Ardyn Izunia

Final Fantasy XV (2016) began production in 2006 as the spin-off game Final Fantasy Versus XIII for PlayStation 3; following a troubled production history, the game was rebranded, resulting in it changing platforms and staff, and seeing multiple story rewrites.[1][2] Some cut content and backstory elements were made into the prequel film Kingsglaive, and the original net animation (ONA) Brotherhood, part of the multimedia "Final Fantasy XV Universe".[3][4] Ardyn was designed by Italian artist Roberto Ferrari, who worked on the project from 2010 to 2013.[5] After the initial design work in December 2010, Ferrari "brushed it up" the following month, with it otherwise remaining unchanged.[6] He commented that the in-game version of Izunia was closer to his original design compared to the one shown in Kingsglaive.[5] Ardyn's red hair was chosen as a reference to his Japanese voice actor, who had voiced other red-haired characters in Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts.[7]

Ardyn's position as an imperial chancellor was decided due to his antagonistic role, with designer Takatsugu Nakazawa saying Ardyn's villainy suited the "chancellor image".[8] The project's later director Hajime Tabata called Ardyn an unusual antagonist within the Final Fantasy series as he actively helps Noctis through his quest, even though it ultimately serves his desire for revenge. Both Tabata and scenario writer Saori Itamuro called Ardyn a character driven by hatred of the Lucian royal line, with everything in his life serving his quest for revenge and his wish to torment Noctis.[9] Tabata described Ardyn's unique design as tying into his personality, comparing it to the design of Final Fantasy VI antagonist Kefka Palazzo.[3]

Following the game's release, Ardyn was chosen for dedicated downloadable content (DLC) due to positive fan feedback.[10] The DLC entered production during development of Episode Ardyn Prologue, a short ONA detailing Ardyn's backstory.[11][12] According to its lead staff, the DLC's aim was to show more emotion in Ardyn, while his gameplay featured greater freedom of movement than the main game and a focus on his dark powers.[10] His attacks and takedown animations during gameplay were designed to demonstrate his cruel personality. Some planned takedowns were dropped to preserve the game's CERO rating.[13] The team wanted to create a Final Fantasy with a villain in the lead, a rarity in the series.[10] Ardyn's relationships with his brother Somnus and fiancee Aera were meant to be the focal point of the ONA narrative, but its short length limited this element. The events of the ONA were also intended to lend context to some of Ardyn's in-game actions.[14]

Ardyn is voiced by Keiji Fujiwara in Japanese and Darin De Paul in English.[15][16] Fujiwara often told the staff he liked Ardyn's character, with the staff noting his enthusiasm and enjoying his performance. Fujiwara was often surprised by the tension he put into his performance, particularly with Ardyn's laughter. For Episode Ardyn, Fujiwara was requested to do "the opposite" of his performance up to that point, starting by portraying a heroic Ardyn before shifting to the established villainous version later in the story.[13] De Paul almost did not audition as he typically played deeper-voiced characters. He changed his mind as he "got [the] character", landing the role with a single take.[17] In Episode Ardyn, De Paul enjoyed portraying Ardyn's contrasting personalities through the narrative.[18] Ardyn's motion capture for XV was performed by Teruaki Ogawa.[19] In Kingsglaive, his motion actor was Jon Campling.[20]

Ardyn has received a generally positive reception from players. Ardyn ranked No. 63 in the Top 75 of NHK's "All-Final Fantasy Grand Poll of Japanese players" in 2020, which tallied over 468,000 votes.[44] De Paul's performance was also singled out for praise by journalists.[45][46] Philip Kollar from Wired in his review of Kingsglaive described Ardyn as a "particularly dandy-looking envoy from Niflheim who bears more than a passing resemblance to Tom Baker's Doctor Who".[47] Joe Anderstron from Digital Spy had mixed feelings with regards to his role in Final Fantasy XV based on what Kingslave foreshadowed, but found him interesting.[48]

Eurogamer's Aolfe Wilson described Ardyn as an "utterly unremarkable" antagonist compared to either Kefka Palazzo or Final Fantasy VII antagonist Sephiroth.[49] Michael Cunningham of RPGamer commented that Ardyn stood out from the rest of the supporting cast due to his mysterious characterization, developing into a "creepy" villain as the story progressed.[50] Salvatore Pane, writing for Paste Magazine, said Ardyn killing Lunafreya had a major impact in the narrative due the amount of grief the characters−specifically Noctis−suffer as a result for the first time in the entire game.[51]

Mike Fahey from Kotaku praised Ardyn's portrayal as the setting's overarching antagonist, citing Episode Ardyn and its anime tie-in as highlights for his character development and making his vendetta against Noctis's family "fully justified".[52] RPG Site's George Foster was very positive, saying the DLC "manages to turn a previously interesting, but oftentimes one-note villain, into a sympathetic figure".[53] Destructoid stated that while Ardyn was kept as a mysterious and interesting villain in Final Fantasy XV, the DLC managed to properly explore his past through both narrative and gameplay.[54] USGamer's Hirun Cryer was less positive, faulting Ardyn's overarching characterisation and saying the episode's narrative undermined the work done during the anime tie-in.[55] Eurogamer Italy felt Episode Ardyn prioritised fan service at the expense of narrative coherence surrounding Ardyn's character and motivations.[56]

Ardyn's role in The Dawn of the Future was poorly received overall. Despite praising his character writing, Anime UK faulted Ardyn as "easily the low point of the novel", feeling that Jun Eishima's writing style undermined the retelling of Ardyn's past and motivations.[57] Anime News Network's James Beckett called Ardyn's dedicated chapter the worst part of the book, with its events failing to make the character a compelling antagonist.[58] RPGFan's Peter Triezenberg, who had disliked Ardyn's portrayal in his DLC episode, found the novel did little to redeem his character due to wanting to make him sympathetic after the game's highly antagonistic portrayal.[59]