Ardyn Izunia

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

In ancient times, Ardyn Lucis Caelum was a healer granted the power to absorb the Starscourge, a magical plague that transforms people into Daemons. This gift granted him immortality but turned his brother Somnus and the Crystal of Lucis against him, compounded by the accidental murder of his lover Aera Mirus Fleuret. These events were part of a plan by the divine Astrals to use Ardyn as a vessel for the Starscourge, intending for him to be destroyed by the prophesied True King. Thirty years before the main game's events, in Episode Ardyn Prologue, he is freed from two millennia of imprisonment by Niflheim. Initially reluctant, he subdues the Astral Ifrit and allies with Niflheim to pursue revenge. He embraces his powers, adopts the name "Izunia" after absorbing memories of those killed by the plague, and nearly kills Noctis's father Regis on his coronation day to force Somnus to manifest.

In Their Own Story

In the present day, Ardyn orchestrates Niflheim's invasion of Insomnia and guides Noctis to form Covenants with the Astrals so he can kill him once he becomes the True King. He reveals his nature by fatally wounding Noctis's fiancée Lunafreya Nox Fleuret, then tricks Noctis into attacking his friend Prompto Argentum before revealing their kinship when Noctis reaches the Crystal. After ten years sleeping in the Crystal, Noctis defeats Ardyn in single combat and sacrifices himself to destroy Ardyn's immortal spirit. In "Episode Ardyn," after being confronted by Bahamut regarding his destined role, Ardyn either submits to his fate in exchange for revenge against Noctis's family or is tortured into submission; in both cases, he vows vengeance against the Astrals and the Lucian line. In the novel The Dawn of the Future, a defiant Ardyn rejects his fate until convinced by Noctis and a resurrected Lunafreya to perform the True King ritual himself, allowing him to kill Bahamut, erase the Starscourge, and find peace with Somnus and Aera as he dies.

Reader's Guide

Ardyn's gameplay in "Episode Ardyn" features greater freedom of movement than the main game, focusing on his dark powers. His attacks and takedown animations are designed to demonstrate his cruel personality, though some planned takedowns were dropped to preserve the CERO rating. For Episode Ardyn, voice actor Keiji Fujiwara was requested to portray a heroic version of Ardyn first before shifting to the established villainous persona later in the story. English voice actor Darin De Paul landed the role with a single take after changing his mind about auditioning because he "got [the] character." Motion capture for XV was performed by Teruaki Ogawa, while Jon Campling served as the motion actor in Kingsglaive. Ardyn appears as a DLC character in Dissidia Final Fantasy NT and as a permanent addition to Dissidia Opera Omnia in December 2019 (Japan) and September 2020 (English regions). He also features as an ability card in Mobius Final Fantasy, a recruitable character in Final Fantasy Brave Exvius with a special CGI attack sequence, and an enemy in Theatrhythm Final Bar Line.

Did You Know?

• Ardyn's red hair was chosen specifically as a reference to his Japanese voice actor, Keiji Fujiwara, who had voiced other red-haired characters in Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts.
• Voice actor Darin De Paul almost did not audition for the role because he typically plays deeper-voiced characters, but changed his mind after understanding the character.
• Ardyn ranked No. 63 in the Top 75 of NHK's "All-Final Fantasy Grand Poll" in 2020, which tallied over 468,000 votes from Japanese players.
• The design for Ardyn was created by Italian artist Roberto Ferrari between 2010 and 2013 and remained generally unchanged through the game's prolonged development.