Everything You Need To Know About The Kingdom Hearts 20th Anniversary

Kingdom Heart characters with Donald Duck, Goofy, and Mickey Mouse

It all started with an elevator pitch. Literally, some twenty years ago, Disney and Square Enix happened to share an office building. Two workers met in the elevator and had the idea to team up on a project. After further discussions in the office, Kingdom Hearts was born. 

Kingdom Hearts tells the story of a young islander who loses his world to darkness. Aided by a mysterious key, he joins with Donald Duck and Goofy to search the Worlds for his missing friends. Kingdom Hearts has been following the same narrative for twenty years. Some titles that many considered spin-offs turned out to be essential parts of the lore. The most comical example of this is cutscenes at the end of the Melody of Memory rhythm game, moving the story forward past Kingdom Hearts 3. Although the story is convoluted at somewhat hard to follow, it has a dedicated fanbase who can’t get enough of the strangely satisfying Disney-Square Enix combination.

Still shot from Kingdom Hearts

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Square Enix organized a 20th-anniversary event this past April to celebrate the series. The biggest takeaway from the event was a trailer and announcement for Kingdom Hearts 4. The trailer showed Sora waking up in a realistic city called Quadratum. A girl named Strelitzia shows up at his door and starts to explain things when a Darkside Heartless appears out of nowhere to terrorize the city. On the Disney side of things, Donald and Goofy explore a dark cave, searching for a mysterious figure.

Other notable announcements from the 20th Anniversary include a continuation of the Dark Road mobile game and a new mobile game with graphics and action that looks like it came straight out of Kingdom Hearts 3Dark Road follows the story of Xehanort learning to wield a keyblade and training with Eraqus under Master Odin. Missing Link is set after the events of Dark Road and will allow players to create their own avatar as they explore the world of Scala ad Caelum. A closed beta for Missing Link is coming this fall.

Still shot from Kingdom Hearts

Not one to waste a celebration, Square Enix has teamed up with other companies to release a line of 20th Anniversary merchandise. This line includes everything from luggage and backpacks to bath towels and analog watches. They even included a Tamagotchi. Other items available include rings, necklaces, glasses- both the kind you wear and the kind you drink out of- keychains, plates, chopsticks, a keyblade ice cube tray, a plush King Mickey, and a light-up Kingdom Key keyblade. Somehow none of this is surprising after listening to Donald Duck and Goofy discuss existential themes or watching Final Fantasy’s Auron trading insults with Disney’s Hades.

In other news, Square Enix launched a North American version of the 20th Anniversary website. The website includes a Memories Locker, which shows different awards and works put into the series. The series director, composer, voice actors, and other Kingdom Hearts staff make comments about their journey with the games. Storyboard posters show the thought and work that went into the games. The website also features posters and pictures of the event. 

Kingdom Hearts 20th Anniversary artwork

A new video recaps the 20th Anniversary celebration with comments from the series pop star Hikaru Utada, series director Tetsuya Nomura and other members of the Kingdom Hearts community, along with glimpses of trailers and merchandise. In between the announcements, live musicians play music from the games. The video’s final shot shows a teaser for the finale of Dark Road and a release date of August 26, 2022.

The series seems to be moving in a new direction as the Dark Seeker saga, featuring Master Xehanort as the overarching villain, comes to an end. Kingdom Hearts 4 sets up a new storyline called the Lost Master arc. The Master of Masters seemingly steps into the villain role in this new arc. Whatever Nomura has in store for players, fans can probably count on being surprised by some big plot twist. Kingdom Hearts fans have a lot to celebrate this year. 

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