Why are we even here?

A couple of weeks ago, I ranked every Kingdom Hearts game, worst to best, and I placed Kingdom Hearts Dark Road right at the bottom without hesitation. That title, in my memory, was a clumsy cash grab with bland design decisions that largely served to funnel p??lay?ers back into its real-cash shop. You know, a gacha game.

In August 2022, though, Dark Road went offline. The game remains accessible with an overhauled shop, and, crucially, no in-app purchases. Everything is now available with in-game currency. I always want to give games more chances, and I often feel bad for games that are deemed "bad" by everyone, so I figured it was time to try Kingdom Hearts Dark Road again. I downloaded the game once more and played it front-to-back, and I purchased and upgraded every single card. I saw everything Dark Road had to offer. It gave me a headache.

Not in a "Kingdom Hearts" way

To be clear, every Kingdom Hearts game breaks my brain a little bit. The series' reputation for convoluted lore is earned (if occasionally exaggerated). This time, though, I wasn't puzzled by the plot. In fact, Dark Road's narrative is reasonably straightforward for a Kingdom Hearts game, and it might be one of my favorite stories in the wh??ole series.

No, what hurt my head this time around was the simple discovery that this game, with its gacha systems removed, barely functioned. The gameplay consists entirely of upgrading a deck of cards and playing them in battle. The process of actually playing cards is so uninte?resting that there's a toggle allowing the game to do it for you automatically, which means most of the game is simply upgrading your deck with new cards.

How do you get those new cards, you ask? Well, when the game launched in 2020, you could spend premium currency to pull them at random. ??You could earn that currency by "playing" (i.e., ??watching the auto-battle run its course), or, of course, you could move things along a little quicker by paying real money. So the game's sole active mechanic was spending money.

What now?

As of August, spending money in Kingdom Hearts Dark Road is totally impossible. Gacha pulls are no longer random, and cards can be purchased with in-game currency at a fixed price. So what happens to a game whose sole active mechanic is spending money when it can no longer siphon money from the player? What is Kingdom Hearts Dark Road without gacha mechanics?

Well... not much. It's basically a crappy idle game. All you c??an do is generate currency to spend on cards that help you generate currency faster, and the easiest way to farm is just to turn on the game's auto-battle and walk away. It used to be a game about one thing (spending money) and now it i??s a game about nothing.

Not all gacha (kind of)

Obviously, this experience is not representative of all gacha games. Kingdom Hearts Dark Road was already an especially thin game at launch, so it makes sense that it's barely a game now. Other gacha titles like Genshin Impact or Fire Emblem Heroes could surviv??e a fully free-to-pay model while remaining at least mod?erately engaging.

Still, the thing I found telling about playing Dark Road in 2022 was simply how cynical the whole thing felt. After letting the game idle for hours on end, it became apparent to me that it was, for a brief moment, genuinely viable for Square Enix to make a game into a storefront for nothing. Kingdom Hearts Dark Road never actually sold anything worthwhile. Your real world money wouldn't buy you anything other than a sense of investment in a bad game. Now that you can't even buy that, Dark Road is noth??ing more than the ghost of a money-printing ??machine.

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'Like it was destined to be'

Kingdom Hearts: Dark Road has launched on iOS and Android devices. The new t??itle is a spin-off from the beloved Square Enix/Disney crossover series, and tells the story of a young Master Xehanort, and how his fate twisted his role from that of a cheerful young man living to the Heartless Master that would serve as the series antagonist.

According to Kingdom Hearts director Tetsuya Nomura, it's a tale that he has been hoping to tell for some years. In an impromptu statement - apparently tapped out while commuting - Nomura has shared his passion for the Dark Road concept, the Xehanort backstory, and how this troubled tale fits within the mammoth Kingdom Hearts timeline.

"I had the concept in my head for many years," begins Nomura. "It got shelved because it never really fitted what our team wanted. But around then, I heard from the Union X team that they'd like to do a parallel title with a new pr?otago??nist. And, since it seemed there was an unexpected number of Xehanort fans out there, it all came together like it was destined to be. I do tend to believe in destiny."

"Dark Road depicts [Xehanort's] boyhood: the protagonist of Dark Road is the Xehanort who we see playing a board game in KH3... What kinds of people? does he come into contact with? What does he think? Wher?e is he headed? ...Well, he's headed for darkness. But I hope you all will come and walk with him and see what path he takes to get there."

You can check out Nomura's full thoughts, fully translated by Goldpanner, over at the KHInsider website. Meanwhile, Kingdom Hearts: Dark Road is available within Kingdom Hearts Union X, which is?? available to download now on iOS and Android devices.

Nomura shares message to commemorate Dark R?oad's lau??nch [KHInsider]

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Where did it all go wrong?

In a one-two punch of Kingdom Hearts news, Square Enix has announced that mobile adventure Kingdom Hearts: Dark Road will officially launch on iOS and Android devices on June 22, a little?? over a month after its unfortunate delay.

As a reminder, Dark Road is a prequel to much of Kingdom Hearts' mammoth timeline, and will tell the origin story of series antagonist Master Xenahort. Players will learn of the events that took this carefree young man and made him the Heartless master we know today. Dark Road will also feature appearances from other recognisable faces, while introducing a band of entirely new characters. Better make room in your headcanon, folks.

The trailer above, which also includes footage from the newly announced Melody of Memory, lets us take a look at Dark Road's blend of narrative storytelling and tactical combat action. There's no denying that Kingdom Hearts' lore is truly encyclopedic at this point, but no do?ubt fans of the series will soak up this latest chapter with absolute glee.

Kingdom Hearts: Dark Road launches on iOS and Android devices June 22.

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The Road to Oblivion

Square Enix has released a scant selection of screens from its upcoming mobile title Kingdom Hearts: Dark Road. The pint-sized RPG - previously known as "Project Xenahort" will launch on iOS and Android devices later this year, following an unfortunate postponement from its initial spring launch date.

The new images give us our first in-game look at protagonist Xenahort - the young man who would go on to become one of the most dastardly figures in the Kingdom Hearts universe - along with a pre-darkness Master Eraqus. As reported earlier, these characters will be joined by new cast members Hermod, Bragi, Vor, and Urd, as Dark Road recounts the events that lea??d these two prosperous young men to become the eventual enemies of Sora, Roxas, and co. They look? so cute! What happened?!

Kingdom Hearts: Dark Road will launch on iOS and An??droid devices later this year.

Kingdom Hearts: Dark Road introduces Xenahort ?a??nd Master Eraqus [Gematsu]

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Urd, Bragi, Vor, Hermod

I don't think anything will top "358/2" in terms of pure Kingdom Hearts silliness.

If you really, really dig into it, like most Kingdom Hearts lore bits, it actually does make sense, but the audacity of Square Enix to actually name a game that and risk turning off a large number of potential buyers is amazing: I have the same sentiment for the trolly Kingdom Hearts 3 special ending. And in true Kingdom Hearts fashion, we're getting some more silly names for the upcoming Dark Road&nbs?p;mobile game that will invoke some sort of ??mythological parallel.

Announced by way of their Twitter account this morning, beyond Eraqus and Xehanort, the prequel will also feature "Urd, Bragi, Vor and Hermod." You can find all of their character designs below, but?? suffice to say we will see some of them get swept up in Xehanort's rise to power, or oppose him with Eraqus. Some will wield the power of hearts, some will wield ??darkness: the cycle continues (or begins, really).

As a reminder, Dark Road will miss its original "spring" launch date due to the current global situation.

Kingdom Hearts: Dark Road [Twitter]

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The road is lo-ong...

Square Enix has announced that it has been forced to delay the launch of its mobile-based Kingdom Hearts title, Dark Road. Originally scheduled to hit iOS and Android platforms in spring, the?? previously titled "Project Xenahort" will now arrive at some point later in 2020.

"Due to current conditions, development for Kingdom Hearts Dark Road has been delayed," said the publisher on Twitter. "We apologize for the late update, as we were trying to find some means of making a Spring r???elease. Another announcement will be coming in early June, so please stay tuned."

Obviously, "current conditions" refers to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which has played havoc in the industry with ongoing development, release dates, and live events. Although details are still relatively slim on Dark Road, it is believed to be a prequel based around the story of Kingdom Hearts ?antagonist Master Xenahort, recounting the events that saw him transform from a happy childhood on ?Destiny Island to a man of spite and malice.

Due to current con??ditions, development for KINGDOM HEARTS DARK ROAD has been delayed.

We apologize for the late update, as we we?re trying to find some means of making a Spring release.

Another announcement will be coming in early June, so please stay tuned.#KHDR pic.twitter.com/xW0hWWcfFF

— KINGDOM HEARTS DARK ROAD (@kh_dr_na) May 19, 2020

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Mobile title launches this spring

Just last week, we were informed by Square Enix that a new Kingdom Hearts title was in development for mobile platforms, with the tentative title of "Project Xenahort." The publisher has now officially confirmed that this new entry in the expansive crossover franchise is officially called Kingdom Hearts: Dark Road.

Details are still slim on both gameplay and narrative, but it is expected to tell the tale of Kingdom Hearts' primary antagonist, the fallen Keyblade Master Xenahort, and the events that led him away from his humble home on Destiny Island and onto a never-ending path of anger and malevolence - ??a DARK ROAD, if ??you will.

Launching for iOS and Android devices worldwide this spring, Kingdom Hearts: Dark Road will be a free-to-play title supported by in-app purchases. You can keep abreast of new info by following the new Twitter account @kh_dr_na.

There seems to be a lot of other announcements, so we'll announce the title ?a l??ittle early.

Please view the video below for the official title for Project Xeh??anort.

#KHDR pic.twitter.com/RAe6qxfRQF

— KINGDOM HEARTS DARK ROAD (@kh_dr_na) January 31, 2020

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