Exclusive: KHInsider Interviews Tetsuya Nomura!
- Details
- Published on December 2, 2014 @ 01:59 am
- Written by Joey
Our staff at KHInsider were lucky enough to be able to meet with Tetsuya Nomura today at the Kingdom Hearts -HD 2.5 ReMIX- Launch Event and ask him a few questions about the new HD collection. These questions were asked in joint with Churro from KHUltimania. Due to the short time we had with Mr. Nomura, we only got to ask a select few questions so please enjoy!
---To start things off, how are you today, Nomura-san?
Nomura: I'm doing fine, thank you. Looking forward to being here. Actually my flight was delayed for 2.5 hours but I didn't realize it until later because I had fallen asleep (laughs).
---How did it feel to revisit these titles again?
Nomura: It felt the same as it did throughout the series, as our focus was to make the game more accessible to newer players. That was our stance throughout the project, and it has not changed.
---How big was the development team for Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix?
Nomura: It was the same as 1.5. We has a designated team of programmers specifically working on the remasters and a same art team that's been working on the series.
---One of the two new scenes in Re:coded features a conversation Xigbar has with Young Master Xehanort before the events of KH3D. In this scene, it appears that not even his younger self is entirely on board with Master Xehanort's plans, as if his status as a confident participant is uncertain. Could you tell us about his position at this current point in time and what we may look forward to in the future with him?
Nomura: As you know, Xehanort loses his memory at the end of KH3D. However, he has something like a beacon inside him that guides him unconsciously. It's a feeling in his heart that he doesn't quite understand but follows regardless. In that regard, you could say he really is just walking the path laid out for him.
---Many of our fans are excited to see the Birth by Sleep Final Mix secret ending, which mentions Birth by Sleep Volume 2. What were your thoughts behind including this?
Nomura: I suppose you could say that the ideas are "floating". See, Birth by Sleep Volume 2 was never meant to be the second chapter of Birth by Sleep. Rather, it was intended to be a separate piece. The ideas are still there, but they are not currently being pursued. Perhaps in the future we will have the opportunity to touch back upon this subject.
---What was the process in choosing which scenes from Re:coded to remake?
Nomura: I'd go over the entire script first. Of course the scenes that were already animated would automatically be included, but we'd tweak them in such a way that "adds flavor". That is, make them more interesting for players to experience and more suitable for cinematic theater as we can't rely on gameplay. We also focused on taking the scenes that focused purely on the Kingdom Hearts original content, and enhanced them further because they are so crucial to the story. In order to select from the Disney worlds, we focused on balancing the important scenes with the charm that these characters and locales inherently bring.
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COMMENTS
I asked #2, 4, and 6 :3
OMG This is so cool! I could only imagine how this felt! =P
I congratulate you guys on actually forming coherent words that formed complete sentences to talk to Nomura...the sounds that would have exited by vocal cords would have been compared to that of a 3-month old newborn who has yet to grasp any concept of speaking :)
Keep that BBSv2 floating, Nomura. ;_; Never let the dream die.
I asked #2, 4, and 6 :3
Amazing job, you were able to squeeze some what out of that sponge.
I wonder what he's trying to do with another prequel. Just seems like he's going to be making something that could open the new adventure but...ehh I hope not. Just find ways tie things up finally .
I remember wanting BBSV 2 to be made just so I could fight alongside Sephiroth. Despite being a Final Fantasy fan, when BBS was first released I didn't know Sephiroth used to be a good guy. If he was "evil" in KH2, he was a hero 10 years prior; making for a rare and amazing chance in my opinion. Then again there was that one scene with Zack in BBS's credits with the black feather...Hmmm...
I never forgot about it though. I remember it being teased at the end of a trailer, and then never hearing from it again. Anyway, thanks for sharing the info he shared with you.
Cool!!
Is it just me, or is BBS Vol 2 sounding more and more like KH3 DLC?
Really, really interesting news. The hype is real. This might be silly question, but I have to ask it anyway. How does it feel to be in the same room as Nomura, and begin able to talk to him?
It was a very small, cramped room behind the theater at WDAS. Nomura was there with 4 SE staff (though I'm not entirely sure what two of them were doing), one of which was the main translator for the event and the other was head of PR.
Nomura was about what you'd expect him to be; nice, quiet, friendly. He only made eye contact during greetings, and seemed to avoid it the rest of the time we were with him.
The actual interview was super short since they had apparently fallen behind schedule earlier on, so we were only allowed to ask 3 questions each. Unfortunately for us, we had prepared a lot of questions that covered topics about Nomura himself, Chi, 3D HD, etc., because we weren't sure what the situation would be like. But at the end of the day, we had to stick to 2.5 as closely as possible, and being strapped for time, I chose not to bother with trying to haggle for these other questions and just took what I could.
It was easy to do the interview, but we just didn't know actually how to start. Actually, this was the first official interview opportunity we had ever received for both myself and Churro with a member from the JP KH development team.
Unfortunately for us, we had prepared a lot of questions that covered topics about Nomura himself, Chi, 3D HD, etc.
Which was a shame because I felt we had some really good questions for him that we couldn't ask :(
I'd love a full hour-long KHI interview with Nomura, no strings attached :C
An all out no bars hold interview with Nomura with no topic off limit would be fantastic.
It was a very small, cramped room behind the theater at WDAS. Nomura was there with 4 SE staff (though I'm not entirely sure what two of them were doing), one of which was the main translator for the event and the other was head of PR.
Nomura was about what you'd expect him to be; nice, quiet, friendly. He only made eye contact during greetings, and seemed to avoid it the rest of the time we were with him.
The actual interview was super short since they had apparently fallen behind schedule earlier on, so we were only allowed to ask 3 questions each. Unfortunately for us, we had prepared a lot of questions that covered topics about Nomura himself, Chi, 3D HD, etc., because we weren't sure what the situation would be like. But at the end of the day, we had to stick to 2.5 as closely as possible, and being strapped for time, I chose not to bother with trying to haggle for these other questions and just took what I could.
It was easy to do the interview, but we just didn't know actually how to start. Actually, this was the first official interview opportunity we had ever received for both myself and Churro with a member from the JP KH development team.
Oh, man. It would have been cool if you guys could have asked more questions, since you had them ready. Oh well, I bet it must have been pretty cool to get an interview.
Maybe Nomura is little bit shy? :D
I also read that Shimomura played Scherzo di Notte in the event. Is this true?
Thank you for the reply Sign!
He is very shy and reserved! We've always known that he isn't particularly fond of having to attend events like this and interact with the audience, but he's recently started to come out of his shell. Of course, he'll always be that typical Nomura.
Shimomura did not, but Livan, a brilliant pianist who attended the event by special request from Shimomura herself (he also worked with VGO as the pianist for the Lightning Returns soundtrack), played Scherzo di Notte. He also played Kairi - Andante Sostenuto, Missing You - Namine, Sora - Allegro con brio, Finale: Working Together - Allegro vivace, and Hand in Hand.
Shimomura and Livan performed two duets: The Other Promise and Dearly Beloved.
We'll have a more detailed write-up available tomorrow because my laptop only has like half an hour of life left with no charger 8D
Congrats on getting to speak directly to the man himself and excellent choice of questions for the interview! If it were me I would have lost it going over my list of questions to figure out which ones to ask.
If you could, would you ever do a proper long interview with him? That would be awesome!
Congrats for the interview, let's hope someday they let KHI and other KH fansites to do a longer interview.
I'm glad you guys chose to ask the question about Young Xehanort, I don't think his answer rules out rebellion just yet though.
[FONT=Arial]He is very shy and reserved! We've always known that he isn't particularly fond of having to attend events like this and interact with the audience, but he's recently started to come out of his shell. Of course, he'll always be that typical Nomura.[/FONT] |
Interesting. I wonder what has changed since he now comes to events like this?
Shimomura did not, but Livan, a brilliant pianist who attended the event by special request from Shimomura herself (he also worked with VGO as the pianist for the Lightning Returns soundtrack), played Scherzo di Notte. He also played Kairi - Andante Sostenuto, Missing You - Namine, Sora - Allegro con brio, Finale: Working Together - Allegro vivace, and Hand in Hand. |
They played so many songs?! O_O It must have been epic! Wish I could go to an event like this someday. I assume it was not allowed to record the performance?
All in all a really good interview. I especially liied the part about Young Xehanort. I understand his actions better know, and why he is little confused. Wish you guys had more time.
Interesting. I wonder what has changed since he now comes to events like this?
If I had to make an assumption I'd say it has to do with the change at the upper echelons at Square Enix.
Under Yoichi Wada, things seem to have been more relaxed with much freedom for the developers, however since Matsuda took the helm it seems like the focus is more on "getting shit done timely" and requires the developers, Nomura included, to show more "presence" to audiences in general.
Nomura may be very reserved and personally doesn't like it very much to attend events (except Jump Festa apparently as he repeatedly stated that it is his favourite event), if his bosses order him to show presence he'll do it.
Wow guys, congratulations on getting the interview! Nomura, keep BBSV2 alive, don't let it die!
First: Congrats, you've got to meet him!
I really would like to see a BBS 2, but I'm not really hyped. ^^
Anyway; Good work, KHInsider Staff!
I really like this forum more and more, every day... :D
So KHI staff have interviewed Nomura for the first time?
You lucky dream eaters!
I saw the picture of him during the event. He's a small little guy.
Always mention BBSv2. Never forget.
I dodged some parts of the short interview, because I want to watch the Re:coded cinematics first, but I'll revisit the topic later. Gj, guys.
Interesting. I wonder what has changed since he now comes to events like this?
If I had to make an assumption I'd say it has to do with the change at the upper echelons at Square Enix.
Under Yoichi Wada, things seem to have been more relaxed with much freedom for the developers, however since Matsuda took the helm it seems like the focus is more on "getting shit done timely" and requires the developers, Nomura included, to show more "presence" to audiences in general.
Nomura may be very reserved and personally doesn't like it very much to attend events (except Jump Festa apparently as he repeatedly stated that it is his favourite event), if his bosses order him to show presence he'll do it.
Nomura said that Hidemi Matsuzaka (general manager of their merchandise department, likely a very good friend considering how often Nomura ends up there asking for things with his cats on it) kept telling him he should attend more events and interact with the fans which was how he ended up going to SDCC and then he ended up at NYCC.
After he went to SDCC, he said he started thinking that maybe he should start doing more events. I don't doubt any prior appearances he's had in the past were certainly required, but nobody is pointing a gun at his head...At least probably not now.
I thinks it`s really nice of him to visit these events with the other members from the KH-Team. I saw a picture from the event where Nomura, Shimomura, Hashimoto and other few people were sitting, and it just gave me this really warm feeling seeing them all together. :D
I really hope Nomura isn`t there against his will. Oh well. Maybe it is good for him to meet the KH-fandom.
I thinks it`s really nice of him to visit these events with the other members from the KH-Team. I saw a picture from the event where Nomura, Shimomura, Hashimoto and other few people were sitting, and it just gave me this really warm feeling seeing them all together. :D
I really hope Nomura isn`t there against his will. Oh well. Maybe it is good for him to meet the KH-fandom.
The two others are Emiko Yamamoto, the Executive Producer from Disney Interactive Japan and the other party from the legendary elevator story, and Livan, VGO's talented pianist :)
The two others are Emiko Yamamoto, the Executive Producer from Disney Interactive Japan and the other party from the legendary elevator story, and Livan, VGO's talented pianist :)
Thanks! I was wondering who the others were. I recognized Nomura, Hashimoto and Shimomura, but the other were a mystery.
Livan! I wish I had a cool name like that. And the person is an talented pianist. He must be one coolest guys in the world. :D
| ---One of the two new scenes in Re:coded features a conversation Xigbar has with Young Master Xehanort before the events of KH3D. In this scene, it appears that not even his younger self is entirely on board with Master Xehanort's plans, as if his status as a confident participant is uncertain. Could you tell us about his position at this current point in time and what we may look forward to in the future with him? Nomura: As you know, Xehanort loses his memory at the end of KH3D. However, he has something like a beacon inside him that guides him unconsciously. It's a feeling in his heart that he doesn't quite understand but follows regardless. In that regard, you could say he really is just walking the path laid out for him. |
So basically YX just goes with the flow. lol Killed any betrayal ideas.
Not a bad interview though. The only interesting aspect is BBSVol.2 and at this point I've honestly rather indifferent to it now.
So basically YX just goes with the flow. lol Killed any betrayal ideas.
Not a bad interview though. The only interesting aspect is BBSVol.2 and at this point I've honestly rather indifferent to it now.
He has been saying the same thing consistently for years.
I'm guessing this was done in Japanese without a translator? Amazing! Getting to talk with Nomura himself! :O
I'm guessing this was done in Japanese without a translator? Amazing! Getting to talk with Nomura himself! :O
There's always a translator.
I've always been interested in the idea of BBSv2 just because I found the image of the castle from Cinderella looking all dystopian from the secret movie oddly moving.
I've always been interested in the idea of BBSv2 just because I found the image of the castle from Cinderella looking all dystopian from the secret movie oddly moving.
I think that scene was one of the more interesting things I had ever seen from KH and was really looking forward to it being elaborated on.
[FONT=Arial]Xehanort loses his memory at the end of KH3D[/FONT] |
I did not play KH3D, but what?
I did not play KH3D, but what?
When those who were plucked out of time return to their past, they forget everything that transpired while they were in the present.
At the end of KH3D, Young Xehanort forgets he was ever in the present but after the events that occurred, the impressions of these events have been "etched" into his heart and he has now been set on the path of his destiny. If that poetic dribble makes sense.
A little late to the party, but how was Nomura's English? Was he easy to understand or did he have a thick accent? Either way he set like a nice and well spoken guy. Glad he took the time to speak to you guys. :)
A little late to the party, but how was Nomura's English? Was he easy to understand or did he have a thick accent? Either way he set like a nice and well spoken guy. Glad he took the time to speak to you guys. :)
Wow, you are over a year late!
His written English is great and he can understand some but he doesn't speak it.
There was a translator who relayed the questions and answers between him, Cecily, and Churro during the event.
Nomura's very intelligent, but he's something of the shy type as well.
Wow, you are over a year late!
His written English is great and he can understand some but he doesn't speak it.
There was a translator who relayed the questions and answers between him, Cecily, and Churro during the event.
Nomura's very intelligent, but he's something of the shy type as well.
Well to be fair I did not join the site until after then either :)
Noel
December 2, 2014 @ 06:03 amOffline