Magna Fortia[note 1] is a train through imperial lands, a mode of transportation and a location in Final Fantasy XV. Prince Noctis and his friends take it to Gralea on their quest to topple the Niflheim Empire.
The first portion of the game is on the open world, but the latter chapters are linear, as the player takes the train and the game's structure changes. Magna Fortia travels through the continent on imperial lands, passes by Tenebrae, and stops at Gralea.
Story[]
After the events at Altissia, Prince Noctis and his friends take the Magna Fortia toward Gralea in a grim mood. Ignis Scientia was blinded in the evacuation of Altissia, and Noctis's bride-to-be, Lunafreya Nox Fleuret, died after delivering the Ring of the Lucii to Noctis. Noctis is overcome by grief and becomes even more withdrawn than usual. Though he now possesses the ring that would let him command the power of the Crystal, Noctis doesn't wear it.
Noctis and Gladiolus argue aboard the train.
Noctis's inability to cope with his losses infuriates Gladiolus Amicitia, who demands Noctis to pull himself together. Cor Leonis has tipped them off to a location of a royal tomb in Fodina Caestino along their route, and Noctis and Gladiolus argue in the train on their way there, with Gladiolus calling him a coward. This disturbs some of the other passengers, although they try to ignore the commotion. As the train stops at Cartanica, Noctis and his friends head to Fodina Caestino, an abandoned quarry northeast of the station. The party braves its depths to collect another royal arm and Ignis speaks up to heal the rift that has formed between Noctis and Gladiolus.
The party returns to the train to continue their journey toward Tenebrae. In the wake of Lunafreya's death daylight is vanishing from the world and Noctis and Ignis discuss the issue on the train. Magna Fortia is attacked by imperial forces at a train yard in Eusciello, even though it is full of regular passengers. Noctis is tormented by the chancellor of Niflheim, Ardyn Izunia, whom he pursues down the train cars, but he disappears whenever Noctis is about to strike. This "Ardyn" is actually Noctis's friend Prompto under an illusion by the real Ardyn. While Ignis and Gladiolus try to get the train running again, Noctis and "Prompto" fend off the attackers to protect the passengers. They demolish the magitek troopers firing at the train and Noctis warps to the assault craft above to down them.
"Ardyn" holds "Prompto" at gunpoint atop the train.
Noctis catches the train as it takes off, but finds "Ardyn" holding "Prompto" at gunpoint. Noctis falls into Ardyn's trap and pushes Prompto off the train, realizing too late Ardyn had switched places with him via an illusion. Ardyn knocks Noctis out and disappears, taunting him for falling into his trap. When Noctis comes to moments later, he calls Ignis to tell him to halt the train. They are unable to do so while escaping from the imperial forces, and must assume Prompto has been captured. Daemons attack the train, but Leviathan appears to vanquish them.
As they stop at Tenebrae, the party finds the Fenestala Manor, home of House Fleuret, aflame as Niflheim's revenge for Ravus Nox Fleuret's supposed high treason. The station is swarmed with Tenebraen refugees, and Noctis gets a chance to talk to the locals. He meets Aranea Highwind again, the former commodore in the Niflheim Army's airborne division, who has recently quit the army and is now helping the refugees. Deeming the trip to Gralea too dangerous, the party decides to not let the other passengers continue with them. Biggs and Wedge, Aranea's subordinates, agree to drive the train to Gralea.
Noctis meets Shiva on the train.
Days are rapidly shortening and daemons begin to spawn during daylight hours, even aboard the train. As they cross into imperial territory they come upon a furious blizzard at Ghorovas Rift, where Shiva's corpse lies, and daemons halt the train. After dispatching the daemons they get the train moving again, but Ardyn appears as a snowstorm engulfs the entire interior of the train car. Gladiolus and Ignis slump to the floor, and Noctis approaches Ardyn when Shiva appears and freezes the chancellor. Noctis shatters Ardyn's frozen body and Noctis forges a covenant with the Glacean, surprised to find she is Gentiana, the mysterious Messenger of the gods who had stayed by Lunafreya's side. Despite his encounter with the Glacean, Ardyn returns, revealing that he is immortal before disappearing again.
Noctis, Ignis, and Gladiolus continue to Gralea, but Magna Fortia comes under heavy fire and they abandon it. The party escapes in the Regalia, which had been stowed in one of the train's cars, and Noctis drives the remaining distance to Gralea. The party wonders what will happen to Biggs and Wedge, but are certain they can fend for themselves, as they are experienced soldiers. Biggs and Wedge later migrate to Lucis, and what happens to Magna Fortia is unknown.
Gameplay[]
Chapter 10[]
In Chapter 10 the player can explore the train until it reaches Cartanica. They can listen to NPCs' conversations, and find newspapers, a Hi-Elixir in a space between two cars and a Remedy in the restaurant car. The newspapers found in the train are:
- The Passing of the Oracle
- The Oracle, Lady Lunafreya of Tenebrae, lost her life when her summoning of the Hydraean went terribly awry. Lady Lunafreya was swept under the Altissian waves alongside her fiancé, Crown Prince Noctis of Lucis. Despite falling unconscious for several days, the prince made a miraculous recovery and is currently being treated.
- The Tree in Caestino
- Scientists have yet to provide a sound explanation as to why the resource-rich Fodina Caestino has been overrun by an enormous tree. Some experts insist, however, that this floral phenomenon may have been a paranormal prelude to the awakening and annihilation of the gods.
Chapter 11[]
After a cut scene where Noctis talks to Ignis about the lengthening nights and observes a mysterious snow front out the window, time seems to stop. Noctis finds "Ardyn" and chases him, though Ardyn flees and acts highly unlike himself. When the train comes to a stop and Noctis recovers, he finds he is with "Prompto" and the train is under attack by imperial forces.
Noctis fighting on a train.
The player must protect the train from the imperial forces. The train's health gauge is displayed at the top of the screen, with a warning that the player will lose if the train is destroyed. The player must battle imperial forces by the train as Noctis when Gladiolus and Ignis are restarting its engines, and after the train starts moving, the player must point-warp to it, and battle the imperials being deployed from the aircraft that begin to follow the train. The player must point-warp between the dropships and kill the MTs inside to down them, or use a mounted machine gun on-board one of the ships to attack the other ships.
Chapter 12[]
En route to Tenebrae daemons spawn on top of the train while it travels through a tunnel. The player must hold on until the end of the tunnel. The enemies that spawn are snagas and gargoyles; only one gargoyle spawns at a time.
The train stopped by ice.
After departing Tenebrae, the player can move about the train and pick up an Elixir and a Chrome Bit from between the cars. There is also a Mega Phoenix in the hold where the car is kept, alongside a Debased Banknote, a Hi-Elixir, a Rusted Bit, an Electrolytic Condenser and a Gralean Medal of Distinction.
The train comes to a stop and the player must step outside in the Ghorovas Rift and battle a boss, the deathclaw, as well as some snaga and wraith. When the player is back in the train, they can find a Mega-Potion by a firehose.
As part of the following events the player obtains the Trident of the Oracle and the Mark of the Glacian. The scene where the player obtains these was lengthened in a patch, where the player can choose to ask further questions.
Behind the scenes[]
The development team wanted to create a transcontinental railroad, and brainstormed ideas to make it stand out. "When you simply recreate them with the same sort of size and volume, they turn out like toys," explains artist Kouta Niihara. "We create a sense of size, scope and power by creating them in the likeness of real-life jumbo jets."[1]
The concept art for the train interior (see gallery below) shows Noctis in his Final Fantasy Versus XIII attire, implying the design for it was made early.
The train locomotive appears to be based on a real locomotive model: the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway class M-1 steam turbine electric locomotives.
A train car also appears in the Omen short film for Final Fantasy XV 
, but it is a subway car and not the continental train that appears in the game.
Gallery[]
Etymology[]
Magna is a plural of magnum in English. It is also an inflection of magnus in Latin which means "great". Fortia is Latin for "strength".
Notes[]
- ↑ The train's name is revealed in the datalog entry for Cartanica and also appears on-screen when the party is first depicted on-board.
References[]
- ↑ Wallace, Kimberly (2016, April 26). "Final Fantasy XV Concept Art Reveals Deeper Design Decisions". From Gameinformer. Archived from the original on 16 February, 2019.