The Kingdom Hearts series has historically been rather lighthearted in tone, with even its darkest elements overshadowed by charming Disney characters and themes of friendship conquering all. However, Kingdom Hearts 4 looks like it will take the franchise in a much more serious direction based on initial trailers and artwork. As such, Kingdom Hearts 4 would be the perfect place to feature Final Fantasy 16's brooding protagonist Clive as an ally for Sora since his home game is one of the darkest in the series, which could line up with Kingdom Heart 4's status.
Kingdom Hearts has always been a crossover series between Final Fantasy and Disney properties with characters like Cloud, Auron, and Vivi appearing across the series alongside Donald, Goofy, and Mickey Mouse. There have even been appearances from characters hailing from other Square Enix games, like Neku, Beat, Rhyme, and the rest of the gang from The World Ends with You in Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance. With the precedent of the latest Final Fantasy characters showing up in new Kingdom Hearts entries, it seems like Clive playing a role in Kingdom Hearts 4 would be a match made in heaven.
Kingdom Hearts 4's Darker Tone is a Natural Fit for Final Fantasy 16's Clive
From what has been shown about Kingdom Hearts 4 so far, it looks like the game will mark a distinct stylistic shift from past entries. The ending of Kingdom Hearts 3 sees Sora appearing to die after venturing into Kingdom Hearts to save Kairi, but the trailer for Kingdom Hearts 4 shows him waking up in the world of Quadratum, based on real-life Shibuya. Not only do these events demonstrate a darker tone shift for the series, but introduce a more realistic environment that could warrant a character with a design like Clive making an appearance.
Final Fantasy 16 is also arguably the darkest entry in the series, covering themes of war, slavery, and grief. While Kingdom Hearts 4 might not delve into themes this dark, there is still a lot that Clive could teach Sora based on his experiences over the course of Final Fantasy 16. Having Clive act as a sort of mentor to Sora after he wakes up in Quadratum would be a great opportunity for Sora to explore the grief of being separated from his friends and loved ones, and Clive could commiserate with Sora and help demonstrate how he dealt with the grief of losing his brother at a young age.
Aside from Kingdom Hearts 4 having a similar tone to Final Fantasy 16, the two games have remarkably similar gameplay which could also help Clive fit right at home in the game. The fluid, action-based combat of Final Fantasy 16 feels like it took a lot of inspiration from the Kingdom Hearts series, giving Clive almost the battle prowess of Kingdom Hearts' Keyblade wielders. Perhaps since Sora seems to be separated from his companions Donald and Goofy at the start of Kingdom Hearts 4, Clive could fill in for Sora and help Donald and Goofy in the search to reunite with their old friend.
Although it could be a bit of an odd contrast to see Clive's medieval fantasy aesthetic alongside characters based on the real world in Quadratum, Kingdom Hearts has a history of redesigning characters to better mesh with the series' overall look. With Sora appearing to take on a more realistic look while in Quadratum, it stands to reason that Clive could also be redesigned to better fit into the world as well. As Square Enix is trending towards darker stories in its franchises, it makes a lot of sense for Clive to act as a bridge between this new tone for Final Fantasy and the new tone for Kingdom Hearts 4.
Kingdom Hearts 4 is now in development.
