Kingdom Hearts Novelist Worked on Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin

Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin Creative Producer Tetsuya Nomura has shared several development details regarding the title in an interview. This includes reasons behind certain design decisions. However, the interview also revealed that, while Nomura drafted the initial concept, it was Kingdom Hearts light novelist Tomoco Kanemaki who put the Stranger of Paradise narrative together. [Thanks, ryokutya2089!]

Nomura elaborated in the interview the reason for putting the protagonists in modern clothing. This is because the characters, as mentioned in previous interviews, are not from this world. This was something he wanted to see easily conveyed. Their attire is also nondescript because he wanted each character to lack an identity. Plus, players will constantly be swapping out armor as they progress through the game.

Further into the interview, Nomura said this about the conceptualization of the plot for Stranger of Paradise:

I made the initial draft for the plot but asked Tomoco Kanemaki to put everything together as the scenario.

Kanemaki has created several novelizations of Kingdom Hearts titles. These have included adaptations of Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, and Kingdom Hearts II. She also served as one of three writers for Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days.

Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin will release on March 18, 2022 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC via the Epic Games Store.