Kingdom Hearts 4 D23 Coco Trailer Complete Breakdown

Everything We Spotted In Kingdom Hearts 4's Coco Trailer, From Mickey's New Outfit To Missing Link References Published Aug 15, 2026, 9:38 AM EDT George is the Lead News Editor for TheGamer, and has been working in the industry since 2021 after graduating from the University of South Wales with a bachelor's degree in Journalism. He has also previously written for RPG Site, WhatCulture, and PlayStation Lifestyle. George is an expert on platformers, action games, and fighters, but tends to play as many releases as possible. This hands-on experience lets him dive into gaming communities and follow the latest trends. Some of the games George has extensively covered first-hand include Dead Rising, Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero, Assassin's Creed Shadows, and Ninja Gaiden 4. Kingdom Hearts 4’s Coco trailer that just debuted at D23 has a shocking amount of hidden details to uncover, from Mickey’s new duds to a few references to the cancelled Missing Link. We’ve never been more back, fellow Keyblade masters. After a painful few years of zero updates for Kingdom Hearts 4, Disney and Square Enix are finally giving us the goods with two whole trailers in the span of two months. June’s Nintendo Direct reveal was a breath of fresh air, but last night’s trailer was even more exciting. On the face of it, the first D23 trailer for Kingdom Hearts 4 just confirmed Coco as the first Disney world and gave us a bit more of a look at Sora’s time in Quadratum. If you live and breathe Kingdom Hearts, though, you’ll know there’s a lot more going on than that. Here’s everything I spotted after countless rewatches. Coco Is Thematically Perfect For Kingdom Hearts 4 The D23 trailer kicked off with a recreated scene from near the mid-point of Coco where Miguel and Hector visit Chicharrón as he fades away for good. It’s our first look at how well Kingdom Hearts 4 is recreating the look of its Disney worlds, but it’s not a one-for-one remake, as there are a few different shots here and there. I have no idea if Hector is going to do a shot in this version of the scene, but I can’t imagine so since it’d raise KH4’s age rating a bit. Hector’s comments about “the final death” also make it clear that Coco is a perfect fit for Kingdom Hearts 4’s story. Sora notably faded away at the end of Kingdom Hearts 3 and is basically in the afterlife, so visiting the Land of the Dead makes a ton of sense for his arc. Kingdom Hearts worlds are usually picked to go along with the themes of the game, so I’m sensing that death and isolation are going to play a big part throughout Sora’s journey. We then see Miguel performing Un Poco Loco at the talent show, with Sora already in the audience and cheering him on. This suggests that the two have already met by this point, so I doubt this is where the world starts. Shadows then start popping up from the ground and looking like their classic self, which should settle any doubts about Kingdom Hearts 4 always having a realistic art style. Sora jumps into frame and we get our first good look at his design in the Coco world, complete with skeleton makeup like Miguel, but with a heart and crown on his cheeks. Sora does look a bit more cartoony than he does in Quadratum, but it’s clear that he’ll still be keeping the more realistic hair and older design throughout the Disney worlds. Oh, and we also get our first listen of the English dub for Kingdom Hearts 4, with Haley Joel Osment performing Sora very similarly to how he did in Kingdom Hearts 3. It Looks Like Keyblades Are Now Unlocked During A World Visit The next shot of the trailer shows Sora, Miguel, and Hector riding a tram in the Land of the Dead, giving us a gorgeous look at the expansive world. Sora is then shown acquiring the Coco Keyblade in what appears to be the rundown shacks where Chicharrón lives. This scene implies that Keyblades are no longer unlocked after you finish a world, which is a great change since it means you have reason to swap as you’re in the world. While some have argued that Kingdom Hearts 3 also showed off the world Keyblades for trailers, this is clearly a cutscene specific to the world of Coco, so it really does seem like it’s been changed around a bit. The Keyblade itself is unnamed so far, but it’s a stunning design that incorporates skeletons and guitars, a perfect fit for Coco. Our first look at gameplay in the trailer shows Sora facing off against a flying Heartless and following it while grinding along a chain. This seems to be a scripted section of a boss battle, but it is interesting to see a chain on the Coco Keyblade, suggesting that feature isn’t just tied to the Kingdom Key. There’s also a unique world menu, which is always nice to see. Next up, we’re shown Sora and Hector performing what appears to be a Limit attack, called Pinata Magica, judging by the bar in the top left of the screen. This might suggest that Limits work like they did in Kingdom Hearts 2. Miguel is also part of the party and can be seen in the background fighting Heartless, which is a nice surprise since Hiro was relegated to a radio in the Big Hero 6 world. The world map also confirms that Moogles are making a return. I still really don’t like the triangular design, though. Miguel and Hector are the first confirmed party members in Kingdom Hearts 4 and cement that Donald and Goofy aren’t going to be reuniting with Sora as quickly as everyone guessed. In fact, it’s starting to feel like the trio aren’t going to be together at all, and that Kingdom Hearts 4 might be a more personal journey for Sora. I’m into it, as it’s a nice shakeup of the mainline formula. The Final Section Of The Trailer Has Some Big Story Implications Sadly, we didn’t get to see all that much gameplay for Kingdom Hearts 4 in this trailer, as the final section is more story-focused. Mickey is shown in a Scala Ad Caelum library and seems to have found information about what’s happened to Sora. The King is also sporting a more detailed look, as the textures on his ears show, and his outfit has actually been tweaked a little, which is most noticeable towards the bottom of his jacket. Donald and Goofy are then shown talking to Hades in the Underworld about Sora’s whereabouts, which goes nowhere since Hades says he’s not there. It’s a shame that Donald and Goofy don’t get new duds, but they do look even more detailed than in Kingdom Hearts 3 and have much more lively animations. Speaking of Donald and Goofy, the next scene shows Sora seeing a sort of ghostly vision (reminiscent of Dream Drop Distance) of the pair in Quadratum, before suddenly passing out. Sora’s reaction suggests to me that he’s not aware of who Donald and Goofy are, which might mean that he’s once again lost his memory. That’s not too surprising since he’s in another reality, but this close-up shot of him also shows that his jacket has the Scala Ad Caelum dandelion symbol from Missing Link on the buttons. It seems that game was going to play a big role in setting up Kingdom Hearts 4, so it’ll be interesting to see what remains since that game was cancelled. Vali and Streletzia are also shown in this scene, suggesting both are friends to Sora and helping him along in Quadratum. Sigurd is also shown with Sora in the final scene of the trailer, and appears to be wielding a Keyblade from Missing Link. Streletzia is also shown summoning a Keyblade, but we don’t actually get to see it before the trailer cuts out. And, for now, that's everything you need to know about the Kingdom Hearts 4 trailer. We're likely to see even more at the dedicated Deep Dive into Kingdom Hearts panel later tonight, so stick around for even more long-awaited Kingdom Hearts goodness.