Nomura hints to Aqua's possible rescue and Final Fantasy characters in Kingdom Hearts III; talks about original worlds' playability and the new Pri...

[Yoshirai 145]

During E3 2018, Tetsuya Nomura, the Kingdom Hearts saga director and creator, had the chance to be interviewed by GNN.com on the new chapter of the saga, Kingdom Hearts III.

 

You can check below for the fully translated interview (thanks greatly to @Protoplasm_png, and our KHUχ Team Leader faemarch):

Q: The Kingdom Hearts series had already reached its third main instalment; will Sora's story end here?

 

Nomura: Sora's story will not end here; however, this part of the story that lasted 15 years since the first instalment (KH1) that involves the fight against Xehanort will be wrapped up in KH3.

Q: Kingdom Hearts III had been in production for a very long time. May I know the reason behind it?

 

Nomura: There are two main reasons. After the production had begun for about a year, the officials requested a change of the game engine, hence we had to start from scratch. That is one of the reasons. Another reason being there were some internal changes with the team working on the game, therefore we were unable to meet the original [intended] date of release for KH3. (Note: You can read Nomura's comments on this matter in this interview as well.)

 

Q: Towards the end of the new trailer, Aqua had appeared. Does that mean the other two characters from ‘Birth By Sleep’, Terra and Ventus, will make their appearance as well?

 

Nomura: Generally speaking, in KH3 most of the main characters from all previous instalments will make their appearance.

 

Q: In the trailer it appears that Aqua has signs of being affected by the darkness. Fans are very concerned about it.

 

Nomura: As of now we cannot reveal the reason why Aqua is now in that state. However, that does not mean there are no chances of rescuing her, for that part it depends on the hard work of the players.

 

Q: There are many vehicles in the new trailer, will there be more in the game?

 

Nomura: In KH3, Sora has many special attacks, and the transport systems are one of them. It’s just like games with theme park setting, they will always have that element. The transports are mainly for ‘attacking’ and not ‘transporting’. Different worlds will have different transport systems, for example in ‘Toy Story’ world there are robots for the player to ride on. However, in ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’, the pirate ship’s sole function is just transporting the player. (Note: This seems to contradict our traslations of Nomura's previous statement about the Black Pearl; also, in the trailer you can use the ship during ship battles.)

 

Q: Until now only a lot of Disney characters had showed up- Will there be any appearance of new ‘Final Fantasy’ characters?

 

Nomura: About the characters that have not showed up in the trailer, for now I cannot answer... The characters from ‘Final Fantasy’ require special care, as the characters are very unique. Hence it is difficult to portray how FF characters will communicate with the other characters in the game. However, please look forward to how the FF characters show up in the game.

 

Q: ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Marvel’ are under Disney branding now, so will the characters from those franchise appear in KH3?

 

Nomura: They are under Disney, but they are not Disney’s original work, therefore they will not make any appearances.

 

Q: Characters from ‘Frozen’ were announced in the recent trailer. What kind of role will they play?

 

Nomura: I believe that the appearance of ‘Frozen’ in KH3 had mad many fans happy as ‘Frozen’ is quite demanded among the fans. However, due to the popularity of ‘Frozen’, there are many factors/details which we have to take extra care of. The plot will be roughly the same as the movie as adding original KH elements into the ‘Frozen’ world would be difficult. We will be using the original world/story in ‘Frozen’, and add a little element from KH. Although we cannot talk about the gameplay, but basically the original parts could be in some mini-games, such as stepping on a high-flying shield and sledding across the snow [with it], etc.

Q: In KH3 how many original worlds will show up?

 

Nomura: There are two categories for original worlds, which are ‘those that players can go to’ and ‘those that players cannot visit’. In this trailer, the place where Axel (Note: Lea...?) and Kairi spoke is a place where the players cannot go/explore. For original worlds... There are places where it will only appear for a while... Actually, there are many that will be showing up. Seems like I cannot reveal too much now.

 

Q: In the trailer, ‘Wreck it Ralph’ is being shown as a summon, are there any chances of it having its own world?

 

Nomura: For the worlds that have not been revealed so far, I cannot provide a solid answer.

 

Q: In the previous games, the seven princesses that represents light have a big role in the plot. In this trailer, the ‘New Seven Hearts’ is being mentioned, but no gender is specified. Is it possible that there will be any male characters?

 

Nomura: ...There isn’t. Because there are many factors to considerate, there are no males.

What were your impressions of this interview?

 

Kingdom Hearts III releases on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on January 25, 2019 in Japan, and January 29, 2019 to the rest of the world. You can now watch the latest Frozen trailer, Square Enix E3 Showcase trailer, and Pirates of the Caribbean trailer!

 

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[Oli 1,679]

Q: In the previous games, the seven princesses that represents light have a big role in the plot. In this trailer, the ‘New Seven Hearts’ is being mentioned, but no gender is specified. Is it possible that there will be any male characters?

Nomura:...There isn’t. Because there are many factors to considerate, there are no males.

 

feminist icon tetsuya nomura

Edited June 17, 2018 by Taco Lea

[Movies798 1,358]

Q: In the trailer it appears that Aqua have signs of being affected by the darkness, why are fans so concerned about it?

 

Nomura: As of now we cannot reveal the reason why Aqua is now in that state. However, that does not mean there are no chances of rescuing her, for that part it depends on the hard work of the players.

 "For that part it depends on the hard work of the players." So it sounds like the players might have to level grind to actually save her? Or like if the player loses the fight against Dark Aqua then she's part of Master Xehanort's Seekers of Darkness? Or if we defeated Dark Aqua than we can save her? Man I have a strange feeling about this.

 

Q: Until now a lot of Disney characters had showed up, will there be any appearance of new ‘Final Fantasy’ characters?

 

Nomura: About the characters that have not showed up in the trailer, for now I cannot answer......

The characters from ‘Final Fantasy’ requires special care, as the characters are very unique. Hence it is difficult to portray how FF characters will communicate with the other characters in the game. However, please look forward to how the FF characters show up in the game.

Sounds like they're going to have even smaller roles than in KH2.

 

Q: ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Marvel’ are under Disney branding now, will the characters from those franchise appear in KH3?

 

Nomura: They are under Disney, but they are not Disney’s original work, therefore they will not make any appearance.

That's good. I hope he keeps his word.

 

Q: In KH3 how many original worlds will show up?

 

Nomura: There are two categories for original worlds, which are ‘those that players can go’ and ‘those that players cannot go’. In this trailer, the place where Axel (TN: it’s actually Lea...) and Kairi spoke is a place where the players cannot go/explore. For original worlds... There are places where it will only appear for a while... Actually, there are many that will be showing up. Seems like I cannot reveal too much now.

Okay so the world Lea and Kairi are at we can't explore there? Man that's sucks because in my opinion, original worlds are like their best worlds in the whole series. I stll love Disney worlds though. Hopefully we can explore some of the new original worlds in KH3.

 

Q: In the trailer, ‘Wreck it Ralph’ is being shown as a summon, are there any chances of it having it’s own world?

 

Nomura: For the worlds that have not been revealed so far, I cannot provide a solid answer.

I like to think that there's still more unannounced worlds that haven't been reveal yet. We still got seven more months left till Jan 29 next year. So I hope they reveal more new or return worlds in later weeks or months.

Edited June 17, 2018 by Movies798

[Joanie 291]

Waifu must be saved!

[The Transcendent Key 12,109]

Thanks for showing this to us, Yoshirai!

 

Good lord, I'm perplexed! Saving Aqua will depend on the hard work of the players!? Oh lord, this means that things could literally go either way! If we save her, then she's on the side of the Guardians, but if we don't save her, then that means she'll end up being a Seeker!? Lord, that is one heck of a balance to scale! Now I'm scared! But no...I'm confident in my skills in Kingdom Hearts, so I now I can save my bae! ;_;

 

I also liked what Nomura mentioned about the amount of worlds. It seems to me that worlds that don't return will make their presence known via cutscenes! I'm fine with that! I mean, there's no need to oversaturate, cuz we gotta save worlds for an entire new saga after KHIII, ya know?  And his answer regarding Wreck-It-Ralph having his own world was a strange one...could this mean that we do get to visit Ralph's world!?

 

And well, as for Final Fantasy characters, I'm really hoping we see some in the coming trailers in the coming months!

Edited June 17, 2018 by The Transcendent Key

[rosco258 212]

I need my lightning . i want sora to meet her and see her get irritated with sora. Or hades tries to use her and she fights against that fate.

[Merilly 438]

Thanks for showing this to us, Yoshirai!

 

Good lord, I'm perplexed! Saving Aqua will depend on the hard work of the players!? Oh lord, this means that things could literally go either way! If we save her, then she's on the side of the Guardians, but if we don't save her, then that means she'll end up being a Seeker!? Lord, that is one heck of a balance to scale! Now I'm scared! But no...I'm confident in my skills in Kingdom Hearts, so I now I can save my bae! ;_;

 

I also liked what Nomura mentioned about the amount of worlds. It seems to me that worlds that don't return will make their presence known via cutscenes! I'm fine with that! I mean, there's no need to oversaturate, cuz we gotta save worlds for an entire new saga after KHIII, ya know? And his answer regarding Wreck-It-Ralph having his own world was a strange one...could this mean that we do get to visit Ralph's world!?

 

And well, as for Final Fantasy characters, I'm really hoping we see some in the coming trailers in the coming months!

I somehow doubt that's what it means. If this was a decision-based game, they would need to create several scenarios and changing a Seeker of Darkness or a Guardian of Light could potentially alter the whole narrative.

 

With how much they have to resolve, this kind of CYOA would be counter-productive. It works for games Like Detroit: Become Human, Beyond Two Souls or Until Dawn because the gameplay is kept to a minimum, mostly consisting of QTEs or making decisions by pressing a button or going one way or another. Those games are highly story-driven.

While these types of decisions have been present in a smaller scale in other games, a lot of them only affect the rest of the game marginally. Saving Aqua or not saving her is a big change however.

 

But KH has a lot more gameplay factors to consider and by choosing to give the player multiple routes, they would inadvertently have to put in more work or cut down on how much one story can entail. Not to mention that there's no real canon anymore.

 

I won't rule out the possibility, but personally, I believe the hard work is more in a sense of getting to the point where she can be saved and winning a subjectively hard battle. In that way, it does depend on the hard work of the player because we have to get there and win or otherwise she won't be saved and the game can't progress.

 

As for Wreck-It Ralph... Of course he has his own world but it doesn't mean we get to visit it in KH3. I believe they announced there would be a world exclusive to KHUX so it might be that?

[Tyranto Rex 277]

If we do have a chance to save Aqua it might be possible she ain't one of the thirteen darknesses. It's possible she is still norted, but ain't part of the organization for one reason or another.

[blue490246 43]

For Aqua-nort being potentially rescued, I think Nomura meant that if you fail to save her, that means you died and need to try again lol.

 

Even though Nomura had said there's less of a need for FF characters now in KH, I'd like to see KH introduce FF characters differently, aside from them either living on Destiny Islands, in Radiant Garden or being summoned by Hades. i.e. How did Zack come to be in Olympus Coliseum?! It's just getting a little cliche, they should create an FF-only world. As much as KH is Disney, it is also Square Enix, that's something the studio should consider.

[RikuFangirl2008 1,368]

Regarding Aqua, I'll stick with faith and see this through. I'll try my best. 

If this a decision based type of thing, I either follow my gut or just make two separate files, and see both outcomes. 

[Xyrn 7]

Regarding Aqua, I'll stick with faith and see this through. I'll try my best. 

If this a decision based type of thing, I either follow my gut or just make two separate files, and see both outcomes. 

I dont know about making two files but I would definitely look up the opposite side of it on youtube.

For Aqua-nort being potentially rescued, I think Nomura meant that if you fail to save her, that means you died and need to try again lol.

 

Even though Nomura had said there's less of a need for FF characters now in KH, I'd like to see KH introduce FF characters differently, aside from them either living on Destiny Islands, in Radiant Garden or being summoned by Hades. i.e. How did Zack come to be in Olympus Coliseum?! It's just getting a little cliche, they should create an FF-only world. As much as KH is Disney, it is also Square Enix, that's something the studio should consider.

I think Hallow Bastion/Radiant Garden is the closest thing we're going to get to a FF only world. seeing as it has the highest population of FF characters.

[ITzDarthLordRevan 291]

All that matters is that we actually get to bring Aqua back. I will do everything in my power to save blueberry mom! 

[Lu Xun 2,069]

Gonna save aqua no matter what

[Dustin Lübbers 933]

feminist icon tetsuya nomura

 

we are strong independet hearts who need no man!.....Execpt sora to bust us out BUT NO ONE ELSE!

 

Thanks for showing this to us, Yoshirai!

 

Good lord, I'm perplexed! Saving Aqua will depend on the hard work of the players!? Oh lord, this means that things could literally go either way! If we save her, then she's on the side of the Guardians, but if we don't save her, then that means she'll end up being a Seeker!? Lord, that is one heck of a balance to scale! Now I'm scared! But no...I'm confident in my skills in Kingdom Hearts, so I now I can save my bae! ;_;

 

I also liked what Nomura mentioned about the amount of worlds. It seems to me that worlds that don't return will make their presence known via cutscenes! I'm fine with that! I mean, there's no need to oversaturate, cuz we gotta save worlds for an entire new saga after KHIII, ya know?  And his answer regarding Wreck-It-Ralph having his own world was a strange one...could this mean that we do get to visit Ralph's world!?

 

And well, as for Final Fantasy characters, I'm really hoping we see some in the coming trailers in the coming months!

 

I dont know To me this sounds a bit like a ultra hard secret boss encounter than something that happens in the main Plot to save aqua. I would also be fine with some worlds returning just in cutscenes that way I can look forward to actually walk around in them in KH4. 

[Smithee 327]

However, that does not mean there are no chances of rescuing her, for that part it depends on the hard work of the players.

 

And whether or not another @$$pull/retcon just negates said hard work for the umpteenth time.

Edited June 17, 2018 by Alan Smithee

[The Transcendent Key 12,109]

I dont know To me this sounds a bit like a ultra hard secret boss encounter than something that happens in the main Plot to save aqua. I would also be fine with some worlds returning just in cutscenes that way I can look forward to actually walk around in them in KH4. 

 

Well, for now, we'll just have to wait and see for what happens in the future! Overall, I'm just worried about Aqua! I don't want my bae to fall into eternal darkness for good! ;_;

 

And yeah, I agree, seeing worlds in cutscenes isn't a problem for me either! Because that way, we could get even more worlds, and even though we wouldn't be able to play in some of them, at least we'd see them, and that's good enough for me!

[EmanueleLiberated 1]

After that I really believe that Aqua is not afflicted by Xehanort but by the RoD itself. If I recall correctly, in 0.2 Mickey clearly states that getting out is not easy cause the door of darkness will not let light pass through. Aqua might have succumbed to the darkness by her own will just to try to get out by herself. The problem about that is that usually light oriented characters like Aqua are not very good at controlling darkness so she still might be an opponent that can eventually be freed. The thing that also interest me is that Nomura said that it Depends ON THE PLAYER. This might mean that the game will be highly interactive or will require some objectives to be completed in order to do a particular action.

[AwesomeKHfan 1,250]

Maybe the scene in the trailer is just a POSSIBLE outcome

[Smithee 327]

The thing that also interest me is that Nomura said that it Depends ON THE PLAYER. This might mean that the game will be highly interactive or will require some objectives to be completed in order to do a particular action.

 

"Aqua will remember that."

[Mister C F 1]

No such thing as "prince(s) of hearts".

 

More player fanbase that must be required to save Aqua. What player fanbase?

 

What about Shibuya World of Neko?