The men of Final Fantasy XV revealed

We're glad to see that Square Enix's tradition of ridiculous-sounding names continues with Final Fantasy XV.

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Final Fantasy XV is pretty much a sausage party. Square Enix has provided the official synopsis and cast description of its next-gen RPG, and proves that in spite of its real-time action gameplay, it's still very much a Final Fantasy game at heart. Is the story about crystals? You bet! And with names like Gladiolus and Prompto making up the roster, we're glad to see that Square Enix's tradition of ridiculous-sounding names continues with its next game. Synopsis: The only crystal left to the world lies in the Kingdom of Lucis. Upon striking a peace with the garrison state of Niflheim, Lucis rejoices in having at last brought the cold war to a close. Their celebrations, however, are premature. Under the guise of amity, Niflheim dispels the anti-armament runewall and launches a full-scale invasion of the kingdom. The peaceful lives Crown Prince Noctis and his entourage once knew are consumed by the flames of war as they struggle to mount a resistance.

Click to see in high-resolution

Cast:
  • Noctis Lucis Caelum (center) A childhood affliction endowed Noctis, heir apparent to the throne of Lucis, with the mystical power to see a heavenly light, through which he could sense others' deaths. Noctis rejects rigid royal conventions and acts as somewhat of a renegade, much to the dismay of those who tend to him. Yet while "Noct" may act brash at times, he does so in defense of those loyal to him.
  • Gladiolus Amicitia (left of center) As lord of the noble House Amicitia, Gladiolus continues a line sworn to protect the crown. "Gladio" shares a friendship with Noctis that transcends birth and title, and his loyalty to his liege is born not of duty, but of brotherhood.
  • Ignis Scientia (right of center) Ever the unwavering voice of reason, Ignis was weaned on shrewd logic and a classical education from boyhood so that he might one day counsel the would-be king, Noctis. He applies the deep mutual understanding and trust they have built over time to help smooth over Noctis's brusqueness with others.
  • Prompto Argentum (far left) The puckish playboy Prompto befriended Noctis in his school days. He wears a chip on his shoulder as an outsider to the royal circle, but remains eager to do all he can for the cause.
  • Cor Leonis (far right) A living legend of Lucian lore, Lord Commander Cor Leonis's devotion to the art of war is surpassed only by that to his king. Little love is lost between the ill-starred stalwart and Noctis's retinue, yet honor binds him to keep watch over the group all the same.
With five well-dressed men making up the cast, we can only assume that Final Fantasy XV-2 will be about them forming a boy band. We can't wait.

Andrew Yoon was previously a games journalist creating content at Shacknews.

From The Chatty
  • reply
    June 24, 2013 11:30 AM

    Andrew Yoon posted a new article, The men of Final Fantasy XV revealed.

    We're glad to see that Square Enix's tradition of ridiculous-sounding names continues with Final Fantasy XV.

    • reply
      June 24, 2013 11:40 AM

      [deleted]

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        June 24, 2013 11:42 AM

        Vaan from final fantasy 12 was the absolute worst.

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          June 24, 2013 12:00 PM

          [deleted]

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            June 24, 2013 2:53 PM

            I am replaying this at the moment. Those two aren't so bad in the early game, but they feel really out of place in the midst of otherwise mature themes and conflicts. It kind of feels like Squenix had a story they wanted to tell but tacked on a couple extra characters to sell the game to kids or something.

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              June 24, 2013 3:11 PM

              I love XII but yes in the later game Vaan and Penelo seemed out of place as the game delves deeper and deeper and Ashe becomes the central protagonist. I wish their roles would have been bigger, more meaningful, and had more character development for them. I guess they saved some of it for Revenant Wings?

              At times it feels Ashe was a prototype for Lightning but was a far better character than Lightning especially since she is more of a lame female Cloud.

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          June 24, 2013 1:09 PM

          I couldn't finish FF12 because of them. Same with FFX's Tidus and all of FF13's cast. I think I just need to start playing those games with japanese voices and english subtitles.

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          June 24, 2013 2:39 PM

          Hope from ff13 has everyone beat

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        June 24, 2013 12:19 PM

        remains to be seen, tidus wasn't that badly drawn, his voice was horrendous though.

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          June 24, 2013 1:12 PM

          I really, really wish there was an option to turn off all voice acting and just read the txt like we used to

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      June 24, 2013 1:25 PM

      I'm sad there's so few women in FFXV. In fact, that was the first thing I noticed after the E3 video. Final Fantasy has at least lately been pretty well balanced wrt gender, with FFX-2 the obvious exception. It's also alway had non-stereotype women, e.g. Fang, Lulu, Freya, Celes, Faris.

      Let's hope this is a temporary lapse, just like FFX-2.

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        June 24, 2013 4:47 PM

        adventures don't wait until they meet quotas to start. shit happens and things go boom

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      June 24, 2013 2:31 PM

      What men? I don't see any men in that picture.

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      June 24, 2013 2:50 PM

      My interest in this game has waned severely. Where my girls at?

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      June 24, 2013 5:00 PM

      Great more short pants!

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      June 24, 2013 7:56 PM

      I'm going to bet there are female characters. This may just be the early cast.

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        June 24, 2013 9:34 PM

        Those are the female characters :/.

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        June 25, 2013 12:28 PM

        There were two in the E3 trailer. And 10 men.

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      June 24, 2013 9:21 PM

      Can't wait for this.

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