Kingdom Hearts fans cry foul over AI-generated artwork claims

For the first time in a long time, Kingdom Hearts fans had plenty to talk about. Kingdom Hearts 4 came out of hiding and is coming to Nintendo Switch 2. But it wasn't all good news: Some Kingdom Hearts fans are convinced that Square Enix's box art for the recently announced Kingdom Hearts Collection was either AI-generated or created with the assistance of AI.

After Nintendo and Square Enix announced the new Kingdom Hearts collection, fans spotted some unusual illustrative quirks with the game's official artwork, notably that Donald Duck has four fingers on one hand, but five fingers on the other.

Another user pointed out a longer list of flaws, including chains arranged in impossible configurations and a clock tower with drooping hands. Others observed that the soles of Sora’s iconic oversized clown shoes were missing certain details, and that a building was melting in the background. The artwork had the trademark sloppiness and physical impossibility of generative AI (which Disney would seemingly be OK with).

Polygon reached out to Square Enix for comment on whether the image was AI-generated, but hasn’t received a response as of publishing. We'll update this story when the company responds.

Image: Square Enix

Due to the game industry’s increasing use of generative AI, many players are on high alert for anything that resembles AI slop. In 2024, Square Enix president Takashi Kiryu said that the company would be “aggressive in applying AI.” Six months later, he backpedaled by saying they would be careful with the technology and that it would only be used in “areas unrelated to creativity.” Then, a few months ago, Square swerved again, partnering with an AI research lab to have AI handle 70% of its QA testing by the end of 2027. Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi faced backlash after spotlighting an AI-generated Final Fantasy 6 remake concept. At this point, many gamers are quite exacerbated by reveal after reveal that AI has wormed its way into the creative process, even affecting how they view beloved games like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

Regardless of whether Kingdom Hearts Collection’s box art was AI-generated or simply full of rushed errors, these issues partially undermined the series' first announcements in quite some time. During today’s Nintendo Direct, Square Enix released a trailer for the long-anticipated Kingdom Hearts 4 while confirming it will be coming to the Nintendo Switch 2 alongside the PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X. Kingdom Hearts Collection is also headed to those systems on Oct. 8, and it will include most of the series in some form — specifically, it contains Kingdom Hearts - HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX, Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue, and Kingdom Hearts 3 + Re Mind. Here's hoping that Square Enix takes today's backlash to heart — the company may not ultimtely care, but sometimes public shaming does the trick.

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