Following up Kingdom Hearts 2 with multiple mediocre titles each spread across a different platform before concluding the story with a game that is less relevant to the plot than the mobile gacha game and spends more time setting up for a sequel than it does resolving its own narrative. The 10 year wait for a half finished Versus didn’t help, but it was watching the credits to Kingdom Hearts 3 roll that I realised I was utterly done with Nomura.
I liked the side storys. They did start getting old around dream drop, but people forget they cranked those all out pretty quick. A game every year From 2008 to 2011. And aside from coded (which originally was just a phone game before becoming a glorified KH 1 DS port) I thought all of the plots were pretty good, gameplay didn't always translate as well on the console re releases, but they were cool at setting up the next arc.
I... honestly did have the same feeling you did for a little while after beating KH 3. Then I did my research and figured out what was going on.
Nomura got blindsided by having his versus team torn in half to fix the fuck up that was FF14. I am very much of the understanding his priority was making Versus on ps3 before KH3, and when that went to hell in a handbasket it screwed over his plans and put him in a bad place. Everything ive read indicates he had no say in getting taken off the project that became 15. Square enix shipped it out incomplete and gutted of content in order to get enough money to save the company's ass.
On top of that they announced KH3 wayyy too early for his liking and basically forced his hand. You can 100% percent tell his heart was not in this, not to mention the CONSTANT interface from various Disney studios. It literally took FUCKING YEARS to get Rapunzel's hair right and get the ok from pixar and the big hero 6 guys for every little bit of original design and story.
When it was all said and done KH3 was a lengthy tech demo. But for all my many criticisms of the game Remind fixed it.
Remind completely saved this game in my eyes. Not only fixing up the gameplay while adding some of the best secret boss fights in the entire series. It literally fixed every plot complaint I had at the end of the game with the extended ending. It gave everyone something to do and had a much more sweet then bitter take on sora leaving. It was literally the Mass effect 3 ending if it actually fixed the story 100%.
Oh and xehanort is voiced by doc brown now.
Im honestly excited for what comes next. I really do believe he and his team got their mojo back.
Oh and in more final fantasy 7 nomura news : Ever crisis launches on the 7th very soon. Im gonna play the shit out of that. I got to play some of the beta and it was pretty dam charming.