| Kingdom Karts | |
|---|---|
| |
| キングダムカート Kingudamu Kāto | |
| Developer(s) | Square Enix |
| Publisher(s) | Square Enix |
| Release date(s) |  February 29, 2022 February 29, 2022 / February 29, 2022 June 18, 2022
|
| Genre | Racing game |
| Game modes | Single player, local multiplayer |
| Ratings | TBA |
| Platform(s) | Wii U |
Kingdom Karts is the upcoming fifteenth game in the Kingdom Hearts series.
Announcement
Kingdom Karts was announced in a Famitsu interview with Tetsuya Nomura on March 31, 2021, as the big surprise for the 20th anniversary of the Kingdom Hearts series.
Story
Kingdom Karts will focus on the story of Chirithy. Only part of the story will be available at launch, with the rest being released as DLC.[1]
Mechanics
Players can customize karts in a similar style as Gummi Ships. Only a handful of parts are available at first, with more being able to be purchased in the form of loot boxes.
To avoid players easily beating the AI, all AI opponents will increase speed when falling behind.
Worlds and Characters
Unlike past games, Nomura wanted to put the untold heroes of the series in the spotlight.[2]
- Barrel
- Chien-Po
- Chirithy, who constantly makes the ”owowowowowowowowo” sounds while driving.
- Cubby
- Drizella
- Gopher
- Horace Horsecollar
- Panic
- The Peddler
- The Struggle tournament sponsor
- Wardrobe
- White Rabbit
So far, six circuits have been shown.
- A circuit on the Crumbling Island in Destiny Islands, comprising a simple circle.
- A circuit in Sunset Terrace in Twilight Town.
- A circuit in the Sandswept Ruins in Agrabah.
- A circuit in the Rocky Expanse in Neverland.
- A circuit in outer space, around the Deep Space ship. Falling off the track at any point brings you back at the start of the lap.
- A circuit on the North Mountain in Arendelle. This will be the longest track, expected to take at least 10 minutes per lap.
Items
Like other karting games, racers can pick up items during the race. These items include:
- One of Bouncywild's banana peels: can be thrown on the ground to make other racers slip.[3]
- One of the Mushrooms found on Destiny Islands: using one will increase your speed for a short while.[4]
- A Thunder spell: shrinks all other racers.[5]
- A yet unconfirmed item.[6]
Music
To commemorate the 20th anniversary of Kingdom Hearts, Utada Hikaru wrote a new theme song to go with the game. A preview of the song, called "Donald, Why Won't You Heal Me?", has been uploaded to YouTube.[7]
The ending song will be a currently-untitled track composed by Takeharu Ishimoto.[8]
Notes and references
- ^ Weekly Famitsu; Interviewer: "Can you tell us what the game's story is about?" / Tetsuya Nomura: "All I can tell at this moment is that it's about Chirithy. It's not that I don't want to tell more, I literally don't have anything else. I always just make things up as I go along. *laughs*" / Interviewer: "Will you be able to finish the story on time for release?" / Tetsuya Nomura: "Definitely not. That's why we're planning to release the story in DLC. Paid DLC, of course. *laughs*"
- ^ Weekly Famitsu; Interviewer: I can't help but feel the character roster is very random. Why's that?" / Tetsuya Nomura: "Unlike Melody of Memory, which was all about the main characters, I wanted this game to show more of the lesser-known, but still very important, characters."
- ^ Weekly Famitsu; Interviewer: "Isn't that just taken from Mario Kart?" / Tetsuya Nomura: "Of course not! Slipping on a banana peel is classic humor."
- ^ Weekly Famitsu; Interviewer: "A mushroom that makes you go faster? That's exactly like Mario Kart!" / Tetsuya Nomura: "It's very simple. Mushrooms are full of nutrients. Nutrients give you energy. Energy makes you go faster."
- ^ Weekly Famitsu; Interviewer: "This has to be taken from Mario Kart. Thunder spells making others shrink makes no sense!" / Tetsuya Nomura: "Of course it makes sense! But since you're being such an ass, I refuse to explain it."
- ^ Weekly Famitsu; Tetsuya Nomura: "If I tell you about the Ghostabocky item that steals the item from another racer, will you accuse me of stealing from Mario Kart again?" / Interviewer: "Most likely, yes." / Tetsuya Nomura: "Fine, then I won't tell you."
- ^ YouTube: Donald, Why Won't You Heal Me? (Preview) - Utada Hikaru
- ^ Weekly Famitsu; Interviewer: "Can you comment about the ending song?" / Takeharu Ishimoto: "I am going to hold the C note for approximately 30 seconds. Then the choir will come in with a D note when you least expect it. That’s all I will say at this time, because this is all I can come up with at this time."