Final Fantasy XV is the perfect example of a story that's so amazing and massive in its scope, it just can't sustain itself. It wants to tell so much but it just doesn't have the time.
If this were the early aughts, these stories would be spread out across the PSP, Nintendo DS,
another PS game and
maybe a mobile game to take advantage of all the sequel material that exists in here.
But times have changed, evidently.
FFXV sold incredibly well, so the DLC cancellations weren't a matter of profitability. Wasn't the problem that S-E wanted to move on with Luminous Studios and Tabata chose to leave rather than abandon the work he put time in? If so, I can see why. There's a lot in this, and it's all amazing. But it would take so much time, money and resources to make these DLC episodes that FFXV would go on for at least another year and a half, at least.
I wouldn't mind that personally but obviously
someone upstairs at S-E did.
In terms of the plot, I will say one thing. This novel fleshed out so many dangling plot threads, it essentially weaved a brand new sweater alongside the original. This story gave some very interesting new details of the lore and scenario of XV that we would never have known otherwise.
One thing I will say is, this novel pretty much cements how much unrealized and wasted potential Lunafreya had in XV. It's sad and bizarre that the moments Lunafreya's character shines brightest and are most interesting are all in segments
outside of the main game in FFXV. Luna's character is the biggest casualty of the Tabata restructuring that went on with Versus XIII to get the game out on a timely schedule. The examination of her character, the showcase of her battle prowess, and amazing determination just... Are lost in FFXV proper. To those who only gave a cursory glance at FFXV or only played the Day One edition, she's nothing but a flat, 2-D character who's poorly written and their romantic ties to Noctis are shallow, at best. It's a shame, cause her chapter was extremely interesting, given how it confirms the gods
did give Ardyn the ability to absorb Starscourge and she evidently was bequeathed the same gift hundreds of years after. The gods seem capable of containing the Starcourge but not outright eradicating it. And apparently, recently daemonified people
can be reverted back.
Kinda brings new context in Somnus' "burn them all and let Bahamut sort them out" approach.
The revelation that Bahamut's role in the Astral War
wasn't just in defeating Ifrit, but he was in fact ready to
Tera Flare the entire planet, offers a glimpse into his absolutist line of thinking. Which was already displayed in XV, way back even during the "
Omen" trailer with Regis and the Crystal. Bahamut may
appear noble, but he is not the one to fuck around with, since he holds
not a single fuck for the well-being of the mortals beneath him. As the novel says, humans are nothing but flowers in his garden, and now the garden is
diseased. So, it's time to burn it all down and start anew. And the fact he's so vain that he chose the leader of the Luciian line based on him being in his image is just, fucking telling.
Also, to clarify since this needles me to no end. The revelation regarding Bahamut's role in the Astral War, isn't a "retcon." It's an addition to the story. Nothing is retroactively changed or re-written from the past story. The established history of what was depicted and told in FFXV remains in tact. The story now just expands the story to reveal that's only a lie. That's not a retcon, that's expansion of the story. And given Bahamut's depiction in the story, it's not wildly inaccurate at all. Stories can change with their expansion. A perfect example is the llore and history of the Jedi has developed far beyond what was shown in just the original Trilogy, yet that's not a "retcon." That's an expansion and explanation based on the continued lore and history of the series. Not everything that's different is a "retcon."
On anotehr note, I somehow missed this, but upon replaying I noticed that the game did hint that forging covenants with the Astrals was actually
harming Lunafreya. I'm not exactly sure on the nature of this however. I originally thought it was just Lunafreya running herself ragged trying to evade the Empire all on her own, but Ravus was literally seeing Luna drain her life or something. Which explains his fury even further.
Also, maybe I confused the nature of the stories in this novel, but I thought this was going to explain the alternate ending and depiction of Episode Ignis. Yet Dawn of the Future still has Ignis blind, yet Ravus was at the wedding of Luna and Noctis? So, I'm rather confused on that episode's placement. I get that it triggers from the alternate choice of Ardyn choosing to deny and fight against his fate, so... Where does Ignis's episode fit?
Reading Episode Noctis really really
really makes me wish they had made this along side Arydn because... The dialogue/moment between Ardyn and Noctis was just perfect. Noctis truly matured and developed and just. Him deciding to spare and abandon his desire to kill him was
huge.
Likewise, Ardyn finally coming around to helping save the world and fight Bahamut was amusing and also a great moment for his character. I really love and respect his refusal to just, be redeemed and be a "good guy" yet he internally acknowledges the differences between him and Noctis and low-key admires him. Ardyn's heart wasn't completely lost to the darkness, and while he refuses to acknowledge it, the human part of him still beats inside. Like, let's be real. To make such an abrupt change, and willingly face and fight alongside the brother who betrayed you so massively takes a lot. The fact Ardyn was willing to swallow that hatred and move on, is pretty telling of Ardyn's true character.
What I'm wondering though, is what are the ramifications of Eos' Crystal being destroyed? The Crystal represents the "soul of the star" and gathers the memories of the dead into it. It is also from where the power of magic flows. With the loss of the Six and the Crystal of Eos, does Eos have a soul anymore? Will the planet be able to continue to grow and survive?
And what happened to the Starscourge? Presumably it was destroyed upon Ardyn's destruction in The Beyond fighting Bahamut, but what about the darkness that flowed out of Daemon Luna? Was it cleansed too?
And the big question is.
Where the fuck did the Starscourge come from? Who created it? Why did it exist?
I guess just as with Jenova, the world may never know.
Honestly, I much prefer this expansion of the lore and ending, more than the rushed conclusion XV gave us. This novel fleshes out the characters that were woefully neglected and explains the lore of the Eos far better, which makes sense given that you can tell a whole lot more story in the pages of a book, versus in a game. However it suffers from the fact it came afterwards and a lot of these events would be far better presented as either a game or some other visual depiction. Writing an epic RPG final boss fight is
a lot harder to convey in text versus gameplay/animation. But I can excuse it.
This story also feels a lot closer to something that spun off of the Fabula Nova Crystallis series, than XV which ultimately had Noctis and his friends submit to the authority of their gods and in a way, "accept their focus." I never liked that, especially with all the hints screaming that Noctis' sacrifice wasn't necessary or fair. I guess that gave the story a fair and beautiful air of fantastical tragedy, and while it depicted that wonderfully, it just still felt wrong.
I really hope this gets released in English cause I would thoroughly enjoy reading it.
On the Way to a Smile did, so I have hope. There's clearly a market for S-E's novellas so hopefully they'll tap into it.
books did, but now that Yen Press not only had the rights to make the FFVII novels be printed in English as well as doing so with the Kingdom Hearts novels which two more are coming out this year in August and October(assuming they won't be delayed), I think they'll eventually do the same with Dawn to the Future which, after reading summaries on it makes me want to buy the FFXV Novel now too!
