Honkai devs tease Kiana in Star Rail and closer connections to Impact 3rd

A direction some fans are concerned with

HoYoverse

The Honkai series writing team at HoYoverse, which is responsible for the stories of Honkai: Star Rail and Honkai Impact 3rd, teased that one of HI3’s principal protagonists, Kiana, may be on her way to appear in HSR.

Japanese outlet DenFaminicoGamer visited HoYoverse in Shanghai for an extensive interview, in which the writers for the Honkai series spoke about the connections between HI3 and HSR, such as the “expy” characters – different versions of the same characters appearing in both games.

Asked whether the team had a special attachment to HI3 characters Bronya and Raiden Mei, as both of them have received “expy” characters playing important roles in HSR, the writers gave a resounding “Yes!” as an answer. 

They explained that characters like Mei and Bronya, who appear as Acheron and Bronya in HSR, have been with them for a long time, so the writers have developed a deep understanding of their personalities. This, they said, was enabling them to dig deeper and create alternative versions of these characters, formed by different circumstances and stories.

Crucially, the writers then went out of their way to add: “And we are still doing our best to portray Kiana as well…”

Acheron's real name was revealed as Raiden Bosenmori Mei in HSR, making her an explicit Raiden Mei variant. / HoYoverse

That certainly feels like a bit of a hint, especially after HoYoverse revealed that many of the new characters we’ll meet in HSR’s Amphoreus arc are loosely based on a group of figures from HI3, the 13 Flamechasers. For example, fans spotted characters they think to be “expy” versions of Kevin and Elysia. Four other characters from the upcoming roster were blacked out, suggesting that HoYoverse is keeping some trump cards up its sleeve.

A recent collaboration between HSR and HI3 brought Sparkle to the older HoYoverse game as a playable character and even canonized Sampo, while the HI3 character Vita was officially added to the ranks of the Masked Fools, a faction from HSR – making her a possible candidate to cross over into the younger game. In addition to the pre-existing connections between the titles, there’s certainly been emphasis on their common roots in both games recently. Notably, Kiana herself was shown talking to one of HSR’s Memokeepers.

Vita, Sampo, and Sparkle as depicted on the HI3 x HSR crossover artwork. / HoYoverse

That, it seems, is all according to the writers’ plans. “Actually, we started setting up the entire series, not just Honkai: Star Rail, much earlier than you might imagine,” the team stated. “And over the course of that time, we gradually organized the setting for the entire series. If I were to use a metaphor, it would be like slowly weaving a web that would connect Honkai Impact 3rd and Honkai: Star Rail.”

That recent collaboration between the two games appears to be merely the start of what’s to come. “We are wondering if we can create a more authentic fusion of worlds,” the developers mused. “This collaboration is the first step in that challenge, and we hope to gather feedback from players.”

That feedback is already starting to roll in – and it’s not all rosy. HSR players are concerned with the sudden influx of HI3 elements in their game, worrying that they’ll be unable to properly follow the story without any knowledge of the previous game, while HI3 veterans fear that the writers are simply going to recycle plot points from their older game.

Although HoYoverse was always open about the fact that the two games are connected, it clearly stated that they would be comprehensible independently from each other – some easter eggs for long-time fans of the series aside. 

In that light, it’s understandable that some fans are a bit miffed by what appears to be a change of direction.