Kingdom Hearts Union χ

Kingdom Hearts Union χ, previously titled Kingdom Hearts Unchained χ (キングダムハーツ アンチェインドキー), is the ninth installment in the  series, released on iOS and Android. It features plot and gameplay elements from the Japan-exclusive web browser game Kingdom Hearts χ[chi], and is free to play with optional in-app purchases. It is the first Kingdom Hearts game to be released on smartphone platforms.

Kingdom Hearts Unchained χ was first announced on May 12, 2015. During Square Enix's E3 Conference on June 16, 2015, a trailer for the game was released showcasing gameplay. Kingdom Hearts Unchained χ was released in Japan on September 3, 2015 and in North America on April 7, 2016.

In April 2017, the game was rebranded with the Kingdom Hearts Union χ[Cross] content update, featuring multiplayer and a theater mode.

In June 2020, the game was rebranded again as Kingdom Hearts Union χ Dark Road that will contain both Kingdom Hearts Union χ and Kingdom Hearts Dark Road.

Online service for the game has ended on June 17, 2021 for Japan, and June 30, 2021 for the global server. Following the 4.40 update, players are able to download an offline version of the app that will consist of a theater mode with all story cutscenes, avatar and Keyblade customization, Classic Kingdom minigames, and records from the online version.

Development
While there were rumors of a localization for the web-browser based Kingdom Hearts χ[chi], the smartphone game wasn't publicly referenced until April 14, 2015, in an interview with Tetsuya Nomura. The game was officially revealed on May 12, 2015, with the official title revealed in Famitsu magazine the following day.

On December 7, 2015, Version 1.1.0 was released. It raised the maximum level of Keyblades, added Adamantite Ore and matching quests, added Upright and Reversed Keyblade slot bonuses, and Special Attack Bonus.

On March 31, 2016, Version 1.2.0 was released. It raised the maximum Player level to 300.

On April 7, 2016, Kingdom Hearts Unchained χ was released in North America, starting at version number 1.0.0.

On August 4, 2016, Version 1.3.1 was released for the Japanese version. For the English version, it was called Version 1.1.2, and released on September 1, 2016. It added a Perks system for Avatar Parts, a daily Lux Boost function, and the ability to set up to three decks per Keyblade.

On November 2, 2016, Version 1.4.0 was released for the Japanese version. For the English version, it was called Version 1.2.1, and released on November 10, 2016. It added the Nova system.

On March 23, 2017, Version 2.0.0 was released for the Japanese version. For the English version, the update was released on April 6, 2017. It renamed the game to Kingdom Hearts Union χ, and added Union Cross multiplayer mode, Theater Mode, Medal Traits, Tutorial Quests, raised the cap for buffs and debuffs to 7, and the cost cap for Medals to 20.

On July 13, 2017, Version 2.2.0 was released for the Japanese version. For the English version, the update was released on July 20, 2017. It added completion percentage and icons to the Quest screen, MVP rewards for Union Cross, and a Perk filter feature for Avatar Parts.

On September 21, 2017, Version 2.3.1 was released for the Japanese version. For the English version, the update was released on September 28, 2017. It added the Pet System, increased the amount of jewels obtained as login bonus, made adjustments to several Story Quests, and changed the special attacks of all 4★ and lower Medals to match the 5★ version.

On November 2, 2017, Version 2.4.0 was released for the Japanese version. For the English version, the update was released on November 8, 2017. It added Booster items, the Mission feature, and added Auto battle to quests.

On January 18, 2018, Version 2.5.0 was released for the Japanese version. For the English version, the update was released on February 1, 2018. It added a low resolution option, and the option to display draw odds for Medal deals.

On March 23, 2018, Version 2.6.0 was released for the Japanese version. For the English version, the update was released on March 25, 2018. It added PvP Mode, 7★ Medals, Keyblade subslots, an optimize button for Keyblades, allowed players to skip certain Story Quests, and reduced the required materials for upgrading Keyblades, while removing some materials and matching special quests.

On July 12, 2018, Version 2.7.0 was released for the Japanese version. For the English version, the update was released on July 19, 2018. It added the option to flee from Raid battles, made damage indicators easier to read, and made some adjustments to the UI in PvP.

On June 22, 2020, The Kingdom Hearts Union χ[Cross] app was rebranded as Kingdom Hearts Union χ Dark Road and contains both Kingdom Hearts Union χ[Cross] and Kingdom Hearts Dark Road.

For a full list of updates and changes, visit the page on the Kingdom Hearts Unchained χ Wiki.

Story
Prior to the Keyblade War, Strelitzia, a member of the Dandelions selected to be one of the new Union leaders once the war ends, attempts to convince to join the Dandelions, but she was eliminated by an unknown individual, who then steals her rulebook and takes her place as Union leader.

After being saved by Ephemer and Skuld following the conclusion of the Keyblade War, Player is brought to another realm, where the Dandelions have assembled, as per Ava's instructions. Upon entering this new realm, everyone loses all their memories of their previous world, with the exception of the five wielders chosen to become the new Union leaders.

Following Ava's orders, Ephemer, Skuld, Ventus, Brain, and Lauriam gather at the Keyblade Graveyard to meet with their fellow Union leaders, with Lauriam being the last to arrive. Together, the five enter the Foretellers' Chamber in Daybreak Town, where Brain looks through a copy of the Book of Prophecies that he finds. Ultimately, they decide to keep the Unions united under a Union χ to prevent future conflicts between Keyblade wielders. Brain decides that in order to celebrate, they should make creating new Spirits their first task, sending Ephemer, Skuld, and Ventus to collect the supplies while he and Lauriam prepare to synthesize the materials.

Meanwhile, Player resumes their missions, initially reliving through the events leading up to the Keyblade War, and later making use of the newly created Union χ, joining a party of fellow Dandelions and traveling to new worlds. Soon, Player begins having nightmares of the Keyblade War. Chirithy, concerned about the frequency of Player's nightmares, reports this to Ephemer and Skuld, who encourages Chirithy to protect Player from the truth. Afterward, Ephemer and Skuld begin to investigate new impending darkness in the world.

Maleficent, who had somehow managed to travel back in time, finds she is unable to take over her world in the past. She encounters an unknown figure called Darkness who explains that the world she is in is only a data simulation, created to prevent her from interfering with the past. Refusing to let her stay, due to the damage her knowledge of the future could cause, Darkness guides her to the tower in Daybreak Town, telling her to use the lifeboat at its center to return to the real world and to her time. Lauriam investigates Strelitzia's disappearance, aided by his fellow party member Elrena, before confronting Maleficent in the tower. However, Maleficent defeats him and escapes. Upon returning to the real world, Darkness instructs Maleficent to use another pod to return to the future. Meanwhile, glitches begin appearing in Daybreak Town. With the player's help, Brain discovers the glitches are an effect of the datascape being forcibly connected to a data world that was never connected to the original Daybreak Town. While searching the Book of Prophecies for a solution, Brain finds the Master's list and discovers that Ventus is not one of the intended Union leaders, suspecting that Ventus was manipulated into replacing Strelitzia. It turns out he is the one responsible for Strelitzia's demise, having been manipulated by Darkness (who was disguised as Ava) into doing so. Lauriam returns to the tower and gets into a heated fight with the others when he mistakenly assumes they had something to do with Strelitzia’s death. Things get worse when Ventus reveals that it was he who killed Strelitzia before Darkness emerges from him and reveals itself to the others.

While talking with the entity the Union Leaders, discover a various amount of knowledge aware that Darkness didn't have any intention nor tried to achieve anything but was responsible for replacing Strelitzia with Ventus. They were shocked to learn that Darkness manipulated him into striking her down by playing on his desire for power and yet both Ephemer and Skuld rushed to their friend's defense believing Ventus would never resort to such means to obtain power. However, Darkness didn't care how its puppet gained power as it was the ending result that mattered; but Lauriam didn't agree enraged, that Strelitzia died for nothing he attacks Darkness, but was defeated easily by it in his weakened state. Discussing further, everyone was shocked to discover that the entity had relations to the Master of Masters and why it had chosen Ventus because he was the one to carry the Darkness as the "fated child" written in the Book of Prophecies. With all the answers, he needed to know Brain summons his Keyblade and battles Darkness alongside Ephemer and Skuld.

Meanwhile, as Player continued to investigate the glitches they had continuous encounters with the Darkling with it not only growing stronger each time but only saying "Not You". Having enough, Chirithy asks if they're not the ones it wants, then why does it keep following them but the creature doesn't answer and is destroyed once again. However, Chirithy wonders if the Darkling was drawn to keyblade the same way the cy-bugs were drawn to the beacon, and yet was curious if it was after a keyblade wielder but not Player or Ephemer then who regardless they return to Daybreak Town.

Gameplay
Much like in its preceding iteration, Kingdom Hearts χ, players are able to create and customize their own unique characters. Gameplay primarily takes place in hand-drawn, two-dimensional overworld areas that players can explore and navigate, interact with NPC's, open chests for prizes, and initiate battles by coming into contact with wandering Heartless. Battles are a hybrid of the quick-paced, action-based combat familiar to the series and a more traditional turn-based combat system. By tapping a single enemy on the screen, or swiping to hit multiple enemies, players can deal basic damage. Rapidly tapping or swiping results in a quick combo. After the combo is complete, the enemy takes their turn. Normally the player character always attacks first upon engaging an enemy, but certain scripted factors may allow the enemy to attack preemptively.

Players can install s into their Keyblades to strengthen them and gain access to powerful s for use in battle. During battle, the Medals are displayed in the Keyblade carousel on the bottom left corner. By touching the medal and dragging it to the center of the screen, players can activate the Medal's special attack. Doing so consumes special attack gauges, displayed in the Special Gauge next to the Health bar. Players can purchase new Medals from the Moogle Shop with Jewels, or earn them in Quests and special Events.

Each individual Medal can be leveled up and upgraded, granting it new skills, traits, and status boosts. By maxing out a Medal's Special Attack Bonus, their Nova ability is automatically upgraded. By tapping the Nova icon on the right side of the screen during battle, players can unleash their Nova ability on all enemies; it doesn't consume any special attack gauges, but it can only be used once per quest. Additionally, certain especially powerful Medals have their own unique Supernova abilities. By holding the Supernova icon (located underneath to the Nova icon), players can select the Supernova Medal and unleash the attack. Like Nova, it doesn't consume any gauges, but can only be used once per quest.

In addition to customizing their own avatars, players also have access to a Dream Eater Pet. Aside from customizing the Pet's appearance and name, players can also equip them with Medals to level them up. The higher the Medal's individual rank, the more points the Pet gains. With each level, they gain useful Tricks they can bring into battle. Additionally, having an active Pet gives the player a sixth Medal slot to use in battle. The damage multiplier offered by the sixth slot depends on the Pet's level.

Coliseum
Upon reaching story quest 130, players gain access to the Olympus Coliseum, which is divided into two categories: PVE and PVP. In PVE mode, they battle waves of enemies in a series of increasingly challenging gauntlets. Clearing the blocks earns Coliseum Coins, which can be used on the Coliseum Boards to earn prizes. In PVP mode, players face off against hologram data copies of other players, controlled by the in-game AI. Each week, specific Keyblades are chosen to be used. In PvP, Medals can't be equipped on more than one Keyblade. Players each take turns dealing damage to one another. After both players complete their turns, whoever dealt more damage wins the round. When a player wins two out of three rounds they win the match.

Union Cross
Players can undertake online cooperative quests, either with their own Party members or random players, to earn Cross Coins, which can be used on the Cross Boards to collect prizes. The quests are all done in real-time, much like in a, however once a player engages the enemy it turns into the traditional turn-based system. Union Cross quests typically have timed bonus challenges that will appear randomly in the quest. Clearing it within the time limit increases the number of Cross Coins all players earn.

Changes from Kingdom Hearts χ[chi]

 * have been replaced with s.
 * Players are able to switch genders and Unions at any time.
 * Overworlds have been replaced with the Quest system.
 * Action Points have been overhauled; they now function as a stamina system that enable the player to enter Quests and start Raids.
 * BP has been removed.
 * Lux and EXP have been consolidated.
 * New Heartless have been added.
 * New Keyblades have been added:
 * Stroke of Midnight
 * Fairy Stars
 * Sleeping Lion
 * Counterpoint
 * Fenrir
 * Darkgnaw
 * Missing Ache
 * Diamond Dust
 * Bad Guy Breaker
 * New Worlds have been added:
 * Castle of Dreams
 * Enchanted Dominion
 * Game Central Station
 * Niceland
 * Cy-Bug Sector
 * Candy Kingdom