As Kingdom Hearts 4 fans eagerly await an update, director Tetsuya Nomura celebrates the classic JRPG's 24th anniversary by telling everyone to check in next year

As the original Kingdom Hearts observes another birthday this week, series creator Tetsuya Nomura is only celebrating by telling everyone to check back in next year – fingers crossed he means for Kingdom Hearts 4 news, this time.

Kingdom Hearts fans (me, in this instance) aren't fussy when it comes to any slithers of life from the whacko action series. I'll take my crumbs and be thankful for them, damn it. And crumbs are exactly what we were served over the weekend when the official Kingdom Hearts account celebrated the classic JRPG's 24th anniversary with new artwork and a message from director Tetsuya Nomura.

"We are currently working hard towards the 25th anniversary. Thank you for your support," Nomura's message reads (thanks for the translation, Genki). It's essentially a 'come back next year for the real 25th birthday celebrations' message.

Nomura's new piece of art isn't too much of a bombshell itself, either. The painting seems to depict Young Xenahort, the series' long-time villain, staring off into the distance while holding an umbrella in a pose that's somewhat reminiscent of the way protagonist Sora's framed during all the mainline games' title screens.

Last we saw from Kingdom Hearts 4 was a few screenshots revealing a new Keyblade, a playable Mickey Mouse, and more that ended a 1,131-day drought of news for fans. This latest tease isn't exactly a monsoon fit to end a drought – more so a single drop of water, a sip, if you will, to tide us over until next year.

At least we now know that Square Enix has something a little more substantial planned for Disneyverse-spanning adventure this time next year. These crumbs are gourmet crumbs.

"I have zero news" about Kingdom Hearts 4, Kairi actor clarifies after fans were convinced they might have revealed a spoiler for the upcoming RPG: "I totally understand the confusion."