Noctis Lucis Caelum

Noctis Lucis Caelum is the playable character and main protagonist of Final Fantasy XV. He is the Crown Prince and heir to the throne of Lucis, the kingdom to have control over the Crystal. Thus, he can wield the power of Lucian kings. He was first announced for the cancelled game Final Fantasy Versus XIII, which eventually transformed into the Final Fantasy XV Universe.

Appearance
Noctis is a young man standing at 176cm (5'9) with spiky black hair and blue eyes that can glow red. He wears a black jacket that he keeps unzipped with skull-motif buttons, zipper tag and sequin details on the pockets. Underneath, he wears a steel gray shirt with skull prints. He wears black cropped trousers and black buckled boots with red soles along with a black motorcycle glovelet on his left hand.

As a youth, Noctis had a delicate and boyish appearance with deep blue eyes and bangs.

Ten years later Noctis's facial features have weathered and he has a beard. His complexion is rough, with a more formal and sophisticated attire, befitting his regal standing: a black suit with gold jewelry accenting it, a black and gold pauldron on his left shoulder, accompanied by a cape with intricate gold chains and black shoes. The outfit is similar to the one worn by his father, but without stripes or neck ornaments, as it is also tailored to him.

Alternate outfits
Noctis has alternate outfits available. One was available since the beginning of the game, and others are obtained by progressing in the story, from DLC (both free and paid) and from patches.

Personality
Though his three companions are not royalty, Noctis usually acts as an equal to them. His royal upbringing shines through however, as reflected in his body language, poise, and posture in contrast to his team. According to Director Hajime Tabata, one of Noctis's defining aspects is his "sense of ennui". He regularly dozes off; this is present from his early childhood.

Hajime Tabata has described Noctis's relationship with his father thusly:

In the Final Fantasy XV Collector's Edition Guidebook, Tabata describes Noctis as having experienced isolation in his youth, and fearing losing those close to him. Noctis's words and actions often stem from a fear of being unable to meet the expectations of those around him, but as a counterbalance he desires to please them. Tabata asked Yusuke Naora, one of the art directors for Final Fantasy XV, to look at Noctis as a real person and to depict his aging with realism rather than symbolism.

According to Final Fantasy XV Prologue Parting Ways, Noctis's personality changed following a childhood incident, making him more withdrawn despite having been a lively child before.

Noctis has been described as a complex character who has dealt with a lot of emotional turmoil as his mother died when he was young and his father had to cater to the demands of the kingdom, leaving Noctis feeling alone. Nevertheless, he is not bitter over it, accepting that sacrifices had to be made. Noctis is still trying to figure out who he is, and struggles articulating his feelings. He keeps a lot bottled up, especially with confronting how he feels about his childhood friend Luna. King Regis has noted that Noctis was difficult to control and quite rebellious. When Noctis struggles coping with things he tends to avoid the issue and become even more withdrawn, such as when he avoids his duties and thinking about being the next king in Brotherhood Final Fantasy XV for worry over his father's ailing health. When he acknowledges the situation is bad, his first instinct is to focus on himself rather than the people he's supposed to lead, or even his closest friends.

He enthuses about the things he enjoys, and has a bit of an inflated ego, as noted by Gladiolus. He can be reckless, having to be held back by others, though this does not always stop him. He's playful, especially towards Prompto, his best friend, and is frequently snarky and sarcastic. Near the end of Noctis's journey, his friends note his increased confidence, and he has become more stern and resolute. He has learned to take on the responsibilities of his position, and does so without hesitation.

Noctis dislikes vegetables, much to Ignis's displeasure, who tries to encourage a healthy diet. Noctis and Prompto share a distaste for bugs and a love for animals, especially pets and chocobos.

Abilities
As the heir to the throne of Lucis, Noctis can wield the power of kings, and those he associates with share into some of his power. Weapons manifest to his use from thin air, and only he can wield the crystalline royal arms of his forebears; the power to wield all of these weapons at once is called Armiger, during which he is empowered by the souls of his ancestors. He can warp short distances, and phase through solid matter. These powers of teleportation can be used for combat. He can collect elemental power from the environment and craft spells that those with him can also gain access to, but his true magical power is only harnessed via the mythical Ring of the Lucii that allows the wearer to wield the power of the Crystal itself in exchange for the user's own life force. The kings of Lucis have forged covenants with the Astral gods of Eos, and once Noctis does so, he becomes able to call forth the Astrals to aid him.

Story
Noctis is the son of King Regis, the Crown Prince of Lucis and thus heir to the Caelum line. His mother, Queen Aulea, died when he was an infant. Ignis Scientia became Noctis's retainer when he was three, and is thus his oldest friend. When Noctis was five years old, King Regis learned from the spirits of the old kings that Noctis the Chosen King prophesied to sacrifice himself to save the world. Perhaps for this reason Regis wanted Noctis to live a full, normal life, and Noctis got to live a relatively usual childhood. For example, he was not educated in a private school, but enrolled in a regular school.

When he was eight years old, Noctis was the victim of the daemon Marilith, implied to have been unleashed upon them on purpose by Niflheim, the empire that has been at war with Lucis for hundreds of years. The servants who accompanied him perished while Noctis was gravely injured, but he was saved by Regis and his attendees. As depicted in Platinum Demo – Final Fantasy XV, Noctis went into a coma and retreated into a dream world. He came under the protection of Carbuncle, a magical creature who helped him fend off attacks from an unknown force attempting to keep him from waking up. Afterward Noctis spent time in the country of Tenebrae recovering, where he befriended the young Princess Lunafreya: while their time together was short, they bonded and forged secret promises. Luna showed Noctis a red notebook they can use to secretly keep in contact, using her dog Umbra as a messenger.

Noctis learned about the Crystal of Lucis and how his father is its sworn protector from Luna. She told Noctis he is the Crystal's chosen to banish the plague of darkness from the world, and Noctis promised to do it, although he didn't understand what was asked of him. Noctis also met Gentiana, the mysterious High Messenger of the gods who stays by Luna's side. Gentiana was pleased the future king of Lucis would have such a close relation to the Oracle.

When Niflheim invaded Tenebrae Regis barely escaped with the young Noctis. Though he tried to also take Luna, she opted to stay behind as she couldn't abandon her brother, Ravus. From that time on Noctis and Luna could no longer see each other, although they kept in secret correspondence via Luna's magical dogs.

When Regis returned to Lucis with Noctis, he discovered that both Noctis and Lunafreya have been "chosen by the stars" for a greater purpose, laying a further burden upon the young boy.

When a king of Lucis dies, their wisdom is passed to the next generation via the bonding of souls, and thus the royal line lives on. The family heirloom, the Ring of the Lucii, contains the accumulated powers of the previous kings of Lucis and is inherited by the person next in line for the throne. However, using the ring's powers saps the user of their life force. The summoned swords both Noctis and Regis can wield are also inherited from each previous king. Regis was doomed to age prematurely due to his life energy being needed to power the Wall around Insomnia, the Crown City. Regis is conflicted about whether to put such a burden on Noctis.

As depicted in Brotherhood Final Fantasy XV, despite being royalty, Noctis attended a regular school where he met a boy named Prompto, whom Luna had advised to seek Noctis's friendship as he hadn't mingled much with others. Gladiolus was his tutor for battle skills since early age, although the two did not initially get along, Gladiolus viewing him spoiled. The two befriended after a ten-year-old Noctis saved Gladiolus's younger sister Iris from getting lost and took the blame for wandering outside the palace grounds even if he had only been following Iris to make sure she didn't get hurt. When Noctis was a teenager, Regis asked Ignis to look after him. Noctis moved to live alone to gain more independence when he was 15 and entered high school, and he and Prompto became friends. Although Noctis did well in his exams, graduating as top of his class, he struggled with the pressures of being the future king of Lucis, and the prospect of his father dying. To keep such pressures off his mind, he lived his youth like a general citizen for his age, including taking up work through part time jobs at a camera store and sushi restaurant after school.

At age 20, Noctis sets forth from his homeland to formalize the union of states through his marriage to Lady Lunafreya of the imperial province of Tenebrae. Accompanying Noctis are his friends—Ignis, his royal advisor; Gladiolus, his bodyguard; and Prompto, his friend from high school. As depicted in Final Fantasy XV Prologue Parting Ways, Noctis tried to meet Regis the day before they left, but he was too busy with the treaty-signing preparations. Lucis was to relinquish all territories outside Insomnia to the empire in exchange for peace. Regis knew it to be a trap, and didn't tell Noctis of the true reason he is being sent away from the city with his friends, hoping Noctis would one day understand his reasons.

The four head toward Altissia to meet with Luna for Noctis to marry her to solidify relations between their countries as a political union despite their childhood friendship and Noctis's complicated feelings for her. Regis sees them off with a heavy heart at the steps of the Citadel. On their way across Leide, Regalia, Regis's car the party is using, breaks down. The party pushes it to the nearest service station, Hammerhead, where they meet the mechanic Cindy and her grandfather Cid, Regis's old comrade.

Cid recognizes Noctis due to his resemblance to Regis, and assures them the car can be fixed, but it will take time, leaving the party stranded for the time being. Though knowing Noctis is the prince Cid doesn't act respectfully, implying he doesn't think Noctis is ready to become the king. Cindy handles the repairs, and the party is left to make the money to pay her. Once the repairs are done, the party heads to the port town of Galdin Quay, where they hope to take a ferry to Altissia. However, the ferry is not running.

The party learns that Niflheim has attacked the Crown City and Noctis and his father are reported dead alongside Lunafreya. They turn back, but a blockade prevents them from reaching the city. They find a high vantage point to see it from a distance, and receive a call from the marshal of the Crownsguard, Cor Leonis, as to the state of affairs. Noctis learns that the news of the king being dead are true, and Cor helps him get started on his quest of retrieving the legendary weapons of Lucis's past rulers. After opening the road to Duscae, Cor deems Noctis strong enough to continue on his mission without his help, and departs.

Iris calls Noctis to tell him she's made it to the town of Lestallum, and they decide to go see her. On the way there, they have an option of visiting the Meteor of the Six said to have fallen to Eos eons ago, but if they try they are repelled by Niflheim forces. In Lestallum, Iris shows Noctis around the town and he learns Luna made it out of Insomnia. With little recourse, and Noctis's duty to his country, the party resumes their trip to Altissia in hopes that Luna headed there, however, the ship to there is still out of commission.

Noctis is tipped off on a royal tomb being hidden in the area behind a waterfall, and his party heads to retrieve it. Noctis begins to experience sudden headaches and bizarre visions as the Archaean Titan is calling for him. The Disc of Cauthess area where Titan resides, said to be holding the meteorite, is locked down by the empire, but Chancellor Ardyn Izunia opens the way for them. Noctis comes before the Astral as Niflheim forces storm in and try to destroy the god. Noctis has a vision of Luna communing with Titan, and forms a covenant with him, gaining the ability to summon him. Surrounded by imperial forces, Ardyn helps Noctis's party escape the site.

Luna is seeking to rouse gods of Eos, known as the Six. Noctis receives a message from her via Umbra, in which she lends her support to his cause. Duscae is shrouded in a storm until Noctis passes Ramuh's trial and gains the means to summon him. Noctis is guided by Gentiana who communicates with him telepathically, directing him what he needs to do to gain the gods' favor.

Upon acquiring Ramuh's power, Noctis enters the nearby imperial base to recover the missing Regalia. After fighting through the magitek armors and soldiers at the base, he is confronted by Ravus Nox Fleuret before he can reach the car. Ravus berates them and is about to battle them, but Ardyn intervenes, instructing Ravus to go to Altissia. With the Regalia recovered, the party returns to Lestallum.

When they meet Iris back at the hotel, she reveals that the empire's general Caligo Ulldor attacked Lestallum while the party was away. The Amicitia family chamberlain, Jared Hester, was killed defending Iris. His grandson Talcott is traumatized by this event, and Noctis expresses his sorrow for his loss. During the night, Noctis dreams of following Luna's dog Pryna while encountering various terrors.

Noctis and the party escort Iris to Cape Caem, but on their way, they discover the empire has set up yet another "flying fortress" near Old Lestallum. With Ignis's help, Noctis incapacitates General Caligo, but he escapes before they can exact revenge for the killing of Jared. As he leaves the base, Noctis is ambushed by Commodore Aranea Highwind, whom Caligo spoke of in distrust. After a brief fight she leaves. Noctis continues to Cape Caem, where the Hammerhead crew is busy working on Regis's old ship, which will grant them passage to Altissia. They stay at Iris and Talcott's new house by the sea, where Talcott reveals that there is still mythril ore that can be used to repair the ship at Vesperpool.

Gladiolus goes off on his own to contemplate the recent events. Noctis, Ignis, and Prompto slip into the empire-held area and with Ardyn's help, although they cannot fathom why an imperial official is helping them. They venture to find the ore under the supervision of Aranea, who recognizes Noctis as the prince. She guides them through a temple, and ruins submerged in water, an anomaly created by the abundant daemonic energy. Through her, Noctis learns that the bulk of the empire's military force is powered by daemons, creatures that lurk in the depths of caves and emerge during the darkest hours of the day. Aranea is concerned over the direction the regime is taking. After securing the mythril, Aranea wishes Noctis well, advising him to choose his own path in life. Noctis and his party return to Lestallum where Noctis teams up with a hunter to rid the power plant of daemons. The hunter turns out to be Gladiolus.

Noctis and his friends make their way to Altissia on King Regis's boat. During the trip they discuss the news of Ravus being the high commander of the imperial army, and that he holds King Regis's sword, although he cannot wield it as he is not of the Lucian line. Noctis feels ambivalent, but believes he'll be able to reclaim the sword from Ravus.

While in Altissia, Noctis negotiates with the First Secretary Camelia Claustra to let Luna rouse Leviathan, but doesn't get to see her, as Luna is being held for her safety. The next day Luna gives a speech to the masses about her desire to wake the Hydraean, and to help banish the growing darkness. The world is plagued by a phenomenon known as the Starscourge that lengthens the nights, but the line of the Oracles—of which Luna is the latest—has the power to fight this darkness. Noctis undertakes Leviathan's trial, who goes berserk despite Luna's efforts to calm her. Luna calls upon the deceased kings of Lucis to aid Noctis who battles Leviathan with the power of kings until Titan interferes and Leviathan is calmed. Amid Noctis's battle, Ardyn stabs Luna and Noctis is powerless to help her.

After the battle a weakened Noctis is left lying on the ruined Altar of the Tidemother. A mortally wounded Luna crawls to Noctis and heals him. The two converse in a dreamlike realm, the prince sad he could not save her. Luna passes the Ring of the Lucii to him, which she had been holding for him as per King Regis's final request. While Noctis is unconscious, he unknowingly is threatened by Ardyn, but saved by Ignis who lends power from the Ring of the Lucii to fend him off at the cost of his eyesight. Noctis awakens days later to learn of Luna's passing from a now blind Ignis. Ignis asks Noctis to reconsider their journey, but Noctis refuses to give up, saying that all the sacrifices made for him would be meaningless if he did not continue.

Noctis and his team carry on to Gralea, capital of Niflheim, to regain the Crystal the empire has stolen. They travel through the continent on train, and though now in possession of the ring of his ancestors, Noctis refuses to wield its power. This angers Gladiolus, who sees Noctis's struggle to deal with his grief as a sign he is not ready for the task upon them. After retrieving the Katana of the Warrior, another of the royal arms, Ignis speaks up to heal the rift that has formed between the companions, and Noctis remains determined to push on.

Their train is attacked by imperial forces, and amid the chaos Noctis is tricked by Ardyn to push Prompto off the moving train. They are unable to go back to him and assume Prompto has been captured by the empire. They stop at Tenebrae and find the Fenestala Manor aflame as revenge by the empire; Ravus is reported to have been executed for high treason for the Leviathan incident, and thus the bloodline of the Oracles has ended. Without Luna holding back the darkness, sunlight has almost vanished from the world with daemons now spawning even during the daylight hours. As they speculate that the Crystal has the power to repel the daemons, Noctis is even more desperate to seek it out. Aranea has quit the imperial army and is now helping the victims of the empire's attacks with Biggs and Wedge. As the passage to imperial territory is dangerous, Noctis, Gladiolus and Ignis head to Gralea without the other passengers with Biggs and Wedge operating the train. While in Tenebrae, Noctis learns Ravus had always been on Luna's side even though he had been affiliated with the empire.

As they come into the territories outside the imperial capital, they find Ghorovas Rift covered in a blizzard. As daemons spawn to halt the train at Shiva's corpse, Noctis meets Ardyn again. Noctis demands to know what Ardyn's gambit is, but the latter is frozen by Gentiana who reveals her true identity as the Astral goddess Shiva. Shiva tells Noctis the history of the Astrals and asks Noctis to set her love, Ifrit, free from being enthralled to the darkness. Shiva makes Luna's love for Noctis known to him and Noctis forges a covenant with her, obtaining the Trident of the Oracle as a royal arm. Noctis vows that he and Luna will be together again, regretting he never had the chance to tell her how he feels. He learns Ardyn is immortal and all their attacks on him are ineffective. Pondering what Ardyn's true nature is, the party continues onward to Gralea with the knowledge that Prompto is held captive there along with the Crystal.

Noctis, Ignis and Gladiolus enter Gralea by train but fall under attack and have to abandon the train with the belief that Biggs and Wedge can look after themselves. Noctis drives the Regalia into the city, but the car is destroyed and he becomes separated from his friends. He continues alone but finds he cannot summon his weapons to his side as his powers can been sealed. With Ardyn's taunting voice in his ears, Noctis decides to wield the Ring and blasts the daemons and magitek troops that spawn around him with magic. The imperial city is devoid of human life and swarming with daemons. The magitek troopers at the lab the Crystal is said to be kept in have gone rogue. Ardyn's disembodied voice keeps taunting him as Noctis discovers the empire has been manufacturing daemons, that magitek troopers are made out of their experiments with daemons and clones at the lab, and that a "vanishing disease" has ravaged the imperial lands that has its citizens turn into daemons the empire cannot control. Noctis finds Ravus dead and recovers his father's sword.

He is reunited with Gladiolus, Ignis and Prompto who had been brought to the lab by Ardyn. They discover Prompto was born at an imperial lab to be made an MT, and now doubts his friends would still accept him. Noctis doesn't skip a beat to welcome him back. As depicted in "Episode Prompto", Noctis apologizes for having fallen into Ardyn's trap that led him to push Prompto off the train. Prompto forgives him, saying he also fell to Ardyn's manipulations. Noctis says that it doesn't matter where people are from, and that he would like to "break down borders" so there would be no more distinctions between Niflheim or Lucian citizens. Prompto compliments that Noctis is speaking like a king.

Prompto can open the sealed areas and find Emperor Aldercapt's throne room. The emperor's robes are left on the seat as he has also vanished and become a daemon. After turning off the device that seals his powers, Noctis and his friends are ambushed by a horde of daemons and his friends urge him to go to the Crystal alone to use it to banish the daemons.

Noctis reluctantly leaves his friends behind and makes it to the Crystal but is absorbed inside it while being taunted by Ardyn. Ardyn reveals his true name as Ardyn Lucis Caelum, Noctis's ancestor who was tasked with healing the world from daemons two millennia ago. He had become corrupted by daemons during this and was rejected by the Crystal for his affinity with the darkness. The Crystal holds inside it the planet's soul and in this otherworldly dimension Noctis meets Bahamut and is made aware of his destiny as the True King. The True King is born once all of the Crystal's power is passed onto the Ring of the Lucii and can banish the darkness from the world at the cost of his own life.

Noctis spends ten years in the Crystal accumulating its magic and strengthening himself to prepare for both his battle against Ardyn and his sacrifice. He awakens in the Angelgard island where he meets Umbra who has a note for him saying that his friends will meet him in Hammerhead. As depicted in Final Fantasy XV: Comrades, Noctis is greeted by Libertus Ostium and some other exhausted members of the Kingsglaive. Gentiana tells Noctis that he must go to Insomnia to end Ardyn. She tells him they will meet again, and he takes his father's boat to Galdin Quay, which is now abandoned and overrun by daemons.

Noctis runs into Talcott, who drives him to Hammerhead and tells what happened in the last ten years. He meets with his old companions and they briefly catch up. They dress in their formal attire and set up camp for one final meal together during which Noctis struggles expressing all the emotions he is holding inside.

They head to the ruins of Insomnia where countless daemons and magitek infantry await them. Ardyn sends a daemonic Ifrit upon them, but Noctis defeats Ifrit with the other Astrals' help, fulfilling his promise to Shiva. Before heading to the throne room to fight Ardyn he asks to see the photos Prompto had taken of their journey, choosing one to take with him.

Noctis finds Ardyn sitting on the throne below the Crystal and challenges him. Noctis kills Ardyn, who promises to wait him "on the other side". Noctis asks his friends to walk tall in a manner King Regis sent them on their journey ten years ago. Gladiolus, Ignis and Prompto stay outside to fend off the daemons as Noctis ascends the throne. He calls the spirits of the Kings of Lucis that attack him one by one until Noctis's soul is absorbed by the Ring of Lucii. Noctis's spirit delivers a final blow to Ardyn, forever vanquishing him. The prophecy is fulfilled and light is restored to Eos.

Noctis's spirit appears on a throne dedicated to the 114th king of Lucis with Luna in her wedding dress and the photo he took from Prompto. He rests his head, prepared to sleep.

Alternate Ending
In an Alternate reality where Ignis chooses to join Ardyn on the way back to Gralea instead of fighting him using the Ring of the Lucii, Noctis heads to Gralea alongside Gladiolus, Prompto, and Ravus, who leads them to Zegnautus Keep. Noctis, Gladiolus, and Prompto find Ignis outside of the Crystal chamber, dying after using the Ring to defeat Ardyn, and save Noctis. Noctis is horrified by Ignis's sacrifice, and questions how he can be a savior if he can't even protect those he loves. He resolves to not lose anyone else, and takes the Ring form Ignis, donning it. He then uses the power of the Crystal to save Ignis and enters the crystal, beginning his ten year slumber.

After waking up from the crystal, Noctis makes his way to Hammerhead, where he is reunited with Gladiolus, Prompto and Ignis, who is both alive and retains his vision. The four friends then head to Insomnia together. They arrive outside the Citadel, where the meet with Ravus, who bequeaths The Sword of The Father to Noctis, and joins them as they confront Ardyn. They seem to successfully kill Ardyn as dawn arrives, however, Noctis survives the battle, and becomes the King of Lucis.

Gameplay
Noctis is the player character in Final Fantasy XV. He can use all weapon types, and the Combat Ascension Spheres exclusively focus on his development. His build focuses on all forms of offense, but his aspects of defense, vitality, and spirit are lacking.

While on offense Noctis chains attacks automatically by holding the attack button. Manually inputting presses, and depending on the direction of the analog held and the weapon in hand, allows him to perform different combos. While on defense he can perform dodge rolls (tapping the defense button), phase through attacks (by holding the defense button), and block certain attacks (by correctly timing the defense when the button prompt appears), allowing him to counter with a parry and follow through with an offensive opening or a link-strike with team mates. Noctis can warp by throwing his weapon, a skill that can be used for both offense and defense. He can summon Astrals after forging a covenant with them in the story, and use magic via magic flasks and the Ring of the Lucii.

His skill is fishing. Food-wise, Noctis is the fussiest party member. He likes hot sandwiches, sauteed freshwater fish, donburi bowls, and decked out fruit-seasoned cakes.

Musical themes
It has been said that "Stand By Me" is Noctis's way of expressing the feelings of gratitude in his heart he is unable to in words.

In the game, Noctis's theme has a soft, slow and emotional piece. During the Final Fantasy XV Live at Abbey Road Studios concert Yoko Shimomura described her reason she wrote the piece is because she wants people to feel the emotional resonance.

Creation and development
As with other characters in Final Fantasy XV, Noctis's clothing is designed by Hiromu Takahara, creative director of the Japanese designer clothing label Roen. The suit is worn by Noctis during a deleted Final Fantasy Versus XIII scene in which he talks to Stella Nox Fleuret, and it was the first of Takahara's designs to appear in the game.

Noctis's initial clothing design by Character Designer Tetsuya Nomura was a placeholder, to be replaced with an ensemble by Roen. Test gameplay footage screened privately at TGS 2009 unveiled Noctis'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. The ring was stated to play a role in the game. Noctis's Roen-designed outfit was unveiled to the public at Jump Festa 2010 and was seen again in a Famitsu magazine in June 2010.

A physical set of Noctis's clothes was kept in the Square Enix office so the CG team could see them to create the same image for the game. Tetsuya Nomura has commented that this is easier, because previously when he created the characters, the CG team would ask him questions of the clothes' material and other detailed questions that were difficult to define precisely.

The contract Square Enix made with Roen when they first started making Final Fantasy Versus XIII contained a number of designs for the game. The designs contracted during that point are still used for Final Fantasy XV. There are no additional designs, but the ones from before are still in the game. Director Hajime Tabata has explained that black has historically been treated as a special color in Lucis. Thus the attire of the royal family, and those in occupations closely tied to it, wear black.

With the change of name and platform and Hajime Tabata taking the reins, the game was no longer going to be "the exact same game," as some things had to be re-evaluated to fit the change of circumstances. Tabata has assured the game did not lose its core, and he had sat down with Tetsuya Nomura—the game's original director and main character designer—about the direction of the title to ensure that characters, like Noctis, would be maintained in the best possible way. The art staff wanted to make it easy to distinguish the characters even though they all wear black, and wanted to make them come alive both in technical and artistic ways, and ways to make the characters relatable were discussed endlessly. Developing Noctis was a challenge, and Tabata struggled to like him at first for how "symbolic" or artificial he seemed. To get into the character Tabata tried to imagine how Noctis was as a child. The discussion on how to make Noctis "come alive" went on until late development.

Noctis was "redesigned" from the Final Fantasy Versus XIII design by Yusuke Naora, one of the art directors. His skin texture was enhanced to make him appear more realistic by adding subtle blotches and birth marks. "Screen space" technology was used to depict the skin texture and subcutaneous light penetration. Because of improvements to shadow expression, Noctis's hair ended up casting dark shadows on his face. Naora adjusted the effects to make it harder for shadows to form over his hair. As Noctis and his party had already been revealed, Naora avoided making major changes to their looks, and thus their less-than-realistic hairstyles were preserved. Noctis's character model is built of about 100,000 triangles, 6–8 individual materials and about 600 joints.

As localization director and lead writer Dan Inoue worked with Noctis's Japanese voice actor, he became inspired by Nirvana lead singer Kurt Cobain. Inoue wanted to avoid creating "a generic emo role-playing game lead," but knew Noctis would struggle with his role in the world. Inoue wanted Noctis to act "like a rockstar who spurns the spotlight."

Noctis has three designs for Final Fantasy XV: he appears as an 8-year-old, a 20-year-old and a 30-year-old.

In old Tokyo Game Show footage depicting the envisioned opening for Final Fantasy Versus XIII, Noctis conversed with Stella about the two of them seeing the "light". Stella explained the legend of Tenebrae, which stated that when a person is able to see the light they receive the powers of the dead from the Goddess Etro. The footage was shown to give people a brief idea of what the characters' personalities are going to be like. This scene did not make it to Final Fantasy XV with the removing of Stella and the change of opening events.

Voice
Noctis is voiced by Tatsuhisa Suzuki in Japanese, while his younger self is voiced by Miyuki Satō.

He is voiced by Ray Chase as an adult in English; his younger self is voiced by Hyrum Hansen.

The first English voice recordings were done for the Final Fantasy XV Episode Duscae demo. Chase was briefed on what was going on in the story, and about the character of Noctis, but Noctis's age hadn't yet been revealed. Chase thus tried out different versions of him, but in the end they decided to go with the older and more "badass" version. He initially only knew the project as "Project Black" and was given the reference of "Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne" for the role.

After the release of the demo, many western fans complained about Noctis's English voice. Director Hajime Tabata responded the team had cut the recording close in terms of the schedule, and after recording the voices were implemented before going straight into testing, so by the time Tabata realized Noctis's voice direction wasn't quite right, it was too late to make changes. Tabata said the team was aware he sounded strange and that his "charm" wasn't coming through and that he sounded too old. He said they had done more takes to make him sound younger, while also bringing out his sense of ennui. The transition was a long process of making sure Chase could act in a higher pitched voice, and he had to re-audition with the voice director and production company. After the voice was set and acting ability confirmed, all the voices recorded for Episode Duscae were re-recorded, including efforts and call-outs.

Chase prefers the younger-sounding Noctis in the final game who has more emotional range, although the Episode Duscae voice was re-used as the voice for the older Noctis. Chase struggled delivering lines that were meant to be said offhand, unable to help but "imbue them with drama." They had to do many retakes of such "empty" lines. However, later on the localization director said that it actually fits the character, because Noctis does have trouble just being a regular person.

Other appearances
Noctis has made appearances in the following Final Fantasy XV canon works:
 * Omen as the main character.
 * A King's Tale: Final Fantasy XV as a character.
 * Final Fantasy XV: A New Empire as a guide to the player and the player's default leader.

He has also appeared in the following games throughout the Final Fantasy series:
 * Dissidia Final Fantasy NT as a playable character.
 * Theatrhythm Final Fantasy All-Star Carnival as a playable character.
 * Final Fantasy Dimensions II as a summon and costume.
 * Final Fantasy Record Keeper as a playable character.
 * Final Fantasy Brave Exvius as a vision obtainable through summoning.
 * Triple Triad as a card in the Final Fantasy Portal App.

Non-Final Fantasy guest appearances
Noctis has made key guest appearances in the following non-Final Fantasy games:
 * Itadaki Street series as playable character.
 * Puzzle & Dragons as a playable character.
 * Terra Battle as a playable character.
 * The Alchemist Code as a playable character.
 * Lord of Vermilion IV as a card in a collaboration event for Final Fantasy XV.
 * Tekken 7 as a playable character DLC.

LINE
Noctis appears on a sticker set for the LINE communications app. The sticker set he appears in is titled "ファイナルファンタジーXV".

Merchandise
Like Lightning, Sephiroth and Cloud Strife, Noctis has an eau de toilette scent sold by Square Enix Japan, called Final Fantasy ~Noctis~ eau de toilette. It was announced on February 18th, 2013. and released on June 18th, 2013. The bottle is a clear glass bottle filled with pale yellow eau de toilette imprinted with a silver silhouette of Noctis's face. The scent is described to be citrus-oriented with layers. Top: Grapefruit, lemon, orange. Middle: Lavender, pine, rose, lily of the valley. Last: woody, musk.

During Tokyo Game Show in September 2015, Noctis's Play Arts action figure was displayed. A Play Arts Kai action figure of Noctis is included in the Ultimate Collector's Edition of the game. The Ring of the Lucii is also available as official merchandise, and his clothes, the default attire by Roen and the "Trendy Attire" alternate outfit.

Etymology and symbolism
Noctis Lucis Caelum is a Latin phrase that may mean either "Sky of the Night's Light" or "Sky of the Light's Night". Noctis and his father, King Regis, thus share a similar naming theme pertaining light and sky.

Tetsuya Nomura has commented on why he named Noctis as such, juxtaposing him to another one of his favorites, Sora from the Kingdom Hearts series:

Noctis is destined by some accounts to be the "King of Kings" of Eos, a title used in reference to and his. The True King is prophesied to save the world from darkness, which hearkens to the concept of from, the one chosen to lead the world and thereby save it. In the painting of the prophecy kept at the Citadel the True King is surrounded by a halo, a ring of light. In the context of the game this alludes to the sun, as the True King will herald the coming of a new dawn. In the real world halos have been used in the iconography of many religions to indicate holy or sacred figures, and have been used in images of rulers or heroes. The Last Campsite visited in Chapter 14 is also likely an allusion to the, which in the New Testament was Jesus's last formal gathering with his disciples as he foretold of his fate to his followers.

Trivia

 * Noctis is officially 20 years old. The Final Fantasy XV Ultimania lists his birth year as M.E. 736, however, for him to be 20 in the game it'd actually need to be 735. This mistake further distorts the events given in the Ultimania's character profiles for personal timelines, as a six-year-old Ignis could not have become a retainer to a three-year-old Noctis, as he is only one and a half years older.
 * Audi is said to have teamed up with the Royal Art Society of Lucis to create Audi R8 Star of Lucis car to celebrate the 20th birthday of Prince Noctis.
 * Noctis appears in Dissidia Final Fantasy as a set of two player icons to represent then-titled Final Fantasy Versus XIII, along with Lightning for Final Fantasy XIII and Ace for Final Fantasy Type-0, though these icons can only be obtained through passwords.
 * The promotional image of Noctis sitting on his throne for Final Fantasy Versus XIII mimics a pose of a promotional image of Sora from Kingdom Hearts that was later used on the cover of the Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX re-release.
 * A model of Noctis with his original attire used for the Final Fantasy Versus XIII reveal trailers is found dummied on the game disc.
 * Noctis has always disliked vegetables; in the first episode of Brotherhood Final Fantasy XV, he removes the vegetables from his burger and puts them on Ignis's tray. In Final Fantasy XV, he shows disgust in several sidequests where vegetables are involved.
 * Noctis drinks the Ebony coffee in Brotherhood, but in Final Fantasy XV, he doesn't like it. During car rides, Noctis will sometimes ask Ignis if Ebony is actually good. According to director Hajime Tabata, Noctis dislikes coffee, but forces himself to do it to look more mature."
 * Noctis is one two main protagonists to have had a good relationship with his father, the other being Bartz Klauser from Final Fantasy V.
 * A conversation during one of Ignis's tours (Stirried, not shaken) reveals Noctis once worked as a part-time cook. If the player comes across a restaurant called Standing Sushi in Insomnia in Chapter 14, they can mention they used to visit it, with Noctis pointing out he used to work there part time.
 * At the end of Navyth's quest line upon completing "The Devil of Cygilian", Noctis will refer himself as Noctis Gar when giving Navyth his name. In the post quest conversation, he expresses possibility of changing his legal name to it.
 * With his appearance in Tekken 7, Noctis is the second Final Fantasy character to cross into a third-party fighting game. Cloud Strife made the jump to Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U.