We’ve been spoiled with yearly releases for like a decade now, and three releases this year!, that having next year off just feels so.... empty.... ??

Ah well, they have big games to make and need the time to do so. It’ll all be worth it in the end ??

I'm shocked that this has been up for 11 minutes and like none of you are like "oh my god KH on a break here comes the news drought"

This is actually somewhat good news for me. I just splurged on a new laptop and am thinking of giving it a ram upgrade, antimalware subscription, the works. I was tempted to splurge more money to buy a PS5, but with one of two game series I love down and out, I can resist the temptation better.

It’s been quite impressive that they were able to remaster five old games, make seven hours of HD cutscenes for two other games, and build a 3 hour playable proof of concept before releasing, within the last two years, a massive and graphically detailed AAA game, 15 impeccable boss battles, and a long time fan requested musical game.

It’s a shame the series may be going dark for a bit but I’m sure there’ll be bits and pieces of light to guide us through, like the ultimania translation.

Also means that when they choose to reveal the next game, it’ll be further along in development and closer to release which is good.

Also I couldn’t believe Nomura would drop the Versus XIII name. He spoke the forbidden words ?

Truthfully, I was planning to take a break from KH after the release of the last KH3 Novel. I've been in KH mode non stop since 2018 and I need to recharge, think of some new crazy theories and such. I'll still likely be playing some Melody of Memory, KH3 Data Org, and Data Greeting on and off in 2021, but I'll likely be doing most of it by myself away from the community. And like Spockanort said, I don't need to rush to get a PS5. One less thing. Kingdom Hearts could use the drought to rest too.

A shame this likely means no DLC for MoM. So many songs weren't in the game that I was hoping for.

I’m hoping if the next KH won’t be announced until 2022, maybe we’ll see FFXVI come out sooner than expected and/or an official announcement (and maybe release?) for FFVII Part 2 sooner.

Also, if the next project is taking longer to develop, it should be able to take better advantage of the new gen tech. That’ll be helpful if we’re getting a game that has a significantly different graphic style compared to previous games.

The bit about Dark Road is interesting. From what I can tell (using Google Translate lol) the gist of what he’s saying is that he had a rough idea of the story sitting in the backburner, but it’s really being driven by the Ux team now without much direct connection to mainline series developments.

What I can’t decipher is whether he’s implying the Dark Road story will only become relevant much later, or perhaps that it’s not very significant to the overall plot at all. The latter would be disappointing, as I would like to see DR in Unreal Engine cutscenes someday. This makes me question his overall gameplan with Ux/DR, given how the main series (i.e. KH3/ReMind/MoM) has largely ignored them and their lore/plot developments, with the exception of a few subtle nods and Easter eggs (and the Foretellers, whose story was told independently of the mobile games anyway).

....

Now would be a PERFECT time to remaster Re:coded and Days...

Just saying...

Please please PLEASE OST Plus like FF7R is getting. There are at minimum 50+ tracks that were left off this one, at most around 80 by my count.

I NEED that Xigbar in Olympus track...

Yup, Yoko is certainly a Goddess :)

While I'm excited for the next game It's kind of nice to be on a break from major releases after KH3, Re:MIND and MoM. At least there is still Dark Road and Chi to give us new things to talk and speculate about

This might be a good thing. i have huge backlog and i couldn't really focus on it with all the kingdom hearts goodness we got lately.
plus 2021 is probably FFXVI year anyway.

I take this as a good thing, I needed a break from all of the KH nonsense anyways, now is a good time to catch up on my backlog.

I love that we are all relieved ?

Still hoping for a KH3 Final Mix for PS5. I want a PS5 optimized version..

No, lets not deal with 3 anymore...the ship has sailed years ago. Look to the future of KH, we just finished MoM and KHDR is going to be years of fresh content with a well paced, badass story that tells of the Dark Seeker's plight with the realm of light. And our good boy Sora will need rescuing in 2022 with KH: Unreality's release

Darn now Kingdom Hearts is taking a Break for 2021 and now we have to wait until 2022 for the next Kingdom Hearts Entry well everyone we're going to have to use our Brains and Thinking for what Great Ideas for the Next Kingdom Hearts Games (Storylines, Development for Characters and Disney Worlds for the Next Saga)

I mean, if next year has Nier, BD2 and possibly FF XVI and now TWEWY 2, I'm fine with KH taking a break, SE already has a good output for me.

I'll miss KH hype though ?

So no new KH game next year, that's fine I guess. Even if they ruled out a song DLC for MoM from the start I still wished they were more party customization options to unlock instead.

I'm actually pretty fine with these news.

The whole modus operandi of releasing a KH game every year was somewhat stressful in multiple ways and I dare say it didn't do the overall quality much good.

Taking a break and possibly reassess everything related to the franchise in a more peaceful way might actually do wonders to whatever will come about in 2022 when the anniversary is nigh.

Not to mention there being still Dark Road and (at least for now) UX being around and considering the snail's pace of actual important updates arriving might actually fill the majority of 2021 with some smaller stuff.
2020 is as good as over anyways with only 1 1/2 months remaining.

A 358/2 Days Remake on the Vita would have been nice.

I'm glad they take a break. There's already several games in development I'm interested in for the PS5 but I don't want to buy the console in 1-2 years at the very least. A next gen KH game being announced too soon would make me want to buy one on impulse, only KH has that power over me. I'll also wait for a price drop next year before I get MoM, that will be enough to feed my KH hunger in 2021 anyway. That, UX/DR story updates and I still have to replay KH3 to get the PRO codes trophies.
They can take ther time to make sure the next KH game is as good as it can possibly be without having such a long developing time as KH3 did.

Given that he's working toward getting the next game out in 2022, if the other interview implies, that year is gonna be a news blast.

Union Cross will finally finish for 2021. I'm expecting major plot revelations for a game that's been around for 6 years.

I just hope whatever game might come out around 2022 will be available on the PS4. I like to wait a good 4+plus years before buying a new console since I'm a poor gamer, and more games would have come out on it to justify buying it for $300 or under.

The games that came out during their 'get-one-out-every-year-dad-gummit' phase were obviously rushed and contributed more and more to the worst design mistakes in the franchise. The command deck seemed like a band-aid for an undercooked system in and of itself-- Yeah, combos feel icky, barely any exploration, enemies don't seem to be reacting to much of anything and have no coded patterns... But look at all the sick shit you can do with commands! Thunder Surge! Fire Dash! This is variety!!

They very well may be going right into KH4, so if we see nothing for a long time, that's only a good thing. The hope is still alive for the next big KH game to be the best in the series.

Now you all have plenty of time to study and get good grades on your MoM tracks.

“I never said there would be a new release for the 20th anniversary, I just said I hadn’t forgotten about it”.

I expect all of you to get the MoM platinum during this year off ?

I'm feeling torn on one hand I'm fine with a year break on the other I kind of wish they had just taken this extra year to work on MoM a bit more to let us customize our parties and other simple small things, like multiple skins for characters.

Also surprised that Nomura is still taking a strong no DLC stance, figured things might change once the games been released.

I think going on a break is not that surprising. They finished their first main act (although I would argue that the first act was 1, com and 2) and now they are waiting for the next gen to get enough users before releasing their new game. A lot of devs are doing this right now. Either go cross-gen or wait 1-2 years that enough consoles are out there to make it worth the investment.

If you ask my opinion, 2022 will be the next big installment tied with a ps5 optimized compilation with some new features.

Hopefully they can do some rest and reflecting.

I don't mind since I'm very meh towards KH these days. Probably because of RL stuff and other interests. I only really came back to discuss about MoM because I do like rhythm games and I like the KH music. Then got roped into all the story discussion stuff and yeah. Basically, let the teams do their thing and take whatever time needed to make the products good enough for their fans without overworking themselves.

I wouldn't worry about it, because it's not really "going on break" behind the scenes.

Remember the drought that was after KH2 release, with Nomura and KH team being too busy with Versus 13, and no other team available to make proper KH games?! Those were the darkest times. It's different nowadays. We have different KH teams and Nomura is already planning new announcements for 2022.

We may not have a 2021 KH game, but we have been spoiled enough with yearly releases. This year we got KH ReMind DLC, KH Dark Road and KH MoM. Even if you're like me and don't play the last two, we still have to recognize their efforts.

KH YouTubers are gonna have to get creative. ? I kid, I kid... But I think a break would do everyone good. After KH3, MoM, Dark Road and UX... A breather is nice, that way when the next big title drops, we're all refreshed and ready to be excited again. Remember the last time we all felt genuinely excited? Not "I'm cautiously optimistic/hyped with baited breath" excited, but actual scream-into-the-void hyped? I miss that. So I'm cool with a break.

And I mean, UX and DR will keep people fed here and there throughout the year. Not to mention, I'm sure there'll probably be some interview from Nomura within 2021 that'll get people a little excited as per usual. So it's definitely not going to be like how it was post-KH3D where the only thing we had was the Chi Browser story updates. Now that was a drought.

I'm not worried about the KHTubers they have plenty of material to work with towards their next "_____ IS THE MOM" theories complete with visual glitches and random little details in KH3 that CLEARLY point towards the MOM.

I was excited when I read the summary news on Gematsu about the future of the series. And when I came back here for further detail news (like always), I felt sad to hear that KH will go on break. (lol)

But I understand if this must have happened. Here hoping for new wave of joyful news in the next 2 years to everyone.

I didn't really expect anything for KH in 2021, with the possible exception of the inevitable series re-release on PS5 (including the Re:Mind comment on disc). I planned to wait until at least next Fall to get the PS5 anyway, since the systems always have a few bugs they need to iron out when they're first released; hopefully it'll drop to $400 or less at some point in the next year or two. Probably the first game I'll need it for will be FFXVI. It'd be great if XVI surprised and came out in 2021, but I would never expect it that early.

In two years, the fanbase will be different. New people getting ps5 that are waiting to join the cult of Nomura.

We still have the KH3 manga which will be regularly releasing throughout the year.

(inb4 I’m the only person here who cares about the manga...)

I vote we spend all of 2021 in regards to KH pretending it's 2003 complete with the website aesthetic.

I also played BbS for the first time on the PS3, for me it felt like a downgrade from Re:Coded when it came to everything related to commands and abilities. It was like "Why do I have to find a recipe item to know what melding makes?", compared to Re:Coded which tells you what the melding will make right from the get go. Plus while I didn't mind how abilities worked at the start, by the end I was wondering why they made it complicated and unclear what I get from melding. Again, compared to Re:Coded where abilities are unlocked through progression on the Stat Matrix and are clearly labelled.

I think it's good that the series is going on a break for a while. It's been on a roll since 2017 where we started to actually see KH3 become a reality with the trailers. They've given us enough to chew on regarding Phase 2 for a year and as much as I love the series, I was starting to feel overwhelmed. I thought after ReMIND came out, I would have a chance to replay all the games with the story set for a while, but then Dark Road and MoM were announced so it was more story to keep up with.

Also, I think Nomura deserves a little break from KH. Especially after KH3 was released and the vitriol dumped on him for almost 2 years. He should take a year off and just personally celebrate that he created this multi-game/multi-decade spanning franchise. I don't think there's many people in the video game industry that can say they helmed a franchise for its entirety - a franchise that had one consistent plot.

It would be nice if they got some time off, but they're just taking a break from giving updates and announcements for the games. They're working hard on the next titles, and will continue to do so throughout 2021; they just won't talk about it until 2022.

Nomura seems like a work-a-holic, especially with FFVIIR2 under his belt, so I don't think he'll be taking any substantial time off soon.

KH is taking a break because 2021 is the year of TWEWY ?