Tetsuya Nomura makes sure his protagonists look attractive because people don’t want to look ugly in the game world too 

Legendary Square Enix game creator Tetsuya Nomura was recently interviewed by Young Jump about his distinctive character designs- particularly the cast of Final Fantasy VII (which was the first time he designed all the main characters). In the interview, Nomura gives insight into his character design philosophy, the eccentric cast of Final Fantasy VII, and why he always makes sure the main character looks cool.  

If you have played a Square game any time from the mid 90s up until today, you have probably come across Nomura’s distinctive character designs- particularly in the Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts series. Starting out with his design work on Final Fantasy V’s monsters, Nomura’s role has gradually expanded to include taking charge of game stories and direction- he also discussed his story planning process for Kingdom Hearts in the same interview. 

When asked about why his protagonist designs are always handsome, especially when compared to your standard shonen manga lead (e.g. FF7’s Cloud Strife vs. Luffy from One Piece), Nomura explains the roots of his design philosophy. “When I was in high school, a classmate was playing a game where the main character wasn’t good looking. They said, “Why do I have to be ugly in the game world too?” which really left a strong impression on me.” This experience resonated with Nomura so much that when it came to designing his own characters, he focused on making it so that players could look cool and attractive in-game. 

Although Final Fantasy protagonists like Cloud, Squall, Tidus and Lightning (to name a few), are all attractive-looking- Nomura also mentions that it is important not to go too far with the main character. He opines that the protagonist should not be adventurous in terms of their design and background. “If you go out of your way to make them unconventional, you will end up with a character who is too distinct and hard to empathize with.” Nomura explains. Even if a main character has a complicated backstory that is revealed later, their introduction and character design should still invite the player to become them. 

However, Nomura reveals that he really likes strong, eccentric characters. So, a lot of these wild ideas and characterization goes into the antagonists, like Final Fantasy VII’s infamous Sephiroth or Nomura’s personal favorites, Luxord and Xigbar from Kingdom Heart’s Organization XIII. 

Nomura goes onto explain that his current policy of making the main character attractive yet conventional and the antagonists eccentric didn’t apply to Final Fantasy VII. It was his first time fully designing all the characters’ looks and personalities. “At the time, I was still young… so I just decided to make all the characters distinctive. If you think about it, FF7 has a strange party, doesn’t it?” Nomura explains, referring to four-legged character Red XIII and Cait Sith, the moogle-riding Scottish cat. “There was a lot of youthful recklessness.”  

However, Nomura concludes that the fact that Final Fantasy VII characters all stand out from each other in their individuality also makes them appealing. “I am very particular about the basis (for character designs) right down to the smallest details, like why this part is this color, and why this is a certain shape.” Nomura explains. “These details become part of the character’s personality, which in the end become part of the game and its story.” 

Returning to Final Fantasy VII, Nomura touches on the game’s two heroines, Tifa and Aerith (whom scenario writer Kazuhige Nojima vowed to portray as true friends in Final Fantasy VII Remake). “I’ve never mentioned this before, but Aerith was created first, with a personality that was close to Tifa’s.” Nomura reveals. However, to distinguish Final Fantasy VII from the standard RPG story direction, Tifa was created to give the story two heroines. Aerith’s personality was then developed to reflect the destined role she plays in the story.  

As an example of his focus on the small details of Final Fantasy character design, Nomura mentions that he decided to give Aerith a red jacket and light brown hair so she would stand out among the other characters in the party. Her bright clothes and personality contrast against the toughness of Barret, for example, and the spiky hair and introspective personality of Cloud. Nomura also notes that Tifa and Aerith both had their hair tied back due to technological limitations of the time.