Traverse Town

Traverse Town is the first major playable world in Kingdom Hearts outside of Destiny Islands and serves as the main hub of the first game. A quaint and calm town, Traverse Town features a sky of eternal night, where stars can be seen clearly. Survivors of the worlds lost to the Heartless find their way here after their world has been destroyed.

Leon, Yuffie, Aerith, Cid, Merlin, the Fairy Godmother, Pinocchio, and Geppetto are notable temporary residents. Huey, Dewey, and Louie own the item shop, while Cid owns the accessory shop and later sells Gummi Blocks to upgrade and modify Gummi Ships. Moogles also take residence here, where they successfully run a mysterious workshop. Merlin allows Sora to practice his magic on neutral targets, and the Fairy Godmother unlocks Summons after certain conditions are met.

Traverse Town is the first place Sora lands after he is drawn out of the disappearing Destiny Islands. According to the Secret Ansem Reports, Traverse Town consists of remnants of worlds whose hearts have been stolen by the Heartless, which is why anyone lucky enough to survive the destruction of their world ends up there.

Locations
Traverse Town is similar to a Victorian-age town in terms of design and layout. It is divided into three major districts along with several minor locations such as alleyways and caves. Besides being created from fragments of destroyed worlds and serving as a home to those who's worlds have been destroyed by the Heartless, Traverse Town is also a great place to shop.

First District
The 1st District is the most peaceful of the three, without the presence of Heartless (with the exception of the first episode, where Heartless can even be found here after Sora searches for Riku and Kairi). The First District is where most survivors of the destroyed worlds can be found. The most notable locations include the Accessory Shop owned and managed by Cid, the Item Shop run by Huey, Dewey, and Louie, and an Item Workshop run by Moogles on the top floor of Cid's store.

There is also a shop run by Cid after the keyhole of Traverse Town is locked; he sells Gummi Blocks near the gate to the Second District. There is a restaurant with magical self-lighting candles to the left of the town entrance, as well as Geppetto's House, a green-doored apartment that Geppetto, Pinocchio, and Cleo move into after they escape from Monstro. The mailbox used in the Postcard hunt is also found here, close to the door leading into the Third District. Directly across from the accessory shop is a large set of double-doors which serve as the entrance to the town and can return the player to the world map to choose another world to travel to.

Second District
The 2nd District is infested with a variety of Heartless. Notable locations include the Gizmo Shop (a bell on the roof can eventually be rung three times in order to reveal the world's Keyhole), and the Dalmatians' House (consisting of Dalmatians' Den, Living Room, Dining Room, and Piano Room), where Pongo and Perdita have settled due to the destruction of their world.

The Hotel is on the west side of the district and is often invaded by Heartless, but can be entered through the Hallway; in addition, the Red Room and Green Room are located within the Hotel, where Sora, Donald, and Goofy are briefed by Leon and Aerith. The east side of town includes the entrance to the Third District, as well as a set of roofs that can be climbed to reach treasures and a hidden entrance to a balcony in the Third District. At the back of the Hotel lies the Alleyway; it has passages to the Dalmatians' House and the First District, and its drainage pipes lead to the Secret Waterway.

The Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland is also seen moving his hat up and down on top of a store, dealing with suits and dresses.

The Keyhole for Traverse Town was hidden, but revealed only after the bell atop the Gizmo Shop tolled thrice (the bell can be accessed by climbing a ladder at the Gizmo Shop's exit, then by activating a Red Trinity mark to break down the barrier). The Keyhole is located in a fountain near the First District entrance. When the player approaches the Keyhole he/she will have to fight Guard Armor and Opposite Armor before sealing it off.

Inside the Shop there is a Trinity Mark. This can be accessed by using Thunder on the broken wires in the Third District. There are raised platforms in the Shop; the player should jump up on each to gain access to the Trinity Mark and some chests. After activating the Trinity Mark, the player should then examine the clock inside the Gizmo Shop; it is stuck at 6:54. The player will then gain two postcards.

Third District
The 3rd District is a plaza also overrun with Heartless, but is the smallest of the three main districts. Notable areas include the Vacant House next to the Second District's door, which Leon and his crew eventually claim as the Small House, their headquarters. The most notable feature in this district is the golden fountain in the corner of the lower area, which depicts an image from Disney's 1955 film, Lady and the Tramp.

Casting Thunder on the exposed cable wire raises the platforms in the Second District Gizmo Shop. Finally, a keyhole next to the giant door to First District can also be found and unlocked for faster access to that area. In another corner, a short alley leads to a door with a flame on it that goes to the Mystical House, and in turn the Magician's Study and Magician's Lab (also referred to as the "Zero District" by Merlin in Kingdom Hearts II), where Merlin and the Fairy Godmother take up residence. The book that serves as the entrance to 100 Acre Wood can also be found in the study. Below Merlin's house is the Secret Waterway, which serves as Leon's secret training ground, as well as a back entrance to the Alleyway.



Other areas
A fourth and fifth district are set to appear in Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance.

Kingdom Hearts
After the destruction of Destiny Islands, Sora ends up in Traverse Town, while Donald and Goofy arrive at the same time through the use of a Gummi Ship. He is awakened by Pluto and ventures out into the town, searching for his friends; humorously, Sora often leaves an area at the same time that Donald and Goofy enter, just barely missing them. Eventually, Sora meets Leon, whom he fights. Regardless of the outcome, Sora passes out and finds himself in a hotel where he meets Yuffie and learns about the Keyblade and the Heartless, while next door, Aerith explains the same things to Donald and Goofy.

Heartless attack, and Leon runs out to defend the town from them. Before leaving, Leon tells Sora not to worry about the attacking Soldier and Shadow Heartless and to find their leader. As Sora enters the Third District, Donald and Goofy are blown off a balcony above, and land on him. The three battle and defeat numerous Soldier Heartless before being attacked by and defeating the Guard Armor. Afterwards, the three become companions and leave to find Riku, Kairi and King Mickey.

They return multiple times, Sora reuniting with Riku and sealing the Keyhole, meeting Merlin and the Fairy Godmother, and also when a saved Kairi gives Sora her lucky charm. When the worlds are restored after the defeat of Ansem, Seeker of Darkness, the fate of Traverse Town is unknown, as its residents return to their worlds.

Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories
A memory-created version of Traverse Town is the first world Sora visits while in Castle Oblivion, as this is where Marluxia teaches Sora how to fight within the castle. Here he meets Leon and the others, but they don't recognize Sora, although they somehow remember his name. This is a recurring problem for the rest of the game. Here Leon teaches Sora about Sleights. Aerith tells Sora near the end of the visit that she and everyone else may be nothing but a figment in Sora's memory.

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
Although Traverse Town is not a playable world in Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, the world is sometimes displayed when Roxas has flashbacks of Sora's memories.

Kingdom Hearts II
While Traverse Town does not appear in Kingdom Hearts II, it is frequently mentioned and shown in Sora's memory restoration. Merlin claims that he retrieved Winnie the Pooh's storybook out of the town's Zero District, and it is mentioned several times in the Secret Ansem Reports.

Kingdom Hearts coded
In Kingdom Hearts coded it appears that the first district is no longer peaceful, as a battle against numerous Heartless and "bugs" is witnessed. In episode 2, Data-Sora wakes up by Data Pluto in Traverse Town, like in the first game. King Mickey tells Data-Sora to investigate this world. While he was investigating, he meets Data Cid. Cid is trying to find Data Huey, Dewey, and Louie, whom Data-Sora manages to find. Each of them had found a shiny piece, which together almost form a Keyhole.

Data-Sora then meets a black coated man who gives him the 4th piece of the Keyhole. Later, Mickey tells him that the Keyhole probably leads to the corrupted place, similar to the time in Destiny Islands. Data-Sora then opens it with his Keyblade which leads him to another space in Traverse Town. He was running and encounters lots of blocks. He continues running and he meets a Guard Amour and has to fight it. After Data-Sora fixes Traverse Town a new power awakens inside of Data-Sora. Meanwhile, in the real Disney Castle, a new message appeared, saying "Their torment has been lessened".

Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance
In one of the few screenshots revealed, Sora is shown battling a Twilight Thorn in the Second District. Riku is also shown running around in the First District.



In the trailer for the game, Riku appears in Traverse Town after vanishing in a flash of light from the Destiny Islands. He walks into a courtyard and is surrounded by Heartless, several unconscious Soras raining down from the sky above. One of these bodies of Sora lands near Riku and summons his Keyblade. The landed Sora is then shown fighting off several Heartless.

Although the aforementioned trailer and screenshots are non-canon, Tetsuya Nomura has confirmed that Traverse Town will be in the actual game.

In recent interview with Nomura in Famitsu, he stated that two new "enigmatic" characters will appear in Traverse Town, one of the characters is confirmed to be Neku Sakuraba from The World Ends With You. The second character however has yet to be revealed. He also revealed two new additional districts, known currently as districts four and five.

Cid's Accessory Shop

 * Protect Chain - 150 munny
 * Fire Ring - 250 munny
 * Blizzard Ring - 250 munny
 * Thunder Ring - 250 munny
 * Ability Stud - 200 munny
 * Protera Chain - 750 munny
 * Fira Ring - 1000 munny
 * Blizzara Ring - 1000 munny
 * Thundara Ring - 1000 munny
 * Chaos Ring - 600 munny
 * Protega Chain - 2800 munny
 * Firaga Ring - 4000 munny
 * Blizzaga Ring - 4000 munny
 * Thundaga Ring - 4000 munny
 * Element Ring - 4800 munny

Items

 * Potion - 25 munny
 * Hi-Potion - 60 munny
 * Ether - 100 munny
 * Tent - 150 munny
 * Camping Set - 300 munny

Donald's weapons

 * Morning Star - 150 munny
 * Shooting Star - 300 munny
 * Magus Staff - 1000 munny
 * Wisdom Staff - 4000 munny
 * Warhammer - 250 munny
 * Silver Mallet - 1000 munny
 * Grand Mallet - 4000 munny

Goofy's weapons

 * Smasher - 250 munny
 * Gigas Fist - 1000 munny
 * Mythril Shield - 750 munny
 * Onyx Shield - 2800 munny
 * Stout Shield - 250 munny
 * Golem Shield - 1000 munny
 * Adamant Shield - 4000 munny

Synthesis Shops

 * Set 1: Cottage, Elixir, Energy Bangle, Power Chain, Guard Earring, Dark Ring
 * Set 2: Mega Potion, AP Up, Angel Bangle, Magic Armlet, Golem Chain, Master Earring
 * Set 3: Mega-Ether, Defense Up, Gaia Bangle, Rune Armlet, Heartguard, Three Stars
 * Set 4: Megalixir, Power Up, Titan Chain, Atlas Armlet, Crystal Crown, Ribbon
 * Set 5: Ultima Weapon

Mini-Games
Traverse Town includes a side quest to collect different postcards scattered throughout the town. By storing them in the post vault in the First District, Sora will receive different rewards for each postcard stored.

Puppies

 * 1, 2, & 3 - On the tiny island behind the Mystical House. Glide is required.
 * 4, 5, & 6 - Behind the tall stack of crates in the Back Alley. Red Trinity or High Jump is required.
 * 7, 8, & 9 - In the Moogle Synthesis Shop on the table.
 * 10, 11, & 12 - In the Secret Waterway, just inside the door leading to the stairs.

Notes and references
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