Following the announcement of a Kingdom Hearts collection for Nintendo Switch 2 during the previous Nintendo Direct, fans noticed something was off with the box art for the compilation. It looked as if it had been AI generated, which would be a tremendous blow to the reputation of series creator Tetsuya Nomura, who has drawn most of the art for the games. Users on social media posited that Square Enix might have fed Nomura’s original artwork through AI to make separate illustrations, but that doesn’t matter anymore. The company has seemingly changed the artwork in response to fan outcry.
On Reddit yesterday, some fans noticed that the box art on Square Enix’s website has been completely altered. Looking much closer to the original Nomura illustration, there has been no formal announcement from the publisher on why the change was made. If I had to guess, it is precisely because of the fan outcry, but maybe Square Enix thought Nomura’s original illustration simply looked better. At least you don’t have to suffer through Donald having mismatched fingers or Sora’s boot being warped.
Kingdom Hearts Collection [I-III] will be hitting Switch 2 on October 8, 2026, so it’s unlikely that versions exist with the previous artwork. Square Enix likely hasn’t sent anything out to printers yet, especially since the release comes on a game-key card anyway. There isn’t much that needs to be done in terms of manufacturing for that.
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Written by Peter Glagowski
Peter has been a freelance gaming and film critic for over seven years. His passion for Nintendo is only matched by the size of his collection.
