A while ago, we learned that Kingdom Hearts III Director Tetsuya Nomura has designed characters for the organization named "Torna" ("Iira" in Japanese) within the upcoming JRPG Xenoblade Chronicles 2.

During an interview on the Japanese magazine Weekly Famitsu, Nomura-san provided more details on what he contributed to the game and why.

He explained that Monolith Software's Development Head Tetsuya Takahashi (who is directing Xenoblade Chronicles 2) used to be his senpai [Editor's Note: a senpai is a senior at work, school and various other environments, in Japan, but the relationship of respect goes much beyond what westerners intend with "senior"] and mentor when he was a newbie, and he owes him a lot. It was a great honor for Nomura-san to be requested by such a respected senpai, and there was no reason to refuse.

Nomura-san also added that the work he has done on the game was completed a long time ago, designing characters for the Torna organization. We learn that besides the two that have already been disclosed (which you can see above and below), there are several others, and Nomura-san designed all of their elements, from their looks to the weapons they use and more.

Incidentally, he explained that a reason for this (and the fact that he works on both Kingdom Hearts III and Final Fantasy VII Remake) is that he does not belong to any of Square Enix's business divisions, which are the development units within the company. When you belong to a BD, you work there full time, but not being part of any means that Nomura-san can easily receive various jobs, including some from other companies.

He also mentioned that, while there is no other game that he is directing besides those we know about, he is involved in a few other things, which he doesn't know when they'll be announced.

If you want to see more of Xenoblade Chronicles 2, you can also check out the trailer released at E3, and some impressive screenshots and gameplay footage.

The game will be released in the west in the Holiday season of 2017, exclusively for Nintendo Switch.