- それは、私たちは、今年後半にキングダムハーツシリーズの新しい情報を受信することを発表してきた。あなたが店に何があるかについて詳しく説明することはできますか?もちろん、それは驚きを台無しにしない。 HD 2.5リミックスを果たしてきました(笑)しかし、選手たちは新しいゲームの発表がどうなるかについてのヒントを受けている可能性があります。
- Good morning Nomura-san. Shall we get started with the interview?Yes of course.
- How has development been progressing on the Kingdom Hearts III title?It has been going very well so far. We have already finished the models for all of the characters, featuring new outfits and updated designs for several. We are currently testing out the capability of them by having them perform animations such as Sora picking his nose and kissing Kairi. Of course, these actions won't appear in the final product, but they look great and we cannot wait to show the fans how fluid and beautiful the game will be.
- The readers are excited to see what worlds will appear in Kingdom Hearts III. What details can you give us?Everyone in the office has been singing "Let It Go" (editor's note: popular song from Frozen). recently. Literally, every day. It's been very annoying, the movie was released a year ago and people won't move on. (laughs) I won't explicitly say that a Frozen world will be featured in the game, but the feelings and emotions of a game's developers often find their way into the game itself, so players can expect that same sort of thing here.
- Are there any worlds you've wanted to put in the games but Disney has rejected?Ever since the first Kingdom Hearts game, I have wanted to include a Song of the South world, but I've been shot down each time. Hopefully the eight time's the charm! (laughs)
- It has been announced that we will receive new information on the Kingdom Hearts series later this year. Can you elaborate on what's in store?Of course not, that would ruin the surprise. (laughs) But players who have played HD 2.5 ReMIX may have received a hint as to what the new game announcement will be.
- You mean we will see a new version of Kingdom Hearts 3D?Not at all, I was referring to a port of the HD remasters for next generation consoles.
- That's still interesting! Famitsu readers have been greatly enjoying Kingdom Hearts χ for PC, but they have felt that the game's online systems aren't as packed and lively as they could be. Do you have any plans on releasing the game for worldwide audiences?We have contacted several Western developers on doing so, but none have accepted so far. It is a real shame, as the game has very important story beats that are crucial to Kingdom Hearts III. Fans outside of Japan will sorely miss out out on these, but they previously did when the Final Mix games with additional content were exclusive to us so it's nothing new to them! (laughs)
- We cannot wait to see what else you have to show us, Nomura-san.And I can't wait to show you! (laughs)
- On the final topic of the Kingdom Hearts series, what do you have to say about the apparently cancelled Fragmented Keys title that Disney was developing for mobile devices?
I have a few choice words about it, but I would rather not say since Disney allows me to develop the main titles in the series and I do not wish to enrage them. (laughs)
- How do you feel about Disney developing Kingdom Hearts games without your involvement? Would you be fine if they decided to move forward in the franchise without you?Kingdom Hearts has always been Disney's property and it's up to them to decide what to do with it. The series has also been very dear to me as I have been involved with it since the beginning, but I would have confidence in however they choose to go forward with it.
- Was that also your attitude with leaving Final Fantasy XV to divert your attention fully to Kingdom Hearts III?I'm pretty sure Square Enix would not like me to tell you how that went down. (laughs) But I will anyway. (laughs even harder) Not too long ago, the company realized that how important a series Final Fantasy was to them, so they sought to improve upon its quality, which the audience has already seen with the relaunch of Final Fantasy XIV. Eventually, Shinji Hashimoto, who is the producer of the game, showed up at the studio with some members of the Yakuza (editor's note: for readers who don't know, that's the Japanese mafia) and said that I have been working on the game for six years and only delivered about seven trailers, so I was getting booted off of the project and superseded by my co-director, Tabata-san and I couldn't do anything about it unless I wanted some "problems." I told them they can do that, but development on the title won't progress any faster.
- And in the two years that Tabata has headed Final Fantasy XV, a full-fledged playable demo has been released to the public.That is true.
- Would you have done the demo any differently if you were still heading the project?Well for starters I would have given it a different name. (laughs) I applaud the work the crew has done, but 'Episode Duscae' feels too plain, I would have put more Latin in it.
- It has been almost three years since the name change, but still we wonder, why was the game renamed from Final Fantasy Versus XIII?One day, Square Enix came up to the team and said that they wanted to make the game into a mainline title. I was initially against that, as the game had been fully conceived as a spin-off, with a dark and dramatic story, action-based gameplay, and a playable team solely of men which would be completely different from what fans would expect from a mainline Final Fantasy and probably piss them off. But then Square Enix said it would come with a bigger budget, so Tabata-san and I said "We'll do it!" (laughs)
- Sounds like you and Tabata-san have a good relationship.Tabata-san and I are great friends. Back when we both worked on Final Fantasy XV, after the long working day he and I would both go out for drinks at the local pub. More often than not he would get drunk, and often start talking about how cute high school girls are. (laughs) And I was like, how can you find them attractive, they all wear those sailor uniforms. They would be much cuter if they wore something with more belts and buckles. (laughs even harder) It's just a personal preference, I suppose. There was also that one time we were up late one night finalizing some gameplay details and there was a fly in the room that was bothering us and we took turns trying to swat it. (laughs) It was a tough cookie but Tabata-san finally got it!
- Sounds very eventful!It was! My interactions with Tabata-san are a bit rougher now, though, ever since he went behind my back and took Final Fantasy XV from me. Yasue-san (the co-director of the Kingdom Hearts series) is my go-to drinking buddy now.
- While we're on the subject of your personal life, if you don't feel this intrudes, what would you have been if you weren't a video game designer?I have always wanted to be in the field of film. As you may have noticed, I always put extra work in the trailers I edit because of that ambition. Ultimately, fate decided that wasn't the path for me, but watching movies is still an enjoyable hobby of mine. My favorite director right now is Michael Bay; every single one of his films is a revelation. Square Enix tried to get him for a live-action/CG adaptation of Kingdom Hearts as I believe we've talked about in a previous interview, but eventually talks fell through, which was a disappointment. However, our friends at Disney afterward referred us to M. Night Shyamalan, and the crew is currently going through his films which we are all enjoying tremendously, so I believe he would be our next best choice.
- But in the end, you are happy at your current job?Yes, I wouldn't trade it for anything else in the world. It does require me to put in many hours, and often I have to skimp out on spending time with my wife and beautiful children in order to complete tasks, but I believe it is worth it to satisfy the wishes of the millions of fans of my games around the world. And besides, I can always turn things around to my advantage--for example, missing out on sex and being by myself a lot allows me to get into the minds of the otaku and people of the like who, say, browse message boards who most enjoy these titles and deliver a product that is best suited to their tastes.
- Your optimistic attitude inspires us all, Nomura-san! Thanks you for taking the time to do this interview.Thank you for doing this interview with me! (laughs)
Famitsu has published a brand new interview with Kingdom Hearts series creator Tetsuya Nomura dealing with the franchise and other topics. Here it is:
Here it is in English instead, translated thanks to Andriasang's Ghost and KH!3 users Sloof Lirpa, Yura Nerd, and Snipe:
PREVIOUS INTERVIEWS:* 2012* 2013* 2014
Edited by J. Severe