Kingdom Hearts fans thought they got the big surprise on D23’s opening night. Turns out, Square Enix was holding back.
After Sora and the Heartless unexpectedly crashed what initially appeared to be a Coco trailer, fans got their first proper look at the Pixar world coming to Kingdom Hearts 4.
It was a cool reveal on its own, but during the Kingdom Hearts panel the following day, Tetsuya Nomura confirmed that the roughly 90-second trailer shown the night before was only part of what the team had prepared.
Then came the extended four-minute Kingdom Hearts 4 trailer loaded with awesome material for fans to freak out and obsess over.
The longer version includes the Coco footage from the original reveal while expanding far beyond it. We see Sora exploring and fighting in additional locations, Donald and Goofy jumping into the action, and King Mickey getting his own gameplay sequence.
Mickey’s section is especially fun because it takes place in a new paper-themed world. Mickey can create origami copies of himself to help navigate the environment, and at one point he transforms into a paper airplane.
Kingdom Hearts has reached the point where Mickey Mouse folding himself into an airplane feels completely reasonable.
The new trailer also gives us Donald and Goofy’s Coco designs alongside footage of the duo in combat. Seeing Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Mickey back in action for this long awaited sequel is exciting!
The footage also gives us our first look at an older, more grown-up Riku, adding another familiar face to the growing cast. With Sora, Riku, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy all represented, Kingdom Hearts 4 is ready to push them into some very different territory.
Naturally, the story looks like it’ll continue the series’tradition of requiring fans to keep several tabs open while attempting to explain what’s happening to their friends.
The trailer also features new faces and teases a larger storyline beyond Sora’s trip through the world of Coco. Anyone hoping Kingdom Hearts 4 might suddenly become a simple tale probably shouldn’t get too comfortable.
The developers reaffirmed during the panel that Kingdom Hearts 4 is coming in 2027, with several members of the team specifically confirming that the game won’t be delayed.
When it arrives, Kingdom Hearts 4 will launch on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2.
