Players Think Kingdom Hearts’ New Art Is AI-Generated

Yesterday's Nintendo Direct certainly got Kingdom Hearts players talking--but it's not the kind of discourse Square Enix was probably hoping for after unveiling a new Kingdom Hearts 4 trailer and announcing that native versions of the entire Kingdom Hearts trilogy are coming to Switch 2 on October 8. Instead, eagle-eyed players are focused on what appears to be AI-generated key art, which Square Enix shared on X shortly after the announcement of the Kingdom Hearts Collection [I-III] As pointed out by artist and Kingdom Hearts fan Vexmyx, the image appears to show Donald with four fingers on one hand, but five fingers on the other--it's well known at this point that generative AI tools tend to struggle with hands and fingers, frequently generating images with subjects either missing digits, or having too many. As of his most recent appearance in Kingdom Hearts 3, Donald Duck has only four fingers, and knowing how protective Disney is when it comes to legacy characters like Donald and Goofy, it's hard to imagine they'd hire an artist who doesn't know how many fingers he has. Donald's feet are also shaped rather strangely, though that could just be a matter of perspective, as he's floating (flying?) through the air with one foot (flipper?) forward and the other behind him. https://twitter.com/vexmyx/status/2064420981901230165?s=46 Other details, like one of the zippers on Donald's coat and the chain on Sora's beloved Keyblade, are also rather wonky and oddly uneven looking, as if drawn by someone who isn't quite sure how zippers or chain links work. But the fashion faux pas don't end with zippers--the treads on the soles of Sora's shoes are also off, sporting a close-but-not-quite-right pattern of raised squares, when his shoe treads have historically featured tiny, raised crown motifs that match the crown-shaped pendant around his neck. Goofy appears to be wearing steel-toed boots, but his right foot looks much longer than his left foot, and appears to be missing the steel toe. Again, this could simply be a matter of perspective due to the way the characters are posed, but given how beloved the franchise is--and how strict Disney is about sticking to character designs--many Kingdom Hearts fans are wondering if the image was at least partially AI-generated. Either fully generated or AI-enhanced, I'm not sure, Vexmyx said, sharing an image highlighting parts of the image that feature the most obvious AI fingerprints. But I'm disappointed. This is unacceptable if [the AI claims are] true, and needs to be addressed. While human error might explain some of the strange aspects of the image, it certainly doesn't explain why the face of the franchise's iconic clocktower has hands that appear to curve and bend. GameSpot has reached out to Square Enix for comment, but did not receive a reply in time for publication.