Being a die-hard fan of the Kingdom Hearts saga isn't good for the heart. Once again, Square Enix has put its players on quite the emotional rollercoaster. On Wednesday, May 14, the mobile game Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link emerged from months of silence following its launch delay to reveal its cancellation. The community was waiting for news, but certainly not this. It's not a bad thing that the franchise's universe is stopping expanding into related platforms, but the outright disappearance of a title closely linked to Kingdom Hearts IV is not reassuring. In 2022, Missing Link was presented as the next step in the development of the saga's new narrative arc, the famous "Lost Masters Arc". This storytelling importance was reiterated several times by franchise director Testuya Nomura and highlighted during the few beta tests carried out last year. The abandonment of these key elements therefore did not fail to anger the community. Will the restructuring of the Kingdom Hearts IV storyline lead to further delays in development? Square Enix boldly sidesteps the question by releasing new screenshots of the game less than 24 hours into the crisis.
Little context, lots of theories
Once again, the mysterious (if not disastrous) communication of Kingdom Hearts pushes us to settle for crumbs of information because, after all, it's better than nothing. Square Enix has therefore given away seven new screenshots (eight if you count the different shot published on Japanese networks) which are content to present just enough new information to fuel a good number of new theories.
From a purely visual point of view first and foremost, the faces of Sora and Strelitzia (a character originally appeared in the mobile game Union Cross) have been reworked and appear more realistic. The lighting effects also benefit from some adjustments. But it's other details that are already capturing the attention of fans.
The first surprise is also the most obvious: Mickey will be a playable character during a gameplay section in what appears to be Scala ad Caelum, the cradle of all worlds and seat of the Keyblade wielders of old. Indeed, Master Yen Sid sent the King on an expedition there at the end of Melody of Memory, the rhythm game in the franchise. The battle screenshot differs between Western and Japanese networks and also offers some additional clues. Once again, the word “Build” appears in the command menu, suggesting the appearance of a new mechanic likely related to Sora’s new grappling hook. However, it’s the new Heartless that deserve our attention. Aside from the almost disturbing humanoid design of some creatures, others could already be a reference to possible Disney universes.
The enormous gloves are reminiscent of Thanos' Infinity Gauntlet, while the flying monster in the Japanese image could be associated with Meet the Robinsons, a 2007 film that many viewers may have forgotten. The most plausible theory, however, remains that these monsters represent the mechas from the game Verum Rex from the world of Toy Story.
But let's not forget the presence of the black telephone placed right in the middle of the other images, which suggests that this simple object will play a key role in the storyline of Kingdom Hearts IV. Theories already associate it with the "Black Telephone Ritual", a Japanese paranormal legend according to which a black rotary telephone allows travel to another dimension: enough to explain Sora's presence in this realistic world where the barrier between reality and fiction seems to be breaking down. It goes to show that it's only with a franchise as wacky as Kingdom Hearts that such details can already revive so much hype and reflection. Unfortunately, the game's development status and release window will remain a mystery until further notice.
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