Noctis Lucis Caelum

Noctis Lucis Caelum
Final Fantasy character
First appearance Final Fantasy Versus XIII (Cancelled)
First game Final Fantasy XV (2016)
Created by Tetsuya Nomura
Designed by
  • Tetsuya Nomura
  • Hiromu Takahara
Voiced by Tatsuhisa Suzuki[1]

Noctis Lucis Caelum (ノクティス・ルシス・チェラム Nokutisu Rushisu Cheramu), "Noct" (ノクト Nokuto) for short, is a fictional character from Square Enix's Final Fantasy series. 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 of Lucis and wielder of a magical power bestowed on him during a near-death incident in his youth, Noctis and his allies must defend their country when the empire of Niflheim attacks Lucis and the other countries of the world to take control of the world's surviving crystal.

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 Squall Leonhart or Cloud Strife, 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. Takahara also designed a temporary outfit used for Noctis in early trailers before his design was finalized.

Appearances

Final Fantasy XV

Noctis Lucis Caelum is the only son and heir of King Regis Lucis Caelum CXIII of Lucis, the last kingdom in the world to possess a crystal, as those belonging to other countries have been lost through a protracted cold war.[2] A near-death incident in Noctis' youth gifted him with the power to foresee the deaths of others.

Related media

Noctis is one of the main characters in Brotherhood: Final Fantasy XV, an anime following his early journey and how his companions came to travel with him.[3] A Play Arts Kai figurine of him has also been developed.[4]

Character design

Noctis as he appears in the first trailer for Final Fantasy Versus XIII, showing his placeholder design.

Noctis was created and designed by Tetsuya Nomura, the director of Final Fantasy XV (originally called Final Fantasy Versus XIII). In creating the character, Nomura did not want him to be an overly strong-looking character, instead being used more to communicate the darkness in the story, which caused some difficulties for the team.[5] His hairstyle was meant to give two impressions to the player: from the front it was ordered, while from the rear it looked wild.[6] In order to make his hair movements realistic, the team worked with a professional hairstylist to create the design using a mannequin's wig, then used the Luminous Studio engine to render it in real-time. The technique was originally used for the characters in the engine's 2012 tech demo Agni's Philosophy.[7] His full name loosely translates from Latin into "Night of Light Sky".[8][9] His shortened nickname, Noct, translates as "of the Night".[10] Nomura originally wanted to have his name not based on the sky or weather, as with previous protagonists designed by him, but after Lightning, the main protagonist of Final Fantasy XIII, was given a weather-based name, Nomura gave Noctis his current name.[6] This name was also a reference to Sora, the main protagonist of the Kingdom Hearts series: "Sora" and "Caelum" both stand for sky in their respective languages, and Nomura considered Noctis to be his latest "son".[9] While the game changed name, platforms and eventually director, Nomura worked with new director Hajime Tabata to ensure that Noctis remained as unchanged as possible in the final product.[11]

The character's clothing was created and designed by Hiromu Takahara, the main designer at Japanese fashion house Roen.[12] Takahara's key inspiration for the style and coloring of the clothing was "jet black", which were meant to exemplify and be representative of the game's dark atmosphere. In addition, Takahara designed the outfit along the same lines as the asymmetric designs common to Roen's clothing lines.[13] His outfit was designed to make Noctis look like someone who went to a high-class pub.[14] Unlike previous protagonists, a real set of Noctis' clothes was created by Roen and kept in the office for reference by the development staff: this was due to previous experiences when Nomura had been constantly asked what materials his characters' outfits were made of by the graphics teams.[9] An aspect of his design central to the story was a ring he wore on his right hand, while the gloves he wore were simply for "design purposes".[13] Noctis' original design when the game was first revealed was a temporary one used while his final look was being created.[6] It was based on the game's script to give a visual impression in trailers.[14] Takahara also designed a formal suit worn by the character in the opening section of the game.[15]

Attributes

While originally one of four controllable characters in Versus XIII, Noctis is the sole playable character in XV.[16][17] He is also the only character who can use summoned monsters, recurring elements in the Final Fantasy series.[18] He has the power to manipulate multiple weapons at once. In the story, this is linked to his powers.[13] He also has an ability referred to as "Armiger" (blocking and attacking using transparent melee weapons known as "Phantom Swords"), included in the conceptual trailer from the 2013 Electronic Entertainment Expo and the final game.[17][19] During an earlier stage of development, Noctis was to have been the only character in the world of XV that could use magic for story-related reasons. As this would not have worked from a gameplay standpoint, the team engineered it so Noctis' companions could share Noctis' magic abilities.[20] During certain points during both story scenes and gameplay, Noctis' eyes turn from their natural blue color to red. This feature was present in both Versus XIII and XV.[13][21]

Personality

Nomura did not want Noctis to have a personality like Squall Leonhart or Cloud Strife, the respective protagonists of Final Fantasy VIII and VII, defining their personality type as that of "a silent, gloomy little boy". Instead, Nomura wanted to create a realistic character type not seen in the Final Fantasy series before. Because of this, he was wary about him as he was so new to the series that he might fall "out of bounds" of the series. Whereas previous protagonists did not have strong personalities to avoid interfering with player empathy, Nomura wanted Noctis to have "an overabundance of idiosyncrasy", which was one of the ways he would leave an impression on the player.[6] He also wanted the character to have traits and perform actions that bore both heroic and villainous traits, creating someone akin to an anti-hero. He thought that these qualities would match the game's themes very well.[22] While naturally shy, Noctis hides this under a cold exterior, though his close friends can see through this.[8] A key scene that demonstrated his personality in Versus XIII was his first meeting with Stella.[23] During an interview with Game Informer, comparing the personalities of Noctis and Lunafreya, Tabata referred to Noctis as the weaker of the two, remarking that he might need protecting instead of her.[24] A key part of his narrative is Noctis' transition from prince to king during his journey.[25]

Noctis is voiced in Japanese by Tatsuhisa Suzuki.[1] English voice work was included for Episode Duscae, but it was cut close in terms of production scheduling. During the ROM checking stage, Tabata saw that the performance was wrong for the character, a feeling reflected in player feedback after the demo's release. As it was too late to re-record, the performance was carried into the demo. Tabata commented that the original performance made the character sound too old, comparing it to Batman. After release, the voice work was redone to show the character's youth and charm, along with his "sense of ennui".[26]

Reception

Once Final Fantasy XV was revealed to the audience, Todd Ciolek from Anime News Network said that Noctis was "your standard-issue brash anime kid in demeanor."[27] Daniella Lucas from GamesRadar compared him with Final Fantasy VIII's main character, Squall Leonhart, based on his rebellious attitude as he lives "by own rules" in contrast of the strict code of conduct set by his royal overseers.[28] In an early preview of the game's demo Episode Duscae, GameSpot's Alexa Ray Corriae praised the interactions between Noctis and his companions, citing them as a good example of deep platonic love between men.[29] In a review of Brotherhood's first episode, IGN also praised the interactions between the main characters, particularly finding comical how Noctis removed parts from his hamburger and this being discussed by his friends as whether or not they were spoiling him.[30] A fragrance was created in the character's image.[31] 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.[32]

References

  1. 1 2 "Behind the Voice Actors - Voices of Noctis Lucis Caelum". Behind the Voice Actors. Retrieved 2014-09-27.
  2. ↑ 今週のスクープ ファイナルファンタジーXV. Weekly Famitsu (Enterbrain) (1281): 11ff. 2013-06-20.
  3. ↑ "Head-to-head with Hajime Tabata and Takeshi Nozue about FFXV - Making FF Great Again". Famitsu. 2016-04-07. Archived from the original on 2016-04-08.
  4. ↑ Dyre, Mitch (2015-09-18). "TGS 2015: Final Fantasy XV's Play Arts Figures Are Must-Haves". IGN. Archived from the original on 2015-09-18. Retrieved 2015-09-18.
  5. ↑ Kristine S. (2006-06-02). "An Interview with the People behind Final Fantasy XIII". Qj.net. Archived from the original on 2007-07-11. Retrieved 2006-06-02.
  6. 1 2 3 4 1000号記念スペシャル表紙プロジェクト. Famitsu Weekly (in Japanese) (Enterbrain) (1001): 42–45. 2008-02-08.
  7. ↑ Ashcraft, Brian (2015-02-19). "Why Final Fantasy XV Has Fantastic Hair". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 2015-02-19. Retrieved 2015-02-19.
  8. 1 2 IGN Staff (2008-10-22). "New Final Fantasy Versus XIII Details". IGN. Archived from the original on 2014-12-27. Retrieved 2014-09-10.
  9. 1 2 3 "Japan Expo 2013 : Interview with Tetsuya Nomura (ENG)". Finaland. 2013-07-07. Archived from the original on 2014-01-08. Retrieved 2014-02-13.
  10. ↑ Ashecraft, Brian (2011-08-10). "Hi. My Name Is Noctis, But You Can Call Me Noct". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 2014-12-27. Retrieved 2014-09-12.
  11. ↑ Romano, Sal; Thomas, James (2014-09-22). "Final Fantasy XV director talks development, open world, combat, demo, and more". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 2014-12-02. Retrieved 2014-09-22.
  12. ↑ 完全版！　DKΣ3713最新情報総まとめDKΣ3713リポート. Famitsu. 2008-08-02. Archived from the original on 2014-02-14. Retrieved 2014-09-11.
  13. 1 2 3 4 Romano, Sal (2010-08-06). "Final Fantasy Versus XIII – all the details so far". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 2013-08-01. Retrieved 2014-09-11.
  14. 1 2 Square Enix Presents: DKΣ3713 Private Party 2008 - 参加者の声. Famitsu PS3 (Enterbrain) (XIII): 16-19. 2008-08-22.
  15. ↑ 『FFXIII』など、最新映像続々！ DKΣ3713 Private Party 2008が開催DKΣ3713リポート. Famitsu. 2008-08-02. Archived from the original on 2015-04-17. Retrieved 2015-04-28.
  16. ↑ Gantayat, Anoop (2011-02-01). "Tetsuya Nomura Talks Up Final Fantasy Versus XIII". Andriasang.com. Archived from the original on 2011-12-05. Retrieved 2013-05-09.
  17. 1 2 Slayton, Olivia (2014-10-02). "Final Fantasy XV director addresses fan concerns, new gameplay". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 2014-10-02. Retrieved 2014-10-02.
  18. ↑ Farokhmanesh, Megan (2014-12-26). "Final Fantasy 15 will feature party attacks, summons for Noctis". Polygon. Archived from the original on 2015-02-19. Retrieved 2015-02-19.
  19. ↑ Romano, Sal (2015-02-20). "Final Fantasy XV: Episode Duscae demo special reveal live stream – full report". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 2015-02-20. Retrieved 2015-02-20.
  20. ↑ Nakamura, Toshi (2014-12-20). "Final Fantasy XV's Director Breaks Down the Newest Trailer". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 2014-12-20. Retrieved 2014-12-20.
  21. ↑ 体験版で旅や戦闘, キャンプを楽しもう!. Famitsu Weekly (in Japanese) (Enterbrain) (1368): 48. 2015-02-19.
  22. ↑ Smith, Luke (2006-06-07). "FFXIII Interview: Nomura, Kitase, Hashimoto and Toriyama: Compilation of games puts new spin on FF series". 1UP.com. Archived from the original on 2011-08-18. Retrieved 2014-08-25.
  23. ↑ Gifford, Kevin (2008-10-22). "Tetsuya Nomura Discusses FF Versus XIII Characters". 1UP.com. Archived from the original on 2015-09-04. Retrieved 2014-09-10.
  24. ↑ Wallace, Kimberley (2015-08-05). "New Story Details from Final Fantasy XV's Director". Game Informer. Archived from the original on 2015-08-08. Retrieved 2015-08-08.
  25. ↑ Dunning, Jason (2016-01-04). "Final Fantasy XV "At Its Truest" Will Be Shown During the Release Date Announcement in March". PlayStation Lifestyle. Archived from the original on 2016-01-04. Retrieved 2016-01-04.
  26. ↑ Romano, Sal (2015-04-28). "Final Fantasy XV feedback live stream full report: Episode Duscae 2.0 coming mid-May". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 2015-04-28. Retrieved 2015-04-28.
  27. ↑ "The X Button Story of the Class". Anime News Network. June 26, 2013. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
  28. ↑ Lucas, Daniella. "Everything we know about Final Fantasy 15 so far". GamesRadar. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
  29. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (2015-03-07). "Male Intimacy and Final Fantasy XV". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 2015-03-08. Retrieved 2015-03-08.
  30. ↑ "Brotherhood Final Fantasy XV Episode 1 Before the Storm Review". IGN. April 1, 2016. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
  31. ↑ "Noctis from Final Fantasy XV Smells Okay, I Guess". Kotaku. September 21, 2015. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
  32. ↑ "Final Fantasy XV Director Encourages Fans To Make More Car Memes". Siliconera. 2014-10-2. Retrieved 2016-5-3. Check date values in: |access-date=, |date= (help)
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