Square Enix recently announcedKingdom Hearts 4, the fourth main installment in the 20-year-old franchise. Since release,Kingdom Heartshas been known as an action-oriented JRPG series that combines the worlds of Disney with those ofFinal Fantasygames. The two franchises have appeared together through manyKingdom Heartsgames, untilKH3, in which noFinal Fantasycharacters appeared in the base game at all.
The trend of includingFinal Fantasycharacters should continue withKingdom Hearts 4. All the pastKingdom Heartsgames includeFinal Fantasycharacters from a small selection of games,FF6-10.While the games and included characters are massively popular, some otherFinal Fantasycharacters should get the spotlight. For instance,Kingdom Hearts 4can tie into the upcomingFinal Fantasy 16,or even hop back to some older games in the series. Either way,Kingdom Hearts 4should return to usingFinal Fantasycharacters, bringing in figures from a wider variety of games.
RELATED:Kingdom Hearts Seems to Be Leaving Final Fantasy Characters Behind, but Should It?
Final Fantasy’s Presence in Kingdom Hearts
Final Fantasyhas had a presence in theKingdom Heartsseries since its very first game. In it, multiple characters fromFinal Fantasy 7appear, with Cloud serving as the endgame super boss.KH2includes characters from other entries, like Setzer fromFinal Fantasy 6,Squall from8,and Tidus from10.Despite this,7had most attention once again, resulting in an intense boss fight against Sephiroth himself.
It makes sense that Square Enix decided to pull characters from theFinal Fantasygames that it did. These games either came out around the same time as the respectiveKingdom Heartsgames, like10or10-2, or are the games that really caused the series to explode in popularity, like7.That said,Final Fantasy 1-5go unrepresented inKingdom Hearts, as well as any of the games beyond10-2.
Kingdom Hearts 3’s ReMindDLCbroughtFinal Fantasycharacters back to the story after they were absent from the base game, but, once again, these were only characters fromFinal Fantasy 7.Kingdom Hearts 4definitely has room to improve in regards toFinal Fantasyrepresentation.
Final Fantasy in Kingdom Hearts 4
Kingdom Hearts 4was 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 byKingdom Hearts 4’ssetting 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 recentFinal Fantasygames,Final Fantasy 15and16. Final Fantasy 15fits 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,16may fit more with the story’s darker themes, as it is the only mainlineFinal Fantasygame with an M-rating. The fact that16is in development at the same time asKingdom Hearts 4also brings up the possibility of cross-promotion.
New games aside, it would be nice to have some olderFinal Fantasyrepresentation. While theoldestFinal Fantasygamesmay not have as memorable characters, some references or Easter eggs would not go unnoticed by fans.
Further Hopes for Final Fantasy Representation
Previously, references toFinal Fantasyhave been limited to characters and names of certain terms, like magic spells. What would really be great to see inKingdom Hearts4is a whole world based onFinal Fantasy. Imagine aMidgar 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 theFinal Fantasy 7remake.Kingdom Hearts’previous levels have been Disney-themed, butKH4is stated to take place in a world different from Sora’s. This new world containing new types of levels is an exciting possibility.
Kingdom Heartswas once known as the series that combines Disney andFinal Fantasy, but recently, theFinal Fantasyangle feels like an afterthought.Kingdom Hearts 4is the start of a new chapter for the series. Its new, mysterious setting makesKingdom Hearts 4the perfect place to bring backFinal Fantasyin full force — and hopefully from games other than6-10.
Kingdom Hearts 4is now in development.
MORE:Kingdom Hearts 4 Could Have a Lot of Fun With Marvel-Themed Keyblades
