Characters of Final Fantasy XV

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Promotional artwork featuring the main cast of Final Fantasy XV. From right: Gladiolus Amicitia, Noctis Lucis Caelum, Ignis Scientia and Prompto Argentum.

Final Fantasy XV (originally titled Final Fantasy Versus XIII), an action role-playing video game set for release in September 2016, is the fifteenth main installment in the Final Fantasy series, and is thematically connected to Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy, a subseries of games linked by a common mythos which includes Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy Type-0. The world and main characters were created by Tetsuya Nomura, the game's original director. Nomura also designed the main characters: other character designers involved with the game included Roberto Ferrari and Yusaku Nakaaki.

The story revolves around a conflict between the nations of Lucis and Niflheim over the world's last remaining crystal. The main protagonist is Noctis Lucis Caelum, sole heir to the throne of Lucis. On his journey, he is accompanied by three companions: Gladiolus Amicitia, a brother-like figure from a family sworn to Noctis' protection; Ignis Scientia, Noctis' strategist; and Prompto Argentum, a friend of Noctis' from a lower-class family. A key character is Lunafreya Nox Fleuret, Noctis' fiancée through an arranged marriage. Other characters include Noctis' father Regis, the king of Lucis; Cor Leonis, a famous warrior of Lucis; Gentiana, Lunafreya's companion and attendant; and Cindy, who with her father Cid acts as mechanic for Noctis' car. Characters from Niflheim serve as the game's main antagonists, including Emperor Iedolas Aldercapt, his chancellor Ardyn Izunia, and mercenary dragoon Aranea Highwind.

During the game's prolonged development, during which it changed its name and prospective platforms, multiple concepts went through revisions and some elements were cut entirely, including characters and story scenes. Conversely, some characters and concepts were retained throughout development, such as the dragoon Aranea and the game's thematic relation to Fabula Nova Crystallis. Additional media and merchandise based upon the world and characters of XV have been produced, with its expanded media being dubbed the "Final Fantasy XV Universe": these include the anime Brotherhood: Final Fantasy XV and the CGI film Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV.

Concept and creation

The concept and setting of Final Fantasy XV, originally a spin-off titled Final Fantasy Versus XIII (ファイナルファンタジーヴェルサスXIII, Fainaru Fantajī Verusasu Sātīn), was created by its original director Tetsuya Nomura. Originally in development for PlayStation 3, Versus XIII was shifted onto the eighth-generation consoles PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. During this transition and its later development, Final Fantasy Type-0 director Hajime Tabata became co-director alongside Nomura before becoming full director to see the project to completion. Its total development period ultimately lasted for around ten years, although Tabata would come to refer to Versus XIII and XV as different games. The game was originally designed as an entry in Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy, a collection of games united through a common mythology and shared themes. When it was renamed, XV "disconnected" from Fabula Nova Crystallis: while the mythos was retained, its role in the story was reduced and terminology unique to the mythos removed so XV retained an individual identity. The central concept behind the world of XV is "a fantasy based on reality": the setting is based on the real world and the fantasy elements grew out of familiar settings. Realizing this aspect of the game was quite difficult for Nomura before the game's move onto eighth-generation hardware. While the story was similar to other entries, he wanted to create more realistic characters. His ambition was to make XV "about man in the real world", including less fantasy elements. He also described XV as the darkest entry in the series, acknowledging that this atmosphere might narrow its target audience while feeling that the time was right for such characters.

The original story themes were "misery" and "bonds", with all the characters representing these themes through their actions and the events they were caught in. It was intended to be a painful story that emphasized the power of friendship. The theme of bonds, as represented by the relationships between Noctis and his comrades and between Noctis and his father Regis, was carried over into XV. A key narrative element was Noctis' personal journey from prince to king. The original script was written by Kazushige Nojima, who described his story for Versus XIII as "Myth vs. Reality". When Versus XIII became XV, multiple aspects were changed. A scene that was removed was the original opening, where Noctis met another character at a treaty-signing party, then had to escape Lucis when the forces of Niflheim attacked; those scenes were changed to have the group being away at the time of the invasion. In contrast, other characters revealed during earlier trailers were retained and would have important roles in the story. When consulted over how his original draft could be reworked, Nojima said that he would be content as long as the overall concept remained faithful to the original. This gave the team the confidence needed to rework and realize the original story within XV. This rewriting was primarily done by Saori Itamuro, who was credited as "Lead Scenario Designer". In both Versus XIII and XV, game staff stated that it would likely be the saddest Final Fantasy story to date.

Character design

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When the transition was made from Versus XIII to XV, multiple story elements and characters were changed or removed. One of the major changes was the replacement of Stella Nox Fleuret (above) with the similarly-named Lunafreya (below).

The game's main cast were designed by Nomura. The clothing for characters was designed by Hiromu Takahara, lead designer for Japanese fashion house Roen. Takahara's involvement principally came due to the detail needed for the costumes, which were inspired by western fashion: designing them himself would have been very time-consuming for Nomura to do along with his other duties, which included designing characters for Final Fantasy XIII. He also wanted to continue to express the game's realism through the character outfits. The design trait for the main characters was "jet-black", while all the character clothing in the game utilized Roen's distinctive asymmetrical styling. Roen's designs were kept in the game when it became XV, as the team felt it would be wrong to remove them. In-game, the color match between characters was explained as it being a special color associated with the royal family and the nobility. The characters of Ardyn Izunia, Gentiana and Verstael were all designed by Roberto Ferrari, who had previously done work on Type-0 and was involved with the project from its earlier development as Versus XIII. To help maximize the realism of the characters, their hair was first created by a hairstylist using a mannequen's wig, then rendered into the game using the technology of the Luminous Studio engine. The same technique was used for Agni's Philosophy, the engine's demo at E3 2012.

In contrast to many previous Final Fantasy titles, the playable cast of XV is all-male, although women still play key roles in the story. This was a concept that was chosen by Nomura from the outset, and agreed upon by Tabata despite some later reservations on his part. Nomura wanted to depict a story with a group of men going across the world. This approach was decided upon by him based upon his wish to create a road movie vibe and experiences from his youth, when it was normal to see single-gender groups going on trips. He also did not want them to be drawn together by a grand destiny, instead being natural friends confronted with bizarre and dangerous situations. To help convey the road movie theme, the team created towns featuring both strange and familiar elements, taking inspiration from the opening scenes of Back to the Future Part II. Alongside the serious storyline, several elements of light comedy were added as a counterbalance. A large amount of dialogue was conveyed using in-game conversations instead of cutscenes. He also wanted the dialogue to sound "natural and not game-like or lofty". The changeover from Versus XIII to XV resulted in the redesign of characters such as Regis, and the replacement of the previous main heroine Stella Nox Fleuret with the similarly-named Lunafreya.

Final Japanese voice casting for the game began in 2010. The English localization of XV was led by Dan Inoue. One of the aspects of the localization was using different accents to show the characters originating from different regions of the world: a cited example was Ignis, who spoke with a British accent while the other main characters spoke with an American accent. One of the early issues, which drew public attention with the release of Episode Duscae, was Noctis' English voice actor. In Episode Duscae, his voice was pitched rather low, making the character seem older and less energetic than his Japanese counterpart. This was explained as being due to tight scheduling removing the opportunity for Tabata to catch the issue and re-record before it was time for release. After Episode Duscae, the voice work was redone to better convey Noctis' personality. Different issues raised later included Ignis' localized lines, which changed aspects of the character interaction, and the alteration of Cindy's name from the original "Cidney". In an interview with Famitsu during Gamescom, Tabata revealed that the main reason for the delays in XV's release were related to the game's localization and debugging, as the team wanted to bring the game out in the west close to its Japanese release. In addition to being released with French and German dubs and text translation for those respective regions, it was also localized for Latin America with Latin American Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese text: this was the first time a Final Fantasy title was localized into these languages.

Main characters

Noctis Lucis Caelum

Voiced by: Tatsuhisa Suzuki

Main article: Noctis Lucis Caelum

Noctis Lucis Caelum (ノクティス・ルシス・チェラム, Nokutisu Rushisu Cheramu) is the main protagonist and sole playable character of XV. The crown prince and protector of Lucis, he was granted magical powers from a near-death incident in his childhood. At the game's beginning, he is en route to his arranged marriage with Lunafreya when he receives the news of Lucis' invasion by Niflheim.

Lunafreya Nox Fleuret

Voiced by: Rina Kitagawa (XV)

Voiced by: Shiori Kutsuna (Japanese), Lena Headey (English) (Kingsglaive)

Lunafreya Nox Fleuret (ルナフレーナ・ノックス・フルーレ, Runafurēna Nokkusu Furūre), "Luna" (ルーナ, Rūna) for short, is the deuteragonist of Final Fantasy XV and the central character of Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV alongside King Regis. A princess of the royal family of Tenebrae and a childhood friend of Noctis, she was held prisoner by Niflheim after they invaded her homeland. Her standing as the nation's magically-gifted Oracle grants Tenebrae relative autonomy under imperial rule and sees her revered worldwide. As part of the peace treaty between Lucis and Niflheim, Lunafreya becomes Noctis' prospective bride. Both Hajime Tabata and Lunafreya's English voice actress, Lena Headey, have described her as a strong-willed and independent character, as well as her relationship with Noctis being more complex than a typical love story.

Lunafreya's place in XV was originally held by the similarly-named Stella Nox Fleuret (ステラ・ノックス・フルーレ, Sutera Nokkusu Furūre), who was to be the main female protagonist of Versus XIII. Nomura wanted to make Stella the first female character to "stand out from all previous [Final Fantasy games]", a vision that was carried over to Lunafreya. The relationship between Stella and Noctis was originally designed to be platonic rather than romantic, with them eventually becoming reluctant enemies. However, the changes made during the transition from Versus XIII to XV resulted in Stella's character and role no longer making sense in the context of XV's revised story. Tabata considered redesigning Stella, but as fans already had a fixed image of her at that point, he and the development team felt that such a move would not be well-received. It was then decided that Stella would be dropped and replaced with Lunafreya as the female lead.

Gladiolus Amicitia

Voiced by: Kenta Miyake

Gladiolus Amicitia (グラディオラス・アミシティア, Guradiorasu Amishitia) is the eldest son of a noble family pledged to the protection of the Lucian royal family. While he acts as Noctis' guardian as tradition demands, his bond with Noctis is more akin to that between brothers. Before Versus XIII's transition to XV, Gladiolus was voiced in Japanese by Hiroki Yasumoto.

Ignis Scientia

Voiced by: Mamoru Miyano

Ignis Scientia (イグニス・スキエンティア, Igunisu Sukientia) is a man raised alongside Noctis to be his advisor. Provided with an extensive education, he developed a collected composure and tactical instinct.

Prompto Argentum

Voiced by: Tetsuya Kakihara

Prompto Argentum (プロンプト・アージェンタム, Puronputo Ājentamu) is a friend of Noctis dating back to their teenage years, although he comes from a commoner family. On their journey, Prompto acts to lighten the atmosphere of the party, taking on burdens for others and lifting their spirits with his antics.

Regis Lucis Caelum CXIII

Voiced by: Tsutomu Isobe (Japanese); Sean Bean (English, Kingsglaive)

Regis Lucis Caelum CXIII (レギス・ルシス・チェラム113世, Regisu Rushisu Cheramu Hyakujūsansei) is the king of Lucis and Noctis' father, and the guardian of the crystal's power. Regis' connection to the crystal causes him to age at an accelerated rate, as his own life energy is needed to sustain the Wall, the magical barrier protecting Lucis from the outside world. He is the second central character of the film Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV alongside Lunafreya.

A character carried over from the original concept for Versus XIII, Regis underwent a major redesign during development, becoming an older character in appearance. This was due to Regis' expanding role in Kingsglaive and the new technology available. The development team wanted to create a more expressive character and aged him to properly convey his stature as a king. Due to this, his in-game incarnation was redesigned to better fit with his portrayal in Kingsglaive. The redesign was also chosen as his original design no longer fit into the reworked story of XV. As with the rest of Lucis' royalty, he is dressed in black due to its specific significance.

Other characters

Iedolas Aldercapt

Iedolas Aldercapt (イドラ・エルダーキャプト, Idora Erudākyaputo) is the emperor of Niflheim and the main antagonist of XV. At the game's beginning he has withdrawn from frontline politics, delegating the task of administrating his empire to his chancellor Izunia. Nevertheless, he retains an active role within Niflheim's political scene. Aldercapt was initially voiced in Japanese by Shinji Ogawa, who passed away during XV's development.

Ardyn Izunia

Voiced by: Keiji Fujiwara

Ardyn Izunia (アーデン・イズニア, Āden Izunia) is the chancellor of Niflheim and Aldercapt's chief advisor. He acts as the main political force running Niflheim in Aldercapt's stead, and is the one responsible for the empire's most recent Magitek technology.

Izunia was designed by Roberto Ferrari; his design stood out more than other cast members, with one notable feature being the fedora he wore. He is described by the staff as "an interesting and strange character", with a unique personality and using his attire to express it, comparing it to the outfit of Kefka Palazzo, the main antagonist of Final Fantasy VI.

Cor Leonis

Voiced by: Hiroki Tochi

Cor Leonis (コル・リオニス, Koru Rionisu) is a guest character in XV. Lord Commander of the royal guards and a famous warrior of Lucis, he follows the party in order to protect the prince and his group, occasionally joining them in battle. He fought alongside King Regis during early battles with Niflheim, and his reputation yearned him the name of "the Immortal General" (不死将軍, Fushi Shōgun).

Cor is the oldest of the lead protagonists, being forty-two years old: in Japanese culture, that age is unlucky, as a person is said to be beset by difficulties upon reaching that age. Cor's Japanese voice actor, Hiroki Tochi, was originally cast as Noctis' chauffeur in Versus XIII before its transition to XV.

Gentiana

Gentiana (ゲンティアナ, Gentiana) is a non-playable character who serves as Lunafreya's lady-in-waiting. She is said to play an important role in the game and to be of a "special existence", not a mere attendant to Lunafreya.

Cid and Cindy

Cid Sophiar (シド・ソフィア, Shido Sofia) and his granddaughter Cindy Aurum (シドニー・オールム, Shidonī Ōrumu, "Cidney") are supporting characters who act as mechanics for Noctis' car. In his youth, Cid fought alongside Regis and Cor against the forces of Niflheim.

Cindy was designed by designers Roberto Ferrari and Yusaku Nakaaki, among others. A character crucial to the story and gameplay, Cindy was first introduced in the Episode Duscae demo. Tabata described her as "the kind of girl who is very good at dealing with men". In response to negative comments about her appearance in player feedback for Episode Duscae, Nakaaki stated she had not been deliberately sexualized, but that the team had perhaps put too much "heart and soul" into her design. They chose to make adjustments so players would be more comfortable with her. Originally, Cindy's breasts jiggled so much that Tabata had to ask the team to tone it down.

Aranea Highwind

Voiced by: Miyuki Sawashiro

Aranea Highwind (アラネア・ハイウィンド, Aranea Haiuindo) is the captain of the Third Army Z-Corps 87th Airborne Units, a group of mercenaries currently employed by Niflheim. Due to her prowess in aerial combat, she is known as "the Dragoon". Tabata has described her as a recurring enemy to Noctis and his friends, but otherwise holding no special significance to the main story.

Nyx Ulric

Voiced by: Gou Ayano (Japanese), Aaron Paul (English)

Nyx Ulric (ニックス・ウリック, Nikkusu Urikku) is the main protagonist of Kingsglaive, and a member of the titular elite guard that defends Lucis from the invading forces of Niflheim. In his youth Nyx was saved by King Regis, and thus is fiercely loyal to him in return.

Cultural impact

There has been an internet meme focused on Noctis and his friends in the Regalia looking at photoshopped images. Square Enix producer Shinji Hashimoto found it comical and motivated fans to produce more in order to increase people's interest in Final Fantasy XV.

External links

• Final Fantasy XV - Characters (Japanese)