Origin and Design of Noctis Lucis Caelum

 Origin and Design of Noctis Lucis Caelum

The origin of Noctis Lucis Caelum’s design is rooted in the early development phase of the Fabula Nova Crystallis project, at a time when Tetsuya Nomura was still working on Kingdom Hearts II.

According to various development interviews and project retrospectives, Nomura reportedly conceived an early idea for a male protagonist as early as the mid-2000s, with a more modern and realistic tone compared to the usual standards of the Final Fantasy series. This initial conceptual sketch is said to have predated his full reading of the Final Fantasy XIII planning document and was more closely aligned with his personal vision of a “contemporary” protagonist rather than a clearly defined project direction at that stage.

Within this context, Nomura originally envisioned Noctis as the protagonist of what he believed to be Final Fantasy XIII around 2004, even before fully understanding the project’s structure and constraints. This early idea would later be reinterpreted and repositioned during the development of what eventually became Final Fantasy Versus XIII.

The Birth of Versus XIII and Its Place in Fabula Nova Crystallis

When the project was officially structured within Fabula Nova Crystallis, Nomura decided to reuse this protagonist concept as the foundation for a new vision. It was no longer simply a spin-off of Final Fantasy XIII, but a parallel interpretation of the shared mythos.

The title “Versus XIII” reflects this intention: to present an opposing “side” of the Fabula Nova Crystallis mythology. Where Final Fantasy XIII adopts a more futuristic, bright, and mythological aesthetic, Versus XIII was designed as a darker, more urban, and contemporary interpretation of the same narrative framework.

This positioning also explains why the project was quickly perceived internally as atypical, with a strong enough identity that, as early as 2007–2008, discussions emerged about its possible evolution into a full mainline entry. This gradual shift in direction over the years eventually led to its official transformation into Final Fantasy XV.

The Character’s Importance to Nomura

Noctis holds a particularly significant place in Nomura’s body of work. In later interviews, he described the character as extremely personal, even referring to him as his “last son.”

This expression, reportedly used during a 2013 interview with Finaland and FFDream at Japan Expo, highlights the strong creative bond between the director and the character, comparable to Sora in Kingdom Hearts. 

Art Direction and Costume Evolution

The early appearances of Noctis and the other characters in Versus XIII trailers do not represent their final costumes. These initial designs were primarily conceptual working versions intended to establish the project’s visual identity.

From 2008 onward, Nomura collaborated with the Japanese fashion brand Roen and its creative director Hiromu Takahara to develop the final costumes of the main characters. The Roen-designed outfit was first presented at Jump Festa 2010, held on December 19–20, 2009, marking one of the earliest public showcases of Noctis’s more finalized visual direction.

The goal of this collaboration was to ground the game’s aesthetic in a form of wearable realism inspired by contemporary Japanese fashion, while maintaining the dark and stylized identity of Versus XIII.

The final outfits of Noctis and his party are therefore not purely independent Roen creations, but refined and professional adaptations of Nomura’s original concepts, translated into a more concrete and production-ready design language suitable for a AAA title.

This distinction between early designs and final versions was explicitly addressed by Nomura during the Dissidia Final Fantasy NT livestream showcasing Noctis’s prototype costume on October 23, 2019. Referring to the early Versus XIII trailer outfit, he stated:

“This costume was always prototype. The one he is wearing in XV is the real one. I was involved with it until that.”

This statement confirms that the costumes seen in early promotional materials were essentially temporary working versions, while the final designs in Final Fantasy XV represented the definitive artistic direction approved by Nomura and developed in collaboration with Roen.