The Kingdom Hearts 20th Anniversary Event has come and gone, and fans are still mulling over the trailers revealed by the end of the event. Kingdom Hearts Dark Road, the singleplayer campaign added to Kingdom Hearts Union Cross near the end of its life, will be wrapping up this summer. It will swiftly be replaced by a new mobile project called Kingdom Hearts Missing Link, bridging the gap between Union Cross and Dark Road with a modified form of Kingdom Hearts 3’s gameplay. And of course, Kingdom Hearts 4 looms on the horizon, promising to bring the series into its second major story arc.
That doesn’t mean the leftover elements from the prior titles are gone, however. Like its predecessors, Kingdom Hearts 4 is performing a complicated juggling act to balance pushing the series’ plot forward while also incorporating Disney worlds and past elements. Just because Sora has found himself among strangers in Quadratum doesn’t mean his old friends have stopped looking for him in the wider KH universe. The KH4 reveal trailer demonstrates this with a stinger featuring Donald and Goofy searching for someone. However, that someone may not be the first suspect presented, and there are a few identities they could have.
Hades’ Presence Implies that He is Donald and Goofy’s Goal
The trailer shows Donald and Goofy walking through a dark location. After a moment, Donald wonders where “he” is, and Goofy notes he hopes that “he can help.” A stylized blue flame appears in the darkness behind them, and as its glow fills the darkness, Donald freezes up. As a gruff voice demands to know what the duo is doing, the blue flames turn red offscreen, and the two scream. These are the trademark signs of Hades from Hercules, who has been an active antagonist in most major Kingdom Hearts titles. He may be dangerous, but Donald and Goofy have plenty of reasons to seek out the god of the Underworld at this point.
For one, the Olympus Coliseum, and the Underworld beneath it, is a crossroads for wayward souls and literal souls. Outside Traverse Town and Radiant Garden, Olympus Coliseum has contained the highest volume of Final Fantasy characters to date, one of whom is FF10’s Auron. Considering that Auron is there as a spirit, and it’s not clear what world he originated from, the Underworld may be a general afterlife for multiple worlds. As Sora’s disappearance involved him brushing up against the Purgatory-like Final World, it would be sensible to ask Hades if Sora’s soul passed through his domain. It would also make sense for Hades to have knowledge of and even some power over that mysterious realm.
Other Old Faces Donald and Goofy Could be Looking For
Of course, it’s just as likely that Donald and Goofy’s meeting with Hades was means to an end or even an accident. As of the secret ending of Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory, Donald and Goofy were among the small group Kairi told about Riku’s decision to travel to Quadratum in search of Sora. Yen Sid then tasks them with gathering the other Keyblade wielders in Radiant Garden, the Land of Departure, and Twilight Town to inform them of what they now know. As the heroes now know roughly where Sora is and have people who can travel there, asking Hades for information seems redundant. That is unless the intent is to ask someone else through him.
The Underworld may be a shared resting place for many worlds, which means just about anyone could be there for Hades to freely summon. On matters regarding the nature of reality, there’s no ghost better to consult than the recently deceased Xehanort. When he was in Terra’s body, he performed several secret experiments to research the realm of fiction Quadratum lies in. Unless Mickey can find new information in Scala ad Caelum, there’s no other avenue to learn about Quadratum without risking the journey. Not many other characters make sense, even if one makes the comical assumption that Demyx took up solitary residence in the Underworld due to visiting it in Kingdom Hearts 2. Hades or Xehanort are the two biggest suspects, but only time will tell what surprises Kingdom Hearts 4 has up its sleeve.
Kingdom Hearts 4 is now in development.