Since 2002, Sq. Enix’s Kingdom Hearts franchise has been steadily going alongside due to mainline installments and quite a lot of spinoffs throughout handhelds and telephones. After Kingdom Hearts III closed out the unique story in 2019, Sq. Enix has now stated the beforehand introduced fourth recreation will pave the way in which for some type of finish.
In an interview with Young Jump (and later translated by Siliconera), franchise co-creator Tetsuya Nomura defined a few of his thought course of behind growing Kingdom Hearts IV. In some methods, he desires the sequel (and the cell spinoff Lacking Hyperlink) to function as a smooth reboot, a typical transfer for fourth entries. (See Halo, Murderer’s Creed, and so on.) However Nomura was additionally frank in saying that he’s steering the collection towards its endgame as a result of he’s getting too outdated for this shit. “I’m lastly just a few years till retirement,” he stated, “and plainly retirement is forward or full [the game].” No query which one he’s selecting, and he’s making the sport as “a narrative to be accomplished.”
Is Kingdom Hearts IV going to kick off a easy trilogy, or a narrative so long as the unique 18-game saga? That’s unclear, however Nomura additional defined that he determined a reset was so as whereas making Kingdom Hearts III. It appears like he’s actually dedicated to this: not solely does the sequel have a model new brand, new writers have been introduced on to satisfy his normal purpose of drawing in new audiences that may’ve been postpone by the bags of the primary set of video games.
Kingdom Hearts IV is about in a brand new location known as the Quadratum, based mostly on the true metropolis of Shibuya and described as “unreality inside actuality.” That phrase has been a throughline for the video games first setup within the authentic recreation as one in all Sora’s first strains: “Is any of this actual or not?” Nomura stated he’s at all times needed to hit the conclusion of that idea—and whereas it’s been a “lengthy drive,” he desires Kingdom Hearts IV to lastly get gamers there when it will definitely comes out.
Need extra io9 information? Take a look at when to count on the newest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s subsequent for the DC Universe on film and TV, and every little thing you could find out about the way forward for Doctor Who.