Supercoolmayo
Superstar
First announced back in June, the rhythm action game Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory from Square Enix swiftly became one of the most anticipated Nintendo Switch titles of the year, especially because it’s the first game in the franchise on Switch. And ahead of the game’s release on Nov. 13, we had the opportunity to speak with Producer Ichiro Hazama, Co-Director Masanobu Suzui, and Franchise Director and Character Designer Tetsuya Nomura about everything we can expect from the title.
For starters, all of the similarities between this title and Square Enix’s Theatrhythm series are not coincidental — Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory is being made largely by the same people that created that series. Masanobu Suzui’s indieszero studio is developing the title alongside Square Enix as was the case with Theatrhythm. However, to really capture an authentic Kingdom Hearts experience for Melody of Memory, Kingdom Hearts III staff supervised the animation and visual effects and were directly involved in creating parts of the game. When you also factor in the supervision of Disney, this is quite a large production for a rhythm game.
Discussion of a potential Kingdom Hearts rhythm game at Square Enix actually began five years ago, when Hazama and Suzui casually talked about how it would be cool to do a Theatrhythm Kingdom Hearts. The idea just floated around for a few years, but then during a discussion between Nomura and Disney, it was actually Disney who asked if Square Enix could move forward with the project. Thus, production began.
Feature: Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory devs lift the curtain on the series's Switch debut
Trailer:
