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Noctis Lucis Caelum is
the main protagonist of Final Fantasy XV. He is the sole playable
character and main protagonist of Final Fantasy XV, originally a
spin-off titled Final Fantasy Versus XIII. The crown prince and
protector of Lucis, Noctis and his allies must defend their country when the
empire of Niflheim attacks Lucis in an attempt to take control of its magical
Crystal.
Noctis was created and
co-designed by Tetsuya Nomura, with later design revisions being handled by
Yusuke Naora. Nomura created Noctis as a type of protagonist not featured in a
leading role in the Final Fantasy series before. He also wanted his
personality to be unique in the series, being unlike protagonists like Cloud
Strife Squall Leonheart, instead focusing more on realism. Noctis' clothes were designed by
Hiromu Takahara, lead designer for Japanese fashion house Roen. His clothing
was created to be both asymmetric, mirroring the fashion house's trademark
style, and indicative of the game's themes and atmosphere. Before his design
was finalized, Noctis was given a story-inspired temporary outfit used in
early trailers.
In addition to Final
Fantasy XV and its associated media, Noctis has featured in multiple Final
Fantasy-related products. Ever since his reveal, Noctis has been compared
with other asocial characters seen in the series' other games based on his
appearance. Following the release of both the game and its expanded media,
Noctis has been positively received by journalists, with many noting his
growth over the course of the story, and contrasting him against other Final
Fantasy protagonists.
Noctis Lucis Caelum
is the only son and heir of King Regis Lucis Caelum CXIII of Lucis; the Caelum
dynasty safeguards the Crystal, a divine artifact connected to the world's
deities. When he was five years old, Noctis was chosen by the Crystal as the
"True King", a figure who would use the Crystal's power to purge the Starscourge, a plague that will trigger eternal darkness on Eos and turns
living things into monstrous Daemons. At eight years old, Noctis is attacked
by a Daemon and is sent to the nation of Tenebrae for healing, where he meets
and bonds with the nation's princess Lunafreya Nox Fleuret. However, Noctis
and Regis are forced to flee Tenebrae when it is attacked by the Niflheim
Empire. By the events of Final Fantasy XV, Lucis is under siege from Niflheim, and Regis agrees to a ceasefire. As part of the treaty, Noctis is to
marry Lunafreya, and Regis dispatches him to Altissia where they are to be
married. Following Noctis' departure, Niflheim attacks Lucis' capital
Insomnia, steals the Crystal and kills Regis. Noctis—together with his three
companions and sworn protectors Gladiolus Amicitia, Prompto Argentum and Ignis
Scientia—sets out on a quest to retrieve the Crystal and defeat Niflheim.
To fulfill his role,
Noctis collects the Royal Arms, weapons of the ancient Lucian monarchs, from
tombs across Lucis. He also gains the aid of the Astrals, divine beings who
granted the Crystal to the Lucian line—he is in turn aided by Lunafreya, her
attendant Gentiana, and Niflheim's chancellor Ardyn Izunia. Ardyn is later
revealed to be Ardyn Lucis Caelum, a former king of Lucis made immortal by the
Starscourge and bent on destroying both the Crystal and the Caelum dynasty.
Noctis gains the favor of the Astrals Titan and Ramuh, but when he finally
reaches Altissia and Lunafreya awakens the Astral Leviathan, Niflheim attacks
and Ardyn mortally wounds Lunafreya, disrupting the ritual. With her last
strength, she helps Noctis subdue Leviathan before giving him the Ring of the Lucii, an artifact through which he can access the Crystal's magic. Noctis
then heads for Niflheim's capital of Gralea, burdened by the loss of Lunafreya
and tormented by Ardyn.
Arriving in Gralea to
find its population turned into Daemons, Noctis finds and is pulled into the
Crystal, where he learns from the Astral Bahamut that he must absorb the
Crystal's power to banish the darkness and restore light to the world, the
price being his own life. Waking up ten years later, he reunites with his
companions and travels to Insomnia, first defeating the rogue Astral Ifrit and
then Ardyn. He then fulfills his role as the True King, sacrificing himself to
purge the Starscourge, then using the spirits of past Lucian kings to destroy
Ardyn's spirit. In the game's post-credit scenes, Noctis is able to reveal his
feelings for his friends during a rest before the final battle, and he and
Lunafreya reunite in the afterlife.
 
  
 
 
  
    
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Updated: Oct. 29th, 2023
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Before you even
think about judging the design... you must realize what Noctis in a fighting
game actually means. TEKKEN 7 is a fighting game featuring characters from Street
Fighter, King of Fighters, and Final Fantasy in the same
game. A crossover of this nature is legendary, especially for old school
gamers who've loved many games from all of these series. And remember fanboys, Cloud can't
be the guest character in every fighting game... so give Noct a chance.
As a design, Noctis has a rather interesting story. His early design was teased
in the early Japanese demo of FFXIII (2010-ish) and other early projects
before FFXV came out. Visually, I've always
thought Noctis was a decently cool-looking goth kid... yet strangely plain. His storyline & persona in FFXV
created more questions than answers... but he's likeable. I never
cared for overly-colorful / energetic RPG protagonists anyway. Ohh, Nocs's TEKKEN
7 moveset & playstyle is rather excellent. He's an entirely new "artistic"
take on a TEKKEN character, not just some cash in or "cut & paste"
DLC character (like some other franchises do these days). After you
master some Noctis combos and start fighting at "sword range" in TEKKEN, you'll
understand why Noctis works in TEKKEN. I've got another bold
statement here: In terms of range and variety of weapons, Noctis is one of
the most fun fighting game characters I've ever used.
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| Fighting
Style / Moveset |
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| Personality
/ Charisma |
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| Outfit(s)
/ Appearance |
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| Effectiveness
in series |
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| Overall
Score |
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