Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory’s ending revealed some interesting details about Yozora’s homeworld. PLEASE NOTE: There areMASSIVE SPOILERSfor the game and its ending ahead.
According to the currently unnamed female companion of Yozora’s that Sora met in The Final World, this planet’s name is “Quadratum,” but a powerful memory of Master Xehanort held by Kairi claims that Quadratum doesn’t exist in any of the realmsKingdom Heartshas established so far. It’s not in the realm of light, darkness, sleep, or in-between. It’s apparently a “World of Fiction,” and Ansem the Wise believes it exists outside of reality entirely.
Overall, Quadratum sounds a lot like howSquare Enix describesFinal Fantasy 15’s setting. The developer calls it “a fantasy based on reality,” as the game’s setting is a fictional place that takes elements from the real world. Quadratum follows this same formula. It’s modeled after Japan’s Shibuya but doesn’t actually exist — not in the real world and apparently not inKingdom Heartseither.
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The director ofKingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory, Tetsuya Nomura, has already confirmed that Verum Rex (Quadratum) comes from the unused ideas of hisFinal Fantasy Versus 13project, which eventually morphed intoFinal Fantasy 15. Players can easily see the parallels between the two bycomparing oldVersus 13trailers toKingdom Hearts 3 Re: Mind’s endings. It’s hard to miss how much Yozara reflectsFF15’s Noctis.
With all that in mind, it’s hard to believe that the many elements Quadratum shares withFinal Fantasydoesn’t impact the lore ofKingdom Hearts. It’s possible that the World of Fiction might be the realm where some ofKingdom Hearts’Final Fantasycharactersoriginate from, along with characters from other Square Enix properties such asThe World Ends With You(TWEWY). If that’s the case, it would explain quite a few plot threads in the series that don’t have answers yet, and set up plot lines for future games to explore.
Cloud and Sephiroth
No one knows whereCloud and Sephirothare right now. The two fought a climactic battle in the Dark Depths of Radiant Garden inKingdom Hearts 2but disappeared at the fight’s apex in a flash of light. Sora, Donald, and Goofy witnessed the showdown take place, and the consensus between them is that Cloud and Sephiroth returned to their own world to finish what they started.
What’s interesting about this idea is that mostFinal Fantasycharacters come from a world that’s original toKingdom Hearts. For example, every member of the Hollow Bastion Restoration committee hails from Radiant Garden. Wakka, Tidus, and Selphie come from Destiny Islands, and Fuu, Rai, Vivi, and Seifer originate from Twilight Town. Judging by this pattern, if Cloud and Sephiroth aren’t from Radiant Garden, they must be from a different world that’s still original toKingdom Hearts. This rules out Olympus Coliseum because it’s one ofKingdom Hearts' Disney worlds. Cloud and Sephiroth’s presence on it inKingdom Hearts 1just means that they can travel to different worlds at will, same as Cid with his Gummi Ship.
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It’s probably safe to assume that characters like Zack, Tifa, and Auron had the capacity for this as well. In Auron’s case, at least, he probably just woke up in Olympus’s Underworld after dying. As for Tifa, if her homeworld was Radiant Garden, there’s no reason she wouldn’t have appeared inKingdom Hearts 1orKindom Hearts 3 Re: Mind. Since her goal is to reunite with Cloud, she likely comes from the same place he and Sephiroth do.
Cloud and Sephiroth certainly don’t come from Destiny Islands, and it’s highly unlikely they come from Twilight Town. They didn’t come from Traverse Town either because it’s a world for refugees who survived their homeworlds' destruction. The Land of Departure, Daybreak Town, and Scala ad Caelum are out of the question too because they’re hub worlds for Keyblade wielders. That means Cloud and Sephiroth must come from an original world that hasn’t debuted yet, likeQuadratum, for instance.
The duo wouldn’t necessarily be from Quadratum, per se, but if there are other worlds in the World of Fiction, they may come from one of them. However, even if Cloud and Sephiroth don’t come from Quadratum specifically,Kingdom Heartshas featured another set of Square Enix-original characters that likely would instead (or with).
The World Ends With You
Just like Cloud and Sephiroth, it’s unclear whereTWEWYcharacters come from. According to Joshua inKingdom Hearts 3D, he brought3D’s featuredTWEWYcharacters to Traverse Town after their original homeworld disappeared. SinceTWEWYis likeFinal Fantasyin that it’s another guest-starringSquare Enix property, its characters probably follow the same rules, meaning their homeworld inKingdom Heartsis one original to the game, not Disney-based. Still, like Cloud and Sephiroth, none of the worlds explored in the series so far make sense for the group. Quadratum, on the other hand, does.
Shibuya is the setting ofTWEWY, so since Quadratum takes inspiration from the city, it only makes sense that it would be the homeworld ofTWEWYcharacters. Not only that but theKingdom Heartsadaptation of Shibuya’s 109 department store — the one that Sora and Yozora duel on top of — uses the same number change as the one from theTWEWY. InTWEWY, the building displays a 104 sign instead of 109, and theKingdom Hearts 3 Re: MindYozora boss fight stagedoes the same.
TWEWYhas only appeared in oneKingdom Heartsgame, and it’s been eight years since then. However, there’s reason to believe that it will appear in future titles. Square Enix announced aThe World Ends With Youanimeearlier this year, and some of its more recent teases of the franchise suggest that aTWEWYvideo game sequel might be in development as well. Square Enix missed its chance to capitalize onFinal Fantasy 7 Remake’s hype inKingdom Hearts 3 Re: Mindby not including Cloud and Sephiroth, but it’s hard to imagine it would make the same mistake again withTWEWY, especially since the property is getting an anime and possible sequel announcement before the nextKingdom Heartstitle arrives in 2022.
Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memoryis available now for PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
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