Kotaku has launched "Guiding Key," a new year-long book club-style series that will delve into every game in the Kingdom Hearts franchise. The initiative aims to revisit the series' complex story and characters in anticipation of Kingdom Hearts IV, slated for a late 2027 release. The series kicked off on October 8, coinciding with the release of the Kingdom Hearts I~III Collection on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch.
The author shares a personal history with Kingdom Hearts, recounting how the original PlayStation 2 title was their first Square game and a formative experience that introduced them to emotionally resonant storytelling and action RPGs. The emotional impact of the original game's ending, set to Utada Hikaru's "Simple and Clean," is highlighted as a particularly cherished memory.
While the author remained a fan, their investment wavered in later installments. Kingdom Hearts III, in particular, was approached with a desire to see how Square Enix would conclude the notoriously convoluted narrative. Despite a lukewarm reception to KHIII for some, the franchise is poised for a new arc, with Disney continuing its involvement.
"Guiding Key" seeks to counter the tendency for games to be reduced to memes and soundbites, with the author intending to interrogate the series' narrative directly. The common criticism that Kingdom Hearts' story is "too complicated" is viewed as an oversimplification, often based on out-of-context plot details rather than an engagement with the games themselves. The project aims to examine the series' evolution, questioning when its narrative complexity began to escalate beyond its initial premise of children exploring different worlds.
The retrospective will cover each game chronologically, with blog entries for individual titles and monthly check-ins. The planned schedule is as follows:
- Kingdom Hearts: October-December 2026
- Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories: January 2027
- Kingdom Hearts II: February-April 2027
- Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days and Re:Coded: May 2027
- Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep: June 2027
- Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance and A Fragmentary Passage: July 2027
- Kingdom Hearts Union χ Dark Road (mobile games): August 2027
- Kingdom Hearts III and the Re:Mind DLC: August-October 2027
- Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory: November 2027
- Kingdom Hearts IV: Late 2027