Questions You'd Ask Nomura About the Series

[Audo]

If you were given the opportunity to ask Nomura some questions about the series -- both story-wise, development wise, and so on. What would you ask him and why are you interested in those questions in particular?

If we could refrain from joke questions or obvious plot ones (who are the XIII Darknesses, as an example) or ones in bad faith ("why are you a hack") that'd be appreciated. I think it would be a neat discussion to see what kind of things the fandom is interested in learning about and why :3

Something relatively minor that I've been curious about is why Ventus was switched from being left-handed to right handed. There was obviously some intention in making him left-handed in the first place, which is why it's kind of curious that he's switched back in the game. Was it an issue of programming, or the player? It would have been a small but helpful thing to differentiate him from other wielders.

Another BBS thing I'm curious about is if there was originally going to be a story behind how Keychains came about. It's curious that in the Secret Endings for KHII (and in the Chamber of Repose cutscene) none of TAV's keyblades (or the Keyblades in the Graveyard) have keychains, and yet MX and Vanitas did. Was there going to be a story tied to it, or was it mostly just a case of not having designed them?

So what about you guys? What are some of the questions/topics you'd ask about, both big and small?

 

[BlackOsprey]

I want to know what inspired everything about KH1's opening. Why the team decided to have the opening of a Disney-Square RPG feature a trippy dream sequence and drowning. Why Nomura was so deadset on Utada Hikaru. What inspired the concept of the Stations of Awakening. And why such a dark and ominous tone was chosen for this game's tutorial stage.

KH1's opening is one of the most iconic in the entire PS2 library, and everything about it is an extreme subversion to anything a newcomer would expect of a Disney game. It has left a very deep first impression of the series for so many KH fans. Wouldn't it be neat to learn about the thoughts and reasoning behind such a strange but awesome defining moment of the franchise?

 

[Chuman]

What other games has he had planned, what were they about, what set them apart from other KH games, what were they about, etc.

what was DDD's original ending?

 

[Spem]

It may seem a little odd, but I probably would ask about the technical part of the development, specially about the art and design of the games. Things like what program did the team use to do the models, how they planned the level design... This kind of thing.

 

[Oracle Spockanort]

(I feel like I don't count since...*waves hand*...buuuuuuuuut)

I'd love to ask him about his personal inspirations for the series. Visually and thematically we tend to catch onto what movies/shows he might have been watching at the time of developing a project (i.e. Inception, Game of Thrones, & Star Wars), but I'd like to hear him go more in-depth about the creative process and his mindset for each game. What historical/cultural/religious/literary well has he been pulling from?

 

[GrovyleTheThief]

I'd ask Nomura what he thinks about the KH universe.
Are the worlds entire separate dimensions/universes, or are they merely planets scattered in one universe, like our own? (I'm hoping it's the former)

It may seem a little odd, but I probably would ask about the technical part of the development, specially about the art and design of the games. Things like what program did the team use to do the models, how they planned the level design... This kind of thing.

As someone who's into art and 3D modeling, I like this. I wonder if the team will go into detail about those things someday.

 

[Zettaflare]

Great idea for a topic.

I'd like to ask him where he got the idea for Sora's original lion design. And if the other DI residents would have been animal/human hybrids

 

[Launchpad]

I'd humbly ask him to give us another level like Hollow Bastion (KH1), and then ask about some of the design inspirations for that level, it's colors, and why he chose such a level to (basically) end KH1 with

 

[KingOfHearts]

My questions would almost exclusively be versus XIII/XV related. The full story on what happened.

If it had to be KH related...Hmmm... Maybe why did he feel it was necessarily to bring time travel into DDD, and the design of the dream eaters. Or maybe if he got to make his own IP, no strings attached, what would it be like?

 

[Caxinuld]

I'd ask him about the next saga details & I always want to know more about his influences, unused or rejected ideas & what he uses to make them come to life.

 

[stareyedprince]

after thinking about for a while I feel like I'd rather chat with nomura rather than just ask him questions lol. he always seems like a nice and pretty chill dude.

but for actual questions i'd ask more about what the average dev cycle is like in detail. Or maybe how does he interact with modelers and animators, mostly because he has made difficult designs on purpose to challenge animators (squall's fur, lulu's belt), and how communication between those teams work.

Also I'd love to see how their animation process is like, from walk cycles to battle animations, how much is mocapped and how much is animated by hand (I feel like most of the animation is done by hand bc of how exaggerated it is? but I've also seen mocap artists in the credits as well) basically most of my questions would be about modelling/animation lol

 

[Chuuya]

(Opinion wise) I would ask Nomura, "What the hell were you smoking when you did Atlantica like that in KH2?"

 

[Muke]

(Opinion wise) I would ask Nomura, "What the hell were you smoking when you did Atlantica like that in KH2?"

Ugh come on. Music games like that were pretty "liked" back then so I'm not even surprised anymore. (if the KH2 retrospective can be trusted, which I do think is the case)

 

[appleboy82791]

Great discussion topic Audo!

I wouldn't bother asking him anything because I can't speak Japanese and I don't think he can speak English. So what's the point?

No. But seriously... I would ask him how much of the KH series and lore he had pre-planned when he made KH1. This is a major complaint from some of my friends who aren't as involved in KH as I am but they still play all of the games. They think that the series is convoluted because he hasn't planned out the games more that 1 game ahead. I see what they're saying but I think it could also just be intentionally convoluted.

 

[Chuuya]

If they liked it, why would Square have just did it only once like that with the whole singing and dancing actions? And I'm pretty sure most really didn't care for Atlantica even back then because of it. I know some might have, but others not so much. :/

 

[Muke]

If they liked it, why would Square have just did it only once like that with the whole singing and dancing actions? And I'm pretty sure most really didn't care for Atlantica even back then because of it. I know some might have, but others not so much. :/

because there was no reason to do it again?

Also that shouldn't be a surprise to anyone lol. Not everyone's gonna like everything

 

[Alpha Baymax]

Why is Olympus Coliseum the only Disney world with Final Fantasy characters. Honestly, I find it stupid at this point that Hercules is the only Disney world that has Final Fantasy characters involved in the storyline. I'd love to see Kain in Kingdom of Corona or Kimaharhi in a Robin Hood world.

 

[Ballad of Caius]

This might be a bit controversial, buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut...

Of the many unrealized ideas that didn't reach FINAL FANTASY Versus XIII into FFXV, which ones, if any, do you think fit the universe of KINGDOM HEARTS? And if any fit, would you implement them now, or in the next saga?

A less controversial one:

Seeing as how cross-media promotion with movies and animes are more of a trend nowadays, have you thought of making a KH movie, anime, animated series, or both?

Do you think a KH attraction in Walt Disney would be wonderful?

Random question:

Are you going to attend Universal's Nintendo themed park?

 

[VoidGear.]

Why is Olympus Coliseum the only Disney world with Final Fantasy characters. Honestly, I find it stupid at this point that Hercules is the only Disney world that has Final Fantasy characters involved in the storyline. I'd love to see Kain in Kingdom of Corona or Kimaharhi in a Robin Hood world.

That's...a pretty good question. I'm curious about this as well.

I'd also like to know if we'll get worlds like Deep Jungle or Hollow Bastion (KH1) again, where you can actually fall down if you don't watch your step closely.

Next I'd probably ask if, at this point, he already has ideas for the next saga (except "Sora is staying the main character!") and if he already has plans for certain characters in the future.

 

[FudgemintGuardian]

I like this thread. <3

I'd ask....
-If Chain of Memories wasn't a game, would its plot have been part of KHII or explored later on?
As the years go by, it becomes more apparent that nothing really happens in II save for the beginning and end (and maybe a tiny smidge in the middle.) So I'm curious if CoM would have originally filled in II's plot if it didn't become its own game.

-What's your opinion on fans reaction towards Skuld?
Since Nomura was baffled that Aqua is popular despite not being Kairi, well, ya know, I'd like to know his thoughts towards Skuld's popularity.

-What made you decide on redesigning Ansem, Seeker of Darkness' face?
The obvious answer is that he felt the old face just didn't work anymore. But I'd still like to hear his thoughts on making the change.

-Who was the easiest character to design and who was the hardest?
I wanna knooooow!