{"id":37313,"date":"2024-09-19T18:58:52","date_gmt":"2024-09-19T09:58:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=37313"},"modified":"2024-09-19T18:59:38","modified_gmt":"2024-09-19T09:59:38","slug":"tetsuya-nomura-makes-sure-his-protagonists-look-attractive-because-people-dont-want-to-look-ugly-in-the-game-world-too-final-fantasy-character-design","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/tetsuya-nomura-makes-sure-his-protagonists-look-attractive-because-people-dont-want-to-look-ugly-in-the-game-world-too-final-fantasy-character-design\/","title":{"rendered":"Tetsuya Nomura makes sure his protagonists look attractive because people don\u2019t want to look ugly in the game world too\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Legendary Square Enix game creator Tetsuya Nomura was recently interviewed by Young Jump<\/a> 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.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Final
Cloud Strife in Final Fantasy VII Remake.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

If you have played a Square game any time from the mid 90s up until today, you have probably come across Nomura\u2019s distinctive character designs- particularly in the Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts series. Starting out with his design work on Final Fantasy V\u2019s monsters, Nomura\u2019s role has gradually expanded to include taking charge of game stories and direction- he also discussed his story planning process for Kingdom Hearts <\/a>in the same interview.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Final
Squall Leonhart, the protagonist of Final Fantasy VIII.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When asked about why his protagonist designs are always handsome, especially when compared to your standard shonen manga lead (e.g. FF7\u2019s Cloud Strife vs. Luffy from One Piece), Nomura explains the roots of his design philosophy. \u201cWhen I was in high school, a classmate was playing a game where the main character wasn\u2019t good looking. They said, \u201cWhy do I have to be ugly in the game world too?\u201d which really left a strong impression on me.\u201d 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Final
Final Fantasy X’s main character Tidus.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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. \u201cIf 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.\u201d 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s infamous Sephiroth or Nomura\u2019s personal favorites, Luxord and Xigbar from Kingdom Heart\u2019s Organization XIII. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nomura goes onto explain that his current policy of making the main character attractive yet conventional and the antagonists eccentric didn\u2019t apply to Final Fantasy VII. It was his first time fully designing all the characters’ looks and personalities. \u201cAt 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\u2019t it?\u201d Nomura explains, referring to four-legged character Red XIII and Cait Sith, the moogle-riding Scottish cat. \u201cThere was a lot of youthful recklessness.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Tetsuya
Red XIII’s original design.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

However, Nomura concludes that the fact that Final Fantasy VII characters all stand out from each other in their individuality also makes them appealing. \u201cI 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.\u201d Nomura explains. \u201cThese details become part of the character\u2019s personality, which in the end become part of the game and its story.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Final
Barret, Aerith, Cloud and Tifa in Final Fantasy VII Remake (image source: Insider Gaming<\/a>)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Returning to Final Fantasy VII, Nomura touches on the game\u2019s two heroines, Tifa and Aerith (whom scenario writer Kazuhige Nojima vowed to portray as true friends in Final Fantasy VII Remake<\/a>). \u201cI\u2019ve never mentioned this before, but Aerith was created first, with a personality that was close to Tifa\u2019s.\u201d Nomura reveals. However, to distinguish Final Fantasy VII from the standard RPG story direction, Tifa was created to give the story two heroines. Aerith\u2019s personality was then developed to reflect the destined role she plays in the story.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Aerith
Aerith finally gets to let her hair down in the ‘No Promises to Keep’ song performance scene in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nomura reveals his philosophy for creating main characters and how he came up with the designs for Final Fantasy VII’s distinctive cast.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":37319,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[61,3],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-37313","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-final-fantasy","category-news","tag-japan-related-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"\nTetsuya Nomura makes sure his protagonists look attractive because people don\u2019t want to look ugly in the game world too\u00a0 - AUTOMATON WEST<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Nomura reveals his philosophy for creating protagonists and how he came up with the designs for Final Fantasy VII's distinctive cast.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/tetsuya-nomura-makes-sure-his-protagonists-look-attractive-because-people-dont-want-to-look-ugly-in-the-game-world-too-final-fantasy-character-design\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tetsuya Nomura makes sure his protagonists look attractive because people don\u2019t want to look ugly in the game world too\u00a0 - 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