It's been 1,005 gruelling days since we've had close to any news on Kingdom Hearts 4, the next game in Square Enix's Disney-verse-spanning series, but director Tetsuya Nomura has finally given fans the smallest crumb to hang on to.
That's because Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep released on PSP 15 years ago today in Japan, January 9, and to celebrate the milestone, series director and infamous zip-lover Tetsuya Nomura wrote a commemorative message breaking down the spin-off's first teaser, originally included as a secret ending to Kingdom Hearts 2. The cutscene has the game's three heroes, clad in spiked armor, meeting in a dusty wasteland we now know as the Keyblade Graveyard, but Nomura explains that it actually ties into a larger series motif.
We're commemorating the 15th anniversary of Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep today by revisiting the iconic Kingdom Hearts II secret ending and sharing a secret anecdote from series director Tetsuya Nomura. pic.twitter.com/ocaM3VpfJ5January 9, 2025
"Meeting someone at a crossroads is actually a recurring motif in Kingdom Hearts," he wrote, referring to the endings of all three numbered games, plus multiple scenes from the series' many, many spin-offs. "Whenever there's something important going on, crossroads act as an important point of divergence."
It's not just a random setting, though. Nomura was "inspired by the well-known crossroad myth from American folklore" where "a young man makes a deal with the devil at a crossroads, trading his soul for the ability to play the guitar." The director then points out that a similar trade - "losing something to gain something" - happens every single time a crossroads pops up in the series.
"But wait... when the Lost Masters gather at the crossroads in KH3, what is gained and what is lost? That's a story for another time," he finally hints, referring to the threequel's epilogue.
It's a very vague description of the themes Kingdom Hearts 4 might play around with, but it does at least reveal Nomura had planned out where the series would be heading next years in advance. Interestingly, Sora wakes up in an alt universe version of Shibuya Crossing - yes, I'm not joking - in Kingdom Hearts 3's ending as well. Maybe he'll make a trade with Nomura himself while he's out there.
Read our list of all the new video game release dates heading our way this year.
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