The last thing I expected to see at last week's Nintendo Direct was Kingdom Hearts 4. It's like a long-lost friend walked into the room and we instantly locked eyes with equal parts fear and excitement. What on earth are you doing here and why aren't Donald and Goofy with you?
I expected that if an RPG sequel was to appear, it would be the “last thing” to drop the mic during the future state of the game, or if not, it would appear during the Xbox showcase as it continues to attract huge Japanese franchises for the platform. It already has Persona 6, so why not add this beautiful crossover to the mix? But no, it was revealed in the presentation that also brought us Xenoblade Genesis and Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave. JRPG fans eat very, very well these days.
But what exactly have we seen of Kingdom Hearts 4, and is there enough new information or footage available to tell us exactly where this game is headed? Kind of, but you might want to revisit a lot of defunct mobile gaming lore before this thing comes out.
Kingdom Hearts 4 is already full of familiar faces
We already know that Kingdom Hearts 4 is the first chapter in a brand new saga, and parts of it will take place in the fictional city of Quadratum (a “sanctuary” to some of its inhabitants), which conveniently looks exactly like the real-world city of Tokyo. We even see Sora fighting Heartless on the streets of Shinjuku and Shibuya, proving that Square Enix wanted to bring Sora into the real world with just the right level of detachment. And according to the trailer, dark forces are following Sora and friends into this new world, and it's up to them to find out why—and stop it.
I'm of the opinion that Quadratum will act as a main world that the player will return to many times throughout the story, hence the more realistic graphical style and the amount of existing characters that appear in the latest trailer.
We got glimpses of who I'm pretty sure Ava is in the guise of Organization 13, Luxord (or the real-world version of him, since it probably won't be his Nobody in this setting), and Strelitzia, a character first introduced in a Japanese-only browser game back in 2013. Kingdom Hearts is largely bullshit, and you don't care if you missed the telling. That's part of the charm, though, and that's why I find this next chapter so enticing.
Rounding out the cast of characters seen in the trailer is a young Xehanort reaching out to Sora while holding an umbrella, and the other two are Sigurd and Vali (from the same Japan-only web game). Xehanort's appearance here was a direct reference to the anniversary art shared by Tetsuya Nomura a few months ago, meaning we got an incredible preview and didn't even know it.
I wonder if these characters will stay in Quadratum – similar to other locations like Hollow Bastion – or become more significant to the overall story. The Heartless appear here because there are Keyblade wielders in the area, so I also wonder if Yozora will make herself known. You know, the guy at the end of the Re:Mind DLC that ends with an almost filmed remake of the old Final Fantasy Versus 13 trailer? Damn, I just opened a whole new can of worms.
Wait, is Kingdom Hearts 4 just Final Fantasy versus 13?
If you look very closely in the background during the latest trailer, you'll see objects in the sky that resemble military planes from Final Fantasy Versus 13 and 15 right before Darkside crashes into the building. That can't be a coincidence. After the final events of Re:Mind, which also directly referenced the doomed project, I believe Nomura is working on delivering a sort of meta retelling of the original story in Kingdom Hearts 4, with Yozora taking on the role of Noctis in the Quadratum realm.
At least the expansive elements of Versus 13 are already part of the game's DNA. The music, the atmosphere, the trailers focusing mostly on this unfamiliar urban setting across the myriad of Disney worlds all feel intentional.
I would have liked Yozora to have been portrayed as a villain on the warpath to begin with, as his story, or potentially his heart, was taken away and replaced with something fake, resulting in the most important parts of his existence feeling empty and unfinished. It was left to rot on the cutting room floor much like Versus 13 and will be the responsibility of Sora et al. to help him see the light and reclaim the story that is rightfully his. Having to say goodbye to a part of yourself that was never meant to be is so fitting for Kingdom Hearts themes, so why wouldn't Nomura incorporate elements of unreleased works into something like this?
Aside from fans zooming in on the key blade Sora wields during the trailer, we don't know anything about the Disney worlds set to appear in Kingdom Hearts. Donald and Goofy are briefly seen surrounded by blue hell, which is a dead ringer for Hades. I wonder if Disney will want Square Enix to focus on newer properties instead of going back to the old classics, though I sure hope a few favorites come back just so I can relate to the characters.
Time will tell, but one thing I love about Kingdom Hearts 4, despite being so deep into the series at this point, is how it continues to inspire and surprise no matter how ridiculous it looks. I and millions of others are invested and will delve deeper into every single theory we come across in hopes that it will come true as we obsess over every piece of information we can. I want Final Fantasy Versus to not only be reborn in this game, but to find a new meaning.
