As Square Enix revealed Kingdom Hearts IV over the weekend, it looked… different. Hero Sora looked realistically emo weakened kicks while hanging out in a Shibuya condo there really is. But fans were quick to point out that there were likely reasons for the lore explaining the new graphic style, and now series creator Tetsuya Nomura has clarified what’s actually going on.
That Kingdom Hearts IV Reveal Trailer is set in a world called Quadratum, a place very similar to our own reality that functions like an afterlife for the series’ protagonist. “From Sora’s perspective, Quadratum is an underworld, a fictional world that differs from reality,” Nomura said in one new interview with Famitsu after a translation of VGC. “But from the point of view of the inhabitants of the Quadratum side, the world of Quadratum is the reality, and the world Sora and the others were in is the other side, the fictional world.”
That Kingdom Hearts The director goes on to explain that Goofy and Donald are currently searching for Sora, and that the Keyblade-wielding hero could reappear like his old self if he ever makes it back to his original reality. In other words, just like the character himself, Sora’s clown shoes might not be gone forever either. Kingdom Hearts IV however, marks the start of a brand new saga following the conclusion of the previous trilogy, so nothing is off the table.
Fans began investigating some of the mysteries surrounding Quadratum as soon as the new trailer was released. While his modern trappings came out of left field for viewers of the franchise, references to quadrate were peppered throughout latest entriesoften characterizing as an “unreality” that lies beyond light and dark. Kingdom Hearts III‘s secret ending even takes players straight there, although things still didn’t look quite as realistic as in the latest trailer.
Kingdom Hearts III was originally teased for the PS4 at E3 2013, the year the console came out, but wasn’t released until 2018. Meanwhile, the development team moved from the Luminous engine to Unreal 4, and the delays and upheaval definitely showed in the final product. It was easy to be wrong then Kingdom Hearts IVThe more realistic look of is simply a result of new technology and hardware, but as fans have surmised and Nomura has now clarified, it’s a design decision dictated by lore as much as anything else.
Ever since the trailer came out, fans have been celebrating it Square “Glow Ups” from others Kingdom Hearts characters, as well as making their own. Some are serious, others are memes. But the biggest question of all is what Goofy and Donald will look like if they ever get there and if any of us will ever be able to overlook it.
