An unbelievable fact of the matter, Kingdom Hearts 3 was released nearly a year and a half ago. At the time, fans had their hearts set on another main installment for fifteen years and most people couldn’t believe it had finally come! Thankfully, it seems that waiting is a relic of the past as game creator and story designer, Tetsuya Nomura, is wasting no time in releasing the next game in the franchise: Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory.
While not a numbered title, Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory (otherwise known as Melody) promises to continue the story left off from KH3 and its DLC, but it appears from the release date announcement trailer, this game will focus more heavily on Kairi and her past. Much like every other spin-off game in the franchise, Melody will continue with the canon story despite it not being a main entry in the series.
Melody is first and foremost a rhythm game, think Dance Dance Revolution or Guitar Hero, except with music from all the games in the Kingdom Hearts franchise. The incredibly intriguing aspect that sets Melody apart is that the characters will be running along the music track and attacking enemies, and orbs, in order to indicate that the player is staying on beat. We know that there are music videos you can watch in, what they call, Memory Dives and your friends can be your power in Co-Op Mode, or conversely, you can face them in online VS Battles. There’s collecting synthesis materials (a series staple for item creation) that allow you to craft new songs, as well as items, and there’s also a museum for “movies, music, and more” according to the release date announcement trailer.
What else do we know about Melody? We know the release date is November 13, 2020. We know it releases for PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. We know there are grueling boss battles against old foes and we know - thanks to the Melody website - there are over 140 songs to choose from, play, and listen to. We also know you choose from a roster of Kingdom Hearts characters and Disney characters to play as and that the “Nintendo Switch is getting an exclusive ‘Free-For-All’ mode which will allow up to eight participants in local multiplayer to face off” according to an article by ScreenRant.
Are you excited for the next installment in the Kingdom Hearts series? Maybe the excitement to be had is having all the absolutely enchanting Kingdom Hearts music available all in one place to listen to your heart’s content. Let us know down below! The announcement trailer is now available to watch via YouTube and the Melody website.
By Nicholas James