Noctis Lucis Caelum

Unreleased

Noctis Lucis Caelum, will be a playable character and the protagonist of Final Fantasy Versus XIII. He is a prince, the last heir to a dynasty ruling over the last kingdom to control crystals. From his throne, he defends his kingdom from marauders and barbarians who seek to conquer the city and claim the crystals by force. Noctis has a number of companions, including his driver and a fugitive, and his family is known to operate in a similar manner to the modern-day mafia. Though he does not wish to fight her, circumstances force him to do battle with Stella Nox Fleuret, and he is also speculated to be opposed by a mysterious man robed entirely in white.

Appearance and Personality
Noctis is said to be a very shy person, but he initially tries to hide it by "acting cool". According to director Tetsuya Nomura, Noctis will not have a "Cloud-like" personality like people are currently expecting. Instead, he will be a type of character that has not yet been seen in the series, one which Nomura has wanted to try out for a long time. Nomura says that Noctis will have a strong and distinctive personality, and will absolutely not be a "silent, gloomy little boy".

In the Tokyo Game Show footage, Noctis has a short conversation with Stella about the two of them seeing a form of "light". Stella goes on to explain the legend of Tenebrae, that when a person is able to see the "light", they will receive the powers of the dead from the Goddess Etro. The footage was shown to give people a brief idea of what the two characters' personalities are going to be like. In the footage, Noctis is also able to speak briefly with a painting of the goddess, asking who she is.

Abilities and Equipment
Noctis displays unearthly skills in battle, wielding a variety of weapons including swords, spears, axes, and firearms, among others, though his primary weapon appears to be a falchion fashioned with an engine at the hilt. He can conjure the weapons into the air around him and wield them by hand or telekinesis, through the power of the crystals. This allows him to form a wall of weapons which can either act as a shield, or be used for offensive means.

Noctis has also displayed the ability to teleport, seemingly to the locations of his weapons, allowing him to throw one of his weapons a great distance and reappear where it lands seconds later, with the weapon in hand. In battle, the color of his eyes and hair change depending on which weapons and abilities he uses, though the reason for this has not yet been revealed.

Design
As with other characters in Final Fantasy Versus XIII, Noctis's clothing is designed by Hiromu Takahara, Creative Director of the Japanese designer clothing label Roen. The suit worn by Noct during the tower scene, in which he talks to Stella, was the first of Takahara's designs to appear in the game.

Noctis's initial clothing design by Tetsuya Nomura was essentially a placeholder, to be replaced at a later date with an ensemble by Roen. Test gameplay footage screened privately at TGS 2009 unveiled Noct's finalized design, which featured a slightly shorter haircut and clothes designed by Takahara, including a ring worn on his right hand and a motorcycle glove on his left. Noct's Roen-designed outfit was unveiled to the public at Jump Festa 2010 and was seen again in Famitsu magazine in June 2010.

However, as Noctis already has two confirmed outfits, it is also possible that characters will be able to change clothing during the game.

Etymology
"Noctis Lucis Caelum" is a Latin phrase that means "Light of the Night Sky".''

Trivia

 * Noctis appears in Dissidia Final Fantasy as a set of two player icons to represent Final Fantasy Versus XIII, along with Lightning for Final Fantasy XIII and the card-wielding character for Final Fantasy Agito XIII, though these icons can only be obtained through passwords.

Noctis Lucis Caelum