Many fan-favorite franchises now fall under the Disney umbrella, and that has a lot of exciting potential for theKingdom Heartsseries. The game series is already a strange union between various Disney properties and Square Enix’sFinal Fantasycharacters and design. One of the most interesting possibilities for franchises that could theoretically be incorporated intoKingdom HeartsisStar Wars. Its universe is enormous, so compiling that into a single level could be tough, butKingdom Heartsalready has a lot of inspiration from the classic sci-fi franchise so the union would make sense.
Excitement about what elements will make theirway intoKingdom Hearts 4is already high.KH3drew some backlash from longtime fans over certain design decisions, but was by no metric a ‘bad game.’ One thing that’s seemed clear since its release is that Square Enix has listened to what fans had to say. IncludingFinal Fantasycharacters in the story DLC went a long way, and it’s exciting to see some elements ofVersus 13rearing their heads. One thing that’s got fans most excited is the potential for properties like Marvel andStar Warsto make their way into the nextKingdom Heartsgame.
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Bringing Star Wars into Kingdom Hearts
Kingdom Heartsalready wears some strongStar Warsinfluences on its sleeve. The prequel gameBirth by Sleepvery much mirrored the story of Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Ahsoka. Terra, the most powerful of the young Keyblade warriors, is being drawn to darkness while his mentor and oldest friends fight to help him resist the temptation. The themes of light versus darkness are prevalent in both stories, and that the battle is generational. While there are many newerDisney films and media to explore inKingdom Hearts, but it could work out very well to take a look back at the variousStar Warsproperties withKingdom Hearts.
The first thing that pops into most fans minds when considering adaptingStar Warsinto theKingdom Heartsworld is the sheer breadth of the former’s universe.Star Warsis full of alienworlds and galaxy-spanning conflict, so condensing that might be tough. The formatKingdom Heartshas used for years is unlikely to change too drastically for the next game. Generally, Sora and his friends travel from world to world, with each world being based around a different Disney property likeThe Lion KingorMulan.Star Warsin-and-of-itself is full of hundreds of worlds, so one iconic location would need to be chosen unless the formula is changed.
TheStar Warsfranchise is important to a lot of fans, so making the right choice of which world to explore would be critical for it to appear inKingdom Hearts. The obvious worlds that jump to mind for a good setting would be Tatooine or Coruscant. Each could deliver a lot of the environmental charm that makesStar Warsspecial, like the vast wilderness juxtaposed with the crowded market streets of Mos Eisley on Tattooine, or the sheer verticality and high sci-fi aesthetic of Coruscant. It’s more likely that Tatooine would end up being the decision, but that choice has more weight depending on which time period ofStar Warsthat Square Enix decides to explore inKingdom Hearts.
Just like its myriad of locations,Star Warshas a lengthy history with critically important time periods to possibly use. The lasting popularity of theClone Warsera withshows likeThe Bad Batchand references to its impact inThe Mandalorianwould make it a prime candidate. But of course, the original trilogy still serves as the bedrock for the rest of the franchise. That being said, it’s more likely that the tone of theClone Warsshow would mesh better withKingdom Hearts,and could set up further adventures in subsequent games. Either way, fans would undoubtedly be very excited to seeStar Warsmake its way intoKingdom Heartsin the future.
