Kingdom Hearts series director Tetsuya Nomura was recently interviewed at Gameinformer, sharing more insight into Kingdom Hearts IV and the future of the franchise.
According to Nomura, Kingdom Hearts IV’s story focuses on the disappearance of Sora. Nomura is uncertain about exploring other stories from the Birth by Sleep and 358/2 Days characters, but hopes to explore them in the future. Nomura states that Sora is still the central character of Kingdom Hearts and very important to the series. If Sora were not the main character of Kingdom Hearts at a given point, then it would be an indication that the numbered series has ended.
On the topic of Quadratum, Nomura reiterates that it will serve as an initial base for Sora. Players may spend time there, go to other worlds, and come back. Since Quadratum is more realistic compared to Disney worlds, Sora’s daily life will be realistic within the world. For instance, players will see Sora go about his day-to-day routine in Quadratum.
Antagonist wise, Nomura is quite happy about Xehanort and the approach to his story. KH IV will dive into a new enemy figure to continue the story in a new arc, The Lost Master Arc. The new enemy has a lot to do with the masked figures that appeared with Luxu at the end of Kingdom Hearts III, the Foretellers. Kingdom Hearts IV will reintroduce them along with brand-new characters.
Nomura discussed the lack of Final Fantasy characters in KH III. Nomura states that the concept of Kingdom Hearts is not exactly a collaboration between Disney characters and Square Enix characters. Final Fantasy was a big help in establishing the original Kingdom Hearts titles during the beginning of the franchise. There are many original characters to consider in Kingdom Hearts, but Nomura understands the concerns of fans wanting to see Final Fantasy characters.
In Kingdom Hearts IV, players are definitely going to see a few Disney worlds according to Nomura. Nomura mentions that fans should not be worried about this aspect since KH IV will feel like a Kingdom Hearts game. Since the release of KH III, the development specifications have increased greatly (i.g. PlayStation 5). This means that there will be some limits to the amount of worlds included in KH IV, but there will be Disney worlds.
As previously reported, reaction commands are back in KH IV due to fan demand. Reaction commands were not present in KH III since Nomura did not find fan reception being positive about the mechanic in KH II. Nomura and the development team are working to ensure KH IV’s combat is action-packed and satisfying.
Nomura shared interesting remarks for Sora’s inclusion in Super Smash Bros Ultimate. Disney was very eager to make Sora happen in the game, and Nomura felt like the picky one about it in actuality. The end result was great as many were really excited about welcoming Sora into the Super Smash Bros Ultimate roster.
To close out the interview, Nomura mentions Kingdom Hearts: Missing-Link since it’s a very key title in the series. It is connected to KH IV and other mysteries throughout the series. The easiest way to gain insight and more information about what’s to come in KH IV will be through Kingdom Hearts: Missing-Link.
The Kingdom Hearts: Missing-Link closed beta arrives in fall 2022 in select regions for iOS and Android.
