Spoilers for this game will be marked as usual. However, every previous Kingdom Hearts game will have spoilers unmarked on this page. You Have Been Warned!
Life was passed down time and time again, until the land was filled with thriving people.
This is a city of light and darkness, dreams and distortion, the remembered and the forgotten-
Scala ad Caelum.
Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link is an upcoming mobile RPG and the 14th game in the Kingdom Hearts series from Disney and Square Enix. It was announced
as part of the series’ 20th anniversary Milestone Celebration with Kingdom Hearts IV.
Unlike previous mobile outings in the series, Missing-Link is an all-new experience, with full 3D graphics similar to the main series. The game is described as a “GPS-Based RPG”, where players engage in combat on the “Astral Plane” - an environment based upon real world maps and locations, utilizing figurines of assorted Disney characters to battle enemies. Story-wise , the plot will revolve around Scala ad Caelum, the nexus city introduced in the climax of Kingdom Hearts III, as it bridges the gap between Union χ and Dark Road. Players control a new keybearer as they find themselves thrust into a mysterious conflict between various “societies” in the city while also traveling to the Astral Plane to do battle with Heartless.
A closed beta test ran exclusively on iOS phones in Japan from January 13-18, 2023, with the full game releasing internationally in 2024.
Previews: 20th Anniversary Announcement, Teaser Trailer
Tropes:
- Actionized Sequel: Compared to χ and Dark Road, which were both 2D and used turn-based and Combatant Cooldown System combat respectively, the trailer reveals that Missing-Link aims to have very similar combat and graphical fidelity to Kingdom Hearts III. Actions include the player being able to move and attack freely in 3D arenas, stringing together combos in real time, and calling upon figurines to perform powerful attacks.
- Art Shift: The trailer presents this game as a sequel to Union χ, but unlike the latter's 2D design, this will be presented in 3D.
- Augmented Reality: The reveal trailer indicates that the player will be able to traverse a simplified version of the real world. Players can use points to teleport around the world and navigate using their avatar, but in absence of points, the player can physically walk around in real life to explore in-game, a la Pokémon GO.
- Co-Op Multiplayer: One of the scenes in the trailer is of multiple player characters teaming up to fight a Darkside.
- Elemental Powers: The reveal trailer shows off a few of the elemental magic spells players will have access to in the game. Many of them are based on their Kingdom Hearts III incarnations, such as Firaga, Blizzaga, Thundaga, Waterga, and Aeroga. A new spell seen in the trailer also has the player summoning a chunk of rock on a single target that explodes and launches the enemy, as well as a version of Fire that launches three separate homing fireballs at once.
- Flunky Boss: Just like previous appearances, Darkside is seen accompanied by a bunch of Shadow Heartless during its multiplayer boss battle in the trailer.
- Immediate Sequel: The trailer implies that Missing-Link picks up right where Union χ left off, with Brain waking up in Scala ad Caelum.
- Interquel: The game is confirmed by the trailer to be set between the epilogue of Union χ and the events of Dark Road.
- Late-Arrival Spoiler: The trailer includes a panning shot to the statue of Ephemer in the center of Scala ad Caelum, which was originally a Wham Shot at the very end of Union χ [cross].
- Meaningful Name: Missing-Link bridges the gap between Union χ [cross] and Dark Road, and, on a greater scale, the Dark Seeker and Lost Master arcs of the Kingdom Hearts saga.
