Dengeki have released another interview with Tetsuya Nomura about Kingdom Hearts 3 and Final Fantasy VII. He discusses the removal of reaction commands, a series staple since Kingdom Hearts 2, as well as the use of the Kingdom Shader.

Zephyr has translated the article.

Tetsuya Nomura talks about the presence of the Cloud cross-dressing event in the remake of FINAL FANTASY VII. There is no QTE in KINGDOM HEARTS III.

In United States Los Angeles, an exhibition of videogames were held at E3 2015 (Electronic Entertainment Expo 2015). A full remake of FINAL FANTASY VII has been officially announced, and the latest information concerning KINGDOM HEARTS III has been revealed.

As the director of both works, Tetsuya Nomura will be around for us to hear his story and deliver its contents.

FINAL FANTASY VII, Yoshinori Kitase being the producer, Kazushige Nojima the scenario writer, and Tetsuya Nomura being the director held responsible, has been announced to be developed for the PS4. The reveal of “Tangled” has also been announced for KINGDOM HEARTS III. The audience expectations have been heightened.

■ For KINGDOM HEARTS III, I think it is using Real Shader for the worlds.

From around what time did the remake of FINAL FANTASY VII was being undertaken?

It was from last year. Kitase, Nojima, and I just happen to be around at a bad time and gave the name of this announcement. That’s what started the timing.

So it really has just begun. When the full remake of FINAL FANTASY VII was presented at the SCE conference, it was terribly exciting.

I’ve heard from the staff that that FINAL FANTASY is comparably popular to KINGDOM HEARTS overseas. FINAL FANTASY VII has made a similar impact to the announcement of KINGDOM HEARTS III.

When KINGDOM HEARTS III was presented at E3 2013, there was tremendous excitement. This E3, it looks like KINGDOM HEARTS III has been making several updates.

In regards to supplementing the gameplay, we have removed the Reaction Commands in KINGDOM HEARTS III. QTE (Quick Time Event. Actions that execute at the touch of a button according to when it displays on screen) isn’t there anymore. For people who have seen the “flashy” battles in KINGDOM HEARTS II, it felt like there were too many of them when doing these operations.

Are there no longer Reaction Commands in boss battles?

That’s right. While removing the elements of QTE in KINGDOM HEARTS III, being referred to as flashy battles, we are making it more challenging. All actions will be based on good or favorable timing.

In other works that pursue realistic graphics, it seems “Kingdom Shader” is generally accepted overseas.

Since this is a style that is unique to KINGDOM HEARTS, perhaps it is valued.

Due to the amount of information in the graphics, it may have an opposite effect. If the surface of the rocks look realistic in the world of Hercules, it will drift away from it being a Disney World. You also have Rapunzel’s tower that is tightly built in a very high density building, you are not allowed to go in (laughs).

There is too much discomfort there (laughs).

For many of Disney’s animated films, the Kingdom Shader is acceptable. However, depending on the world, the type of shader is going to change. For specific worlds, it will not be allowed apparently. While it is primarily Kingdom Shader-based, I think a realistic shader will come out for those worlds.

■ Everyone’s memories of FINAL FANTASY VII has not been lost.

Returning to the full remake of FINAL FANTASY VII, it just so happens that Cloud crossdressing as a female and Aerith has become a hot topic. It’s the trend around here?

First, in terms of the full remake, I believe there were a lot of reactions. It’s simply because there are opinions about not wanting the content to be changed in order to clean its image but we believe that the HD port version has a smaller difference; just cleaner.

However, we will not be able to answer at this time until a more detailed depiction. As for the episode of the Honeybee inn and for it being lost in everyone’s nostalgic memories, please don’t worry.

What about in regards to Aerith?

Concerning Aerith, because the original FINAL FANTASY VII is an old release in 1997, I think there may be a lot of young people who will be touching it for the first time in the full remake of FINAL FANTASY VII. For such people, the question itself is a spoiler regarding Aerith. So I will not answer (laughs).

Speaking of the minigames in FINAL FANTASY VII, there were many of them and what are your thoughts about that?

The minigames are being proceeded into full-fledged production although not necessarily attached yet. Since it was already proposed by the production team, it’s a stage that was confirmed in planning.

For KINGDOM HEARTS III, the minigame production has already been started. Several things are in a state that can be simply played alone. There is likely a lot of minigames in KINGDOM HEARTS III. For FINAL FANTASY VII, it is still in the stages of planning.