Kingdom Hearts 4 is finally confirmed, and since the reveal trailer, fans have wasted no time theorizing about the game. While fans have tracked down Sora’s real-world location, made threads about his normal-sized feet, and pondered who Goofy and Donald are looking for, others have discussed some potential worlds that the game could feature.
While requests have been made for Encanto and Coco, and fans believe they saw Endor from Star Wars in the trailer, others have brought up the possibility of a Marvel world. While this was also discussed around the time of Kingdom Hearts 3, it never happened, though many have continued to say how it would be a lot of fun to see Sora summon The Hulk or swing around with Spider-Man. While there is certainly potential there, a big issue with a Marvel world could be its setting.
Kingdom Hearts Could Struggle To Give a Marvel World a Standout Setting
With Kingdom Hearts 4 taking place in Quadratum, it is already set to feature a memorable city setting for gamers to explore and fight through. As such, Marvel’s go-to setting of New York City could be a tough sell. One of the major issues with the Marvel property is just how many heroes reside in New York, as it ensures that players see the same city again and again whenever they read a comic or watch a movie.
Considering that a more unique city setting in Quadratum has already been shown, and that Kingdom Hearts 3 already featured a superhero-filled city in Big Hero 6’s San Fransokyo, a Kingdom Hearts world based in New York could be a bit boring. While a destroyed version could perhaps be featured, with The Avengers’ iconic team-up shot incorporating Sora, even this would fall flat when compared to all the unique Disney properties Sora has visited over the years.
To be fair, there are some hugely interesting Marvel settings, but these areas are often associated with a single character. The gold city of Asgard, for instance, would surely look stunning inside of Kingdom Hearts 4. However, players would likely be limited to fighting with Thor, leaving our all the other Avengers that fans would want to see in action. The same could be said for Wakanda, as while Black Panther’s homeland is gorgeous, it is hard to imagine fans not being a bit let down if he is the only hero from the Marvel roster that makes an appearance.
If Kingdom Hearts 4 does embrace the Marvel universe, it needs to find a way to incorporate as many characters as possible while still delivering a unique world to explore. While there are some deep cuts from the comics like Battleworld that fulfill this purpose, a less obscure route would make more sense. Perhaps Sora could team up with Doctor Strange, opening portals to teleport to areas like Knowhere and Ta Lo. Sora and Strange could then work with the Guardians of the Galaxy and Shang-Chi to take down some heartless before teleporting to the next area.
While it remains to be seen if Kingdom Hearts and Marvel will finally crossover in the next game, Square Enix needs to approach the setting of a Marvel world carefully if it has any plans to feature one. Players will surely want to see everyone from Iron Man to Captain Marvel, but incorporating as many characters as possible should not be the only goal. Square Enix also needs to deliver a play space that is more than just a generic version of New York City if it wants a potential Marvel world to be memorable.
Kingdom Hearts 4 is currently in development.