Breaking down the XV logo

[Death Penalty]

This thread is pretty darn close to a copy and paste of an editorial that I posted on a separate site a little while back. Edited for content with further observations and corrections on a few errors, I've mostly posted this here because I want to see what the community here thinks the XV logo stands for- and also so you can all laugh at my wild guesses and likely blatantly inaccurate speculation.

I’ve had this topic on my mind for a long time. For every Final Fantasy title, the logo has had some connection to the story, usually depicting a major character, a major story element or both at once. With this in mind, what does the XV logo tell us? It remains unchanged from the game’s initial reveal as Versus XIII, and Nomura assures us that the game’s story remains as it was originally intended.

So, with that in mind, I’ve picked this apart and come up with my own conclusions.


Who is that woman?

Firstly, who is the woman in the logo? It’s an interesting question, and many people seem to think that she is the goddess Etro, a part of the Fabula Nova Crystallis core mythology and confirmed to be at least a part of XV’s story through the image Noctis and Stella discuss.

If you’re asking me, that doesn’t look much like what the Amano art in the logo is representing. The two depictions are like night and day if the logo indeed is a picture of Etro. That’s not to say it’s impossible that it’s her, but I find another option much more likely, if a bit too obvious.

I think the woman in the logo is Stella. With Amano art, it can be difficult to tell one person from another and it’s often so stylized that in-game features that make characters easily recognizable are lost in translation. However, the long hair seems to fit just fine, and there is a more compelling piece of evidence. The figure seems to have a halo at her back, a shining light or power, and I think that after you factor in Amano stylization it looks a lot like this:

Stella’s halo-like glyph and the glyph in the art are the most compelling evidence I can find for discerning who is specifically depicted in the logo. That and the fact that Stella appears to be one of two women in the entire XV world.

What’s going on in the logo?

This seems a lot harder to make any concrete assertions about. From here, I will be going on the very likely incorrect assumption that the woman in the trailer is Stella, so bear with me. There are a few interesting tidbits you may not have noticed. A little bit of hard looking on the logo before it was even XV reveals two very familiar looking figures.

It looks as though, at Stella’s shoulder and at her feet, are the two summons Leviathan and Bahamut. I wasn’t sure what to think of this when I initially noticed it, but with the new trailer things seem a bit more clear and a lot more interesting. The two figures are wrapped around Stella- perhaps even originating from her.

During Niflheim’s attack on Accordo, we see the massive summon Leviathan tearing apart the entire city. It acts as something of a superweapon, demolishing everything there is. We know that Stella has magical abilities much like Noctis, so if Leviathan indeed originates from her as the logo seems to suggest the implications are many.

Could Stella be attacking Accordo on such a massive scale? Are her abilities being used as a weapon of war? If it is her, what does her dialogue to Noctis at the beginning of the reveal trailer mean? How does she feel about causing so much mayhem and destruction?

It should also be noted that in the logo, Stella is sleeping, a theme we know will be very prevalent in XV. What exactly this means is mysterious, but if Stella is tied into one of the core themes of Versus it’s safe to say the story has huge plans for her. It's also worth noting that the patterns one can see on Stella, while looking initially like your typical Amano ornamentation, are consistent with the style used to portray Vanille and Fang in crystal stasis in the XIII logo.

I think that’s enough supposition, speculation and assumption from me for one day. I hope you’ve enjoyed my wild leaps of logic if nothing else, and that I’ve given you something to think about. Of course all of this might be completely untrue, but hopefully I’ve opened some discussion.

Most of all, I want to hear your own thoughts. What does the logo mean to your eyes? How do you think it will tie into the story? Do you have your own theories for what it means to Final Fantasy XV? Please, by all means, share them with us.

 

[masterlobo]

There's also one big wing protruding from her back.

I hope they don't repeat the one winged angel motif.

 

[Chevalier]

That lady in the logo is Etro. Or at least, some form/connection to the goddess.

Let me get the big images linked here so that we get an idea of the whole thing (plus the big images are great for details)

Here's the XV logo. As you can see, it depicts a sleeping woman. There's a halo around her head producing light. And at her surroundings seem to be some snake-like/dragon beings.

Now, let's look at the Fabula Nova Crystallis logo. Notice the wings, the crown and the overall look is somewhat similar.

In the Fabula Nova Crystallis logo, the goddess looks awake, imposing and shining (the overall color scheme makes me get this impression). And it makes sense, the logo is showing the truer and default version of Etro as the theme that connects the FNC mythos.

In the XV logo, there's only one wing depicted. The color scheme is darker, and the dragons are more prominent (I'm not sure if the swirly things in the FNC logo are the dragons). This makes me think of an incomplete goddess. She's also asleep, further lending to the overall. This leads me to believe that the Etro in XV is indisposed somehow.

The dragons could be part of her, or they could be something outside of her, since they're creeping upwards from where the goddess is sitting (Is she sitting? It looks like there's an orb there underneath her). We can infer that maybe the dragons will play some part in the overall game.

They could be summons akin to Eidolons sent by the goddess. Or they could be creatures that stand against the goddess, rising up now that she's asleep (this is conjecture)

Or, or, or...

I'm completely wrong and this is all crap.

 

[Death Penalty]

I'm completely wrong and this is all crap.

That was the thing going through my head the entire time I wrote up my breakdown. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. If the figure in the logo is indeed Etro then it's nice to know that we'll probably get to see her in-game in Final Fantasy XV. Obviously I agree that it's likely that the serpents around the figure are summons from the game, particularly after Leviathan was so gloriously revealed in the reannouncement trailers.

As for the figure being indisposed, I also agree. As I pointed out in my post, patterns on the figure seem to be consistent with the way that Amano draws crystal stasis. Worth noting too is that in the FNC logo the goddess has the same patterns. It looks to me as though crystal stasis will be an element in XV as it was in XIII and Type-0 before it.

 

[Squirrel Emperor]

“Eyes that see the light of expiring souls.”

The circle in the logo probably represents the light.

“The figure that still lies asleep in the fantasy.”

The figure in the logo is asleep in a fanstasy.

“The true figure is still hidden in the sleep.”

Probably something along the lines of once the figure awakens, the truth will be revealed.

About Etro.

There is a legend in the Kingdom of Tenebrae about Etro saying that she is said to greet the souls of the deceased and open the door to the afterlife. When that door opens, the released souls burst out in a streak of light that ascends to heaven. Very few people can see this light and those who can see it are given power from the Kingdom of the Dead. During their conversation in the tech demo, Noctis and Stella mention they can see the light, and the former wonders if they are dying.

Perhaps this legend is a scene in the game and that's what the logo represents?

Also... Somnus is represented by the "shut-eye" in the logo too and Nomura hinted that it has something to do with the story. Perhaps the lyrics will tell us something?

Looking up the symbolism for wings and dragons may help too.

 

[Mark]

The FNC drawing is off Bhunivelze, I'm pretty sure. As someone else pointed out, that logo has similarities with XV's. We can't be absolutley sure it's a woman, FF is infamous for it's androgynous characters. Although, it could just be Etro, which to be honest would make more sense.

At the bottom-left of the drawing, that's definetly Leviathan, I thought that too. Never noticed Bahumut behind the figure, but I think that's actuallly a snake.

There's also one big wing protruding from her back.

I think that's actually some sort of blanket or something, as it appearrs to be cradled around her, like a massive bed sheet and she's snuggling up in bed, which ties in with the "sleep" theme.

Also, looking at XIII's drawing, is that a massive horse head at the bottom-right? Never noticed that before. This topic has made me appreciate Amano so much more, his drawing trully are unique, at least.

 

[masterlobo]

The FNC drawing is off Bhunivelze, I'm pretty sure. As someone else pointed out, that logo has similarities with XV's. We can't be absolutley sure it's a woman, FF is infamous for it's androgynous characters. Although, it could just be Etro, which to be honest would make more sense.

At the bottom-left of the drawing, that's definetly Leviathan, I thought that too. Never noticed Bahumut behind the figure, but I think that's actuallly a snake.



I think that's actually some sort of blanket or something, as it appearrs to be cradled around her, like a massive bed sheet and she's snuggling up in bed, which ties in with the "sleep" theme.

Also, looking at XIII's drawing, is that a massive horse head at the bottom-right? Never noticed that before. This topic has made me appreciate Amano so much more, his drawing trully are unique, at least.

Isn't the horsehead

Spoiler

Ragnarok

?

Spoiler

At least maybe that's how Amano imagined the transformation. I don't know, it's too crazy to distinguish.

 

[yeah_93]

Nice topic, but I don't like to speculate a lot about something I don't know. Maybe when we have more info.

 

[Death Penalty]

Isn't the horsehead

Spoiler

Ragnarok

?

Spoiler

At least maybe that's how Amano imagined the transformation. I don't know, it's too crazy to distinguish.

If I remember it has been more or less confirmed that you are correct about the identity of the creature in the XIII logo, yeah. That's Amano's impression of the creature, and in Amano fashion it is stylized to the point of being nearly unrecognizable. I thought when I first viewed it that it must be Serah and Lightning on Odin, so I can definitely understand anyone's confusion about the matter.

The FNC drawing is off Bhunivelze, I'm pretty sure. As someone else pointed out, that logo has similarities with XV's. We can't be absolutley sure it's a woman, FF is infamous for it's androgynous characters. Although, it could just be Etro, which to be honest would make more sense.

To me, it's worth noting that the figure in the FNC logo seems to have breasts if you take a close look. I could be completely mistaken here and that's nothing of the sort, or Bhunivelze's gender could easily switch from title to title, but it looks to me like that is definitely female. I'd also cite the wing in the XV logo looking really similar to the wings on the FNC logo's figure as a piece of evidence to indicate that the XV figure does indeed have one wing. This is a bit of symbolism that Nomura and Final Fantasy seems to be very fond of, so it's up in the air whether we should take it literally or not. The figure could truly have only one wing, or it could be a metaphor for the events of the game. Worth noting, the one wing thing has been used as a metaphor for godhood and power, or on the other end of the spectrum for a loss of humanity or a great burden.

 

[Prince Naphtali]

This thread is pretty darn close to a copy and paste of an editorial that I posted on a separate site a little while back. Edited for content with further observations and corrections on a few errors, I've mostly posted this here because I want to see what the community here thinks the XV logo stands for- and also so you can all laugh at my wild guesses and likely blatantly inaccurate speculation.

I’ve had this topic on my mind for a long time. For every Final Fantasy title, the logo has had some connection to the story, usually depicting a major character, a major story element or both at once. With this in mind, what does the XV logo tell us? It remains unchanged from the game’s initial reveal as Versus XIII, and Nomura assures us that the game’s story remains as it was originally intended.

So, with that in mind, I’ve picked this apart and come up with my own conclusions.


Who is that woman?

Firstly, who is the woman in the logo? It’s an interesting question, and many people seem to think that she is the goddess Etro, a part of the Fabula Nova Crystallis core mythology and confirmed to be at least a part of XV’s story through the image Noctis and Stella discuss.

If you’re asking me, that doesn’t look much like what the Amano art in the logo is representing. The two depictions are like night and day if the logo indeed is a picture of Etro. That’s not to say it’s impossible that it’s her, but I find another option much more likely, if a bit too obvious.

I think the woman in the logo is Stella. With Amano art, it can be difficult to tell one person from another and it’s often so stylized that in-game features that make characters easily recognizable are lost in translation. However, the long hair seems to fit just fine, and there is a more compelling piece of evidence. The figure seems to have a halo at her back, a shining light or power, and I think that after you factor in Amano stylization it looks a lot like this:

Stella’s halo-like glyph and the glyph in the art are the most compelling evidence I can find for discerning who is specifically depicted in the logo. That and the fact that Stella appears to be one of two women in the entire XV world.

What’s going on in the logo?

This seems a lot harder to make any concrete assertions about. From here, I will be going on the very likely incorrect assumption that the woman in the trailer is Stella, so bear with me. There are a few interesting tidbits you may not have noticed. A little bit of hard looking on the logo before it was even XV reveals two very familiar looking figures.

It looks as though, at Stella’s shoulder and at her feet, are the two summons Leviathan and Bahamut. I wasn’t sure what to think of this when I initially noticed it, but with the new trailer things seem a bit more clear and a lot more interesting. The two figures are wrapped around Stella- perhaps even originating from her.

During Niflheim’s attack on Accordo, we see the massive summon Leviathan tearing apart the entire city. It acts as something of a superweapon, demolishing everything there is. We know that Stella has magical abilities much like Noctis, so if Leviathan indeed originates from her as the logo seems to suggest the implications are many.

Could Stella be attacking Accordo on such a massive scale? Are her abilities being used as a weapon of war? If it is her, what does her dialogue to Noctis at the beginning of the reveal trailer mean? How does she feel about causing so much mayhem and destruction?

It should also be noted that in the logo, Stella is sleeping, a theme we know will be very prevalent in XV. What exactly this means is mysterious, but if Stella is tied into one of the core themes of Versus it’s safe to say the story has huge plans for her. It's also worth noting that the patterns one can see on Stella, while looking initially like your typical Amano ornamentation, are consistent with the style used to portray Vanille and Fang in crystal stasis in the XIII logo.

I think that’s enough supposition, speculation and assumption from me for one day. I hope you’ve enjoyed my wild leaps of logic if nothing else, and that I’ve given you something to think about. Of course all of this might be completely untrue, but hopefully I’ve opened some discussion.

Most of all, I want to hear your own thoughts. What does the logo mean to your eyes? How do you think it will tie into the story? Do you have your own theories for what it means to Final Fantasy XV? Please, by all means, share them with us.

Maybe the woman in the logo is someone (Perhaps stella) who didn't complete their focus. (after all we are still FNC and the Fal'cie and L'cie still are apart of the story right?)

 

[kamikki]

I highly doubt they'll use "focus" in this game.

 

[Somber]

The figure is Bhunivelze, I bet.

Here's from Lightning Returns

Here's from XV

 

[Death Penalty]

Maybe the woman in the logo is someone (Perhaps stella) who didn't complete their focus. (after all we are still FNC and the Fal'cie and L'cie still are apart of the story right?)

I highly doubt they'll use "focus" in this game.

I wouldn't be too hasty with that assumption. L'Cie appeared in Type-0 as well, and had both crystal stasis and a close equivalent to a focus- though they had less of a singular goal and were more like slaves who had to follow the will of the crystal.

 

[qualitydisc]

L'Cie are written on the Versus XIII whiteboard photo published in "Cloud Message." But for the love of god, I hope they cut as many ties to XIII as possible.

 

[Skye]

L'Cie are written on the Versus XIII whiteboard photo published in "Cloud Message." But for the love of god, I hope they cut as many ties to XIII as possible.

Can you show me that photo?

 

[Somber]

L'Cie are written on the Versus XIII whiteboard photo published in "Cloud Message." But for the love of god, I hope they cut as many ties to XIII as possible.

Cut ties to XIII? No, XIII saga is a different route of Fabula Nova Crystallis. XV may have the same core as XIII. Type-0 had different but mostly the same variation of finding Etro's Gate. Even XV's earlier trailers had shown the purpose of doing that. Are Stella and Noctis l'Cie? That may be correct because of their emblems.

Can you show me that photo?

Is this what he mentioned?
http://www.ff-type0.net/images/media/4f151a1b_finalfantasyversusxiiis.jpg

 

[APZonerunner]

The thing about a term like l'Cie is that it doesn't really mean anything to me. That's one of the things where I think FF13 fails somewhat - a term like SOLDIER, or the Turks (given how many militia groups took on some variant of the name Turks in real history), etcetera -- they all have a fairly obvious meaning. Something like SeeD has a great contextual meaning within the story - Garden, etc. l'Cie, Fal'Cie etc always felt like slightly arbitrary terms to me. I think they'd be well-served by employing the same concepts under a different name. It'd also appease off FF13 haters.

 

[Machii]

This thread is pretty darn close to a copy and paste of an editorial that I posted on a separate site a little while back. Edited for content with further observations and corrections on a few errors, I've mostly posted this here because I want to see what the community here thinks the XV logo stands for- and also so you can all laugh at my wild guesses and likely blatantly inaccurate speculation.

I’ve had this topic on my mind for a long time. For every Final Fantasy title, the logo has had some connection to the story, usually depicting a major character, a major story element or both at once. With this in mind, what does the XV logo tell us? It remains unchanged from the game’s initial reveal as Versus XIII, and Nomura assures us that the game’s story remains as it was originally intended.

So, with that in mind, I’ve picked this apart and come up with my own conclusions.


Who is that woman?

Firstly, who is the woman in the logo? It’s an interesting question, and many people seem to think that she is the goddess Etro, a part of the Fabula Nova Crystallis core mythology and confirmed to be at least a part of XV’s story through the image Noctis and Stella discuss.

If you’re asking me, that doesn’t look much like what the Amano art in the logo is representing. The two depictions are like night and day if the logo indeed is a picture of Etro. That’s not to say it’s impossible that it’s her, but I find another option much more likely, if a bit too obvious.

I think the woman in the logo is Stella. With Amano art, it can be difficult to tell one person from another and it’s often so stylized that in-game features that make characters easily recognizable are lost in translation. However, the long hair seems to fit just fine, and there is a more compelling piece of evidence. The figure seems to have a halo at her back, a shining light or power, and I think that after you factor in Amano stylization it looks a lot like this:

Stella’s halo-like glyph and the glyph in the art are the most compelling evidence I can find for discerning who is specifically depicted in the logo. That and the fact that Stella appears to be one of two women in the entire XV world.

What’s going on in the logo?

This seems a lot harder to make any concrete assertions about. From here, I will be going on the very likely incorrect assumption that the woman in the trailer is Stella, so bear with me. There are a few interesting tidbits you may not have noticed. A little bit of hard looking on the logo before it was even XV reveals two very familiar looking figures.

It looks as though, at Stella’s shoulder and at her feet, are the two summons Leviathan and Bahamut. I wasn’t sure what to think of this when I initially noticed it, but with the new trailer things seem a bit more clear and a lot more interesting. The two figures are wrapped around Stella- perhaps even originating from her.

During Niflheim’s attack on Accordo, we see the massive summon Leviathan tearing apart the entire city. It acts as something of a superweapon, demolishing everything there is. We know that Stella has magical abilities much like Noctis, so if Leviathan indeed originates from her as the logo seems to suggest the implications are many.

Could Stella be attacking Accordo on such a massive scale? Are her abilities being used as a weapon of war? If it is her, what does her dialogue to Noctis at the beginning of the reveal trailer mean? How does she feel about causing so much mayhem and destruction?

It should also be noted that in the logo, Stella is sleeping, a theme we know will be very prevalent in XV. What exactly this means is mysterious, but if Stella is tied into one of the core themes of Versus it’s safe to say the story has huge plans for her. It's also worth noting that the patterns one can see on Stella, while looking initially like your typical Amano ornamentation, are consistent with the style used to portray Vanille and Fang in crystal stasis in the XIII logo.

I think that’s enough supposition, speculation and assumption from me for one day. I hope you’ve enjoyed my wild leaps of logic if nothing else, and that I’ve given you something to think about. Of course all of this might be completely untrue, but hopefully I’ve opened some discussion.

Most of all, I want to hear your own thoughts. What does the logo mean to your eyes? How do you think it will tie into the story? Do you have your own theories for what it means to Final Fantasy XV? Please, by all means, share them with us.

The theme of sleep and moon reminds me of FF IV. Perhaps Luna is a link to a sleeping Goddess who resides on the moon.
Also, the game is based on present reality. Maybe the monster's existence is a consequence of the last crystal falling.

 

[RetroPS4]

The theme of sleep and moon reminds me of FF IV. Perhaps Luna is a link to a sleeping Goddess who resides on the moon.
Also, the game is based on present reality. Maybe the monster's existence is a consequence of the last crystal falling.

Holy threadbump, Batman! Did you notice when this thread was created? Really though, it is interesting that after all this time, the logo remains. I think it definitely has to do with dawn though, the world of XV is Eos which is a Greek word and this game is definitely drawing (some) inspiration from Greek/Roman Mythology..This post by Koozek goes into some detail if you are curious: http://www.mognetcentral.com/threads/final-fantasy-xv-general-news-thread.3288/page-130#post-32638

 

[dissasterrific]

Haha wow, I remember seeing this thread, and the theory of Stella being the woman in the logo really struck me I think that since they've revealed the world to be named as Eos, after the Greek goddess, it's become likelier that she's the woman in the logo. However, I think that it's still a bit too general for the logo to just signify her.. and I'm reminded of XIII's logo, where despite most people knowing it's Cocoon, it was actually the crystallized Cocoon in the end. If we follow this logic, Eos must be significantly connected to one of the main cast, and I'm looking at Luna (let's look back at how the logo was animated in the TGS 2014 trailer, with the logo forming around the moon) .

There's much to think about the moon's role in XV's universe. If the recent Amano artwork is to go by, it's titled as Genesis or Big Bang, hence signifying the world's creation. And what were the first things we noticed? The deities and summons seem to come from a source, which looks a lot like the moon. If we move over to the first Mythos artwork we saw, we saw a goddess, who we now think is likely Eos, inspired by the name of the Greek goddess of dawn. There were summons in this artwork as well; however, we see four male figures at the center, who likely signify Noctis and his friends. As common it is in mythologies, the beginning is also the end; and if we consider the fact that the world's end result into only having nights with the moon as our only light source, it seems that everything (along with the situation of the stars dying), in a sense, is going back to the moon.