History TearJerker / FinalFantasyXV

*** Restarting the game after completing it and knowing how it ends beforehand is enough to make some players shed a few tears during that scene. Having "Stand By Me" playing as background music just makes it even HarsherInHindsight!

** When he sees Ardyn at the end of chapter 12, his first line is a heartbroken "Stop. Stop, dammit! Where is he? Where's Prompto!?"

'''Ardyn:''' ''What?!'' You took everything from me - ''EVERYTHING'' - and you ask my understanding?!

* Pretty much all of the ambient dialogue one can hear during the trek through the ruins of Insomnia is heartbreaking. Be it lamenting how they don't get more time together, wistful talks about the city in its glory days or even commending Noctis for finally eating all his greens, both the lines and delivery are guaranteed to hit even a rather jaded player. Royal and Windows edition expanded Insomnia made some of them notoriously hard to trigger, but original ending and pocket edition still have them intact.

'''Ignis:''' ...but we'd rather 'not' remember.

* And then comes the release of ''Dawn of the Future'', a tie-in novel that took the place of the planned [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DownloadableContent DLCs]] for Luna, Aranea and Noctis. And it turns out that ''everything'' was orchestrated by Bahamut in a bid to destroy humanity and make the planet 'pure' again. Ardyn's descent into insane villainy, the sacrifices made by the Caelum and Fleuret dynasties, everything the protagonists go through...it was all part of the grand machinations of an uncaring deity who didn't care as long as he achieved his goals. ''None'' of that suffering was necessary. Even worse, the novel shows that the other gods can be asked to help stop this...but they didn't care until two legendary kings and an oracle demand it. Ardyn alone was never deemed deserving of their attention or mercy.

* Too Much Is Never Enough, the exclusive song from choosing the credits from the title screen. The lyrics strongly imply that it's Noctis trying to come to terms with dying, begging the gods for just a bit more time.
--> Oh, who decides from where up high?
--> I couldn't say I need more time
--> Oh, grant that I can stay the night
--> Or one more day inside this life

* And then comes the release of ''Dawn of the Future'', a tie-in novel that took the place of the planned [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DownloadableContent DLCs]] for Luna, Aranea and Noctis. And it turns out that ''everything'' was orchestrated by Bahamut in a bid to destroy humanity and make the planet 'pure' again. Ardyn's descent into insane villainy, the sacrifices made by the Caelum and Fleuret dynasties, everything the protagonists go through...it was all part of the grand machinations of an uncaring deity who didn't care as long as he achieved his goals. ''None'' of that suffering was necessary.

** ''Episode Ardyn: Prologue'' is a brief anime episode that details the circumstances of how Ardyn fell to the Starscourge and became the creature he is in the game. It's somehow even ''worse'' than what the game insinuates.

* The lead-up to the finale: After being trapped in the Crystal for ten years, Noctis returns to a world of ruin, with no daylight and daemons roaming free. He finally reunites with Prompto, Ignis, and Gladio, who had begun to drift apart in your absence and are elated to see you alive and well. After making ready to travel to Insomnia, you and your brothers-in-arms set up camp one last time, enjoying a warm meal and talking it up like all was right in the world. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMwLvZ6xfX0 The song that players]] during your last camp makes it all the sadder, while having Cup Noodles prepared for your last meal may bring [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments a sad smile to your face]] as Noctis and his best friends enjoy their favorite food from happier times.

** When Noct usually summons his weapons (or switches weapons mid-combat), he usually performs a few flashy moves like a twirl or spin. [[spoiler:When he summons Luna's Trident, he simply holds it up and stares sadly at it.]]

-->'''Noctis:''' There was so much you wanted to say. So much I wanted to say... And now I'll never have the chance. I'm so sorry...

* Shortly after Noctis makes the covenant with Shiva and is left alone, we see flashbacks of his happy childhood with Luna, up until her death. Noctis breaks down in tears, lamenting that he couldn't be there for her when she needed him the most.

* And then comes the release of ''Dawn of the Future'', a tie-in novel that took the place of the planned DLCs for Luna, Aranea and Noctis. And it turns out that ''everything'' was orchestrated by Bahamut in a bid to destroy humanity and make the planet 'pure' again. Ardyn's descent into insane villainy, the sacrifices made by the Caelum and Fleuret dynasties, everything the protagonists go through...it was all part of the grand machinations of an uncaring deity who didn't care as long as he achieved his goals. ''None'' of that suffering was necessary.

As a Moments subpage, all spoilers are unmarked. Proceed with caution.

** The very last scene that follows your chosen ending. We get to witness the moment where Ardyn becomes the villain we see in the main game. The scene shifts to the tree seen in the flashbacks, with visions of Aera and Somnus standing beneath it. Ardyn approaches them...and stabs them to death while declaring he will plunge Eos into eternal darkness. As shadows begin to envelop the scene, Ardyn begins to laugh. A laugh that, while very much evil and insane, also carries a tinge of despair and sadness, showing just how ''broken'' the former healer has become.

* Ifrit's expanded backstory, as explained by Shiva. He was once a kind Astral who -- out of admiration for humanity's strong will -- granted them the gift of fire (even winning over Shiva, who initially disliked humans), only to be [[UngratefulBastard scorned by]] [[HumansAreBastards the very same humans he aided]]. Enraged, Ifrit swore to destroy everything, sparking the War of the Gods that resulted in his death and the entire Solheim civilization being wiped out. As if that weren't enough, his body gets infected by the Starscourge and brought back by Ardyn as the mindless beast Noctis and Co. encounter in Chapter 14. And when Shiva tried to save him, she got killed by Niflheim's forces for her troubles. By the end of her story, Shiva asks Noct to [[MercyKill grant Ifrit release.]]

** In a meta sense, the fact that this is the final bit of the game as a whole. Not the world saved from the Daemons like in the main game, no derailing of fate, be it on the small scale of Episode Ignis' alternate ending, or the grand scale that the [=DLCs=] that were scrapped were supposed to deal with, but simply the fact that Ardyn, the game's main villain, is utterly powerless to stop a fate ordained upon him by the Gods, no matter his attempts.

** A button-mash prompt appears when Somnus tries to force Ardyn to stab Aera. Should the player fail, Somnus taunts Ardyn that a monster like him can only destroy; if the player is successful, Ardyn manages to break free...only for Somnus to summon his weapons and ''impale Aera with them'', to Ardyn's horror.

** In a meta sense, the fact that this is the final bit of the game as a whole. Not the world saved from the Daemons like in the main game, no derailing of fate, be it on the small scale of Episode Ignis' alternate ending, or the grand scale that the DLCs that were scrapped were supposed to deal with, but simply the fact that Ardyn, the game's main villain, is utterly powerless to stop a fate ordained upon him by the Gods, no matter his attempts.

-->'''Prompto:''': They bring those troopers to life just to let 'em die... It's kinda sad, you know?\\

'''Prompto:''': [[IResembleThatRemark "Robots"... Right.]]\\

-->'''Luna''': Do you remember the flowers of Tenebrae? It seemed so long ago. You'll find that they await you still, blooming from hill to vale.
-->'''Noctis:''' Will you be there?
-->(''Luna pauses, before slowly shaking her head'')
-->'''Luna:''' Would that I could join you. But this moment...will have to be enough.
-->'''Noctis:''' It's not right. All I... All I wanted...was to save you.
-->'''Luna:''' When the world falls down around you, and hope is lost...when you find yourself alone, amid a lightless place, look to the distance. Know that I am there, and that I watch over you always. Farewell, dear Noctis.
-->(''Noctis, crying, is heard saying a choked up "I can't... I can't..." while he struggles in vain to reach her as she fades away'')

-->'''Luna:''' If only...If only I could hear his voice once more. (''begins to cry'') If we could laugh together as we did as children... If we could...live out our days together as we once dreamed...
-->'''Gentiana:''' Wherefore does the lady weep?
-->'''Luna:''' Forgive me. I vowed to only cry where prying eyes cannot see the tears in mine.
-->'''Gentiana:''' Yet others need not hide their grief. Is she so different from them?
-->'''Luna:''' No. She is no different at all. She wants exactly what they do: to be with the one she loves. But want though she may, it is not to be.
-->'''Gentiana:''' The lady's thoughts have been heard. The love she bears the king shall never fade -- and, in time, her feelings shall be known unto him.
-->'''Luna:''' Gentiana...
-->'''Gentiana:''' And if the words are not spoken from her lips, then the Messengers shall see that they are heard. The gods' favor and the lady's love shall be with him evermore. (''opens her eyes'') Thus it is promised between the Oracle and her familiar.
-->'''Luna:''' I am undeserving of your kindness... Thank you.
-->(''Gentiana sheds a SingleTear'')

-->'''Gladiolus:''' The hell is wrong with you?
-->'''Noctis:''' What?
-->'''Gladiolus:''' We're not stopping in Tenebrae. You need to grow up and get over it.
-->'''Noctis:''' I am over it, I’m here, aren’t I!?
-->'''Gladiolus:''' (''grabs Noctis' collar'') Maybe when you’re not too busy moping, you can look around and give a shit about someone worse off than you.
-->'''Noctis:''' Let go of me.
-->'''Gladiolus:''' How’s that ring fit ya? You’d rather carry it around than wear it? She gave her life so you could do your duty, not so you could sit around feeling sorry for yourself.
-->'''Noctis:''' You don’t think I know that?!
-->'''Gladiolus:''' You don’t! Ignis took one for you too, and for what?!
-->'''Ignis:''' Enough, Gladio!
-->'''Gladiolus:''' You think you’re a king, but you’re a coward.
-->'''Noctis:''' [[BigShutUp SHUT UP]]!
-->'''Prompto:''' Don’t do this--! (''gets pushed aside'')
-->'''Noctis:''' (shoves Gladio away) I GET IT, ALRIGHT?! I GET IT!
-->'''Gladiolus:''' Then get a grip! Pull your head outta your ass already!

-->'''Prompto:''' Took more photos today. You... wanna see?
-->'''Noctis:''' No, not really.
-->'''Prompto:''' Yeah. Of course.

-->"Dearest Luna, you did well to... to deliver the Ring to Noctis. Wayward though my son may indeed be... [[SoProudOfYou He has made me proud]]. May you two know happiness."

-->'''Ardyn''': You think ten years is a long time? It is ''nothing'' to me! I have lived in the darkness for ''ages''!

-->'''Young!Prompto''': My whole life, all I ever wanted was friends... but no one ever wanted me back. So when I finally found people who ''did'' want me, I did everything I could to make them stay. And ever since then I've lived my life in fear: that, one day, they'd find out who I really was, and they wouldn't want me anymore.

-->'''Ardyn:''' Look what you've done! You've gone homicidal--no, patricidal!
-->'''Prompto:''' No...
-->'''Ardyn:''' You lose your friends and murder your family. Now you've no one left!
-->'''Prompto:''' Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up!

--->'''Prompto:''': They bring those troopers to life just to let 'em die... It's kinda sad, you know?
--->'''Noctis:''' [[InnocentlyInsensitive What's so sad about a bunch of robots getting their circuits fried?]]
--->'''Prompto:''': [[IResembleThatRemark "Robots"... Right.]]
--->'''Noctis:''' What?
--->'''Prompto:''' Nothing! Just saying you're right.

-->'''Ignis:''' ''I don't want to die without him...'' *[[NonStandardGameOver scene fades to Game Over screen]]*

-->"Gods! Answer me! Why have you burdened us with this fate?!"

-->'''Aera:''' Ardyn, please...you must live....
-->'''Ardyn:''' ''(near tears)'' I can't. Not without you...

-->'''Somnus:''' I dare not ask for your forgiveness, but I do ask your understanding.
-->'''Ardyn:''' ''What?!'' You took everything from me - ''EVERYTHING'' - and you ask my understanding?!

-->'''Ardyn:''' Did you two know about this?! That I was meant to serve as some ''SACRIFICE?!'' Did you keep this from me, Aera?! What about you, "dear brother"?! DID YOU KNOW?! '''[[SkywardScream ANSWER MEEEEEEEE!!!]]'''

* The anime prologue for Episode Ardyn delves into the title character's backstory and holy shit is it a doozy: [[spoiler: He was once the elder heir to House Caelum, an idealistic and pure healer (in contrast to his ruthless and ambitious younger brother Somnus) who willingly took the Starscourge into his body to heal the people, as well as the fiance and lover of Aera, the then-Oracle. On what was supposed to be the day of his ascension/coronation, Somnus launched a coup against Ardyn and in the ensuing sword fight, Aera [[InTheBack sacrificed herself to save Ardyn from a fatal blow.]] The murder of the woman he loved, coupled with the number of daemons already infecting him, pushed Ardyn over the edge and the Starscourge took him over. Carrying Aera's limp body and struggling to reach the Crystal (while Somnus and Gilgamesh kept stabbing him over and over again), Ardyn silently begged the Crystal for help...only for the Crystal (and the Astrals) to violently reject him. Somnus then struck his name from history and had him imprisoned deep inside the Angelgard prison, bound by chains. That was where Ardyn remained for ''two thousand years'' before the Niflheim Empire found him some years prior to the events of the game. It's little wonder that Ardyn harbors such hatred for the Caelum dynasty and the Astrals.]]
* The tutorial fight that ends with Ardyn [[spoiler: using his powers to infect a Glaive with the Starscourge and gaining the man's memories.]] Ardyn gasps in ragged horror [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone once he realizes what has happened.]]

* The vision Ardyn has, after [[spoiler: infecting the awakened Ifrit with his daemonic energy: he finds a mortally wounded Aera, who tearfully confesses that it was she who revealed the Astrals' choice to Somnus, blaming herself for ruining Ardyn's future. Ardyn assures her that he never once blamed her, only for her body to be infected by the Starscourge; as Ardyn tries in vain to heal her, she pleads for him to fulfill his calling and kill her]].

-->'''[[spoiler: Aera]]:''' Ardyn, please...you must live....

** A button-mash prompt appears when [[spoiler:Somnus tries to force Ardyn to stab Aera. Should the player fail, Somnus taunts Ardyn that a monster like him can only destroy; if the player is successful, Ardyn manages to break free...only for Somnus to summon his weapons and ''impale Aera with them'', to Ardyn's horror]].

* The aftermath of the boss fight with [[spoiler: Somnus. Special mention goes to this dialogue right before Somnus' defeated soul vanishes into the ether.]]
-->'''[[spoiler: Somnus]]:''' I dare not ask for your forgiveness, but I do ask your understanding.

* The end of the DLC, where [[spoiler: Bahamut stops Ardyn from murdering Regis and tells him the truth: that the True King (Noctis) will arise to lead the world into the light, and that Ardyn's ''real'' destiny is to be the 'limitless shadow' that must be slain by Noctis for this to happen. In other words, being the Chosen King had ''never'' been Ardyn's calling to begin with, and he was always meant to be The Immortal Accursed.]] You can ''hear'' the broken resignation and fury in Ardyn's voice when he hears this.
-->'''Ardyn:''' [[spoiler: So you say that I am not the savior of man, but his ''sacrificial lamb.'' And that I live, only to die by the hand of the heir to an ill-gotten throne. ''That'' is the fate the gods have chosen to bestow upon me?!]]
** And just to twist the knife in further, [[spoiler: there's ''nothing'' you can do to change it. You can have Ardyn [[ScrewDestiny "Resist Fate"]] and tell Bahamut to shove it, but all that does is give an extra scene where an apparition of Aera (implied to be created by Bahamut) stabs Ardyn with the Trident of the Oracle and coldly tells him that his fate is preordained. Like Noctis, Ardyn is chained by a destiny he cannot escape from, no matter how much he fights against it.]]
** [[spoiler: The "Submit to Fate" ending is equally, if not more, heartrending. Ardyn brokenly tells Bahamut that he will do as the gods decreed, just because it will end up being the only thing that will satisfy him. He'll end up getting his revenge, and be free of the whims of fate by finally being able to die. When Bahamut leaves, he breaks down in despair and cries for Aera and Somnus to tell him if they knew all along, but is only met with silence, leaving him bitter and alone.]]
-->'''Ardyn:''' [[spoiler: Did you two know about this?! That I was meant to serve as some ''SACRIFICE?!'' Did you keep this from me, Aera?! What about you, "dear brother"?! DID YOU KNOW?! '''[[SkywardScream ANSWER MEEEEEEEE!!!]]''']]
** [[spoiler: The very last scene that follows your chosen ending. We get to witness the moment where Ardyn becomes the villain we see in the main game. The scene shifts to the tree seen in the flashbacks, with visions of Aera and Somnus standing beneath it. Ardyn approaches them...and stabs them to death while declaring he will plunge Eos into eternal darkness. As shadows begin to envelop the scene, Ardyn begins to laugh. A laugh that, while very much evil and insane, also carries a tinge of despair and sadness, showing just how ''broken'' the former healer has become.]]

* The end of the DLC, where [[spoiler: Bahamut stops Ardyn from murdering Regis and tells him the truth: that the True King (Noctis) will arise to lead the world into the light, and that Ardyn's ''real'' destiny is to be given a true death by Noctis for this to happen. In other words, being the Chosen King had ''never'' been Ardyn's calling to begin with.]] You can ''hear'' the broken resignation and fury in Ardyn's voice when he hears this.