Kingdom Hearts 4 Director Addresses Whether Final Fantasy Characters Will Return

When Square Enix released the original Kingdom Hearts, the inclusion of Final Fantasy characters was one of its biggest draws. After all, it marked the first time that many of those characters appeared outside their respective titles. However, later Kingdom Hearts games have leaned less on Final Fantasy, and Kingdom Hearts III did not feature any characters from the series. In a new interview with Game Informer, series creator Tetsuya Nomura revealed that Final Fantasy characters were initially used "to lend a hand" introducing players to the main Kingdom Hearts cast, which isn't as necessary now. However, Nomura would not rule out Final Fantasy characters appearing in Kingdom Hearts IV. 

"With Kingdom Hearts III, since we did have so many original Kingdom Hearts characters, it was hard to find room for including more Final Fantasy characters. We're trying to find a good balance for that. I know that some fans were concerned about that and weren't too happy and wanted to see more Final Fantasy characters," Nomura told Game Informer. "That's something we definitely are thinking about. But just with the sheer number of original characters that we have now, it's hard to say what the exact balance is going to be and how it will play out in Kingdom Hearts IV. We can't really give you a firm reply on this just yet."

Nomura is correct that Kingdom Hearts has a lot more characters and plot threads to lean on now than it did back in 2002. However, some Final Fantasy fans really like seeing those characters in the Kingdom Hearts games alongside both the main cast and Disney favorites. Nomura's comments make it hard to determine whether we'll see characters such as Cloud, Sephiroth, or Selphie in Kingdom Hearts IV. Hopefully Nomura won't close the door on that possibility, should the story present the opportunity. Either way, Nomura is clearly aware of what fans are hoping to see!

Are you a fan of Final Fantasy characters appearing in Kingdom Hearts? Do you think Kingdom Hearts IV would benefit from their inclusion? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!