Square Enix recently announced Kingdom Hearts 4, the fourth main installment in the 20-year-old franchise. Since release, Kingdom Hearts has been known as an action-oriented JRPG series that combines the worlds of Disney with those of Final Fantasy games. The two franchises have appeared together through many Kingdom Hearts games, until KH3, in which no Final Fantasy characters appeared in the base game at all.
The trend of including Final Fantasy characters should continue with Kingdom Hearts 4. All the past Kingdom Hearts games include Final Fantasy characters from a small selection of games, FF6-10. While the games and included characters are massively popular, some other Final Fantasy characters should get the spotlight. For instance, Kingdom Hearts 4 can tie into the upcoming Final Fantasy 16, or even hop back to some older games in the series. Either way, Kingdom Hearts 4 should return to using Final Fantasy characters, bringing in figures from a wider variety of games.
Final Fantasy's Presence in Kingdom Hearts
Final Fantasy has had a presence in the Kingdom Hearts series since its very first game. In it, multiple characters from Final Fantasy 7 appear, with Cloud serving as the endgame super boss. KH2 includes characters from other entries, like Setzer from Final Fantasy 6, Squall from 8, and Tidus from 10. Despite this, 7 had most attention once again, resulting in an intense boss fight against Sephiroth himself.
It makes sense that Square Enix decided to pull characters from the Final Fantasy games that it did. These games either came out around the same time as the respective Kingdom Hearts games, like 10 or 10-2, or are the games that really caused the series to explode in popularity, like 7. That said, Final Fantasy 1-5 go unrepresented in Kingdom Hearts, as well as any of the games beyond 10-2.
Kingdom Hearts 3's ReMind DLC brought Final Fantasy characters back to the story after they were absent from the base game, but, once again, these were only characters from Final Fantasy 7. Kingdom Hearts 4 definitely has room to improve in regards to Final Fantasy representation.
Final Fantasy in Kingdom Hearts 4
Kingdom Hearts 4 was revealed with a gameplay trailer recently that immediately paints the game as more mature — the overall tone is darker than ever before. This is amplified by Kingdom Hearts 4's setting of Quadratum, which serves as an "afterlife" for Sora. This dark tone is shared across many of Square Enix's recent games, and can serve to tie into them seamlessly.
Specifically, this style goes hand in hand with the most recent Final Fantasy games, Final Fantasy 15 and 16. Final Fantasy 15 fits stylistically with Quadtratum — both are modern and hyperrealistic. Noctis and friends could serve as the perfect side characters here, and would not be out of place driving down the streets in the Regalia. On the other hand, 16 may fit more with the story's darker themes, as it is the only mainline Final Fantasy game with an M-rating. The fact that 16 is in development at the same time as Kingdom Hearts 4 also brings up the possibility of cross-promotion.
New games aside, it would be nice to have some older Final Fantasy representation. While the oldest Final Fantasy games may not have as memorable characters, some references or Easter eggs would not go unnoticed by fans.
Further Hopes for Final Fantasy Representation
Previously, references to Final Fantasy have been limited to characters and names of certain terms, like magic spells. What would really be great to see in Kingdom Hearts 4 is a whole world based on Final Fantasy. Imagine a Midgar themed level — it would be a huge, technologically advanced city for Sora to platform around and explore, and it ties in perfectly with part 2 of the Final Fantasy 7 remake. Kingdom Hearts' previous levels have been Disney-themed, but KH4 is stated to take place in a world different from Sora's. This new world containing new types of levels is an exciting possibility.
Kingdom Hearts was once known as the series that combines Disney and Final Fantasy, but recently, the Final Fantasy angle feels like an afterthought. Kingdom Hearts 4 is the start of a new chapter for the series. Its new, mysterious setting makes Kingdom Hearts 4 the perfect place to bring back Final Fantasy in full force — and hopefully from games other than 6-10.
Kingdom Hearts 4 is now in development.