Kingdom Hearts IV- Imagineering a Video Game

[KingMickey]

This thread is going to focus on my latest project, Kingdom Hearts IV, which is the continuing project from my Kingdom Hearts III game I finished about a month and a half ago. I'm pretty sure that a KH4 isn't even rumored yet, due to the official Kingdom Hearts III not being created, so it's a first time here. You do not need to read through all of Kingdom Hearts III to understand the fourth game, but to keep up with some of the plot and cliffhangers, you might want to look over it again.

This thread will feature everything from all aspects of the game. From world descriptions, a complete Jiminy's Journal, minigames, weapons, Heartless profiles and hidden items. I will basically explain the entire game, through vivid detail, illustration and description. Kingdom Hearts would be one of the more difficult games to describe, what with the detailed worlds and vast variety of characters, but I've done it before, so I know what I'm getting myself into.

The game features 14 immersive worlds, some new, some old, new weapons, and a packed storyline, which even including a mystery, which runs its course throughout the game.

Basically, I'll describe each world, with a detailed description of each area, as we progress through the story of each world. I'll also feature the battles, lurking Heartless and the items that could be found. After each world segment is completed, there will be a "Journal Entry" post, which states the overall story of the world, what characters you met there, what items you found and other information about the world.

A full three years later and so much has changed. Sora, now a bit older, continues his adventure to find a lost companion, reunite with friends, spark a blossoming romance and explore new worlds, along with Donald and Goofy. However, not all is as it seems. A new unknown enemy awaits, mounting a brute army of enemies, set on destroying the Keyblade and its Master. A mysterious connection to the past, effects the outcome of the future. It all leads up to a shocking turning point, which no one saw coming. It may be three years later, but not much has changed regarding Sora's role as Keyblade Master or the state of the worlds. All this and much more await in Kingdom Hearts IV!

 

[Disneyson 1]

YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYEEE!!!!1!

I can has new KH game plz nao?

 

[mharrington]

Wow, I can't wait! I wonder who's gonna be returning in this game. Besides, Sora, Donald and Goofy, of course.

 

[KingMickey]

Hey guys! Sorry nothing has been posted game-wise yet. I'm getting the full storyline in place first and tieing up some loose ends before I post anything, cuz a lot of things can get pretty messy if it's not thought through. Not to worry, the first section of the game will be up by the weekend. There will be a segment towards the beginning of the game, which better explains some of the key events that have happened to the characters in the past 3 years. Sort of a sidestory, but still a part of the game.

 

[KingMickey]

Kingdom Hearts IV
​

The menu screen comes onto the television. There are two options displayed on the screen: New Game and Load Game. Well, you have your Memory Card in the Playstation slot, but since you haven’t started the game yet, there are no files to load. So, you choose New Game. Afterwards, the level of difficulty menu appears on the screen. There are three levels of difficulty.

• Beginner’s Mode (The easiest mode of the game. You’re sure to win. However, you’ll miss out on some surprises during the game.)
• Normal Mode (The normal level of difficultly. It’s a bit more challenging, but you can unlock all of the secret goodies in this mode.)
• Expert Mode (The hardest level of difficulty. This is for the true experts of gaming. It has even more secret goodies than normal mode!)

You decide to choose the Normal Mode of gameplay. After you select, the next screen comes up. This screen displays the vibration controller settings. You can choose whatever you’d like. After you choose, the sound settings menu comes on. Once again, you can choose whatever you’d like for your own personal game experience. After you confirm your settings, the game starts and the screen goes black…


The screen comes up and the following is read across the screen:

“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.”
​

In the opening CGI video, the screen focuses on a washed up bottle, covered in sand, just on the beach of Destiny Islands. Then, the line “3 Years Later” comes up on the screen. Then, Utada Hikaru’s song, “Come Back to Me”, from her album, This Is the One, begins to play, as the new theme song for KHIV. The CGI sequence shows video images of Sora and Kairi on the village beach, looking at the islands. Through flashbacks, the scenes flash to prominent CGI scenes of the destruction of Radiant Garden, their confrontation of Xehanort and the disappearance of Riku. At the end of the CGI sequence, the screen settles on Sora and Kairi on the beach, just as Kingdom Hearts III ended, only 3 years later.

In the first cutscene of the game, which happens to be one of the longest in the game, Sora and Kairi sit on the beach, looking at the distant island, as the sun sets behind it. They’re three years older, now about 20, more mature, but still fun, crazy kids. They talk about Riku and his disappearance. They know that they’ll see him again and they start talking about going on their own adventure to find him. They can’t believe that it has been three years since they’ve been on the island, but they promised to return with Riku, so they’ll do just that.

Over the past three years, Sora and Kairi have grown so much closer and have become somewhat of an item, even though neither of them will confirm anything. It’s been quieter around Destiny Islands, more quiet than usual, they agree. Selphie, Tidus and Wakka have left the islands and moved to a new world; leaving Sora and Kairi the only remaining island kids. They think that something big is coming their way, yet they don’t know what that is yet.

As the sun sets off in the distance, the night sky blankets the heavens with stars, as the two fall asleep on the beach. The screen goes to black. Sometime later that night, an unknown figure is seen off on the island in the distance, before disappearing in a golden portal. Suddenly, a bright star in the sky goes out. Suddenly, a series of dark meteor orbs descend down from the sky, heading straight for Sora and Kairi. The orb reaches the couple and engulfs them in a dark smog.

In a dark space, the two lie, still asleep, even after the previous event. Sora suddenly jolts awake, not seeming to notice the different surroundings around him. His sudden motions cause Kairi to stir. When they’re fully awake, they notice that they’ve found themselves in a dark alleyway. They see a faint light shine at the end of the alleyway. It looks like it leads to an open plaza. As Sora and Kairi reach the end of the alleyway, they can’t believe their eyes. Traverse Town.

 

[mharrington]

Wow, so the game pretty much returns to its roots in Traverse Town, huh?

 

[Disneyson 1]

Back to more Traverse Town antics...! I wonder if Pluto's around!

 

[KingMickey]

Yepp, the game is going back to some of its old roots and returning to Traverse Town. I'm sure Pluto's around here somewhere.

 

[KingMickey]

Here's a timeline for the game's series so far.

• Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep (Takes place 10 years prior to the original Kingdom Hearts.)
• Kingdom Hearts (Takes place in the span of 6 months)
• Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories (Over the course of 3 days)
• Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days (Takes place in the year bewteen Kingdom Hearts I and Kingdom Hearts II)
• Kingdom Hearts II (Takes place in the span of 6 months)
• Kingdom Hearts III (Takes place in the span of six months)
• Three Year Gap
• Kingdom Hearts IV (Will take place in the span of about 6 months)

So, all in all the entire series will have reached going on 16 years by the end of Kingdom Hearts IV. We've been playing as Sora for 6 of those years.

Just gotta work some kinks out with this world first, but Traverse Town world coming up soon.

 

[Twilight_Roxas]

Cool

 

[KingMickey]

Traverse Town
​

Sora and Kairi find themselves in the familiar settings of the First District of Traverse Town. Though, the area seems somewhat different than what they remembered it to be. The once lit lamplights that used to illuminate the town, stand extinguished, offering no expand of light. The building windows, once filled with light, now show nothing but darkness. The many once-accessible shops are now boarded off and hold only emptiness. It seems that the entire area has been abandoned.

Sora and Kairi make their way up the stone steps, past the closed of Accessory Shop. Arriving at the top of the steps, they spot a save point. From here, the “Save Point Tutorial” takes place. After the tutorial, Sora and Kairi enter the Second District.

They arrive in the second section of the town. What once used to be the bright center of town, now looks fairly dim, a lot like the rest of the town. Sora and Kairi haven’t seen a single person since they’ve been here. They make their way down the stone steps, when suddenly the Heartless appear. Kairi takes cover, while Sora takes out his Kingdom Key keyblade. He hasn’t had to use it in awhile, so he hopes that he can jump right back into fighting. Suddenly, a different type of monster appears. They look nothing like Heartless or Nobodies, but something entirely different. A fight begins.

At this time, the “Combat Tutorial” takes place. Sora is given hints on how to defeat the Heartless and these strange creatures easily. After the creatures are defeated, Sora and Kairi continue to explore the area, hoping to find someone or something. They find that both the Hotel and the Gizmo Shop have been locked shut. They reach the former Dalmations’ House, but now it lies dormant and inaccessible. They continue to walk down the dark alley, which leads to the Third District.

Once inside the Third Distict, they find that the Small House, which used to be their “home-base” has become the dark and dusty building it once was. Upon descending down into the main part of the district, they encounter more Heartless and mysterious enemies. After the fight, Sora and Kairi continue through the district to find a fiery emblem, located on a door. The emblem, still activated, causes the door to rise, leading to the Mystical House.

Sora and Kairi make their way through the dark passage and arrive in a large open area, familiar to Sora. Ahead, they see a large, whimsical house, located on an island. Surrounding the house, is a large lake, which has several moving stone paths, leading up to the house. Sora and Kairi make their way across the paths, to the house and then they enter.

 

[KingMickey]

Inside Merlin’s House, they find King Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Jiminy Cricket and Pluto already waiting there, in the magical room, as it looked six years ago. They are ecstatic to see each other and quickly greet them. Before long, King Mickey settles them down and tells them all of why they’ve been brought here. He proceeds to a bookshelf and pulls out one of the several books that Merlin has kept record of. King Mickey opens the book and starts to tell the team all of their approaching adventure and what enemies may lie in store.

King Mickey begins to tell them all about the enemies they will face, alongside the Heartless: the Unknowns. Mickey explains that there are three parts of the body that revolve around these specific enemies being made. Hearts birth the Heartless, a person’s soul and a heart births a Nobody, it is unknown what birthed the long-gone Unversed and a person’s soul and conscience birth an Unknown. An Unknown is a creature which lacks a heart, yet still has a soul and a conscience. Their conscience give them fierce instincts, even though it seems they lack any brain power.

King Mickey continues to explain this new enemy by saying that this new species was all created by Maleficent three years ago, at the destruction of Radiant Garden. When Merlin risked his life to save Sora, Maleficent obtained the power of Merlin’s conscience, used her dark powers and resulted in creating these new enemies. However, these creatures turned against Maleficent and found a new leader to command their onslaught. Ever since then, Maleficent had gone into hiding, her whereabouts unknown.

Now, the task for Sora, Donald and Goofy is to travel through the worlds, preventing any damage done to Kingdom Hearts, which is safely stored in the bowels of Disney Castle. Alongside, they must protect and seal the keyhole of each new world they will encounter on this visit. They must also defeat the Heartless, the Unknown and their leader, and restore peace to all the worlds again. Jiminy Cricket will travel alongside them, to chronicle their journey. King Mickey, Kairi and Pluto will stay at Merlin’s House, where they will continue their research about these strange and unsettling creatures. Sora, Donald and Goofy are excited to begin their next adventure!

Before heading out of the house, use the save point which lies in the corner of the room, next to a large heap of books. After leaving the house, Donald and Goofy mention that their Gummi Ship is parked outside the town’s gate in the First District. They make their way across the moving platforms, towards the tunnel light, which leads to the Third District.

They enter into the plaza, when suddenly, a large monster attacks! The large monster springs forth and sends the team into battle.

-Boss: PRIDE-

The first boss of the game, which also happens to be one of the very first Unknowns you encounter! This monster happens to be overly proud of its talents and thinks it always has an upper hand, but one wrong slip and it’ll fall face first into the ground, completely damaging its ego.

The monster moves quickly and attacks with it’s large razor sharp claws and will sometimes head-butt you with the sharp horns on his head. If you move around the battle field for a bit, it won’t be long before this monster trips over its own ego. While he’s on the floor, it’s a prominent time to deal some major damage. Continue this strategy until the monster is defeated and vanishes.

After the battle, Sora is rewarded with the Fire Spell. Donald and Goofy reward Sora with the Dodge Roll ability.

They head out of the Third District and move to the abandoned First District. Make sure you’re ready to proceed before leaving the town. When you’re ready, head through the town’s exit gateway.

The screen takes you to the World Map, which will showcase the many worlds you will explore in the game. As the map appears, Chip and Dale, your Gummi crew engineers will greet you and explain a short Gummi Ship tutorial. Right now there are only two worlds on the World Map: Traverse Town and another world. As you move the Gummi Ship closer to the new world, it is revealed to be Radiant Garden.

Jiminy’s Journal- Traverse Town

Upon arriving to Traverse Town, Sora and Kairi found that the once bustling and populated town, had been deserted. Not a soul lied in sight. After doing some exploring of the town, they found King Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Pluto and myself at Merlin’s House, just past the Third District.

There, the King began to explain all about the new enemies, known as the Unknown and their connection to Maleficent, Merlin and the Heartless. Not long after, Sora, Donald and Goofy would find themselves on a new adventure! As they were leaving the town, they came across a ferocious fiend, who happened to be an Unknown. They quickly defeated the fiend and proceeded to leave town.

Now, Sora, Donald and Goofy are on a new adventure to seal the worlds, maintain the stability of Kingdom Hearts and defeat the Heartless, the Unknown and their leader!

Characters:

• Sora
• Kairi
• Donald
• Goofy
• King Mickey
• Pluto
• Jiminy Cricket
• Chip
• Dale

Abilities Gained:
-Fire Spell
-Dodge Roll

Heartless:
-Shadow
-Soldier

Unknowns:
-Hopper
-Chaser

Bosses:
PRIDE

 

[Twilight_Roxas]

I know this is a dumb question but should Kingdom Hearts IV give a role to Oswald the Lucky Rabbit?

 

[Disneyson 1]

I likey!! The Unknowns are perfect for this game series! Now, if a Heartless is black and a Nobody is white, would an Unknown be gray?

 

[Twilight_Roxas]

I likey!! The Unknowns are perfect for this game series! Now, if a Heartless is black and a Nobody is white, would an Unknown be gray?

Well some Heartless and Nobodies have different colors.

 

[KingMickey]

I know this is a dumb question but should Kingdom Hearts IV give a role to Oswald the Lucky Rabbit?

I'm not sure if Oswald the Lucky Rabbit would be in the game or not. He fits best into Timeless River, but that world isn't going to return for this game. He still might be added somewhere in the game, I'm not sure where yet.

I likey!! The Unknowns are perfect for this game series! Now, if a Heartless is black and a Nobody is white, would an Unknown be gray?

Well some Heartless and Nobodies have different colors.

The Unknowns aren't going to be color based. They come in all shapes and sizes and are very shifty creatures. So far, I've decided to do something interesting with this new species and name them after the Seven Deadly Sins and several emotions.

 

[Twilight_Roxas]

Well he could be the very first king of Disney Castle who given his duty as king to Mickey and dissappear on a mission and he appears later as a possesed person control by the main villain AKA king of heartless.

 

[mharrington]

What's next?

 

[KingMickey]

Yes, sorry I haven't updated in awhile. I've had some work to do, outside of these boards. Thankfully though, that's over and this can get kicking again. I haven't forgotten about this game and it is going to be completed. And during the 2 weeks I hadn't posted anything, I was really focusing on creating a turning point for this game and I have thought up a pretty different take on the middle of the game. It should be pretty cool and shocking.

Next up, the team ventures into a restored Radiant Garden.

 

[mharrington]

Will Radiant Garden be overtaken by the bad guys again? That is, sometime later in the game?