Kingdom Hearts 4 Just Gave Us A Small, But Life-Sustaining Teaser
Tease after tease.
Kingdom Hearts 4 was officially revealed in 2023, and fans have since been devouring every little bit of info they can. Unfortunately, there hasn’t been much of it, as Square Enix has been radio silent — until now. To celebrate the 15th anniversary of Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep, series creator and writer Tetsuya Nomura released a fascinating special message. Not only does he break down where one of Kingdom Hearts’ core themes comes from, but he also gives us a very small but potentially important tease for Kingdom Hearts 4. At this point, we’ll take anything.
Because we’re talking Kingdom Hearts, some background is needed. In the statement released on X, Nomura says he was asked to provide an anecdote about the development of Birth By Sleep. He talks about the very first teaser for the game, which was a secret movie that could be unlocked at the end of Kingdom Hearts 2. In it, we see three armored figures at a crossroads, who we eventually came to know as Terra, Ventus, and Aqua.
Kingdom Hearts 2’s secret ending was mystifying, but in retrospect, it set up Birth By Sleep well.
Nomura says the idea of a “crossroads” is a core theme of Kingdom Hearts, and always functions as a point of “divergence.” In an intriguing detail, Nomura says this motif was inspired by a famous tale from American folklore, largely known as the Deal with the Devil. You know the gist of it: a young man encounters the devil and exchanges his soul for wealth or a talent, often mastery of the guitar. It’s inspired stories like Tenacious D: The Pick of Destiny.
“The first time a crossroads appears in Kingdom Hearts is in Chain of Memories, which is about losing something to gain something,” says Nomura. “In fact, all subsequent appearances of crossroads have the same significance. The greatest example is in Birth By Sleep: a story where all three protagonists pay a heavy price to obtain something.”
That brings us to where the series is now, and how this theme of paying a price was seen again in Kingdom Hearts 3, when Sora sacrifices himself to bring his friends back and set the timeline right. This is where Nomura’s tease comes in.
“But wait... when the Lost Masters gather at the crossroads in KH3, what is gained and what is lost? That’s a story for another time,” Nomura says.
A mysterious black box pops up throughout Kingdom Hearts 3, and in the secret ending we see if come into the possession of the Lost Masters.
Much like the secret ending that revealed Birth By Sleep, Kingdom Hearts 3 has a tantalizing secret finale that sets up the next game. Without getting too deep into the series’ tangled lore, the Lost Masters are an ancient group who once protected the worlds from darkness, but ended up fighting among themselves. They’re led by the Master of Masters, a bizarre, enigmatic figure who’s seemingly pulled most of the strings behind the entire franchise’s story, and who predicted the conflict between Xehanort and Sora in his Book of Prophecies.
The mobile game Kingdom Hearts Unchained X chronicles the story of the Lost Masters, and ends with one of them, Ava, sacrificing herself to try changing fate. There’s a lot more to it, and dozens of fan theories about all the complicated details, but that’s the basics. Yes, this is still the same series where you hang out with Goofy and Mickey Mouse.
That secret ending in KH3 shows the Lost Masters returning to life and meeting the Master of Masters at a crossroads where he waits with a mysterious Black Box. We don’t know their goals or the box’s contents, but something is being put into motion. Nomura’s tease suggests this group had to sacrifice something — that could refer to losing Ava, or it could even refer to losing Sora, who’s now been wiped from existence. Maybe Sora is the sacrifice the Lost Masters needed to gain untold power, and whatever lies inside the Black Box — a subject that’s also invited dozens of fan theories.
Another interesting detail comes with the second secret ending of Kingdom Hearts 3, where we see Sora and Riku wandering around the mysterious city Quadratum, which will be featured in Kingdom Hearts 4, and looks suspiciously like Tokyo. We see both characters staring up at buildings while they stand at a literal crossroads, with Sora in what appears to be Shibuya Scramble. There’s a lot to chew on.
That idea of “crossroads” is an interesting match for all the teases we’ve had for Kingdom Hearts 4.
Nomura has previously said Kingdom Hearts 4 will kick off the “Lost Masters” arc of the franchise, so we know they’ll be vital, and perhaps even the main villains. That tiny little statement raises some big questions about what the Lost Masters are gaining, and how the nature of whatever they’re planning requires sacrifice.
It’s the kind of detail fans will likely theorize about until we get our next scrap of information months from now. While there’s plenty to think about, we’ll have to wait for Kingdom Hearts 4 to really assemble the pieces of the jigsaw Nomura is teasing.
