The Final Fantasy series is easily one of the most valuable and beloved gaming franchises, and one need only look at its treasured history to see why this is the case. So, it's no surprise that its fifteenth installment was widely anticipated before release. The mere fact that this game was stuck in development hell for a decade, still managed to retain its hype throughout this period, and ended up actually being a great gameplay experience to the point of selling close to 9 million copies, speaks volumes when it comes to the sheer power of this franchise... and the quality of Final Fantasy XV itself.

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By no means is Final Fantasy XV a perfect experience, but one must give credit where credit's due — the characters in this game are brilliant as always. However, there are still some bad apples in the mix, with some characters being nothing more than generic tropes that are further hampered by unimaginative character design.

So, keeping this in mind, here are five brilliantly designed characters in Final Fantasy XV, coupled with five more that could've used more work.

10 BEST DESIGNED: Aranea Highwind

Aranea Highwind from Final Fantasy 15

Final Fantasy has generally been a mixed bag when it comes to female designs in their games, but Aranea is easily an example of when they get everything right.

The trope of a femme fatale might be somewhat overdone at this point, but one can't deny that Aranea still somehow serves as a breath of fresh air in this regard.

Too bad the same can't be said for the next person on this list.

9 COULD'VE USED MORE WORK: Cindy Aurum

cindy and noct

Fans had a bad taste in their mouth from the very moment Cindy Aurum was introduced in an absolutely cringeworthy reveal, with her presence being there for the sole purpose of titillation, and nothing else.

One might've still hoped that Square Enix could still put an interesting spin on this character to make her somewhat interesting... but nope. Cindy is easily the most uninteresting character in the entire game, and it was obvious that Square was banking on her looks to make her interesting, and nothing else.

8 BEST DESIGNED: Prompto Argentum

Prompto Final Fantasy 15

In the initial moments of Final Fantasy XV, one might be forgiven for thinking that Prompto is the worst character in the group. His quips get old after a while, his naivety can be somewhat frustrating at times, and his happy-go-lucky personality seems a bit too forced.

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However, one can't deny that, over the course of the game, Prompto slowly grew onto them, making him a fine character indeed. If that wasn't enough as is, the introduction of Episode Prompto was an emotional gut-punch that probably elevated his status as one of the best Final Fantasy characters ever.

7 COULD'VE USED MORE WORK: Cor Leonis

By all accounts, Cor could've been an interesting character to deal with... had he been written properly into the story. Instead, what we get is a few random appearances from this supposed Head of the Crownsguard.

It doesn't help that Cor is perhaps the most generic strongman in the entire game, with his entire personality seemingly ripped off from every forgettable no-nonsense badass ever shown in media.

6 BEST DESIGNED: Ignis Scientia

Ignis Scientia from Final Fantasy XV

The main cast of Final Fantasy XV is easily the highlight of the entire game, and one need only look at Ignis to realize why this is the case. While the decision to give Ignis a British accent in the dub is certainly... something, one can't deny the fact that he cares for Noctis the most out of all his friends.

What truly serves as a highlight for this character is the role he plays in Episode Ignis, which just elevates his character to an entirely new level. While it sucks that most of the great character moments in Final Fantasy XV come from external mediums, one can't deny that Ignis is a selfless friend who would put his life on the line to protect the people close to him.

5 COULD'VE USED MORE WORK: Ravus Nox Fleuret

The brother of the main love interest, Ravus had all the makings of an excellent character... but his woeful underrepresentation in the game is one of the main reasons why no one cares about him at all.

This is the case for most of the characters in Final Fantasy XV, but it especially hurts in the case of Ravus since his formula for success was dangling right there... but the developers just didn't take the time required to turn it into a recipe.

4 BEST DESIGNED: Ardyn Izunia

Regardless of the problems that plague Final Fantasy XV, one can't deny that Ardyn Izunia is easily one of the greatest Final Fantasy antagonists of all time. His presence completely lights up whatever scene he's in, and makes them memorable in every sense of the word.

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It's not like Ardyn had a ton of screen time either, but the mere fact that he was electrifying whenever he came up shows just how great his character design was.

3 COULD'VE USED MORE WORK: Lunafreya Nox Fleuret

For a person who was supposed to be the main heroine of Final Fantasy XV, it's criminal as to how woefully mismanaged Luna's entire character was. She always looked somewhat uninteresting from the get-go, but fans thought that her role in the story would be enough to redeem her.

Instead, what we get is easily one of the worst love stories ever shown in a Final Fantasy game, with Luna barely appearing throughout the game until the final scene — a scene that was supposed to be emotionally overwhelming but felt absolutely forced.

2 BEST DESIGNED: Noctis Lucis Caelum

Most people consider Noctis to be just your run-of-the-mill Final Fantasy protagonist, and while that sentiment is true to some extent, one can't deny that he's still an incredibly interesting and well-rounded character.

His English voice acting might make him seem like the world's edgiest teenager, but the fact of the matter is that Noctis is actually a great character, who handles all his conflicts — moral or otherwise — in stride.

1 COULD'VE USED MORE WORK: Gladiolus Amicitia

Gladiolus Amicitia from Final Fantasy XV

Out of all the four members, Gladiolus is easily the most one-dimensional. His design itself should make it immediately clear that he's just meant to be a cliched strongman, and nothing else.

His character is easily the weakest in the entire game, and the only reason why people consider him to be better than Cor is the fact that he has infinitely more screen time.

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