Nintendo is finally getting proper ports of the Kingdom Hearts games for Switch 2, as well as the all-new Kingdom Hearts 4.
Of all the places for Square Enix to share an update for the elusive Kingdom Hearts 4, we certainly didn’t expect it would be at today’s Nintendo Direct.
The game has been MIA since the initial teaser trailer from 2022, with Square Enix only sharing some screenshots last year to placate fans after it cancelled mobile spin-off Kingdom Hearts Missing Link.
Now, we not only have confirmation that Kingdom Hearts 4 on Switch 2 will launch the same day as the expected PlayStation 5, Xbox, and PC versions, but the trailer had actual gameplay to show too.
It all looks like what you’d expect from a Kingdom Hearts game, but it shows off a new ability of Sora’s where he can summon chains to use as projectiles or ride on through the air.
There’s still no release date and the footage takes place entirely within the city of Quadratum, the only new world confirmed for the game so far.
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We know Sora will wake up in Quadratum at the start of his adventure, so this gameplay most likely comes from the game’s opening hours. Even so, fans will lap this up, since it promises to look and run just as well as the other console versions.
There’s sadly no real confirmation on whether Kingdom Hearts 4 will include a Star Wars world (something widely suspected to have been hinted at in the announcement), but we do see a couple of new characters as well as some returning faces fans will immediately recognise.
Given the brevity of the trailer, this could indicate a much longer one is brewing and will be shared at a later date, especially since D23 – Disney’s own fan convention – is taking place in August, but nothing’s guranteed.
Today’s Direct also confirmed that all the previous Kingdom Hearts collections will be seeing native Switch 2 ports, something that had been rumoured earlier this year.
These will launch on October 8 and anyone who played the cloud versions on Switch 1 can transfer their save data over.
Surprisingly, there was no mention of Final Fantasy 7 Revelation during the Direct, despite it being confirmed for a Switch 2 release, although Square Enix did show gameplay of a new Dragon Quest Monsters spin-off (which it had teased last month) and announced a new Final Fantasy spin-off titled Final Fantasy Resonance.
This is the first Final Fantasy game to use Square Enix’s HD-2D art style and, unlike the last couple of mainline entries, will be a traditional turn-based game. It launches October 22 and will also be available on PlayStation 5, Xbox, and PC.
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