It has been five years since Kingdom Hearts Union X (pronounced Kingdom Hearts Union Cross) released on mobile platforms, and legendary game director Tetsuya Nomura marked the occasion with a special message and a piece of original artwork.
The drawing featured Strelitzia and Chirithy, two well known characters from the franchise. You can see the image in the tweet below.
【㊗5周年🎉】
ディレクター野村哲也のコメントを公開いたしました。これからも『KINGDOM HEARTS Union χ Dark Road』をよろしくお願いいたします。#KHUX #KHUX5周年記念 pic.twitter.com/nva4Xnnil8
— キングダム ハーツ ML公式 (@KHML_PR) September 3, 2020
“I had been thinking it would be the fourth anniversary, only to realize we have entered our fifth year,” Nomura said. “We have only lasted this long in the arena with all these hard-hitting rivals because of your support, and I am so grateful. The browser version of (Cross) began with the Foretellers Arc, and now, the story of the new Union Leaders is reaching its climax. Although I suffered grave regret discovering typos in the scenario we released for the fifth anniversary, I have already handed the team enough scenario to cover the rest of the year. So please look forward to what is coming next.”
Kingdom Hearts Union X is a mobile exclusive game first announced back in May of 2015. It was then released in Japan on September 3, 2015 and in North America on April 7, 2016.
It is a prequel to the Kingdom Hearts series, going back and telling the tale of the Keyblade War, a legendary battle that pitted keyblade wielders of light and dark against one another.
Of course, since this is Kingdom Hearts, the story of even this mobile game was absolutely essential to the main story of platform titles like Kingdom Hearts 3. The story of Union X came back to play a huge role in the third act of Kingdom Hearts 3, and anyone who hadn’t played it or was otherwise unfamiliar with the title were likely very confused.
The app was recently updated with a new story called Kingdom Hearts Dark Road, which tells the story of Master Xehanort, the primary villain of Kingdom Hearts, as a child.
“Dark Road also began this year, which made things twice as difficult,” Nomura said, “but I have also already handed the team the stuff for Chapter Three. In Chapter Three, another classmate will finally appear, and not appear. I myself am hooked by the developments, so please look forward to it.”
Kingdom Hearts Union X is available for free on both the iOS and Android mobile platforms. When you download the app you get both Union X and Dark Road at no cost.
