According to Tetsuya Namura, series director, the future role of Final Fantasy in Kingdom Hearts 4’s is uncertain.
In an interview with Game Informer, Nomura explained that Kingdom Hearts was a collaboration between Disney characters as well as Final Fantasy characters. However, I feel that this is not the core concept of Kingdom Hearts. That’s not what Kingdom Hearts really is.
In the Kingdom Hearts 1 game, Sora, the protagonist, meets Cloud Strife (aka Leon), Sephiroth, Squall Leonhart, Yuffie, Aerith and Cid. Kingdom Hearts 2 introduced us to additional Final Fantasy characters like Yuna and Rikku, as well as Tifa and Auron. Kingdom Hearts 3 was finally released, and fans were shocked to see no Final Fantasy characters until Kingdom Hearts Re:Mind.
Nomura explained why Square Enix classic characters were involved in the first game. “When we first released the title, we only had a few Kingdom Hearts characters. They were interfacing with well-known and beloved Disney characters so it was difficult for them to hold their ground. Nomura came up with a solution: Introduce a lot familiar Final Fantasy characters to “lend a hand for everybody to get to know these [original Kingdom Hearts] character better.”
Nomura said that Kingdom Hearts 4 will feature our favorite Final Fantasy characters. It’s difficult to predict what the balance will be with all the original characters we have, and how it will play in Kingdom Hearts 4.
Do you want to catch up with the magical Square Enix series now? We’ll help you navigate the Kingdom Hearts games with our How to Play Guide.