"Why did he become the seeker of darkness?"
Kingdom Hearts Dark Road is the fourteenth title in the Kingdom Hearts series, and the fourth title released for cell phones. The story follows Xehanort's training as a Keyblade wielder, focusing on why he became the seeker of darkness.
The title was teased via the official Kingdom Hearts Union χ Twitter account on January 22, 2020,[1] and announced on January 31, 2020. Kingdom Hearts Dark Road released worldwide on June 22, 2020 on iOS, Android, and the Amazon Appstore. It is set to end in September 2021.
Story[edit | edit source]
On Destiny Islands, a young Xehanort has been having dreams of a world and friends he's never seen. Pondering on these things, he's approached by a robed, mysterious figure who confirms Xehanort's suspicions of a world beyond his own, and opens a dark corridor allowing him to leave the islands.
Sometime later, Xehanort is in Scala ad Caelum, training to be a Keyblade wielder. Eraqus, a fellow Keyblade wielder and friend, approaches and asks him about the world where he's from, and Xehanort recalls that he only remembers being found in Scala ad Caelum. Joking that he perhaps fell from the sky, Xehanort suggests they go to class. There, they reunite with their classmates, Hermod, Urd, Bragi, and Vor, and learn from their master, Odin, that seven upper classmen have disappeared while preparing for the Mark of Mastery Exam. Odin sends the six of them to go in groups of three to find the missing Keyblade wielders.
Worlds and Characters[edit | edit source]
Gameplay[edit | edit source]
Development and Release[edit | edit source]
Series director Tetsuya Nomura teased the game in a question-and-answer interview held to celebrate the release of Kingdom Hearts III Re Mind.[2] The title was teased via an image released on the official Kingdom Hearts Union χ Twitter account that same day, with the image featuring Master Xehanort, Master Eraqus, and several other characters who are blurred out. It was officially announced on January 22, 2020 under the title "Project Xehanort", with a Twitter "Guess the name" campaign in the lead up to the title's official announcement and reveal.[1][3] On January 31, 2020, Square Enix announced that the game would be called "Kingdom Hearts Dark Road".[4] The game was originally scheduled to release on the spring of 2020,[1] but was delayed on May 18, 2020 due to undisclosed conditions.[5]
More information began to be released in June. Four new characters were revealed on June 8, 2020, namely Hermod, Urd, Bragi, and Vor.[6]. The game's June 22 release date was announced on June 16, 2020 in a trailer on YouTube in Japan;[7] the game was confirmed to release simultaneously worldwide on June 19, 2020.[8]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Kingdom Hearts Database: "Mysterious 'Project Xehanort' Revealed"
- ↑ Kingdom Hearts Database: "The 13 Questions of Darkness" (archived text)
- ↑ Project Xehanort (@ProjectXehanort) on Twitter: "...The announcement date will actually be January 31st at 12AM PT."
- ↑ KINGDOM HEARTS DARK ROAD (@kh_dr_na) on Twitter
- ↑ Kingdom Hearts Database: "Kingdom Hearts Dark Road officially delayed, next announcement in June"
- ↑ Kingdom Hearts Database: "New characters revealed for Kingdom Hearts Dark Road, next update in two days"
- ↑ Kingdom Hearts Database: "Trailer reveals plans for 2020, release for Dark Road; Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory announced"
- ↑ Kingdom Hearts Database: "Kingdom Hearts Dark Road set to release globally June 22