The evolution of Sora, the main protagonist in the crossover role-playing game franchise “Kingdom Hearts” is now being openly hinted at the box art illustrations of three games in the series that came out or will come out ahead of “Kingdom Hearts 3,” which is set to make its debut on the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One next year.
The box art for “Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMix,” “Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMix,” and the soon-to-be-released “Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue” were designed with several secrets linking them together to “Kingdom Hearts 3.”
It was actually game director Tetsuya Nomura who made the revelations about the secret to the box arts of the three previous “Kingdom Hearts” games.
Nomura explains that the designs of these three illustrations were made to work together to show the passage of time and evolution of Sora’s character, reports IGN.
He explained that extremely attentive “Kingdom Hearts” fans might have already discovered the secrets, but one is that Sora’s movements change from sitting, to standing, and then to walking.
He added that when gamers line up the three illustrations, they would notice that they show the flow of time with changes in the sky. “Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMix” is sunset becoming night, “Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMix” is the middle of the night, and “Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue” is night breaking into dawn.
The game director pointed out that those three illustrations have a message regarding the game’s final chapter, which is going to be “Kingdom Hearts 3.”
A possible push-back
From a December release date, “Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue shall come out in January next year, reports VG 24/7.
This also means that the release of “Kingdom Hearts 3” might be pushed back by a month or so. Game developer Square Enix has yet to come out with a statement regarding the official release date of the game next year but it is almost sure to happen.
Late last month, Square Enix debunked speculations saying that “Kingdom Hearts 3” shall come out exclusively on the PlayStation 4.
The rumors began when “Kingdom Hearts 3” was reportedly removed from the listing of Xbox Store Japan recently.
The Square Enix official website and the Microsoft Store still have the “Kingdom Hearts 3” listed to be available for both the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One.
True to the assumption of some gamers and critics, the absence of “Kingdom Hearts 3” in the listing of Xbox Store Japan is merely a glitch and was corrected shortly. The developer said that there will be no changes on the target platforms of the game when it comes out next year, although it has yet to specify a release date for it.
Not going to be a PS4 exclusive
There are some critics who believe that “Kingdom Hearts 3” being a PlayStation 4 exclusive has a good leg to stand on.
It can be recalled that the two previous installments of the series were both released as PlayStation 4 exclusives.
Even the upcoming “Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue” will also come out as a PlayStation 4 only game in January next year.
Based on latest reports, “Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue” shall arrive in the Japanese market on January 12 and in the North American market on January 24.
Latest rumors have it that the Kairi will be joining Sora, Donald Duck, Goofy, Riku, and King Mickey as playable characters when the game finally unfolds next year.
The same speculations are also saying that there will be other playable characters in “Kingdom Hearts 3” though everything remains as speculation pending the confirmation or denial from Square Enix.