Anywho, the last issue of Famitsu (this uber big gaming magazine in Japan) had an interview with Tetsuya Nomura (game director/fairly awesome guy). I didn't think that there would be much in this interview, what with TGS just around the corner (September 15-17, I think?) but it was actually fairly filling. A greatly appreciated glass of water in this 6-month news drought, if you will.
Now, how to write this out... I think I'm just gonna write the actual interview out in a different sized font/colour, followed by my inane comments at the end of each paragraph or so. That sounds like a good plan... ONWARDS.
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(Interview from Famitsu and translation from sqexgal at KH13.com! Thanks a bundle, guys! Oh, and stupid remarks from me, I guess...)
The first bit of the interview was just about a survey conducted on Famitsu's website about KH. It was in Japanese, but I actually tried filling it out by plonking it into Google Translate, translating the resulting Engrish myself to the best of my ability and getting the names of characters and junk in Japanese off the KH wiki. Zetta fun times... ANYWAY.
- From the survey, most fans like Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix the most.
Tetsuya Nomura: Since I often hear that fans usually like one title in particular, it was a little unexpected to see that Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix was the top and that Kingdom Hearts II ranked second. Birth by Sleep is a subtitle, but since it’s a part of the main series, I’m happy to see that it ranked highly.
I know that a lot of fans don't like KHII for whatever reason, but I actually loved it and as a result I am glad it ranked highly. Yeah, what now?? I think I actually voted KHI as my favourite, though, but I was under pressure and I honestly can't pick a proper actual favourite in the series. I guess I'm just cool like that...
- The results of the survey show that the part people like most about the series is the story. You are write out the plot for all the titles of the series, so when writing up the story what do you focus on above all else?
Nomura: Making it “surprising.” While I’m writing out the plot, if things seem that you can predict the outcome on your own, then I think of a different, unexpected development.
I also voted for 'Story' as my favourite dealy-o in KH. Sure, half the time I'm ripping out my hair trying to decipher what on earth is going on, but that's all part of the fun, right?? I'd rather KH be the convoluted mess that it is rather than have an easy and, dare I say, typically 'Disney' plot that some people think it is just 'cause your chillaxin' with Donald Duck and Goofy half the time. KH is complicated stuff! You would think having Disney characters scattered throughout would minimise the level of brain power needed to follow the story, but it really doesn't. One of the many reasons I truly love this series, really. :3
- You really can’t predict the ending of every title. Do you discuss and make decisions on the final outcome of the story with the staff?
Nomura: I don’t. I ask the staff to flesh out things for the scenarios, even with that I make the final supervisions. Since I’m the only one who knows the whole story and the developments that take place afterward, I have a hard time figuring out how much to tell the staff about. (Smiling wryly)
...Really? '(Smiling wryly)'? Almost as bad as '(laughs)'... And I found this point kinda interesting. So it is true that only Nomura knows what the hell is going on the whole time. Go fig.
- Are there modifications to the story to suit overseas fans?
Nomura: I believe that if the story is interesting, it will be well received; so it isn’t regulated only for specific regions. Though those at Disney said it has a very Japanese sense about it, I guess you could call it ‘Eastern thinking.’ (Laughs) Still, I had been thinking that I would make the story more clear and simpler. But while I was developing the first Kingdom Hearts, I received a single piece of advice from Sakaguchi-san*. That was, “If you don’t make it more complex like with Final Fantasy, you won’t be able to compete.” So accordingly, I decided to develop the story in a way that fans could imagine on their own the remaining story how they like.
*Hironobu Sakaguchi is a former developer who had worked on the Final Fantasy series for Square.
...I jinxed the whole '(laughs)' thing with my last remark, didn't I? Sigh... And I don't know about you, but I really hate when the almighty Creator of any of my fandoms tells me to 'use my imagination' and figure out the rest of the plot. No. It's YOUR job to tell me the plot, not mine. I hate using my imagination... I just keep thinking that there's 'my' answer, and then the 'right' answer. I'd rather the latter, thanks. But KH does generally answer the questions they pose from earlier titles, even if it is at a much later date. So whenever there's a particularly confunding plot point, I tend to just shrug it off and wait for a later game to elaborate. Continuing...
- Is the story of Kingdom Hearts 3D mysterious too?
Nomura: It’s fairly complicated. Right now I’m telling Disney about the scenarios, but it’s hard for them to understand it all at once. I’m explaining the reason and the established connections for each mystery one by one. It’s difficult since their approval is necessary to move forward with localization, but there are many people in Disney who love the Kingdom Hearts series as well. They want to create the game accurately too, so somehow they’re following along with me.
It's a Kingdom Hearts title. OF COURSE it's complicated. Especially going by the scarce few details we have on it so far. Sheesh... Anywho, I'm rather intrigued as to why Nomura is mentioning localization this soon. I mean, the Japanese one isn't even finished yet! Have they started localization already?? Hopefully this means a shorter time between Japanese and Elsewhere releases... *crosses fingers*
– Along those lines, looking at the age group of those who responded to the survey including the overseas fans, it seems the series appeals the most to a young generation.
Nomura: There’s a sense that Kingdom Hearts appeals to wider age range of fans compared to Final Fantasy. Also that ratio wise, it seems more fans are female. I’m especially happy to see that there is strong support for the series from fans in foreign countries too.
Seriously? More females? Huh. I definitely would've said KH had a wider 'male' base... Interesting. And hurrah for fans in foreign countries! :D
- Sora was the top ranked favorite character.
Nomura: It must be because he’s an uncomplicated guy. (Laughs) For the promotional trailers, we look for scenes with particularly good lines to highlight. But he gives us trouble finding lines that are suitable for the trailers; since Sora is a simple guy who doesn’t think too deeply about things, he doesn’t really say lines we can use. (Smiles wryly)
-.-" Ok, NOW he's just doing it to tick me off. And yyyeeeooowww for Sora being the favourite character! He's mine too. :3 And I suppose that is a fair point; Sora rarely says anything all that useful. I never considered that being a problem for trailers and junk before, but I suppose it must be. Huh.
– Roxas ranked second, his heartrending destiny seemed to influence the top rated favorite scene.
Nomura: Roxas is someone the fans think a lot about, they say he’s like a Final Fantasy type character. Along with his friendship with Axel, they’re an impressive set, huh?
I think the favourite scene was Sora's fight with Roxas in KHII, though I could be wrong. That happens sometimes, believe it or not. And Nomura mentioning Roxas' 'friendship with Axel' made me lol just a smidge. I wonder if Nomura knows about AkuRoku or not...? (And no, I'm not THAT kinda fangirl.)
- What scenes left an impression on you?
Nomura: The most impressionable scenes for me were the endings of KH1 and KH2, after that the scene in KH2 when Roxas’ summer vacation ends left a deep impression on me.
The most impressionable scene for me was probably the ending of KHI. That one was the closest to making me cry. I started KH last summer so I knew that there were another five games to go and that Sora would most probably reunite with Kairi in that time, but I was still all :'C, especially with Kairi drawing the paopu fruit as well... Just, aw!
- Next are the results concerning the favorite abilities. Glide and Dodge Roll were popular.
Nomura: I’m not surprised those two abilities were the most popular. They have a reinvigorating feel to them, I like them too. Even in Final Fantasy Versus XIII we’re including a one-handed rotation ability similar to Dodge Roll too.
I voted High Jump as my favourite ability, 'cause I'm old skool like that. Whenever I finally get High Jump in a KH game, I'm just like 'Yesssssss...' Gotta have me ma High Jump! But yes, Glide and Dodge Roll are supremely kickass as well.
- Continuing, what about your favorite Keyblade?
Nomura: Oathkeeper carries a deep meaning with the story and the design of it is clean, so it’s the one that I’m most pleased with.
Yes, Oathkeeper is fairly splendiforous and were I to take this survey again, I would probably change my answer to it. Instead, I put down Decisive Pumpkin, as I have no sentimental value. Yay! :D I dunno, I just like the look of that Keyblade... It IS fairly epic looking, I'm sure you'll agree. Plus, it's one of the strongest Keyblades in KHII, so... Don't judge me!
- About the worlds, Twilight Town was the most popular. A lot of people said they liked the music.
Nomura: We really fussed over embodying the image of coming from school as the sunsets; it’s a world that left a deep impression on me too. As for the song, I gave Shimomura-san* a lot of trouble and pushed her to improve it. We had an image derived around another artist’s song, but it really worked out well, the result was a song with a completely different sort of anguish.
* Yoko Shimomura is the series music composer.
I think I ended up putting down Wonderland as my favourite world... Ok, so maybe I'm a smidge biased to Nightmare Before Christmas and Alice in Wonderland, but they're both kickass enough to be biased to. I did love Wonderland in KHI. It's probably one of my favourite Disney worlds in that game. How you could enter the Bizarre Room from every angle, having to get bigger and smaller to unlock junk... It just had a very 'Wonderland' feel to it, as it should. However, I'm not so crazy about it in Days and Re:coded due to the lack of illogical-ness that makes Wonderland Wonderland and the severe over-use of friggin' mazes. NO ONE enjoys mazes. Ever. Seriously. I was kinda surprised that Twilight Town was voted the favourite, though. I guess that the over-long prologue of nothingness and not-Sora-ness in KHII and the increasingly irritating and insane amount of Sea Salt ice-cream in Days kinda spoiled that world for me. *shrugs*
- On the flip side, the most unpopular world was Atlantica.
Nomura: It’s difficult to move around there, huh? Sorry about that. When you are in the water, you are not just swimming, but fighting enemies, we had trouble adjusting the character’s movement to do both simultaneously.
Yes, because Atlantica in KHI was the big issue. I mean, all that exciting gameplay and change in pace really ruined that game for me. How DARE they integrate one of the best Disney movies ever into Kingdom Hearts in the only way possible by making Sora swim around?? They really redeemed it in KHII, though. I mean, singing about 'Finny Fun' in a predictable yet no less annoying music rhythm mini-game?? YES PLEASE. </sarcasm>
- The top ranked favorite enemy was the very familiar Shadow Heartless. Out of those appearing in the ranking, which ones did you design?
Nomura: The Shadows, Neo Shadows, White Mushrooms, Dusks and so on; I drew them myself. The enemies dictate the overall design aspects of the series, so I work them out with the staff afterwards.
Seriously, Shadows were the highest ranking? I always find them rather annoying... Sure, I guess they're great for nostalgia's sake, but... I dunno. I think I voted Gamblers as my favourite. If you win their game, you get a ton of munny, which is always nice. But if you LOSE, you get turned into a card or a dice! Awesome! :D ...Sorry, I just always thought that was pretty cool...
- Oppositely, the Dancer Nobody was the least popular.
Nomura: It was formidable enemy, so of course it wasn’t popular huh.
Seriously, the Dancers? Why were they the least popular? They're not nearly as bad as Beserkers, are they? Now, Beserkers. Beserkers suck. So much. Keep pwning me with their damn double basses... (Never did find out what those things actually were...) I voted Eliminators as my least favourite, though. The first time you run into them on a System Sector in Re:coded, you just think it's a re-coloured Defender and thus no big deal, right? WRONG. SO VERY WRONG. Teleportation, those blasted bubble things that can inflict any status conditions, uber friggin' strong... NIGHTMARES. *rocks back and forth in corner, sobbing quietly*
- Well, let’s move on to the topic of mysteries people are interested in. There is a lot of interest about Organization XIII’s past.
Nomura: Most of it isn’t related to the main story of the series, so I haven’t paid too much attention to it. (Wry laughter)
...Nomura. Stop. Weren't just content with '(Smiles wryly)' and '(laughs)', huh? Had to go for the whole shebang and mash the two together? Christ's sake... What the hell is 'wry laughter' anyway?! Annoyance aside, this somewhat disappointed me, considering I think I put this as my answer. I hope we at least see the Somebodies of Members IX-XII at some stage, and surely Saix's past is kinda important, right? They better explain how he fell to darkness, at least... That's the only way he could've gotten pointy ears and amber eyes between BBS and Days. I really think that that's gonna be imprtant later... Anywho, moving swiftly on...
- Many fans brought up the “data concealed within Sora.”
Nomura: That’s what Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance deals with. The other mysteries will be something to deal with another time.
Veeeeeeeery interesting indeed. I don't think I've really considered the data inside Sora as a possible plot point for DDD, which is kinda silly in retrospect. Shoulda seen that coming... But yeah. Interesting. I wonder how the Mark of Mastery exam and this data is supposed to intertwine, considering the two will be important in DDD. Maybe Sora can't take his exam until they extract the data...for some reason. I'd say that the data is why Sora and Riku are in their KHI attire; if it's some sort of simulation, data world, dream, etc that they have to enter in order to explore the data, then that could be why they're in their old geddup. Also, for some reason. And this could be why Riku's involved in these shenanigans, too. I mean, Sora is useless at computer junk, so this 'data' crap would be utterly confounding to him. Riku, on the other hand, had an entire year of chillin' with Ansem the Wise (AtW) to learn computer skills. Also, AtW could have explained to Riku about the data, how to access it, what to do with it, etc etc. ...I dunno.
- Alright, last question on the topic. There are an overwhelming number of people who want Kingdom Hearts 3 to be released.
Nomura: The answer for them has been prepared in KH3D.
Right. Of course. Personally, I'm not really in any rush to have KHIII out. I'm fine with all these side stories and side games because they're all gonna tie into KHIII in some form or another. There, I said it. And we've known for a while that DDD will be tying directly into KHIII and be the bridge game between II and III, so this really isn't that big a surprise.
- Many fans want the series to keep continuing afterwards as well.
Nomura: The series that has developed so far as “the Xehanort saga” should end once and for all in KH3. However, I’ve outlined a tentative plot that takes place afterward, so we could continue onto a new chapter. Sora would remain the main character; that wouldn’t change.
Again, we already knew this, but I suppose that the confirmation of at least a 'tentative plot' for the next saga already is nice, so huzzah.
- By the way, the 10th anniversary of the series is next year. The number of titles in the series has really increased since it started. Some have said they want to play HD remakes of the past titles…
Nomura: Whether we release one or not is a different story; we’re concerned with the HD technical limits of the past titles.
HD re-releases would be nice, but I'd have to get a PS3 first... Hmm. Also, I hope they'd remember the rest of the world and not just release them in Japan or North America. *still seething about Re:CoM*
- As for the current developments, how is KH3D coming along?
Nomura: I’d say the development status of KH3D is about 40%-50%? We’ll start recording the voices soon. The theme this time was “bold action”, but we also wanted to stress the importance of the story’s tempo. Though the story is important to fans as shown by the results of the survey, it won’t be drawn-out.
Also interesting. 40-50%, eh? That's pretty good, considering they started last September or October. I'm thinking an early Japanese release is looking more and more likely... And a non-drawn-out story? Isn't DDD's story supposed to be on par with that of a numbered title or something? Hmm. Whatever. I hope they don't condense it unneccessarily or something... I'm reading too much into this again, aren't I?
- Does that mean you’ll be decreasing the number of cutscenes?
Nomura: Not meaning that we’ve decreased the number of cutscenes, but having each one explained one by one reduces the tempo of the game, so we’re introducing a new system to make up for it. It’s a directionally different system like what’s being introduced in Final Fantasy Versus XIII which won’t have cutscenes; it’ll be a sort of integration where you can play during the event scene. Along with that, Sora will fight alongside different friends. There’s also a secret movie being prepared, so please look forward to it.
Wait, wait, wait. Back up. Playing during cut scenes? Does this mean we'll be switching between Sora and Riku even during cut scenes or something? Interesting... Will you need to run through the game again to make sure you've seen each scene? Hope not. I hate when I miss bits of plot... But then again, it might be like Re:coded where you can replay specific worlds to collect Trophies and junk. I wouldn't mind that, now... Just easier than starting up a new save game, y'know? ...Don't mind my incessant rambling... And Sora fighting alongside different friends? Also interesting. Does this mean the first handheld with different party members in different worlds? I SURE HOPE SO. That'd be pretty snazztastic, IMO... But why does Nomura single out Sora? Is Riku not getting any pals? I hope he does. Riku needs to get some friends. Soon. And not just Mickey Mouse. And then the secret movie. Not exactly a surprise, considering nearly every game has one, but a confirmation is always nice. This'll probably be about BBSv2 or KHIII; my money's on the latter, seeing as how this game is supposed to tie directly into III.
- It’ll be a while until our next follow up report, huh. Well then, what’s the last message to all the fans.
Nomura: I’ve had your support for almost 10 years. Thanks to you guys, Kingdom Hearts has become a long series. To everyone who gave their opinions, I’ll read them very carefully. Thank you so much. Also, from this summer to next spring, we’ll continue releasing information and sales dates for KH among other titles from the first development department, so please look forward to it.
Ah, bless. Does this mean an end to the news drought? Dear GOD, I hope so... So thirsty...
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Now, also in Famitsu was someone's impression of the game after playing a demo. Again, thanks to sqexgal for the translation!
I was able to play a little of the demo version. You can play in the familiar Traverse Town world. Two characters whose names aren’t revealed yet are there*. The bright bursts from the battles are even more illuminating than before. You’ll be able to climb up buildings. The battle system is large scale and has a flashy action style, it has a fun feeling. I’m surprised that the party members will be characters who haven’t appeared before. I think it seems the [main] battle opponent won’t be Heartless or Nobody.
*The magazine edited out the two names.
Party members? Plural? In Traverse Town?? Weird... They wouldn't edit out the names if it was just Donald and Goofy, so it must be two other characters... But who? I can't really see there being two Disney party members in Traverse Town, and I don't THINK they'd be Final Fantasy characters either... I dunno, I just think that they're gonna be original characters. But new characters this late in the series? They say that they're surprised that these characters haven't appeared before, so they're probably not original characters, actually. Maybe they ARE FF characters? I really have no clue.
And climbing buildings, eh? How so? As much climbage as there was in KHI, or can we go even higher? I hope it's the latter; climbing junk is always fun. Always. ._.
As for the new enemies, VERY interesting. On the DDD website (here) there's two banners that show miscellaneous symbols from Kingdom Hearts. The swirly KH heart, the Hidden Mickey sign, the crown-key-thing, the Heartless emblem... But then there are also two new symbols. Looks like there's only one, but lo and behold there are two. One looks like the Heartless emblem with curvy wings and the other the same but with pointy wings. (That's the best way I can describe them...) There's subtle differences here and there between the two, but one looks Pointy and the other Curvy. I thought that these would be new enemies when I saw them, and now it's looking more likely. I'm thinking that they're gonna be very similar enemies, but subtle differences. Maybe one is for Sora specifically and one for Riku? If it is just gonna be one big dream, then maybe one lot are 'Dream' enemies and the others are 'Nightmares'? Maybe light and dark variations of the same enemy? Oh, the possibilities!
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Well, that interview was a hella lot more detailed than I thought it was gonna be. Result! Well, gotta go. Michael McIntyre is on TV, so I''m sure you can understand.
Laters.
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