News ► Rumour: A World Based on Frozen 2 Reportedly Considered for Kingdom Hearts 4

[Chie]

Why is that "no way to run a game series"? The numbers are arbitrary and I like the vast majority of non-numbered games better anyway. The title of a game shouldn't change anything other than perception. And going by what the titles have signified thus far, I'd vastly rather have 6 interesting smaller-budget psychodramas than 6 big budget Disney ads.

 

[Squood!]

Why is that "no way to run a game series"? The numbers are arbitrary and I like the vast majority of non-numbered games better anyway. The title of a game shouldn't change anything other than perception. And going by what the titles have signified thus far, I'd vastly rather have 6 interesting smaller-budget psychodramas than 6 big budget Disney ads.

Imo KH should've just went with subtitles from CoM onward.

 

[Chie]

I was basically expecting them to only do subtitles from now on to avoid the number stigma, maybe using some kind of particularly snappy title to denote the biggest budgeted ones, but then Nomura's been using the word "KH4" on occasion so I guess not. But it would be the most accurate way to portray things.

 

[MATGSY]

Why is that "no way to run a game series"? The numbers are arbitrary and I like the vast majority of non-numbered games better anyway. The title of a game shouldn't change anything other than perception. And going by what the titles have signified thus far, I'd vastly rather have 6 interesting smaller-budget psychodramas than 6 big budget Disney ads.

Perhaps that's how it is for you, but there's so many other people that never gave a damn about the handheld titles & others that didn't know they existed to begin with. KH1/2/3 are all like 5-6 million sellers while the handheld entries are more like 1.5 million at best. You can look to the trophy completion percentages on 1.5+2.5& see just how many fewer people are even bothering to play CoM/BBS than they are KH1/2 despite being in the same collection. How often did the spin-offs get showvased on an E3 press conference while KH3 got many showings? To many players the numbers are not arbitrary at all.

 

[Chie]

Yes, and they are demonstrably wrong in thinking so.

Like I said, the title shouldn't change anything other than perception. Everything you just said is based on peoples perception of the series, not what's actually in the games.

 

[Sign]

Things were so much easier before Disney insiders realized KH is a really big deal and there's a lot of traffic and internet brownie points to be gained from it

 

[Bloodblade777]

BBS is just as major a game as KH1 and KH2, actually correct me if i'm wrong but BBS was originally planned for Ps2 and they had to cut a lot of content to have it fit on PSP

 

[Deleted member 252753]

BBS is just as major a game as KH1 and KH2, actually correct me if i'm wrong but BBS was originally planned for Ps2 and they had to cut a lot of content to have it fit on PSP

Lore-wise, I think BBS is maybe even more important than KH1 and KH2. KH3 was billed as the finale of the Dark Seeker saga but that wasn't even really a thing until BBS and DDD incorporated the previous games into a wider narrative. And then KH3 left most of its lore building the mobile games. I do hope the next numbered title does reveal more of the lore itself as the way KH3 only lightly touches on UX stuff sort of makes it feel divorced from its own story.

 

[AdrianXXII]

Lore-wise, I think BBS is maybe even more important than KH1 and KH2. KH3 was billed as the finale of the Dark Seeker saga but that wasn't even really a thing until BBS and DDD incorporated the previous games into a wider narrative. And then KH3 left most of its lore building the mobile games. I do hope the next numbered title does reveal more of the lore itself as the way KH3 only lightly touches on UX stuff sort of makes it feel divorced from its own story.

Nomura has even referred to BBS as KH0, which it probably should have been called so that others could see it's importance.

That said, BBS didn't quite have the polish the other numbered games had. That's probably also part of why it doesn't get as many eyes and spotlight as the numbered games.

 

[SuperSaiyanSora]

I mean, am I too optimistic to expect KINGDOM HEARTS IV/4/WhateverIt'sCalled to be released by 2022?

P.S. I hope I don't have to buy a PS5 to get KH4.

By 2022? You'd most likely have to start considering it by that point, and who knows when in 2022 this title would actually release.

Things were so much easier before Disney insiders realized KH is a really big deal and there's a lot of traffic and internet brownie points to be gained from it

Here's hoping that Square Enix won't have to deal with that anymore. After all, if they approached Nomura about a KH rhythm game, certainly there's some level of respect and admiration going on there.

Even from a business perspective though, Arendelle was a flop. It's consistently listed as the worst world in KH3, nobody even really likes it. I hope that teaches them to let the creators create and not be so damn stingy with their IPs. They've got Marvel and Star Wars now, a Kingdom Hearts game isn't gonna doom Disney because they make Elsa actually do something cool. But what do I know?

Nomura has even referred to BBS as KH0, which it probably should have been called so that others could see it's importance.

That said, BBS didn't quite have the polish the other numbered games had. That's probably also part of why it doesn't get as many eyes and spotlight as the numbered games.

Although among fans, everyone knows the importance of Birth by Sleep. In fact, if Square called it Kingdom Hearts Zero, I dunno if it'd get the same amount of love as KH1 and KH2 did regardless. I think it's more because of it being on the PSP and while it was a popular handheld, you can't really beat the home console base (unless you're Nintendo). Although Re: CoM was on the PS2 and that didn't get too much love either, but that's probably due to the battle system.

The battle system in BBS was a pretty big departure from what most people were used to at the time as well, which is a factor, plus no playable Sora (for obvious reasons). There's a lot that kinda worked against it at the time, despite it doing really well. But in current times though, everyone knows about BBS and most people really enjoy it.

 

[Launchpad]

Yes, and they are demonstrably wrong in thinking so.

Like I said, the title shouldn't change anything other than perception. Everything you just said is based on peoples perception of the series, not what's actually in the games.

Nah, nah, nah, not demonstrably wrong.

The only full Kingdom Hearts experiences that are built from the ground up as home console titles are KH1, KH2, and KH3. The overall asset quality, amount of content, and general formula is most similar across these three games and less so on the handheld games. The main titles are built to be climactic, the handhelds are used to set up concepts to pay off in main titles. Days, Coded, BBS and DDD are all lower-budget affairs with shorter development cycles, and these facts aren't invisible in the games. The main titles introduce lots of new Disney properties. The offshoots rarely introduce a previously unseen property. Only Hunchback comes to mind right now.

From a narrative standpoint, no, they're not less important, and they're absolutely essential to getting the full picture, but it was damaging to Kingdom Hearts as a franchise to go down such an esoteric and meandering road after KH2. There could have been a steady string of full budget games with better overall quality until now, and with the goliath success of KH3, it's hard to imagine Square and Disney letting it go down such a road again.

 

[Chie]

I could contest the individual points here pretty easily (i.e. 0.2, Back Cover and MoM are not handheld titles nor numbered entries / the differences you could point out for KH1-3 vs. others are a product of expectations and budget more than storytelling, etc.), but instead I'll just say that I don't find it damaging at all given that, again, I like esoteric and meandering stories vastly more than I like KH3. And if the series is primarily going to focus on high budget high profile games from now on, I will find it vastly less interesting a story.

 

[Chaser]

Unrelated to the recent posts - remember that Disney will shill Frozen through multiple mediums. They made two short films and a 5 part Lego series so Disney would of course get their biggest video game property (outside of their side companies like Star Wars and Marvel) to throw Frozen 2 into it.

In fact, just tonight another Frozen short film was announced for Disney+, which takes place during Frozen 1. It's Olaf's origin story and follows his first moments of life following Let It Go. It's completely unnecessary but alas, it exists.

Frozen‘s Olaf to Reveal Untold Secrets in Disney+’s Once Upon a Snowman

"Frozen" scene stealer Olaf gets full origin story in Disney+'s "Once Upon a Snowman" special.

tvline.com

Disney will find ways to keep Frozen alive and relevant, and the next big budget Disney video game is absolutely right there for them to exploit.

We can all disagree with Disney on how they treated the world in Kingdom Hearts 3 and not be thrilled at what they're going to do to harm the future stories for this world, but to deny that Frozen would come back at all just seems ignorant.

Now to spend my 5th year hoping Disney sneaks a KH reference into the background of one of their projects. Forever salty that Wreck-it-Ralph 2 didn't do it. Thankfully Ducktales was kind enough to give us a confirmed Kingdom Hearts reference.

 

[ultima-demi]

I'm more optimistic about Frozen 2 being a lot better. Even if it's still bad I can't see it being Frozen 1 bad. What they have to work with by default is already a big improvement.

(No let it go for one ) I hope KH4 is only next gen tho. I would think square would want to continue "wowing" people in how close they can visually get to the films. Not sure how likely they're to move to ue5 but i hope it's on the table. The tech advances with it being next gen only and on ue5 would make kh4 look nuts

 

[SweetYetSalty]

I mean Frozen 2's world already has one big disadvantage to it already. It won't have Larxene, who was one of the saving graces of Arendelle along with Marshmallow.

 

[Chie]

I mean Frozen 2's world already has one big disadvantage to it already. It won't have Larxene, who was one of the saving graces of Arendelle along with Marshmallow.

I mean, we don't KNOW that Elrena won't happen to be there...

 

[AdrianXXII]

Unrelated to the recent posts - remember that Disney will shill Frozen through multiple mediums. They made two short films and a 5 part Lego series so Disney would of course get their biggest video game property (outside of their side companies like Star Wars and Marvel) to throw Frozen 2 into it.

In fact, just tonight another Frozen short film was announced for Disney+, which takes place during Frozen 1. It's Olaf's origin story and follows his first moments of life following Let It Go. It's completely unnecessary but alas, it exists.

Frozen‘s Olaf to Reveal Untold Secrets in Disney+’s Once Upon a Snowman

"Frozen" scene stealer Olaf gets full origin story in Disney+'s "Once Upon a Snowman" special.

tvline.com

Disney will find ways to keep Frozen alive and relevant, and the next big budget Disney video game is absolutely right there for them to exploit.

We can all disagree with Disney on how they treated the world in Kingdom Hearts 3 and not be thrilled at what they're going to do to harm the future stories for this world, but to deny that Frozen would come back at all just seems ignorant.

Now to spend my 5th year hoping Disney sneaks a KH reference into the background of one of their projects. Forever salty that Wreck-it-Ralph 2 didn't do it. Thankfully Ducktales was kind enough to give us a confirmed Kingdom Hearts reference.

WHHHYYY? Do kids really like Olaf, or why is he constantly shoved into our face?

 

[Oracle Spockanort]

WHHHYYY? Do kids really like Olaf, or why is he constantly shoved into our face?

Yes, they do. Also after Frozen 2, even a lot of adults changed their mind about Olaf (myself included).

He tests really well with children. His morbid humor and quirky nature just hits well with that audience.

 

[AdrianXXII]

Yes, they do. Also after Frozen 2, even a lot of adults changed their mind about Olaf (myself included).

He tests really well with children. His morbid humor and quirky nature just hits well with that audience.

That's fair, while I'm still not a big fan of him, Frozen 2 did make him a bit more likable.

 

[the red monster]

I mean, am I too optimistic to expect KINGDOM HEARTS IV/4/WhateverIt'sCalled to be released by 2022?

P.S. I hope I don't have to buy a PS5 to get KH4.

PS4 will be long dead by 2022 (and ps5 will already get a price drop), sony asked big publishers to focus on PS5 from now on.
KH4 is 100% gonna be a next gen only. hopefully using UE5 and all the other next gen stuff.