Noctis Lucis Caelum (Japanese: ノクティス・ルシス・チェラム, Hepburn: Nokutisu Rushisu Cheramu), "Noct" (ノクト, Nokuto) for short, is a character from Square Enix's Final Fantasy video game series.

The crown prince and protector of Lucis, Noctis must reclaim his country's Crystal from the empire of Niflheim, going on a journey to become the True King of legend and save his world from darkness.

Noctis, with his companions and sworn protectors Gladiolus Amicitia, Prompto Argentum and Ignis Scientia, set out on a quest to retrieve the Crystal and defeat Niflheim.

[10] Ten years later, Noctis awakens and reunites with his companions; they travel to Insomnia where they defeat the rogue Astral Ifrit and the enslaved Lucii before facing Ardyn.

In the game's mid-credits and post-credit scenes, Noctis confesses his feelings for his friends during a rest before the final battle, and reunites with Lunafreya in the afterlife.

[16] Noctis is one of the main characters in Brotherhood: Final Fantasy XV, an original net animation that follows his early life and the story of his companions.

[39] Outside Final Fantasy, Noctis appears as a DLC character in Bandai Namco's fighting game Tekken 7 as a friend of Lars Alexandersson.

[41] Tekken producer Katsuhiro Harada commented it was his idea to include Noctis within the game, resurrecting old concepts for a series crossover dating back to the original PlayStation era.

[44] Bkub Okawa, author of the comedy manga Pop Team Epic, parodied Noctis and Ignis as super deformed designs.

[53] Roen created a set of real clothes and kept them in the office for reference by the developers; Nomura had been constantly asked by graphic artists which materials his characters' outfits were made from.

[54] All Roen designs, including Noctis' suit, were retained when Versus XIII was rebranded as Final Fantasy XV because the team felt the looks should not be changed.

[59] Designing Noctis' adult facial features, the team used photographs of war veterans and actors to add fine details to mature the character's expressions.

[63] Speaking after the reveal of Versus XIII, Nomura said the team focused on developing the then-unnamed protagonist's weaponry, later dubbed the Engine Blade (エンジンブレード, Enjin Burēdo).

[68] Gameplay elements carried over from Versus XIII to XV included Noctis's ability to warp across battlefields, and his "Armiger" power to summon multiple weapons into battle.

[50] Nomura also wanted the character to perform actions that bore both heroic and villainous traits, feeling that an anti-hero protagonist would fit the game's themes.

[47] A key scene in Versus XIII that demonstrated his personality was his first meeting with Stella Nox Fleuret, the game's original female lead.

[74] The choice of the game's theme song, a cover of Ben E. King's "Stand by Me" by Florence and the Machine, was meant as a message of gratitude from Noctis, which he is unable to express in words.

When the project was retitled Final Fantasy XV, Suzuki worked with the production team to create a new persona for Noctis, who became more outgoing and emotional.

[84] While he did not do continuous work on the game due to the production's "twists and turns", he found himself constantly keeping Noctis in mind so he could easily portray him in recording sessions.

During the ROM-checking stage, Tabata felt the performance was wrong for the character, an opinion reflected in player feedback after the demo's release, but it was too late to re-record.

According to Chase, the most emotional part of the original recording was Noctis's final farewell to his comrades during a post-credit scene, which for him symbolized saying goodbye to the localization team.

[91] Some players found Noctis nice due to his interactions with his friends,[92] as well as his expressive personality; Eurogamer compared him with Final Fantasy X protagonist Tidus because both become more likable as gameplay continues.

[94][95][96][97] In an early review of the game's demo Episode Duscae, GameSpot's Alexa Ray Corriae praised the interactions between Noctis and his companions, citing them as a good example of deep platonic love between men.

[99] Game Informer writer Andrew Reiner referred to Noctis as a "great leader" and "an interesting, conflicted character, torn between his duties to the kingdom and wanting a different life".

[100] Despite criticising the lack of explanation about Noctis's motivations, EGMNOW's Mollie L. Patterson praised the character's growth from adolescence and his adult design.

[104][105][106] Salvatore Pane, writing for Paste Magazine regarded Noctis' failure to save Luna as one of the character's strongest reactions because he expresses grief in tears and silence, giving him an air of realism while making more connections to the player.

[111][112][113] According to Jacob Hull from Push Square, A King's Tale further expands upon Noctis' personality and his relationship with Regis, who lacked development in the series' other media.

Rock, Paper, Shotgun found him fitting based on Noctis' and the rest of the cast's skills, and joked about his relationship with Tekken character Lars.

[119][120] Den of Geek was curious about Noctis' fighting style in the game, which appeared to combine hand-to-hand combat with magic techniques, making his modus operandi one of "hit 'em with something sharp".

[129] In a 2017 Famitsu poll, Noctis was voted as the most-wanted character fans expect to appear in Square Enix's franchise Kingdom Hearts.