On Sunday evening, April 10, video game developer Square Enix, creator of the Final Fantasy and NieR franchises, unveiled the latest installment of its popular Kingdom Hearts video game series. Predictably named Kingdom Hearts IV, the latest game was presented as the flagship version of the series – along with other games for it, including a mobile game.
Kingdom Hearts IV: What’s New
According to the teaser trailer announcing the release of Kingdom Hearts IV, the game turns 20 this year. One of the key aspects that Square Enix has focused on is the graphics, which cite the new world design with added realism to the game. This suggests that Kingdom Hearts IV will most likely use the graphics capabilities of the next generation of game consoles – Sony PS5 and Microsoft Xbox Series X and S duo.
The game’s official description reads: “Sora makes a triumphant return with a fresh look at the beginning of an epic new storyline called The Lost Master Arc. Starting with Sora fighting a boss fight against a giant enemy, players are introduced to Quadratum, a large, sprawling city set in a gorgeous, realistic world unlike anything seen before in the Kingdom Hearts series. Fans will be thrilled to see the return of Sora’s famous companions Donald and Goofy, in addition to the first appearance of Strelitzia, a mysterious new character who appears before Sora in this strange new setting.”
However, the developers of the game did not specify on which platforms it will be launched. There’s also no tentative release date for the game, which suggests that fans of the series might not see it in action until 2022 itself.
Alongside this, Square Enix also announced a 20th anniversary mobile game for the series called Kingdom Hearts: Missing Link. The game will be released on both Android and iOS, with a closed beta test of the game being released sometime this year. The official release states that the mobile game will allow players to complete adventurous missions from the “Scala ad Caelum”game world to the real world, as well as play out a new original story in the game.