Kingdom Hearts' cast of characters has grown massive over its long run as a franchise. Such a large cast can be difficult to keep up with, but the series has done its best to wrap up loose ends for each character’s story. During each development cycle, fans share their hopes for their favorite characters to come back and take action.
However, now thatKingdom Hearts 3has ended the Dark Seeker Saga and a new chapter is beginning, some characters may be left behind. Paying attention to the patterns of the series and how it has evolved, predictions can be made on who’s less likely to show up in any significant way in the next game.
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Final Fantasy Characters
Final Fantasycharacters have been part of the crossover appeal ofKingdom Heartsfor years, but they were almost completely absent fromKingdom Hearts 3. Cid, Aerith, Squall (or Leon), and Yuffie only appeared in theRe:MindDLC in minor roles. Twilight Town characters like Vivi and Seifer were completely absent from the game, and Cloud and Sephiroth were also missing. There were nonewFFcrossover charactersat all inKH3.
Considering the dwindling appearances ofFFcharacters as the series progresses, it seems very unlikely that the existing characters will appear in any significant way inKH4. New crossover characters are even more improbable; the last new addition wasZack inBirth By Sleep.
Yozora and the Verum Rex world as a whole has been understood by fans to essentially be a stand-in forFinal Fantasy 15, and considering all of the similarities betweenYozora and Noctis, that conclusion makes sense. Nomura’s new original characters will most likely take the spotlight over existingFinal Fantasycharacters.
Xehanort Variants
Master Xehanort’s story, theDark Seeker Saga, was meant to end withKingdom Hearts 3. Knowing the franchise’s patterns, andDark Road’s relevance, it’s possible that the youngest Xehanort may show up anyway. However, the other “Norts” are less likely to appear.
Xemnas and Ansem disappeared when defeated, and their sign-offs had an air of finality. Considering they were a Nobody and Heartless respectively, it’s unlikely they’ll reappear as themselves. They most likely went back into the original Master Xehanort, who died in the end. Even though they were interesting characters, the Xehanort saga has come to an end, so bringing them back may complicate things more than necessary.
Kairi and Aqua
Kairi and Aqua are, ostensibly, major characters in theKingdom Heartslore. However, at this point it’s not likely that either character will play a major role in the next game. It seems that every installment of the franchise finds a new way to write Kairi out of an active role; her heart is stolen, broken, or she’s off training.
As ofMelody of Memory,Kairi has taken Aqua as a mentorfor even more training. Considering thatMelody of Memorywas expected to be a Kairi-centric game and that turned out to be untrue, it can be expected that this training will mostly take place offscreen. As such, Aqua will likely also be mostly written out of the story. This doesn’t mean they’ll be completely absent - they’re still relevant characters. But the franchise’s patterns suggest that their screen time will be limited.
The series has a spotty track record when it comes to original female characters. They’re low in number, and they rarely take on active roles. Namine’s new life as an individual person shows some potential for a storyline, but the specifics of what that would be are unclear. Xion’s story has been wrapped up as ofKH3, so it’s unlikely she will be brought back in a major way either.
In terms of who will come back, the end ofUnion Xand theKH3secret ending suggest that the foretellers and Daybreak Town characters will be significant for the upcoming story. Yozora and Verum Rex characters have been set up as important as well. Fans have debated over the plausibility ofThe World Ends With Youcharacters becoming relevant again, and considering the Shibuya setting andTWEWY’s recent resurgence in visibility, the theory does have some weight. For now, all fans can do is wait for moreKH4news.
Kingdom Hearts 4is not confirmed to be in development.
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