‘Kingdom Hearts’ Director Tetsuya Nomura Discusses The Franchise
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Tetsuya Nomura, the mastermind behind the Kingdom Hearts franchise sat down with the Japanese magazine Young Jump to discuss the series. The interviewer commented on the complex settings and asked how it affects the voice actors. Nomura explained, “When the staff other than myself explain the settings and characters to the voice actors during recording, they sometimes ask me to confirm if it’s okay to do it like that, and there are times when I have to say “no, it's not okay” (laughs). But there's no way around it, because I'm the only one who understands the parts of the characters that haven't been drawn, so I'm the only one who can think about the complex story in all the different directions it could go.” The overarching narrative and plotlines are even hard for the director to keep up with. Nomura admitted to watching playthrough videos on YouTube in addition to writing things down to remember them.
When asked about Missing Link and if he has any concerns that players will be unable to keep up with the story, Nomura said, “Honestly, I do.” He continued, “That's why we're developing a story that takes place in a time frame that's much earlier than the Kingdom Hearts timeline on consoles… Missing Link and Kingdom Hearts IV have been created with a stronger focus on being new titles rather than sequels. For example, as a new experiment, we have had staff who have not been involved in the Kingdom Hearts series before participate in writing the scenario.”
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Nomura referred to both games as a kind of reset and indicated Kingdom Hearts IV will lead to the series' conclusion. A line that appears at the very beginning of the first game appears at the end of Kingdom Hearts 3. When the interviewer asked about this Nomura revealed, “The name ‘Quadratum’ didn't exist at that time, but the idea was there. It was a long preparation for the day when I would reach this point.” He indicated that he’d like to see the series conclude. Nomura explained, “If this isn't a dream, then I only have a few years left until I retire, and it's looking like: will I retire or will I finish the series first? (laughs) However, I'm making Kingdom Hearts IV with the intention of it being a story that leads to the conclusion.” Neither game has an official release date but Missing Link is expected sometime in 2024.
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