Kingdom Hearts IV announced with a more realistic art style

Kingdom Hearts IV is officially in the works. Square Enix announced the upcoming installment at an event in Japan to celebrate the series’ 20th anniversary. You can watch the trailer in the video embedded above.

The trailer doesn’t kick off with Kingdom Hearts IV right away – it also features clips from the newly announced mobile game, Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link, so you’ll need to head over to 4:09 to get a glimpse of Kingdom Hearts IV.

Once the trailer opens, you’ll see Sora waking up in an apartment as what appears to be a giant heartless set foot in the city. Sora takes out his Keyblade, parks it and struggles his way into the enemy. At the very end of the trailer, Goofy and Donald Duck wander in the dark and come face to face with an unknown threat.

The art style looks a lot more realistic this time around, although Square Enix notes that the trailer contains development footage that is “subject to change”. In a press release, Square Enix says that Kingdom Hearts IV is set in the city of Quadratum, and introduces us to a new character called Strelitzia, who also appears in the trailer:

Sora returns triumphant with an updated take on the start of an epic new storyline titled “Lost Master Arc.” Starting with Sora taking on a boss fight against a gigantic enemy, players are introduced to the Quadratum, a large, sprawling city set in a beautiful, realistic world never before seen in the KINGDOM HEARTS series. Fans will be excited to see the return of Sora’s familiar companions Donald and Goofy, in addition to the first appearance of Strelitzia, a mysterious new character who appears before Sora in this strange new setting.

There is no word on a release date for Kingdom Hearts IV. Square Enix says Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link will be available as a closed beta on Android and iOS in “specific regions” in August.

Update April 10, 9:45 AM ET: Updated to include a quote from Square Enix’s press release.

This post Kingdom Hearts IV announced with a more realistic art style

was original published at “https://www.theverge.com/2022/4/10/23018977/kingdom-hearts-iv-announced-20th-anniversary-event-square-enix”