The recent controversy surrounding the Kingdom Hearts Collection 1-3 art has taken a surprising turn, as Square Enix has officially stated that the artwork was not generated using generative AI. Instead, the publisher attributes the issues to ‘human error.’
The controversy began when fans noticed strange and concerning art posted by the publisher alongside the reveal that Kingdom Hearts Collection 1-3 would soon come to PC, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X | S. The illustration in question featured a few worrying details, including a chain on Mickey Mouse’s Keyblade, the hands on the Traverse Town clocktower, and the details on the bottom of Sora’s shoes. Donald Duck’s hands, in particular, were a point of contention, with one featuring four fingers, while the other featured five.
Many fans believed that Square Enix had used artificial intelligence to generate additional details for an existing art piece, but the publisher has now refuted these claims. In a statement shared with GameSpot, a Square Enix representative said that the publisher has heard the feedback and made changes where necessary. More importantly, though, the message stated that no generative AI was used for any version of the image.
"We’re aware of feedback regarding recent Kingdom Hearts visuals," the Square Enix spokesperson told GameSpot via phone call. "These assets were created by our development team without the use of generative AI, and the issues resulted from human error."
Quality is extremely important to Square Enix, and the publisher has taken steps to address the issues. Updated assets have been implemented where appropriate, and it appears that the updated art does indeed fix Donald’s hand. However, other details, such as the muddy-looking clocktower and Sora’s shoes, remain unchanged.
Not everyone is happy with the explanation, with some fans expressing disappointment and frustration on social media. One fan on Reddit said, "I’ve found so much of the art that was retrofitted to make the image that I dunno if anyone was arguing that the whole image was AI. It’s just sloppy and bad." Another added, "They might as well just scrap this and make new cover art at this point. Even if it’s not AI-generated, it’s definitely one of the worst KH cover arts. The composition just looks lazy."
What Went Wrong?
While the explanation of ‘human error’ may be reassuring for some fans, it raises questions about the quality control process at Square Enix. How did the issues go unnoticed for so long? What steps will the publisher take to ensure that similar mistakes are not made in the future?
The controversy surrounding the Kingdom Hearts Collection 1-3 art serves as a reminder that even with the best of intentions, mistakes can still happen. It’s up to Square Enix to learn from these mistakes and take steps to prevent them from occurring in the future.
A Look at the Updated Art
While the updated art does fix some of the issues, it’s clear that the composition is still not up to par. The muddy-looking clocktower and Sora’s shoes remain unchanged, and some fans are calling for a complete overhaul of the artwork.
"I love Kingdom Hearts and Square Enix but come on," one X/Twitter user said. "There’s two versions of the picture, one where the characters are separated and one where they’re not, and the one where they’re not is obvious they used AI for it, which caused it to make extra fingers."
The controversy surrounding the Kingdom Hearts Collection 1-3 art is a reminder that even with the best of intentions, mistakes can still happen. It’s up to Square Enix to learn from these mistakes and take steps to prevent them from occurring in the future.
Kingdom Hearts Collection 1-3: What You Need to Know
Kingdom Hearts Collection 1-3 is set to release on October 8, 2026, for PC, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X | S. The collection includes the remastered versions of Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts II, and Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep.
For more information on Kingdom Hearts Collection 1-3, be sure to check out our previous coverage.
