Though the Gummi Missions in the original Kingdom Hearts are divisive among fans, the series has greatly improved these minigames that take place between worlds with every new installment leading up to Kingdom Hearts 4. With the story of the next title taking Sora and friends from the Realm of Light to the Realm of Fiction, Square Enix has room to completely rework this space between worlds so Gummi Missions are the best they've ever been.
Given the successes of the Gummi Ship and its missions in Kingdom Hearts 3, just copying the previous title in Kingdom Hearts 4 could be a win on its own. However, looking specifically at the transitions between realms rather than worlds could prove to be the most interesting area to introduce a new way to travel.
The Evolution of Kingdom Hearts' Gummi Missions
It can be difficult to defend the first iteration of the Gummi Missions. The trouble with these sections doesn't revolve around them being overly difficult or obtuse obstacles. More than anything, the oddly boring auto-scrolling sections do little more than add a speedbump in the otherwise fast-paced combat. These three-to-five minute missions are a far cry from battling Heartless with Donald and Goofy.
However, as unimpressive as the original Gummi Missions are, the second and third titles managed to evolve this very simple minigame into an impressive series of missions that hit on the best aspects of rail-shooters and aerial combat. These improvements include Gummi bosses like the Pirate Ship in Kingdom Hearts 2, and even a secret ending for one of the later missions. Then Kingdom Hearts 3 went above and beyond with three open sandboxes to fly around and hunt down new ship pieces, as well as bosses to test those designs on.
Pulling From Kingdom Hearts' History to Travel Between Realms
While most of the Kingdom Hearts series is more concerned with traveling between the various Disney worlds in each game, there are a few non-numbered titles that have alternate forms of traversal. These are mostly less-impressive transitions, like Chain of Memories having the doors of Castle Oblivion transform into new worlds, or Birth By Sleep taking the Gummi space menu without the missions. That being said, one of the more recent spin-off titles, Dream Drop Distance, has its own unique spin on the simple auto-scrolling from the original Gummi Missions. The 3DS title referred to these as Drops.
The transitions between playable areas in Kingdom Hearts 4 will likely involve regular traversal across various Disney worlds using the familiar Gummi Missions. Considering how well received the sandbox from Kingdom Hearts 3 was, it wouldn't be strange for a similar design to come in the next game. It would be especially interesting to see the three separate sandboxes consolidated into one larger space, which could make discoveries around the map more impressive than a checkmark on a list.
Beyond the regular Gummi Missions, however, there should be an even more intricate shift moving from the Realm of Fiction back to the Realm of Light. Something that doesn't quite involve the ships, like the Drops in Dream Drop Distance, could be the key to making the transition between realms feel different from moving between the different Disney worlds. However, pulling Gummi Ships into a more active type of flying across the barriers between realms could also help make this once-maligned part of the series into a more exciting aspect of Kingdom Hearts 4's new era for Sora.
Kingdom Hearts 4 is currently in development by Square Enix.