>>721171917
I think it's less about not interacting with the outer worlds and more that every world just rigidly follows the movie script nowadays. Compare the worlds of KH1 and KH2 for example.
In KH1, the worlds were a backdrop for the character interactions and used for Sora and friends to learn a series of lessons with an overall theme carried throughout the game. The worlds catered to the story, and while some worlds still have small ties to their source material's plot, they're not the dominant factor. Monstro and Neverland are perfect examples.
Then look at KH2. Most of the worlds follow the movie plot very strictly, to the point where if Sora never showed up then nothing in the world would have changed, making your presence in the worlds feel less impactful. The worlds are platforms to tell their own stories and maybe vaguely tie in to the overall theme of the game and it just doesn't feel as natural. Land of Dragons is literally just the plot of Mulan. Halloween Town is literally just Nightmare Before Christmas, etc.
The entire rest of the series continues to do this (with only a small handful of exceptions i.e. the Pixar worlds in KH3). It makes the worlds feel less connected because your presence in the world just feels like one big whatever. KH1 handled it better because you were interacting with the world, whereas most future games it feels like you're just watching it happen. Having to watch the finale of Tangled or the entirety of Let It Go recreated in KH3 is a perfect encapsulation of the problems with later entries' Disney worlds.
