Keiko Nobumoto, scenario supervisor for KH1, has passed away

[Zackarix]

Keiko Nobumoto, Writer For Cowboy Bebop And Tokyo Godfathers, Dies At 57

She was also the creator of Wolf's Rain and the writer of Macross Plus

kotaku.com

I know that her contributions to KH1 don't get a lot of attention, but this is still sad to hear. The world has lost a legendary writer.

 

[Absent]

Rest in peace.

 

[KingdomKurdistan]

Still the best work of the series after two decades and a dozen entries.

And she was one of the key contributors of a seminal text for narrative storytelling in video games.

Devastating news.

 

[Underwater Cop]

Holy crap, she worked on KH1?

...I guess that explains the gigantic drop in story quality with subsequent games.

But yeah, gigantic bummer. :< Feel the need to rewatch Wolf's Rain now...

 

[KudoTsurugi]

A real shame to lose her. May she rest in peace

 

[Clue.Less]

And she was one of the key contributors of a seminal text for narrative storytelling in video games.

What text is that? I'd love to read it.

 

[KingdomKurdistan]

What text is that? I'd love to read it.

Sorry text as in work. I was referring to the game.

 

[Clue.Less]

Sorry text as in work. I was referring to the game.

Oh okay! Too bad

 

[Nukara]

Holy crap, she worked on KH1?

...I guess that explains the gigantic drop in story quality with subsequent games.

But yeah, gigantic bummer. :< Feel the need to rewatch Wolf's Rain now...

So talk as if COM and KH2 had bad stories.

 

[Zackarix]

So talk as if COM and KH2 had bad stories.

CoM was pretty good. KH2 was a notable step down from its predecessors in writing quality even if it's better than what followed.

I do wonder what KH2 would have looked like if Nobumoto had stayed on instead of being relegated to "special thanks"

 

[Recon]

Wow, 57 is so young. Fuck cancer. May she Rest In Peace.

 

[Nukara]

CoM was pretty good. KH2 was a notable step down from its predecessors in writing quality even if it's better than what followed.

I do wonder what KH2 would have looked like if Nobumoto had stayed on instead of being relegated to "special thanks"

That's what I don't understand. KH2 has some of the most dramatic scenes in the entire franchise. And the scene with Sora's false death in KH1 will never compare to the moment of Roxas' disappearance and his farewell to Axel, as well as the moment where Sora fell to his knees in front of Riku, in my humble opinion.

 

[Zackarix]

That's what I don't understand. KH2 has some of the most dramatic scenes in the entire franchise. And the scene with Sora's false death in KH1 will never compare to the moment of Roxas' disappearance and his farewell to Axel, as well as the moment where Sora fell to his knees in front of Riku, in my humble opinion.

When people say that KH2 isn't as well written as KH1 they aren't talking about how well each game tugs at the heartstrings. KH2 has good moments, but overall the story isn't very well put together and meanders around a lot. It has high highs, but low lows. And the closer you analyze it the worse it gets. I don't feel like getting into it now, but if you've ever read Marathon Recap's Kingdom Hearts Retrospective they do a really good job highlighting the ways KH2 doesn't work while still acknowledging its strengths (and I've just realized that they've finally gotten around to the Coded retrospective, yay!)

Meanwhile, KH1 is rock solid. The story holds together even under scrutiny, the characters feel like more than their archetypes, the Disney worlds actually matter, the plot twist actually makes sense, etc.