Tear Jerker / Final Fantasy XV

"I will be with you...always."

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

---

• From the "Dawn" trailer (which provides the page picture): Noctis's father Regis shedding tears, as he is aware that Noctis, being chosen by the gods, is destined for a life of pain and sorrow.
• The Stinger of Episode Duscae. To elaborate: Insomnia is in blazing ruin from the Niflheim invasion. Luna is shown stumbling alone through the chaos in a daze, her elegant white dress torn and ruined. What's more, Luna, Noctis, and King Regis are all reported dead. The players know that Noctis is alive and well, not even being near the city during the attack, and that Luna has survived the destruction as well. But what about Regis...?
  • His fate is tragically confirmed in Kingsglaive: he was killed by General Glauca while he was protecting Nyx and Luna.
• At the conclusion of the Platinum Demo, Carbuncle congratulates Noct for reaching his safe place in the dream world, and that once he enters it, he will wake up from his coma. What was the dream world's representation of Noct's safe place? The Regalia, his dad's car. As Carbuncle explains, the car is where Noctis gets to spend quality time with his dad. The car is also the same one Noctis and his buddies will use for their road trip during the events of XV. It's a heartwarming moment that turns into a tearjerker in retrospect.
• From the Omen trailer, Noct screaming in anguish after he stabs Luna to death with her own trident in a crazed state, and then snapping out of it to realize what he's done.

Main Game

• The intro has Noct saying goodbye to Regis, not knowing that this is the very last time he'll see his father alive.
• Noct's breakdown upon hearing of his father's death from Cor.
  "He entrusted it to me...? Then why didn't he tell me that?! WHY DID HE STAND THERE SMILING AS I LEFT?!"
• Cid talking to Noctis about the death of "Reggie". You can tell that Cid missed him and is very saddened about his death.
  • Even worse, as the party enters Altissia for the first time, Cid reveals that he and Regis had had a falling out before Regis ascended the throne. And though they eventually mended their friendship, that fight was the last time they ever saw each other.
• Basically, the entire "linear" part of the game (Chapters 9 through 14) are little more than a series of Tear Jerker moments with the occasional action-sequence. That's how sad the game suddenly gets after the party departs from Cape Caem!
• The death of Luna, who — after being stabbed by Ardyn — performs a Heroic Sacrifice to power up and heal Noctis so that he can stop Leviathan, rather than heal her own injuries and potentially save her own life. Then there is the vision where Luna talks to him one last time, promising that no matter what happens, she will always be with him.
  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)
  • You really have to give her voice actress credit. No matter what you think of Luna as a character, Amy Shiels does a fantastic job delivering Luna's parting words to Noctis in a tone that is both heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time.
  • Noctis' reaction when Ignis says that she has passed certainly doesn't help. In fact, some would say that the scene is even more of a tearjerker than the vision wherein which she bids him farewell. To elaborate: Luna is a rather controversial character among players due to her rather limited amount of screentime and minimal interactions with Noctis prior to Chapter 9. If there is one thing that nearly everyone can agree on however, it is that the game does a remarkable job of presenting Noctis as a relatable character, and — even if the player does not feel the same way — it is clear that he cares very much about Luna. As such, it is genuinely upsetting to see him so thoroughly devastated that his childhood friend and fiancee is gone. He barely even had a chance to speak to her after so many years of separation, and his sorrow at that really shows in his reaction to her death.
  • Again, you have to give credit to Ray Chase for conveying Noctis' devastation with little to no dialogue in the scene. He is so clearly heartbroken that you can even hear him struggling to breathe.
  • As we learned from Episode 2 of Brotherhood, Luna played a large role in Prompto befriending Noct, and because of that Prompto was eager to meet her. He never got to do so in the end. Even worse, later on the party learns that Pryna — the very same Pryna who Prompto looked after as a kid, and who led Luna to know of Prompto — died along with her.
  • If you chose the more warm-hearted messages to put inside Noctis and Luna's notebook, it'll come back to bite you in the ass in the form of this. 'Stained with tears', indeed...
  • "She really loved you, Prince Noctis..." Of course, who can forget before this, with the flashback of Luna and Ravus in a field of sylleblossoms. Ravus tries to talk Luna out of helping Noctis, but Luna is determined to carry out her duties—for the sake of the world and for Noctis.
    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 Single Tear)
  • It becomes Harsher in Hindsight when you realize that while Noctis and his friends were able to hear Luna's voice constantly (via the radio and during her speech in Altissia) throughout their adventures... Luna never hears Noctis' voice after 12 years of separation, not even once. She dies before ever hearing from him again, and it won't be until 10 years after her own death that she can hear him at long last...
  • 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.
    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...
    • This gets a Call-Forward in "Close Encounter of the Terra Kind", released later but set earlier in the game, that twists the knife further.
    Sarah: You really ought to be more honest about the way you feel, Noct. If you don't do it now, you might never get the chance.
  • When Noct usually summons his weapons (or switches weapons mid-combat), he performs a few flashy moves like a twirl or spin. When he summons Luna's Trident, he simply holds it up and stares sadly at it.
• Ignis going blind. He was one of the most reliable members of the party and his injury has left him near helpless. It's painful to watch as he stumbles in battle and questions if he's in the way when he really is.
  • Seeing the argument between Noctis and Gladio; the latter giving the former a helping of Brutal Honesty to move on really sets it off. It doesn't help when Gladio blames Noctis for being more concerned with mourning Luna than he is with the fact that Ignis got blinded in fighting for Noctis. It's entirely possible that he's right, depending on how you interpret Noctis' actions during this period.
    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: 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!
  • When you set camp during this period, the cutscene has Prompto and Noctis guiding Ignis to a chair, Gladio being too angry at Noctis to sit in front of him, and the choice between canned food or cheap cup noodles since the chef is blind. Even the usual photo reviewing is depressing.
    Prompto: Took more photos today. You... wanna see?
    Noctis: No, not really.
    Prompto: Yeah. Of course.
  • The entirety of the dungeon. After playing through more than half the game up to now hearing party members talk to each other and enjoy the sights, here no one is talking to anyone save for Gladio yelling at Noctis if you walk too far ahead of them. The sheer oppressive silence of the group really hits hard after getting used to their idle chatter.
  • The end where Ignis declares that unless Noctis orders him to stay put, he will follow and if he gets left behind for slowing them down, then that will be what happens. While it is the moment that reunites the group and proves once more how dedicated Ignis is to Noctis and his cause, it is a heartwrenching scene with how clearly guilty he feels for causing the rift in the group and putting the entire trip at risk with his disability.
• The stop at Tenebrae seems to exist solely to twist the knife deeper. Luna and Ravus' old castle is casually burning in the background and many of the civilians are unable to go home because of the destruction caused by Niflheim.
  • At the Tenebrae stop, one of the conversations you can overhear features a boy wondering where his family is going to live, now that their home has been destroyed. His mother comforts him by saying she'll find a new place... and then suggests that they go to visit grandma in Altissia. The same Altissia that was destroyed by Leviathan. Fridge Horror kicks in when you realise that 1). not only is it likely that these people haven't heard what happened, but 2). if the grandmother hasn't been in contact with them, then she might have been killed in the disaster.
• Prompto learning of his true nature as a Magitek warrior, and coming close to tears because he's afraid that he will be rejected by his friends.
• Noctis being forced to make a Sadistic Choice as he and his friends find themselves holding off a never-ending swarm of daemons. The door to the hanger is closing and the only way to reach it in time is for Ignis, Gladio, and Prompto to stay behind and hold the daemons off while Noctis makes a break for the crystal. Even though all of his friends are encouraging him to do it and it is the most practical way to get rid of the daemons, Ardyn's voice taunts Noctis for making the hard decision and needing to abandon his True Companions for the sake of the greater good.
• The state of the world after Noctis reemerges from the Crystal. In the ten years since Luna's death and his disappearance, darkness has covered the land, driving out all natural light. With no light, demons and other monsters freely roam the land, only kept at bay by artificial light and daemon hunters. There's only one city in the world that keeps the demons out, and it is teeming with refugees and other survivors.
  • Just as sad in its own way is Talcott revealing that Ignis, Gladio, and Prompto stopped socializing after Noctis vanished. Aside from demon hunting, it doesn't sound like they were even as close as they used to.
  • Finding Coctura and Dino's clothes in Galdin Quay if you look around their usual spots. The strong implication being that both of them have turned into daemons during the 10 years Noctis was gone. And given how relatively fresh the clothes were, it may have been not long before Noctis arrived.
    • Made worse by the story heavily implying that Dino and Coctura were or eventually became a couple, and that Dino, depending on how one reads certain lines of dialogue, may have even been considering proposing. This opens up all sorts of tragic and awful possibilities for how their respective subplots ended.
• The destruction of the Regalia, which takes a direct missile hit as Noctis and his friends plow through Ardyn's defenses for the final assault. As Noctis stares at the wreckage, he flashbacks to his childhood, and running to hug his father when he steps out of the car. What makes it worse is, as per the Platinum demo, the Regalia was the only place where Noctis got to spend time with his dad growing up.
• The fate of Ravus; revealed to have been attempting to covertly support his sister from within Niflheim and attempting to kill the Astrals just so his sister didn't have to die fulfilling the covenants. Misguided, all he wanted was to save his sister, and in the end, he was killed by an onslaught of Magitech judging by the soldiers around him. And then he Came Back Wrong, given a Fate Worse than Death by Ardyn just to further mess with Noctis. He never got any of his wishes.
  • Chapter 13.2 reveals how he died; he gets injured by daemons and walks up to Noctis, intending to give him Regis' sword, only for "Noctis" to slice off his arm and reveal he's actually Ardyn. To rub salt onto the wound, Ardyn then tosses his letters to Luna at his corpse before walking away.
    • Extra painful if combined with Episode Ignis which showed that Ravus was someone that could see through Ardyns disguises. He was presumably either too exhausted to notice or too relieved to finally fulfill his duty to see it the one time that it mattered most.
• 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. The song that plays during your last camp makes it all the sadder, while having Cup Noodles prepared for your last meal may bring a sad smile to your face as Noctis and his best friends enjoy their favorite food from happier times.
• 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. The expansion of Insomnia in the Royal and Windows editions made some of them notoriously hard to trigger, but the original and pocket editions still have them intact.

  Prompto: What a mess.
  Gladiolus: Ten years of neglect will do that to a city.
  Noctis: Good luck building it all back up.
  Prompto: Hey! Don't count yourself out so quick!
  Noctis: You know it's gonna be up to you guys.
  Ignis: ...but we'd rather not remember.

• The ending, with Noctis sacrificing himself to save the world.
  • As Noctis is attacked one after another by each of his predecessors in the Lucian line to combine their power and complete his Heroic Sacrifice to save the world, his father's spirit grimly stands by, refusing to watch what's happening to his son. Despite being on the brink of death, Noctis finally asks his father to trust in him — and Regis, to complete the ritual, impales Noctis clean through after an agonizing period of hesitation and build-up.
  • As if the cinematic isn't enough of a punch in the gut, there's the moment when the screen cuts to black and you start to hear the dialogue that plays at the very beginning of the game. The very same dialogue that plays just before the theme song starts to swell. If you haven't already shed a few tears at this point, you're almost guaranteed to as the beautiful piece that played at the start of your journey, returns when its reached its conclusion.
    • 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 Harsher in Hindsight!
  • The closing credits include a slideshow consisting of the photographs you'd saved over the course of the game, transformed by context into a memorial to the good times Noctis shared with his friends. One photograph in particular is imbued with special meaning, as you'd been prompted to choose a photograph for Noctis to take with him before the final confrontation with Ardyn.
  • Halfway through the credits is the biggest gut-punch yet — a flashback to Noctis' last night with his friends, when he forces himself to admit that he's going to die and nearly breaks down at the thought of it. It's surprisingly low-key, but that just makes it hurt all the more.
  • Then we get to see Umbra alone on the steps of the Citadel, before cutting to Noctis and Luna Together in Death on the sunlit Lucian throne, wearing their wedding outfits and looking fondly at the photograph Noctis had chosen to take with him before drifting off to sleep leaning against each other.
    • Fans have found out that if you give Luna a photo of her wedding dress or a picture of Noctis standing with her portrait in Altissia, Luna will silently cry during the scene. These are the only photos where Luna reacts differently to the picture Noctis gives her, and they speak volumes about what Luna could possibly be thinking about when she sees those pictures.
  • And then there's Regis's letter to Luna:
    "Dearest Luna, you did well to... to deliver the Ring to Noctis. Wayward though my son may indeed be... He has made me proud. May you two know happiness."
  • A shot of a group of empty Coleman chairs around a firepit during the sunrise should not bring out the tears. And yet it does.
• Ardyn's rise to villainy if you think about it. A loved healer who willingly absorbed daemons to save people, only to become ostracized and disowned by the royal family. His actions have now left him immortal and he has to watch as he's pretty much erased from history. It's not surprising he's held a grudge for so long. Even Luna believes he deserves peace.
  • During the final battle, Ardyn goes through a Villainous Breakdown when the fight shifts to its final phase. The once so proud and arrogant villain is reduced to weakly flailing his sword for Noctis while panting for breath, the same as Noctis is. And with his ego stripped away, he just rants at Noctis angrily. Seeing Ardyn laid so bare makes you see how pitiful he really is.
    Ardyn: You think ten years is a long time? It is nothing to me! I have lived in the darkness for ages!
    • Pocket Edition contains a much longer, more in-depth exchange between the two which was likely cut from the base game due to time constraints. Some of the restored lines only further emphasize Ardyn's breakdown—made all the more impactful by Darin De Paul's outstanding line-delivery:
      Ardyn: Curse you kings, and your iniquitous crystal! Vengeance was to at last be mine...If not for you! I HATE you!! With ALL my BEING!!!
  • 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. Equally, in-game episode Ardyn shows his slow descent to madness as he sees what happened to his legacy.
• Noctis accidentally knocking Prompto off the train while under Ardyn's spell. When he calls the others about it, Noctis is so distraught that his tone of voice sounds like he's Trying Not to Cry.
  • 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!?"
• An update on July 13, 2017, added an additional quest, O Partner, My Partner, which sends you on the hunt for an extremely tough daemon, Melusine. Upon successfully slaying it, it will suddenly say "Thank you..." and drop what appears to be a love letter. Upon taking it back to the quest giver, he'll confirm that it was from him to his partner who went missing. Then the guys will privately come to the conclusion that the Melusine was actually the quest giver's partner, with Noct noting the Melusine's dying words as well. Considering what everyone discovers about the daemons after the Time Skip, the fact that they're absolutely right hits that much harder.
  • While not as emotional due to the lack of context, the Naga in the early dungeon is also this. She asks for her baby and will attack in rage. A paper the party can find notes that a woman had entered the cave looking for her child, but they don't make the connection that even as a monster, she is still searching.
• If you've watched Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV finding Nyx Ulric's Kukris can be a bit of this, awesome, and heartwarming all in one. The fact that they're one of the best sets of daggers in the game doesn't hurt.
• The entire first half of Episode Prompto is one Tear Jerker after another.
  • The one minute teaser, that shows after finishing Episode Gladio.
  • The very first scene is Prompto, alone, in a snowfield, trying to walk through a blizzard before collapsing and then getting captured by Niflheim troops.
  • What comes after that is a flashback of young Prompto walking alone in Insomnia and passing by Noctis, Ignis, and Gladio.
    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.
  • Prompto finally meeting his biological father, Verstael, being told of his true origins and that he's a failure. Prompto shoots and kills him in retaliation. If that wasn't enough, Ardyn then taunts him in the PA.
    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!
  • The campfire scene where Prompto tries to cheer himself up despite being alone and having to go through what just happened.
    • Prompto trying to claw off the bar code on his wrist, and even attempting to burn it off. If the player chooses to go with it, it doesn't work and he mutters out "Branded for life...". If the player chooses not to, he tosses the burning stick away, asking himself what was he even thinking.
  • Prompto having to give an MT a Mercy Kill, imagining it as himself after realizing that he's a clone of Verstael. After killing it, he then sees an envision of his younger self cowering near it.
  • His theme, "Home Sweet Home", composed by Naoshi Mizuta; according to an interview, instead of being told to compose a track that's similar to other songs, he was told to make the track purely from scratch just from being told of Prompto's backstory.
  • The Stinger cutscene after finishing the episode has Noct and Prompto making amends for the mistake on the train, along with Noct saying that once this is all over, he'll try to unite the nations together. Of course, the game's ending makes this dream that much more tragic.
• During the Assassin's Festival, after completing the tutorial for assassinating Magitek troopers from hiding, we get this exchange:
  Prompto: They bring those troopers to life just to let 'em die... It's kinda sad, you know?
  Noctis: What's so sad about a bunch of robots getting their circuits fried?
  Prompto: "Robots"... Right.
  Noctis: What?
  Prompto: Nothing! Just saying you're right.
• 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 scorned by the very same humans he aided. Enraged, Ifrit swore to destroy everything, sparking the War of the Gods that resulted in his defeat and the entire Solheim civilization being wiped out. As if that weren't enough, he gets infected by the Starscourge by Ardyn and forced into a Covenant (read: enslaved) with him, reduced to 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 grant Ifrit release.
• Episode Ignis gives us Ravus mourning over Luna's body.
  Ravus: Part of me always hoped that I might see you happy one day. Your burdens lifted, free to live and love as you please.
  • For that matter, the entire fight with Ravus just moments earlier. Ravus goes berserk after seeing Luna's dead body lying next to an unconscious Noctis after the latter's fight against Leviathan in the main game, Ravus immediately blames Noctis for Luna's death forcing Ignis to protect the prince, all set to "A Tear-Stained Sword".
    • Some of the comments made by Ignis and Ravus during the fight make it worse.
    Ignis: Lady Lunafreya came to her King’s aid in his time of need. She was fulfilling her calling!
    Ravus: Don’t try to justify this! She didn’t need to die!
    Ignis: Kill him, and her sacrifice will have been for naught. Kill him, and you kill her hopes for the future!
    Ravus: What hope is there in a future that my sister will never see?
  • Worse, the fact that Ravus is aware that the Oracle isn't truly freed in death until the Starscourge is defeated. He begs Luna not to go while Luna's spirit give him one last smile before she disappears.
  • Episode Ignis really hits hard playing with fans' feelings. A bonus chapter unlocked after completing the main story shows an alternate future in which Ignis plays along with Ardyn's plan rather than fighting immediately. This butterfly effect results in a happier ending in which Ravus survives and comes to accept Noctis as the true king, joining forces with him, Noctis is able to defeat Ardyn and end the Starscourge without having to forsake his own life, and Ignis ends up regaining his sight. It will always be something nice to think about, and Square Enix has definitely created some powerful Fanfic Fuel.
  • The True Ending has a scene following the main game's last campfire scene, Ignis and Noctis are talking, and in the reflection of Ignis's glasses, Noctis is reflected as his younger self — because Ignis never got to see him grow older.
  • The Bad Ending also hits you right in the gut. If you choose the "Give Up" option or lose to Ardyn during the Extra Verse, Ignis lies helpless on the ground, struggling to stay conscious while Ardyn reveals his plans and then walks off, laughing evilly.
    Ignis: I don't want to die without him... *scene fades to Game Over screen*
• The Royal Edition adds a scene where Noctis receives a call from Iris, who says she has something she wants to talk to him about, but decides to put it off until she sees him again in person.
• Luna comes to help Noctis from beyond. Her and Noctis attempt to touch each other's hands but she disappears.

Brotherhood: Final Fantasy XV

• Knowing Regis's eventual fate makes this line from Episode 1 doubly heartbreaking in hindsight:
  Noct: I have to stay alive. There's so much I want to tell Dad.
• From Episode 2: Kid Prompto trips and falls trying to talk to Kid Noct. His first thought at Noct holding out his hand? That Noct wanted his camera.
• In Episode 4, Ignis shows concern about Regis' growing age from his Barrier Maiden status, and when Noctis sees his father on TV, Prompto's question of whether Regis had always had a cane is accentuated by a look of shock on Noctis' face.
  • The rest of the flashback part of the episode has Noctis in a funk due to this, realizing his father's going to likely die eventually due to his status. No one else really knows how to react to his depression over the matter. It's not helped by the fact that it's obvious towards the end that Noctis had been shirking responsibility and preparing for his inevitable King duties because it meant acknowledging his father would inevitably die.
• Episode 5 has two: The first one flashes back to the Marilith killing Noct's caretaker and critically injuring him. The second one comes right after the party defeats the Marilith that Niflheim sent after them. We flash back to Regis promising Noct that he will not let anyone harm him, and flashing back, we see Noct break down in tears knowing that his dad is now dead. Absolutely heartwrenching to watch.

Episode Ardyn

• This lyric from "Conditioned to Hate" paints a rather tragic and disturbing picture of Ardyn's mindset after his brother's betrayal.
  "Trust no one fully
  The closest ones could be
  The ones who break your neck in your sleep
  That's how they do it!"
• The anime prologue for Episode Ardyn delves into the title character's backstory and holy shit is it a doozy: 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 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 using his powers to infect a Glaive with the Starscourge and gaining the man's memories. Ardyn gasps in ragged horror once he realizes what has happened.
  Ardyn: I didn't cure him of the Scourge...I bestowed it upon him...
• The vision Ardyn has, after 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.
  • Ardyn's Rage Against the Heavens, made worse by the music and Aera's crying:
    "Gods! Answer me! Why have you burdened us with this fate?!"
  • This exchange, infused with so much heartbreak:
    Aera: Ardyn, please...you must live....
    Ardyn: (near tears) I can't. Not without you...
  • A QTE appears when Somnus tries to force Ardyn to stab Aera. Should the player fail, Somnus mocks Ardyn for failing to save someone again, and 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.
• Throughout the DLC, you can buy hats from shops that unlock whenever you destroy shield emitters. The very last hat you can unlock is a crown. A chance for Ardyn to pretend to be someone he could never be...?
• The aftermath of the boss fight with Somnus. Special mention goes to this dialogue right before Somnus' defeated soul vanishes into the ether.
  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?!
• The end of the DLC, where 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: 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, there's nothing you can do to change it. You can have Ardyn "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.
  • 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: 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?! ANSWER MEEEEEEEE!!!
  • 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 and kill the King of Light — all to spite the gods. 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.
  • Throughout the end credits, the scenes of Ardyn making the long journey to Insomnia alone can tug at the heartstrings.

The Dawn of the Future

• The reveal that everything that occurred throughout the main game 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 demanded it. Ardyn alone was never deemed deserving of their attention or mercy.

Other Material

• "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
• In NieR: Automata you can obtain Noctis's Engine Blade as a weapon, and like all weapons in the Nier series it comes with a series of unlockable stories, if you didn't think Noctis and Regis's relationship was depressing enough.

---