New KINGDOM HEARTS 4 Screenshots Officially Released
- Details
- Published on May 15, 2025 @ 01:02 am
- Written by Arielle
The official KINGDOM HEARTS social media account has released brand new screenshots of KINGDOM HEARTS IV following the announcement of the cancellation of KINGDOM HEARTS Missing Link.
We’re currently working hard on Kingdom Hearts IV and will continue pouring ourselves into the game’s development. We’re dedicated to making this an experience that lives up to your expectations! We’ve seen how excited you are, and we are truly grateful from the bottom of our hearts. We are equally excited and can’t wait to share more about Kingdom Hearts IV when the time is right. Until then, we appreciate your patience.
The official Japanese account also shared an alternate image:
COMMENTS
Those heartless are weird!
Missing-Link had to die so we could have the first KH4 news in 1,131 days!
Missing-Link had to die so we could have the first KH4 news in 1,131 days!
Wait!
1 13 1
13
!!!
This surely means it won't be at SGF right? It seems like they're telling us to wait longer than just a month
1131 DAYS I CANNOT BELIEVE
[USER=248371]@Darkspawn[/USER] I THINK THIS IS A GOOD OMEN FOR US
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Good idea of them to show some of KH4, otherwise bitterness over Missing Link would fester. Let some light in!
I wonder what the phone is about. Will Sora getting/making phone calls be plot relevant...?
I wonder what the phone is about. Will Sora getting/making phone calls be plot relevant...?
It's the phone we're going to use when we play the next Kingdom Hearts mobile game.
Are we really getting a trailer in a few weeks?
FOR REAL?!
What I love about having a playable Mickey segment in particular is that it might be an indication that the lore and story will told in a more concise manner in this game. Had this been 10 years ago, the Mickey portions might've been its own game. By the looks of it, it will be much more detailed than the Riku segments in KH3. Am I getting ahead of myself? Absolutely, but f*** it, it looks great.
[USER=248371]@Darkspawn[/USER] I THINK THIS IS A GOOD OMEN FOR US
YASSS! The shifts are seismic!! ????
Are we really getting a trailer in a few weeks?
FOR REAL?!
I am kinda worried about the opposite.
The fact that they released those screenshots now ( I know it's damage control) and the message saying please wait until the time is right, makes me feel it's not going to show up this summer...
Hopefully I am wrong.
It's the phone we're going to use when we play the next Kingdom Hearts mobile game.
I do love that it's an old fashioned phone. With SE including it as an image in this preview, it's almost like they're saying "We get it, no more phone games."
Heartless lookin' like they belong in....
I like all the moving gears Mickey is on. If we ever revisited Gizmo Gallery(Disney Town) I expected it to be bigger and better, looking something like this. Looks like a fun level.
mickey in scala is probably gonna be the prologue this time around (roxas kh2, aqua kh3)
was expecting it to be riku
I like all the moving gears Mickey is on. If we ever revisited Gizmo Gallery(Disney Town) I expected it to be bigger and better, looking something like this. Looks like a fun level.
I do too! A little bit of platforming sounds exciting, and it'll be good to have a bit of a difference to Sora's fast and all over the place movement. I'm intrigued by the orange circle in the top left of the Mickey screenshot too.
I was wondering what those heartless were in the top image on the global twitter but it looks like in the JP version it's obviously those Gigas
Edit: OMG Playable Mickey in SCALA <3
I wonder if he'll play like KH2 mickey
Oh, this is a nice surprise! Those Heartless( I’m assuming) look badass.
It’s one of two scenarios:
A.) They were basically forced to announce ML’s cancellation now because of their financial results meeting and this was a consolation.
B.) They were waiting to announce ML’s cancellation until they could share something about KH4 and this is the teaser before the big reveal-reveal trailer in the coming weeks.
I honestly think B is more likely. I know I’m our resident optimist, but there wasn’t anything in the financial results that spoke toward cancelling ML directly. ML was likely cancelled by the end of March based on certain developers from the game likely looking for work around that time. So why wait until now when we’re just a couple weeks away from SGF and other events?
They’ll also be announcing the SGF partners soon, so we may see SE on the list. They similarly teased Rebirth ahead of its trailer there, so I think it’s at least a possibility that something is coming soon,
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the realistic heartless look creepy as hell
SO FUCKING HYPED
Please lmk when it's decent to create a new when are we expecting news 2.0 ! Sad I wasn't able to post one last reply there
So is Quadratum going to be empty or do NPCs run away when you fight heartless?
Also, Sora wearing a smartwatch lol
the realistic heartless look creepy as hell
I really like the creepiness factor. Really hammers in that Quadratum will probably be different from every world we’ve experienced so far.
So is Quadratum going to be empty or do NPCs run away when you fight heartless?
This was one thing I was always wondering ever since they announced Quadratum. I hope it's latter because I don't want to run around empty city.
YASSS! The shifts are seismic!! ????
TRULY.
This surely means it won't be at SGF right? It seems like they're telling us to wait longer than just a month
If anything, I feel like these screenshots being shared give me more confidence in KH4 showing up at SGF. [S]that and I don’t wanna wait another three years for even a crumb of info[/S]
So is Quadratum going to be empty or do NPCs run away when you fight heartless?
I feel like it’s gonna be like KH3 where there are areas with no NPC’s where you fight Heartless, and areas with NPC’s where no Heartless show up.
San Fransokyo had a nice balance between spots where NPCs talked and spots where Heartless appeared. I imagine they'd be trying to strike that sort of balance again with Quadratum.
It’s one of two scenarios:
A.) They were basically forced to announce ML’s cancellation now because of their financial results meeting and this was a consolation.
B.) They were waiting to announce ML’s cancellation until they could share something about KH4 and this is the teaser before the big reveal-reveal trailer in the coming weeks.
I honestly think B is more likely. I know I’m our resident optimist, but there wasn’t anything in the financial results that spoke toward cancelling ML directly. ML was likely cancelled by the end of March based on certain developers from the game likely looking for work around that time. So why wait until now when we’re just a couple weeks away from SGF and other events?
They’ll also be announcing the SGF partners soon, so we may see SE on the list. They similarly teased Rebirth ahead of its trailer there, so I think it’s at least a possibility that something is coming soon,
As much as I would love it to be B, I am leaning towards A at the moment. If this was all planned, I would have expected them to release the KH4 screenshots right away after announcing ML cancellation yesterday. The fact that they took a day to release it and the way it's messaged feels more like damage control to me.
I really hope it's the case of B....
I feel like it's a bit too early to close the "when" thread
I imagine we as Sora will get to interact with some NPCs before the Heartless invasion starts. Also someone mentioned that the enemies could be Gigas? If so I hope we get those in the Disney worlds as well.
I feel like it's a bit too early to close the "when" thread
Yeah because it's like "when" are we getting more news lol
I imagine we as Sora will get to interact with some NPCs before the Heartless invasion starts. Also someone mentioned that the enemies could be Gigas? If so I hope we get those in the Disney worlds as well.
Yeah I think the big heartless enemies are Gigas, gotta wonder if the human heartless and Darkside are potentially like nanobots masquerading as heartless?
I feel like it's a bit too early to close the "when" thread
This is literally news. Technically speaking, we're always waiting for news but we said we'd close it when we got new KH IV news, and these screenshots aren't even hours old.
If we hit another drought, we'll reopen it or make a new one.
I feel like it's a bit too early to close the "when" thread
Yeah because it's like "when" are we getting more news lol
Make a new one if we get to June's SGF and nothing happens.
SE pulled a GTA 6 news situation before GTA 6
YES. I am so glad they killed off that mobile gachatrash and gave us some screenshots. Yes it is blatant damage control but it is so much better than waiting for some FOMO garbage. Thank you SE, trailer when????????
Holy mother of... I've never had such a surge of mixed emotions in one day. This is incredible! The game looks incredible, Sora and Strelizita's glowup is really noticeable as well. The Heartless designs are definitely a bit odd, but I think they will grow on us after a while. The definitely fit the more realistic aesthetic.
The only downside may be that, from the statement about more news when the time is right, I wonder if that is saying that we may not get another trailer for a while longer, but I'd love to be proven wrong. Still this feels so unreal, actually getting an update after all this time.
This is literally all we wanted. They could have divided this image by 7 and given it to us in pieces over the course of the last year and we'd have been a lot happier. Looks so amazing
As much as I would love it to be B, I am leaning towards A at the moment. If this was all planned, I would have expected them to release the KH4 screenshots right away after announcing ML cancellation yesterday. The fact that they took a day to release it and the way it's messaged feels more like damage control to me.
I really hope it's the case of B....
I think it’s good to give people a little time to process the ML cancellation. It could have been seen as a little disrespectful to drop KH4 stuff right along with that. (I’m sure there will still be some saying it is.) It still all happened within 24 hours and was in the same day for parts of the world.
It’s also worth noting Yuji Horii just had to reiterate DQXII is still in the works but they didn’t provide any screenshots or anything. That seems to further imply that KH4 is probably further along of the two.
It also has a Quadratum-themed command menu. We didn’t have that for KH3 until the Monster’s Inc reveal within a year of the game’s release.
For some reason I find it really strange to see Sora standing around cars. I don't know why. Maybe it's just weird imagining him driving around like a normal person instead of sprinting and jumping everywhere.
I dunno...this just feels kinda...sour to me.
For some reason I find it really strange to see Sora standing around cars. I don't know why. Maybe it's just weird imagining him driving around like a normal person instead of sprinting and jumping everywhere.
Why's that? Cars (not the movie) have been in the KH series since KH2, and you could stand on them in KH3's San Fransokyo.
Is it weird because of the graphics?
I dunno...this just feels kinda...sour to me.
Don't take this the wrong way, but based on prior posting history it feels like no matter what they put out you'd have been sour on it. The screenshots might be small, but this is still a great, and extremely unexpected, surprise today. If you don't vibe it then you don't vibe it, sure.
I dunno...this just feels kinda...sour to me.
I would think that you of all people would be happy to finally get something, but I guess this is the type of reaction you've calibrated yourself to have after years of complaining.
So their hand was forced, huh?
Something about these screens gives me Nier vibes. And I see playable Mickey. ?
not sure why people online saying the game looks unfinished and will release after FVII part 3. this looks clean as hell.
can easily see it releasing around summer next year (july 20) if the rest of the game looks this good.
The Switch 2 is already sweating just looking at those pictures.
I would think that you of all people would be happy to finally get something, but I guess this is the type of reaction you've calibrated yourself to have after years of complaining.
It's the whole circumstance.
ML has had terrible communication attached to it along with the stigma of being a mobile gacha game, then it gets canned, only for KH4 shots to be dropped on the same day.
I can't be happy now when it's clearly damage control even if it's from the cancellation of a game I got incredibly annoyed by.
All I can think about is how things should have gone, how ML's story probably won't be properly told for a long time, all that.
I wanted to see KH4 again after something positive, like ML proving me wrong or something.
I wanted to be wrong.
It's the whole circumstance.
ML has had terrible communication attached to it along with the stigma of being a mobile gacha game, then it gets canned, only for KH4 shots to be dropped on the same day.
I can't be happy now when it's clearly damage control even if it's from the cancellation of a game I got incredibly annoyed by.
All I can think about is how things should have gone, how ML's story probably won't be properly told for a long time, all that.
I wanted to see KH4 again after something positive, like ML proving me wrong or something.
I'll say it again: I don't think this is a healthy place for you to be.
Is it weird because of the graphics?
I guess so. Maybe because the cars, and Sora himself, are so realistic looking. I don’t think it looks bad, just strange in a way I don’t know how to describe.
Random thought: the phone works with Twilight Zone rules and can occasionally get calls from other realities/times/whatever. Sora will get a call from Kairi in the Realm of Light, get a call from a stranger in the Astral Plane, etc.
I’m very happy about these pictures! I loved the Mickey one especially, it was drop-dead gorgeous. You can tell they improved the game visually like, a lot a lot. I’m pretty satisfied with these news!
Won't lie the art direction is terrible. I thought it would look like FF7 Remake/Rebirth but instead it has this odd saturated look; and Quadratum somehow looks worse than it looked in KH3 ReMind. Something tells me that haven't been working on this game over the years.
I basically only lurk here so nobody here knows me lol but the combo of ML being dead (sad about the cutscenes we'll never see but happy overall ✨fuck✨ gacha games) and finally getting some KH4 crumbs single-handedly got me to reset my password and log back in to participate in the community. Was silently hoping the news thread would make it to 300 pages before it got locked but above all else I'm just happy to finally see more KH4. Even if it turns out we're still a ways off from a proper trailer I hope they drip feed us more screenshots even if they're works in progress.
The playable Mickey segment is very interesting and gives me a good feeling about gameplay variety outside of the core gameplay of Sora. That library looks warm and beautiful.
So, what if those two lights opposing the Darkside are actually Donald and Goofy making their grand entrance?
So, what if those two lights opposing the Darkside are actually Donald and Goofy making their grand entrance?
......
Holy shit
I guess so. Maybe because the cars, and Sora himself, are so realistic looking. I don’t think it looks bad, just strange in a way I don’t know how to describe.
Random thought: the phone works with Twilight Zone rules and can occasionally get calls from other realities/times/whatever. Sora will get a call from Kairi in the Realm of Light, get a call from a stranger in the Astral Plane, etc.
It’d be really interesting if it is like a wind phone, which people use to talk with their deceased loved ones.
So, what if those two lights opposing the Darkside are actually Donald and Goofy making their grand entrance?
100% what me and the homies are thinking. I've long been on the train of "Donald and Goofy went to Hades to get yeeted to Sora"
So, what if those two lights opposing the Darkside are actually Donald and Goofy making their grand entrance?
And here I thought Yozora’s militia were shooting missiles at him. ?
So, what if those two lights opposing the Darkside are actually Donald and Goofy making their grand entrance?
!!!!!! Hades murdered them and they died and went to Quadratum!
!!!!!! Hades murdered them and they died and went to Quadratum!
That always felt like what was happening from the trailer.
I was so surprised that years after people still had no idea who was at the end there lmao.
And then Dark Road came through and showed us, hey the Underworld has a connection with the dead Kingdom Hearts characters too!
The writing was on the wall that this would happen.
Fuck James Woods though.
I know these are not happening, and I don’t expect them to, but man with these visual improvements I cannot imagine what a beautiful Atlantis or Treasure Planet world would look like.
Fuck James Woods though.
Absolute facts, no printer.
I think it’s good to give people a little time to process the ML cancellation. It could have been seen as a little disrespectful to drop KH4 stuff right along with that. (I’m sure there will still be some saying it is.) It still all happened within 24 hours and was in the same day for parts of the world.
It’s also worth noting Yuji Horii just had to reiterate DQXII is still in the works but they didn’t provide any screenshots or anything. That seems to further imply that KH4 is probably further along of the two.
It also has a Quadratum-themed command menu. We didn’t have that for KH3 until the Monster’s Inc reveal within a year of the game’s release.
I really hope that's the case...
I personally think it's not as far off as some people on the internet are saying (coming after FF7R part 3)
We got Kingdom Hearts 4 screenshots before Missing-Link....
And with that, Kingdomers, I think it's time to retire that joke forever.
[S]Thank god.[/S]
You guys have got me fucking giggling and kicking my feet over this Donald and Goofy stuff, sincerely shut the fuck up!
If those two lights are the duck and dog I guess it'll be just like the DDD moment, they didn't really know how to travel properly and just fall right onto the monster without meaning to.
We got Kingdom Hearts 4 screenshots before Missing-Link....
And with that, Kingdomers, I think it's time to retire that joke forever.
[S]Thank god.[/S]
We got Kingdom Hearts Missing Link announced and cancelled before GTA6
So, what if those two lights opposing the Darkside are actually Donald and Goofy making their grand entrance?
I'm gonna guess they're Yozora's military shooting the thing. No way would Donald and Goofy have an entrance like that.
They'd be falling from the sky screaming their sounds
I guess the lights could also be some Foretellers, since they apparently can break the rules and bounce between realities.
Imagine once Donald arrives he cast Zettaflare. Only for him to be perfectly fine because he's already dead
!!!!!! Hades murdered them and they died and went to Quadratum!
If he couldn't kill Herc or Sora then I guess the duck and dog are the next best thing
100% what me and the homies are thinking. I've long been on the train of "Donald and Goofy went to Hades to get yeeted to Sora"
You and your homies must be really smart then! ?
I wish I had some homies to talk to right now—just got the forum to share my excitement lol.
In the Mickey screenshot, you can see that the only command option is Attack. This is a reference to how no matter how hard he tries not to, Mickey lashes out at the people closest to him.
And I dunno, guys... I don't think two Foretellers would wildly shoot themselves through the air at the Darkside, with one being a distinctly blue hue and the other being an orange hue with two large feet jutting out. Not a foreteller move.
EXCUSE ME PLAYABLE MICKEY??? HELLO. WOW SQUARE, NOW I'M EXPECTING A NEW TRAILER. GIMME.
Also, yikes, Sora looks WAY more like Noctis than last time. ):
I’m thinking the keychain rail is our first look at the Build command in action considering the meter above Sora’s HUD icon is empty. I don’t think it’s a form change thing since the command menu is normal.
Sora's wearing a smartwatch, hm, something tells me that's gonna be where Build comes into play...
Also is it just me/lighting or is he wearing different shoes in the top screenshot and the bottom?
His entire design has been adjusted, Sora's back to wearing cargo poofy pants like he did in KH3, his necklace is no longer a choker, he's got a watch and his face has been adjusted. Gotta say it's a pretty nice improvement.
Also is it just me/lighting or is he wearing different shoes in the top screenshot and the bottom?
Lighting, looks like a similar effect to KH2 flash step.
OMG we're really living in a timeline where we actually get KH news that isn't merch announcements.
The shoes look the same to me. You can still see the yellow / white banding on the shoe through the blue hue.
---
I'm probably completely misremembering it but the Scala we went to in KH3 was built from a memory in Xehanort's heart right? If so, I'm really intrigued what current day Scala looks like and if it'll be very close to what Missing-Link and the end of Dark Road showed, or if it'll be as white as it was in KH3.
Yellow Bar above "Commands" is probably the Situation Command/Formchange gauge
Item tab showing the overall amount of items before opening is neat.
Why do the shadow heartless look like Sora clones to me?
Why do the shadow heartless look like Sora clones to me?
Could be coincidence. Could be that HE brought the Darkness into Quadratum! Or maybe they're related to Vanitas! The possibilities are endless.
Oh something! We finally have something! I was about to phone it in and leave the fandom because I’m in my bloody 30’s and didn’t want to wait forever, and seven screenshots, SEVEN SCREENSHOTS, is all it took to hook me back in.
Hurray, but also, god damn it!
..The Heartless are very human shaped. What if Quadratum THATS what humans who are turned into Heartless look like???
KH4 casually blowing KH3 out of the water in terms of KH-original locations in SCREENSHOTS is ludicrous, that library is giving Hollow Bastion library
Mickey why are you jumping across chandeliers when there is a staircase right in front of you!?
For some reason I find it really strange to see Sora standing around cars. I don't know why. Maybe it's just weird imagining him driving around like a normal person instead of sprinting and jumping everywhere.
Just wait until Sora IS a car!
Just wait until Sora IS a car!
We could have had it alllllllll
I really want to know how far into dev it was before Cars was cut from KH3.
Mickey why are you jumping across chandeliers when there is a staircase right in front of you!?
you can give him a crown and a kingdom but that doesn't mean he stops being a rodent
I mean these are still screenshots of seemingly one world lol, still going into kh4 with 0 expectations
I mean these are still screenshots of seemingly one world lol, still going into kh4 with 0 expectations
Two worlds
It's not surprising they're focusing on Quadratum since that IS the starting location.
It's not surprising they're focusing on Quadratum since that IS the starting location.
Plus, they'd definitely want to save the hypothetical Star Wars world for a hype inducing trailer.
It's not surprising they're focusing on Quadratum since that IS the starting location.
And it's the game hub that you'll be returning to during the adventure. The majority of the game is likely to take place in Quadratum.
I mean these are still screenshots of seemingly one world lol, still going into kh4 with 0 expectations
My expectations are still low, but happy to get something!
Plus, they'd definitely want to save the hypothetical Star Wars world for a hype inducing trailer.
I'm excited for Star Wars now. If they're following on from the deceased Missing-Links themes, then I imagine bloodlines will be a big theme for KH4. Luke and Vader fit this so well. Hopefully they put Coco in because that works on so many different levels for this game.
I want those lights to be Donald and Goofy, I want them coming in as a realistic duck and dog! Come on Square!
We could have had it alllllllll
I really want to know how far into dev it was before Cars was cut from KH3.
KH3 being robbed of its (tentative) Cars world is such a huge sin. It would have been a new generation's KH2 Lion Sora. It would have been gloriously stupid. And I have to specify it would need to be a full world with combat and not the easy way out of just having it be some racing minigames. I need Car Sora holding a keyblade in his mouth fighting the car heartless from KH2. I need to hear whatever wish.com Owen Wilson soundalike they'd get imitate the Owen Wilson "wow" after tow truck Goofy and forklift Donald explain what Heartless are.
Now with Pixar worlds in KH so far being original stories rather than retellings, the important question is -- would they have done a simple Cars 1/3 sort of thing in Radiator Springs, or a Cars 2-centric unhinged spy story to justify all the action and combat?
One of the SE reps said to be sure to follow the KH Twitter as the only source for “upcoming KH4 updates.” Could easily just be marketing speak, but kinda implies there will be more sooner than later.
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I want those lights to be Donald and Goofy, I want them coming in as a realistic duck and dog! Come on Square!
Hit me with that old trope where Sora hears Donald and Goofy's voice and he turns around to see a hyper realistic dog and duck. He runs over to them, "Donald, Goofy! I can't believe it's you"
*CLUNK*
Sora gets hit in the head with a rock and turns around to see a normal Donald and Goofy standing to the side, Donald angrily tapping his foot and Goofy laughing.
sora is really me he wears a smart watch
Also I can’t get over how much the Heartless remind me of Shades in NieR: Gestalt/Replicant.
Never in all my years did I think this movie would be relevant to Kingdom Hearts…
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One of the SE reps said to be sure to follow the KH Twitter as the only source for “upcoming KH4 updates.” Could easily just be marketing speak, but kinda implies there will be more sooner than later.
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I wonder if this kinda confirms they were waiting on ML for this part of the marketing cycle, and now that that's fucked, they're ok releasing updates again.
Oh this is nice. It reminds me of the discussions and jokes during KH3’s promotion
Hit me with that old trope where Sora hears Donald and Goofy's voice and he turns around to see a hyper realistic dog and duck. He runs over to them, "Donald, Goofy! I can't believe it's you"
*CLUNK*
Sora gets hit in the head with a rock and turns around to see a normal Donald and Goofy standing to the side, Donald angrily tapping his foot and Goofy laughing.
Cue Strelitiza watching the whole thing with a “WTF” expression on her face.
I wonder if the key icon next to attack means Sora has access to weapons that aren't a Keyblade.
I wonder if the key icon next to attack means Sora has access to weapons that aren't a Keyblade.
I'd say "KH1 and KH2 had key icons next to Attack too" but it IS in a diamond with a different arrow compared to the arrow on the left soooooo
Sora uses the phone to travel to different worlds like in The Matrix.
Sora can speak to Riku but only through that single phone.
Sora gets prank called by Elrena and others that would have a grudge against him.
You're right, I forgot about KH2 having a Keyblade icon. Weird that Magic doesn't have a little hat to go with the Key and the Potion icon.
There goes my thought that Unreality doesn't have keychains so you're stuck with the Kingdom Key and you collect various other weapons, like a lightsaber or Héctor's leg.
Still, Mickey doesn't have a Key icon next to his attack so idk. I'm probably reading too much into the UI.
[parsehtml]
The official KINGDOM HEARTS social media account has released brand new screenshots of KINGDOM HEARTS IV following the announcement of the cancellation of KINGDOM HEARTS Missing Link.
We’re currently working hard on Kingdom Hearts IV and will continue pouring ourselves into the game’s development. We’re dedicated to making this an experience that lives up to your expectations! We’ve seen how excited you are, and we are truly grateful from the bottom of our hearts. We are equally excited and can’t wait to share more about Kingdom Hearts IV when the time is right. Until then, we appreciate your patience.
The official Japanese account also shared an alternate image:
i see.
balancing out the monumental disappointing fuck up of the cancellation of ML with an actual kh4 update. a minor, non-video update but an update nonetheless. i see your hustle, square.
albeit it seems they’re still reluctant on providing any sort of timeframe for the next update or release. game may be further away than we thought but at least it hasn’t been cancelled!
really awesome to see these screenshots.
Holy moly! Why does stuff like this happen only when I'm asleep?
But at last the evil has finally been defeated (the drought) and I cannot wait to see the Home on the Range-world in this style.
You're right, I forgot about KH2 having a Keyblade icon. Weird that Magic doesn't have a little hat to go with the Key and the Potion icon.
There goes my thought that Unreality doesn't have keychains so you're stuck with the Kingdom Key and you collect various other weapons, like a lightsaber or Héctor's leg.
Still, Mickey doesn't have a Key icon next to his attack so idk. I'm probably reading too much into the UI.
Sora could use some tri-nunchucks, or twin blades, or a guitar, or punchy punchies, or a motorcycle, or a hat
Holy moly! Why does stuff like this happen only when I'm asleep?
But at last the evil has finally been defeated (the drought) and I cannot wait to see the Home on the Range-world in this style.
yeah it was exactly 2am when these screenshots dropped lmfao. this update was seemingly meant for the west.
speaking of the update: it doesn’t look that much different from the initial update we got some years ago, outside lighting adjustments. sora’s hair is noticeable darker than in the initial trailer (again, could be lighting). strelizia’s fringe is…..fringier?
i’m loving the mini darksides. are the dudes with the giant hands gigas?
praying more updates soon follow.
You're right, I forgot about KH2 having a Keyblade icon. Weird that Magic doesn't have a little hat to go with the Key and the Potion icon.
There goes my thought that Unreality doesn't have keychains so you're stuck with the Kingdom Key and you collect various other weapons, like a lightsaber or Héctor's leg.
Still, Mickey doesn't have a Key icon next to his attack so idk. I'm probably reading too much into the UI.
probably because mickey only has one keyblade equipped
It's a shame the screenshots aren't of a higher quality because there are some upgrades to the graphics over the reveal that are noticeable but trickier to see due to the compression and size of the screenshots.
The materials on Strelitzia's dress have been improved, and her face doesn't look as anaemic as it once did (RIP 0.2 Kairi). Sora's face has changed shape a bit and his hair is darker. The Darkside battle now has darkness growing on the building next to it and the sky has been changed from a flat grey to a more brooding storm with blues and purples in the cloud.
And they gave Mickey a fat ass.
probably because mickey only has one keyblade equipped
Sora had three keyblades equipped in KH3 and didn't have the icon. But then why does having more than one Keyblade equipped make the icon appear? I just find it a bit of a fascinating thing at this stage despite the answer likely being "I wanted an icon there, it looks cool"
probably because mickey only has one keyblade equipped
i feel like the mickey segment will be brief and somewhat scripted like in kh2 and kh3. it’s nice seeing the mouse playable once again but i’m honestly not too interested or hyped about it.
also, i forgot quadratum is actually based off of shibuya so it’s really cool seeing these side by side comparisons.
google street view for the shots below here.
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i feel like the mickey segment will be brief and somewhat scripted like in kh2 and kh3. it’s nice seeing the mouse playable once again but i’m honestly not too interested or hyped about it.
also, i forgot quadratum is actually based off of shibuya so it’s really cool seeing these side by side comparisons.
google street view for the shots below here.
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I thought something jank was going on with the farthest left building in the screenshot, but that’s legit how it is designed irl. Lol ?
‘...when the time is right.’ Well, the time is right about now, Square — show us a new trailer and a release date, pleeeeeease!
Sora stole Scott Lang's tech, huh?
The new screenshots are nice. Really impressive how realistic they look.
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Oh boi, hope that is not true for KH IV, dont wanna wait till I am almost 30 to play another KH game
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Oh boi, hope that is not true for KH IV, dont wanna wait till I am almost 30 to play another KH game
That's just based off of yesterday's financial report that didn't have anything substantial listed in their 3 year reboot plan. The only thing that was properly could gleam from it, I believe, is KH4 won't be out before March 2026.
Man I'm going to be mad if KH4 comes out in 2027.
Finally I can go back to being Luminary!
I’m currently putting my release date prediction at 4/10/26.
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Oh boi, hope that is not true for KH IV, dont wanna wait till I am almost 30 to play another KH game
Definitely not true. Not based on this info at least. The person posting that is misunderstanding what’s going on with SE and basing it off a “leak” that’s already basically been debunked.
They’re already 1 year into the 3 year reboot. People are framing this as if it just started, but that’s incorrect. The plan goes from April 2024-March 2027. But even with that, it doesn’t mean there will be no big games released during that time. But after that point is when they plan to have normalized pipeline of AAA releases.
The graphic even suggests there will be AAA releases in FY 2027 (April 2026-March 2027.)
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Finally I can go back to being Luminary!
I’m currently putting my release date prediction at 4/10/26.
Definitely not true. Not based on this info at least. The person posting that is misunderstanding what’s going on with SE and basing it off a “leak” that’s already basically been debunked.
They’re already 1 year into the 3 year reboot. People are framing this as if it just started, but that’s incorrect. The plan goes from April 2024-March 2027. But even with that, it doesn’t mean there will be no big games released during that time. But after that point is when they plan to have normalized pipeline of AAA releases.
The graphic even suggests there will be AAA releases in FY 2027 (April 2026-March 2027.)
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I was told yesterday that we were one month into the 3 year reboot and I was like "BUT THEY ANNOUNCED THAT OVER A YEAR AGO!?"
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Oh boi, hope that is not true for KH IV, dont wanna wait till I am almost 30 to play another KH game
Oh don't worry, once you reach 30, times start flying faster anyway
If FY 2027 is the proposed release year, then perhaps one may expect a PS6 release as well since rumors claim that the PS6 will release that year too.
I was told yesterday that we were one month into the 3 year reboot and I was like "BUT THEY ANNOUNCED THAT OVER A YEAR AGO!?"
Right like this nothing new! I think because ML was cancelled, people are confused that the big content write off and restructure just happened. But we’re over a third of the way through. The graphic even shows we have two years left before it’s over. Lol
If FY 2027 is the proposed release year, then perhaps one may expect a PS6 release as well since rumors claim that the PS6 will release that year too.
It probably wouldn’t release until Fall 2027 at the earliest. FY2027 ends in March, so PS6 will likely be FY2028 or 2029.
PS6 can wait its turn. I barely have any PS5 games that take advantage of the console (and likely never will ?) and with the Pro costing $1200 a PS6 is going to be hella more expensive.
Some people more in the know than me (which is a lot of people, I'll admit!) say internally FFVII-3 is aiming for 2028 so there is quite a bit in SE's schedule to fill up from March 2026 onwards, if they will have stuff ready to go.
Mickey too...
Now we really need to see a Trailer this summer. But maybe it's too soon?
Anyway, everyone know that the release is far away.
It's more like 2027. But hey, the year is made by 12 months! So, January is better than December...
But there is also FF VIIR Part 3, so which comes first?
Sora looks majestic.
The screenshots look great! I'm on team 2026-January 2027 now
(curious on what they'll do for KH's 25th if IV is released before then).
I know this was definitely damage control, but I'm hoping we'll get at least
one more update before the end of the year or a lengthy Nomura interview.
It feels so good to finally see how the game’s progressing after such a long time!
I'm thinking at some point, Mickey will run into trouble in Scala with either one of the Foretellers or Pete
and Maleficent catching him snooping around there for info they don’t want him to tell Yen Sid and the others.
might buy Ps5 pro soon before the potential price increase
Oh yeah, if Mickey is in Scala it be nice if he ran into a reformed Elrena and Laurium. Luxord is probably too busy chauffeuring the Commander around and who knows where Demyx is currently.
RIP THREAD
I promised myself I would not get too hype over KH4 like I did with KH3. But crap! The level of detail in that scala screenshot (I thought it was TT at first too!) Looks so good! Eagerly awaiting the next trailer
This has been the best 24 hours on the forums in a long time.
I still haven't bought a PS5 since I don't play a whole lot of games besides indie stuff, been waiting until KH4 comes out. At this point, it might actually be feasible for me to just wait for the PS6. Or just play it with very low settings on my laptop or Steam Deck.
This has been the best 24 hours on the forums in a long time.
This has been the liveliest 24 hours on the forums in a long time.??
lets savor these past 24hrs! light above darkness!
This has been the liveliest 24 hours on the forums in a long time.??
And that was due to only a few screenshots. When we eventually get another trailer the forum is going to get wild.
OMG HELLO??? What an amazing thing to wake up to ?
It looks absolutely INCREDIBLE!! I‘ll admit I was a little scared of KH4 leaning more into realistic graphics but I have to say I like the stylization! Also Sora looks SO CUTEE he‘s still my little bean
I love the implication of the Mickey screenshot. I hope we‘ll jump from character to character a lot more this time
And that was due to only a few screenshots. When we eventually get another trailer the forum is going to get wild.
I’ll give it another 1424 days.?
I really think these are screen captures from a trailer. They just seem a lot more like the kind of screenshots we would get for KH3 after new trailers, especially with the gameplay. When they would share a random screenshot during KH3’s development, they were more carefully posed and framed like an intentional photograph. Likely taken directly from the dev build of the game where they can manipulate the character models, remove UI, etc. Like this one:
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But the KH4 gameplay screens look more like someone took a screenshot from the trailer they’d been provided and had to make the best out of what they got. Since the fight is meant to be seen in motion for the trailer, these screenshots aren’t going to look as perfectly clean.
I really think these are screen captures from a trailer. They just seem a lot more like the kind of screenshots we would get for KH3 after new trailers, especially with the gameplay. When they would share a random screenshot during KH3’s development, they were more carefully posed and framed like an intentional photograph. Likely taken directly from the dev build of the game where they can manipulate the character models, remove UI, etc. Like this one:
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But the KH4 gameplay screens look more like someone took a screenshot from the trailer they’d been provided and had to make the best out of what they got. Since the fight is meant to be seen in motion for the trailer, these screenshots aren’t going to look as perfectly clean.
It's funny you think that because I thought it looked like it was a quick screenshot of a page on an internal shareholder PDF ?
I love the color of the sky in Quadratum. It is bright, but it's a little hazy. The global lighting keeps it from seeming like a fun, sunny day in Japan. It looks still, desolate, and jarring, like this is not the place Sora should be, and that something is very wrong in Kingdom Hearts
I'm nuts for the idea of it, because once we finally get to go to a Disney world it's going to be like an HDR kick in the face
i saw that there was two versions of some screenshots, namely the one where sora' riding on a chain and the mickey one where he's on top of a chandelier. albeit the latter is far more subtle.
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it's due to this that i believe these shots provided to us came from direct gameplay footage, rather than a trailer. because why not just use the exact same screenshots to share with us?
i saw that there was two versions of some screenshots, namely the one where sora' riding on a chain and the mickey one where he's on top of a chandelier. albeit the latter is far more subtle.
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it's due to this that i believe these shots provided to us came from direct gameplay footage, rather than a trailer. because why not just use the exact same screenshots to share with us?
They have been doing it since KH3 days. If you check KH3 gameplay screenshots,it's like this as well.
I think Nomura said they capture directly from both versions (JP and EN) and show it's real gameplay capture as well as just a little fun comparison of those shots.
i saw that there was two versions of some screenshots, namely the one where sora' riding on a chain and the mickey one where he's on top of a chandelier. albeit the latter is far more subtle.
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it's due to this that i believe these shots provided to us came from direct gameplay footage, rather than a trailer. because why not just use the exact same screenshots to share with us?
One would be from the English trailer and one would be from the JP trailer. When capturing gameplay footage from the two respective trailers, it’s not going to look 100% the same.
It's funny you think that because I thought it looked like it was a quick screenshot of a page on an internal shareholder PDF ?
Something like that would probably look more like this, highlighting sales figures, etc.
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Not sure how privy the social media team is to the names of things within KH4, but the alt tag on their Bluesky post says they are heartless and the big one is a Darkside.... so I guess we continue calling it that for now! Nothing changes from the last three years of calling it a Darkside!
This picture features a collage of screenshots from the upcoming Kingdom Hearts IV. The top screenshot features Sora gliding on a golden chain, with the Keyblade in tow, whilst fighting heartless in the streets of Quadratum. The middle row consists of three screenshots, the first photo features a smiling Strelitzia, followed by a small photo of a telephone, and finally a photo of the King, Mickey Mouse, in a vast library adorned with golden lights. The bottom row also consists of three screenshots, the first features the heartless, Darkside, in Quadratum with two lights descending upon it. The following screenshot features Sora faced away from us looking at a blinding light while in the middle of a street. The last screenshot features a close up of Sora from the front staring at the light with a white car behind him. |
Something like that would probably look more like this, highlighting sales figures, etc.
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Well that's a public one. Internals that's not suppose to be seen are usually different, at least they have been at my workplaces. They look more like the collage when delivering visuals in one go, especially if it's a slide show too.
i saw that there was two versions of some screenshots, namely the one where sora' riding on a chain and the mickey one where he's on top of a chandelier. albeit the latter is far more subtle.
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it's due to this that i believe these shots provided to us came from direct gameplay footage, rather than a trailer. because why not just use the exact same screenshots to share with us?
Yeah initially I was feeling hopeful copium about this being evidence of a trailer incoming soonish but now at least we know they are grabbing footage for marketing (even if the trailer doesn’t materialise next month).
Maybe….65% chance we get a new trailer next month/SGF? Exciting times.
Not sure how privy the social media team is to the names of things within KH4, but the alt tag on their Bluesky post says they are heartless and the big one is a Darkside.... so I guess we continue calling it that for now! Nothing changes from the last three years of calling it a Darkside!
the small ones are heartless?? here i thought they were mini darksides ?
but wow, they're much more creepy looking than normal. that's that realism putting in the work!
I'm wondering what will happen to the plot of Missing link if the game is canceled. Considering that the plot of this game was important for KH4.
Well that's a public one. Internals that's not suppose to be seen are usually different, at least they have been at my workplaces. They look more like the collage when delivering visuals in one go, especially if it's a slide show too.
Maybe, but even if the collage itself was used for a shareholder memo, that doesn’t mean the individual screenshots weren’t captured from a trailer for that collage. Both can be true.
But I also don’t think this was a last minute decision to release these either. ML’s been cancelled since at least March most likely considering that’s when the lead programmer put himself out there for new job opportunities. So it seems to me they were sitting on the cancellation announcement until they were ready to give us something to make up for it.
Hypothetically, this would be about the time a trailer would be ready for SGF, a late May PlayStation event, etc. So with that ready, they announce the ML cancellation now, drop a few screenshots from the KH4 trailer to lessen the blow, and then most of us will have moved on from ML by the time the full KH4 trailer drops in a few weeks.
Maybe, but even if the collage itself was used for a shareholder memo, that doesn’t mean the individual screenshots weren’t captured from a trailer for that collage. Both can be true.
But I also don’t think this was a last minute decision to release these either. ML’s been cancelled since at least March most likely considering that’s when the lead programmer put himself out there for new job opportunities. So it seems to me they were sitting on the cancellation announcement until they were ready to give us something to make up for it.
Hypothetically, this would be about the time a trailer would be ready for SGF, a late May PlayStation event, etc. So with that ready, they announce the ML cancellation now, drop a few screenshots from the KH4 trailer to lessen the blow, and then most of us will have moved on from ML by the time the full KH4 trailer drops in a few weeks.
Right, sorry. I interpreted what you said as they took the screenshots from gameplay and put it onto the collage to share. I was saying that I thought that had already happened but it was for something internal that they then made external as a quick fix for the Missing-Link news.
Just a communication issue, sorry again.
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Chaser
May 15, 2025 @ 01:11 amOffline