When Kingdom Hearts first hit shelves, it was an unlikely union between Final Fantasy and Disney characters, combined with its own original story. As the series went on, however, the Final Fantasy characters began to dwindle and by Kingdom Hearts III there were no Final Fantasy characters present in the game at all until the DLC came out.Kingdom Hearts χ, another more recent addition barely features any Final Fantasy elements as well. But for the series to maintain what made the original so special, it needs to include more Final Fantasy characters.

Series director Tetsuya Nomura has addressed the issue of Kingdom Hearts III's lack of Final Fantasy characters before, saying that the story simply hadn't required any to be present until the DLC. But that answer isn't exactly satisfactory nor does it make total sense given the series' history. One of the biggest sources of joy in the franchise was seeing random cameos of Final Fantasy characters in Disney worlds.

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Zack Fair certainly didn't need to be in Olympus for any real story purposes in Birth by Sleep, though the story made him relevant through his scenes with Aqua and Terra, even making him a boss fight. It's still a joy to see young Zack present and it makes sense for Zack's character to be in Olympus of all places, training like the soldier he is. There were any number of opportunities to fit a cameo in any of the worlds in Kingdom Hearts III. For example, the Frozen planet would have been the perfect opportunity to sneak in a cameo for someone like Kimahri Ronso whose big moment in Final Fantasy X comes during the gang's travels through icy tundra.

In the original game, Cloud Strife plays a huge role in Olympus, creating one of the most interesting cases of the Final Fantasy/Disney hybrid. In fact, seeing how these two worlds come together and how each lore is bent in order to fit one another is one of the things that makes this series so special.

Cloud's story is the perfect example of how Kingdom Hearts can blend these unconventional topics and make it work. By working in Cloud's mercenary status to have him in an unholy alliance with Hades, an interesting conflict was created. In a world that operates on the concepts of light and dark within a person's heart, by incorporating Sephiroth as the darkness in Cloud's heart and Tifa as his light, Kingdom Hearts creates a perfect --and interesting-- way to bring those relationships into its own world.

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Outside of the Dissidia franchise, Final Fantasy characters rarely get a chance to interact. Yet, seeing them come together is always a complete and utter joy considering the fact that these are some of the most iconic characters in gaming.

The Traverse Town gang, Cid, Squall Leonhart (known as Leon in the series), Yuffie and Aerith are perhaps the most-used Final Fantasy characters in the series. Yet, it's still a joy to see these Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VIII characters come together. The unlikely friendship between Squall and Yuffie is oddly charming, as is seeing the prickly Cid and warmhearted Aerith fret over Sora's wellbeing. Cid being the one to upgrade the game's ship is another case of the narrative being a perfect fit for its Square Enix characters, giving Final Fantasy VII's rocket expert an appropriate job.

Final Fantasy has so many beloved characters, tons of which have had barely any use in the franchise. Games that take place in the past such as Kingdom Hearts χ would be the perfect opportunity to incorporate some of Final Fantasy's games that also take place in past-inspired settings, such as Final Fantasy XII.

It's unlikely that Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory will do much in the way of Final Fantasy characters except for perhaps the Traverse Town gang in Kairi's story. Considering the game is mostly a retelling of Kingdom Hearts' story, perhaps it makes a little sense for this choice. Though future games that don't have this very specific restraint absolutely need to include more Final Fantasy characters in order to maintain what made this series so special in the first place.

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