Square Enix confirms that no worlds from theFinal Fantasyseries will be making their way intoKingdom Hearts 3, which will continue the franchise’s Disney location focus.
TheKingdom Heartsseries deserves its place in video game royalty, with the original game in the franchise counted amongthe best JRPGs ever made. Because of that, many gamers were excited to find out more about the upcomingKingdom Hearts 3, with fans of the franchise counting it among the mosthighly anticipated games of E3 2016. Unfortunately, those expecting a radical change in terms of setting from the previous games in the series are going to end up being disappointed.
Square Enix has confirmed that the game’s general choices of location are going to remain the same, and thatKingdom Hearts 3will not be visiting any of the worlds from theFinal Fantasyseries. Although the series contains plenty of characters from Square Enix’s acclaimed RPG property, players will not be likely to lead Sora and company into Midgar any time soon.
The news was confirmed byKingdom Hearts 3co-director Tai Yasue in a recent interview withGameSpot. “We’re not adding anyFinal Fantasyworlds,” said Yasue. The co-director went on to explain that due to the number of original locations created forKingdom HeartsincludingFinal Fantasycharacters, the developers feel no need to including Final Fantasy locations. “At this moment, we are not really coming up with any plans for that, we’re making original worlds and Disney worlds.”
Yasue went on to give some reasons as to whyFinal Fantasyworlds are not going to appear inKingdom Hearts 3, which is due to include aToy Story-themed summonwhen it releases. The locations of the game are chosen due to the gameplay ideas that the development team wish to include, and it is often the worlds of Disney that best work with what the developers have planned. Yasue suggested that the best thing for the series is to include the distinct and unique - yet still famous - Disney worlds. “We want the difference and variety, we don’t want a lot of the same thing,” he added.
Fans of the series have been long awaiting the return of the fullKingdom Heartsseries. Although side titles have appeared in the meantime,Kingdom Hearts 2itself has now been out for over a decade. As such, it’s been no surprise that fans have been picking over every second ofKingdom Hearts 3trailerslooking for snippets of new information.
Although some may be disappointed thatFinal Fantasyworlds will not be making an appearance inKingdom Hearts 3, there has been some movement for the franchise. Tai Yasue has also hinted atthe possibility of a PS4Kingdom Heartscollection, whileKingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologuehas also been on the receiving end of botha new trailer and December release date. It certainly seems like a good time to be aKingdom Heartsfan.
Kingdom Hearts 3will be released for Xbox One and PS4.
