Square Enix has run a fairly tight ship when it comes to revealing exactly who is working on what behind the scenes, protecting them through leaks and announcements alike. As the Final Fantasy 7 trilogy winds down and Kingdom Hearts 4's release approaches, more and more is being revealed, including the folks behind this long-awaited sequel.
In an interview with Deadline, the head of Square Enix's Creative Studio 1, Naoki Hamaguchi, revealed that the team he assembled to develop the Final Fantasy Remake Trilogy is getting hands-on with Kingdom Hearts 4. Hamaguchi-San seemed eager at the prospect, stating that both FF7 Revelation and Kingdom Hearts 4 are "all on my watch now, so I’m going to be the guy who’s pushing all that forward."
As if concluding one legendary trilogy wasn't enough, Hamaguchi-San's team is all in on Kingdom Hearts 4's active development. 2027 is set to be an all-time year for Square Enix, and Creative Studio 1 is at the head of closing one chapter while opening the door for Kingdom Hearts' next step.
Kingdom Hearts, at its base, is a story about the bond between people, and how those bonds can help individuals push through any darkness. Final Fantasy 7 shares this theme wholeheartedly, and Creative Studio 1 has been careful throughout the trilogy to depict the growing bonds between the members of the party both through cutscenes and especially in gameplay.
Both titles rely on quick, seamless cohesion between a set of often shuffling party members, and the Final Fantasy 7 Remake series' mastery of this marriage of mechanics and narrative is a fantastic sign of how Kingdom Hearts 4 will be treated. With new allies backing Sora up against all new foes who are sure to test his mettle, they'll need to be able to stand side by side through the worst of it.
Kingdom Hearts is a series that has relied heavily on adapting books and movies into gameplay. I'd argue in some of the most seamless ways the industry has ever seen. It felt inevitable that the series would get adapted into some form, and it seems Hamaguchi-San agrees. "Across all of the Final Fantasy properties and IPs, we’re always looking for the best way to bring them to the audience and for opportunities like this with them."
With the announcement at D23 of Kingdom Hearts' own animated series, it seems Hamaguchi expects Final Fantasy 7, or even the Remake series specifically, to get the same treatment. Media adaptations of games have always been a mixed bag, despite recent victories. It pays to be cautious, but when it comes to series that revel in the shift of art forms like Kingdom Hearts, I expect the series will get the respect it deserves.
The Final Fantasy 7 Remake series' mastery of this marriage of mechanics and narrative is a fantastic sign of how Kingdom Hearts 4 will be treated.
سەرچاوەی فەرمی بە زمانی ئینگلیزی: https://www.dualshockers.com/hamaguchi-final-fantasy-7-remake-kingdom-hearts-4/
