Tetsuya Nomura reveals new Kingdom Hearts III details in Dengeki Online interview; discusses tutorial stage, toy robots, and Keyblade transformations

[Axeken 181]

In a recent interview with Dengeki Online, Kingdom Hearts III director Tetsuya Nomura has revealed more details about the upcoming game. We are currently in the process of translating the article, but in the meantime, here are some translated highlights from the article:

• Nomura has confirmed that he and the development team are taking a new direction in worlds that won’t have Sora and co. visiting worlds multiple times.
• Twilight Town is set to be the game’s tutorial stage and will be visited early in the game.
• Each toy robot in Galaxy Toys will have different mechanics from other toy robots.
• Nomura also discusses Kingdom Hearts Union x[Cross] but this information has been announced before.

When more of the article is translated, we will update when possible. In the meantime, if you would like to look at the untranslated page, check it out here.

 

Kingdom Hearts III was recently revealed to be coming in 2018.

 

Do any of these new details excite you? Let us know in the comments below.

 

UPDATE: Translations are now available. You can read the interview below.

 

Dengeki: There was a lot of info in the video that was showed a few days ago. But the most impressive was the announcement of the release of the game in 2018.

Nomura: Because we became really careful about announcing release date, we announced it as a way to show that the game was on its way, even if we only know the year of release.

 

You also announced the toy story world that makes its first appearance.

We wanted to have a toy story world since KH II. Although it was really hard, we managed to add it because during the discussions we couldn't think of a KH III without the Toy Story World. As for the timeline, it's happening after the second movie and will be an original story.

 

If you think about Toy Story you think of a toy as the main character, in KH III which character will appear ?

There will be Woody and Buzz among others, the ones you can see in the video are going to be main characters. The plot is that the other toys have been forced to go with Andy and you have to look for them.

 

In order for Sora and his friends to blend in the world they turned into toys isn't it ?

Getting to that appearance was quite long. We tried to make them look like figurines, or like pixelized characters made into 3D and other varied forms.

 

During battle, Woody and Buzz joined Sora, Donald and Goofy. Does that mean that you can have a party of five characters ?

In the movie you can see all five of them fight together at one point. Depending on the world you can have more than four party characters fighting. You can also link attacks with them but the information about the party composition system will come later.

 

While fighting outside of the house, Sora and the others fight at the size of toys and we can really feel the difference in size.

That size difference is amazing, I wonder until where can we push it? (Laugh) The main objective of the Toy Story world is to reach the Toy Shop. The "Galaxy Toys" shop we can see in the trailer is quite big.

 

There are situations where Sora can fight on a robot.

The idea to have Sora fight while riding a robot was early in the development process. Different robots have different ways of fighting. And different floors will have different gimmicks as well.

 

In Olympus there is a battle with a brutal Rock Titan, there seems to be more variation in each element of each world than before.

We created them while bearing that in mind. In KH 0.2 Birth By Sleep -Fragmentary Passage, it was the same. Every map was built while keeping in mind the three dimensional aspect and the heights. I think it looks like a big city. Compared to KH II, KH III there are less Disney worlds, but we took more time designing them.

 

In KH II, once you had completed each world you had to back in each world again. Will it be the same in KH III ?

Some people liked this and other didn't. It will be different in KH III.

 

In the video we can see Sora falling from high heights spread-eagled, is this some kind of special action ?

It was a way to make the fall more realistic. Depending on what you do at the time, it will do a different move. The weapon change and the outfit will vary based on the keyblade.

 

The shapeshift of the keyblade is one of the special features of KH III, This time we could see it change into a drill and a hammer.

The keyblade can change to a lot of forms, but indeed the drill is ambitious (Laugh).

 

The drill and hammer can only be used in the toy story world ?

It's not limited to that world but it's linked to the keyblade you can obtain from the toy story world. Basically, each keyblade can change into different things. The one from Toy Story can change into a drill or a hammer. Also in KH III, the form system is linked to the keyblade too.

 

What do you mean?

In KH II you changed form during battle, but this time you will change form depending on the keyblade.

 

You mean that there are as many forms as there are keyblades ?

No, each keyblade have its own type influencing it's offensive and defensive potency, and the form will change depending on what type of keyblade you use. Also the Kingdom Key from KH II will make its return and change Sora into his "second form" (Temporary name) that has the same colors as KH II. This form is limited to the Kingdom Key and while the keyblade won't shapeshift, the battle skills you can use will change. There are different forms like that limited to only one keyblade.

 

It's quite fun to fight while the keyblade shapeshifts.

We focused a lot of battle actions. As I said it before, each keyblade can only turn into different shapes. The Olympus Keyblade can turn into a shield or a chariot. Also the Arrow and Bazooka that you can see in the beginning of the video are a set combination too. You can use the kind of actions you saw in the trailer as soon as you get your hand on the keyblade.

 

We can see Sora having a new form in the battle scene of the toy story world, what about it?

Forms adapt to the changes of entering worlds such as Toy Story. So when Sora was using the drill and the hammer in that world, you can see the form even in this world. You will have to wait for the next dump of information to learn more about the forms.

 

In the trailer shown before the E3, we could see a scene in the twilight town, as expected this world will have a great importance in the game isn't it ?

This time the Twilight town will serve as a tutorial area and will be visited early in the game.

 

In the ending of the trailer from before the E3, there is a really important line related to Roxas, the development seems unusual.

There are too many characters, the story reaches a critical part. There are a lot of characters that appeared until now, there will be lots of characters appearing in different forms.

There was a lot of problems going on but how are they going to be settled as we reach the end of the story... ?

 

Will KH III settle the fate of special characters and answer remaining mysteries ?

This is the end of the Dark Seeker arc, so it will take some form of conclusion

 

What are the meaning of the words from both the last trailer and the one from before E3 ?

You mean “Don't assume your dreams are just fantasy. If you can imagine a world, believe in it... and dive in”? (Litteral translation of the japanese is« Don't let your dreams end in a fantasy. Dive into the worlds of this imagination ») ?

This is a catch phrase for the trailer, there is no connection to the actual plot of KH III. The first video started by showing Sora diving, so we wanted to keep on with that message.

 

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[WakingDawn96 1,166]

Twilight Town will be the tutorial world again? Fine with me, wish they would have done something else to make it not feel like KH2, but I like Twilight Town so I'm not complaining.

[Iamkingdomhearts1000 1,170]

Compared to Traverse Town that has been used so many times, its like comparing that to using KHI Sora all the time, Twilight Town and KHII Sora were only used once respectively, know what i mean?

[Kotone 42]

Who wants to bet this time around it'll take 2 weeks to finish the tutorial (and that's speedrunning it)

[Komali 594]

Twilight Town? But how? We clearly see that Sora is going to Mount Olympus first.

Which means, we will play as another character in Twilight Town?

[GrumpyRoxy 7]

Twilight Town? But how? We clearly see that Sora is going to Mount Olympus first.

Which means, we will play as another character in Twilight Town?

We don't actually see it.

Sora opens a portal and they just go inside it, we can't actually see where did they go from there.

Perhaps Sora has a really bad mental GPS. lol

[Guest]

I think that the Twilight Town in the beginning of the game will be Data Twilight Town, and that Data Sora will be the introduction character. The catch is, he's being trained to be the ideal Xehanort vessel.

[GrumpyRoxy 7]

I'm pretty sure we'll play as the second playable character in Twilight Town (at least the tutorial)

[GroovingOnUp 163]

The different mechanics for the Robot Toys we saw in the trailer?

[Felixx 6,646]

Not having to visit worlds several times is nice. I never liked that in KH2 especially cause it was in most cases totally irrelevant to the overall story.

And having Twilight Town as tuturial world is somewhat surprising but also cool And who knows, maybe we will be playing as Sora but the tutorial will take place in the future?

[Keyblade101 526]

Twilight Town? But how? We clearly see that Sora is going to Mount Olympus first.

Which means, we will play as another character in Twilight Town?

Remember the part in the BbS Final Mix secret ending where it showed Kairi in front of the Twilight Town mansion? Maybe that's how Twilight Town being the tutorial world will happen. I hope that's how it'll be 'cause I REALLY want to play as Kairi!

[matteso586 115]

I thought Olumpus Coliseum is the tutorial stage.

[PrinceNoctis 1,011]

Remember the part in the BbS Final Mix secret ending where it showed Kairi in front of the Twilight Town mansion? Maybe that's how Twilight Town being the tutorial world will happen. I hope that's how it'll be 'cause I REALLY want to play as Kairi!

That would be SOOOO COOOL, but Kairi's supposed to be training in Radiant Garden though. Maybe since the room she's in is timeless, she's already good at Keyblade wielding when the game starts?

 

Considering there might be less worlds than in KH2, I'm kinda bummed we'll only visit the worlds once. But I guess it's better for storytelling so once again, quantity over quality.

[Trey Wickesser 72]

hmm well this goes against everything we thought this game was going to be.

[Keyblade101 526]

That would be SOOOO COOOL, but Kairi's supposed to be training in Radiant Garden though. Maybe since the room she's in is timeless, she's already good at Keyblade wielding when the game starts?

I could see that happening. I wonder if they do start us off by playing as Kairi (PLEASE LET IT BE SO!!!) that they could explain what she would be doing at the mansion. I've been wondering why she would be there since I saw her there with Hayner, Pence and Olette in the BbS Final Mix secret ending.

 

Oooooh, now I find myself thinking about what the Twilight Town trio would look like in Unreal Engine 4!!

[The Transcendent Key 12,109]

Thanks for this awesome info, Axeken!

 

Ah, I wonder what this direction is that Nomura and the gang are implying about not visiting worlds twice? I mean honestly, I loved that feature in Kingdom Hearts II, but it seems they won't do it for III, perhaps that means they'll just make the stories of the individual worlds much longer then? I'm curious to know about that!

 

Also, Twilight Town is going to be the tutorial world? Interesting! This would mark the second (Third time if you count a couple of Roxas's tutorial missions on Days.) time that we start a Kingdom Hearts game in Twilight Town! That's awesome! So my guess is that either we get to play as this mysterious other character Nomura mentioned we could play as, or maybe it's a flashback scene with Young Eraqus and Xehanort? Nomura did say the game starts with their dialogue, and he also mentioned that the world they are in is an original world, but he never said it was a NEW original world! So maybe the tutorial is with young Xehanort!

 

I also think it's awesome that the mechs in Galaxy Toys will differ, that way, they won't all feel the same!

 

Man, I can't wait for the rest of the info from this interview! I'll be looking forward to it!

[Jingilator 922]

hmm well this goes against everything we thought this game was going to be.

....Meaning?

[Trey Wickesser 72]

....Meaning?

most of us were under the impression that Olympus would be the tutorial level and no revisits is unexpected 

[Dustin Lübbers 933]

most of us were under the impression that Olympus would be the tutorial level and no revisits is unexpected 

maybe they are attacked by heartless ships and have to crash land, just a theory...a game (gets tackled by police)

[Jingilator 922]

maybe they are attacked by heartless ships and have to crash land, just a theory...a game (gets tackled by police)

Or maybe he's in Twilight Town prior to visiting Yen Sid's tower at the end of 0.2.

[Hero of Light XIV 2,381]

 

That would be SOOOO COOOL, but Kairi's supposed to be training in Radiant Garden though. Maybe since the room she's in is timeless, she's already good at Keyblade wielding when the game starts?

 

Considering there might be less worlds than in KH2, I'm kinda bummed we'll only visit the worlds once. But I guess it's better for storytelling so once again, quantity over quality.

Uh, I'm sorry, but WHERE does it ever say that Kairi is supposed to be training in Radiant Garden? All that is said is that she is training with Merlin and the Three Good Fairies in a space that is more "temporaly flexible". This does not suggest a location at all. Where would you get the idea that it's in Radiant Garden? Merlin? I don't exactly recall Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather visiting that world at any point, if anything it makes more sense for Merlin to pop up at the tower where the fairies hang out already, get the explanation from Yen Sid, summon a portal to a pocket dimension ala Dragon Ball Z/Super, and in goes Kairi and Lea.

 

But anyway, I could still see room for the possibility that Kairi acts as the game's tutorial mode where some time AFTER her time-training with Lea or maybe even as a break from that, she goes over the things she's learned in there, which would be a lot of the basic movement, magic, and attack stuff that the average KH veteran would be used to by now and any clueless XBONE newcomer would definitely need to get a grasp on. That would allow the more complex mechanics like Athletic Flow, Transformations, Situation Commands, etc to be taught through Sora at Olympus Coliseum as we've been seeing so much already.

 

Come on Nomura, I'm literally writing it out for you already, PLEEEEEASE give us playable Kairi!

 

Also, too bad about not doing multiple world visits. Well, at least the Disney worlds anyway, I have a real hard time believing that they're not going to have you visit locations like Twilight Town, Radiant Garden, Destiny Islands, and other new KH-original worlds more than once, it's just not what happens in the series. The worlds that are directly important to the main plot of the game always get at least 2 visits, but I guess we'll get a better grasp of what he means later.

 

 

Aw, the Kingdom Key doesn't transform like the others? That's a bummer. Still, that Second Form is pretty cool.

[Jingilator 922]

Uh, I'm sorry, but WHERE does it ever say that Kairi is supposed to be training in Radiant Garden? All that is said is that she is training with Merlin and the Three Good Fairies in a space that is more "temporaly flexible". This does not suggest a location at all. Where would you get the idea that it's in Radiant Garden? Merlin? I don't exactly recall Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather visiting that world at any point, if anything it makes more sense for Merlin to pop up at the tower where the fairies hang out already, get the explanation from Yen Sid, summon a portal to a pocket dimension ala Dragon Ball Z/Super, and in goes Kairi and Lea.

 

But anyway, I could still see room for the possibility that Kairi acts as the game's tutorial mode where some time AFTER her time-training with Lea or maybe even as a break from that, she goes over the things she's learned in there, which would be a lot of the basic movement, magic, and attack stuff that the average KH veteran would be used to by now and any clueless XBONE newcomer would definitely need to get a grasp on. That would allow the more complex mechanics like Athletic Flow, Transformations, Situation Commands, etc to be taught through Sora at Olympus Coliseum as we've been seeing so much already.

 

Come on Nomura, I'm literally writing it out for you already, PLEEEEEASE give us playable Kairi!

 

Also, too bad about not doing multiple world visits. Well, at least the Disney worlds anyway, I have a real hard time believing that they're not going to have you visit locations like Twilight Town, Radiant Garden, Destiny Islands, and other new KH-original worlds more than once, it's just not what happens in the series. The worlds that are directly important to the main plot of the game always get at least 2 visits, but I guess we'll get a better grasp of what he means later.

 

 

Aw, the Kingdom Key doesn't transform like the others? That's a bummer. Still, that Second Form is pretty cool.

It was states in DDD that Lea hurried to Radiant Garden to begin his training. So of course, Kairi would be brought there.

[Hero of Light XIV 2,381]

It was states in DDD that Lea hurried to Radiant Garden to begin his training. So of course, Kairi would be brought there.

No, no it does't. There's no scene anywhere that describes it that way, Yen Sid literally said that he is training in a place that's more "temporally flexible", which suggests a different dimension where time flows differently. There is nothing stated that even comes close to suggesting Radiant Garden. I seriously just went through all scenes where Lea's training is mentioned, Radiant Garden is never brought up once.

 

Look, I think I know what the confusion is. You're both thinking of when Goofy mentioned that Lea rushed back to Radiant Garden after all of the conflict in DDD was resolved, right? Lea only left just to go check up on the place again, you know considering how his colleges are still hanging out there. I can understand how you could make the mistake of interpreting it as part of training, but the fact is Goofy never said that he was sent there by Yen Sid, just that Lea left for there on his own. It wouldn't be a sufficient place to do more training as opposed to a pocket dimension, and it makes more sense to do that kind of thing closer to Yen Sid so he can keep an eye on them should anything go wrong. Lea going to Radiant Garden for his own reasons is not sufficient evidence to support an assumption that Kairi might be training there. All we know is that she's supposed to train with Lea and Merlin, that's it. And since Lea already did some training in a pocket dimension just to materialize his own Keyblade, they're still going to rely on it again to get more proper training in.

Edited July 24, 2017 by Hero of Light XIV

[Eric Quesada_38371 1]

I believe the game starts before that one cutscene where he says he is going to Olympus, making Twilight Town the tutorial even before leaving to Olympus