Kingdom Hearts Reboot Announced: Square Enix Unveils Fourth Installment

Kingdom Hearts creator Tetsuya Nomura recently hinted at a pivotal shift for the series with the upcoming fourth mainline installment. This article delves into his revelations about this crucial chapter.

Nomura Hints at a Series Conclusion with Kingdom Hearts 4

Kingdom Hearts 4: A Story Reset, According to Nomura

The future of Kingdom Hearts appears both promising and potentially conclusive, based on a recent interview with Nomura. His comments regarding Kingdom Hearts 4 suggest a major turning point.

In an interview with Young Jump (translated by KH13), Nomura stated that Kingdom Hearts 4 is designed "with the intention of it being a story that leads to the conclusion." While not definitively ending the series, this positions the game as potentially the final saga. The game initiates the "Lost Master Arc," a fresh narrative accessible to newcomers and veterans alike, regardless of prior storyline knowledge.

Nomura explained, "If you remember how the ending of Kingdom Hearts III goes, you'll understand that Sora ends up like that because he's ‘resetting’ the story in a way," adding, "So Kingdom Hearts IV should be easier to get into than before. I think that if you like the series, you'll feel like 'this is it', but I'm also hoping that as many new players as possible will play it."

While Nomura's statements suggest a potential end to the main storyline, the series' history is full of surprises. A seemingly definitive ending could be open to interpretation or pave the way for future spin-offs. The extensive cast also offers potential for individual character-driven adventures, especially with Nomura's announcement of new writers joining the Kingdom Hearts universe.

"Both Kingdom Hearts Missing Link and Kingdom Hearts IV have been created with a stronger focus on being new titles rather than sequels," Nomura told Young Jump. He further explained the inclusion of writers new to the franchise, stating, "As a new experiment, we have had staff who have not been involved in the Kingdom Hearts series before participate in writing the scenario. Of course, I will be editing it in the end, but I don't think it will be positioned as a work that needs to be done in the sense that the writer who has never been involved in the 'Kingdom Hearts' series is creating a new base."

The addition of new writers offers exciting possibilities, potentially injecting fresh energy into the narrative while preserving beloved core elements. This could lead to innovative gameplay and unexplored territories within the Disney and Square Enix collaboration.

However, Nomura's own future is a factor. He has confirmed considering retirement in a few years, posing the question: "If this isn't a dream, then I only have a few years left until I retire, and it's looking like: will I retire or will I finish the series first?"

A New Arc, A Fresh Start

Announced in April 2022, Kingdom Hearts 4 is currently under development. The first trailer showcases the beginning of the "Lost Master Arc." Details remain scarce, but the trailer reveals Sora awakening in Quadratum, a world Nomura described (in a 2022 Famitsu interview) as an alternate reality akin to our own.

Nomura explained (translated by VGC), "From each of our perspectives, our perceptions change. From Sora’s perspective, Quadratum is an underworld, a fictional world that is different from reality. But from the point of view of the inhabitants on the Quadratum side, the world of Quadratum is reality, and the world where Sora and the others were is the other side, the fictional world."

According to Nomura's Young Jump interview, this Tokyo-esque world with a dreamlike quality is not entirely new; he conceived the idea during the first game's development.

Unlike the whimsical Disney worlds of previous installments, Quadratum offers a more grounded, realistic setting. This, coupled with enhanced visual fidelity, results in a reduced number of Disney worlds.

Nomura told GameInformer in 2022, "With regards to Kingdom Hearts IV, players are definitely going to see a few Disney worlds in there...Since each new title, the specs have been really increasing, and there’s so much more we can do in terms of graphics, it kind of limits the number of worlds that we can create in a sense. At this time, we’re considering how to approach that, but there will be Disney worlds in Kingdom Hearts IV."

While fewer Disney worlds are a change, this streamlining could result in a more focused narrative, potentially mitigating the complexity that sometimes overwhelmed players in previous games.

Regardless of whether Kingdom Hearts 4 concludes the series or initiates a new chapter, it will be a monumental moment for Sora and his companions. For many fans, the prospect of a full-circle conclusion under Nomura's guidance, while potentially bittersweet, will be an epic culmination of a story spanning over two decades.