Sora (Kingdom Hearts) - Concept and Creation

Concept and Creation

Sora was designed by Tetsuya Nomura as the main protagonist of Kingdom Hearts. However, he was not originally slated to be the main protagonist as Disney wanted Donald Duck to be the main protagonist of the game while Square wanted to have Mickey Mouse as the main protagonist. Nomura wanted neither as the protagonist of the game and went on to design his own main protagonist with the concepts of the Disney characters in mind which resulted in the creation of Sora. Sora originally wielded a weapon resembling a chainsaw; however, the weapon was not well received by Disney which led Nomura to redesign the weapon into a Keyblade. Sora's original outfit in Kingdom Hearts was also designed with Mickey Mouse in mind with Mickey Mouse's trademark white gloves, red shorts and giant yellow shoes due to Square's original preference to have Mickey as the main character of the game. The tail was removed as the staff found his design to be similar to the one of the Final Fantasy IX protagonist Zidane Tribal who also had a tail. After a talk with the Disney staff, the design was further reworked, and Nomura finished it after a night's work.

One of the main concepts of Sora's character in the series is that, according to Nomura, he is a normal boy instead of a supernatural being even though he is deeply connected with other characters from the series. With Sora, Nomura wants to give players the message that even though they are not important people, they can have the opportunity to accomplish notable actions. This was emphasized in Birth by Sleep's secret ending, game in which he hoped players would like to see him. In early versions of development of Birth by Sleep, Nomura thought that Ventus would actually be Sora before being reborn, but due to overseas opinions, such portrayal was discarded.

Nomura has stated that Sora's name can be interpreted as "sky" as his name, sora (空?), means sky in Japanese and was also chosen by Nomura to symbolise his role as well as personality in the story. It also shows his relation with Riku and Kairi, making their three names together "Skys, Land, and Sea." The writings from Jiminy Cricket's journals which are supposed to be written by Nomura in the Japanese versions joking that they have similar writings and wanted people to recognize his hand-writing. He was also described by Nomura to have a forward personality, which allows him to make friends across the series. From all of the characters he has designed, Nomura comments that Sora is his favorite having encountered him many times and finding him as "special".

Following the first Kingdom Hearts, Nomura was worried about how players having Sora in a high level would use him in Kingdom Hearts II starting once again with a low level due to the games' natures. Therefore, he developed the plot of Chain of Memories to explain how Sora loses his abilities in Castle Oblivion and then start anew. Additionally, with Chain of Memories a new mystery regarding Sora's memories from Twilight Town was added and while Sora did not have any memories from such town, this fact would be explained in Kingdom Hearts II. The team in charge of Kingdom Hearts II expressed difficulties in animating Sora's Drive Valor Form for having a completely different motion except in the part that Sora walks which is shared with his regular motion. After finishing Kingdom Hearts II, Nomura wanted to give Sora a rest from the series in order to focus the following games in other characters from the series. Moreover, the events from the endings of Kingdom Hearts coded and Birth by Sleep hinted a new mystery regarding Sora's character which will be revealed in Kingdom Hearts III. Although Nomura stated in March 2010 that Sora will once again be the focus of the next Kingdom Hearts, he will share it with another character with a big importance. In response to rumors saying that Sora's story would end in Kingdom Hearts III, Nomura answered that Sora is the main protagonist of the series and that his role will end once the series ends.