A seemingly puzzling absence, there doesn’t appear to be an Olympus Coliseum in Kingdom Hearts 3. Once a series mainstay based around Hercules’ Disney world, there are replacements this time around in lieu of there being no Olympus Coliseum or tournament arena fights for you to partake in, even if it’s not likely to scratch your gladiatorial itch any time soon. Cloud doesn’t even show up!
Is Olympus Coliseum in Kingdom Hearts 3?
Serving as the game’s opening world, Olympus sees Sora, Donald, and Goofy traveling to Thebes to help Herc fight off Hades and his legion of Titans. But enough about that, where’s the Olympus Coliseum at?
Unfortunately, the arena and arena-style training is completely absent in Kingdom Hearts 3. No tournaments, no wave-based fights surrounding by cheering onlookers, nothing. It’s galling, especially as the feature was present in both previous numbered entries.
However, after a thorough sweep, only six main areas make it into Olympus’ world, and none of them are Olympus Coliseum. They are:
- Thebes – Agora
- Thebes – Overlook
- Thebes- Gardens
- Mount Olympus – Summit
- Realm of the Gods – Corridors
- Realm of the Gods – Apex
See? No Olympus Coliseum. There is, though, a substitute for those who can’t get enough of fighting legions of enemies in Kingdom Hearts 3. After you’ve unlocked the final main world (which I won’t spoil here), you’ll unlock Battlegates, essentially Kingdom Hearts 3’s Olympus Coliseum. There are 16 of these dotted around the various worlds, and Olympus has two of its own, should you want to soak in its surroundings and epic score.
The first is found in the front of the Realm of the Gods. Simply go to the Mount Olympus summit and walk forward into the Realm of the Gods area. The blue Battlegate is right in front of you.
The second and, so far, final Battlegate in Olympus is slap bang in the middle of the Realm of the Gods Apex arena. Approach the blue spiked object and interact with it to begin. As this is an introductory world, both are fairly easy and you should be able to sweep the challenge(s) aside no problem.
But will Olympus Coliseum return in Kingdom Hearts 3? “One big DLC” is still a distinct possibility, with director Tetsuya Nomura hinting in a recent interview with Famitsu (H/T Twisted Voxel) that more content could be on the way. Despite not namechecking Olympus Coliseum, that should warm the hearts of many. For now, though, you’re going to have to look back to other games in the series for a dose of deity-based dueling.
