Tetsuya Nomura says he was “very picky” with Sora’s appearance in Smash Bros. Ultimate

Kingdom Hearts director Tetsuya Nomura has again discussed Sora’s appearance in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, telling Game Informer that he was “very picky about his appearance”.

Although some have felt that Disney’s approval would be the major hurdle to get past, the company was all for the collaboration. Nomura, on the other hand, “thought it would be tough to pull off because it might clash with the established lore in Kingdom Hearts and the Disney worlds”. Everything worked out in the end though, and believes “the end result was really great.”

Nomura’s full words:

“Obviously, I was very happy that we were able to have Sora make an appearance in Smash Bros. Ultimate. Most of the feedback when Sora was [announced] for Smash Bros. Ultimate was, ‘I can’t believe Disney okayed for him to be in this game.’ Behind the scenes, I was actually the one being very picky about his appearance in Smash Bros. Disney was the one that was like, ‘Go ahead! This is a great opportunity.’ I thought it would be tough to pull off because it might clash with the established lore in Kingdom Hearts and the Disney worlds, so it was an opportunity I had to consider very carefully. After seeing how happy everybody was in welcoming Sora to Smash Bros., I feel like the end result was really great.”

Sora marked the end of Nintendo’s DLC support for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. The character released as part of Fighters Pass Vol. 2 in October 2021.