Famitsu: KH4 packs "the most detailed worlds ever", but fewer of them

After D23 gave us the Coco world, the Kingdom Hearts anime, and the "Deep Dive into Kingdom Hearts" panel, Famitsu sat down with series creator Tetsuya Nomura and KH4 co-director Tai Yasue. They went well past the trailers. Here is the whole conversation.

"The most detailed worlds we've ever created", and fewer of them

Nomura puts the trade-off bluntly. Depth over breadth, basically.

This game features the most detailed worlds we've ever created. That's why the total number of worlds isn't very large.

Tetsuya Nomura - Famitsu, August 27

Fans at D23 were bracing for another world after Coco, but he joked that unveiling them that fast would burn through every secret before launch. The Coco slice shown at D23 is "only a small part of what's to come". They pulled a sneak peek forward that was meant for later, and the real introduction is still ahead.

The Coco world is built to be explored

On the Mexican Land of the Dead, Nomura says the world was built to be explored, not just looked at.

Built in a very three-dimensional way with a lot of attractions that you can move around on, incredibly vast with lots of exploration, more amazing than ever before.

Tetsuya Nomura - Famitsu

Both DualShockers and Nintendo Everything read the room for fans: expect more verticality and more to find, even if the Disney world count is lower than past mainline games.

A script almost twice as long as Kingdom Hearts III

The story is heavy. Nomura says the KH4 script is "almost twice as long as that for Kingdom Hearts 3," and KH3 already ran about 25 to 30 hours of main story, so this is the longest mainline script yet.

The recording schedule was really tough. There were parts I wanted to include more of, but it was beyond the limits.

Tetsuya Nomura - Famitsu

Voice recording: Japanese done, English 60 to 70% in

For the impatient: Nomura confirms Japanese voice recording is finished. Yasue says English is midway through:

We're currently in the middle of recording the English voiceovers. There are a huge number of lines, and the time difference makes it quite tough for the staff participating from Japan. However, the overseas staff have already finished about 60 to 70% of the recording, so things are progressing quite well.

Tai Yasue - Famitsu

Development is "smoother than ever"

Yasue repeats an earlier line: development is moving more smoothly than at any point in the series. A nice outside nod backs it up.

No other game comes this close to a movie.

Pixar animator - via Tai Yasue, Famitsu

What's next: a gap before the next info drop

The full info embargo is lifted now, but Nomura warns not to expect a steady drip. He says to look for a gap before the next information drop. He does dangle more 25th-anniversary news next year, and reminds everyone KH4 is still set for a late 2027 launch on Nintendo Switch 2, with PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC too. The talk wanders into lighter stuff as well: Nomura's delayed Haneda arrival (he reached the Showcase just in time, then snuck through back halls to avoid being seen), and Sigurd turning into a staff favorite.

KHInsider has the full English translation of the Famitsu piece if you want every word.