In the latest issue of Famitsu, a feature on Kingdom Hearts‘ main character Sora calls in Tetsuya Nomura for an interview. Tetsuya talks Sora’s design, the series and if we’ll see a third game.

Since the feature is on Sora the character, Nomura talks about how he originated. Apparently, Sora first looked like a mix between a human and lion, with a tail and beast-like ears. This is because Nomura wanted Sora to look like more of a Disney character. Sora even used a chainsaw rather than a keyblade at first.

The tail ended up being dropped since Final Fantasy IX’s Zidane already had a tail. After more negotiations with Disney, Sora became what we know him as today.

Nomura said that Sora will be appearing in future titles, although he cannot say which.

He hints that his next appearance could come from the Kingdom Hearts Tokyo team, currently at work on Final Fantasy Versus XIII, or the Birth By Sleep Osaka team. Nomura said that the Osaka team has proved their ability to handle the series.

He closes the interview with a message regarding Kingdom Hearts III.

“Regarding III, fans and partners alike are pressing us for it, so we’ll work to realize it as soon as possible.”

Thanks, Andriasang.