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[Relaxed Muscle]

One of my favorite FF villains.

"You're hopeless without your friends"
"You're hopeless without your friends"
"You're hopeless without your friends"
"You're hopeless without your friends"
"You're hopeless without your friends"
"You're hopeless without your friends"
"You're hopeless without your friends"

 

[Ishida]

"You're hopeless without your friends"
"You're hopeless without your friends"
"You're hopeless without your friends"
"You're hopeless without your friends"
"You're hopeless without your friends"
"You're hopeless without your friends"
"You're hopeless without your friends"

"While your father was dying, you were off playing around with your friends."

Jesus, what a motherfucker.

 

[ShadowSoldier89]

.

Ardyn's biggest problem was the same problems as the rest of the story. Too rushed to really appreciate.

 

[Marvel]

I could listen to Ardyn talk for hours. That's one hell of a voice lol

 

[LiK]

Seeing his smug face makes me want to punch my monitor.

A good villain will do that.

 

[DiipuSurotu]

Ardyn was amazing.

I wouldn't mind a prequel starring hero Ardyn.

 

[Ishida]

Ardyn's biggest problem was the same problems as the rest of the story. Too rushed to really appreciate.

Mmmh I disagree. He has more presence than a ton of other FF villains. He's there for almost the entire story, trolling you.

I wouldn't mind a prequel starring hero Ardyn.

Agreed. XV seems set for a couple of prequels.

 

[Relaxed Muscle]

I could listen to Ardyn talk for hours. That's one hell of a voice lol

The best thing about the character in his VA.

 

[Bladenic]

I wouldn't mind a prequel starring hero Ardyn.

Where is this pic from

 

[ShadowSoldier89]

Mmmh I disagree. He has more presence than a ton of other FF villains. He's there for almost the entire story, trolling you.

he doesnt have nearly the presence of kefka, sephiroth, or Kuja. His entire turnaround from mysterious clearly questionable dude to villain was instantaneous in chapter 9. The linear section of the game he immediately wins and completely devalues the empire as a secondary villain.

 

[Arkeband]

So, in the ending

Spoiler

Did Ignis, Prompto and Galdio die?

seems a bit ambiguous or maybe I'm just missing somehthing.

It's unclear but most of the dialogue supports that they survive, such as Noctis telling them he entrusts "it all" (his kingdom/the future) to them before he goes off and commits sudoku.

 

[Ishida]

Where is this pic from

I can't see it (Blocked at work), but I'll take a wild guess and say it's the "hero Ardyn" picture from the Art Book.

he doesnt have nearly the presence of kefka, sephiroth, or Kuja. His entire turnaround from mysterious clearly questionable dude to villain was instantaneous in chapter 9. The linear section of the game he immediately wins and completely devalues the empire as a secondary villain.

Disagree. He was clearly a villain from the very beginning. I never felt he was a "mysterious, yet questionable dude". I always felt he was manipulating me into his plans.

 

[Bladenic]

I can't see it (Blocked at work), but I'll take a wild guess and say it's the "hero Ardyn" picture from the Art Book.

There's an art book already??

He looks hot

 

[Gbraga]

Quick question: This completion certificate people are posting, will it use the same picture as you choose at the end, or you choose it separately? I want the JoJo pose for mine, so if it's the same, I'm ready to ruin a beautiful cutscene when I get there.

 

[Ishida]

There's an art book already??

He looks hot

It comes with the incredible Ultimate Collector's Edition.

Fuck, I love this thing. Worth every dollar.

Quick question: This completion certificate people are posting, will it use the same picture as you choose at the end, or you choose it separately? I want the JoJo pose for mine, so if it's the same, I'm ready to ruin a beautiful cutscene when I get there.

You just made the ending very funny instead of endearing. :v

It uses the same pic you chose.

 

[Pygrus]

"You're hopeless without your friends"
"You're hopeless without your friends"
"You're hopeless without your friends"
"You're hopeless without your friends"
"You're hopeless without your friends"
"You're hopeless without your friends"
"You're hopeless without your friends"

Ardyn wasn't a good villian just because of his voice lines. What really solidified him as an incredible villain, was when you walk into your own throne room and he is hanging your father and fiance from the ceiling, while he smiles at you with that shit eating grin of his.

Also, the train scene where he shows his true face, is incredibly surreal.

 

[SolVanderlyn]

There's an art book already??

Starring Jesus Ardyn

 

[ShadowSoldier89]

Disagree. He was clearly a villain from the very beginning. I never felt he was a "mysterious, yet questionable dude". I always felt he was manipulating me into his plans.

it was clear to the player, but it wasnt presented that way to the characters

 

[Ishida]

Ardyn wasn't a good villian just because of his voice lines. What really solidified him as an incredible villain, was when you walk into your own throne room and he is hanging your father and fiance from the ceiling, while he smiles at you with that shit eating grin of his.

Also, the train scene where he shows his true face, is incredibly surreal.

I fucking love how serene he is even when he knows how powerful Shiva is. He just keeps his cool (Pun intended) while Shiva freezes him over. No fucks given. Dude's THAT badass.

 

[LiK]

I have the UCE artbook. I should open that up and take a look.

 

[SoraanTribal]

I feel kinda dumb but can someone explain to me what exactly Ardyns goal was? I understand his back story I think. He was a previous king of Lucis and basically saved a ton for people by absorbing the Starscourge parasite out of them. Then the gods said he was too corrupted now and another king was chosen? I think I get all that, but I don't know what he wanted. He wanted revenge against the line of Lucis right? Why didn't he just kill Noctis early on? Why was he helping Noctis collect the Astrals? Did he need Noctis to collect them all to become the True King and kill him then? Why? Where did the Starscourge come from? It's a parasite apparently that absorbs light. Where the previous Kings just waiting for the day Noctis would be able to destroy Ardyn?

Lotta questions I know lol

 

[Mister Megative]

What did everyone think of his final boss fight? Would like to hear other opinions, as I loved it and it stands as my favorite one since Sephiroth.

 

[DiipuSurotu]

Where is this pic from

I can't see it (Blocked at work), but I'll take a wild guess and say it's the "hero Ardyn" picture from the Art Book.

Nah, not that one It's his mugshot on page 6 in this PDF:

http://dl.square-enix.co.jp/ff15/cosplayguide/Ardyn_en.pdf

It's not actually related to his "hero" self at all but I posted it because he has a neutral face here instead of his usual villainous smug.

 

[LiK]

What did everyone think of his final boss fight? Would like to hear other opinions, as I loved it and it stands as my favorite one since Sephiroth.

Good boss fight. I like that it uses all the combat mechanics you learned. The fact that Ardyn uses the same powers against you was cool.

 

[Ishida]

I feel kinda dumb but can someone explain to me what exactly Ardyns goal was? I understand his back story I think. He was a previous king of Lucis and basically saved a ton for people by absorbing the Starscourge parasite out of them. Then the gods said he was too corrupted now and another king was chosen? I think I get all that, but I don't know what he wanted. He wanted revenge against the line of Lucis right? Why didn't he just kill Noctis early on? Why was he helping Noctis collect the Astrals? Did he need Noctis to collect them all to become the True King and kill him then? Why? Where did the Starscourge come from? It's a parasite apparently that absorbs light. Where the previous Kings just waiting for the day Noctis would be able to destroy Ardyn?

1) Revenge against the gods and the Crystal for denying him the throne despite his sacrifice for the people of the world.

2) Wipe out the last "True King" chosen by the Crystal.

3) Wipe out the line of Izunia (Noctis' family), the "impostors".

4) Being able to die? This one is a bit unclear.


So he pretty much succeeded in everything he set out to do.

What did everyone think of his final boss fight? Would like to hear other opinions, as I loved it and it stands as my favorite one since Sephiroth.

Incredibly easy and lacking of challenge.

But personally, I found it to be very meaningful story-wise. And the fact that you are fighting someone with your same exact set of powers was great.

 

[Gbraga]

It comes with the incredible Ultimate Collector's Edition.

Fuck, I love this thing. Worth every dollar.



You just made the ending very funny instead of endearing. :v

It uses the same pic you chose.

I'm not there yet, but I've seen the ending already, so it's fine

 

[ShadowSoldier89]

What did everyone think of his final boss fight? Would like to hear other opinions, as I loved it and it stands as my favorite one since Sephiroth.

they shouldve cut the matrix part of it that was like the awful leviathan part. Other than that it was a pretty well designed close out easy fight. Wouldve worked better for that if ifrit wasnt so pathetic and easy though

 

[Relaxed Muscle]

Ardyn wasn't a good villian just because of his voice lines. What really solidified him as an incredible villain, was when you walk into your own throne room and he is hanging your father and fiance from the ceiling, while he smiles at you with that shit eating grin of his.

Also, the train scene where he shows his true face, is incredibly surreal.

That scene plays very weirdly. You have those corpses, but neither Ardyn or Noctis seems to care, is an incredible wasted moment, because the imagery is there, but the game dosn't really does anything with it.

(and what is Nyx is doing there, TBH I couldn't even see clearly Regis or Luna, not even sure if it's them)

What did everyone think of his final boss fight? Would like to hear other opinions, as I loved it and it stands as my favorite one since Sephiroth.

Slightly less shit that Levi, but shit nonetheless.

 

[Marvel]

What did everyone think of his final boss fight? Would like to hear other opinions, as I loved it and it stands as my favorite one since Sephiroth.

Enjoyed it a lot.

I'll go over it again on a harder setting in the future.

 

[Bladenic]

I did like the final boss fight but it was pretty easy. Pretty epic though.

 

[HotHamBoy]

Reposting from a few pages back:

Did anyone else think Ardyn's VA kind of sounded like David Bowie?

Bowie Interview clip
https://youtu.be/RbKvc6Or7ns

Bowie speaking in Labyrinth
https://youtu.be/FmgmXgoBZFo

Ardyn (first scene)
Https://youtu.be/7P_r0bQkBzc

Ardyn in Kingsglaive
https://youtu.be/OmBhk410YpU

Like, if I close my eyes during that Labyrinth clip I could easily picture Ardyn speaking.

 

[Pygrus]

What did everyone think of his final boss fight? Would like to hear other opinions, as I loved it and it stands as my favorite one since Sephiroth.

One of the best final boss battles in any FF, just on spectacle alone. I wish it was a bit more challenging, but I was also level 66 going into it. Excited to see how the boss is at lvl 99 in new game +.

 

[Ishida]

I did like the final boss fight but it was pretty easy. Pretty epic though.

"Power... OF LIGHT!"

Seems something from Nomura's script actually survived in there. :v

 

[SolVanderlyn]

I feel kinda dumb but can someone explain to me what exactly Ardyns goal was? I understand his back story I think. He was a previous king of Lucis and basically saved a ton for people by absorbing the Starscourge parasite out of them. Then the gods said he was too corrupted now and another king was chosen? I think I get all that, but I don't know what he wanted. He wanted revenge against the line of Lucis right? Why didn't he just kill Noctis early on? Why was he helping Noctis collect the Astrals? Did he need Noctis to collect them all to become the True King and kill him then? Why? Where did the Starscourge come from? It's a parasite apparently that absorbs light. Where the previous Kings just waiting for the day Noctis would be able to destroy Ardyn?

Lotta questions I know lol

Ardyn wasn't a king, he was a healer (kind of like Luna I guess) who saved the world from Ifrit's Starscourge by doing what you described. The gods didn't like this, and he was denied ascension into the afterlife, essentially becoming immortal. Izunia, Noctis' ancestor - and king of Lucis - began to demonize Ardyn and turn him into a monster. To add salt to the wound, the gods chose Izunia as their new chosen and either gave him the Lucis Caelum name, or he took it for himself. Ardyn was pissed at this and took Izunia's name in retaliation. He knew of the one true king ending the Starscourge in prophecy, so he waited for Noctis to come to him with all the power of the crystal and the gods who betrayed him so he could kill him at full strength and enact complete revenge. He also teamed up with Ifrit to send the world into ruin in the process.

TL;DR he was bitter he couldn't die and got screwed over by pretty much everyone, so he was acting out of spite.

 

[Marvel]

Older Noctis looked amazing too, I didn't see it coming and at first stupidly failed to realize it was him lol

 

[Mister Megative]

1) Revenge against the gods and the Crystal for denying him the throne despite his sacrifice for the people of the world.

2) Wipe out the last "True King" chosen by the Crystal.

3) Wipe out the line of Izunia (Noctis' family), the "impostors".

4) Being able to die? This one is a bit unclear.


So he pretty much succeeded in everything he set out to do.




Incredibly easy and lacking of challenge.

But personally, I found it to be very meaningful story-wise. And the fact that you are fighting someone with your same exact set of powers was great.

What level were you? I went in at 40 and he killed me first go-round. Game over.

 

[LiK]

Older Noctis > Younger Noctis mainly cuz he he didn't have that stupid haircut.

 

[Ishida]

What level were you? I went in at 40 and he killed me first go-round. Game over.

Like 47 I think. Honestly, I never thought you could die in this fight. I thought it was more like the final Cloud/Sephiroth confrontation.

 

[HotHamBoy]

Older Noctis > Younger Noctis mainly cuz he he didn't have that stupid haircut.

Agreed, also his eyes.

 

[Arkeband]

What did everyone think of his final boss fight? Would like to hear other opinions, as I loved it and it stands as my favorite one since Sephiroth.

I wanted the fight to be mechanically interesting, and it wasn't. I understand why some people might like it that it was 'different', but having a memorable last boss is a staple of FF, and this was a shitty QTE. Just because you died during the fight because you messed up the QTE or didn't use a potion fast enough doesn't mean it was challenging or complex. It was honestly an enormously wasted opportunity and the mental gymnastics to justify it do nothing but cause future harm to the IP by excusing bad game design and watering down the climax of a game that already struggled to get the player to that moment.

Last bosses in games should be the ultimate test of the player's skill and require some setup and preparation. This boss not only removed all of your party members (HUGE no-no) but it didn't depend at all on the gear you were wearing, fully removing it from the relevance of the entire rest of the game.

 

[Pygrus]

That scene plays very weirdly. You have those corpses, but neither Ardyn or Noctis seems to care, is an incredible wasted moment, because the imagery is there, but the game dosn't really does anything with it.

(and what is Nyx is doing there, TBH I couldn't even see clearly Regis or Luna, not even sure if it's them)



Slightly less shit that Levi, but shit nonetheless.

Go replay that scene, I'm pretty sure Noctis notices that corpses hanging there and doesn't look very pleased about it.

Also I doubt they were actually the bodies of the dead, just illusions.

Nyx is there as an easter egg, his body being there didn't really effect me that much.

I don't understand how much you can expect in terms of a reaction out of Noctis. By this point in the story, the time to talk is 10 years behind Noctis. He's there to get shit done.

I'd also watch kingsglaive if you haven't. It's not a good movie, but it really does help build Ardyn's character.

 

[Ishida]

Agreed, also his eyes.

Also the beard, which doesn't look that great in the real-time graphics but looks epic on the CGI cutscenes.

 

[LiK]

He def looked more like his dad being older. Really nice detail with his character model.

 

[EhoaVash]

Hmm I really didn't fare well with Ardyn had to set the same to easy mode lol...

Anyway yeah finished. So much rushed I love all the characters though. Finishing the game I now miss them lol..

Anyway the that's cool how the logo changed but eek that final noctis design not a fan. Should of been his first future look sitting there with Luna or something he looks like the main character from lost Odyssey in that shot.

 

[DiipuSurotu]

That scene plays very weirdly. You have those corpses, but neither Ardyn or Noctis seems to care, is an incredible wasted moment, because the imagery is there, but the game dosn't really does anything with it.

(and what is Nyx is doing there, TBH I couldn't even see clearly Regis or Luna, not even sure if it's them)

Probably for Ardyn's own enjoyment. Noctis doesn't know him, but Ardyn does.

According to the leaks Cor's corpse was also supposed to be there, unless I'm misreading.

 

[TissueBox]

"You're hopeless without your friends"
"You're hopeless without your friends"
"You're hopeless without your friends"
"You're hopeless without your friends"
"You're hopeless without your friends"
"You're hopeless without your friends"
"You're hopeless without your friends"

Part of what I didn't really like about ch. 13 was the disembodied-voice-in-your-ear-while-you-progressed route they took, I just find that trope so game-y and a bit of a shortcut way of accommodating gameplay and story. Which would be alright if it hasn't been done so much already imo, lol -- but then again that's just one of my things. In the end ch. 13 had other story problems that bothered me more, but Ardyn was an interesting character.

Even Luna could've been really interesting if they just devoted more screentime and story to her. The complexity of these characters are there, just not comprehensively relayed.

 

[Peroroncino]

He was like a much more lucid Kefka.

Nah, Kefka was his own boss, Ardyn got thrown under the bus by the guide when it was revealed that Ifrit was the mastermind responsible for star scourge.

 

[FinalFanXtreme]

What I've taken away from this game is the story was rushed. It felt like an episodic game crammed into one episode. The story felt like it should have been 3 episodes or more long. Once you get to chapter 10 it flies by.

Chapter 13 is one of the worst things in gaming ever. But the post game quests, dungeon crawling, etc. are excellent. I love end game content.

This game is a good game just had a badly told story.

 

[Pygrus]

It was honestly an enormously wasted opportunity and the mental gymnastics to justify it do nothing but cause future harm to the IP by excusing bad game design and watering down the climax of a game that already struggled to get the player to that moment.

Last bosses in games should be the ultimate test of the player's skill and require some setup and preparation. This boss not only removed all of your party members (HUGE no-no) but it didn't depend at all on the gear you were wearing, fully removing it from the relevance of the entire rest of the game.

A lot of players are going to be over leveled for that fight. I'm holding off judgement on the actual difficulty of it until new game + comes around and I play through the game again.

No mental gymnastics are needed to justify the last boss battle. It was just pure fun. You're saying it's just one big QTE, but that is a pretty big lie.

 

[Ishida]

Nah, Kefka was his own boss, Ardyn got thrown under the bus by the guide when it was revealed that Ifrit's responsible for star scourge.

Ardyn was using Ifrit's starscourge for his own ends, though. He was not working for the god.

Ardyn is the mastermind, not Ifrit.