DekuDraws Says AI Altered Kingdom Hearts Box Art, Not Nomura’s Original Illustration
Updated
Updated · Kotaku · Jun 10
DekuDraws Says AI Altered Kingdom Hearts Box Art, Not Nomura’s Original Illustration
3 articles · Updated · Kotaku · Jun 10
Summary
DekuDraws, an artist known for studying Tetsuya Nomura’s style, said the disputed Kingdom Hearts Collection I–III Switch 2 art is “undeniably Nomura’s work” rather than fully AI-generated.
The explanation is that AI was used later to separate characters and backgrounds for alternate box-art layouts and to give 3D models a drawn look, not to create the underlying illustration.
Fans had flagged apparent AI artifacts including Donald Duck appearing to have 5 fingers, plus odd details in a clock tower, zipper mesh and Sora’s boot tread.
Square Enix had not responded to a request for clarification, leaving unresolved why AI tools would have been needed if the base image was hand-drawn.
The dispute lands as Square Enix’s CEO pushes aggressive generative-AI use across the company, even as the publisher cuts North American publishing jobs and faces internal mockery of the mandate.