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UPDATE [Aug 17]: The official Kingdom Hearts Twitter/X account has acknowledged the passing of Hayden. The tweet will be posted below.
Rest in peace, Hayden, and thank you for providing the voice of our Princess of Heart.
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UPDATE [Aug 17]: The official Kingdom Hearts Twitter/X account has acknowledged the passing of Hayden. The tweet will be posted below.
Rest in peace, Hayden, and thank you for providing the voice of our Princess of Heart.
What do you think of Kingdom Hearts being featured in Fortnite? Let us know in the comments below!
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What do you think of these new images? Let us know in the comments below!
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The store pages feature the following description:
Additionally, the Steam page lists the following languages as supported:
English
Japanese
French
Italian
German
Spanish - Spain
Spanish - Latin America
Portuguese - Brazil
Simplified Chinese
Traditional Chinese
Korean
This news follows the recent trailer confirming Kingdom Hearts IV's late 2027 release, as well as the Coco world. Additionally, an anime series is in the works.
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In a press release, it was stated that the show is being developed in partnership with Kingdom Hearts series director Tetsuya Nomura and the team at Square Enix. The series is set to re-imagine the iconic adventure, with a brand new story that sets to expand on the Kingdom Hearts universe.
President of Disney Kids and Family, Ayo Davis also stated:
Tetsuya Nomura shared a message through the official Kingdom Hearts Japanese account on X regarding the announcement:
What would you like to see in an upcoming Kingdom Hearts anime series? Let us know in the comments below!
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This new trailer confirms that the Disney film Coco will be featured in Kingdom Hearts IV. It also revealed that a late 2027 release is in the works for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store.
The new trailer showcases Sora interacting in the Coco world, alongside Mickey in Scala ad Caelum, as well as Strelitzia and Sigurd in Quadratum.
UPDATE 08/15/2026: An extended version of the new Kingdom Hearts IV trailer was revealed at the D23 Deep Dive into Kingdom Hearts panel. View both Japanese and English versions of the nearly 4 minute trailer below:
Kingdom Hearts IV - Extended D23 2026 Trailer - English
Kingdom Hearts IV - Extended D23 2026 Trailer - Japanese
You can view the new trailer below:
You can view official screenshots from the trailer in our gallery below:
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D23 Expo 2026 is set to take place August 14th - 16th in Anaheim, California. The time is fast approaching to Saturday, the 15th, where the Kingdom Hearts Retrospective Panel, Deep Dive Into Kingdom Hearts, will be taking place. This event has been a long time coming in many ways for fans of this franchise, young and old. This panel comes after the end of what was once a very long drought of information regarding Kingdom Hearts IV, which until last July was only given it's initial reveal trailer, and a selection of screenshots from May of last year.
Join us as we update this article throughout the week as it all unfolds. I personally will be attending D23, and the team will assist me in updating you all with exclusive pictures, news, and coverage of the event, so be sure to check back here and the often! You can view announcements, trailers, and venue photos below:
Kingdom Hearts IV D23 Show Case Trailer
At the Disney Entertainment and Showcase on August 14th, a new Kingdom Hearts IV trailer was unveiled, confirming a world based on the Disney Pixar film Coco, and a late 2027 release window.
Kingdom Hearts: The Series Animated Show Announced
Also at the Disney Entertainment Showcase a Kingdom Hearts animated series was confirmed to be in the works for Disney Channel and Disney+. You can view key art from the announcement in our gallery below:
Deep Dive Into Kingdom Hearts Panel
The Kingdom Hearts Retrospective Panel, Deep Dive Into Kingdom Hearts will have confirmed appearances from English voice actors of Sora and Riku, Haley Joel Osment, and David Gallagher, Kingdom Hearts Co-Director Tai Yasue, Director of Games for the Walt Disney Company Japan, Nana Gadd, and Reneé Johnson of Disney Character Voices.
Additionally, Khleo Thomas, best known for his role as Zero in the Disney movie Holes will be hosting the panel.
The panel will be livestreamed through a variety of outlets, including the official Kingdom Hearts Youtube channel. As a reminder the panel will begin on Saturday August 15th, 4:30 PM PT / 7:30 PM ET. You can view the livestream below:
Also please note, Disney has stated that they will not be keeping the live stream up for re-watching upon its conclusion, so make sure to do your best to tune into the stream while it's live.
Venue Photos
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Articles
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August 14, 2026
New Kingdom Hearts IV Trailer Announces Coco World and late 2027 Release
Disney Announces Original Kingdom Hearts Anime Series Coming to Disney Channel and Disney Plus
Kingdom Hearts IV Opens Digital Store Pages and Wishlisting
Pre-Event Coverage
Kingdom Hearts to be featured at D23 Expo 2026
Kingdom Hearts D23 Expo 2026 Panel to be Livestreamed on August 15
How excited are you for Saturday? Is there anything else from D23 that interests you? Let us know!
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As a reminder, this panel will occur at 4:30 PM on August 15, 2026. It will feature a behind-the-scenes look at how the games are made.
The special guests are as follows:
Nana Gadd (Disney & Pixar Games)
Tai Yasue (Square Enix)
Haley Joel Osment (voice of Sora)
David Gallagher (voice of Riku)
Renée Johnson (Disney Character Voices)
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Titled "DEEP DIVE into KINGDOM HEARTS", this panel will celebrate the 25 years of the Kingdom Hearts series, how it came to be, and will include some of the creatives and voices behind the series.
The panel will be an hour long on August 15th, 2026, starting at 4:30 PM PT and concludes at 5:30 PM PT.
Are you excited for the Kingdom Hearts panel? What do you think will be shown? Anything new? Never before seen?! We can't wait to see!
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While the exact details of this figure's availability beyond a prize remain unclear, an image confirms its presence as a crane game reward.
Sora is depicted in his original attire, in a pose similar to his render from Kingdom Hearts Re:coded. Additionally, it's planned to be made available in September 2026.
You can view the figure via our gallery below:
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Currently available for pre-order from the Square Enix Japan store and AmiAmi, the figure costs ¥13,200 and is scheduled to ship on January 30, 2027.
This newly sculpted figure also enables various avenues of posing with multiple faces and hand parts. Additionally, both the Kingdom Key and Crystal Snow Keyblade from the Arendelle world in Kingdom Hearts III are included.
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The sudden return at the Nintendo Direct on June 6th, an event very few people would have guessed, sent shockwaves throughout the Kingdom Hearts community and the gaming community as a whole. Though the total runtime was not even a full minute and a half, in true Kingdom Hearts fashion, it gave us plenty of things to think about and chew on as we eagerly anticipate when the game will show itself next. For your reading consideration, here now is a breakdown and analysis of that trailer.
We begin with the voice of a young woman, and the visual of someone in the series' trademarked black coat, sitting atop a building in Quadratum.
"The structure of this world is incredibly complex. At first, there were no manifestations of light and darkness. But our arrival here brought those concepts with us- the darkness given physical form only after we defined it."
Already this opening statement alone can mean many different things. Until this trailer, the only two things we could say we knew about Quadratum was that it is a realm of 'Fiction', or 'Unreality', as discussed in Melody of Memory, and as a kind of 'Afterworld' by Strelitzia, in the initial Kingdom Hearts IV trailer. This, however, only seems to apply to individuals from 'their' side of reality, as otherwise this world is still full of life, and seems to function as any other world. The way the opening text describes the Heartless is also a point of interest, as we have never heard them described in such a way before.
Until now, the Heartless have been described as, and treated as no more than simple monsters- manifestations of Darkness. While there is a distinction often made between 'artificial' and 'pureblood', the narrative has consistently painted the Heartless as, albeit while consistently dangerous, mindless, almost primitive beings, who are only ever attracted to the strongest power. This is seen as far back as the first Kingdom Hearts, where if you'll recall, the Heartless were revealed to be using Maleficent all along, through Xehanort's Heartless, The Seeker of Darkness. This idea would be further expanded upon by Saïx in the following game. It is an easy and digestible explanation, but through this- the idea that they are not simply creations of Darkness, but they and their existence are the embodiment of the concept of Darkness-- that sense of intangibility, and incomprehensiveness, could very well serve as a clue to the type of story Kingdom Hearts IV is wanting to tell. That Quadratum existed as a place where the concept of Darkness, the Heartless, and undoubtedly more from Sora's side of reality until the arrival of people from said side is a deeply fantastic one, the consequences of which are sure to be exciting to see unfold.
The identity of the figure sitting atop the roof has naturally also been a subject of discussion. More than a few sharp eyed fans have said that in the initial frames of the trailer, the posture of the person sitting atop roof is similar to that of Ava, a character whose disappearance and whereabouts have been a driving source of mystery for several years now, and has spawned all manner of speculation and theories.
The posture is not exact, but it is at least similar enough to entertain speculation.
The speaker's identity is still up for debate as well- the cinematography seems to want the watcher to connect it to the hooded figure, but as many have pointed out, the voice sounded very similar to Strelitzia's. I have gone back and listened to Ava's voice in Japanese as heard in Back Cover, as well as Strelitzia's voice from the initial Kingdom Hearts IV trailer for this analysis, and while the speaker in this most recent trailer is closer in sound to Strelitzia, it has been four years between recordings, so only time will be able to tell us for sure.
The trailer then kicks into high gear, showing us more of Sora's battle against the latest iteration of Darkside, with our hero leaping through the air thanks to his acquired Flowmotion skills, as well as the new grappling hook-type ability of Kingdom Key. This you can tell is almost certainly a cutscene, but these short moments do a great job at showcasing something that has always been quietly implied but rarely shown; the true destructive power of the Heartless. The way Darkside destroys the city, in a way unlike anything we have seen since the destruction of the Destiny Islands, with such force showcases what really happens when the Heartless invade a world. By proxy, this also shows what any world they've destroyed has surely gone through, and what they did to the people that lived there.
It's here where things really begin to get interesting, as the trailer quickly introduces to us several new characters, or perhaps familiar?
As seen above we now know what Luxord, the infamous Gambler of the Organization, will look like in Quadratum, however two new faces have stuck out.
The figure on the right is heavily speculated to be Vali, the almost near silent, ninja-esque young man from Kingdom Hearts: Dark Road. He was one of Xehanort and Eraqus's upperclassmen who was last seen being struck down by Baldur at that story's conclusion. It is a notion I strongly see as possible, aside from the extremely similar physical appearance, this would also tie in perfectly with the claim from Strelitzia in the prior trailer that Quadratum exists as a type of afterlife. The person on the left however is a different story; due to a similarity in clothing, speculation around this character has been painting him as possibly being Sigurd.
Sigurd was only seen once, briefly at the end of Kingdom Hearts: Union Cross, speaking to Brain after awaking in Scala Ad Caelum. He is also highly speculated to be the first voice heard speaking to us in the first Kingdom Hearts IV trailer and was believed to have had an important role in the canceled Missing-Link. We encourage all of you to share with us your thoughts on the identities of these individuals with us as well; who do you think these new faces really are?
After this, we see a quick glimpse of another, possibly different hooded individual walking down a road, accompanied by falling black feathers.
As much as I would love to believe and speculate this one hundred percent being a hint to the return of Sephiroth, and with it possibly the unresolved sub-plot between he and Cloud, many who experienced what was made available of Missing-Link through its beta, or the data mining's, have swiftly shot this idea down. In Missing-Link, the black raven feathers were used to possess people, utilized by two new characters, Huginn and Muninn. These names come from Norse Mythology, much like many in the cast of Dark Road's namesakes, and are specifically named after Odin, The Allfather's Ravens, and could be a potential indicator for what's to come.
To expand on that, the Poetic Ettica names the Raven's as Odin's messengers, but also as metaphysical representations of his mind, and will. The definitions vary by context and translation but the key to all of this is, Huginn is connected across many Scandinavian languages as being representative of the concepts of mind, and sense. Think of it as relating to perception, and comprehension, even consciousness. Muninn and its linguistic origins are comparatively rooted in affection, and memory.
To this point, I'll bring Sigurd back up quickly; in most interpretations of the Norse Mythologies, Sigurd is a hero, who slayed a legendary dragon. Dragons themselves have differing symbolic meanings depending on the culture and story, but the main point here is, in both the Poetic Ettica, and Prose Ettica, the various events of Sigurd's life, death, and even the origin of the character itself are in contradiction of each other. Any one true definitive origin to his creation, if there ever was one, has been lost to time. These narrative contradictions bring to mind a number of characters, the immediate two being Luxu, and the Master of Masters, but it could apply to a majority of the cast from the Age of Fairy Tales.
This plot point could have a number of possibilities and raises many questions. Is Odin, last seen in Dark Road but with his true fate never elaborated on, here as well in Quadratum? Is he friend or foe? The possibility of possession casts a dark undertone over the game as well; will someone try to possess Sora? Or Strelitzia? It's no secret she and her intentions have been a source of discussion amongst fans, and with the seemingly confirmation of the larger Union Cross cast existing in Quadratum, it creates this feeling of no one being safe. It also adds a psychological layer to the story as well- memory has always been a core facet of Kingdom Hearts' grander narrative, and not only that, but the feelings about the memory itself; how it makes the person feel, how they define it, and how it defines them. Memory has directly affected Sora's story before, so how will it possibly do so again this time around? And if this is indeed Sigurd, what of his purpose, or intentions? Will he be a hero who aids us? A mentor? Or something else? After all, there is no guarantee I put forward that the fallen students of Scala Ad Calum will be allies to Sora. This is all pure speculation of course, and ultimately beyond the scope of this analysis, but I believe they are important questions to raise.
One of the things Kingdom Hearts is great at is recontextualizing the past. These feathers also remind me of the end credits of Birth By Sleep, when we see Zack disappear, leaving behind only a single black feather. For so many years we assumed this had to mean Sephiroth, but now with this, did that actually have anything to do with him at all? Remember, in original Final Fantasy VII, Sephiroth had no such black wing, unlike his appearances in Kingdom Hearts, that was added later, and Cloud has similarly never had a wing at all. I believe the chances of this being expounded upon are slim at best, but I believe it is worth noting all the same.
Riku was also given a black wing, once.
Moving on, we see a quick shot of Donald and Goofy, surrounded by blue flames, seemingly picking up where the first trailer left them. In the original trailer for Kingdom Hearts IV, fans quickly pointed to this being the Underworld, of the Hercules world Olympus, with many recognizing Hades' voice in Japanese. There was no voice over this time around, but the artstyle around the flames is without a doubt in line with the art direction usually seen in Olympus. As was established during Kingdom Hearts III: Re-Mind, everyone is off trying to find whatever clues they can about where Sora disappeared to, so it does make sense given their multiple run-ins with him that Donald and Goofy could conclude that Hades would know something at the very least. This idea is justified by two specific prior story beats; not only did we see Hades summon Auron from the dead in Kingdom Hearts II, but Xehanort and Eraqus spoke to the departed souls of Heimdall, Hoder, Helgi, and Sigrun in Dark Road while they were in the Underworld.
Arguably the biggest moment in this trailer happens immediately after with this:
The man with the umbrella is unmistakably Xehanort, in his younger incarnation no less. This single image has so much to say that the possibilities are almost too many to count. Sora on his knees in the middle of the pouring rain is a striking image; one we have seen before. In Kingdom Hearts II, when he tried begging Saïx to take him to see Kairi. Then again In Kingdom Hearts III as he was swept up in despair at seeing his friends taken one by one by the Demon Tide. The rain itself, I believe, is significant too; water is an important symbol in the series, as well as both Sora and Xehanort. The most obvious comparison is the two being from Destiny Islands; 'a prison surrounded by water', as Xehanort's Heartless once described it.
Water imagery is also used to describe the solar geography of Kingdom Hearts' worlds as well; the space the Gummi ships travel is called The Ocean Between, with Sora, Riku, and Kairi wishing to travel to other worlds by raft once upon a time , similar to how Captain Hook utilized his ship for this very purpose. In the openings for Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II, it shows us Sora and Roxas respectively being submerged in water as they arrive at the Station of Awakening Water also has connections to darkness as well. As seen in several of the games, there is a beach in the realm of darkness. Whether this is a set location, or one location of many is unknown, as this place has been occupied by Xemnas and Roxas, soon after his birth, Aqua and Ansem the Wise, after the former's entrapment, and the latter's death, and finally Sora and Riku at the end of a journey. To this point, when Aqua is saved from the Realm of Darkness in Kingdom Hearts III, she returns through the waters of Destiny Islands. Riku himself would briefly return to that same beach with Mickey in that same game. It also surely cannot be a coincidence that this meeting will be taking place at night.
Night. Like when Sora's world was destroyed, like the last night Terra, Ventus, and Aqua shared together before things went wrong, or how The World That Never Was always seemed to be set in a never-ending night, such as when Roxas attempted to rebel out of revenge. In fact, it was not only at night, but also after the rain when we see Sora arrive in Quadratum in the secret ending of Kingdom Hearts III. Night is also when Sora's fight with Yozora, whose name if you will recall means 'Night Sky'. This visual of Xehanort, shielding Sora from the rain in the middle of the night is as surreal as it is profound, and leaves the door open to many interesting possibilities their dynamic and relationship as characters could go. Lastly, Dark Road contained the shocking scene after its first episode of Xehanort and Eraqus talking over the graves of the upperclassmen at night, in the rain no less, where Xehanort commits to his resolve to travel the worlds.
The rest of the trailer is almost entirely gameplay, teasing the new mechanics Sora will be able to use to beat back the Heartless with. The Heartless on display here is comprised of the seemingly new version of the Neo-Shadows, and large, gauntlet wielding Heartless were first glimpsed at last year when Square-Enix shared several screenshots of the upcoming title, as we covered previously here.
Seeing what appears to be the updated Neo-Shadows in motion was quite the visual, the way they move sporadically with their hunched over posture, the way they scratch and claw their way through the battle space gives them a very visceral energy. The new gauntlet Heartless really have my curiosity peaked; purely on a visual front, their big hands bring to mind the abilities utilized by Clive Rosfield in Final Fantasy XVI, when channeling the Eikon Titan, the Heartless themselves even have a rock-like texture to their skin. I can only speculate these will be a mostly defensive Heartless that hit hard if you let them; perhaps they are an meant to replace the Large Body Heartless? They feel like an evolution on their build, at first glance. Unfortunately the big fellas don't get to showcase what they can do, Sora doesn't exactly give them a chance with his new Keyblade abilities.
Speaking of which, in an exciting development, we now have our first look at Kingdom Hearts IV's first new Keyblade.
Through these brief seconds of gameplay, a few things can be gleamed. Firstly, is the lack of a UI; health bar, MP bar, Focus Gauge, this is unique to the official uploaded trailers, as when it first debuted during the Nintendo Direct, we could see the above-mentioned elements, as well as the command menu. As such, for the purpose of this analysis, I will be utilizing moments taken from the presentation for this segment.
Many have noted that Sora feels more aggressive in his moveset, and while aesthetically I can see it, I believe this is also simply the result of Osaka Team tightening up the moveset they created in Kingdom Hearts III, and refining it. Now, to discuss the appearance of the new Keyblade itself, it's design is very vibrant and colorful, much like the new rock Heartless's gauntles, it's red's and blues' really pop and contrast well against the realistic Quadratum. Its origins have been an interesting talking point- it has long been speculated that a Moana world is destined for Kingdom Hearts IV, and that this may very well be the Keyblade meant to symbolize this world. Another possibility that has been suggested is Pixar's Elemental, due to the strong fire and water theme of the Keyblade.
Looking at the command menu for it, we can see a different kind of menu, clearly combat-context sensitive, where the only options are two different attacks Sora can do. As Sora was attacking with this weapon, I noticed that in addition to the particle effects each hit would leave behind as normal, what I can only describe as streams of smoke and rock seemed to follow Sora. I re-watched several times to be certain, and what seemed to happen was, Sora's attacks created a molten rock, to which he dashed towards, launching him up in the air to hit the big air-to-ground slam finisher you see pictured above.
As you can see here, this UI is seems to be no mockup for the trailers, I believe this to be genuine gameplay, as the build meter rises and the command menu displays visual feedback of actions taken in real time. The "NEW BUILD!" display is a particular point of interest- there is so very little known of what Nomura has labeled the 'Scrap and Build' mechanic, but we seem to be seeing it on display. Notice how the A attack option changes from Lava Splash to Igneous Impact.
A point would seem to go it being from Moana due to the emphasis on lave specifically rather than just a general fire theme, but the Keyblade itself does not have an overtly oceanic theme that one might expect from a Moana Keyblade. The handle is blue, and the B attacks name is related to water, but that does not necessarily correlate to the ocean. A point in Elemental's favor would be the focus on just red and blue as it's colors, as Moana also had green as a strong color, representing the heart of Te Fiti. Another is that at the end of the trailer, Kingdom Hearts IV credits Disney/Pixar in the credits. This could mean a number of things, but it is still something to consider.
What neither option can fully explain however is the large, circular crystal-like object connecting the handle and blade, which has caused many to wonder if perhaps a third option is the answer here; could this be an original Keyblade, one that is a combination of two different elements? The particle effects when the Keyblade hits an enemy are notable as well; the fiery red object could represent the corrupted Te Fiti, but the blue star seems almost more reminiscent of one of Aqua's Wayfinders than anything from either film. I believe this could actually be pointing to the true nature of the Scrap and Build mechanic, but we have no way of knowing for certain for now.
Watching Sora's movement throughout the trailer, it is easy to see that he has kept the changes implemented in Re-Mind. Sora is quick, snappy, and still has his distance-closer attacks, ensuring enemies don't stay away from him for long, each swing of the Keyblade having plenty of reach. He still spends a lot of time in the air, as he did in Kingdom Hearts III, and while the full cause of this remains to be seen, it seems to have more to due with Sora having a large arsenal of attacks at his disposal, and not just from his combos naturally launching him in the air. This is what I meant earlier by the gameplay in this trailer feeling like a refinement; there's a subtle feeling this trailer is trying to communicate to us. When trailers for Kingdom Hearts III began to show up consistently, a lot of focus was on the attractions, the big finishers, and air combat. There is still plenty of time to show that off of course, but here we see Sora on the ground a lot, blocking and dodging, setting up the moves, and reacting more to the situation, instead of just doing things. There seems to be still a small delay from Sora finishing a move to when he touches the ground and can attack again, but it is almost certainly faster than it was in Kingdom Hearts III. I see these little touches as a great sign for the quality of the game to come, and my feelings were amplified with the next segment, now at night, where Sora is using Kingdom Key again.
Right away we're given a lot to take in here, the Heart Barrage ability ready to go above the command menu, the yellow bar above Heart Barrage. Visually what is most striking to me are the gold chains Sora creates. Sora seems to be summoning them at will, and they persist in the world for some time. It doesn't appear to work like a shotlock, but it seems the player can click a button,
and Sora snaps to the chain and is able to ride it.
From here he can do several things, it appears this can set up attacks, as well as be used as a genuine means of evasion. I expect many enemies or boss fights to have moves that cancel this ability, or make it otherwise hard to use as a 'one-size-fits-all' attack dodger. I quite like this, I believe this will lead to a snappier combat experience; the couple seconds it takes to input Sora jumping and quickly air-dodging to the chain as the alternative, as Flowmotion worked in Dream Drop Distance, and Kingdom Hearts III, runs the risk of moments of clunkiness in faster paced scenarios. This also functions narratively as a a good moment of character, and mechanical depth for Sora, who previously rode the sea of Keyblades in Kingdom Hearts III, and after we had seen Vanitas do so in that game, as well as Birth By Sleep.
After Sora is finished grinding along the chains, they automatically break up and disperse, seeking out nearby targets. Sora then appears to command the rest to do the same, akin to the end of a shotlock. Whether this is something automatic, or something deliberately triggered by the controller is yet to be extrapolated, but I am assuming the latter.
Visually one of the most impressive looking moves is here, where Sora seems to summon a veritable army of golden keychains to ride, but instead of it being a set up, it's an ability that seems to auto-target the nearest enemies, or whomever Sora is locked onto at the time, and hones in on them, juggling the enemy or enemies caught in its path. Could this be the aforementioned Heart Barrage? Just by looking at it, it feels reminiscent of the finishing move at the end of a form change from Kingdom Hearts III, but there doesn't seem to be any indication of this taking place. Sora is still in his new attire, I checked for minor changes, like Second Form in Kingdom Hearts III but did not notice any, I don't believe this is a shotlock of some kind either. This could be for a number of reasons; perhaps they are holding back more for later, perhaps there is still work actively being done on whatever it is that causes this to take place, this could even be related to the ever mysterious Scrap & Build mechanic.
Quick minor detail, but we also get visual confirmation that blue MP, and yellow Munny balls still drop from enemies. I assumed the MP ones would return, but I was unsure what the currency of Quadratum was going to be. I also noticed the mini-map has had an update as well.
Instead of being represented by a small Kingdom Key on the map, Sora has now been replaced with a conventional yellow arrow in it's stead, fitting what Quadratum is going for. The topography of the new mini-map seems much more detailed in representing the elevation of the surrounding areas. In Kingdom Hearts III, the maps color changed with the world, and while I believe this will still be the case, I hope each new map is this clear with it's geography. I went back to reexamine the mini-map in Kingdom Hearts III, and it seems to be about the same size in terms of it's proportions and how much of the map is being displayed. Of note are the white arrow indicator, and the red dot at the bottom of the map- I was unable to tell what these were meant to be indicating, so we will have to keep our eye on that in the future. Could this mean this will this work as a traditional 3rd-person open-world game where objectives and points of interest can and will be marked? Considering the vast size of Quadratum, the extra attention to these kind of quality-of-life details can make all a whole world of difference during traversal, and in the moment during combat.
My main concern is one I had during the Kingdom Hearts III trailer cycle is how practical these moves will be to pull off. Very often action games run into an issue of giving the player many flashy combat options, but pulling them off is easier said than done; not solely from an issue of skill as well, but either enemies are designed to counter them outright, or the i-frames are not what they seem to be. As of now we have no clue how 'safe' Sora is to pull off these moves just yet, or what degree of difficulty the game will be for that matter, but it is something I always try to actively keep in mind when thinking about these trailers. The only time Sora gets any pushback is in the Darkside confrontation, which I believe is possibly the best representation of the game.
I wrote earlier the subtle cues the trailer was conveying by showing Sora on the ground more reacting to things, and it's best on display in the final segment with the titular nemesis. After being thrown into a building, Sora is on the defensive, this is where we can see the snappiness of the defense, how quick the guard comes out and seemingly how down to the last minute it can be timed. It isn't much, but I believe it is enough to quell at least some of the worries I have seen expressed over the combat system. We can see that Sora still has Aerial Dive, as it closes in on Darkside while attacking one of the tendrils it has summoned, and the force of his punch knocking a guarding Sora back, really adding weight to the combat. An easy to see visual detail is the circular shield that is created upon Sora blocking- this opens up two possibilities, either that is just the universal visual effect for blocking now, or perhaps Sora can block anything at a 360-degree angle, like how Aqua could.
The last thing I have about the gameplay is something I noticed on my first few viewings of the trailer, in the Nintendo Direct version, what looks to be a red danger indicator can be seen. The indicator immediately reminded me of Xigbar's Arrowguns, and their ammunition. I don't necessarily believe this is intentional or has a deeper meaning, but it was what I thought of after first seeing it.
I have mixed feelings about its inclusion. Not out of a dislike of the mechanic, not in the slightest, but I worry of it's effectiveness. It only appears on screen for the briefest of moments in the trailer, it isn't too big or bright, so it shouldn't interfere with the visuals too much during gameplay, that's a good thing right off the bat. My concern is the range- how far away is it signaling an enemy attack; horizontally and vertically? Since Kingdom Hearts is a very forward-into-upward momentum combat system, will it signal when an attack is on Sora's elevation? Or just in the general vicinity? I question its inclusion as well on the grounds that the camera in Kingdom Hearts has almost always been pulled rather far back from Sora, the games aren't over-the-shoulder, or in first person, and there are very few fixed camera angles in the series. Paired with the fact the cameras in the games can be spun around rather quickly, I worry this runs the risk of getting in the way during combat, and leading to a lot of panic induced rolling, or blocking when there didn't need to be; interrupting the flow of combos and lateral in-the-moment thinking. Knowing Square-Enix, I could see them making it a toggled mechanic, and ultimately I think it will help more than hinder, but its potential to hinder shouldn't be ignored.
So ends our latest trailer. There was no release date sadly, but I was left feeling optimistic about the future. The story elements teased will be at the very least interesting, the combat promises more of the same with room to grow from what was started with Re-Mind, and the game visually looks very good so far. The Keyblade attacks all look great, the rain looked great, and those black coats? Never looked better. So goodbye again for now, Kingdom Hearts. When will we see it again? The year still has several big events lined up; D23 in California during August, Tokyo Game Show in September, and the Game Awards in December. Even without those, next year is the quarter of a century celebration of the series, so either way you look at it, good things are coming, sooner rather than later.
Thank you for reading, please share with us your thoughts and your own analysis of the trailer, we would love to hear from you!
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