The last thing I expected to see at last week’s Nintendo Direct was Kingdom Hearts 4. It’s as if a long-lost friend walked into the room and we locked eyes instantly in equal parts fear and excitement. What on earth are you doing here, and why aren’t Donald and Goofy with you?

I expected, if the RPG sequel was to appear, it would be a ‘one last thing’ mic drop during a future State of Play, or if not that, appear during an Xbox Showcase as it continues to attract huge Japanese franchises for the platform. It already has Persona 6, so why not add this lovely crossover to the mix? But no, it showed up in a presentation that also brought us Xenoblade Genesis and Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave. JRPG fans are eating very, very well these days.

But what exactly did we see from Kingdom Hearts 4, and is there enough new information or footage to figure out exactly where this game is going? Kinda, but you might want to revise a bunch of defunct mobile game lore before this thing comes out.

Kingdom Hearts 4 Is Already Filled With 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 (an ‘afterworld’ for some of its residents), which conveniently looks precisely 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 figure out why — and put a stop to it.

I’m of the opinion that Quadratum will act as a major hub world of sorts the player will return to a number of times throughout the narrative, hence its more realistic graphical style and a number of existing characters appearing in the latest trailer.

We catch glimpses of who I am pretty sure is Ava in an Organisation 13 cloak, Luxord (or his real world version, given it will unlikely be his Nobody in this setting), and Strelitzia, a character who was first introduced in a Japan-only browser game back in 2013. Kingdom Hearts is nonsense for the most part and doesn’t care if you aren’t caught up on all the lore before telling its story. It is part of the charm though, and precisely why I’m already finding this next chapter so alluring.

Rounding off the cast of characters seen in the trailer is a Young Xehanort reaching a hand out to Sora while holding an umbrella, and the other two are Sigurd and Vali (from the same Japan-only browser game). The Xehanort appearance here directly referenced the anniversary art shared by Tetsuya Nomura a few months ago, meaning we were given an incredible teaser and didn’t even know it.

I’m curious if these characters will remain within Quadratum — similar to other locales like Hollow Bastion — or become more significant to the overall narrative. Heartless are showing up here because Keyblade wielders are in the area, so I’m also wondering if Yozora will make himself known. You know, the guy from the end of the Re:Mind DLC which concludes in an almost shot-for-shot remake of an old Final Fantasy Versus 13 trailer? Damn it, I just opened a whole new can of worms.

Wait, Is Kingdom Hearts 4 Just Final Fantasy Versus 13?

If you look very closely into the background during the most recent trailer, you will see objects in the sky that resemble the military aircraft from Final Fantasy Versus 13 and 15 right before Darkside crashes into a building. This cannot be a coincidence. Following 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 as Yozora adopts the role of Noctis within the realm of Quadratum.

At the very least, vast elements of Versus 13 are already part of this game’s DNA. The music, the vibe, the trailers focusing largely on this unfamiliar urban setting over myriad Disney worlds all feel deliberate.

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I would love for Yozora to initially be depicted as a villain on the warpath because his story, or potentially his heart, was taken away and replaced by something false, thus leading the most important parts of his existence to feel empty and unfinished. He was left to decay on the cutting room floor much like Versus 13, and it will be the responsibility of Sora and co to help him see the light and get back the story that is rightfully his. Having to bid farewell to a part of yourself that was never meant to be is so fitting to the themes of Kingdom Hearts, so why wouldn’t Nomura incorporate elements of unreleased works into something like this?

Aside from fans zooming in on the keyblade Sora is seen using during the trailer, we know nothing about the Disney worlds set to be featured in Kingdom Hearts. Donald and Goofy are briefly seen surrounded by a blue inferno, which is a dead ringer for Hades. I wonder whether Disney will want Square Enix to focus on newer properties instead of returning to old classics, although I sorely hope a few favourites return just so I can hang out with 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 regardless of how ridiculous it feels. I and millions of others are invested and will dig deeper into every single theory we stumble across, hoping for them to 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 find new meaning along the way.

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Kingdom Hearts 4

RPG Action Adventure Systems ESRB e Developer(s) Square Enix Publisher(s) Square Enix Engine Unreal Engine 5 Multiplayer Online Multiplayer Prequel(s) Kingdom Hearts 3, Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory Franchise Kingdom Hearts Genre(s) RPG, Action, Adventure Powered by Expand Collapse