We got a major new surprise announcement last week when Square Enix decided to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Kingdom Hearts with the official announcement of Kingdom Hearts 4. Though the game is currently in early development and ways off from launch, some interesting details on it have come through since then.
Recently, director Tetsuya Nomura also revealed some interesting new details on Quadratum in an interview with Famitsu. The main setting for Kingdom Hearts 4’s story, Quadratum is a world with a metropolitan look and aesthetic inspired by Tokyo. Nomura says Quadratum is “similar to an afterworld” for Sora, as well as other characters from the original world that he came from, though to the people living in it, it’s the real world. Nomura describes it as “the other side”.
“I think the theme of this project will be the contrast between those who are in such different positions,” he said (translated by IGN).
Interestingly, Nomura has also revealed that while Sora will have a realistic look (as we saw in the trailer) when he’s in Quadratum, when he returns to his original world, he’ll have a different aesthetic, similar to Donald and Goofy.
Kingdom Hearts 4 is in development using Unreal Engine 5. Square Enix hasn’t announced any platforms or launch window for the game. Interestingly, it seems the game’s reveal trailer hinted at a Star Wars crossover- read more on that through here.