Delisted Kingdom Hearts Game Could Be Making a Surprising Comeback
Nearly every Kingdom Hearts installment means something toward the greater canon of the franchise and its potential future. In the case of Square Enix’s upcoming Kingdom Hearts 4, none of the series’ abundant spinoffs mean more to the story than the obscure mobile spinoff Kingdom Hearts Union X Dark Road. Although a number of characters from this game are expected to be involved in Kingdom Hearts 4, the title from which they debuted has been fully delisted from digital stores since 2024. While many fans have gotten a chance to experience the gameplay and more have found cutscenes of the game online, a large portion of newer Kingdom Hearts fans looking to catch up on the series in anticipation of KH4 are out of luck experiencing Union X Dark Road themselves. That is, until now.
Kingdom Hearts modder Arena 7664, known for restoring the Kingdom Hearts Missing Link beta, announced recently on X that they were able to port Union X Dark Road to browsers for mobile and PC players. The modder stated that the port will have Japanese and English versions, each of which will be archived on Archive.org. Arena 7664 also notes that the reason the game has not been released yet is because they want input from the fandom for small quality-of-life tweaks they intend to provide in the final release.
What Changes Will Be In The Unofficial Kingdom Hearts Union X Dark Road Port?
The first thing to know about this unofficial port is that it will only include the playable version of the game, Dark Road. Kingdom Hearts Union X Dark Road will port the final version of the original mobile app, which allowed Dark Road to be played offline and its Union X story to be viewed via cutscenes. The title, notorious for its grind, will also see improvements, such as a button to unlock every cutscene in the game or give players the ability to buy or level up characters to their hearts’ content. There is even a feature that allows the game to be sped up or slowed down. The next thing the modder intends to tackle is balance adjustments for point acquisitions and how much more frequent they should be.
Kingdom Hearts Union X Dark Road takes place before all the other mainline Kingdom Hearts games, including the prequel game Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep. It’s set before the first Keyblade War, closely chronicling the origin of Xehanort and the enigmatic Master of Masters, who looks to be making a huge return in Kingdom Hearts 4 as the new main antagonist. However, several other secondary characters make up a large portion of the cast, some of which will directly work alongside Sora, which makes this delisted game more important than ever to the overarching story.
Before D23, where Kingdom Hearts 4 was teased alongside a new anime spinoff series for Disney Plus, it was announced that the franchise has entered billion-dollar status. Those interested in experiencing Union X Dark Road as soon as possible should look out for updates as they’re announced, as a link is expected to roll out sooner rather than later.