The Kingdom Hearts franchise is undoubtedly one of the world’s most unique video game series. We say this because the franchise started as a “simple crossover” with an original story featuring Disney and Square Enix characters. But what came from the mind of Tetsuya Nomura remains one of the most unique and sometimes convoluted epics in the video game space. Outside the main story, there have been numerous spinoffs and side stories, and keeping it all together is hard. But then, just when you thought the main series was over, Kingdom Hearts 4 was announced and teased via a much-talked-about trailer.
However, thanks to Tetsuya Nomura, things have only gotten weirder since then. In Japan on the 19th, Nomura attended a concert dedicated to the game. Nothing out of the ordinary, right? While there, as noted on Twitter by a translator, he gave commentary on the show and the series with another person attached to the property. It was there that he noted something rather odd:
“Last year after the KH event, there was something that happened that determined the direction of the KH series.”
The other person asked what it was, and Nomura simply said he would “tell him backstage.”
As you might expect from a fanbase like this, they went into overdrive trying to figure out what Nomura was thinking. Of course, the biggest theory going around concerns Disney and the use of its IPs. That’s not to say that Disney is revoking them, as they know the franchise makes them money, and to remove the Disney characters would basically kill the franchise where it stands. Not least is because two of the main characters that you play in every game are Donald and Goofy.
To swing this to the more positive side of things, some people wonder if Kingdom Hearts 4 will get some of the expanded universes under Disney’s banner. For example, in the last mainline game, the first Pixar properties were brought to bear, and so some might think that a certain superhero universe or a galaxy far, far away could show up.
It also should be noted that Nomura wasn’t being “dour” when he said the line about the “event” that shaped the series. Instead, it seemed like he was implying it was a good thing. So perhaps Disney gave him something he had wanted for a while.
We may hear more about the game soon, so stay tuned!
