Kingdom Hearts 3 has been out for over a week now, and so it's safe to say that some fans have managed to play through it at this point. These fans will likely have noticed that Kingdom Hearts 3 doesn't appear to have any major Final Fantasy characters, which stands in stark contrast to previous titles in the series.

Whereas past Kingdom Hearts games featured characters like Cloud, Squall (called "Leon" in the Kingdom Hearts series), Aerith, Auron, and even secret boss fights with Sephiroth, none of these characters appear in Kingdom Hearts 3. In fact, the Final Fantasy half of the Kingdom Hearts formula is neglected in general in Kingdom Hearts 3, with some of the franchise's only representation coming in the form of Moogle Shops and the existence of an Ultima Weapon.

However, being able to craft an Ultima Weapon and use a variety of other Final Fantasy-style items doesn't really seem to be meeting fan expectations. Some have complained on social media about the general lack of Final Fantasy characters in Kingdom Hearts 3, as they were treated as important characters in past games, especially when it comes to Leon and the rest of the Hollow Bastion crew.

kingdom hearts 3 sora final battle trailer

One reason why Kingdom Hearts 3 may have a general lack of Final Fantasy characters is due to the fact that Sora, Donald, and Goofy never travel to Hollow Bastion/Radiant Garden in the game. Instead they mostly stick to Disney and Pixar-themed worlds over the course of their journey, while making a few stops in original Kingdom Hearts worlds, like Twilight Town, for instance.

Of course, that's just speculation at this time. Square Enix has yet to comment on the lack of Final Fantasy characters in Kingdom Hearts 3, and at this point, it seems unlikely that the publisher will bother to do so.

Fans disappointed that there are no major Final Fantasy characters in Kingdom Hearts 3 should note that there is DLC planned for the game. It's entirely possible that Square Enix held back Final Fantasy characters to save them as part of Kingdom Hearts 3's DLC plans, but we'll have to wait for more information on the game's post-launch support to be sure.

Kingdom Hearts is out now for PS4 and Xbox One.