I wouldn't be surprised if Tabata was telling the truth about nothing being drastically changed since Nomura's departure. All the ideas in XV scream Nomura. Even the changes people don't like (*cough*Luna*cough*). Where Tabata hit rough patches was execution. The only person who is able to actualize Nomura's goals and ideas is Nomura. It's why the earlier Kingdom Hearts games are so innovative and wholesome as he is the sole director. Had someone else come in and directed in Nomura's stead the games wouldn't have been as well received as they are now. Or at least that's what I would assume based on track record. Anyway, a lot of Nomura's ideas and concepts are very unorthodox, artistic and sometimes flat-out odd. I remember in one instance where he shared that XV almost became a musical on a whim of his. Tabata, on the other hand, is a very grounded person. He looks at games in a more logical and frank manner. His previous two works before XV, Type-0 and Crisis Core, exemplify this in almost every one of their respective aspects. From Type-0's very simplistic and straightforward battle system to the dark , mature, somber nature of Crisis Core's narrative. Tabata likes to keep things easy to understand for the layman in order to meet a happy medium with everyone. While Nomura on the other hand aims to paint a blank canvas in any which way he wishes. With his feet, his tongue or maybe even leaving the canvas blank. He's always looking to push boundaries and discover new frontiers within the medium of video games. Although the fanbase has greatly cheapened the term, he is truly a visionary in every sense of the word. However, visionaries very often clash with realists. I'm sure that's what happened with Tabata taking over for Nomura during the development of XV. Not that they had a altercation as many speculate, but Tabata likely realized very quickly that a lot of what Nomura wanted to achieve with XV just wasn't feasible with the limitations in play. A great example being the Leviathan fight. The vision of that fight was basically to make a scene out of Advent Children completely playable from beginning to end. Almost every hardcore Final Fantasy fan's dream. I bet it's very plausible that its existence was one of many main factors in the game having trouble getting off the ground. The technology just didn't (arguably still doesn't) exist for the concept Nomura was shooting for to be very realized in a reasonable time frame. (And considering his self-proclaimed perfectionist nature, he would have sat on the game until every detail could be done to his liking. Meaning waiting for technology to catch up to his ideas for who knows how long.) Enter Tabata. Deadlines exists. Shareholders must be pleased. Fan demand is waning. Executives want answers. He gets the scene completed to ease tensions, but it ends up a complete and total downgrade from what Nomura has envisioned and likely instructed Tabata to do. However, Tabata is a realist. He couldn't wait for the technology. Time was too short to aim for perfection. Money was in all probability running thin. He decides to deliver results over achieving artistry. You can pretty much apply this routine to most facets of the game. (Mainly regarding narrative.) Leading into the massive spiral of complains consumers have about the game which need not be repeated to avoid burning time. Thankfully, poor execution can be easily remedied with planned and focused labor so long as the core concepts and ideas of a project are strong. Which with XV thanks to Nomura's vision they are. As well with Tabata being a realist has on lockdown the focus on achieving results and delivering a better product with strategic labor.
