Tetsuya Nomura discusses the Toy Story world in Kingdom Hearts III

Kingdom Hearts series director Tetsuya Nomura recently spoke with the Game Informer staff following the D23 Expo 2017. While discussing the Gummi Ship in Kingdom Hearts III, Nomura also discussed various different aspects about the new Toy Story world that had been revealed for the game. He explained more details on the world and what he hopes to achieve with it.

Nomura called the movie Toy Story "iconic" as it has made a strong mark on the world of CG. He says that he's longed for Toy Story to be in the Kingdom Hearts series ever since Kingdom Hearts II, and that he feels Sora coming face to face with Buzz and Woody in his toy form is something he's excited for and have always imagined in his head. You can check out a quote by Nomura below:

"Just looking at the trailer, I feel Sora really fit in and matched well with that world, and it’s something I always personally wanted to see – that image of Buzz and Woody coming face to face with Sora in his toy form. I had been imaging that in my head, and to be able to execute that into the game is something I’m really excited for and I’m hoping fans feel the same way I do."

He also stated that Toy Story's inclusion process was different than other Kingdom Hearts worlds. Most of the time, the world follows the plot of the movie it's based off of, and Sora and company are pitted right into that adventure. But, Pixar requested that they wanted the Toy Story world for Kingdom Hearts III to have an entirely new story that's not based off of any existing film. View a quote by Nomura below:

"[Pixar] preferred for us to not follow the film directly.

 

They said, "Please create something original to Kingdom Hearts," so we did not draw any inspiration from the films. It is completely original and exclusive to Kingdom Hearts, so you can almost say it’s a sequel of some sort."

Nomura also noted that his team and him considered all the movies in the Toy Story series and decided that the plot of the Toy Story world in Kingdom Hearts III will take place some time after Toy Story 2. He also mentioned that he worked very close with Pixar to get their approval on the new story and that there were many rounds of review. Check out a quote by Nomura below:

"We placed the narrative in Kingdom Hearts some place after Toy Story 2.

 

So many rounds of review! I couldn’t believe how many back and forths I had."

What you can expect from the new Galaxy Toys location was explained by Nomura as well. He says Galaxy Toys will be the primary stage of the Toy Story world where a lot of the action will take place. Nomura also mentions that there'll be multiple floors and each section will have its own personality. He says the narrative in this world is searching for Andy, who's gone missing, and finding out what Organization XIII is doing in the world. A quote by Nomura can be viewed below:

"Galaxy Toys is going to be your primary stage where a lot of the action is going to be happening in this world.

 

Because Sora, Donald, and Goofy are toys and very small, the playing field is going to feel very large. We also have multiple floors and each section has its own personality, so to speak.

 

Sora will be looking for members of Organization XIII in the toy store"

Nomura was hesitant on saying how many hours it would take to complete this world, because your time can vary depending on how you navigate it. It was also mentioned by Nomura that instead of there being many smaller worlds, they are allocating a lot of their resources into making rich gameplay in individual worlds so the player doesn't just breeze through it. He also used the example of the Gigas mechs shown in the trailer to show how the team is putting fun extra things into the worlds. Check out the quote below:

"Rather than having multiple different little worlds, we wanted to make sure we’re providing rich gameplay in an individual world, so we put in a lot of effort and allocated a lot of resources to create these worlds, and it would be sad for players not to enjoy the world and breeze right through it. Therefore, we made sure that each of the worlds is designed so players can take their time and enjoy the gameplay that’s available.

 

You saw some mechs in the middle of the trailer, and you don’t necessarily have to board them in order to fight the enemies in that area, but I mean, mechs! You can ride a mech! You want to ride it, right?"

After seeing Nomura perk up while discussing the mechs, the Game Informer interviewer asked what inspired them. He replied saying that he wanted to show that nothing's impossible now with the new hardware specs. They couldn't have Sora riding different things before, but now they can. He ended it off by saying that they will be releasing more info as it becomes available. View the full Nomura quote below:

"I wanted to showcase that there’s nothing that’s impossible at this point.

 

Previously, we couldn’t have Sora ride on different things to fight and now we can. We wanted to showcase that with the specs of the current generation hardware, it is possible. We’re hoping there’s a surprise element with each new mechanic that is introduced with Kingdom Hearts III, and we’re going to be revealing more information as they become available."