Kingdom Hearts is a franchise that fans hold near and dear to their hearts. After all, it’s been around since 2002. And Kingdom Hearts got to celebrate its 20th anniversary in style, with a surprise game reveal. Alongside other franchise news, Square Enix officially announced Kingdom Hearts 4 with an exciting trailer. And we feel like this game will offer a lot to the series’ long-time devotees. Although we didn’t get many new details, we did learn that Kingdom Hearts 4 features brand new animation, a brand new world, and maybe even the Star Wars universe?
Kingdom Hearts 4 footage begins in the trailer at the 4:12 mark. We see Sora all grown up and awakening in a city. He meets Strelitzia, a new (to the world of the main games) character who introduces him to the updated world of the game, Quadratum. This cityscape is hyper-realistic and definitely gives a new look to Kingdom Hearts’ universe. Of course, trouble still lurks in the form of monsters. It seems like the Heartless may live on in Kingdom Hearts 4. And we get to see Sora take on a huge shadow beast with his Keyblade.
Of course, despite the game’s gritter introduction, the Disney magic lives on. At the end of the Kingdom Hearts 4 trailer, we reunite with Donald Duck and Goofy. And they remind us that, at its heart, Kingdom Heart remains a franchise influenced by Disney’s many magical worlds.
But speaking of, eagle-eyed fans think they have seen one of Disney’s newer acquisition makes an appearance in the trailer. Could Star Wars join Kingdom Hearts‘ world in Kingdom Hearts 4? Fans point out that the forest setting we glimpse in the trailer feels reminiscent of Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi‘s Endor. And could that be the foot of an AT-ST, we spy?
Probably, it’s too early to tell. But since Star Wars is technically a Disney property, we may yet see it appear in Kingdom Hearts.
In addition to Kingdom Hearts 4, the 20th-anniversary trailer also shared looks at Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link, a new mobile game, and Kingdom Hearts Union X Dark Road. Twenty years after its release date and Kingdom Hearts is still thriving. We can’t wait to get a closer look at and play all these games when they release, especially Kingdom Hearts 4.
