Summary
Kazushige Nojima (野島 一成, Nojima Kazushige, born January 20, 1964) is a Japanese video game writer. He is best known for writing several installments of Square Enix's Final Fantasy franchise—namely Final Fantasy VII and its spin-offs Advent Children and Crisis Core, Final Fantasy VIII, and Final Fantasy X and X-2—in addition to the Kingdom Hearts series,[1] the Glory of Heracles series, and the story to the Subspace Emissary mode in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Nojima also wrote the original lyrics of "Liberi Fatali" for Final Fantasy VIII and both "Suteki da Ne" and the "Hymn of the Fayth" for Final Fantasy X, as well as "No Promises to Keep" for Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. He is also the founder of Stellavista Ltd.
Kazushige Nojima | |
|---|---|
| 野島 一成 | |
| Born | January 20, 1964 Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan |
| Occupation(s) | Game designer, writer |
| Years active | 1984–present |
| Employers | |
Biography edit
Kazushige Nojima first joined Japanese video game developer and publisher Data East.[2]
Square Co. edit
He joined Square in 1994. He began work on Final Fantasy VII after the main character settings were done, though Nojima considered this early in the process; he was still working on Bahamut Lagoon.
Nojima also wrote the mythology of Fabula Nova Crystallis, which has been used as the story foundation for all the titles within the series.[3] Nojima also wrote most of the Kingdom Hearts games.[4] He also wrote the scenario for Final Fantasy XV (Previously known as Versus XIII).[3]
Freelance edit
Kazushige Nojima left Square Enix in 2003 and founded Stellavista Ltd, a freelance scenario company.[5] He wrote the story for Sakura Note.[4] He also contributed some story concepts to the script of Final Fantasy XIII.[5] While developing the scenario for Glory of Heracles, Nojima took inspiration from the Fall of Troy and the Battle of Thermopylae.[6] Not many actual Greek locations were used, but locations derived from Greek mythology were.[6]
In 2011 Enterbrain announced on its Famitsu resource that a short anime and audio drama, based on a novel written by Kazushige Nojima, will be streamed with a name Busō Chūgakusei Basket Army (Armed Middle School Student Basket Army).[1][7][8]
Writing style and reception edit
Nojima has been called one of the "strongest voices" in the video game industry for his writing.[5] His stories have been noted for their complexity and fearlessness in delving into romantic plot lines.[5]
Works edit
Video games edit
- Tantei Jingūji Saburō: Kiken na Futari (1988) – Scenario writer
- Heracles no Eikō II: Titan no Metsubō (1989) – Scenario writer
- Tantei Jingūji Saburō: Toki no Sugiyuku mamani... (1991) – Scenario writer
- Heracles no Eikō III: Kamigami no Chinmoku (1992) – Scenario writer
- Heracles no Eikō IV: Kamigami kara no Okurimono (1994) – Director, scenario writer
- Bahamut Lagoon (1996) – Director
- Final Fantasy VII (1997) – Event planner, story
- Final Fantasy VIII (1999) – Scenario writer
- Final Fantasy X (2001) – Scenario writer[9]
- Kingdom Hearts (2002) – Scenario writer
- Final Fantasy X-2 (2003) – Scenario writer
- Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII (2004) – Scenario supervisor
- Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories (2004) – Scenario supervisor
- Kingdom Hearts II (2005) – Scenario writer
- Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (2007) – Scenario writer
- Super Smash Bros. Brawl (2008) – The Subspace Emissary scenario writer
- Glory of Hercules (2008) – Scenario writer
- Sakura Note (2009) – Scenario writer
- Final Fantasy XIII (2009) – Scenario concept
- Last Ranker (2010) – Scenario writer
- Lord of Arcana (2010) – Original lyrics
- Black Rock Shooter: The Game (2011) – Scenario writer[1]
- Sol Trigger (2012) – Scenario writer
- Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster (2013) – Scenario writer, audio drama writer[10]
- Zodiac: Orcanon Odyssey (2015) – Scenario writer[11]
- Mobius Final Fantasy (2015) – Scenario writer[12][13]
- Dragon's Dogma Online (2015) – Scenario writer
- Final Fantasy XV (2016) – Original story plot[14]
- Itadaki Street: Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy 30th Anniversary (2017) – Scenario supervisor
- Dissidia Final Fantasy NT (2018) – Scenario concept
- Final Fantasy XV: Pocket Edition (2018) – Original story plot
- Kingdom Hearts III (2019) – Scenario supervisor
- Final Fantasy VII Remake (2020) – Story, scenario writer, lyricist[15]
- Astria Ascending (2021) – Story, scenario writer[16]
- Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier (2021) – Scenario supervisor
- Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin (2022) – Story, scenario writer
- Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion (2022) – Scenario writer
- Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis (2023) – Story, scenario writer
- Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (2024) – Story, scenario writer
- Reynatis (2024) – Scenario writer
Novels edit
- Final Fantasy VII: On the Way to a Smile (2005-2009) – Writer
- Final Fantasy VII The Kids Are Alright: A Turks Side Story (2011) – Writer
- Final Fantasy X-2.5 ~Eien no Daishō~ (2013) – Writer
- Basket Army (2013) – Writer
- Final Fantasy VII Remake: Traces of Two Pasts (2021) – Writer
Film edit
- Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (2005) – Scenario writer[7]
Anime edit
- Last Order: Final Fantasy VII (2005) – Story[7]
- Lupin the 3rd Part V (2018) – Episode 12 screenplay
References edit
- ^ a b c "Kingdom Hearts/Final Fantasy's Nojima Makes Short Anime". Anime News Network. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
- ^ "クリエイターズ・ファイル：『ファイナルファンタジーVII』『キングダムハーツ』などの野島一成氏". Gpara.com. July 20, 2004. Archived from the original on July 23, 2004. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
- ^ a b Anoop Gantayat (January 28, 2011). "Kitase and Toriyama Talk FFXIII-2 and Fabula Nova Crystallis". andraisang. Archived from the original on June 29, 2014. Retrieved February 27, 2013.
- ^ a b Gifford, Kevin (August 25, 2009). "Sakura Note Lands on DS". 1UP.com. Archived from the original on October 18, 2012. Retrieved February 27, 2013.
- ^ a b c d Bonnie Ruberg (January 1, 2012). "The Gamasutra 20: Top Game Writers". Gamasutra. Retrieved February 27, 2013.
- ^ a b RPGamer Staff (September 1, 2009). "RPGamer Feature - Glory of Heracles Interview". RPGamer. Archived from the original on February 1, 2013. Retrieved February 27, 2013.
- ^ a b c "Kingdom Hearts/BRS/FF Writer Nojima's New Work Previewed". Anime News Network. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
- ^ "『武装中学生』のショートアニメとオーディオドラマの配信が決定――豪華キャストも判明 - ファミ通.com". ファミ通.com (in Japanese). Retrieved February 25, 2018.
- ^ Studio BentStuff. Final Fantasy X Ultimania Omega (in Japanese). Square Enix. pp. 191–193, 476.
- ^ Yin-Poole, Wesley (August 12, 2013). "Final Fantasy 10/10-2 HD Remaster's new 30 min audio episode revealed". Eurogamer. Retrieved September 3, 2013.
- ^ 2014-09-18, TGS 2014: Introducing Zodiac, a New JRPG for PS Vita, IGN
- ^ Square Enix (February 2017). Mobius Final Fantasy. Square Enix. Scene: Final Fantasy VII event credits.
- ^ Square Enix (July 2017). Mobius Final Fantasy. Square Enix. Scene: Chapter 8, Part 2 credits.
- ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Final Fantasy XV - Episode 15 (END) - Final Boss & Endings". YouTube.
- ^ "Final Fantasy 7: Square Enix set to make story changes in PS4 remake". June 23, 2015.
- ^ "Astria Ascending, an RPG written by Kazushige Nojima, announced for PS5, PS4, and Switch [Update: First look]". March 24, 2021.
External links edit
- Kazushige Nojima at IMDb