Final Fantasy XV / Fridge

As a Fridge subpage, all spoilers are unmarked as per policy. You Have Been Warned.

Fridge Brilliance

Like most Role-Playing Games, you can carry around dozens of weapons, thousands of items, and several changes of clothes. What makes this game different is that it's explained by the in game mechanic of Noct's Hyperspace Arsenal.
- This also explains how no matter how far away you are from the Regalia, you can always make camp, complete with tent, chairs, lanterns, and portable cookware.
- Presumably, this is also how all of your various animal ingredients stay fresh.
- The arsenal dimension clearly has its limits though, otherwise they could just carry the Regalia around in there too. Then again, that would defeat the whole purpose; why bring a car if you're not going to drive it?
After The Reveal that Oracular powers originate from their trident, the promo art in which Gentiana holds Luna's trident for her gains a lot more significance; one, showing how much Luna must trust Gentiana, and two, hinting at Gentiana's true nature (as it was also an Astral — Bahamut — who gave the trident to mankind.).
As it turns out, the game's theme song "Stand By Me" isn't just about how Noctis and his buddies. It literally sums up what happened to Eos in the last 10 years during the final parts of the game.
When the night has come, and the land is dark
And the moon, is the only light we'll see
On a smaller scale, a few of Prompto's favorite dishes are spicy-themed dishes. Prompto's fondness for spicy food may not just be personal taste, but also because spicy foods have the bonuses of slightly boosting your metabolism, especially with burning fat, as well as feeling like your hunger's been sated. Prompto himself was Formerly Fat, so he likely came across this discovery during his weight loss regime and came to love this more than forcing down salads.
When entering the Vesperpool story dungeon, the party comments on what happened to the previous inhabitants. It is also filled with crumbling bridges and undead enemies (skeletons). Based on the undead humanoid shapes, it can be assumed they are the previous ruin long dead inhabitants. At one point, a bridge collapsed and then time reverses and the bridge returns to normal. Some kind of time magic keeps the ruins in a constant state of decay and subsequent renewal, though not enough to reverse whatever ruined it in the first place. The fridge kicked in is the undead are also decayed, much like the ruins, but the time magic renews them and brings them back, though still as undead monsters.
The amount of time Noctis spends inside the crystal is 10 years — the same amount of time FFXV spent in Development Hell.
Some fans have wondered where the (in)famously overpowered Knights of the Round were in XV, but if you look between the lines, it turns out the number of Royal Arms from the previous Kings of Lucis equals thirteen — the same number as the summon's known for, meaning it's more like the Kings of the Round this time. While they technically appear as spirits in Kingsglaive and the end of the game proper for a legitimate equivalent, Noctis is effectively building up a portable equivalent that turns himself into all thirteen knights in one, especially if Armiger is used. The thirteenth and final weapon of the Royal Arms is even the Sword of the Father, Regis' ornate blade as a stand-in for Arthur and his Excalibur.
Before the game's release, fans wondered why Luna was capable of enough magic to knock back a god like Leviathan but showed none of those abilities in Kingsglaive. With The Reveal that Luna's powers are reliant on her trident, it's no wonder she wasn't throwing spells; Luna was brought to Lucis by her brother, who would've known better than to let her bring something like that along.
One of the most important things about Final Fantasy is how it created many of the standard job class archetypes other Role Playing Games use, like Tanks, DPS, Healers/Supports and AOE DPS/ Spellcasters. The main party is composed of these archetypes — Gladio is the tank with the highest health and largest pool of aggro-drawing abilities, Prompto is the DPS with his powerful gun skills for causing lots of damage with a low HP cap, Ignis is the Support who increases his friends' damage and keeps them alive, and Noctis is the Black Mage, as he is the only one with access to using purely destructive magic, though he leans more to a Master of All.
- Perhaps unintentional, but Prompto's sharpshooter status also alludes to his hobby of choice — shooting photos 24/7.
- The same could go to Ignis, who uses daggers and a spear. Various knives (his daggers) of all sorts and a skewer (his spear) are common tools for a chef. Ignis' hobby is cooking.
The logo depicting the Oracle sleeping is perfect for the game as a whole, not just because it captures the spirit of "Somnus". The game repeatedly tells the player and its characters to take a rest every once in a while, Ardyn's complete destruction is seen as giving his soul an eternal rest, and the game ends with Luna and Noct sleeping together peacefully in the afterlife when all is said and done. One could say that the logo is indicative of the best possible ending the world of Eos could ever achieve — not just living, not defeating some almighty enemy, but just surviving enough to have a peaceful, enjoyable rest.
The logo changing at the end, adding an awake Noctis sitting next to the resting Lunafreya while the background changes to show the sky lighting up, as if it's morning. The time you were playing the main story can be considered "Night" and by reaching the ending, the nightmares are over and the sun is rising. It's morning and it's time to wake up.
A rather sad observation during Luna's death scene. Up until she starts sinking into the Darkness, Noctis remains in his child form. I thought it was pretty weird until I realized it the symbolism behind it. Noct's unwillingness/hesitation to become the True King is similar to a pouting child unwilling to take responsibility, thus when Luna starts to sink and the Ring of the Lucii manifests, Noctis reverts to his adult form, symbolizing how he is now being pushed into the role, regardless of whatever grief and suffering he may have to face along the way. Ignis himself sums it up best during Chapter 10.
Ignis: Noct, you are king. One cannot lead by standing still. A king pushes onward always, accepting the consequences and never looking back.
Noctis' "Thank You" at the ending could mean so many things. He could be thanking Lunafreya, for loving and believing in him. He could be thanking his friends, for all the adventures they had together and being at his side during his darkest hours. He could even be thanking whatever entity that allowed him to finally be with Luna and have the wedding they were denied. But seeing as this is the ending, the person he's thanking is more likely to be the player themselves. For refusing to give up, even during the less exciting or frustrating parts of the game, for supporting the game and the Final Fantasy franchise, and most of all? Staying at his side through the whole game and helping him save his kingdom and end the nightmares plaguing the lands.
Prompto's proficiency with machinery at first seems a bit misplaced when one thinks about the facts: The group comes from Insomnia which relies more on magic than technology. Sure, they have cars and smartphones, but no heavy industrial machinery is seen anywhere in Insomnia, and only ancient machinery can be found in Lucis in general, so how can Prompto possibly be able to use machinery as weapons or operate machines to help the party get past certain obstacles, as seen in Chapter 10, and still be able to keep up with Noctis, Ignis and Gladiolus in combat using this machinery? Because as it turns out, Prompto isn't from Lucis. He's from Niflheim, where this kind of technology is literally all over the place... and moreover, he's a clone of Verstael, someone who very much is familiar with/has handled this technology for ages. It's literally In the Blood, so to speak.
Why are some of the better dishes at restaurants so expensive? Because you're ordering for four people.
When you kill monsters, their carcasses will remain on the field for a minute or two, longer if they're large ones. When you defeat daemons they dissolve into black smoke. When you defeat magitek troopers, black smoke explodes from the armor and then the armor disappears. The game developers have been giving you clues about the nature of the magitek troopers since the beginning of the game.
The game's ending is actually hinted at during the very first chapter; at Galdin Quay — where the party was supposed to take a boat to Altissia — Ardyn gives Noct a coin, calling it his "allowance". In Classical Mythology, the dead were buried with coins, so they could pay Charon the ferryman to take them across the River Styx.
Ardyn temporarily losing his cool to backhand the mortally-wounded Lunafreya takes on a new meaning with the reveal in Episode Ardyn and its anime prologue that Luna is a descendant and near-spitting image of Aera, her ancestor and the First Oracle....as well as Ardyn's fiancee/beloved, who was murdered by Ardyn's brother Somnus. The ending of the DLC also implies that Ardyn feels betrayed by Aera, believing that she kept the truth of him being nothing more than a sacrifice from him. With that in mind, it would explain his violent reaction to Luna's attempts to heal him.
When Leviathan is set to strike the downed Noctis and Luna, it seems odd that Titan should come to the rescue... until you remember the Elemental Rock-Paper-Scissors at play. Of the summons you're likely to have at that point in the game, Ramuh would fry everything in the area and Garuda would only make the existing maelstrom worse. Not to mention, considering the sheer wall of water Leviathan had around her, the strength needed to punch the ground and effortlessly create a physical barrier for said wall is definitely more Titan's forte.
Why does the game keep a score counter during Episode Ardyn even during your first story run, besides for replayability purposes? Because there is no serious threat in Ardyn's way — he treats his invasion and mass destruction as nothing more than a game until the fight with Regis, it's entirely in-character for him to start "keeping score" in the execution of his vengeance. Destroying decorations for more score only adds to the arbitrary and petty nature of his chaos.
- The episode also canonizes the down system from the main game. Deplete a Crownsguard, Royal Guard or Kingsglaive to 0 HP rather than infesting them with Starscourge and daemonifying them, and they reel and drop to a knee before presumably either expiring of their wounds or escaping off-screen. Just like how Noctis drops when fully "defeated" in the main game without actually showing his demise, or how the Glaive from Comrades just retreats to recover rather than truly dying.
Noctis is only able to use Magic in the form of channeling elemental energy from the environment and turning it into compact grenades, and yet Regis is capable of firing lightning from his hands. What gives? More than likely a twofold problem in that A.) all Noctis was ever shown doing was physical combat and training with Gladiolus, meaning he doesn't have the adept magical skill that his father has, and B.) Noctis had to take on the role of King early enough that he likely had no idea that he could harness magic in such a more traditional matter. Notably, the wiser Ignis seems to actually be able to channel elements personally, along with the Glaives' wide usage of various magics via sigils, inclining that it really is Noctis' inexperience and lack of time for training.
Somnus' true nature, as seen in Episode Ardyn is actually foreshadowed since the start of the game. His royal arm, the Blade of the Mystic has only one wing at its handle/hilt. Now which Final Fantasy villain is the most well known for having one wing?
Bahamut's Well Intentioned Extremism along with his ridiculously convoluted plan of plotting the events of the game instantly makes more sense when you remember he's a god of war, and thus could only end the Starscourge (or at least, reason how to end it) through orchestrating a grand conflict.
The backstories of both Ardyn and Ifrit were somewhat similar — they both did something beneficial for humanity, only to ultimately be rejected by those they once saved, which led them on a path to villainy.
Bahamut being evil in this Final Fantasy story starts to make sense when you realize that he's covered head to toe in plate armor, bringing to mind many armored villains like this from past Final Fantasy games (and much like FFIX, FFXV seems to want to make as many references to past Final Fantasy games as they possibly can).

Fridge Horror

Because her death was faked previously, not many people believe that Luna died during Leviathan's attack. How long was it until they realized the truth?
By the end of the game, most magic is gone thanks to Noctis dying to wipe out the Starscourge, but Eos's wildlife is already more than humans can handle even without all the daemons.
- This is a world with flying cars, bombs, infantry robots, and airships. Humans protected themselves well enough with those before the plague, and they still can now.
- Except the infantry robots are daemon based so the Crystal cleansed them as well. Being the core of all the advanced machinery with them out no is left to man all those airships. There is a whole quest line about picking hunter tags because they die during hunt often and no one but Noctis and his crew was willing to hunt Deadeye, ten years of near death struggle probably didn't help the human population too.
- The only people who directly benefited from magic were those in the king's employ. Most humans already need to make do without, and with the daemons gone this'll be like a vacation for them.
  - Not to mention that a large portion of the dangerous wildlife likely perished/starved during the 10-year darkness. Especially the big beasties who (assuming basic biology holds) would've needed large supplies of food to stay healthy, and would likely run afoul of the larger daemons to boot.
Going around at night seems fine... Until you realize that in game, people avoid going out at night and cling to wherever there is light for good reason. Remember when you were a kid, and were told or believed that monsters come out after dark? Replace monster however with daemon, and you get the point. Final Fantasy XV draws on this fear too well.
The Naga's threat about making the party into its children has an added and horrific implication: With the revelation that daemons are created by corrupting humans like a disease, it may be implying that it will do the same to the party.
- It also makes one wonder exactly what her baby is. Is it a memory from when she was human, and her human child was taken with her to be turned into a daemon too? Or has she reproduced as a daemon, and the offspring was taken by the Empire for its use? Was the reason she took Prompto instead of the other guys because he's not too different from a MT, which are made from daemons? The possibilities seem endless, and all disturbing.
- There's a popular theory where the baby that the Naga was searching for is Prompto. It it were true, would that mean that Prompto just called his mother disgusting and killed her?
- Ultimately Jossed, in that Prompto has no biological mother thanks to being a clone. It does imply the Starscourge-infected might somehow recognize the Magitek Troopers and those intended for the project, however, given the exposure and other factors involved. The Naga likely only sensed this trait and kidnapped Prompto in her insanity.
The story implies that only Hammerhead and Lestallum still stand after the Starscourge, but imagine what it was like for the rest of the world; Altissia was already having Daemons show up in its boundaries in less well-lit areas. Tenebrae had been bombed and devastated by the Empire, left vulnerable and weak. Niflheim itself had its entire government converted into Daemons, and while we don't see what happens to the rest, the story doesn't hold back about the outbreak of Daemons in the capital city that's filled with lit and likely populated buildings. Ardyn essentially weakened every nation enough that they were all probably steamrolled in the first year alone, meaning the lands of Lucis were likely the last remnants holding their own barely as refugees from the other lands poured in.
Depending on what one considers the "astral plane" to be, Ardyn's backstory may show that every victim of the Starscourge is barred from heaven, through no fault of their own, as the plague has irrevocably warped them into inhuman monsters.
Cidney's parents died prior to the story. She's about Noctis' age if not a little older. Cidney flat out says she saw people around 20 years prior get killed by Daemons at night after you get the last upgrade for the Regalia (the headlights), citing that if those same people had it, they'd still be alive as well. Her tone, the special comments Prompto and Gladio make all but confirm that she watched her parents die.
- Also becomes a moment of Fridge Brilliance when you see that Talcott, and other people are still able to drive around at night — Cindy worked hard to recreate the special headlights she mounted on the Regalia, making sure that no one would suffer from daemon attacks on the road at night again, ever.
In Chapter 13, the group can find clothes lying around. The Reveal is that these clothes belonged to humans who were turned into Daemons, including the Emperor himself. Then in chapter 14, the player can find Coctura and Dino's clothes lying around, implying that not only a large number of the population have likely been turned into Daemons but also that characters that the party's interacted with might be among them.
The fact that a Wraith in chapter 15 drops Nyx Ulric's Kukris weapon after you backtrack and beat it. Now why would the Wraith have Nyx's weapon? Unless... It is very likely that Ardyn turned Nyx into a Wraith as well, just before he died, ensuring Nyx comes back as a ghost like creature.
Given what we know about Prompto's origins, and who his father was, how likely do you think it is that his mother consented to the act that conceived him?
- Episode Prompto reveals that Prompto is a clone of Verstael made out of his DNA, indicating that he has no biological mother.
In Chapter 11, Noctis and the player realizes too late that the Ardyn they were chasing after was actually Prompto. Now imagine this scene from his perspective. Noctis was calm one minute, then becomes furious the next as he chases Prompto down the train. When Noctis corners him, he shouts at him how everything is his fault and, depending on your dialogue choices, he either shouts again that he really means it or asks him if he's taunting him. It hurts even more when you look back at the hotel scene where Prompto confesses to Noctis how he often feels worthless...
- Episode Prompto begins with this exact moment, where Ardyn messes with Noct's head and makes him believe the illusion.
After the Time Skip, the adult Noctis' head looks a bit strange on his body given that he's effectively a grizzled head on his original body. But this also means that his growth in stasis within the crystal was either heavily stunted to keep him within his prime, or his body only partially developed and doesn't have the opportunity for the training or treatment to fully develop it according to his new age. He's effectively stuck undergrown, though his suit seems to effectively conceal much of the problem and his shaved, cleaned-up self in death downplays this as well.
Has it registered to anyone that turning someone into a daemon to power an MT probably involves deliberately exposing them to the Starscourge?
When Talcott drives Noctis through Leide to Hammerhead post time skip, an astute player will notice that Longwythe Peak is completely absent. Given that Longwythe is actually the Adamantoise, it begs the question of where the hell did that massive beast (or its carcass, if the player had previously defeated it) go? Did it just move on, or did the truly horrific happen and it was turned into a daemon?.
Lunafreya was left essentially alone in enemy-occupied territory, from the time she was twelve until age twenty-four. She would have to be astounding lucky to have escaped being sexually-assaulted or harassed. Even one of the early trailers shows Caligo Ulldor throwing her to the floor and then it cuts sharply away.
One brief scene in Episode Ardyn shows Ardyn travelling the world to spread the Starscourge, and in the process absorbing the memories of the people he infected. In voice-over, Aera explains that absorbing these memories twisted Ardyn's personality into what he is in the main game. It should also be said that even with millions of daemons swirling in his body, Ardyn was still a fairly good person at the beginning of the DLC. So what exactly does that say about humanity in general that — in addition to Ifrit, who hates humanity — these human memories are what twists Ardyn into the monster he is?
The true nature of the Starscourge. It’s not an ancient Mystical Plague or spaceborn virus; it’s a mutant strain of malaria that evolved while incubating inside human hosts, changing their cellular structure until they became the many grotesque creatures you see. The threat to all life on Eos that only the one True King can fully purge from the world is more deeply grounded in reality than one would expect.
Ardyn can instantly kill enemies in his DLC episode by daemonifying them. Recall how daemons are harmed by sunlight. With the bulk of the episode taking place in broad daylight, Ardyn's daemonified victims are likely dying in excruciating pain.
Noctis is the 114th king of Lucis in the span of just 2000 years, which means that the average Lucian king rules for only around 17.5 years. This implies that the early deaths of Noctis' grandfather and father are not unfortunate exceptions, but the norm, with the Ring of the Lucii's draining effects being a chief reason why.
- This is actually Truth in Television. Assuming Eos followed a similar developmental history to Earth, long lived monarchs would have been relatively scarce until comparatively recent history, due to a combination of poor healthcare, war, and infighting. For comparison, the English monarchy from its earliest history through to Elizabeth II has had 59 recognized monarchs over a nearly 1200 year period, for an average reign of around 20 years.
The default ending might be less a Bittersweet Ending, and more a Downer Ending in hindsight, since there's nothing stopping Bahamut from casting Tera Flare, and destroying humanity.

Fridge / Final Fantasy XV

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