Square Enix Addresses Concerns Over Kingdom Hearts Art Origin

Last month's Nintendo Direct revealed plans for the Kingdom Hearts trilogy to come to Switch 2, sparking controversy over the artwork.

Square Enix faced backlash over the key art for The Kingdom Hearts Collection [I-III], with players accusing the studio of using AI to create it. In response to the criticism, Square Enix clarified that the art was crafted by their development team without AI assistance. The statement acknowledged errors in the art, such as Donald Duck's hand having an incorrect number of fingers and other visual inconsistencies.

While updated assets have been introduced to address some issues, not all flaws have been corrected. Despite the modifications, certain details like the warped crowns on Sora's belt chain and the absence of crown patterns on his shoes persist in the revised artwork. Square Enix made no comments on the original art's creation process, leaving fans to speculate on how the unconventional design came to be.