Director Interview
The last part of our special is an interview with director Tetsuya Nomura. The man who created the series talks of this latest game in the series that has been waited by fans.
“There is enough packed into this game that it is on par with a console title.”
You have to watch the secret movie
-- The release date is almost near isn’t it? First, I’d like to ask you some things about the story.
Nomura: I really don’t think I’ll be able to say much (laugh). With the story we have this time, if I talk about it even a little bit it’s a spoiler.
-- Well that’s a problem (laugh) One interesting point of this game is that you can choose which of three main characters you want to play with. But which order do you recommend?
Nomura: Terra, Ven and Aqua is the best order. We wrote the scenarios in that order, and you’ll probably understand why while you’re playing it. Also, Ven is very easy to use, but Terra is a little heavier and moves slowly. So you could begin playing with the character that best fits your play style. But if you choose to play as Ven first and then go on to Terra, you’ll probably feel too slow.
-- So the scenarios for the three characters are really quite different?
Nomura: Yes, we set it up that way. If three friends were to play the game and choose different characters, after ten minutes the story would be completely different. If you choose to play as a different character than your friend, you both should be careful of spoiling each other.
-- Instead of using one character until the end, can you play each character a little bit at a time?
Nomura: For the most part yes, you can. When you first create a save, it creates saves for all three characters. But if you play them together it becomes confusing, and I wouldn’t recommend it.
-- Alright then, now can you tell us what kind of characters the three heroes are? Starting with Terra.
Nomura: Terra, as we’ve shown in trailers and screenshots, becomes [closer? entangled?] with darkness, which is the highlight of his story. But he doesn’t just fight the darkness in his heart, he tries to hold back his desire while being invited into the darkness. He can also use the moves that we saw from “Lingering Sentiment” in KHIIFM, so that will be fun.
-- Next, I want to ask about Ven, the one everyone is wondering most about.
Nomura: Since Ven has a lot of mysteries about him, I can’t really say clearly what sort of character he is. But when you play the game, you’ll find out more about who he really is. While the connections in the series haven’t been explained, we’ve made it so you can imagine who he is. Also, as I said before he will be an easy character to use for newcomers, since he is the quickest.
-- And Aqua is watching over the both of them.
Nomura: Yes that’s right. Aqua’s position is what I guess you could call their “guardian”. And unlike Terra and Ven, you can’t easily see how she connects to the series. I’d like for everyone to watch her to see what lies in her future. Since she is a magic type character, she has trickier moves than we’ve seen in the series to date. Also, like Final Form in KHII, she has a Style where her keyblade floats in the air.
-- How will their Master be involved in the story?
Nomura: Master Eraqus and Master Xehanort used to be fellow students. Their way of thinking is different, but deep down they are connected in some way.
-- And what about the mysterious Master Xehanort and Vanitas?
Nomura: Vanitas wears a mask and we can’t see his face, but eventually we will find out who he is. I want you to watch out for how Master Xehanort connects to Ansem the Wise’s apprentice Xehanort that was introduced in KHII.
-- In screenshots we see Master Xehanort saying something about the “Keyblade Wars”...
Nomura: The “Keyblade Wars” were something that happened quite a long time ago, so there is no one who actually experienced the war can explain more about it. They can only speculate on what happened. But that isn’t really what is important, what I want you to pay attention to is the “Mystery that is hidden within the keyblades” that is in connection with the war. The place where Xehanort is talking about it is close to the climax of the story, and all of the story’s highlights will be summarized there.
-- We see quite a lot of characters that look like Organization XIII members in Radiant Garden, don’t we?
Nomura: But they don’t have a lot to do in the story, they just appear as residents in Radiant Garden. Except for Braig, since you fight him and he is quite involved in the story. In KHIIFM and KH 358/2 Days there was a lot going on with him, and he is a character I think you should pay attention to.
-- Of course you usually have a secret movie at the end, do you have one this time too?
Nomura: Yes there is one. Except this time it isn’t a pre-rendered movie that gives a hint as to how the story will develop later, but is shown like an event scene. There is dialog, and in all it runs about ten minutes. It is set up as one episode. Instead of showing us what will happen in the future, it is more like a true ending. I would really like everyone to see it. There are characters that will only show up there in it as well.
-- I wonder what sort of things will be required to see the event.
Nomura: Of course there are lots of requirements. This time too, it depends on the difficulty. It’s pretty difficult to get on Standard Mode, and on Proud it becomes easier. On Beginner you can’t see it at all. Well, I’m sure fans of the series can imagine the requirements.
