Square Enix launched their Play Arts Kai line of figures a few years ago, creating figures for famous franchises such as Final Fantasy, Mass Effect, and Halo. Recently, they’ve delved into creating DC Comics Variant figures such as this awesome Batman design that debuted at this past weekend’s San Diego Comic Con. This version of the Caped Crusader looks to be influenced by the futuristic stylings of Batman Beyond, but it also features a more heavily armored look as well as a cape that closely resembles bat wings.
It was also originally designed by Tetsuya Nomura (the Director behind the Kingdom Hearts series and the upcoming Final Fantasy XV) for use in a now-canceled Batman game.
Siliconera caught up with the prolific producer to ask him about the history of the figure and the game it was originally connected to. It turns out that the game was in development more than a decade ago, and never moved past the concept stage. It was actually canceled before development began on Kingdom Hearts, and Nomura revealed that this Batman design influenced the look of the armor in the first Square Enix/Disney crossover. Beyond that, he’s not allowed to say much about the project, though he did confirm that he’s working on a way to publish the “backstory” of this Batman variant.
So we’ve got a PS2-era Batman game with a funky art style that would have been overseen by Tetsuya Nomura. I am truly sorry I never got to see the finished product and I doubt I’m alone.
