Re: Character's Report Vol. 1 and 2 Translations
He expresses so much passion with these characters, it makes me happy and at the same time sad. It sucks considering some of the characters wont be able to come back to the series again. I almost teared up too regarding Pooh Bear. ; ~ ; 100 Acre Wood is actually one of my favorite worlds. The story and characters are just too adorable.
King Mickey
We had decided long ago that as Mickey is the most special among all the Disney characters, and as we gave him the role of King in KHI, we would make him by far the strongest character in the game. On the directing side of things, we placed focus on having a mysterious and majestic atmosphere surrounding Mickey rather than just the general cheerful and bright figure. My favorite scene has to be the one where he throws off his coat. One of the charms of the KH Mickey is his coolness, and I think that's the scene that highlights it the best.
--Nomura
That was the coolest scene I ever seen of Mickey. For a King he has been up and about a lot and being one of the most bad ass Disney characters, he still has that bright and charmful aura around him. I know some people isn't a huge fan of him or thinks he's one of the favorites, but he earns a spot in mine.
Donald Duck
If Mickey is the king, then following medieval fantasy tradition, his two retainers must be a knight and a magician. Then, I simply thought it would be very cute to hear Donald's voice casting spells, so I made him the magician. Disney had the opinion that as Donald was the one with the temper he would better suit the knight role, but the image of Donald casting spells was already complete in my head, and nothing could change it. Please take note of the zipper on his hat. It actually goes in a spiral shape, so if you were to undo it his hat would become one long piece of cloth.
--Nomura
Honestly I wonder how Donald was able to zip that hat into place before he wore it. The design is crazy. Would suck if someone kept undoing it, then you see him throwing a tantrum xD
Goofy
With Donald as the magician, then that meant Goofy had to be the knight, but I just couldn't picture him wielding a sword or axe… So, I came up with the premise that he was the 'weapon-hating captain of the knights' and had him carry a shield. Disney told us they wanted him to be wearing traveler's clothes, and as a way to have him fit in with Sora's style I thought of goggles, and from there I developed the rest of his outfit. Story-wise, one scene that left an impression on me was in KHI, when he put himself out there and told Riku that he wouldn't betray Sora. I think that's the first time you really feel like Sora, Donald and Goofy are together as one.
--Nomura
Goofy is a really special friend too. He's silly and sometimes intelligent, sometimes dumbfounded. Thats what I love about him. When he said those words while protecting Sora it really made my heart sunk.
Sora
In KHI, I tried to keep an emphasis on roundness in my designs to have them fit with the Disney universe style, but in KH2 I took it upon myself to try incorporating some sharper elements. Also as Mickey himself made quite a few appearances, I had to re-think the balance of the colour schemes. Sora, personality-wise, is an nice, honest kid. He simply doesn't sweat the details. He just goes, 'whatever,' and makes things work (laughs). When he gave everyone a smile before thrusting the Keyblade into his chest in KHI, and when he cried upon seeing Riku again in KHII are scenes that left a deep impression on me. I think one of his charms is how straight he is in showing his emotions.
--Nomura
There's a lot of things I love about Sora and his personality is the biggest. All in all, he's just a normal kid like everybody else, but what makes him feel special are the people he's connected with. He'll do whatever it takes for everyone to be happy and live together in peace. He's not afraid to show his emotions either. It kinda bothered me when people thought why cry for Riku over Kairi? It's not a bad thing to cry over a best friend you've been looking for a long time. Before Kairi showed up to the islands it was just him and Riku. They're the best of friends. Sora cares a lot for Kairi too. He spent a whole game trying to save her and knowing that she's alright waiting for him back home, he had a lot of emotional build up between him and Riku. After having to argue and fight him constantly so he can go back to the way he was, Sora had to struggle to bring Riku back too. Sora leaves the most strongest impression on me.
Riku
In contrast to Sora, he's a character with a shadowy, real sort of coolness to him. He worries about a lot of things, and out of all the characters he may be the closest to a Final Fantasy protagonist. And outwardly, too, I deliberately made Sora the kind of hero I pictured when I was little, while Riku fits with what's popular with young people today. Riku has an endless number of impressive scenes, doesn't he. In particular the scene in KHI where he tells Sora to take care of Kairi from behind the door to darkness left a strong impression, but I also love and empathize with his line from the opening of the game where he says 'just sitting here won't change a thing'.
--Nomura
Riku is so cool ; v; I'm not afraid to admit it because half of me thinks he's a huge punk! Which he is...but a cool punk. He's shown a lot of growth though throughout the years. He wants to go out and see the world, not wasting any time. I'd want to hang out with people like that.
Kairi
Kairi, who was a tomboy in KHI, became a little bit more mature in KHII. She changed a lot outwardly since at that age girls grow a lot faster than boys, but her lively personality didn't fundamentally change. Enough that 'with Riku and Sora gone, right now Kairi is the strongest person on Destiny Islands' is an actual premise. I like the scene in KHI, when she watches the sunset with Sora, and tells him not to change. I thought it showed very well her anxiety and loneliness over how as we get older we find a distance growing between us and our close friends.
--Nomura
Kairi still has her moments and Im happy she has some than none at all. I'm sure we'll be bale to see her mature as well in the next game. I'm excited to see her lead, support, and fight for people she cares about to. As a princess Im sure she'll make a really big impression. She's very cute and sassy too <3
Roxas
A lot of thought was put into this character. Based on the premise that he was 'an expression of the reverse, hidden inside Sora', I gave him pretty much the exact same face as Sora, just with slightly narrower eyes. And then, I made white the basis for his clothes, in contrast to KHII Sora. The black and white checkered pattern, 'neither darkness nor light', was to be a hint. My absolute favorite scene of his has to be the one at the end of the opening of KHII, when he says 'looks like my summer vacation is over'. I put a lot of feeling into creating that, as I intended it to feel, for a moment, like the end.
--Nomura
Ugh, Nomura why? T ~ T Roxas' story is so sad and I wanted to cry at the scene where he finally meets Sora and says goodbye to him. one of my favorite scenes as well. I felt a lot of emotion right there and started to love Roxas even more. He earned a special place in my heart. I really hope he appears in KH3 and serves an important role.
Namine
I gave Namine the same face as Kairi. Also, in order to emphasize the 'fragile little girl' side of her, I made her outward appearance very pale, as though she might fade away any minute. She had a complicated birth that differed to proper Nobodies and could even be placed as a subspecies, which contributes to her extremely ephemeral atmosphere… but, there is that moment where she and Kairi get into a fighting stance together. I was pleased by that. I thought, you're going to fight??
--Nomura
She still has that mysterious atmosphere around her. Given her powers over sora's memories, it's still a bit terrifying if you think about it. She could have had a power over anyone's memories. I'm glad she isn't evil though. Having her being used and not having much to fight back with did make me feel sorry for her. Just because she's fragile doesn't mean she wont back away from a fight. Like Nomura I was also pleased by that scene.
Cloud
Just as the characters of the Disney words retain their personalities from the original works, he is the one with the most FF-feel left to him. It wasn't fully explained, but in this title we see through him a side to the state of light and darkness that Sora cannot intervene in. His troubles with light and darkness served the role of giving Sora an objective point of view.
--Nomura
It does make me think that Darkness isn't considered evil unless someone uses it for those purposes. Light is fragile, but it's also strong when you believe in it. I started to understand Cloud a little better knowing the struggle of both he couldn't stabilize.
Maleficent
She is my personal favorite of all the villains. She did end up helping Sora and the others at the very end, but of course that by no way means she has become one of the good guys. Rather, it did nothing but show her in the process of becoming even more important. Chapter two for her begins here, perhaps.
--Nomura
After seeing the Maleficent movie (even though it doesn't leave a huge impact on her character per-say) I really wanted to see more of her. She does have a good side, but it doesn't mean she will take that particular path. Im interested to see what she will be doing in the next game.
Xemnas
He started out more as a handsome, romantic-lead type character, but his voice actor has a little 'out of control' side sometimes, and the voice shaped the character into who he is now. But, now I wouldn't be happy with Xemnas any other way. I liked the way he said 'it seems we must begin anew'. I use that line myself sometimes.
--Nomura
Yes Yes all of my Yes. Nomura read my mind. I see Xemnas (and particularly Xehanort) to look extremely handsome and have some-what of a romantic voice behind him. Gives me shivers just thinking about him talking > ~ <
Saix
While he is Number 7, a balanced and comprehensive look shows that proficiency-wise he is the Organisation's Number 2. We had already decided back when making COM that he would have a berserker trait, so we created him as a character that had a combined stillness and motion. I personally want to get a little deeper into this character. I like the scene where he and Axel face off.
--Nomura
The ranks of the organization still confuses me a bit, but it looks like it really didn't matter when it came to professionalism, loyalty, and responsibility. Saix deserves that spot as number 2. Xigbar can be number 3 and Xaldin can be 7 or something. I still want to know more of his history with Axel and how he got that battle scar. it's probably just a design, but if it was something else, I'd love to know about it.
Axel
I never thought he would grow as much as he has. We originally planned to have him exit upon being defeated by Roxas during the opening of KHII, but all the staff, myself included, were strongly inclined to have him keep playing an active role after that. It's possible he will have things to do in the future, too. I tried to put that into his 'see you' line in KH2 FM+.
--Nomura
In the beginning I was really surprised he came this far and became one of the good guys. I couldn't imagine him disappearing forever, but when he made that fatal move to keep Sora going, it made me hope he wasn't really dead. maybe he'll come back somehow and see Roxas again. I didn't want him left behind after Roxas found his place with Sora. That aside, Im excited to see him play another role.
Larxene
She ended up being the only female character in the Organisation, but in effect it made her more of an individual, which I think is good. I had a firm image of her voice, so hers was the very first voice actor we decided on. Adding that voice made her all the more brutal, didn't it? As for that hairstyle. I'm the one who drew it and it's still a mystery to me. ...Why did I give her that hair?
--Nomura
Seriously Nomura, what were you thinking? I dont understand the hair either xD
I personally think the rest of the members were brought back, they just didn't have enough time or space to imply it. Most likely we won't exactly know in KH3 either.
