With the release of Final Fantasy VII Remake, it felt about the right time to shine some light on the last mainline entry: Final Fantasy XV. The reworked battle system in the remake can be traced back to this game. That’s the basic connection.
These fun trivia bits about the characters run from backstory elements to general facts about the game itself. There is also a tease for the future ahead. Is this universe really done, or is there more to it? Let’s dig in.
10 Latin Blood
Final Fantasy has always been fascinated with putting Latin in their games. This game in particular almost felt like a parody with how much was used. For example, Noctis Lucis Caelum means light of the night sky.
Ignis translates to fire knowledge, which could potentially be a chef reference. Gladiolus means little sword which is ironic seeing as his blades are huge. And finally, Prompto means quicksilver which is a sly nod to Westerns as he is the gunslinger.
9 Fashion Fantasy
Similar to the Louis Vuitton fashion line created for Final Fantasy XIII, this game had some designer gear as well. For a little over $1000, fans could buy Noctis’ entire outfit including the shirt, vest, shorts, boots, and arm bracers.
Not only that but a cologne was made as well to complete the set: Final Fantasy ~Noctis~ eau de toilette.
8 Noctis Curiosities
As for the dark prince of light himself, there’s a lot of small details one can gather in the game. Like a child, he hates vegetables and coffee but Ignis is trying to change his pallet. On the subject of food he used to be a cook before becoming a savior.
He also likes video games especially Assassin’s Creed. This was revealed in a tie-in event with Ubisoft. Is that a real fact or just a marketing ploy? As one final piece of trivia, even though he dies, it’s interesting Noctis has a father. Think about the past protagonists of this series. How many of them had dads?
7 Final Fantasy XV: The Musical
Noctis could have been a musical star. After Tetsuya Nomura, the original director, saw the 2012 reboot of Les Miserables, he wanted to turn Versus XIII into a musical. This was rejected a year later and he was off the project with the name being changed as well.
While this may seem weird there were been musical numbers in these games in the past including the opera scene in Final Fantasy VI and the many stage plays of Final Fantasy IX. Plus there was a PS1 RPG that already achieved this, Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure. This was uncovered in an IGN interview in 2013.
6 Character Changes
Based on footage from early trailers, some noticeable changes can be noticed between what was Versus XIII and the final project. Ignis, for example, used katana. As a nod to this he can a summon katana during an endgame team attack with Noctis.
While some characters went through changes but remained the same person. However, the blonde woman seen early on was not Lunafreya but a completely different character, Stella. She was scrapped altogether and or just absorbed into Lunafreya.
5 Two Cids
Speaking of blonde girls, this is a rare occasion where a Final Fantasy game got two Cids. Cid Sophiar is the main one, but he has a granddaughter, Cindy, who is also a mechanic.
In Japan her name is actually Cidney so the reference is more on the nose over there. Why it was changed for the West is unknown.
4 Final Fantasy XV Universe
As a refreshed Final Fantasy Versus XIII was announced in 2006 and renamed Final Fantasy XV in 2013. Even after all that time fans still had to wait another three years before they could play the whole experience in 2016. During their reveal event, Square Enix announced several tie-ins including an anime, Brotherhood, and a CG film, Kingsglaive.
From there even more spinoffs came out including a VR fishing game, Monster of the Deep, various mobile games including A New Empire, Justice Monsters Five, and King's Knight: Wrath of the Dark Dragon. Noctis’ dad even got his own game, A King’s Tale. The point is after ten years, favs didn’t want all this. They just wanted the game.
3 Canceled DLC
Along with expanded universe stuff, Prompto, Gladiolus, and Ignis all got DLC. There were four planned episodes for 2019 centering on Lunafreya, Aranea, Ardyn, and Noctis.
Unfortunately in November 2018 all but Arden’s episode were canceled. This was due to the game’s director, Hajime Tabata, stepping down from Square Enix.
2 Fighting Fantasy
Besides games in the Final Fantasy XV universe, Noctis has also appeared as a fighter in Dissidia Final Fantasy NT. Not too impressive as that is a crossover game starring Final Fantasy heroes and villains both past and present.
The more surprising cameo was in Tekken 7 where he became a guest character. Odd choice considering that game is about fisticuffs and not weapon based unlike Bandai Namco’s other fighting series, Soulcalibur.
1 Noctis Lives
This last fact has a major SPOILER for Kingdom Hearts III. The future of the Final Fantasy XV universe looks finished, but it doesn’t seem like Nomura is done with it yet. He is seemingly trying to revive his vision of it through Kingdom Hearts III.
In the Toy Story universe there is a game called Verum Rex, which bears a striking resemblance to Versus XIII. Yozora, the hero, looks like Noctis, and has the same voice actor. After the DLC it even flashes to a scene found in the original Versus XIII trailer. Fun Easter egg, or a tease of what’s to come?