Kingdom Hearts: Dark Road Is Now Available

Publisher Square Enix has released Kingdom Hearts: Dark Road, a new storyline and gameplay experience available as part of the mobile title, Kingdom Hearts: Union χ Dark Road. According to the publisher, the new storyline will focus on a teenage Xehanort, one of the central antagonists of the Kingdom Hearts saga. Of course, the character is significantly older in those games, so Dark Road takes place early in the franchise’s timeline, before the birth of Sora. For those dedicated to following the franchise’s confusing chronology, Dark Road should provide some interesting new revelations about the overall saga! Dark Road features card-based gameplay, which has been optimized for iOS and Android devices.

According to Kingdom Hearts director Tetsuya Nomura, the story of Dark Road is one that he had wanted to tell for some time. In Kingdom Hearts III, players get a glimpse of a younger Xehanort, but Nomura wanted to expand on the character’s background. When the developers of Kingdom Hearts: Union χ told Nomura that they wanted to create a new adventure with a different protagonist within the existing mobile game, Nomura felt the timing was perfect. Dark Road should give players some new insights into the character’s motivations, as a result. The mobile game also features a young take on Master Eraqus, as well as several all-new characters.

Kingdom Hearts III wrapped up a number of long simmering storylines, but fans of the franchise still have quite a bit to look forward to in the future. In addition to Dark Road, Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory will release later this year. Melody of Memory is a rhythm-game featuring more than 140 tracks spanning the history of the franchise. Finally, a Disney+ series based on Kingdom Hearts also seems to be on the way. All in all, it’s a good time to be a fan of the series!

Kingdom Hearts: Union χ Dark Road is a free-to-play game available on iOS and Android devices.

Are you planning on playing Kingdom Hearts: Dark Road? Are you a fan of the Kingdom Hearts series? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!