Kingdom Hearts 4 was announced earlier this month, with a debut trailer focused on Sora in Quadratum. Even though this announcement took place at a celebration of the franchise’s anniversary, it seems safe to say that it came as a big surprise to everyone. However, it posed as many questions as it did answers. No release window was given, so it would seem that Kingdom Hearts 4 is likely years away.
In fact, this seems supported by a recent interview with Tetsuya Nomura by Famitsu. He suggests that the Kingdom Hearts 4 team will go dark to focus on development, meaning fans shouldn’t expect more news for a while. However, Nomura did discuss a few story and combat details ahead of this, though. It should be noted that some of this information is through Google Translate, so a few details may be spotty ahead of a proper English translation.
Nomura mentioned that the next time his team shows Kingdom Hearts 4, it will probably be running on Unreal Engine 5. Kingdom Hearts 4’s Quadratum graphics already look impressive, and so to see it on Unreal Engine 5 will be interesting, to say the least. Sora will encounter a new enemy faction called the Lost Masters (fitting to this being Kingdom Heart’s Lost Masters Arc), though they are related/similar to Organization XIII.
It is also said, tying into this theme, that the 5 Masters besides Luxu have vanished, with this scenario being worked on by three people: Nomura, Masaru Oka, and Akiko Ishibashi (NEO: The World Ends With You). Whether Nameless Star appears in Kingdom Hearts 4, following the spirit’s role in KH3, Re Mind, and Melody of Memory is said to be a secret.
Combat-wise, there were two major reveals. First off, Nomura confirms that the reaction command is returning in Kingdom Hearts 4. Nomura specifically said, “After the release of Kingdom Hearts 3, I saw a lot of voices hoping for the revival of the reaction command, so I revived it.” Secondly, many noticed in the Kingdom Hearts 4 trailer that there was a “build” command. When questioned on it, Nomura wouldn’t spill the beans, but he said it was akin to “scrap and build,” adding that destruction and reconstruction are major elements of this command.
Again, Kingdom Hearts 4 fans should be aware that certain nuances may have been lost in translation (upon which, if so, this article will be updated). Even with this in mind, there are clearly some exciting things going on for the upcoming entry in the franchise.
Kingdom Hearts 4 is in development.
Source: Famitsu (via ryokutya2089)