Kingdom Hearts has had Final Fantasy from the beginning, but why stop with Final Fantasy? Why not bring in some other Square Enix properties? Why not bring in even more Final Fantasy things? Here are 10 Final Fantasy and Square Enix things that should be in Kingdom Hearts.
The Bouncer
I first heard of The Bouncer completely by accident. I was reading a book about interactive storytelling in games, and it mentioned The Bouncer by Square Enix. To my shock, the main character, Sion, looked exactly like Sora. Like, exactly like Sora.
I was so fascinated by this obscure PS2 game that I tracked it down on eBay. The game is literally about a bunch of bouncers who work at a bar and go on an adventure to rescue their friend who was kidnapped by an evil megacorporation. The game is a fever dream, and I want it in Kingdom Hearts.
I just want Sora to walk into a random restaurant in Quadratum, get confused for Sion, and end up having to do his bouncer job. That would be so funny. Maybe Quadratum can be the home for obscure and forgotten Square Enix characters.
Turn-Based Combat
Kingdom Hearts has always mainly been a real-time action game. We briefly saw a turn-based segment in Re:Coded, and the core gameplay of KHUX was a very simple turn-based system, but I would love to see a full Kingdom Hearts game with a traditional Final Fantasy inspired turn-based system. At that point you could argue that it’s just Final Fantasy, but I’m sure that Nomura would find a way to add a Kingdom Hearts twist to the formula. I’m also 100% positive that he would try to come up with an in-universe explanation for why everyone is lining up and waiting patiently for their turn.
The Art Style from Octopath Traveler
I love the HD-2D art style so much, and I’ve wanted to see an HD-2D Kingdom Hearts for a long time. Chain of Memories seems like an obvious choice for a Kingdom Hearts HD-2D game, since it already has a pixelart style, but I think the better choice would be to create a brand new adventure.
Chain of Memories takes place in several little rooms, and there wouldn’t be much of a point to recreating those little rooms in HD-2D. This art style would be great for recreating big, colorful Disney worlds. I like to imagine what the Tangled world would look like in HD-2D, or any other Disney movie that has a lush forest.
Of course they would have to create brand new, cute pixel art of the Kingdom Hearts characters, and that might be the real reason I want KH:HD-2D.
The Art Style from World of Final Fantasy
As beautiful as KH3 is, I always wished the series kept the art style from the PS2 era. Dream Drop Distance still looks great. The HD cutscenes for 358/2 Days and Re:Coded still look great. I want to see Kingdom Hearts revive this art style and evolve it a little bit. Maybe improve the textures a little bit, but still keep it simple and cartoony.
That’s basically what the art style for World of Final Fantasy is. This game is kind of like Kingdom Hearts without Disney. It’s about these two siblings traveling through different towns meeting Final Fantasy characters, and the Final Fantasy characters are just too cute.
The two main human characters look like how I imagine the Kingdom Hearts characters would have looked if Kingdom Hearts kept the old art style into the present day. I genuinely believe the Kingdom Hearts team should experiment with at least one game where they do something similar to World of Final Fantasy.
Final Fantasy Games before 7
I never noticed this when I was a kid first playing Kingdom Hearts, but the majority of Final Fantasy characters who appear in the games come from FF7 and above. The only character who comes from a game before that is Setzer, a character designed by Nomura from FF6. The other Final Fantasy characters who appear in KH were also all designed by Nomura. It’s very possible Nomura chose to only include characters he designed, but I’ve never heard any official reason for why this is.
I’ve never played any of the pre-FF7 Final Fantasy games, and I would love to see them in Kingdom Hearts. When I was a kid, I didn’t know anything about Final Fantasy. Cloud, Leon and the others seemed very cool and mysterious to me. I would love to be introduced to the older Final Fantasy characters in this same way. It can be really fun to learn about characters through a crossover, and know that there’s a deeper backstory to discover.
Chocobos
I have waited for chocobos to appear in Kingdom Hearts ever since I found out about them. These flightless yellow birds from Final Fantasy are kind of like a cross between an ostrich and a really fluffy chicken. I always assumed they would eventually show up, but somehow they never have, except as a Gummi Ship.
I want to see Sora, Donald and Goofy ride chocobos so badly. Sora could connect with his Final Fantasy roots, and Donald and Goofy could look hilarious.
Final Fantasy Locations
Kingdom Hearts has always been about traveling to Disney worlds, but what about Final Fantasy worlds? Just like with the chocobos, I always assumed we would eventually see a Final Fantasy world in Kingdom Hearts. I was so sure this would happen, but there hasn’t been a Final Fantasy world for 20+ years. The closest thing we have is Radiant Garden, the homeworld of many Final Fantasy characters, but that’s not the same thing as a Final Fantasy world. I want a world based on a specific Final Fantasy location with all of the Final Fantasy tropes, like crystals, summons, airships, all of it. They could even make it the only world where munny isn’t accepted, only Gil. Go all the way.
My personal favorite Final Fantasy location is Zanarkand, the beautiful and futuristic city of water from FFX. This was the first Final Fantasy I ever played, and Zanarkand left a huge impression on me. Unfortunately, you only see this city very briefly in the beginning, and then you spend the rest of the game on a journey to get back. You barely have time to explore a very small part the city, so Kingdom Hearts would be the perfect opportunity to return to Zanarkand and freely explore the whole city.
I would love to see Sora’s reaction to Zanarkand, since it’s so different from the other worlds he’s visited, except for one thing: blitzball. Kingdom Hearts fans will remember blitzball from Wakka beating us up on the beach in Destiny Islands. FFX is the game that originally brought us blitzball, so Sora would definitely see it in Zanarkand. Would seeing blitzball make Sora feel homesick for Destiny Islands, or would he be happy to see something he recognizes? The ingredients are all there for some great storytelling and character exploration in Zanarkand. It would be a unique Kingdom Hearts world that Sora already has a small connection to.
As you can already tell, I hope they choose Zanarkand to be the Final Fantasy world in Kingdom Hearts, but I would be happy with any Final Fantasy location. Any Final Fantasy world would be unique among the Kingdom Hearts worlds, and it would be interesting to see Sora have to adapt.
Final Fantasy XIV
I’ve never played Final Fantasy XIV, the critically acclaimed MMORPG with a free trial up to level 60 including the award wining Heavensward, but I know a lot of people love this game. Adding even one FFXIV character to Kingdom Hearts would make a lot of fans really happy. I know the character Y’shtola is very popular. I also think the guy who eats the taco in that one trailer would be a good choice. These are the only two characters I know from FFXIV, so I hope they get to be in Kingdom Hearts.
The director for FFXIV has said that he would be interested in bringing Kingdom Hearts to FFXIV, but that it would be very difficult. I imagine the other way around wouldn’t be difficult at all, since FFXIV is already owned by Square Enix.
Dissidia
Dissidia: Final Fantasy, the Final Fantasy crossover fighting game, was originally supposed to be a Kingdom Hearts game. Disney didn’t like the idea of the Disney characters beating each other up, so Square Enix repurposed the idea with all Final Fantasy characters.
It would all come full circle if some Dissidia characters appeared in Kingdom Hearts. There aren’t that many original Dissidia characters to choose from, so it would probably have to be the two warring gods who appear in almost every game. Or maybe Sora and the Final Fantasy characters all get transported to the Dissidia realm, and they have to battle their way out. That could make for an interesting world.
Final Fantasy XV
This choice might seem somewhat redundant since we already have Yozora and Verum Rex in Kingdom Hearts. Yozora and his friends are stand-ins for Noctis and his friends, so would it really make sense to include FFXV in Kingdom Hearts at this point?
The answer is yes. There’s huge potential for deep commentary. Verum Rex is already commentary on the tumultuous history of Final Fantasy Versus XIII turned Final Fantasy XV. Can you imagine if Noctis appeared in Kingdom Hearts and met “the fake”? That would be so deep.
But it doesn’t even have to be that deep. I would be so happy if Noctis showed up and took everyone fishing. I want Ignis to meet Remmy so they can make recipeh together. I want Gladio to work out with Riku. I want Prompto to take photos with Sora, and maybe sit him down and teach him how to use the Gummi Phone.
I love FFXV so much and I hope that Verum Rex doesn’t prevent those characters from appearing in Kingdom Hearts. (My secret hopium is that Yozora is actually Noctis).
Some of these things are more likely to come to KINGDOM HEARTS than others, but they would all be fun to see. I hope we’ll get to see them soon, especially FFXV, The Bouncer, and Chocobos. I would freak out.
If there are any FINAL FANTASY or SQUARE ENIX things you really want to see in KINGDOM HEARTS, tell me in the comments!
What FINAL FANTASY or SQUARE ENX things do you want to see in KINGDOM HEARTS?