WhenKingdom Hearts 3came out, players eventually discovered an interesting nod to another Tetsuya Nomura project in theToy Storyworld. A fictional game-within-a-game, Sora discoversVerum Rexand the character Yozora, a fake JRPG protagonist who resembles Riku. But what Sora doesn’t realize is that Yozora even more closely resembles another character: Noctis fromFinal Fantasy 15. Coincidentally, Noctis is also based on another version of his design from that game’s predecessorFinal Fantasy Versus 13.
These two, Noctis and Yozora, are intrinsically tied to one another for a lot of reasons. Noctis' originalVersus 13character design was the progenitor for Yozora’s design, but there’s also several allusions toFinal Fantasy 15in the secret ending toKingdom Hearts 3. At this point narratively, Yozora’s purpose in the story and how/if he relates to Noctis is nebulous at this point. Even if Noctis doesn’t even show up inKingdom Heartslore, Yozora and him are still deeply connected to each other.
The Prince of Lucis
Before Yozora could exist, Noctis fromFinal Fantasy 15had his story to tell first. Existing in development hell for several years beforeFinal Fantasy 15, Noctis was initially conceived by Tetsuya Nomura as part of a spin-off in theFinal Fantasy 13universe entitledFinal Fantasy Versus 13. Eventually Nomura, who was director onFinal Fantasy Versus 13at the time, had to leave the project to focus onKingdom Hearts 3full-time. Upon gaining a new director in Hajime Tabata,Versus 13was adapted intoFinal Fantasy 15after building upon Nomura’s ambition and seeing potential in making the game its own entity. It’s important to note this now to contextualize Yozora’s existence later on.
Noctis was adjusted slightly over the years transitioning fromVersus 13toFinal Fantasy 15, but the overarching concepts largely remained the same. He was the heir to the throne of Lucis, and his country-spanning road trip with his most trusted confidants was his journey to become the next king. As he visits the many Kings of Lucis from history he becomes stronger over time, culminating inNoctis' marriage with Lunafreya as an offering of peaceto the Niflheim empire. From there tragedy strikes as the royal family of Lucis is murdered by Niflheim, and Noctis has to reclaim his throne from the oppressors. Noctis' story is a tragic one, and even though a few things were changed from its translation to a numberedFinal Fantasygame, remnants of Nomura’s concepts are pervasive throughout the game.
More Than a Fake JRPG Protagonist
Yozora’s place inKingdom Hearts 3is certainly an unusual one, existing in a very skewed version of reality that (at this moment) doesn’t really make sense with the rest of the game. Along those lines, Yozora’s existence and background seems to be hinting at some kind of resurgence ofFinal Fantasy Versus 13concepts adapted into the world ofKingdom Hearts. Before the secret ending, many players just assumed Yozora was part of the world-building in theToy Storyworld as a way to contextualize Sora’s toy aesthetic. But upon reaching the secret ending, as well as playing through theKingdom Hearts 3 Re:Mindexpansion, it’s clear Yozora is far more important to the story.
Yozora narrative-wise shows up in Sora’s story atthe end ofKingdom Hearts 3’s secret ending, watching over what is presumably the world ofVerum Rex. He spots both Sora and Riku in this world from afar, along with a member of the Organization in this same world. Eventually finishing theRe:Mindexpansion unlocks the Yozora secret boss, which makes the story a whole heap more confusing. Sora fights Yozora, and unlocks a different depending on if the player wins or losses the fight. Either Sora loses the fight and is crystallized like a l’Cie fromFinal Fantasy 13lore, or Yozora loses the fight and fades away. What this means forKingdom Heartsremains to be seen, but it’s clearly a connection toFinal Fantasy Versus 13/15in some way.
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The Duo of the Night
In fact there are many parallels that can be drawn between Yozora and Noctis, ranging from the obvious to thematic elements that are a bit more obtuse. What’s made immediately apparent is that Yozora’s inferred story inVerum Rexis essentially a re-skinned amalgamation of what the originalFinal Fantasy Versus 13story was. Yozora and Noctis both initially wished to save a loved one who had been imprisoned or kidnapped by a relentless foe. Both Noctis and Yozora fight with their most trusted friends to take down enemies and rescue someone. This parallel is made even more apparent in the secret boss ending, where Yozora wakes up in the back of a car as part of a scene that’s a literalshot-for-shot remake of the originalFinal Fantasy Versus 13trailer.
Moving into more complex and mysterious territory, there are some less obvious comparisons between them as well.Yozora’s clothing style is heavily based on the appearance of Noctis, though closer to hisVersus 13look thanFinal Fantasy 15.Even then, they’re both aesthetically very similar, with Yozora only having some minimalKingdom Heartsstylistic flair added. Additionally, their names share a common meaning of “night sky” in their etymology: Yozora loosely translates to “night sky” in Japanese, and Noctis also translates to “night” or “night sky” in Latin. Additionally, beforeFinal Fantasy 15, Noctis used to have heterochromia or different colored eyes. Yozora has a red and blue eye instead of the same color, which was originally planned for Noctis inFinal Fantasy Versus 13before it was changed for15.
It’s clear these characters are related to each other in some way, but how that fits into theKingdom Heartscanon is still vexing to say the least. Noctis inFinal Fantasy 15did move beyond many of Nomura’s conceptual roots, but he still retains many of the inspirations fromFinal Fantasy Versus 13. Perhaps the next mainlineKingdom Heartswill dive into moreFinal Fantasytie-ins in the far future.
Final Fantasy 15andKingdom Hearts 3are available now.
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