Exclusive Interview with Tetsuya Nomura on Kingdom Hearts 2.8 & KH3
- Details
- Published on December 25, 2015 @ 01:00 pm
- Written by Cecily
Merry Christmas, everyone! We hope you're having a lovely time celebrating this festive time of year with your friends and family.
Year after year, the Kingdom Hearts community has continued to deliver their best and most respectful support of this amazing franchise and all the hard-working people behind it. We understand that it may not be easy to wait patiently for new information during these long months, and sometimes it may feel as though your voice isn't heard. But let me tell you that your words are being read, even though there's no indication of it, and it'll all be worth it.
And to thank you for all of your support, we've got a present for you!
Thanks to the wonderful staff at Square Enix and Disney, we teamed up with Churro for the amazing opportunity to interview Director Tetsuya Nomura about Kingdom Hearts 3 and HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue.
These questions were submitted on November 5th, 2015 and intended to correspond with the Kingdom Hearts Premium Theater event at D23 Expo Japan.
Since you were at the Kingdom Hearts 2.5 Launch Event in Burbank, how did it feel to finally have the Kingdom Hearts Premium Theater in Japan?
Nomura: What sets KINGDOM HEARTS apart from other titles is that this is a title in which we have been sharing a connection with our fans for many years. So rather than being a one-time relationship like a festival, it does feel like we are partners or friends that have spent a long time together, but I do cherish these kinds of events as there aren’t very many opportunities like this where we can interact with our fans. Japanese fans are more shy than fans overseas but I was very happy that I was able to feel that the Japanese fans were having fun this time too.
The Kingdom Hearts Premium Theater event was very well received in Japan. If the opportunity for future events is presented, would they follow a similar format? If not, what would you like to do differently?
Nomura: The content of the event would change depending on the location and timing, so the format would most likely depend on those two factors. Also, as for D23, location becomes restricted as there are rules set by the host. Since we had more applicants than the amount of participants that we could accommodate this time, if we did have another opportunity to hold an event like this one, I think I will first consider the capacity of the venue instead of the format of the event.
The newest update to Kingdom Hearts X[chi] introduces a new world, Beast’s Castle. Why was this world chosen to be added to the game?
Nomura: We are prioritizing the worlds of the seven princess’s based on the “fairy tale era” concept in KINGDOM HEARTS χ[chi].
Is there any significance in the timing of Beast’s Castle’s introduction to Kingdom Hearts X[chi]? After so many main story updates, it was surprising to travel to a new world rather than continuing to investigate Ephemera and the Foretellers.
Nomura: There is no significance to the timing. We had already made a decision on which worlds to select a while ago, but because new world additions are the most time consuming, we were finally able to implement it this time.
In one of the recent updates of Kingdom Hearts X[chi], the term “unchained” was officially introduced and has caused quite a bit of speculation among the fans. Does this play a role in how you previously said that X[chi] and Unchained X were not exactly the same game?
Nomura: I cannot explain this without any spoilers but there is a connection between the two. Who is trying to do what will be depicted in KINGDOM HEARTS χ[chi] or KINDGOM HEARTS Unchainedχ, and the reason behind it would be told in KHχ Back Cover (included n 2.8).
In 0.2, Yen Sid tells Riku and Kairi that it is imperative to rescue Aqua, Terra and Ventus, prompting Mickey to tell them of his recent visit to the Realm of Darkness. Is he referring to the time in the first Kingdom Hearts when he ventured in to find the Kingdom Key D?
Nomura: It is an episode that I was waiting for a long time to tell. Please wait for KH0.2 for that answer.
Did Mickey meet Aqua during his time in the Realm of Darkness? If so, why did he refrain from speaking of such an important matter until this moment?
Nomura: This will also be told in KH0.2 so please wait for it.
The conversation between Young Xehanort and Eraqus, first shown at E3, is the opening scene of Kingdom Hearts 3. Since then, more and more of the scene has been revealed through the trailers and at D23, we were able to view it in its entirety. Why was the decision made to show the scene in this manner?
Nomura: There are many reasons for this, but one of them is that we are prioritizing the creation of new worlds in KH3, and we would have to consider the reveal timing of those worlds, making sure that we discuss with Disney. That opening scene is very versatile, since it doesn’t involve those new worlds, plus it’s a great asset to use as a prologue to build up excitement towards KH3.
Also, the scenes that we have currently have released is not the final product so please look forward to any changes that we may make in the future as well.
We learn from Xehanort and Eraqus’s conversation that Eraqus is under consideration for masterhood, but what about Xehanort at this time?
Nomura: I’m sure that you can sense that there is some kind of thought behind Xehanort’s expression and tone of voice at the end. Xehanort’s interest is something other than a title of honor.
It was surprising to see the return of Nobodies in the recent Kingdom Hearts 3 footage. What sort of role will they play in the game? Can we expect to see any more enemy types besides Nobodies and Heartless?
Nomura: I want to make it so that you can tell who had come to that world by the enemies that appear there. I am thinking of the enemy types as a part of the total production this time.
The new Kingdom Hearts III trailer featured a new Nobody design with a scythe and flower petals, is this particular Nobody alluding to a certain former Organization member?
Nomura: I think that it’s easy to imagine but I do believe that it will appear in promotional materials sooner or later so please wait for that.
Mickey was seen at the Premium Theater wearing his Kingdom Hearts 2 clothing holding the Kingdom Key D Keyblade, is there a chance we can see this Mickey at Disney Parks?
Nomura: As far as I know, there are no plans right now, but I think it would be really neat if they did one day!
Read the original post on the Square Enix Blog!
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COMMENTS
Y'all managed to interview Nomura? Awesome. :D
Truthfully, the reason we asked those questions about Chi was because I had a theory that they introduced Beast's Castle at this time to stall until Unchained catches up with the main story.
There were a lot more "please look forward to it" than I expected! Gotta remember to be more careful about these next time lol
Marluxia is basically flat out confirmed though! That's fun :)
Marly is probably back? Sweet I hope he keeps his boss theme though.
If Marluxia really is coming back, why would Xehanort pick him if he fit into the weakness of loyalty category.
Yes! Marluxia will be the boss in KoC. Or at least, he will be there. That certainly is good to know.
Thanks for this amazing interview, by the way. Keep up the good work! :33
Marluxia is probably in Corona? Hm, I will be kind of annoyed if he is really a xiii darkness, why would they add that line in DDD about not choosing traitors and then turn around and have him choose a traitor lol.
Looking forward to marluxia coming back and hopefully larxene too.I just want these two to interact with Sora again seeing i don't think sora ever had so much animosity towards anyone like these two.
Aw man i cant wait to see Marluxia character model in high res along with his moves. Definitely playing this game on critical mode.
thank you guys and churruro for this perfect christmas gift you guys are awseome and i cant wait for 2016 hold the kh community in kh news
so flower and scythe boy is going to be back i hope he boss battle wont be any kind of gimmick in kh3
Calling it now, Marluxia's original name will revealed to be Lumaria.
It's latin for flower
Well things didn't exactly work out for Xehanort as he wanted to so Marluxia could end up being a "spare part". But we'll see eventually.
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