Square Enix has finally announced the four additional episodes that were promised for Final Fantasy XV during a panel at PAX East entitled The Dawn of the Future. They include one “short story” and three full chapters. Collectively, the series of chapters is called “The Dawn of the Future”.
Ardyn
The first episode, which we thought would come out this year, focuses on Ardyn and is tentatively called “The Conflict of the Sage”. According to Square, this chapter “portrays the struggles of Ardyn. Witness the resentment he harbored toward Lucis for over 2000 years, and his clashes with the Astrals“. As someone who played through the game in Japanese, it will be curious if they recast the role of Ardyn, as Keiji Fujiwara hasn’t been working due to injury. He has stated that he’s going to slowly come back to work, so hopefully, he’s healthy enough to don the role. Fujiwara was so amazing as Ardyn and if he can’t perform, it will be a huge loss.
Aranea
The second DLC will be a much smaller episode than Ardyn’s, which is rather large; it’s more of a “side story”. It will focus on Aranea Highwind who is part of the Nifelhelm Empire. Square came right out and teased, “The final day of the Empire turns out to be Aranea’s worst day”.
Lunafreya
The third piece of DLC and the second full episode is all about Lunafreya, a character people have been clamoring to learn more about. We did not see her much in the game, and so giving her a full chapter where she is a playable character and seeing the story from her perspective is something that is desperately needed to make Final Fantasy XV a class-A game.The title of the chapter, although not final, is The Choice of Freedom. Square had this to say about Lunafreya’s chapter: Her journey is “about Luna’s fate, which not even death can free her from. Her battle to save the one she loves overturns the destiny dealt to the Lucian King.”
Noctis
The third full chapter will focus on Noctis and will show an alternate ending to the game. It’s called The Final Strike and it shows Noctis leaving the Astral plane, and “embarks upon his final battle in order to attain the ideal future for all his people.” This will, in effect, change the ending of Final Fantasy XV as we know it, but it is a very interesting concept.
The Royal Edition of Final Fantasy XV makes a good game a great. These DLC packs, titled Dawn of the Future, will catapult Final Fantasy XV into an elite game. It’s only too bad that it’s taken three years to do this, as Final Fantasy XV came out in late 2016. Lunafreya and Ardyn’s chapter seems to be the most interesting. We barely see Luna and the troubles she has to endure, as well as her love for Noctis. The game never adequately expresses this, so hopefully, her chapter will.
On the other hand, Ardyn’s chapter, by far, will be a fan favorite. He’s one of the best villains in Final Fantasy history and seeing his background will be a spectacle to remember.