Operation Backlog Completion 2026

Kingdom Hearts IV Really Was Announced!

 Video games  4 Responses »  Tagged with: , , , ,
Apr 112022
 

It actually happened!

Sure, I had Kingdom Hearts IV on my list of hopes and predictions for the weekend’s anniversary celebration, but I thought the best we could hope for was a title.

Instead, Square Enix officially announced Kingdom Hearts IV with a trailer and screenshots!

It is apparently part of the Lost Master Arc, so it seems we now have a title for the new story arc now that the Dark Seeker Saga is complete.

This news came as part of an anniversary trailer that also included an update about the finale of Dark Road, which is now set for August and looks like it should be quite exciting story-wise, as well as the announcement of a new mobile game called Missing Link.

(Kingdom Hearts IV starts at 4:06 in the trailer.)

Kingdom Hearts Missing Link appears to be set after the events of Union Cross. Despite being a mobile game, this one is 3D. It looks interesting, but I’m sure it will be another gacha game. A beta test for Missing Link will take place this year.

The Kingdom Hearts IV trailer begins with Sora waking up in Quadratum, which looks very much like our real world. Not only that, but Strelitzia is there with him! She refers to it as an “afterworld” for herself and Sora, which makes me wonder if people who die (or perhaps die in certain circumstances?) end up in Quadratum for some reason.

A giant Heartless appears in the streets, and Sora fights it. It actually shows gameplay for this part, although that might just be for demonstration purposes.

After the fight scene, we see two figures in black coats observing from above. Yes, two. One of them is probably the Master of Masters, but I’m curious about who the other is. Luxu shouldn’t be there, right? Luxord, maybe, or his Somebody?

The trailer ends with Donald and Goofy walking through a dark place before being confronted by someone indicated by blue fire, which probably means it’s Hades. (I’ve seen people say it sounds like his Japanese voice actor, too.) That would line up with the idea that they’re looking for help because Sora is “dead.”

Kingdom Hearts IV doesn’t have a release window yet, although I bet it won’t be as long as people are joking. I’m excited for this next game in the saga, and I can’t wait to learn more!

What are your thoughts on Kingdom Hearts Missing Link and Kingdom Hearts IV?

Hopes and Predictions for the Kingdom Hearts 20th Anniversary Event

 Video games  4 Responses »  Tagged with: ,
Apr 082022
 

It’s almost upon us: the Kingdom Hearts 20th Anniversary event will take place this weekend.

There won’t be any live stream to watch, but if any exciting information is revealed, we should hear word from people attending the event in person.

On March 28, the actual anniversary itself, Nomura shared the in-progress 20th anniversary art being prepared for the event. That’s all we know, but of course there are plenty of hopes and predictions.

So here are some possibilities for what could come out of the anniversary event…

Kingdom Hearts Steam Ports

This feels like the most likely prediction to me. The Kingdom Hearts series came to PC last year, but only via the Epic Games Store. Since other EGS exclusive have had exclusivity periods of a year, a lot of people think Steam versions could be announced soon.

That doesn’t personally matter to me too much, but I know many fans are hoping for it, and it seems like the safest bet.

Dark Road Finale Update

When Kingdom Hearts: Dark Road went offline, we were supposed to get the conclusion to the story in a finale update later on. However, the conclusion was delayed to winter, and then delayed again, this time due to a “major scenario addition.”

I’m not the biggest fan of mobile games, but I was interested in Dark Road’s story. I’m looking forward to when we finally get that finale update, so here’s hoping some news is on the way.

Next Kingdom Hearts Game

Finally, the least-likely-yet-not-impossible prediction for the anniversary event is the announcement of the next entry in the Kingdom Hearts series. They did say 2022 would be a good year for Kingdom Hearts, and we’re getting far enough along to hope for at least a teaser of the next game.

Kingdom Hearts 4 was also on the list from the Nvidia leak, which so far has proven to be pretty accurate. I don’t know if the next game will actually be Kingdom Hearts 4, but that lends support to the idea.

I’d absolutely love it if the next entry in the series was announced during the 20th Anniversary celebration.

Of course, there’s also the fear of another mobile game being announced…

What do you think will happen at the Kingdom Hearts 20th Anniversary event? Will one of these announcements be made? Will something entirely different be announced? Will there be no game-related news at all? We’ll find out soon enough.

Let’s Talk About Yurukill: The Calumniation Games

 Video games  2 Responses »  Tagged with: ,
Apr 062022
 

One upcoming game we haven’t talked about yet that has intrigued me for a while now is Yurukill: The Calumniation Games.

As described on the official website, you play a character falsely accused of killing 21 people, now imprisoned and forced to play a game to win your freedom.

It’s a mystery game that features puzzles, cross-examinations, and…

…shoot ’em up segments.

That’s the one thing that has kept me from making up my mind about Yurukill just yet. The story and overall style looks like my sort of thing, and I like that sort of death game/escape game premise, but I’ve never been a big shoot ’em up fan.

Still, it’s an unusual combination and the game seems pretty interesting. A new story trailer came out today, which is what caught my attention.

It will be out on May 25 in Japan, July 5 in North America, and July 8 in Europe, for PS5, PS4, and Switch, with a PC version to follow sometime as well.

What do you think of Yurukill: The Calumniation Games? Are you planning to pick it up?

(In unrelated news, the replacement of the broken mobile Phoenix Wright Trilogy with a better port has now been confirmed for the west as well, but I didn’t think that warranted its own post.)

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