Special Feature: Twelve Years After Final Fantasy Versus XIII’s Announcement, Final Fantasy XV Still Isn’t Done

It’s been twelve years since Square Enix announced Final Fantasy Versus XIII. When the company first confirmed their plans to develop it with an accompanying CG video, they mentioned how was given that ostensibly inscrutable name because its gameplay concepts ran contrary to Final Fantasy XIII’s approach, a (very) linear turn-based RPG. But after it plunged into development hell, it emerged as a project separate from the Fabula Nova Crystallis initiative and became Final Fantasy XV, and was moved from PS3 to current-generation platforms. The overall presentation also received several changes after director Tetsuya Nomura and several development team members were swapped out for Hajime Tabata and his team.

I figured it was time to end the series when FFXV released in November 2016, more than a decade after its announcement. But little did I know the game wasn’t truly finished when it shipped. Nomura’s plan to make this a trilogy was scrapped when Tabata took over, who preferred to ship a complete game and move on to another project. Though the game has a conclusion, its second half was evidently developed in a hastier manner compared to the more open first half, and several plot elements needed further elaboration. That’s why Square Enix has been releasing DLC episodes since the game launched as part of its Season Pass.

This started in 2017, when they released Episode Gladiolus, Episode Prompto, and Episode Ignis, in that order. As the titles imply, each one elaborated further on the backgrounds of those characters, and took place at different time periods. They weren’t long, but nonetheless added character development and background for each of them, and gave players the ability to control them for the first time. In addition to these, the team has provided modifications for certain gameplay elements players took issue with, such as giving the Regalia car extra modifications, and modifying Chapter 12 to make it less of a slog — though the latter can only be done after playing through it the first time.

Square Enix also gave it a multiplayer spinoff with the Comrades expansion. Here, players create their own characters who utilize move sets Noctis and his buddies used in the main game, and complete quests around the game’s world cooperatively.

All the above content was gathered for the Final Fantasy XV: Royal Edition that released for consoles two months ago, and the Windows Edition for, well, Windows PC via Steam. But anyone who felt more was still on the way was right, after Square Enix confirmed four more episodes. It’s a little strange that they released a collection at retail before the game was finished, but that’s presumably why it doesn’t include all the content on disc for the physical versions.

Square Enix will release a four-episode “The Dawn of the Future” set in early 2019, whose installments will come one after the other in a quick fashion. It will start with Episode I: Ardyn “The Conflict of the Sage,” which will portray the struggles of one of FFXV’s central antagonists and his battle against the Astrals. It will be followed by Episode Side Story: Aranea “The Beginning of the End,” which will depict the final day of the Empire from Aranea’s perspective. When Square Enix first confirmed that four more episodes were coming, vocal fans were hoping Aranea would be the central character of one; they got their wish.

The third will be Episode II: Lunafreya “The Choice of Freedom,” which should provide more detail for Luna’s paper-thin background. The final one here will be Episode III: Noctis “The Final Strike,” where protagonist Noctis confronts his final battle for the future of the people, which sure sounds like a conclusion. In addition to those, the Comrades expansion will see a standalone release, and will receive updates in the summer and winter. A level editor will also be added to the Windows Edition of Comrades sometime this fall, so players can make their own quests.

As mentioned above, the idea of making an FFXV trilogy was scrapped when Tabata and his team took over, but little did we know we’d nearly receive an equivalent of that through DLC and supplemental material. This title also represents Square Enix’s plan to not simply make self-contained single-player RPGs anymore, at least not on the AAA level. There’s no indication that Final Fantasy XVI is even in development currently, but when (if?) it arrives, expect it to follow the same format.

It’s possible the second batch of episodic DLC will serve as the conclusion to FFXV’s story, given the name of the final Noctis episode. That is, unless Square Enix has a surprise for us. More should be revealed at E3 2018, where the company will have a streamed showcase.

P.S. Meanwhile, Nomura took the idea for a Final Fantasy-related trilogy to Final Fantasy VII Remake, which is having its own development problems with its ambitiousness behind the scenes. We could see something at the showcase, but there’s a much bigger chance of Kingdom Hearts III being the big focus considering it’s releasing this fall, and Nomura giving apologies. We’ll see!