At first glance, developer Square Enix's Kingdom Hearts series seems like a rather odd premise. However, combining the incredibly popular Final Fantasy series with the behemoth that is Disney has so far yielded a franchise spanning multiple games and a huge fan base. 2022's announcement that Kingdom Hearts 4 is in active development sparked excitement among fans, but there's been a lack of concrete news since. Disney's acquisition of two huge IPs in Marvel and Star Wars opens the door to some intriguing possibilities in terms of where the fourth mainline game could go, but utilizing either of these heavyweights comes with its own set of problems thanks to their almost overwhelming scale.

Through the protagonist Sora, Kingdom Hearts has allowed players to explore some of Disney's most beloved worlds, such as The Lion King's Pride Lands and Aladdin's Agrabah, as well as interact with iconic characters like Ariel and Elsa. Typically, the game lets players explore one area from each of its featured IPs, with that particular journey making up a segment of the overall game. This format has worked well so far, with players able to immerse themselves in their favorite worlds, sometimes even getting tangled up in the respective narratives to fight villains like Ursula and Scar. However, the size of IPs like Star Wars and Marvel may mean Kingdom Hearts 4 needs to diverge from the usual format.

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Kingdom Hearts 4 Could Have a Wide Range of Exciting Worlds to Explore

The Marvel Universe is Full of Beloved Characters

Since the birth of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2008, Marvel's popularity has skyrocketed, and the MCU has gained an exponential number of characters. Disney's acquisition of Marvel means that, in theory, the IP could make its way into Kingdom Hearts, bringing a host of potential settings and options for Square Enix to explore. The difficulty is knowing which route to take. With such a vast universe, choosing just one location and set of characters for the player to interact with would be almost impossible.

It's easy to imagine Sora meeting Iron Man, who crafts a new Keyblade for him at the Avengers' headquarters. Similarly, Sora, Donald, and Goofy visiting Wakanda and meeting Black Panther feels like an opportunity too good to miss. Traveling to Asgard to meet Thor, or flying through space in the Guardians of the Galaxy's ship are just some of the exciting ideas that could be explored, but if Kingdom Hearts 4 only intends to use one of these options, then inevitably, some fans will be disappointed.

Star Wars' Galaxy is Overwhelmingly Vast

This problem is arguably even worse with Star Wars. The rate at which new Star Wars content is released has rapidly increased with Disney's acquisition, and with this new content, the IP's already huge galaxy has gotten even bigger. While the prospect of Sora, Mickey, and the others crossing paths with the likes of Yoda and Luke Skywalker and battling Darth Vader is a tantalizing one, it will be incredibly hard to limit the IP to only one world and setting while keeping fans happy. Some fans would expect to see characters like The Mandalorian and Ahsoka Tano make an appearance, too.

Traveling to Asgard to meet Thor, or flying through space in the Guardians of the Galaxy's ship are just some of the exciting ideas that could be explored, but if Kingdom Hearts 4 only intends to use one of these options, then inevitably, some fans will be disappointed.

That leaves Square Enix with two viable options, should it choose to include Marvel and/or Star Wars as one of the game's worlds. Kingdom Hearts 4 could stick to the same format, using one setting for each IP, and attempt to stuff as much content as possible into them. Alternatively, it breaks the mold and features more than one explorable setting for each of its IPs. Time will tell just how much time players will get to spend in each of Kingdom Hearts 4's worlds.

Kingdom Hearts 4

Kingdom Hearts 4 is an action RPG developed by Square Enix and represents the fifteenth installment in the franchise. Players once again are put in the shoes of Sora who is suddenly trapped in a more realistic world called Quadratum, with companions like Donald and Goofy attempting to rescue him. Kingdom Hearts 4 is a direct sequel to Kingdom Hearts 3 and Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory.

Franchise

Kingdom Hearts

Platform(s)

PS5 , Xbox Series X|S

Developer(s)

Square Enix

Publisher(s)

Square Enix

Genre(s)

RPG , Action