Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory is a 2020 rhythm action game developed by Square Enix and indieszero, and published by Square Enix for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows. It is the fourteenth installment in the Kingdom Hearts series, retelling the events of the series so far, while also being set after Kingdom Hearts III's Re Mind downloadable content scenario.
Hints at the next Kingdom Hearts game came in January 2020 from series creator Tetsuya Nomura, with the game being revealed in June. Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory was released worldwide in November.
Plot[]
Melody of Memory retells the story of the Dark Seeker Saga, starting with the first Kingdom Hearts and moving in order through Kingdom Hearts III. This is done through Kairi, who reflects upon the events of the series, narrating for the player. Series creator and director Tetsuya Nomura said "once we go through the story of recollection and beyond that, we start to see a timeline that will connect to the future". The game also continues Kairi's story immediately after the end of the Kingdom Hearts III Re Mind downloadable content scenario. Nomura stated the character's childhood would be explored, which had been mostly a mystery up until this point, but cautioned the new story was "not meant to advance things significantly". He added that "there are hints sprinkled throughout" regarding the Master of Masters, with Nomura acknowledging the character and the title sharing an acronym (MoM). Suzui felt the game was a "summary" of the Kingdom Hearts series "in a nice, easy to digest format" while still featuring "hints about what's coming next" in the franchise. Melody of Memory features 47 worlds from the series (31 Disney and 16 original worlds) and 33 locations known as "dark holes" where the boss battle songs take place. As many Disney worlds were chosen as possible, with Suzui calling it "robust" while not feeling "like a rush through a collection of the entire series".