's fun mentioning it. There's a Digimon called clavisangemon who protects a big door connected to the digital and real world with a Big key (key who's said to be able to Open and señal everything) that can only be used by that Digimon Also he's a defensor of light so yeah he's pretty similar to kh as a whole lol
A game called "Haiku" made by mister morris games has a reference in a secret area where there are a lot of graves where you can read whats left behind by those who died on them,on one of the graves read something like the lines Xehanort say "everything born from darkness and returns to darkness" something like that? Sadly i can't really remember but iam pretty sure it was something like that
One reference I picked up on is Jusis Albarea from the Trails of Cold Steel series holds his Knight's sword similarly to Aqua. As well as Rean Schwarzer being voiced by Kouki Uchiyama, who voices Roxas and Ventus. Another character who shares a Kingdom Hearts voice is Sara Valestein, Class VII's teacher being voiced by Megumi Toyoguchi, who voices Aqua.
I remember playing another mobile game that's unfortunately discontinued called Final Fantasy Record Keeper where they had two KH events. The first added Sora and Riku as playable Characters with their weapons as well as gave Cloud and Sephiroth their costumes from KH. The second event added Roxas and Axel as well as giving Sora and Riku their KHIII outfit
There's a Disney mobile game called Disney Emoji Blitz and they had a KH event where you could get Sora, Aqua, Donald and Goofy. I don't remember when this was, but I can record some footage of some of those characters for you if you want
Don't know if this would count but Jesse McCartney (the voice of Roxas) was on The masked Singer and he put a reference to Kingdom hearts and his clue package that's exactly why I figured out it was Jesse McCartney
The reference in some blizzard games! In the Overwatch map, Dorado, you can see the iconic KH heart on one of the stands. In WoW, you can see Sora, Riku, and Kairi sitting ontop of a roof staring at the ocean in Stormsong Valley.
Also I think Chris from Sonic X looks enough like Sora too count as a reference too Sora. Because when I was a kid, I thought Chris WAS Sora. I couldn't be the only kid who thought that since it's a meme now. Maybe the animation studio did it on purpose lol.
One more cross over for ya, in the mobile game Final Fantasy Record Keeper (which ended service in 2022) there were 3 KH events. Key to Another World: Rewards: KH1 Sora and Rika / outfits for Cloud, Leon, and Tyro(The game's protagonist who got an Organization coat) Enemies: include a bunch of Heartless and Leon, Cloud, and Yuffie as bosses. In Trembling Twilight: Rewards: Roxas and Axel Enemies: Nobodies and Sephiroth boss. Spun from Light: Rewards: KH3 outfits for Sora and Riku Enemies: repeat Heartless from the first event and Ansem, Xemnas, and Young Xehanort as bosses. there was also a bunch of equipment that i can't be bothered remember or lookup.
the fact, the FACT that I watched ducktales and thought it was a kh reference when Mrs. Beakley mentioned sea salt ice cream! Glad I wasn't the only one who caught tha
More than just regular references, i love when theres clear love behind them and its obvious someone on whichever team either did their homework or was a flat out fan This goes beyond KH naturally. Great example is the Animal Crossing Robot Chicken skit. Either they did a LOT of research or someone on the team was a turbo fan ♡ just that little extra always goes miles with fans. Shows love in the humor of it all
In rumbleverse there was a legendary item you could find called the key bat. It let you glide and pull off moves from kh which was crazy to see in a wrestling battle Royale game.
In evoland 2 at a certain point you can see sora waiting in line to talk with someone, and when you speak to him, he sings let it go and say how he is sick of having it in mind
The way I, as a grown ass man in my late-mid 20's, ugly cried tears of joy when the Sora trailer for Smash Ultimate premiered. I grew up with this key-weilding, size 37 shoe wearing boy. It was honestly one of the happiest moments I've had in recent years.
15:00 With all the connections KH3 and Re:Mind have made with FF Versus13, and by extension, FF15, I would not be surprised if we ran into Prompto in a future title, and he says, "Wait, isn't that the guy from the video games I was telling you about?"
WAIT A SEC. I knew about the FFXV reference but forgot about it time after, thing is that they talk about KH as if it also was a videogame game in their world, and what is Verum Rex? A videogame in Sora's world that is a "knock off" of FFXV (or Versus XIII if you will) while it also exist in a parallele universe. Could it be more than a coincidence that was there in plain sight before we knew about it in KH3? Could it be linked somehow with the future of the saga or Verum Rex being more than a reference?
On the topic of Dissidia, friendly reminder that it was originally gonna be a KH fighting game, not a FF fighting game, Disney just got mad about it so they had to change it lol
Not sure if intentionally a reference but... There's a Roller coaster called Dragons Fury in Chessington World of Adventures which uses the Mulan world theme as it's soundtrack. I lost my mind when I realised! Great video 😁👍
There was another FF mobile game that had an KH event going on where you can obtain the characters Sora, Riku, and I think even Kairi in it with their respected weapons, like the kingdom key, way to dawn and others like oath keeper, oblivion, and soul eaters. (Riku's sword in KH1, not the anime) I think the name of the game is called FF Record Keeper I believe, but I don't think it's available anymore. It's been awhile since I last played it, look it up by the way, fun game in my opinion
I made a PART 2 with even *MORE* Kingdom Hearts references after you’re done with this one ❤️: th-cam.com/video/SPh-woDPV8g/w-d-xo.html
I feel like this is some kind of Mendela effect but your reference of kingdom hearts being around since 2002 is a little bit off, because I remember being able to play kingdom hearts 2 when I was 15 and I recall renting it from a blockbuster at that time. So of course I was 15 in 2002. When did one come out then?
7 : 24 OK Now I Wanna See A Saints Row World In KH4 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
Down with all disgusting premium brands like disney
Fun fact: one of the artists for Archer named Shannon is a huge Kingdom Hearts fan and has a KH podcast(Kingdom Smarts) and even themed her whole wedding around the game so that keyblade in Archer was something she snuck in
I never put that together! She's great 👍
That must have been an awesome wedding.
That's awesome 🎉
Imagine if the wedding priest said something like "May your hearts form a light strong enough to Pierce through the door to darkness."
@@gimmeyourrights8292 then everyone would DIE of CRINGE
The funny thing about the SORA hair in the Chip and Dale movie is it was ripped from a Fan Art, the artist was upset about not getting credit
yeah i saw that to... atleast give the damn artist a credit shoutout or something.
ironic...
One of the MANY wrongdoings of that movie...
My favorite part about Sora in Smash Ultinate is that he was confirmed the most requested character in the franchise but KH in Robot Chicken was so hilarious
😂😂😂😂😂😂
He was supposed to be in 4 but they put bayonetta in for some unexplained reason
@@DiademAce Apparently she was considered to be the “most negotiable” at the time so there were most likely some issues regarding Sora’s inclusion, especially for Tetsuya Nomura’s case.
@@Styxiami Yeah I remember hearing nomura didn’t want to put him in cause he didn’t want people thinking this was canon or he wasn’t sure Sakurai would do him justice
@@Styxiami also she thick so that’s another reason 😂
Of course it was spoofed by _Robot Chicken_. Was the skit dirty or clean?
A little bit after the reveal for KH4, there was a ad for Taco Bell's Mexican Pizza with a rap, and one of the lines is "Key to my Heart like Sora." It ain't much, but I thought it was super cool.
I love that
I think the best part about all these references is that since Kingdom Hearts is a series based on crossovers, you can consider almost all of these canon.
Every Star in the Sky is a World after all
Not how that works lmao
@@basedautismgang how does it work then Mr genius
@@basedautismgang That's exactly how it works. Sora could enter to ANY type of world. So yes, is canon.
We still never received a kingdom hearts game where sora met lightning mcqueen
Don't forget about the key Buzz gets in Toy Story 4. It looks EXACTLY like the Kingdom Key, and it upsets me greatly that no one talks about it!
To be fair nobody remembers Toy Story 4. It's the Rise of Skywalker of Pixar.
@@ChrisSuperDude it's the only thing I remember about it lol
Most people don't know this, but Disney has made several movies as references for every world in Kingdom Hearts. Walt was himself, in fact, a huge Kingdom Hearts fan.
I'm not gonna lie you really got me with this one lmao
@@TheOneAndOnly2000K lmfao Fr until he mentioned walt
Walt was in fact a huge flaming racist 😂
Walt was himself, I’m fact, dead like 30 years before kingdom hearts came out.
@@BoshJosh12 He time travelled to get all info about KH and made movies from its world, truly a Great KH fan.
There is a slight Kingdom Hearts reference in the Masked Singer, a singing competition show about masked celebrities who give clues to their identities throughout. One of them was Jesse McCartney (VA for Roxas/Ventus) who included a subtle KH reference in one of his sections.
What was the section?
I've known he was the VA for a while now but always forget 😅
It takes me out every time I'm reminded about it, haha
@@Blubbpaule I can't remember the exact section, but he said something along the lines of "I've got the keys to this kingdom and the heart to win it all" or something fluffy and vague like that. I remember figuring out right then though who it was.
1:58 Rip Way To The Dawn
(KH1 - KH3)
You where the coolest keyblade ever made, the main reason I loved playing as Riku in Dream Drop Distance.... ill never forget you my precious.
The music used in the actual Olympics totally surprised me the most. I would ask myself how I missed that, but it's fine since I am new to this whole fandom
I completely missed the DuckTales 2017 one
It is honestly my favorite Disney show of all time but that reference just makes me love it even more
3:44 If people still clown this line by the way, let me remind them that « eating ice cream is something friends do ». So, « who else will I eat ice cream with » in that context really means « who else will be my friend » as Roxas loses his last true friend (save for Axel but they were angry at each other at that point).
It's one of two things:
1. It was a product of its time and the translation was a bit spotty. On the other hand, the Final Fantasy VII Remake has the infamous "you owe me a pizza".
2. Tetsuya Nomura sucks at writing dying dialogue.
here's one for you; In final fantasy record keeper (another final fantasy mobile game), there was another kingdom hearts colab that saw not only the main character Tyro get an organisation XIII cloak outfit, but also gave you the chance to get sora, Riku, Axel and Roxas, and various keyblades from the series.
they even did an additional event where sora got his KH3 costume and Riku got his KH2 costume.
Actually both Riku and Sora received their KH3 outfits as their Wardrobe Records. However, Riku's KH2 outfit was his Awakening Arcane Soul Break relic.
@@jackycheung2781 sora did get his KH3 outfit, but when the kingdom hearts colab happened Riku got his KH2 skin.
Go ahead and double check if you need to.
@@brittical-hitna bro I had all the kh characters and done all the quests when it was available. Sora and Riku (first KH appearance) got KH3 skins, Cloud got KH skins, Squall became Leon, and the mc got the cloak, while Axel and Roxas didn't get any skins. It wasn't KH2 Riku skin bc they only did KH and KH3 collab. Roxas and Axel just joined when KH3 Collab happen.
5:25 Santa's little helper, not only makes reference to Kingdom Hearts, but also Amaterasu from Okami
how.... dont u mean sif from dark souls.
@@miciso666 it's the playstation 2, so no, It's Okami
And the marking on the statue is clearly ammy's divine marking
You missed Disney Emoji Blitz! The game features Sora, Aqua, and the KH versions of Donald, and Goofy. There have even been KH events in the game pitting you against Maleficent in an effort to stop the darkness from spreading. And the emoji’s powers are direct references to the series as well. Sora’s referencing his faith in the power of friendship, Aqua using Bubble, and Donald and Goofy using their team attacks from KH3. Donald’s rounds also always end with him casting Zettaflare. It’s a very cool, cute reference. I hope we get more characters when KH4 comes out.
Yu-Gi-Oh! Has a archetype that references KH. It’s the MagiKey archetype. And the card “Clavkiys, the Magikey Skyblaster” is the Yu-Gi-Oh! version of Sora; especially if you read the flavor text:
“Everyone is full of possibilities. Everything you do, moving forwards, stopping, closing, opening, is all in your hands.
There are many doors in this world. To open them requires the Magic Key... 2 keys and 1 door... 2 wills and 1 body. Once the doors are opened, the worlds will be connected and the great power revealed.”
In Disney Emoji they’re was an event where you can unlock Sora and Aqua emoji’s for the game and your keyboard.
The “Big Bang Theory” as a reference in the episode “Justice League Recombination” when Penny’s boyfriend picks up a comic that has an ad for Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days.
In the masked Singer Season 3, Jesse McCarnney makes several hints toward KH as Turtle through out the season.
There was an episode of American Housewife that had a person dressed up as a soldier heartless at a convention.
Still love how much of a reach Kingdom Hearts is having in pop culture. I’m all here for it and can’t wait to see what they come out with next.
Ikr, and I feel like it’s only a matter of time until Disney releases a Kingdom Hearts movie, and maybe even a trilogy, which would be pretty cool.
In Dissidia NT you can also get cloud, leon and Sephiroths KH outfits, and you can get profile pic avatars that are the KH versions of the FF7 cast that are in KH1
The costumes are DLC which is the reason I never got them. That and the fact that NT is not as good as the classic dissidia games on PSP where there were also costumes for Cloud and Sephiroth as DLC.
@@Easy_Greasey my first experience with him was KH I’m calling him that dammit :p
@@Thesuperduperbooster My first experience with Squall was Final Fantasy VIII and I call him Leon as well
The fighting game Skullgirls has a ton of pop-culture references, especially in the alternate color palettes. Eliza's 27th palette makes her resemble Sora's KHIII appearance, with her parasite Sekhmet as a Shadow Heartless, and her allies Horus and Albus as Donald and Goofy.
CrossCode has a few more KH references as well. The names of stat boosts such as Lucky Lucky and Once More reminded me of KH, and an optional boss fight has a gimmick that is directly inspired by the Grim Reaper from the Pirates world in Kingdom Hearts II.
Also small correction at 5:48, CrossCode was actually developed by an indie company called RadicalFishGames, and Deck13 were actually the publishers of the game.
Thank you.
There's also the Star Fruit item which has the description "Star-shaped fruit. Its origin dates back to a small island in the ocean" being a reference to Paupu. The devs of Crosscode love KH, there's so many references xD
In the Big Hero 6 series, there's a character named Karmi who writes fanfiction and loves Captain Cutie (an alias of Hiro). She has a username called "KHeartsQT". The context is "Karmi Loves Captain Cutie", but lots of people are confident that it was intentionally a subtle Kingdom Hearts reference.
Well of course since Hiro's world was in the 3rd HK installment anyways
Ratchet and Clank rift apart just proved that ratchet might possibly be the next keyblade wielder
About Herbie. Herbie has been around longer than fully loaded.
The wreck it Ralph one isn’t a reference.
The person you think is sora is actually a cowboy with a red vest and brown cowboy hat. This cowboy is in the original tapper arcade game.
I’m a huge Kingdom Hearts fan ever since the first game came out in 2002. Im also a huge fan of Final Fantasy XIV, the MMO. There are a few KH references in there too :) subtle, but noticeable to any KH fan. Like the black mage staff you get from the Gold Saucer is called Heartless and is in the shape of the KH logo.
I've been playing FFXIV for a years and mained BLM for a vast majority of it and never knew about this staff lmao. Then again, i never do Gold Saucer stuff. welp, time to go buy it with some of the free GP i got
Oh snap, I never knew about the BLM weapon a the Gold Saucer (my fashion report wins go to minions and mounts lol). I’ll have to snag that for my glam!
Yeah another super subtle hint that I remember in ff xiv is one of the side quests in amh araeng being called "Pranksters Paradise" after the world in DDD.
Last year when the Mexican Pizza came back to Taco Bell there was a rap commercial for it where one of the lines he dropped was “key to my heart like Sora” and people freaked OUT (& ofc made fanart of it).
Disney's Amphibia was pretty frequent with KH references.
Heck even promo poster for series had them - for example final promo poster for final episode of Season 2 - "True colors" - had exactly the same design with background and character placement as the KH2 Box art (For regular version, not Final Mix one).
As being both a Kingdom Hearts fan and a Ratchet and Clank fan i loved the key skin in Rift Apart. When i first saw that i was thinking to myself on how that makes sense and then i remembered both of their first games were released in 2002
10:18
"...Rad?"
"Rad? Heh, think you got the wrong guy. It's Drax."
“Why does everybody keep calling me Drax?”
“Because, Rad, Drax is your Nobody.”
There was also a KH crossover with Final Fantasy Record Keeper. Another mobile game
Sora, Riku, Roxas and Axel were added into the game, Cloud and Squall got their KH outfits and sprites of enemies and locations from the series were made
I've been a fan of the series for so long and I never knew some of these existed! Really glad you went over this sky!
Rumbleverse! Sadly, the game has been shut down, but in one of the updates, they added a bunch of weapons, including one called the Keybat. It's insanely rare, but very powerful (but will eventually break). Not only that, but it gives you the same attacks Sora has, like his standard 3-hit combo, his air combos, Strike Raid, and even his Glide. It works so well in Rumbleverse. I wish I could play the game again.
I'm glad I'm not the only person who made Dr disrespect in saint's row 😂 7:31
Okay, first off, I am SO mad at myself for not noticing Rad's coat - I binged that series last year, and I caught it when there's a photograph of K.O., Rad, and Enid all eating square blue ice cream pops and I'm like "I KNOW WHAT THOSE ARE, EVERYONE IN A PARTICULAR DEMOGRAPHIC KNOWS WHAT THOSE ARE" but I somehow missed the coat!
I wish I remembered what ep that photo was in, though, or I'd point you to it...
But also, the episode that cameos Hero from Ian's other project RPGworld! I'm pretty sure Hero is based at least in part on Sora - the design comes from Cloud, but the personality is very Sora and there's a "keychain" on his weapon. A perfect JRPG amalgamation!
But anyway - there are some I've been mulling over/wondering about, especially in other Disney crossover properties where there's something strikingly similar. So in Dreamlight Valley, one of the earliest allies you can recruit is Remy, and Remy's plot is intertwined with partnering his restaurant with Scrooge McDuck's clothing and furniture store. And we all know where we've seen those two be business partners before!
Then over in Mirrorverse, Scar's Mirror version is a dark shadow lion, and I'm pretty sure this is a reference to "the ghost of Scar" in KH2. Can't confirm this, but the animation looks QUITE like KH Darkness (as does the Darkness in Dreamlight, now that I think about it)
Then in one of the early seasons of Red vs. Blue, there's a running joke about one of the Halo swords being a key and at one point I think it's Church who says something to the effect of "The sword isn't a key, that would be stupid" and again, I'm sorry I don't have an exact episode title for you, but I'm pretty sure that was supposed to be a friendly jab at KH
Over in the fighting game Skullgirls, there are a lot of color palette swaps for the fighters based on different pop-culture characters that the game devs liked, and I know there's more KH rep than just this, but the one I know about is that my favorite fighter, Eliza, actually has a Sora color palette! Which...is kind of a weird choice since she's a sadistic, bloodthirsty villain :-D
Then this is, like, barely a piece of media at all, but I use the HeroForge website a lot to design original characters, and one of the gear items you can put in a character's hand is a giant key (unfortunately, they do not hold it like a Keyblade). And I'm pretty sure there's a very specific reason your figure can be holding a giant key (that reason being "the KH fans want to put their KH OCs in D&D" and I don't blame them one bit).
Now, I know what one I'm WAITING to see - I've recently gotten done watching playthroughs of the No More Heroes series, which has spoofed just about every video game genre there is, and the most recent game did have a parody battle of Final Fantasy in which you actually win by attacking the command menus themselves (and Bahamut is briefly namedropped). If ever there is another entry, I know they're going to be absolutely ruthless making fun of KH but still and all, I would like to see it. Show me an assassin who just flings a giant house key around and have Travis make fun of what a stupid weapon it is before it beans him in the face. It hasn't happened yet, but my goodness, it is way way overdue and I need to see it
That chip and dale movie reference is the closest to seeing actual movie
Hopefully all these references that have appeared in pop culture in general will imply that we could get a Kingdom Hearts movie someday from Disney or even a trilogy or even a series, but a trilogy of movies would be more exciting because it’ll have a bigger impression on general audiences and maybe even boost its popularity, especially if it’s classified as an official Walt Disney Animated Feature and especially if it’s featured on ads while not revealing too much about the movie even if us fans already have an idea about what would happen in the movie, if it’s featured on ads it’s one of the best ways to spread the word, the Mario movie was featured on ads quite a bit and look at how much it’s grossed at the box office as a result.
It’s about time Mickey, Donald, and Goofy get to feature in an official Walt Disney Animated Feature, and not have them feature in just a short section of classic Fantasia & Fantasia 2000, shorts, offshoot Disney movies like the 3 musketeers and so on, they’re practically the icons of Disney for crying out loud, and just to have Sora and the many other KH original characters like Riku & Kairi and many other classic Disney characters from the official animated features from Snow White to Zootopia and possibly Pixar from Toy Story to Inside Out maybe in a sequel, and hopefully having Cloud & Sephiroth appear would make it worthwhile as well. If you have any Final Fantasy characters in a Kingdom Hearts movie, Cloud & Sephiroth are absolute must haves. At least for me anyway Kingdom Hearts just wouldn’t feel the same even though Sephiroth is an optional boss in the games, could you imagine how cool it would be if he was given a bigger role as a villain in one of the movies for a trilogy? (With of course Xehanort having a big role as well) Not to mention Sephiroth is the 4th most iconic video game villain of all time, with Ganondorf being 3rd, Dr. Eggman being 2nd, and Bowser being 1st.
Also giving Cloud a bigger role in the story as one of the people who more regularly accompanies Sora. Donald & Goofy would still almost regularly accompany Sora, Mickey would accompany Sora every now and then as well. That way the movies can be a little more distinct compared to the games, at that point you could just say they’re not canon to the games and are just movie adaptations but still faithful adaptations to the games and just show slightly different ways to portray the story and as a result it won’t be quite as predictable to the fans of the games if it deviates a bit from the games to make it fit a movie format.
Now that Pokémon, Sonic, and Mario have their movies and upcoming movies for them, which were definitely among the most deserving to have movies based around them, the only others left that don’t have movies of them yet that are most deserving to have movies based around them would be Legend of Zelda and Kingdom Hearts.
Something fun to mention as a tsum tsum fan is Kairi is top tier in terms of her ability to help grind out coins and she was released recently. Even funnier is she cries when her ability is used so you are converting her tears into raw cash xD
Sky, amazing video, hands down. There was actually a few in this video that I had no idea that are CLEARLY kh references. Thank you so much for making this video and please please pleeeeease keep up the great work! Love ya
8:39 btw this comic started the rick and morty “kingdom balls” saga.
Its a funny ass parody of kingdom hearts and i definitely recommend checking out.
Hell yea someone else knows about it. It was honestly really good and the ending was golden. It started getting all confusing by the 4th issue and I was like “wtf is going on” until they made it clear that it was just satire/commentary on the story 😂
8:13 follow up to this. They just finished releasing a four part mini comic series called “kingdom balls” and it’s just a big homage to Kingdom Hearts
6:25 The left side monitor feels like the destiny island arena you fight riku.
I love that KH is getting more and more references. The only one I can think of that was missed was the game Disney Emoji Blitz game. Sora and Aqua are unlockable emoji characters.
7:55 That's just a cowboy. The color scheme does look to be inspired by Sora, though.
In the Stargirl show in season 3 there's an extra wearing a Sora backpack on an episode
Fun fact: The Hero's Duty armor Ralph steals to enter Hero's Duty gives him a little warning with a slightly altered pitch of the Kingdom Hearts Damage Warning.
One you didn’t mention was in one of the Overwatch maps has a bunch of KH logos over carts of food
12:00 Remember Sky, Mickey is now rockin’ the Star Cluster, his new keyblade.
My brother is 22 he grew up playing kingdom hearts and he introduced to the games i loved it
5:20 it's a double reference, I just noticed.
The dog holds a keyblade and his markings really look like Amaterasu's, from Okami
People clown so much on Roxas' ice cream line, forgetting the fact that Axel told him friends eat ice cream together. He wasn't asking who was gonna have ice cream with him. He was asking who else will be his friend.
Here’s an obscure one! In the phone game: Defender of Texel (also know. As D.O.T.) has a character named Verdoffer that is holding the Ultima weapon from KH II. I still have a picture of it since back when I saw the character sprite, I had to show my friends how this unpopular phone game had no issue giving a rando one of the most powerful keyblade.
There are some references in the Disney game Twisted Wonderland based on the villains. With hidden mickeys in the background and in some of the map layouts in events (such as Endless Halloween) and so much more!!
5:27 In the Xbox 360 version (which was the one I played), I remember that it had the detail that Mickey's keychain was exchanged for one of Itchy
don't forget in OK KO Let's Be Heroes, in some episodes, photos of Enid Rad and K.O. show them hanging out, eating a light blue popsicle, possibly referencing the Sea Salt Ice Cream another trio of Kingdom Hearts, Roxas, Axel, and Xion, share when hanging out as well
I was surprised how accurate the Robot Chicken parody was when they said how old Sora was. They were a year off but its to be expected given how long it takes to animate
6:47 no it is not a sequel; it's a separate universe, with their own continuity.... there's absolutely nothing connecting connecting the Adventure series and Savers (Data Squad in the US), other than the fact that they're both part of the Digimon franchise. Think of it as the Final Fantasy series, each game is it's own separate universe, with it's own story and characters.
In Final Fantasy Record Keeper, there was an event where you can get Sora and Riku as playable party members.
Ok knowing that now about Rachet and Clank Rift Apart makes me want the game even more now !! I love both franchises!! Also that love that joke about "sealing keyholes" from Robot Chicken 😂. When I started getting into Kingdom Hearts last year I had a hard time hearing that and not thinking dirty things about that lol
Not a reference but it's fun mentioning it.
There's a Digimon called clavisangemon who protects a big door connected to the digital and real world with a Big key (key who's said to be able to Open and señal everything) that can only be used by that Digimon
Also he's a defensor of light so yeah he's pretty similar to kh as a whole lol
I love the little detail from the Simpson Doggo that he also references to Amaterasu from Ōkami
3:38 Out of context, it's funny... But it hits hard with context.
A game called "Haiku" made by mister morris games has a reference in a secret area where there are a lot of graves where you can read whats left behind by those who died on them,on one of the graves read something like the lines Xehanort say "everything born from darkness and returns to darkness" something like that? Sadly i can't really remember but iam pretty sure it was something like that
Wow, I'm surprised how many of these I didn't already know about. Super cool!
One reference I picked up on is Jusis Albarea from the Trails of Cold Steel series holds his Knight's sword similarly to Aqua. As well as Rean Schwarzer being voiced by Kouki Uchiyama, who voices Roxas and Ventus. Another character who shares a Kingdom Hearts voice is Sara Valestein, Class VII's teacher being voiced by Megumi Toyoguchi, who voices Aqua.
I remember playing another mobile game that's unfortunately discontinued called Final Fantasy Record Keeper where they had two KH events. The first added Sora and Riku as playable Characters with their weapons as well as gave Cloud and Sephiroth their costumes from KH. The second event added Roxas and Axel as well as giving Sora and Riku their KHIII outfit
Record Keeper was discontinued?! Im sad now.
There's a Disney mobile game called Disney Emoji Blitz and they had a KH event where you could get Sora, Aqua, Donald and Goofy. I don't remember when this was, but I can record some footage of some of those characters for you if you want
Don't know if this would count but Jesse McCartney (the voice of Roxas) was on The masked Singer and he put a reference to Kingdom hearts and his clue package that's exactly why I figured out it was Jesse McCartney
I was 10 when the first game came out and I loved it. I still play these games every now and then. I'm 30 now. Time flies
The reference in some blizzard games!
In the Overwatch map, Dorado, you can see the iconic KH heart on one of the stands.
In WoW, you can see Sora, Riku, and Kairi sitting ontop of a roof staring at the ocean in Stormsong Valley.
Also I think Chris from Sonic X looks enough like Sora too count as a reference too Sora. Because when I was a kid, I thought Chris WAS Sora. I couldn't be the only kid who thought that since it's a meme now. Maybe the animation studio did it on purpose lol.
One more cross over for ya, in the mobile game Final Fantasy Record Keeper (which ended service in 2022) there were 3 KH events.
Key to Another World:
Rewards: KH1 Sora and Rika / outfits for Cloud, Leon, and Tyro(The game's protagonist who got an Organization coat)
Enemies: include a bunch of Heartless and Leon, Cloud, and Yuffie as bosses.
In Trembling Twilight:
Rewards: Roxas and Axel
Enemies: Nobodies and Sephiroth boss.
Spun from Light:
Rewards: KH3 outfits for Sora and Riku
Enemies: repeat Heartless from the first event and Ansem, Xemnas, and Young Xehanort as bosses.
there was also a bunch of equipment that i can't be bothered remember or lookup.
the fact, the FACT that I watched ducktales and thought it was a kh reference when Mrs. Beakley mentioned sea salt ice cream! Glad I wasn't the only one who caught tha
3:00 some keyblades look like your supposed to strike with the teeth.
More than just regular references, i love when theres clear love behind them and its obvious someone on whichever team either did their homework or was a flat out fan
This goes beyond KH naturally. Great example is the Animal Crossing Robot Chicken skit. Either they did a LOT of research or someone on the team was a turbo fan ♡ just that little extra always goes miles with fans. Shows love in the humor of it all
There was also a scene in the Slam Dunk movie on Disney+ where a kid is playing KH3
9:50 Pam’s Cocaine arc is one of my favorites
Digimon Data Squad is a guilty pleasure of mine, it brings me a hell lot of joy to know they made a kh reference with Quinton Flynn of all people
In rumbleverse there was a legendary item you could find called the key bat. It let you glide and pull off moves from kh which was crazy to see in a wrestling battle Royale game.
In evoland 2 at a certain point you can see sora waiting in line to talk with someone, and when you speak to him, he sings let it go and say how he is sick of having it in mind
Not sure if it’s technically a reference, but in Nathan Fielder’s new series The Rehearsal, a man has a full sized Kingdom Key in his bedroom.
6:58 i never seen this cutscene before... where can i find it please ???
Kingdom Hearts is the only game where its possible to hear plots like Mickey Mouse and Aladdin rescue Snow White and still have it feel normal
7:25 That is a New Orleans symbol… More specifically the New Orleans Saints Football team. I am from there and I’d know that symbol anywhere. 😂
There was once a german "science" show that did an episode on near-death experiences and they played "Dearly Beloved" during the "heaven" scenes
It wasn't a very crediböe or accurate show but it was entertaining at times
Oh, I remember the Olympics playing Kingdom Hearts music! I geeked out WAY too hard and kept excitedly telling my mom what songs were playing. 🤣
The way I, as a grown ass man in my late-mid 20's, ugly cried tears of joy when the Sora trailer for Smash Ultimate premiered.
I grew up with this key-weilding, size 37 shoe wearing boy. It was honestly one of the happiest moments I've had in recent years.
One day man we'll get a KH x FFXIV event and it will be awesome
All these references just feel so damn good. Cultural W
In skullgirls Eliza has a pallete that references Sora. With sehkmet referencing the heartless, Horus referencing Donald and Albus referencing goofy
I don't know if this count but in the show family guy mayor Adam west is fighting a another mayor with a key to the city as it were a keyblade
Oh yeah I remember that it was a valentine day episode
15:00 With all the connections KH3 and Re:Mind have made with FF Versus13, and by extension, FF15, I would not be surprised if we ran into Prompto in a future title, and he says, "Wait, isn't that the guy from the video games I was telling you about?"
I absolutely lost my shit at alll the square enix music at the Olympics. The people around me were like “wtf? Whys he so excited?”
Title: "Kingdom hearts references OUTSIDE of games"
Shows most of references from games
WAIT A SEC. I knew about the FFXV reference but forgot about it time after, thing is that they talk about KH as if it also was a videogame game in their world, and what is Verum Rex? A videogame in Sora's world that is a "knock off" of FFXV (or Versus XIII if you will) while it also exist in a parallele universe. Could it be more than a coincidence that was there in plain sight before we knew about it in KH3? Could it be linked somehow with the future of the saga or Verum Rex being more than a reference?
The ffxv key thing is actually a Dragon Quest reference, with the Ultimate Key recurring item
@@kuroneko6213 are you sure? I mean, I think it would make more sense to be a kh reference
14:57
Hmm this might come back to bite us in KH4
Specifically since this is the game that is supposed to be similar to Yozora’s game.
Shocked you didn't bring up record keeper in the FF section
On the topic of Dissidia, friendly reminder that it was originally gonna be a KH fighting game, not a FF fighting game, Disney just got mad about it so they had to change it lol
Not sure if intentionally a reference but... There's a Roller coaster called Dragons Fury in Chessington World of Adventures which uses the Mulan world theme as it's soundtrack. I lost my mind when I realised! Great video 😁👍
There was another FF mobile game that had an KH event going on where you can obtain the characters Sora, Riku, and I think even Kairi in it with their respected weapons, like the kingdom key, way to dawn and others like oath keeper, oblivion, and soul eaters. (Riku's sword in KH1, not the anime) I think the name of the game is called FF Record Keeper I believe, but I don't think it's available anymore. It's been awhile since I last played it, look it up by the way, fun game in my opinion
11:47 its the Kingdom key d being in the box a reference to the fact King Mickey replaced it witu the Star Cluster in kh3