A developer who was credited as a “senior artist” on the first Kingdom Hearts, Ken Christiansen, has revealed concept art for his very unique take on Donald and Goofy’s outfits.
Kingdom Hearts has been going on for nearly 25 years now, and many of its characters have seen plenty of wardrobe changes in that time. Sora, Riku, and Kairi have had new fits for practically every game, but even Disney characters like Mickey Mouse have been shown in several different costumes.
Sadly, despite Donald and Goofy appearing alongside Sora as both his and Nomura’s fashion sense evolves, their default outfits have remained the exact same since the very first game. Even Kingdom Hearts 4 has the pair in their dusty threads, which makes it refreshing to see concept art for the first game that depicts Donald and Goofy looking very different.
Earlier this week, Time Extension published an interview with former Disney Interactive concept artist Ken Christiansen, who was credited as a “senior artist” on the first Kingdom Hearts. Although Christiansen admits that his involvement in the game was limited, he did pitch a costume idea for Donald and Goofy.
The concept, which can be viewed on Christiansen’s website but has seemingly gone unseen until Time Extension’s interview, shows Donald and Goofy looking much more like a Knight and Mage. Goofy is clad head to toe in armour and has both a sword and shield, while Donald looks more like a classical mage with a wizard hat.
Christiansen also shared details about the cancelled Disney Smash Bros like, which he says was easier to pitch after the success of Kingdom Hearts.
It’s not made clear if this concept was for Donald and Goofy’s main outfit in Kingdom Hearts or if it was for another world, but it’s a very different take on the pair’s costumes than what we got in the final game. In fact, it actually closely resembles what the two look like in Disney Castle before getting their “new duds”.
Nomura ended up designing Donald and Goofy’s outfits in Kingdom Hearts (which is clear by the zippers), but it seems that Christiansen’s concept at least inspired their Disney Castle looks. Whatever world the outfits were originally designed for, it’s nice to see Donald and Goofy wearing something different, even if I think we got the best outcome for the two in the end.
سەرچاوەی فەرمی بە زمانی ئینگلیزی: https://www.thegamer.com/kingdom-hearts-original-donald-goofy-outfit-designs-mage-knight/
