“Kingdom Hearts” was notable for including several cameos of popular “Final Fantasy” characters into the game. Players can team up with a few of the characters while others serve as secret bosses for gamers to challenge. One of the most memorable and outright difficult boss battles was against Sephiroth. When “Kingdom Hearts 2” came out, gamers were again treated to another appearance of the “FF7” antagonist. Therefore, fans are eagerly anticipating his third appearance as an optional boss in “Kingdom Hearts 3”. However, Tetsuya Nomura hinted that the Masamune-wielding bad guy might be absent from the third-installment.
Not set in stone
The absence of Sephiroth in “Kingdom Hearts 3” was stated by Tetsuya Nomura during his interview with Mirror. Nevertheless, The Square Enix game director teased that the upcoming sequel will still feature optional secret bosses just like him. Sources also pointed out that the game is still in development and slated to come out next year. Therefore, there is still an opportunity for the Nomura to change his mind given the popularity of the one-winged angel. He stated during the interview “we’ve had him come back so many times so they’re maybe worried it might be redundant at this point.” He also added “we’re still deliberating on it,” which seems to say that the decision is not yet final.
He could still make appearance but not as an optional boss
Hardcore “Kingdom Hearts” fans are going to be obviously disappointed to know about Sephiroth being absent in the next game. Completionists who were planning to take on all of the secret bosses in the sequel won’t find him there as well. On the other hand, he could still show up in the game integrated into the plot and in cut-scenes.
There are still some who are hopeful that Square Enix is just keeping his inclusion as a secret. Nomura could also treat fans to a surprise announcement during the Tokyo Game Show or the D23 Expo in Japan next year.
Final push before 2018
Other than the absence of Sephiroth, most fans are more concerned about the development progress of the sequel.
Tetsuya Nomura already shared details regarding the current status of “Kingdom Hearts 3”. It was confirmed that the game director has dedicated more of his time to work on the Disney crossover RPG, which has resulted to the drought of news related to “Final Fantasy 7 Remake”, another project currently-helmed by Nomura. Disney recently shared new footage of Sora and the gang working with Woody and Buzz Lightyear during their D23 expo last weekend. Fans can expect the RPG to come out sometime in 2018.
