Official s on X (formerly Twitter) have released new screenshots for cancellation of Missing-Link, a mobile spinoff with Pokemon GO-style gameplay, had some fans questioning the future of the series.

However, as if to refute any uncertainty, Square Enix released a series of screenshots from Kingdom Hearts 4 in a post on the official Kingdom Hearts X , saying, "We’re currently working hard on Kingdom Hearts IV and will continue pouring ourselves into the game’s development." On the surface, they're nothing groundbreaking, but zoom in, and they actually reveal some major details for Kingdom Hearts 4.

5 Mickey May Be Playable In KH4

Screenshots Seem To Show Him Platforming

We'll start in the middle and work our way out: look in the middle right, at that screenshot set in a densely packed library, which appears to show a platforming section of the game. But it almost certainly looks like the player is controlling Mickey in this screenshot. That wouldn't exactly be a series first, but it would be a bit of an oddity. Kingdom Hearts games are no stranger to perspective switching - most notably, the switch from Roxas to Sora mid-way through Kingdom Hearts 2. The triple scenarios in Birth by Sleep and the constant protagonist-swapping in Dream Drop Distance are also notable.

However, it's been historically rare for Kingdom Hearts games to include a playable Mickey. In general, taking control of Mickey is a special condition that only exists in certain parts of the game, and even then, only under special conditions. He serves as a kind of backup in Kingdom Hearts 2, filling in when Sora falls, and can be played in 358/2 Days, but only after beating all the missions and unlocking a special item.

But it looks like Mickey will almost certainly be playable in Kingdom Hearts 4, although likely not for the entirety of the game. We know the story revolves around Sora being separated from the rest of the gang, so Mickey's mission will likely remain separate. My best guess is that he'll be playable only in certain levels or story sequences.

4 Sora Uses His Chain In Combat

A New Weapon, Or A Traversal Mechanic?

Kingdom Hearts is a series about keys. Keys, doors, and locks have always been important parts of its imagery, its visual language, if you will, and that looks to be the case in Kingdom Hearts 4. Sora still wields the Keyblade (unsurprisingly), but, perhaps more notably, he also appears to use his chain/keychain as a tool during combat sequences.

What could this mean, exactly, and what could it be used for? Fan speculation has run rampant, with many identifying it as a potential new weapon for Sora. It's fun to imagine him swinging the Keyblade around like Kratos' Blades of Chaos in God of War, but I have a different theory: I think the chain is related to a new traversal mechanic. I suspect this is a new evolution of Flowmotion, perhaps allowing players to create their own paths.

Sora's shoes also turn blue when he makes with the golden chain.

This may be notable, maybe not, but it's also worth mentioning that Sora's iconic crown pendant isn't visible in his health bar portrait in the screenshots released for Kingdom Hearts 4. It's been a prominent feature of his health bar in many other games, and many have speculated it could have some as-yet unrevealed story significance.

3 Where Is Mickey In The New KH4 Screenshots?

Hollow Bastion, Scala Ad Caelum, Or Somewhere Else?

Let's go back to that image of a probably playable Mickey platforming for a moment. That third-person perspective and command window look convincing - but wait, where is he? Mickey's pictured here in a grand, wood-ed library, with huge shelves laden with books and heavy chandeliers. It doesn't look to be a location based on any particular Disney property, so it's more likely one of Kingdom Hearts' more original settings.

But which one? Hollow Bastion, the dark, empty castle where Sora confronts Riku near the end of Kingdom Hearts 1, is one sensible theory. The library is certainly lavish enough to fit into a castle, and the image of well-stocked shelves in a place where there's no one left to read them is a great visual metaphor. Others have pointed to this as evidence for the potential recurrence of Scala ad Caelum from Kingdom Hearts 3. It's certainly possible, but I'm not totally convinced - the dark wood ing here doesn't really match Scala's whitewashed aesthetic.

It's not out of the realm of possibility, though, that this could even be a small part of Mickey's own castle that we haven't had the opportunity to explore yet. Of course, it's also possible that this could be a new location we've never seen before in the Kingdom Hearts series, one that's being introduced for the first time in Kingdom Hearts 4. We may be reading too much into this one, but only time will tell.

2 Darkside Has Wings In KH4

They Fly Now?

A Darkside is a massive Heartless, and a recurring boss who's appeared in many Kingdom Hearts games. We know it's coming back for KH4, albeit in a new form, and this time, it has wings. The Darkside appears multiple times in Kingdom Hearts 1, first as a sort of combat tutorial, and later in a more difficult form. It later reappears in Chain of Memories, 358/2 Days, and Coded, almost always in the same context.

It's one of the series' most recognizable bosses, and, as it appears at the very beginning of the original Kingdom Hearts and later recurs in Kingdom Hearts 3 at Scala ad Caelum, it definitely has some sort of tie to the series' lore. Darkside always appears at story-fraught moments, when things are about to change gravely for the protagonists, so it's definitely got an important role in whatever's going on in Kingdom Hearts 4. It could be related somehow to the game's story being treated as a narrative reset.

Why it has wings now, though, is anyone's guess. This could be a meaningful choice, or it could just be for the cool factor. It could be a bit of symbolism we haven't deciphered yet, or it could just be related to a new boss mechanic aimed at keepign this eternally recurring enemy interesting in the next Kingdom Hearts game. Either way, it'll likely make for an imposing boss battle when we first arrive in Quadratum.

1 Kingdom Hearts 4 Has A New Combat Command

The "Build" Option

Secreted away in the corner of that screenshot of Sora in battle is a new command in Kingdom Hearts 4's combat menu: "Build." It's not surprising to hear that KH4 will be introducing new combat mechanics to the series; practically every game, even the spinoffs, has attempted to innovate on classic Kingdom Hearts combat to varying degrees of success.

Still, building is a new one. The first thing I thought of was Wreck-It Ralph's mechanic as a summon in Kingdom Hearts 3, which allows him to place blocks around the battlefield Minecraft-style, which then emit a bright light that stuns enemies and opens them up to attack. I doubt Kingdom Hearts 4 will have anything quite like that, though, at least not as a core mechanic.

An earlier Kingdom Hearts 4 leak reported that there might be a mechanic where Sora could absorb his enemies' darkness, then use it in battle against them. Perhaps this could have something to do with the Build mechanic; maybe Sora will be able to spawn environmental elements, like walls or barriers a la Wild Hearts, or even to create his own allies by sapping the Heartless' life energy. It could even be related to the chain traversal mechanic we see in the same screenshot. But honestly, it's hard to say exactly what this means based on a single screenshot. Like all these other tiny details, the full scope of its implications will have to wait until Kingdom Hearts 4 is finally out.

Sources: Kingdom Hearts/X