The Famous Singer Who Was The Inspiration Behind Final Fantasy 15's Noctis

Final Fantasy 15 may not be the most well-reviewed Final Fantasy game (that honor goes to Final Fantasy 9), but the thing for which it arguably became most well-regarded is its cast of characters. By the game's end, the dynamic between lead player character Noctis Lucis Caelum and villain Ardyn Izunia becomes key to its story's bombastic conclusion. Up until that point, the interplay between Noctis and his companions Prompto, Ignis and Gladiolus is among the game's primary joys.

Knowing this, Square Enix appeared to place its confidence primarily in the game's characters too. DLC for Final Fantasy 15 was oriented around short adventures meant to flesh out and allow players to play as each member of its primary cast. Outside of his starring role, Noctis has appeared in franchise predecessor Final Fantasy 14 and even as a playable character in Tekken 7.

Creating Noctis in the first place, however, required one ingredient many players may not expect: a dose of Nirvana's Kurt Cobain.

This tidbit comes courtesy of Final Fantasy 15's localization director and lead writer, Dan Inoue. He explained that, during the process of designing Noctis, the Final Fantasy 15 team became worried that they had come up with a stereotypical emotional teen of a hero. In order to differentiate him from similar characters, they incorporated one key element of Cobain's public persona: his struggle with fame.

Does that mean that the other members of Noctis' crew were based on Cobain's bandmates? Probably not, but they do line up pretty nicely with one another.

Prompto is Dave Grohl, the exuberant young talent who could one day break out on the strength of his own charisma. Ignis is Krist Novoselic, the glue that holds the group together. Gladiolus is Pat Smear, the guy who's there to give the group some punk cred. Ardyn feels less like a Nirvana member and more like Axl Rose. This is fitting, because as recounted by punk rock historian Damian Abraham, "you used to have to choose: Guns & Roses OR Nirvana.