Hannan Mundia 
Kingdom Hearts director Tetsuya Nomura revealed how connected Kingdom Hearts 4 is to the rest of the series and whether it will reboot the story.
The Kingdom Hearts series dates back two decades with 10 games and numerous remakes and remasters. While every mainline Kingdom Hearts game has a recap intro that helps fans catch up on what they might have forgotten, it’s still tough to remember every detail from every game in the series. With Kingdom Hearts 4 announced, longtime Kingdom Hearts fans might wonder if they’ll have to brush up on their lore before playing it.
Fortunately, Nomura revealed just how related to the rest of the series both Kingdom Hearts 4 and the upcoming Kingdom Hearts: Missing Link will be. Though they will continue the story, players won’t have to worry about remembering how Xemnas, Ansem, and Xehanort all fit together.
Is Kingdom Hearts 4 a reboot of the series?
Kindom Hearts 4 doesn’t reboot the series, but it is set to be a standalone game that isn’t heavily tied to the existing story.
Tetsuya Nomura was interviewed by the Japanese magazine Young Jump. While most questions in the interview were related to the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy, the Square Enix director also touched on the Kingdom Hearts games. The two games focused on most were Kingdom Hearts 4 and Kingdom Hearts: Missing Link.
The interviewer eventually mentioned how difficult it is for newcomers to get into the Kingdom Hearts series. Nomura stated that he’s developing Kingdom Hearts 4 and Kingdom Hearts: Missing Link as standalone games, not sequels. He states both games are understandable without playing every Kingdom Hearts game.
Nomura brought in new staff to ensure Kingdom Hearts 4 in particular is separate from other entries. Many people working on Kingdom Hearts 4 haven’t been directly related to the Kingdom Hearts series in the past, which will theoretically make for a fresh perspective.
It’s unknown how exactly Square Enix will make Kingdom Hearts 4 more of a standalone game. The game follows Sora after the events of Kingdom Hearts 3: Remind where he finds himself in Quadratum.
Based on the Kingdom Hearts 4 reveal trailer, Sora immediately jumps to action to fight a giant Heartless as soon as he wakes up in the new world. This suggests he doesn’t suffer from memory loss or anything similar, making it harder to disassociate it from the many other Kingdom Hearts entries. The reveal trailer confirms the return of Donald Duck and Goofy, suggesting the same core team will come together once again.
Kingdom Hearts 4 will lead toward the conclusion of series’ story
During the same interview, Nomura stated he’s developing Kingdom Hearts 4 with the intention of its story leading toward the series’ conclusion.
While Kingdom Hearts has a huge fanbase, the first entry came out in 2002. Nomura states that he only has a few years left until he retires and is uncertain if he’ll get to finish the Kingdom Hearts story before then.
Kingdom Hearts 3 concluded the Dark Seeker Saga, while its Remind DLC teased The Lost Master Arc. Since the first saga took around 10 entries spanning over 15 years and multiple platforms to conclude, fans can expect the next one to be significantly shorter.
Though Kingdom Hearts 4 will lead into the end of the series’ story, that doesn’t mean it’s the last game. Regardless, fans will have to wait and see what happens with Sora in this new location before they can guess how close the final chapter really is.
