After only a few years of waiting,Kingdom Hearts 4has been announced. This news comes as part of theKingdom Hearts20th Anniversary celebration in Tokyo behind trailers for thefinalKingdom Hearts: Dark Roadupdate, and the announcement of a new mobile game calledKingdom Hearts: Missing Link. It feels like the franchise has wasted no time in embracing a new era afterKingdom Hearts 3, and this will hopefully result in a much shorter waiting period.
Roughly half of the compilation trailer is devoted toKingdom Hearts 4. Even if it can’t reveal too much due to the game’s early state, Square Enix knows fans want to see as much of the upcomingKingdom Heartsas possible. There are plenty of secrets and mysteries contained within this trailer, so fans will have something to tide them over as they wait for more substantial news.
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The Kingdom Hearts 4 Reveal Opens With A Revelation
Right from the beginning of the trailer, viewers are greeted with the words “The Lost Master Arc,” which will serve as the new saga’s name. This arc succeeds the Dark Seeker Saga and will be marked by a different, more subdued title font for its logos. Throughout the trailer, narration challenges someone - presumably Sora - to leave for another world if they don’t like their ending. The statement that “Your options are endless” is likely aboutKingdom Hearts’ typical multi-world structure, and possibly Sora’s ability to find other worlds with his heart. More text appears discussing the nature of the soul, which is a rare sight inKingdom Hearts. It seems to refer to how hearts are drawn to Kingdom Hearts, or how Sora was destined to arrive in Quadratum.
The next part of the trailer is taken up by four nature shots. These seem like graphical showcases at first, but fans have noticed that the waterfall looks similar to a particular area in theStar Wars Battlefront 2Endor map. Something in the background of the third shot also looks like a round, metal foot akin to the back of an AT-ST fromStar Wars, though the scale may be a little off. Still, this could be the sly confirmation ofaStar Warsworld. An Endor world opens the door to a Death Star segment and battle against Darth Vader, plus ifStar Warsmade it intoKingdom Hearts, there’s no reason Marvel worlds can’t appear either.
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Kingdom Hearts 4 Reveals Its Protagonists
Sora’s new look is close to hisKH3design, but the Quadratum world may have streamlined his appearance. Sora’s clothes are straightforward, and his hair spikes are less pronounced. Sora is seen waking up and opening his apartment door to find a young girl who appears to be Strelitzia, Lauriam/Marluxia’s dead sister fromKingdom Hearts Union Cross. She claims that Quadratum is a sort of “afterworld,” and that Sora has been sleeping for seven days. AsStrelitzia died during the ancientUnion Crossera, this raises the question of how long she’s been here, and what the flow of time is like between reality and the realm of fiction.
Combat in Kingdom Hearts 4 is Given a Brief Preview
A new form of Heartless resembling a Darkside crossed with an Invisible coalesces above the street, terrifying civilians. This Heartless' head resembles that of a Behemoth, which early trailers indicated may have beenFinal Fantasy Versus 13’s first boss. A gameplay mock-up soon follows, and Sora leaps into action with the latest iteration of Flowmotion.Sora’s Kingdom Key inKH3transformed his abilities, so its new Formchanges here may be a sign of Sora’s growth. Sora can use his keychain as a grappling hook, replacingKH3’s airstep and possibly serving other combat functions. The current HUD is mostly the same as inKH3’s earliest trailers. An “EX” bar and a bottom-left menu option called “Build” might be placeholders, but could also tie into Sora’s new innate Formchange abilities.
Sora is seen running up a skyscraper and then sliding through a floating building, again bearing resemblance to similar moments inFinal Fantasy Versus 13trailers. The whole Heartless battle sequence felt akin to the scope and interactivity ofKH3’s giant boss battles, so that style could be pushed further inKH4. Sora prepares a magic sigil to defend against an attack, which contains thesignatureKingdom Heartscrownand a placeholder button for a quick-time event. Sora blocks the dark giant’s fist through his Keyblade spinning into a drill shape, which grows and shoots at the Heartless. These Formchanges may be more organically integrated into regular gameplay than they were inKH3, which should please those who wanted the alternative weapon movesets to be more accessible.
Kingdom Hearts 4 Leaves a Few More Teases
As the battle between Sora and the giant Heartless rages on, two hooded figures step onto a nearby building. These may bethe Master of Masters and Luxu, but their actual identities are unclear. After theKH4logo reveal, the final scene of the trailer shows Donald and Goofy in theirKingdom Hearts 3looks. They are searching for someone, and judging by the blue flame that shifts to a raging red behind them, it seems they are being waylaid by Hades in Olympus Coliseum’s Underworld. They may have intended to ask Hades if Sora’s soul had passed through that world, but doing so won’t be as easy as they had hoped.
The trailer ends with the text “Magic in the Making,” which is seemingly an allusion toKingdom Hearts 4being early in development. Very little of the game was shown, but this trailer revealsStrelitzia’s presence in Quadratumand that some ofKH3’s gameplay will be inherited byKH4. The possibility of aStar Warsworld is also an exciting one, and opens the door to other Disney-acquired franchises. There are a lot of outstanding questions, but fans will have to wait untilKingdom Hearts 4is ready to provide answers.
Kingdom Hearts 4is in development.
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