Operation Backlog Completion 2025

We Got a Tiny Update on Kingdom Hearts IV and Final Fantasy VII Remake Part 3

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Sep 052025
 

Earlier today, there was a Japanese-only live stream for Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis, the mobile game I tried briefly before its gacha-ness got to me and I quit.

Anyway, during the broadcast, Nomura addressed two games that have been on everyone’s minds.

According to the translation from Gematsu, he said the third part of the Final Fantasy VII Remake is “progressing really smoothly” and “the release timing has already been decided.”

As for Kingdom Hearts IV, he said it’s “steadily moving forward according to schedule.”

The last time we got an update on Kingdom Hearts IV was when Missing Link got cancelled back in May, which I’m not sure we ever talked about. Square Enix followed the announcement with a couple new Kingdom Hearts IV screenshots to balance the bad news with some good.

Just from the way Nomura responded to the questions, I’d guess the third Final Fantasy VII Remake game is further along than Kingdom Hearts IV. It sounds like they’re just waiting for the right time to announce it.

I’m nowhere near ready to play that yet, since I never got around to playing Rebirth. On the other hand, I’ll jump on Kingdom Hearts IV as soon as it comes out. Maybe it’s a good thing for my backlog that we don’t have a release date for it yet.

Anyway, while it would have been nice to get more substantial news, at least we know things are going well. Maybe we’ll hear more during TGS?

Information from the Kingdom Hearts Missing Link Beta Test is Intriguing

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May 062024
 

The last time we talked about Kingdom Hearts: Missing Link, the upcoming new Kingdom Hearts mobile game, we still had a lot of questions.

Now details are coming out of the Missing Link closed beta test, and it sounds pretty intriguing.

As someone who is mostly interested in the story, I was eager to check out new footage from the beta now that there’s story content.

The current story introduces us to Nept, Remus, and Freya, who belong to a group called the Baroque Society. We also see two sinister figures dressed in black who seem to have manipulated guards into trying to apprehend the main character and Remus. While it’s a small amount of story, it’s enough to make me want to know more.

Everyone’s speculating about the two silver-haired figures and any potential connection to Xehanort they might have, but I’m also curious about whether there’s a reason Nept and Remus have broken away from the Norse naming conventions used by the Scala ad Caelum characters so far.

Gameplay-wise, I’m impressed that there’s a full 3D city to explore and character customization of the character model. It looks like a huge step up from the previous mobile games.

Unfortunately, it’s still a gacha. When I look at Missing Link, I can’t help but wish it was just a smaller-scale console game instead of a gacha mobile game.

Oh, and we have an answer to our question about how it can be a GPS game that also lets you play without leaving home. It seems that if you play from home, you have to spend AP to do anything. If you play in GPS Mode, however, you earn AP instead of spending it. So it sounds like you’re greatly rewarded for using the GPS features and walking around with the game.

The only recent gacha game I’ve managed to stick with for more than a few minutes is Love and Deepspace, and I don’t go out and about often enough for the GPS feature to appeal to me. On the other hand, Kingdom Hearts has an advantage over many mobile games since I’m already invested in the overall story. KHUX and Dark Road both had great stories (too good to be trapped in now-offline mobile games), and Missing Link’s few story details already have my interest.

Are you looking forward to Kingdom Hearts: Missing Link? Are you planning to play it? What do you think of the new characters introduced so far?

Let’s Talk About the Kingdom Hearts Missing Link Trailer

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Nov 062023
 

Last week while we were finishing up our Halloween celebration, Kingdom Hearts Missing Link finally made another appearance.

We haven’t talked about the upcoming mobile game Missing Link since last December, when the key art was revealed.

All year long, Missing Link has been… well, missing. But not anymore!

After the Twitter account was updated on October 26, a new trailer followed on October 30 with a 2024 release window, along with the announcement of a closed beta test for the United Kingdom and Australia.

My first takeaway from this trailer is that Missing Link is beautiful. It looks like it should be a console game. This also looks like the explorable Scala ad Caelum I’ve been hoping for ever since Kingdom Hearts III.

Meanwhile, I’m still somewhat puzzled about how this game will actually play. We can see action RPG combat in the trailer, and the “character pieces imbued with powers” look like how the gacha aspect will factor into the gameplay, as they appear to provide different types of attacks. But the GPS part is still unclear.

Missing Link is a “GPS Action RPG,” which would make me think of something like Pokémon Go, but then the trailer says you can “travel the world without stepping outside.” So it seems like it uses real-world map data, but you can still play from home.

Story-wise, I’m not sure what to make of it either. Based on everything we know, Missing Link takes place in between KHUX and Dark Road. The end of the trailer describes it as “the blank era, one that will eventually be forgotten,” which is certainly interesting.

I’m curious about Missing Link’s story, but I don’t have a good track record with mobile games. I still haven’t played Ever Crisis since the last time we discussed it. Missing Link sure is beautiful, though.

Are you interested in Kingdom Hearts Missing Link?

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