A majority of the magic that can be found in the Kingdom Hearts series from the Disney worlds and characters it introduces into its games. It’s a thrill to see the likes of Ratatouille‘s Remy conducting Sora in creating a dish in Twilight Town, and Merlin helping Final Fantasy‘s Leon/Squall and Yuffie in Traverse Town, for example.
The characters that Sora can meet in Kingdom Hearts 4 could help him grow and learn to become a better keyblade wielder (and possibly in the future, master). Here are seven characters that Sora should meet in Kingdom Hearts 4.
Oliver (Oliver & Company)
Over the past few Kingdom Hearts entries, Square Enix and Disney have opted to include more mainstream characters from their properties. It would be cool to get a reference from an older movie, however. As Sora is exploring a new city called Quadratum, it would be neat to come across the adorable orange cat Oliver from the 1988 film Oliver & Company.
He could be a cute pet in Sora’s apartment, which we see in the KH4 announcement trailer. He could possibly provide you with items he’s found around the city as well when Sora returns to the apartment. It would be cool if we could get a rendition of the banger song “Why Should I Worry?” somewhere as well.
Spider-Man
While some fans are unsure about including Marvel heroes and villains into the Kingdom Hearts universe, it would help Sora mature into a young man. Spider-Man is around the same age as Sora and faces many tough villains who could actually pose a threat to Sora, unlike many Disney animated villains.
Think about a boss fight against Dr. Octopus or Venom against the keyblade wielder and the webslinger working together. It would be absolutely epic. The “With great power comes great responsibility” messaging would work well with Sora, especially after overexploiting his power of waking in Kingdom Hearts 3. You could include Square Enix’s own version of Spider-Man, who actually has a figure designed by Tetsuya Nomura already.
Jim Hawkins (Treasure Planet)
Treasure Planet didn’t do well at the box office but since its 2002 release, it has gained a cult following among Disney fans. With Sora likely discovering more about himself in Kingdom Hearts 4 in the new realm of unreality, going on a big adventure with Jim Hawkins could help bring maturity to Sora’s character. He’d learn to be a cabin boy on the R.L.S. Legacy and then will fight a tough battle against the pirates who decide to overrun the ship.
Jim and Sora would become fast friends as they ride the solar surfer and try to keep their new-found friends safe. Sora would also learn that not everyone is purely good or purely evil, with characters such as John Silver, adding nuance to his character. Whether or not Square Enix would include Treasure Planet is unclear as its not well known, but it would be fantastic to at least get a reference in the upcoming game.
Mirabel & Luisa (Encanto)
Encanto is one of the most popular Disney films in the past few decades, and the world itself is just asking for a Kingdom Hearts adaptation. While there isn’t a traditional villain to be found within this film, you could play upon the darkness within the plotline as family members distrust each other. Heartless could form from the sadness lurking within the house.
Luisa, with her super strength, would make for a fun party member, while Mirabel can tag along ,leading the characters forward in the story with her optimism. The South American-inspired film would look stunning in Kingdom Hearts 4‘s Unreal Engine 5-powered graphics. It would be colorful, bright, and a complete change of pace from the grey Quadratum.
Mr. Incredible (The Incredibles)
Heading over to Nomanisan Island and fighting alongside the Parr family against Syndrome would be an exciting rush for Kingdom Hearts fans. Sora could even have his own super suit (with no cape, of course!) designed by Edna Mode. The island would be an exciting place to explore with plenty of jungle areas and villainous bases to encounter.
The boss fights against Syndrome and his Omnidroid would be exhilarating as Sora works alongside Mr. Incredible, his family, and Frozone to finally take them down. Having the Parr family as party members would be exciting as Sora could have all manner of team-up moves with them.
Judy Hopps (Zootopia/Zootropolis)
While Zootropolis looks very similar to Quadratum as they’re both cities, the animal residents would make the world different enough to be interesting. Sora could even take on his original design and become a lion just like the concept art. He would help Judy stop crime around the city in exhilarating rushes across town, chasing bad guys.
The lurking hatred between different animal kinds could also sprout the heartless. The different animal forms the heartless could take would be interesting too. Zootopia is one of Disney’s most popular film properties, so it would make sense to see it appear in the Kingdom Hearts series. It would also be fun to see Sora interact with the funny slow-moving sloths.
Darth Vader (Star Wars)
Darth Vader is a dream opponent for Sora in Kingdom Hearts 4. With his mighty powers of the Force, he’d be a tough battle for Sora. He’d quickly attack with his red lightsaber and blast force lightning towards the keyblade kid. The Death Star would make for a mighty setting for a battle such as this.
Legendary composer Yoko Shimomura would make an incredible take on the classic “Imperial March” in a boss battle theme. Once Darth Vader is defeated, Sora could get a mighty lightsaber-inspired keyblade, which would be so bad ass. Endor seems to be teased in the Kingdom Hearts 4 announcement trailer, but that hasn’t been confirmed yet.