Kingdom Hearts 4 could include Star Wars characters
By Daniel Roman
Get your Keyblades ready, Kingdom Hearts fans! Over the weekend Square Enix dropped the huge news that a fourth installment in the action roleplaying game franchise is in development.
If you’re not familiar with Kingdom Hearts, the series ropes in characters from Disney and Pixar alongside fan-favorites from Square’s massive Final Fantasy franchise, all with a bunch of original characters and overarching plotlines to tie the whole affair together. You typically play as Sora, a teenager who wields a mystical Keyblade, and pal around with Goofy and Donald Duck on various adventures. They’re charming games, if a bit confusing on the story end of things.
After a 14-year break following Kingdom Hearts II, the third Kingdom Hearts game came out in 2019 to the joy of fans everywhere. Square Enix is apparently looking to keep rolling with the momentum. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the original Kingdom Hearts game, the studio released footage from the final story update for the Kingdom Hearts Dark Road mobile game, as well as official reveal announcements for Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link (another mobile game), and Kingdom Hearts IV. The trailer for Kingdom Hearts IV starts at 4:07:
Kingdom Hearts IV could include Star Wars
The reveal of the fourth mainline Kingdom Hearts game is exciting on a few different levels. One is just seeing the visual upgrade the game has gotten, as well as how seamlessly Sora can now parkour around in combat. He’s hanging out in an urban cityscape reminiscent of the real world, which is a pretty interesting direction for the series to go in — though you can bet those Disney worlds will be in there too.
But the thing that’s got people talking the most is a very brief glimpse of a suspiciously familiar metal object in a forest. Fans have been quick to point out that it looks an awful lot like the foot of an AT-ST, the two-legged walking tanks that the Rebels and their Ewok pals fight on Endor in Return of the Jedi. It seems a little small compared to the surrounding forest, but it does bring up an interesting question: could this Kingdom Hearts include Star Wars?
Why has Star Wars not been in Kingdom Hearts before?
The answer is, yes, it could. In the past the series was never able to go to the galaxy far, far away, in part because it would have meant making a deal with Lucasfilm in addition to the one Square Enix already had with Disney. Now, however, Lucasfilm is owned by Disney. That would surely streamline the process.
Another strong indicator is the fact that starting in 2023, Electronic Arts will no longer have the exclusive rights to make Star Wars games. EA had held onto that exclusivity for 10 years, but now that its end is on the horizon, there are signs that Disney and Lucasfilm have been thinking about going into business for themselves, including by reviving the Lucasfilm Games studio.
In that context, it’s easier to imagine Star Wars appearing in a Kingdom Hearts game. Could you imagine getting to kick around Endor or Coruscant with Goofy and Donald? Sounds weird and fun, which is just what Kingdom Hearts has always been.
No release date has yet been announced for Kingdom Hearts IV. Given that this announcement marked the first confirmation that the game was even in development, we’ll likely get a few more teases before we’re able to mark anything down on our calendars.
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