Upon the conclusion of Kingdom Hearts 3, fans were left with possibly more questions than answers. There was a lot to speculate on, like what Kairi’s fate would be, where Sora disappeared off to, and what would happen to the reconstituted Organization 13 members. Some of these questions were answered in the Re:Mind DLC, but that introduced yet more enigmas. All of this points towards the extreme likelihood of a Kingdom Hearts 4, to answer those questions, but the bigger implication of that is often overlooked by even the most diehard fans. If a Kingdom Hearts sequel does release, it likely won’t be the only one.
Kingdom Hearts 3 brought the Dark Seeker saga to its ultimate end. The threat of Xehanort is no more, and his many clones and substitute bodies should also have been dispersed by now. It also reunited three trios that have served as the face of the franchise over the last two decades, bringing with it a sense of finality. Yet, Square Enix undermines this finality intentionally, introducing a ton of loose ends and plot hooks that fans reasonably expect will be explored in a sequel. It would have been easy enough to tie the ending of Kingdom Hearts up with a nice Disney-themed bow, but Square Enix may decide to take a different route with future games.
It seems likely that Kingdom Hearts 4 will continue to follow existing characters like Sora, Riku, and Kairi, but could also show fans a story through the eyes of Yozora, a new character introduced briefly in Kingdom Hearts 3 and featured in the Re:Mind DLC. With so many loose ends to tie up, fans have come to expect that this will happen eventually, but it seems unlikely that Kingdom Hearts 4 would bring the series to an end. Instead, the release of yet another sequel could signal the start of a whole new saga of Kingdom Hearts.
For reference, the Dark Seeker Saga (also known as the Xehanort Saga) details the events surrounding Xehanort’s rise to power and inevitable fall. Chronologically speaking, this started with Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep, and ended with Kingdom Hearts 3 Re:Mind, and includes every game in between. This is a total of nine games that released over the course of 18 years, and this is frequently referred to as the first phase of the Kingdom Hearts Series. The Dark Seeker saga is definitely over, so where will Kingdom Hearts go next?
Regardless of what type of story it decides to explore, it will probably be a whole new saga of its own. That doesn’t necessarily mean that it will span nine games and take 18 years to see to completion, but that does hint towards there being more than one sequel overall. Perhaps more likely, Kingdom Hearts 4 could be the start of a new trilogy, exploring stories from a different character’s perspective instead of Sora. With the vast depths of complicated lore Square Enix has created here, there are seemingly endless possibilities for ways the story could go.
The end of Kingdom Hearts 3 Re:Mind seems to imply that Sora faded from existence. Given that this is Kingdom Hearts, there’s any number of ways he could come back to life and continue being the face of the franchise, but some fans are ready to see the story shift to other characters. More specifically, there’s an interesting bond between Kairi and Lea (Axel) that would be great to explore. Both of these characters only recently attained their keyblades and were decidedly useless in the battle against the seven darknesses, so giving them a chance to come into their own would be great.
Since every Kingdom Hearts game needs a trio of heroes, Ventus would be an interesting choice for the third party spot. This character could fill the role of Sora in his absence, and his inclusion would mark the three iconic trios of the franchise coming together to form one. Moreover, since all of these characters are original Kingdom Hearts characters, Square Enix would have the opportunity to move past from heavily focusing on Disney and tell whichever story it wants. There are no doubt fans on both sides of this discussion that want to see more or less focus on these aspects, but it does seem to be the way things are heading.
Beyond the potential for three brand new Kingdom Hearts games, there could also be more side games to supplement the story of the second phase as well. These side games often break from the typical formula of a numbered Kingdom Hearts game, experimenting with new features and concepts. It’s here that fans may get to explore stories of side characters that weren’t featured heavily in Kingdom Hearts 3 including Terra, Xion, and others.
The first phase took six side games in order to fill in all the gaps left by the main story, so it’s possible there could be around that many for the second phase as well. Exactly what these would focus on is difficult to say, but there’s certainly no lack of places to go. If the franchise does decide to stick with Disney, there are also tons of new movies coming out all the time, and the company’s relatively recent acquisition of Marvel and Star Wars opens up brand new possibilities for exciting worlds. Who wouldn’t want to slay Heartless on the Death Star, for example, or fight back the forces of Darkness side by side with Captain America?
All of this is to say that Kingdom Hearts as a franchise still has a lot of steam left in it. The decision is ultimately up to how Square Enix decides to move forward, but readers shouldn’t be surprised to see more Kingdom Hearts for years to come. For long time fans of the franchise, that’s incredible news and is an often overlooked implication of Kingdom Hearts 4. With any luck, Square Enix will announce its intentions for the franchise soon, as well as reveal its plans for the next Kingdom Hearts game.
Kingdom Hearts 3 is available now on PS4 and Xbox One.
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