Kingdom Hearts Story Got So Complex That Square Enix Hired a Loremaster, Says Tetsuya Nomura

The Kingdom Hearts universe is so vast that series creator Tetsuya Nomura admits Square Enix brought in a dedicated loremaster to keep the narrative on track. With Kingdom Hearts IV slated for a late 2027 release, fans have been revisiting older entries, and a recent collection even became one of Steam's top sellers after a D23 gameplay reveal in July. The franchise spans 13 games across multiple platforms, making it a daunting task for players to follow every twist and turn. But it's not just players who struggle—developers do too. In an August 2026 interview with Famitsu, Nomura revealed that the storyline has become so intricate that Square Enix hired a specialist to maintain continuity and explain the plot to Disney.

"As the series has continued, the number of characters has grown, and the story has become more complex," Nomura explained. "With the new anime series, we've brought in more external collaborators, and explaining the settings and scenarios each time has become quite challenging. Fortunately, we had a staff member who meticulously organized the lore of past games in an easy-to-understand way, and he also handled explaining the scenarios to Disney. At the start of Kingdom Hearts IV's development, Disney asked him to compile materials, so he officially joined the team as a proofreader."

Nomura noted that this proofreader is well-liked for his thoroughness, using diagrams to break down story beats, characters, and lore for Disney. His internal role is to check the script for inconsistencies with past settings. "He's especially suited for this project because the χ series is deeply involved," Nomura added. "Some might think he's in charge of composition, but it's actually proofreading."

The interview also hinted at a significant link between Kingdom Hearts IV and the χ prequel games, which are set during the Age of Fairy Tales. Although those games were primarily on browsers and mobile, Nomura assured fans that "even if you haven't played the smartphone version, don't worry, their personalities are depicted within Kingdom Hearts IV."

The fact that even Disney needed a loremaster to make sense of the story is a hilarious testament to its complexity. The plot is famously convoluted, so much so that we at IGN made a video to explain it in just five minutes.