Summary
The wait forKingdom Heartsnews continues, with the upcoming mobile gameKingdom Hearts: The Missing Linkset for an unspecified 2024 release date, andKingdom Hearts 4remaining quiet. It appears the Square Enix and Disney crossover series is taking its time to prepare the new Lost Master Arc, with the results hopefully being worth the wait.Kingdom Hearts Dark Road’s final offline update in August 2022 was the last addition to theKingdom Heartsfranchise, a far cry from the many spin-offs and collections bridging the long gap betweenKH2andKH3.
At least revisiting or getting intoKingdom Hearts’ backlog has never been easier. Thanks to theStory So Farcompilation, players can easily experience the entirety ofKingdom Hearts’ Dark Seeker Saga. How much of it will be necessary forKingdom Hearts 4, as well as how much of areboot it will be forKingdom Hearts, is still unknown, but it should be worth playing regardless. Going back through the series will also bring a lot of extra plot threads to light, and whileKH3tried to wrap some up beforeKingdom Hearts 4, there’s at least one with enough material left for a whole other game.
Kingdom Hearts 4 Won’t Show Birth by Sleep Much Love
Several questions are tied into the lead-up toKingdom Hearts 4, including how Sora will return from Quadratum, who Subject X and the Nameless Star are, and what the resurfaced Foretellers are doing. These could all beanswered within the scope ofKingdom Hearts 4, but there’s one outstanding detail that might not make the cut.Kingdom Hearts 3 ReMind’s extended epilogue shows Riku seeing off the Wayfinder Trio of Aqua, Terra, and Ventus as they depart to look for Sora. However, it isn’t clear what theBirth by Sleepprotagonists could add toKH4, asKingdom Hearts’ mainline regulars are already doing everything from researching Scala ad Caelum to traveling to Quadratum themselves.
A New Birth by Sleep Would Be The Wayfinder Trio’s Ideal Destination
While efforts to limitKingdom Hearts 4’s cast and focus on its new setting are understandable,Birth by Sleep’s playable leads have enough untapped potentialto head up another game by themselves. As this would technically be the third one following the PSP original andKingdom Hearts 0.2: Birth by Sleep - A Fragmentary Passage, it probably wouldn’t just be calledBirth by Sleep 2, but it could serve a similar setting-building function. Aqua, Terra, and Ventus’ experiences after their original game would justifiably leave all three of them at level one again, while also giving them new character arcs to tackle.
How A Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep 2 Could Work
Ventus is the easiest to build around, to the point where he could be the Sora to Aqua and Terra’s Donald and Goofy. He is the only member of the Wayfinder Trio to not have even attempted a Mark of Mastery exam, and reuniting withhis Chirithy from theKingdom Hearts Union Crosserapoints to a storyline involving that game’s various time travelers. It could do anything from reveal when Skuld or Ava ended up, to expose the true nature of Vanitas, and the present Foretellers could easily get involved as villains.
Kingdom Hearts Has Already Laid Out Directions For BBS’ Characters
Meanwhile, Terra still technically needs to finish his Mastery exam, verify his inner darkness is under control like his successor Riku, and generally attempt to patch things up with his friends. All of this would coincide with Aqua dealing with any lingering trauma from her years in the Realm of Darkness, and her duties as a Master,specifically teaching Kairi post-Melody of Memory, changing her dynamic in the group. This transitional period holds the perfect setup for a newKingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleepgame, and hopefully that’s whatKingdom Heartshas in store for these wandering heroes.
Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
WHERE TO PLAY
KINGDOM HEARTS Birth by Sleep: Destiny is never left to chance.Play as Terra, Ventus, and Aqua - three friends with a common dream who find themselves in the middle of a crisis affecting worlds far beyond their own. Their destinies will unfold across memorable Disney worlds in three intertwining stories. Secrets will be unraveled and friendships will be tested. The KINGDOM HEARTS saga starts here.
