It’s finally here! Square Enix has officially revealed the next chapter in the dearly beloved Kingdom Hearts series: Kingdom Hearts IV. The new footage comes from the 20th-anniversary event the publisher held for the franchise in Tokyo earlier today and gives fans a robust look at the new title.
The trailer begins with a simple line of text revealing that this new arc of the Kingdom Hearts story will be titled “The Lost Master Arc.” All the previous titles in the series were part of the Dark Seeker Saga, which concluded at the end of Kingdom Hearts III with the final defeat of Master Xehanort. The teaser then goes on to show several stunningly realistic environments in both forest and urban locales before pivoting to an apartment living room with the series’ main protagonist, Sora, asleep on a couch.
Once Sora wakes up, he meets a young woman who claims that they’re in a strange, new world called Quadratum, which functions as a sort of “afterworld” for the two of them. As she talks, a large Heartless appears in the city and begins consuming the surrounding buildings and people.
Sora rushes in to fight the creature (wearing appropriately sized shoes for once!), showing off a variety of new and evolved combat mechanics. He’s able to slingshot to a lamppost, run up the side of a skyscraper, dynamically flip to different sides of a falling building, and counter the giant Heartless’ attacks with a transformed key blade.
The trailer also reveals that a pair of black-cloaked individuals are keeping tabs on Sora before showing off Kingdom Hearts IV’s official logo. A brief follow-up scene reveals that Goofy, Donald, and Hades will also return for this new entry.
Fans of the series have been eager to see where the Kingdom Hearts series would go after the events of Kingdom Hearts III and the ReMind DLC, especially after the fourteen-year wait between Kingdom Hearts II and Kingdom Hearts III. The teaser doesn’t offer any information about a release window or expected platforms, but it does end with a simple message of “Magic In The Making,” which likely indicates that development is early but ongoing.
What do you think of this announcement? Are you excited for more Kingdom Hearts? And where do you think this new chapter will take players? Let us know in the comments!
