Atlantica

**Atlantica** is the kingdom is located beneath the Atlantic Ocean featured in *The Little Mermaid* franchise. The kingdom is ruled by the sea king, King Triton and the sea queen, Queen Athena; until her death.

Atlantica's most famous residents are none other than Triton's free-spirited and adventurous daughter Ariel, her best friend Flounder and the court composer crab Sebastian. These friends usually get Atlantica in hot water but clean up the mess they sometimes start.

## Places of Interest

* **Triton's Palace:** The home of King Triton, Queen Athena, Ariel, Ariel's sisters, and Sebastian. The palace holds bedrooms for every member, a large dining room, many hallways, a concert hall, and a treasury.
* **The City:** The area where the actual residents live in Atlantica. The city surrounds Triton's palace.
* **Ariel's Grotto:** Ariel's possibly current secret room, hidden in a cave. A large boulder hides the entrance. Ariel's grotto was once filled with many human items such as paintings, weapons, books, forks, and spoons. It has held two separate collections of human items, all gathered by Ariel. Ariel was forced to destroy the first collection herself, after Ursula enchanted the objects to attack Atlantica. Ariel restarted her collection, but most of the items in the grotto were destroyed by King Triton in the film. However, at least twelve years later, the grotto still held Ariel's collection, either as a writers' oversight or implication that Triton repaired/replaced the items in the collection after the events of the original film.
* **Ursula's Lair:** Around the outskirts of Atlantica. The home of Ursula, and her eel henchmen Flotsam and Jetsam. Here Ursula cast spells on merfolk and perform great pieces of magic. The lair itself is actually the remains of a giant deceased creature. The entrance houses many polyps, all who were previously merpeople whom had not been able to uphold their bargains with Ursula. The lair still stands today but is abandoned.
* **Ship Graveyard:** A place filled with small sunken ships. Ariel and Flounder visit the graveyard often to search for human things.
* **Marketplace:** Area where most people shop. In the animated series, Ariel visits here often with Urchin and Flounder.
* **Morgana's Lair:** An area above and below where Morgana, Undertow, Cloak, and Dagger once lived. Here is where Morgana would also cast magic spells to try to turn Undertow back from a piranha to a tiger shark. Morgana has also stolen Ursula's Magic from Ursula's lair to turn Melody into a mermaid. However, Morgana has not used enough of Ursula's magic on her so she could remained a mermaid. The lair has caved in after Morgana's defeat by King Triton freezing her in an eternal thick layer of ice. Undertow, Cloak, and Dagger's whereabouts are unknown.

## Setting

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*, Arieljoins 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 are able to be traveled and the story is not progressed by battling enemies, but by singing.

*Kingdom Hearts* gives Atlantica a sprawling design that requires certain special abilities to navigate successfully. Sora and company arrive in the **Tranquil Grotto**, where Ariel and Flounder host the swimming tutorial. From there, the party travels forward, practicing battle in the **Undersea Valley**, following the trident marks to their final destination. One exit leads to the ironically-named **Calm Depths**, which plays host to a swift moving current that pushes Sora and his party around unless they use Ariel's dolphin friend or obtain the Mermaid Kick ability.

The Mermaid Kick ability replaces the Dolphin originally required to get through the calm depths. Following the trident mark here takes the group to the **Undersea Cave** with a strong current of its own. Making it past the current leads to the **Undersea Gorge**, a vast area which leads to several other places in Atlantica. On the opposite side of the gorge are the entrances to **Ariel's Grotto** and, under the crate, the end of a hidden tunnel that leads to the **Sunken Ship**. Somewhere in the middle is the entrance to **Triton's Palace** and the **Throne Room** within. Also there, but easily missed, is the **Undersea Garden**, hidden to the left of the Palace entrance.

After getting into the **Sunken Ship** area, Sebastian helps the party find a hidden door in the corner which leads to the creepy **Den of Tides**; the right fork leads to the **Cavern Nook**, a room with a save point, while the left fork takes the party to the **Tidal Abyss** and, past that, **Ursula's Lair** for the first of two encounters with the sea witch. 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**, where their final encounter with Ursula takes place.

*Kingdom Hearts II* features a tiny Atlantica in comparison; only two areas are available for Sora and the party to freely explore. They arrive and interact the most in the **Undersea Courtyard**, where the song mini-games are activated. On the opposite end from the save point is the entrance to **Triton's Throne**, which holds other characters, but no Heartless. **Ariel's Grotto**, **The Shore**, and the **Wedding Ship** also appear, but only in cutscenes.

## Role in Sora’s Adventures

Sora and his friends visit this place in Sora’s Adventures in Atlantica