Video game rock star Tetsuya Nomura (
Kingdom Hearts,
Final Fantasy) discusses his highly anticipated upcoming installment in the Kingdom Hearts franchise in a new interview with
HeroComplex. On the fan expectations for the long awaited (over seven years since Kingdom Hearts II) third video game Nomura stated, "First and most important is the determination in my mind. That will launch the project. It’s difficult to explain what kind of determination I am talking about. As you can imagine, expectations by the fans for franchise with sequels go up each time. Fan expectation for ‘Kingdom Hearts 3′ is extremely high. To respond to those expectations, I have to provide something really good. Technology is really important, as is the [Disney] world.”
Nomura stated that working on Kingdom Hearts is more difficult than a Final Fantasy game because it's Disney that decides what worlds are available for the game to use. Nomura declined to reveal whether Pixar or Marvel worlds will be included at this time however, he did state, "What world is available for the title is an important question. The story — it has to be great enough to meet the expectation of the fans. When that’s ready, and I feel like I am ready, then the game can start. The counterpart that I’ve been working with at Disney the past 10 years is the same person. We have very heated discussions about this franchise, and we’ve done that for the past 10 years, but we have a steady relationship.”
Tetsuya reportedly doesn't like the term "trilogy" to be used when discussing the Kingdom Hearts franchise as there have been numerous spinoff games and he doesn't want to shortchange the efforts of those involved on those projects. In discussing the future of the franchise, Nomura did hint at an end but also a new beginning. Said Nomura, "As a core game, this is finally the third, and 10 years have passed. I couldn’t call this a trilogy. There have been so many spinoffs. In ‘Kingdom Hearts 3,’ the battles that the characters have been fighting for the past 10 years will come to a conclusion. That is the plan. But the series will continue. Only the particular enemy they have been fighting the past 10 years will come to an end.”
Tetsuya also disclosed that fans should look at the gameplay in the
Nintendo 3DS game "
Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance."
RELATED CONTENT: VIDEO GAMES: Sora To Officially Continue His Journey In KINGDOM HEARTS 3 VIDEO GAMES: KINGDOM HEARTS 3 Will Be Available For The Xbox One Too "Believing light and darkness must remain in balance, Master Xehanort seeks to spark war against the ‘tyranny of light’ to restore equilibrium.
In an effort to undermine Xehanort’s plot, Sora, Donald and Goofy search for seven guardians of light and the “Key to Return Hearts,” while King Mickey and Riku search for previous Keyblade wielders."
Kingdom Hearts (キングダム ハーツ Kingudamu Hātsu?) is a series of action role-playing games developed and published by Square Enix (originally by Square). As of March 2011, the Kingdom Hearts series has sold over 17 million copies worldwide. A wide variety of related merchandise has been released along with the games, including soundtracks, figurines, companion books, novels, and manga series. The series starts with Kingdom Hearts showing how Sora is separated from his friends Riku and Kairi when their world, Destiny Islands, is invaded by creatures known as the Heartless. During the invasion, Sora obtains a weapon called the Keyblade that allows him to fight the Heartless. He soon arrives in another world, Traverse Town, where he meets Donald Duck and Goofy, two emissaries from Disney Castle sent by King Mickey to find the wielder of the Keyblade. The three band together and travel to different Disney-themed worlds, sealing the hearts of the worlds to prevent more Heartless invasions. Along the way they encounter Disney icons such as Simba, Peter Pan, Aladdin, Tarzan and even Final Fantasy characters such as Cloud Strife and Squall Leonhart.