Coming into 2022, Square Enix fans have a lot to be excited about. Forspoken is due out in just a few months and looks to be an interesting new venture for the team that once made Final Fantasy 15. FF14's Endwalker expansion just released, and patches delivering additional story and raid content will roll out over the coming year. Final Fantasy 16 is planned to have a major news blowout later this spring, though that is owed to development issues during the pandemic. There are also talks that Final Fantasy 9 will receive some sort of revival with a TV show, but no details for that have surfaced yet.
There's one other classic Square Enix series that fans are anticipating in 2022. The Kingdom Hearts franchise is celebrating its 20th anniversary, marking two decades of Disney and Square Enix crossover content. Late last year, Sora's addition to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate coincided with the announcement of plans for the series 20th anniversary. The reveal of a special presentation compounds with several other statements to imply that something big is coming for the Kingdom Hearts franchise. If so, that's a smart move for Square Enix and Disney, and they should leverage all the resources they have to announce several major Kingdom Hearts projects in 2022.
Multiple Kingdom Hearts Games Could Be Announced in 2022
Right now, it feels like Kingdom Hearts has a clean slate. The Dark Seeker Saga, or The Xehanort Saga, has been concluded. Kingdom Hearts Union Cross and Dark Road have finished development and told their chapters of the story. The franchise is now free to go wherever it wants to, and it feels like Kingdom Hearts 4 isn't far off. More than one Kingdom Hearts game is supposedly in development right now. It seems appropriate for Kingdom Hearts 4 to be one of those games, as another major console entry should usher in the next Kingdom Hearts saga. There is room for another spinoff featuring some of the past protagonists, however. Kingdom Hearts 3's ending freed up a lot of characters to pursue their own adventures, and the fandom certainly wouldn't mind seeing the extended KH cast interact with each other more.
There are a couple of other ways that a new Kingdom Hearts game could go. A new mobile game might be in development. While some fans would balk at the prospect of another Union Cross, that's not the only direction Square Enix could take. Technology has improved to the point where Kingdom Hearts PS2 visuals and gameplay could be adequately reproduced on mobile devices. In a manner similar to Tales of Luminaria or Genshin Impact, an action game featuring characters from the franchise could be made. There is also the option of developing a spin-off set in Quadratum that focuses on an entirely new cast. This game could have the subtitle "A Kingdom Hearts Story," and would otherwise have little to do with KH apart from a sequel tease in the ending.
Kingdom Hearts Projects Would Make This Anniversary Special
Of course, Kingdom Hearts is more than just a video game franchise. The series has also expanded into manga in the past, and many older fans would love to see a series like that return. Alternate interpretations of Kingdom Hearts characters and events are valuable, and seeing other takes on KH's universe is fascinating. A limited-run western comic prompted by Disney would also be interesting, but it's less likely than a new manga series.
Disney should not rest on its laurels during Kingdom Hearts' anniversary, however. Rumor has it that a Kingdom Hearts show is currently in production, and Disney should make its success a priority. Even if the show just covers the events of Kingdom Hearts 1 again, it would be great to see so many classic Disney characters and movies reanimated alongside Square Enix's characters. Disney would supply as many of the original actors and soundalikes as it could, and would also have some of its staff working on the animation. It would be ideal if different worlds could be animated in their original 2D or 3D styles as well. Square Enix and Disney could spring a lot of different surprises on Kingdom Hearts fans once the series' 20th-anniversary celebration starts in earnest. Entering its third decade of life, the future of Kingdom Hearts should look bright.
