A new illustration published to celebrate the 24th anniversary of Kingdom Hearts has some fans’ hopes reignited for a Kingdom Hearts 4 update.
The illustration, posted on the official Kingdom Hearts 4 Twitter account, shows Xehanort holding an umbrella and looking away. He’s also surrounded by clouds, and standing next to purple flowers. This is a sequel illustration, of sorts, to a prior drawing by Kingdom Hearts director Tetsuya Nomura for Kingdom Hearts 4 some years ago, made to celebrate Kingdom Hearts Union: Dark Road.
The illustration came with a message written in Japanese, which was not translated by the English social media account. This message appears to be a thank you to fans for their support, and a note the team is working hard towards the series’ 25th anniversary.
This crumb from the Kingdom Hearts team isn’t much at all, but it has excited numerous Kingdom Hearts fans who have been waiting patiently for official communications about the long-awaited Kingdom Hearts 4. That game was announced as part of the series’ 20th anniversary back in 2022, with very little else coming out about the game in the years following.
“My crumbs are here” wrote Twitter user soya_tsun in response to the post, including a video of series protagonist Sora begging on his knees. ImanIman77502 was more explicit in his frustrations, writing: “At this point this ain’t nothing. Telling me you’re working hard towards the 25th anniversary means we ain’t getting anything until the 25th anniversary. Which would be 5 YEARS after you initially announced it.” Uxian posted a gif of Mickey Mouse slicing a wisp-thin slice of bread to the dismay of Donald and Goofy.
Late last year, Nomura said that both Kingdom Hearts 4 and Final Fantasy 7 Remake were making “great progress”, and a small teaser back in May showing Mickey Mouse also raised hopes significantly. Kingdom Hearts 4 will lead towards a series conclusion so Nomura can retire, he explained in an interview last year.
Whether we’ll see something substantial during the 25th anniversary next year is anyone’s guess, but if progress is being made, and developers are hard at work for this milestone year, who can blame fans for being hopeful yet again.
