Square Enix has announced that Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory is now scheduled for release on November 13th, 2020, for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. The rhythm action game is the latest entry in the long-running Kingdom Hearts franchise. It was officially announced several months back, and despite being a different genre than the typical RPG the series is known for, it will still continue the story of the series, specifically Kairi’s story from Kingdom Hearts 3.
As Square Enix previously revealed, Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory will take players to revisit several worlds from the previous entries in the series, such as Agrabah, Atlantica, and Wonderland. It features over 140 songs from across the Kingdom Hearts franchise, which also includes songs from the Disney films featured in the series. Over 20 characters will be playable in the game, with Sora, Donald, Goofy, Aladdin, and Hercules being shown off in the game’s announcement trailer back in June.
The release date of Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory was announced during a surprise Nintendo Direct Mini Partner Showcase, which revealed a new trailer for the game that was also published on Nintendo’s YouTube channel. The trailer showed off some of the other playable characters in the game, including Roxas, Axel, and Xion, as well as some of the game modes and features players can experience. These include Memory Dive, which lets players replay previous stages, Boss Battle, which pits them against a series of bosses, and a music and cinematic player to rewatch cutscenes from the series.
Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory will also feature online and local multiplayer modes where players compete to see who can get the highest score. The Nintendo Switch is also getting an exclusive “Free-For-All” mode which will allow up to eight participants in local multiplayer to face off. Melody of Memory will continue the story of the series after the events of the Kingdom Hearts 3 Re:Mind DLC.
The Kingdom Hearts series is notorious for its convoluted plot, which is made even harder to follow by Square Enix releasing games in the series in wildly different formats. Previous entries have spanned multiple platforms and genres while telling one story, and it seems like that trend is continuing with the release of Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory. Being such a different game from the rest of the series, Melody of Memory may actually even appeal to players who aren’t normal fans of Kingdom Hearts, but who are looking for a good new rhythm game.
Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory adding more to the series’ lore makes it somewhat of a required purchase for die-hard fans of the series, much like the rest of the series spin-offs such as the recently released Kingdom Hearts Dark Road mobile game. Although, even if Melody of Memory is a rhythm action game, the footage shown off so far actually looks interesting and enjoyable, in spite of its lighter tone compared to the other entries in the series.
Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory is scheduled for release on November 13th, 2020, for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
