How to Stay True to Your Vision
Legendary Final Fantasy director Tetsuya Nomura teaches us how to deliver on a vision despite significant constraints
For many Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts fanatics, the mysterious and contradictory nature of the relationship between Nomura and Square Enix has been going on for some time — not only is it apparent from interviews but also the games themselves. From rumors that Nomura was forced to make the Final Fantasy VII Remake, to him being kicked off the Final Fantasy Versus XIII release to focus on the third installment of Kingdom Hearts, we can all see why fans have settled on this opinion.
However, analyzing Nomura’s relationship with each of these games can tell us a lot about our interaction with our creations. While we can learn from some of Nomura’s mistakes, we can also learn from some of his successes and achievements.
Kingdom Hearts 3
What happens when you allow others to influence your work in ways you don’t want?
The overall production of Kingdom Hearts is something Nomura has discussed more openly than his Final Fantasy counterpart. Kingdom Hearts 3 is a game that, while successful, left many fans wondering how much creative freedom the team had. Nomura has expressed in interviews that due to the increased popularity of the franchise, gaining approval for the use of characters and plot became increasingly problematic. As the game’s prominence heightened, Disney’s investment in the franchise did as well.
Tetsuya Nomura
This hindrance in terms of game development went on to affect an array of things including time management — something Nomura is constantly critiqued about — plot and most importantly, his overall vision for the game. This was readily apparent in Kingdom Hearts 3, as many felt the Disney worlds and their interaction with the KH characters were almost entirely pointless. Sora no longer affected these worlds in any way and became more of a minor character in terms of the Disney storylines. He behaved like a character with his own distinct story and journey.
Whereas prior to release it was hinted that Kairi would finally become a playable character, she once again became the driving force for Sora’s motivation but not an active character herself.
However, while the main game felt restricted, the ReMind DLC expressed ideas that the main game could not. As the DLC had little to no interaction with Disney characters, those previous guidelines no longer applied and, therefore, allowed for a more advantageous and interesting development of the story. Kairi became a playable character with her own unique battle style and abilities, while the plot was explained more thoroughly and had an enigmatic air. The DLC incorporated what the main game could not — Nomura’s unfiltered ideas, edited and improved by those around him.
For many of us, we cannot escape the guidelines and restrictions others give us over our projects, and while they can be helpful, some are inherently harmful to our intent. We, like Nomura, should find ways to express our ideas, even if it means incorporating it into a separate project like a DLC. Nomura didn’t give up on his concept and that’s an important lesson we can implement into our own projects.
Final Fantasy Versus XIII
Proof that success does not guarantee your satisfaction.
When Final Fantasy XV was first released, there was a clear divide between critics. While some praised the relationship between Noctis and his three best friends, others criticized the relationship between Noctis and Lunafreya. The game’s directorial change created a strange disconnect between certain elements of the game. XV was originally going to be Final Fantasy Versus XIII and was directed by Nomura for six years before he was taken off the project. Director Hajime Tabata took up the mantel, creating Final Fantasy XV out of the ideas and work Nomura left behind. While it is debatable whether Nomura left the project willingly, he has hinted in interviews that he isn’t satisfied with how the game was handled.
Tetsuya Nomura
While Final Fantasy XV is regarded as a decent edition to the franchise, especially in comparison to games like Final Fantasy II, it is clear that Nomura isn’t happy with it. As something he worked on for six years, we can all see how he could be frustrated because his idea was not being portrayed in the way he wanted, regardless of its commercial success.
He hasn’t given up on his depiction of the story, however. The trailer for Final Fantasy Versus XIII was released before the new director was appointed and there are uncanny similarities between this trailer and the two different endings of the Kingdom Hearts 3 DLC.
The new character, Yozora, has a name and character design similar to the Noctis seen in the Final Fantasy Versus XIII trailer. Yozora’s name means “Night sky” whilst Noctis means “Of the night” and Sora means “Sky”. The final scene also shows more similarities, as the way in which Yozora is driven in a car is almost identical to that of the Noctis in the trailer.
Nomura is still determined to make his original idea known. Many of us might be tempted to throw away the idea entirely if faced with these kinds of obstacles, but Nomura knows that this feeling of dissatisfaction won’t go away. Members that worked with him on the project have commented that “He looks at the game at its completion; it’s already there in his head.” An idea so thoroughly understood and thought out will be hard, if not impossible, to let go of. No amount of success or adaptation will replace that initial joy of developing an interesting plotline for a game. As such, he is doing what he can to bring that idea to light.
Final Fantasy VII Remake
How to use other people’s advice without making your idea something else entirely.
Having sold 3.5 million copies of the Remake in 3 days, it is clear that the new edition to the Final Fantasy VII universe is a success. Part of the beauty of this remake is that it is truly a remake. The characters, plot, and locations all interact in a way that we remember, but the way the story plays out and how it looks is just different enough.
For example, fans are currently debating whether Aerith will survive in this version of the story, or how Zack’s presence will change things. This mystery around Aerith’s survival is what made her death so infamous in the first version of the game. In maintaining the possibility of her survival in the new version, it creates the same effect. Even though Square Enix and Nomura were criticized for taking a long time to release the game, the trailer was consistent with the game-play.
Without the hindrance of strict guidelines like those Kingdom Hearts 3 was under, the plot and world-building flowed much better. Given the fact that Nomura and Yoshinori Kitase (a producer that has worked on a number of the original Final Fantasy games) both got to work from beginning to end of the development process could have also influenced the quality, especially since they both worked on Final Fantasy VII together. Unlike Final Fantasy XV, there were no major directorial changes.
That doesn’t mean that they weren’t working with a new team, though. Like most development teams, there is a constant change of people involved in the development of the game. As such, new ideas can be implemented and recognized, but Nomura has the final say on whether it works with his concept. One of the advantages of game development, or any project, is that it very rarely ends up as planned, but it can still have that final overall effect they wanted and only its inventor can know if that was achieved; only they know what effect they wanted to create.
It isn’t difficult to see the love that Tetsuya Nomura has for his creations, and it will be interesting to see what games come of this passionate game director.
