#*ffxvlore

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The Development & Lore of FFXV Slides & Essay

These are the slides and the massive essay I wrote for my panel. I’ve included both the first and final drafts of the essay since the first one has a lot of information that I needed to cut down on.

PowerPoint

Presentation 1.0 

Presentation 3.0

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Events of Ancient Era

3/9/18: Tumblr is not formatting my posts properly and apparently if i include a picture it just doesn’t show text at all on the dash....no wonder i get 0 notes on posts lol

I. Astrals and the First King of Kings

The Astrals are the summons in the world of FFXV but are more importantly worshipped and treated as Gods. What we know of the Astrals mostly comes from texts scattered around Eos called the Cosmogony as well as information in the game’s loading screens.  The Astrals, also known as The Six or the Hexatheon are described in the Cosmogony as:

Titan, the Archaean, steadfast as stone. Ramuh, the Fulgurian, sharp as lightning. Shiva, the Glacian, gentle as snow. Leviathan, the Hydraean, relentless as tides. Bahamut, the Draconian, unbending as iron. Ifrit, the Infernian, fickle as fire.

Furthermore, there are said to be 24 messengers to these Astrals, which would give each Astral four messengers if split evenly (but we don’t know if such is the case).  The only messengers CONFIRMED to appear in game, however, are Shiva’s messenger Gentiana, Luna’s dogs Pryna and Umbra, and Noctis’s guardian, Carbuncle.  Astrals do not speak the human language but can communicate through the Oracle and their own messengers, as in the case of Gentiana.  Carbuncle does not speak but instead communicates with Noctis through his smartphone.  

The Astrals are able to exist in both the human realm as well as the “Astral Realm.”

The gap between the birth of the Astrals and creation of mankind is vague, however humans are said to be made in the Astrals image, like in Fabula Nova Crystallis where humans are made in the image of the goddess Etro.

The first recorded stories of the Astrals and human interaction that we have occurred over 2,000 years ago during what is known as the Ancient Era.  While most Astrals did not care for humans, Ifrit admired their strength of will and gifted them the power of fire.  Thus, the civilization that became known as Solheim, which translates to “Home of the Sun” in Norwegian, flourished. The Glacian, Shiva warmed by Ifrit’s mercy upon mankind, fell in love with him and developed a fondness for mankind.  

Of course, the people of Solheim’s hubris eventually became too much and they thought themselves superior to the Astrals.  Ifrit, angered by this betrayal declared war on humanity and desired to wipe them out.  However, the other Astrals, sworn to protect Eos no matter the circumstance, turned against Ifrit, thus triggering the Great War of Old.  This battle ravaged the land and created landmarks, most notably Taelpar Crag, created during the battle between Ifrit and Bahamut and the Rock of Ravatogh was where Ifrit's original body was laid to rest following his death.

Also, around this time, the plague known as the Starscourge began to infect the people of Eos. Its exact origins unclear, the Starscourge has the effects of lengthening nighttime as well as turning humans and animals into violent creatures known as daemons.  The corruption which turns humans into daemons in the world of Eos is like both the power of chaos and the Cie'th curse in the Fabula Nova Crystallis mythology.

II. The Chosen Bloodlines After the Great War, while the other Astrals, exhausted from their battle with Ifrit, went into slumber, Bahamut attempted to save Eos from the threat of the Starscourge.  He gave his powers to two bloodlines.  To the Nox Fleuret family of Tenebrae, he chose a “pious maiden” to become what is known as The Oracle, giving her the power to speak with the Astrals, as well as delay the spread and heal those afflicted by the Starscourge. Bahamut also gave the Oracle his trident.  From then on, the women in the Nox Fleuret family would inherit the title and powers of the Oracle.

Cosmogony Entry about the Oracle The Oracle In the distant past, Bahamut, the Draconian, descended to the mortal realm and graced the people of Tenebrae. From among them, he handpicked a pious maiden and bestowed upon her the power of the Stars and his trident. Using these gifts for the good of all, she became the first Oracle—she who joins heaven and earth.

She most pure of faith is the Oracle, a daughter in the line of those said to commune with the Six. Blessed by the Astral gods, she calls forth the power of Eos to heal those who are suffering and afflicted. Her devotion to helping all those in need has inspired reverence for her among people from all over the world. —The Six and the Oracle – II

She is also able to forge covenants with the Astrals.  The rites of the covenant are a means by which the Oracle summoned forth the gods, that she might make the will of mortals known unto the divine.

The Revelation Trials by which the Six grant their blessing are first mentioned in ancient tomes dating back to the time of the Cosmogony, some two millennia ago. Revelations left great devastation in their wake, with entire cities being laid to ruin, and people saw them as tests of their faith.

A man, from another yet named bloodline was also chosen by Bahamut.  The Cosmogony entry, The Crystal states:

There once lived a man, born a mortal but blessed with powers divine. Conjuring a collection of glaives, he dispelled the darkness plaguing our star. As a reward for his efforts, the gods granted him a holy Stone—the Crystal, which he was to guard at all costs, for it would one day choose a King to see us through the coming disaster and lead us to salvation.

The Final Fantasy XV Scenario Ultimania posits that rather than being able to use the Crystal's true power, kings of Lucis have the responsibility of protecting it, and that the Crystal picks the "Chosen King" /“King of Kings”/ “True King” when disaster comes to the world. Thus, implying that the Crystal has sentience and a will of its own.

The True King is homage to the concept of the Warriors of Light, one of the core concepts of the Final Fantasy series of heroes chosen by the crystals—be it by a prophecy, a will, or by fate—to embark on the journey to fight evil or restore balance to the world.

The line that protects the Crystal would eventually become known as the Lucis Caelums. However, formerly, at least according to the German translation, they were known as the Izunias. The Crystal is a magical stone that is a source of immense power. Though its light is said to be for the benefit of all of mankind, only the kings of Lucis have been gifted the ability to wield its power.

[http://verslin.tumblr.com/post/171568910589/german-translation-of-ardyns-dossier-izunia]

This collection of glaives that the Izunias/Lucis Caelums wield is known in game as the Armiger.  This power seems not to draw from the Crystal but is something unique to this family. The power of Lucis Kings are enshrined in royal tombs scattered throughout the world and the weapons they house are special. Every new king's duty is to collaborate to the collective power of kings by adding their own royal arm to the mix, and princes embark on trips across the land to collect the arms of their forebears from their royal tombs. Many of the weapons have been lost, however, the location of their tombs unknown.  Thus, there are actually 112 weapons total even though we only see 13 in game.  

III. The Ring of the Lucii

Before falling into eternal slumber, the Six bequeathed unto man one last treasure: a ring. Yet who among us was fit to possess this gift of the gods? After some time, the ring was transferred to the hands of a man blessed with powers divine, ultimately developing the mark identifying one fit to rule.

The Lucis Caelums were also given the Ring of the Lucii which allowed the Lucis bloodline to combine their strength across generations by a process known as the “bonding of souls.”  The Ring allows for the wearer to call upon the combined strength of all the former rulers of Lucis.  However, the wearer must be deemed worthy enough to use the power of the ring by the Rulers of Yore, a select 13 of Lucis Kings and Queens. The ring has taken the lives or permanently injured those who it deemed not worthy. Using the Ring also drains the user’s lifeforce even if they are a Lucis Caelum.  Thus, the power of the Crystal gradually concentrates lifeforce until the king who wields all of the Crystal's power will be crowned the True King who can purge the Starscourge at the cost of his own life, or in Bahamut’s words “the blood price.”  This became the prophecy: "When darkness veils the world, the King of Light shall come." With the plan to cleanse the world of Starscourge in motion, Bahamut disappeared from Eos, and the tales of the Astrals became legends.

IV. The Founder King Two thousand years ago, our main antagonist Ardyn Izunia was to be the first Lucian king. He believed he was chosen by the Crystal to save Eos from the Starscourge.  He did so by absorbing the Starscourge into his own body to protect his subjects.  What powers he possessed that enabled him to do so remain unknown.  While his actions saved thousands across the world, he was rejected by the Crystal as tainted, and was denounced by the Astrals and his ascendance to the throne was denied. He was unable to die, barred entry to the Astral Realm since the daemons he had absorbed rendered him immortal. He states he was “betrayed” by his younger brother, who would become the first king of Lucis, also known as the Founder King or The Mystic. However, in the Royal Pack, the Mystic pleads of Noctis to "free my brother from his curse."  Perhaps it wasn’t even a real betrayal by his brother and the Crystal merely chose his brother over Ardyn regardless of his brother’s choice in the matter. Anger and revenge twisted Ardyn for thousands of years he lost sight of the kind ruler he once was. Ardyn’s actual backstory is still shrouded in mystery which hopefully Episode Ardyn will clear up.  Ardyn retook the surname of "Izunia" and plotted to one day end the Astral-appointed bloodlines of the Lucian kings and Tenebraean Oracles, particularly the “True King.”

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Season Pass 2 Announcement & Predictions

Season Pass 2 has been announced! It will include Episodes Ardyn, Luna and Noctis and a Side Story for Aranea. Also with this news comes the announcement of the "Alternate Grand Finale."

Our heroes will challenge their fates in order to realize the ideal future they envisioned.

Now let's go through the descriptions of the DLC's given and make some predictions.

Episode I: Ardyn

“The Conflict of the Sage”

This story portrays the struggles of Ardyn. Witness the resentment he harbored towards Lucis for over 2000 years, and his clashes with the Astrals. It will be out in the very beginning of 2019.

First of all, it's very important to note here that Ardyn is referred to as "the Sage." Sage has actually been a job class in previous Final Fantasies.  According to finalfantasywikia: "The sage could be considered the ultimate Red Mage, being able to cast both Black and White Magic.."  This is interesting because it somewhat lines up with the "Ardyn is a Red Mage/Red Mages exist in FFXV" theory.

While we have all been told of Ardyn's origin story, we have never actually /seen/ it.  I suspect Episode Ardyn will actually show us his absorption of the Starscourge, rejection by the Crystal and Astrals and the nature of the "betrayal" by his younger brother, Somnus.

Episode Side Story: Aranea

“The Beginning of the End”

A side-story about the Starscourge depicted from Niflheim’s perspective. The final day of the Empire turns out to be Aranea’s worst day. It should be out in early Spring 2019.

Most likely will explain what happened in Gralea when its people were wiped out by the "vanishing disease"/Starscourge prior to Noctis & Co.'s arrival.

Episode II: Lunafreya

“The Choice of Freedom”

This story’s 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. It will be out in Spring 2019.

Now this is an interesting description.  At first, I thought a Luna DLC would show her forging covenants with the Astrals before her death but it seems this DLC will go down a different path. Both in Kingsglaive and FFXV Luna has been shown as being incredibly devoted to her duty of assuring the ascension of the True King. In Kingsglaive, Lunafreya tells Regis that her duty is to ensure that Noctis fulfills his destiny. To which Regis responds "and what of your own destiny?" Lunafreya simply tells him that her duty is her destiny.  She is so devoted to this duty that she has sacrificed any thoughts of having the “choice of freedom.”  Because of this, many players found Lunafreya to be a flat/boring character that only exists as a plot device for Noctis.  While this is unfortunately mostly true, there was much more to Luna that we didn't see.  A scene from patch 1.16 shows Lunafreya saying "If we could live out our days together, as we once dreamed," thus confirming that Noctis and Luna did have mutual feelings for each other for a long time.

Judging from the sentence "Her battle to save the one she loves overturns the destiny dealt to the Lucian King." and the title "The Choice of Freedom," it would appear that in this Episode Lunafreya does something to change Noctis's fate, something which she as Oracle duty bound to fulfill the prophecy probably shouldn't have done. Furthermore, that this choice is something Luna decides for herself to do; something not bound by duty or prophecy but by her love for Noctis.

Episode III: Noctis

“The Final Strike”

Parting ways with the Astrals, Noctis embarks upon his final battle in order to attain the ideal future for all his people. It will be out in Spring 2019.

Not a lot to go off with this one.  It seems like yet (another) retelling of the final battle with Ardyn but this time will be the "ideal future." This "ideal future" *may* be the "Alternate Grand Finale" planned.  The artwork accompanying this shows Lunafreya, Noctis and the bros as much older.  There are two children that appear to be Noctis' and Luna's children.  Then most interesting of all is (Uncle) Ardyn.  Perhaps Noctis really managed to make Ardyn "remember the kind King he once was" as he proclaimed in the pocket edition?

And, if we really wanna go far back, we can take another look at Fabula Nova Crystallis and some of its major elements: humankind defying the will of divinity and seeking out alternate futures. Our first iteration of FFXV contained none of this, Noctis and co simply followed the path they were given.  Episode Ignis introduced Ignis and Noctis defying the Crystal and looking for alternate solutions to defeating Ardyn without Noctis dying.  Now we have the "Alternate Grand Finale" which seems like it will be a happy ending for all.

Overall, I am pleased with these proposed DLC even though this is really something I expected from the main game the first time around I played it. Perhaps Square Enix really would have been better off keeping the game in 3 parts....but oh well

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OMEN TRAILER, THE CRYSTAL AND CARBUNCLE: AN ARGUMENT FOR THE TIME LOOP

3/14/18: Another part I am probably going to cut from my panel due to time constraints.  Plus, it’s still not fleshed out as I would like it to be. I will probably update this at a later time.

In FFXV there is strong support that the game occurs in a time loop. This also occurs in the FNC title FF-0 called the "Spiral of Fate."  In a time loop, the character(s) are forced to keep repeating a set period of time and events in that time period until they meet certain conditions to escape the loop.  The characters aware of the loop learn from each loop and attempt to change things in hopes of meeting these unknown conditions. The "butterfly effect" is a phenomenon where "small causes can have larger effects."  Many times characters in time loops use this in order to cause changes in the events that occur. This is sometimes complicated by other involved characters being unaware they are in a loop, thus possibly causing difficulty for the aware character.

Many fans believe that the events of FFXV occur in a time loop.  There are some official confirmations of this, but most is fandom conjecture.  However, the theory has enough evidence to lend it credence.

The first evidence we have of this is the "Omen" trailer. In the official timeline it is listed as being an "Alternate Reality." It is a premonition Regis has of his Noctis going on his journey to Altissia by himself, and an alternate future that he wants to prevent.

The voice who answers King Regis when he talks to the Crystal in Omen is ambiguous, some say it is Bahamut but it is more likely the Crystal itself as it is the Crystal that needs to absorb the power of the Lucian kings. There is also a discrepancy between the Japanese and English versions:

Japanese Version:

Regis: Just how many lives have been sacrificed so far...

???: All the sacrifices are for the future King.

???: And then our mission ends.

Regis: The King will fulfill his duty no matter what.

???: Of course.

Regis: Gods, please forgive me.

English Version:

Regis: How many must die before you are satisfied

???: I have seen many deaths, but now I am only looking forward to one.

???: And then, I can rest

Regis: He will take responsibility you know

???: As must we all

Regis: May the Gods forgive me.

This likely refers to the coming of the True King; the Ring of the Lucii needs one more life (Regis's) for the next ring-bearer (Noctis) to become the True King. It is likewise ambiguous as to why he asks for the gods' forgiveness after his talk with the Crystal.  Perhaps it is because Regis is toying with the future by changing it and sending off Noctis with his friends. Or perhaps it is because Regis has toyed with the future more than once?

In Brotherhood, it’s theorized that Regis creates the Carbuncle totem from the Crystal itself to protect Noctis from “his darkest dreams.” Carbuncle is officially titled as a divine messenger, but only Noctis can see him and his sole purpose seems to aid Noctis.  He first appears in the Platinum demo where he guides Noctis through his dream world.  In the demo and in FFXV proper on easy mode, Carbuncle is able to revive Noctis no matter how many times he dies.  In the audio drama Parting Ways, Noctis makes sure to bring the Carbuncle totem with him on his journey and Ignis remarks “I wouldn’t take this little lucky charm so lightly. It brought you back from the brink of death, didn’t it?”  He is seen again at the Choco Mog festival.  Some have theorized that this festival happens in Noctis's dream while he is in another coma after the events in Altissia.  The other party members are nowhere to seen and NPC's that wouldn't have been in Altissia at the time are there.  However, Carbuncle sends Noctis on a quest filled with fun events, perhaps in an attempt to lift his spirits after the somber events in Altissia.

Thus, it is not too far fetched that it may be Carbuncle (and Regis) continuing to protect Noctis by using the power of the Crystal and controlling the time loop. Other candidates are Umbra who is able to send you into the "future" and "past" in the main game itself and Pyrna is who able to bestow visions on others.  Umbra is also still alive when dawn breaks after Noctis defeats Ardyn, even though the rest of the Astrals are gone and thus, so would their messengers.

Another piece of evidence is that at the beginning of the game, the final battle with Ifrit plays.  Furthermore, at the end of the game, the opening of the game where the bros are pushing the car to Hammerhead plays again. Gladio states "I hope this isn't some kind of omen", making a tongue in cheek reference to the Omen trailer.

But, how exactly can the loop be escaped?  Even though Noctis achieves the Crystal's goal in the main ending and light returns to the world, the world is not in the best of shape.  Having been ravaged by daemons and the Starscourge for the past 10+ years, Lestallum and Hammerhead are the only cities not in ruin.  Additionally, the majority of humanity have been wiped out.  Despite Noctis's mission being achieved, the world is still left in post-apocalyptic shambles. Surely this is not the ideal situation that Noctis or anyone besides Ardyn would want.

That is why I, and others, theorize the reason for the intro playing during the ending is that this is not the "correct" timeline.  In this timeline, Noctis was merely toyed around by both Ardyn and the Crystal so the two of them could accomplish their own goals.  Going back to FNC, one of the main themes was rebellion against fate and in this timeline no rebellion occurred.  Thus, I believe that the proper timeline would be one were Noctis is able to achieve his own goals and none of his loved ones suffer and die. As seen in Episode Ignis, when Noctis told off the Crystal, Ravus's life and Ignis's eyes were saved and Noctis didn’t die, thus there is no reason to believe that if events were somehow changed that perhaps Regis, Lunafreya and even Ardyn could be saved.  Ardyn was kind before he was corrupted by the daemons so perhaps there is a way he can be purified.

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RED MAGE & THE THIRD BLESSED BLOODLINE THEORY

3/13/18:  This part may be getting cut from my presentation, but I wanted to post it here before I started hacking away at it since I think it’s interesting. Inspired by this video.

One theory is that there is another "magical" bloodline besides the Nox Fleurets and the Lucis Caelums.  This line would be the Auburnbries.  The name itself translates as "The Red Exalted One" or "Red Noble."  Players encounter the Auburnbries in the game as the leaders of the Meldacio Hunter HQ.  The Hunters are led by Ezma (Izania in the Japanese version) Auburnbrie with her son Dave next in line as leader.  Ezma also has a sister named Kimya that she exiled to the Malmalam Thicket and regarded as a witch due to her particular abilities. We learn about her in a quest only available after you beat the game once called "The Witch in the Woods." After completing her quest, she says:

“Repel the daemons they do. At Havens, they are used. The Oracle's blessing, my potions strengthen. Long ago, healing potions, the Hunters wanted. Brew them, I did, but very angry their leader grew. Dangerous, my potions are, my sister said. Make them, if I must, but alone shall I be. Receive help, I shall not.”  

We know that the only other person that can make potions embued with magic is Noctis and the Lucis Caelum bloodline, so how would someone that's not from the Lucis be able to do this?

Ezma came to possess the key which unlocks eight sealed doors, each holding an evil behind them. She will hand Noctis the Sealbreakers Key, said to be forged by a Lucian king and an Oracle of yore. Thirty years ago she met Regis, whom she requested to take down the beasts. However, given the nature of his journey and Insomnia fighting Niflheim, Regis was unable to, but promised to once the war would be over.  This then left the task handed to Noctis after he completes a certain number of hunts.

Thus, the two sisters are protectors of Eos in each their own way.  In fact, if we look at the Prophecy mural, besides the 4 bros and the Astrals, there are two Angelic like figures at the bottom fending off demons.  One of them appears to hold a key.  The only key we know of is the Sealbreakers Key. Thus, it's possible that the Auburnbries are a 3rd bloodline tasked with protecting Eos from daemons and the starscourge.  Dave also has several tattoos of angels perhaps relating to his bloodline?

If the Nox Fleurets can be thought of as White Mages for their use of healing and protective magicks, the Lucis Caelum as Black Mages for their use of destructive magicks, then perhaps the Aburnbries can be thought of as Red Mages due to the translation of their name and their mix of abilities.

Ardyn himself may come from this line. He is shown to have unique abilities such as the ability to absorb the Starscourge, create "stitches in time" and change his appearance. Furthermore his Armiger is not blue, but red.

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Tabata’s Final Fantasy

3/1/18 - Note i’m very tired and just wanted to get this up and finished. I know it’s probably out of order and needs a bit more work but i’m happy with what i’ve got so far :3 Again pls....feedback....feed me

As previously stated, within the company, Hajime Tabata was made the director of the game in December 2013, and the game's release date, September 30, 2016, was settled. The main reason was to set a clear end goal for the game’s completion.  

In a recent interview with Edge magazine (Issue#314), Tabata has talked about when he was first approached about taking over XV. CEO Yoichi Wada called Tabata and told him:

“that there was a great deal of trouble with [Versus]…He told me that he was considering whether or not to cancel the project.  If he did, he said, then he’d want to really start it up from scratch again and take it off in a new direction, and maybe have me take on that project.  There are problems with every videogame project, of course, but with [Versus] the period of trying to fix the issues just went on way too long.  It had already been in development for 6 years by that point.  It couldn’t carry on in the same way.”

Tabata did not accept this offer straightaway.  He stated that 90% of his team was opposed to taking on the project and merging with Nomura’s team since they knew how troubled the project was.

Tabata, has described the situation with the game as unique, and that he had learned that releasing information about a game early forms a different view by the world to what the developers themselves think. The moment it goes out the information stops being just a thing for the developers but becomes something for the fans who form attachments to things like characters, such as Stella and Cor Leonis, whose roles were respectively removed and reduced in XV. He said that handling the way people relate to the released information is something that will be important for the future, as Square Enix had made a mistake in revealing Final Fantasy Versus XIII so early. Because Versus XIII was incomplete and not fully formed, there wasn't a whole lot brought over to Final Fantasy XV. Tabata has described Versus as more an idea that an actual game.

Furthermore, at the time Tabata joined there was a lot of discussion and scrutinizing of the project and a lot of time was spent thinking about how to change the team structure. When Tabata first assembled the development team its hierarchy was reset; some section leads had been in the position for a dozen years forcing each team member to adhere to the subjective values of their supervisor. Tabata instead told the team everyone was equal. This in itself is radical for a Japanese company, where hierarchy and submission to seniors is important.  Of course, many of the senior members of the team did not like this and had their own specific vision of what a Final Fantasy game should be as they had been working on them for several years.  He referred to this attitude as “Final Fantasy disease.”

“It refers to people within the company who can’t imagine anything other than their own view of Final Fantasy. Since the root is a strong self-affirmation, one’s own view of Final Fantasy takes more priority than the team’s success. If that view of Final Fantasy isn’t fulfilled, then they’re convinced that it’s bad for Final Fantasy. They think, ‘Since Final Fantasy is a special team, then we are also special because we are making it. When the new Final Fantasy comes out, everybody is going to be so into it.’ But that’s not the reality of the situation, is it?”

Tabata has said that with the change of name and platform and thus the game engine and him taking the reins, it would no longer be "the exact same game" as some things had to be re-evaluated to fit the change of circumstances, mainly the timeframe and so that the game would be complete in one installment compared to the 3 titles Nomura had planned. He assured the game had not lost its core, and that he had sat down with Nomura about the direction of the title to ensure that characters would be maintained in the best possible way.

Despite this, Tabata spearheaded a massive restructuring effort where not even the most well-publicized parts of Final Fantasy Versus XIII were safe. Most infamously of all, the female protagonist known as Stella was cut and replaced with Lunafreya.  For example, the Invasion of Insomnia that was predominantly featured in Versus XIII trailers was reimagined entirely.  In XV, Noctis and his bros were out of the city and on their way to Altissia before the invasion started. Instead, the team released the movie Kingsglaive, to show what happened prior and coinciding with the first chapter of the game. Instead of Noctis and his bros taking part in defending insomnia, Nyx Ulric and the Kingsglaive took up that role instead. In fact, day one patches of the Kingsglaive film had to be added to the main game so players could make sense of what was going on.  The battle in Altissia with Leviathan was also drastically toned down. Various unconfirmed rumours have sprung up years saying “this is what Versus was supposed to be.”  However, very few of these can be validated.  In the end all we know about what Versus could have been was from those few trailers and whatever unrevealed scenario Nomura had written up.  

The fault of XV’s rocky development was not the fault of either Nomura or Tabata but various internal issues at Square Enix that required a constant reallocation of manpower and resources.  The massive failings of Final Fantasy XIV 1.0 and the XIII trilogy meant that developers and money that should have gone into Versus, went into these more critical projects. The Luminous Engine used to run XV was being developed alongside XV, which caused its own host of problems.  Nomura was stretched thin with the Kingdom Hearts franchise and eventually Square wanted him to head the FFVII Remake.  As Nomura as stated, it was not his decision to leave as director of XV, but Square Enix’s.  Speaking of the delay with the release of Kingdom Hearts II, Nomura addressed some Square Enix’s internal issues:

Of course, internal personnel is very limited, and there are various different projects that happen within our company, so unfortunately the timing didn’t work out. We had to make due with the timing that was appropriate for the company. We feel that has contributed to the shift in our [development] period. The company makes the decisions, so unfortunately some times this is out of my control. But again, I want to emphasize that it wasn’t a problem our development team’s side. It just happened that way. The company had to make those decisions and it didn’t work out for the targets that we were hoping to hit. (https://www.dualshockers.com/kingdom-hearts-3-interview-tetsuya-nomura/)

Tabata was then left to pick up the pieces of a project that was left in development limbo for years at a time and was nearing cancellation at the time of his appointment to the position of director.

It does not help that Nomura and Tabata have vastly different storytelling styles.  While Nomura has a very convoluted style of storytelling(see Kingdom Hearts), Tabata prefers a more linear path.  Therefore, Tabata had to make sense of what Nomura had left him and make it his own while also keeping happy the fans that had grown attached to the characters and story over the years;  all within the timeline the company had laid out for him.

Though the game was highly reviewed and sold well, there was somewhat of a mixed response amongst fans. For those that had been following the development since 2006, this was not the game they had waited over 10 years for (myself among them).  Many people blamed Tabata for “ruining” XV.  However, when we look at all these factors and the bigger picture at hand, Tabata simply worked with what he had.  Unfortunately, that also left us with plot holes, cut content, just plain confusion, and in the end, what many people considered an incomplete game.  

[ruby-lights]

The Development Timeline of Final Fantasy XV

Another entry into my series of Final Fantasy XV development and lore.  Most of this information was taken from the finalfantasy.wikia but I have cut it down to the key points.  The purpose of this is to show just how stuck Versus/XV were in development limbo and the roadblocks encountered that kept it there so long.  I still feel like this is pretty rough so if I have left something out or you think I should expand on some things please let me know! 

UPDATE: 2/28/18 6:51 PM COOL ROCK ACTUALLY ADDED

I.                    FIRST TRAILER

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQeeUnqmdUk

Versus XIII was first unveiled at E3 2006, along with FFXIII and FF Agito XIII as part of the Final Fantasy: Fabula Nova Crystallis series, with this trailer and the revelation that the game was going to be in 3 parts developed by Tetsuya Nomura and the team responsible for the Kingdom Hearts series.  Noctis Lucis Caelum, the series’ protagonist, was the first character revealed for the game.

The trailer was incredibly striking due to its change of tone compared to the last few Final Fantasy titles.  The setting, the enemies and Noctis himself were all entrenched in dark colors; a far cry away from the vibrant worlds and characters we have been seeing since Final Fantasy IX.   Blood spilled from the enemies and the beautiful swirling of crystal weapons around Noctis really showed off what the PS3 could do. It also signaled a return to the more technologic settings of FFVII and FFVIII.

  II.                  PLANNED SCENARIO

Final Fantasy Versus XIII's setting presented a world where four nations once had crystals but lost them to warfare fueled by coveting the other nations' crystals. Lucis remained the only nation with a crystal and thus prospered thanks to their crystal's magic and influence. The rest of the world developed in the field of military power and warfare and grew distant from Lucis. The tensions grew into a politico-resource strife driven cold war. The nation of Niflheim would have united the other nations under its banner as its solution to lay Lucis at siege for its crystal.

The nation of Lucis was said to have worked akin to a mafia crime family since the nation's ancient beginnings, and despite its peace was said to have engaged in strict rule, including a ban on firearms and a lockdown in the capitol city. Noctis was the crown prince, and Regis the current king.  Etro was the patron goddess of Lucis known as the goddess of death, and Lucis thus had a dark design with prevalent Grim Reaper motifs.

-The game was to open with a formal party to celebrate the treaty-signing between Lucis and Niflheim. The treaty-signing was but a ruse and Niflheim forces stormed the city to steal its crystal. Noctis and his friends fought their way through soldiers and Behemoths. Noctis was to face a mysterious white-clad man who also appeared to wield the power of the crystal, and even fight Stella, who would display the same power to summon weapons via magic

Most of the characters announced remain in redesigned forms for Final Fantasy XV, apart from Stella Nox Fleuret who was replaced by Lunafreya Nox Fleuret who shares some design elements from Stella.

Noctis Lucis Caelum was the main character and remains such for Final Fantasy XV, and he was to be joined by party members Gladiolus Amicitia, Ignis Scientia and Prompto Argentum, although all of them went through a redesign on both their outfits and their physical appearances (especially Prompto).

Other characters glimpsed from trailers were Regis Lucis Caelum, the king and Noctis's father.

Iedolas Aldercapt, the leader of the enemy state of Niflheim.

The mysterious white-robed man from trailers is in Final Fantasy XV as Ravus Nox Fleuret.

The dragoon character in one of the trailers, appears as Aranea Highwind.

Gentiana's original role for Final Fantasy Versus XIII was that of Stella's messenger, and a contact point between the countries of Tenebrae and Niflheim. However, in XV she serves as Lunafreya’s messenger and a High messenger between Gods’ and humans.

III.                PRODUCTION OF VERSUS XIII

While many fans believe that FFXV was “in production” for 10 years, the fact of that matter is that it stalled in development limbo for most of that time.  Due to game engine issues, Square Enix re-allocating man power, and Nomura’s own ambition as well as being stretched thin with other game projects, not much actually progressed with Versus XIII. It was only until Tabata’s take-over and the rebranding to XV, that development of the game progressed.

2006–2009

For the majority of 2006 through 2009, the production team was virtually nonexistant. CG team member, Eiji Kitada and one other person, did all the CG work together. Kitada wrote in his blog at the time that other projects took precedence (mainly being FFXIII and Advent Children, which the duo also worked on). The two of them handled all the pre-production modeling and rendering.

Interestingly enough, Square Enix revealed the Crystal Tools game engine used for FFXIII at the 2008 Game Developers Conference, which means that the trailer released months later of Noctis and Stella was likely some of the first content actually created for the game. So, despite its 2006 announcement, chances are that not much more than concepts and these two trailers existed for Versus XIII until nearly two years later.

2009

Tokyo Game Show 2009: game's first gameplay footage, Nomura said the clip was made to prove the game was still in development.

  2010

After Final Fantasy XIII launched resources could be shifted back to the Final Fantasy Versus XIII project, but technical issues were bringing the project nearly to a halt.  The Crystal Tools engine built for Final Fantasy XIII couldn't handle Versus XIII anymore because it could not handle the open world environments used in Versus. Ultimately, Square Enix was forced to commission the creation of a brand-new engine for Final Fantasy Versus XIII called Luminous Studio, which would eventually cause its own share of problems.

June: New in-game screenshots and details were revealed, and Nomura stated that the scenario was finished.

August 25: Producer Yoshinori Kitase announced that Versus "may not be released until after 2011", which would signal the beginning of the ever-changing release date for this title.

  2011

January 18: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBzET47Pc1E

Square Enix held the 1st Production Department Premier in which the showed a demo of Noctis and Stella talking to each other.

Summer: Square Enix got its first look at the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Square started making plans for Versus to move from the PS3 to PS4 and Xbox One technologies.

July: Nomura revealed that Final Fantasy Versus XIII hadn't yet entered full production.

August 31: Square Enix had to renew the trademark for Final Fantasy Versus XIII.

  2012

July 24: Former Square Enix president Yoichi Wada posted a tweet dismissing rumors that arose about the game being cancelled after a long period of media silence.

It was decided development would shift to next-generation consoles, and the name was officially changed into Final Fantasy XV within the company, although the public revelation of the re-branding would wait until E3 2013.

The team working on the game got resized from 200 workers to around 20 in 2012 right before the arrival of Hajime Tabata and the Final Fantasy Type-0 team. In December 2012 Hajime Tabata became co-director to finish the project, which would eventually have him transition as the new director. Tabata has later said that when Final Fantasy Versus XIII became Final Fantasy XV, it was around 25% complete. From previous statements from Nomura, it can be assumed that this 25% probably was mostly the main scenario writing, with little progress made on the actual making of the game itself.

  2013

March 19: VG Leaks reported that not only had production been halted because of the failure and subsequent rebuilding of Final Fantasy XIV, but that it had been moved to the PlayStation 4 and was reworked into Final Fantasy XV. It is believed Square Enix needed the people to fix the disaster that was FFXIV so many people were moved off FFXV and other titles. Of course, Square Enix refused to comment on this leak.

April 17: Nomura spoke briefly about the game: "It's a delicate situation within the company. The date for our next reveal is set and we are working toward preparing information for that. Perhaps the details as to why information couldn't be released might be touched upon with the next information announcement."

During this time Nomura briefly envisioned making Final Fantasy XV into a musical after watching the 2012 film version of Les Miserables. He charged into the Square offices the next morning intent on transforming Final Fantasy XV, but Square Enix convinced him that was an awful idea.

June 10:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3xKbPooKAo

Sony's E3 press conference,, a new trailer for the game played with the end of the trailer announcing the game has been renamed Final Fantasy XV, with development moved to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

December: Hajime Tabata was made the director of the game and the game's release date, September 30, 2016, was settled. The main reason was to set a clear end goal for the game’s completion.  

  2014

September 17: New trailer showcasing the setting, the party and its car, battles, and a new character, Lunafreya Nox Fleuret. the game was now running on Luminous Engine

During Tokyo Game Show, Square Enix officially announced Tabata had taken over directing the game with Nomura focusing on Kingdom Hearts III.

Nomura later told Famitsu it had been Square Enix's decision to remove him from the Final Fantasy XV project.

At this time, production for the game really ramped up, with Square Enix even hiring for a multitude of positions.

I can no longer find the hiring ads but I recall them being pretty bare and unintentionally hilarious. Like you basically just had to know Japanese, C++ and be “really enthusiastic.”

https://www.criticalhit.net/gaming/square-enix-hiring-for-final-fantasy-xv/

Promotions also picked up speed.  Tabata and his team regularly released “Active Time Reports” where they discussed progress on the game and addressed concerns from fans.

  2015

20th February: Tabata said the game was around 60% complete.

March 17: Final Fantasy Type-0 HD was released with the first print including a download code for the Final Fantasy XV Episode Duscae demo.

August at Gamescom:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXMJTGna_xA

Besides comradeship, the bonds between parents and children was said to be a major theme, and the new story revelations included Luna being Noctis's fiancée for a political marriage. The new "Dawn" trailer showing the events of 15 years before the game of Luna being attacked by an unknown Nifelheim general, and a young Noctis being held by his father after "the stars had chosen him as their light".

To reassure fans Tabata said the release date had been decided with a road map lined up to launch, and that the game was proceeding along as planned. He said the release was going to be "before 2017".  Square Enix was "putting everyone at the same starting line", meaning the game was now also marketed toward people who had never heard of Final Fantasy before. The tagline was changed from “A Fantasy Based on Reality” to “A Final Fantasy for Fans and First Timers.”

October: Cool rock added.

December: It was announced that development had entered the final phase.

January: The team was putting all the parts of the game that were being developed separately together, but many new problems emerged they only became aware of in that time. He has lamented this linked into why they didn't get the game to the exact level they wanted for the final quality.

  2016

January 31: A stage event took place at Taipei Game Show followed by the Active Time Report. new battle footage showing the updated battle system, use of magic, stealth gameplay and the re-introduction of the dragoon woman, named Aranea Highwind.  A tech demo featuring a young Noctis was said to be in the works, which would later be revealed as the Platinum Demo. Hajime Tabata also showed a variety of information regarding the Niflheim Empire, from its leaders and infantrymen to their motives and designs.

March 30: The Uncovered: Final Fantasy XV event took place, where the Brotherhood anime mini-series, Kingsglaive movie and the game release date of September 30th 2016 were revealed.

August 12: Rumors began circulating that the game was to be delayed to the end of November.

August 14: Director Hajime Tabata confirmed the delay, saying a master version of the game was ready, but to deliver the best possible game they had planned a substantive day one patch. The team decided to include what was going to be in the patch in the disc version, and push back the release by two months, however there was still a day one 7GB patch.

October 27: Square Enix announced at Paris Games Week that the game had gone gold, meaning development was complete and it was ready for production.

Development would shift towards downloadable content, that was to include three original episodes that would take place during the game events. Each episode would take control of one of Noctis's party members. Following the character episodes, an online expansion pack called "Comrades" was set for release. Square Enix also debuted the “Omen” trailer.  The “Omen” trailer has a lot to unpack so this will be discussed in more detail in another post.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZymd6r4wGg

November 11: Square Enix released a new demo titled Final Fantasy XV: Judgment Disc that would serve as a way to "judge" the final product. The demo was generally well-received but players soon discovered bugs. Tabata assured they were being fixed; due to the game's open world nature pruning each and every bug was seen as impossible, but they would monitor the frequency players experience bugs and release patches.

November 29: Worldwide Release!!!

[ruby-lights]

FABULA NOVA CRYSTALLIS

I.  Introduction and Development

In order to understand the origins of FFXV's lore we must first look into the mythos that served as its foundation.  This is the Fabula Nova Crystallis mythos. The goal of Fabula Nova Crystallis (FNC), "new tale of the crystal" in Latin, was to create a series of games that shared a common mythos.  The games originally canon to FNC included the Final Fantasy XIII series (Lightning Saga) and Final Fantasy XIII Agito and Final Fantasy Versus XIII. Both were rebranded to FF Type 0 and FFXV respectively after FFXIII was released to mixed reviews and Square Enix wanted to distance these games from the XIII series. Type-0 is still considered part of FNC.

In a 2014 interview, FFXV director Hajime Tabata stated that: 

The original idea [of FNC] was to create a series of games around the 'Crystal Legend' mythology, but not restrict developers to a single direction. We wanted it to be quite a broad idea. It was like the mythology of ancient Greece and how so much fiction comes out of those—it would be easier to make future Final Fantasy games if we were to create a shared mythology and base games on that.

Motomu Toriyama, the director of the Final Fantasy XIII series, has described the FNC mythology as not written like a detailed history book, but more like a fairy tale that gets passed on and containing a vast world and mythology that are tied to various deities, making it too large to be told in one game.   

II. Role in XV  

According to Tabata in a 2015 Gamescom event interview:

There are two main reasons for [using the Fabula Nova Crystallis mythos]. The first is that the world of FFXV was originally designed with these elements and links to the FNC mythology in mind. When we came to readjust the game and change it from Versus XIII to XV, we felt it was much better to keep them in there and incorporate them in a very natural way, rather than try and remove all of them at any expense. We'd lose a lot of the world and its attraction if we did that. But why we decided to remove all the specific terminology from FFXIII was because, if you start the story and we introduce these words and ideas from the start, people will think it's still very much part of the FFXIII world. So you'd lose some of the identity as FFXV, and we really want to avoid that. Instead, we decided to not use this specific terminology and to introduce the language of the game in an easy and understandable way, that anyone can follow when they get into the game from there.

Therefore, while no longer officially part of the FNC universe, FFXV still uses the mythos, themes and concepts from it. 

III. Overarching Themes

A. Humanity vs. Divinity 

The general theme of FNC is that destiny is predetermined by higher beings, and humans must choose whether to accept or rebel against their fate. Despite the gods' power and callous treatment of mankind, using people as mere tools toward their own goals, humans can prevail relying on the strength of their souls. 

Additionally this is a theme not foreign to the Final Fantasy series. In fact, it’s a main theme in virtually every FF title. We can see examples of characters defying their fates in FFX, when Tidus refuses to let Yuna die to obtain the final summoning and FF8 where Ultimecia and Squall time travel to change the future among other examples.

B. Time Travel, Loops and Paradoxes

In Final Fantasy XIII-2 Serah and Noel must fix the paradoxes created in the timeline with powers that they are granted by Etro, the goddess of death and the unseen realm. This results in the two going to both the past and future trying to put the timeline back on its proper path and stop the main antagonist Caius, from opening Etro's Gate and flooding the world with souls of the dead. The game has several different endings depending on which paradoxes have been resolved.

In Final Fantasy Type-0 the people of Orience are trapped in a spiral by fate (which has revolved 600,104,971 times) and Class Zero must choose to either accept their roles as the pawns of the divine, or choose their own path.  This game also has several different endings based on choices the player makes as well as how many times the player has started a new game+.

Again, classic Final Fantasy titles such as the original Final Fantasy, as well as 8 and 10 have heavily included time travel in their plots.

C. Crystals

As in virtually every Final Fantasy, crystals play an important role.  They are sources and representatives of great power. In Type-0, different nations rule over different crystals and are at war trying to get possession of all the crystals.  In both Type 0 and XIII, the beings known as l'Cie turn into crystals after having completed their Focus (mission) that was given to them by the fal'Cie (gods).

IV. Base Mythos

A. The Creation Myth

The creation myth in FFXIII is the tale of Bhunivelze.  The other FNC games use this myth as a basis as well but not to the degree of XIII, however it is still important to know this myth as it helps explain much of the lore in Versus XIII and subsequently FFXV.

 From finalfantasy.wikia: 

The universe is divided in two coexisting realities—the mortal world, the realm of the living, and the unseen realm, the realm of the dead. In the beginning, the god Bhunivelze had killed his mother, Mwynn, to take full control of the Mortal World and Mwynn was sent into the unseen world. The troubled Bhunivelze believed Mwynn had placed a curse on the realm of the living so that it would one day be destroyed. Bhunivelze sought to destroy his mother once and for all, but was unable to reach the unseen world without giving up control of the mortal world. He himself would have to die in order to enter the unseen world. To find the entrance to the realm of the dead, Bhunivelze created the fal'Cie, another God, Pulse to search the world for the door.

Bhunivelze created the fal'Cie Etro to assist Pulse, only to discard her without giving her any powers when he saw he had created her in the likeness of his mother.  Bhunivelze finally created Lindzei to serve as his protector as he turned himself into a crystal and went into a deep slumber until the door to the unseen realm would be found.  

While Pulse and Lindzei were given a task to fulfill by their creator, Etro became distressed over her lack of power and purpose. She killed herself to receive Bhunivelze's notice and vanished from the mortal world, and her spilled blood was used by Lindzei to create humanity. With the first human, created in Etro's image, being Yeul from FFXIII-2. Ending up in the unseen realm, Etro discovered Mwynn being consumed by an energy known as chaos, which is represented in the games as a black mist.

Before finally being consumed by the Chaos, Mwynn tasked Etro with protecting the balance of the universe, for if the balance between the mortal and unseen realms was to be disrupted, the universe itself would collapse.

Not fully comprehending Mwynn's final request, Etro became lonely and developed an affection toward the humans who were fated to follow her in death. Etro placed a piece of chaos within each human being as they passed through to the unseen realm, this being referred to as the "heart", stabilizing the influence of chaos.

Pulse continued to craft the world as he saw fit, while Lindzei protected the world. One day, Pulse and Lindzei disappeared. Many of the humans, in turn, worshiped—and some abhorred—these fal'Cie as gods. Etro became known as the Goddess of Death who waits to greet those who pass through the door to the unseen world, eventually to be reborn in a new form. She supervises the cycle of reincarnation to keep the amount of chaos between the two realms in balance by recycling souls with new hearts.

B. Humanity Enslaved

Humans in FNC are unique in that they  were created from material in the physical world (the blood of Etro), but hold the energy of the unseen realm (the chaos forming their hearts) inside them, giving them emotions and a unique self, which the Gods lack. This allows them to exist in both the physical and the unseen planes. 

This generally exploited by the fal'Cie by branding select humans as l'Cie [servants].  After being branded as a l'Cie, a human must finish their specific Focus, or mission.  If the l'Cie fails to complete it before his or her brand advances to its final stage, they will turn into a monster known as a Cie'th [daemon]. According to legend, when l'Cie fulfill their Focus, they gain eternal life; in reality, l'Cie who complete their Focus turn into crystal where they can only dream. However, a l'Cie can still be revived from crystal stasis by a fal'Cie or the power of their will.

The concept of the l'Cie alludes to the Warriors of Light, a recurring theme in the early installments of the Final Fantasy series where a group of warriors brought together by circumstance become "branded" the Warriors of Light by the crystal, giving them a mission to save the world and special powers. In previous games becoming a Warrior of Light was depicted as heroic, whereas the Fabula Nova Crystallis series explores the concept of servitude to the crystal in a more sinister light, bringing the free will of chosen "warriors", as well as the gods' choices of “warriors” into question.  For example, in FFXIII, Sazh's 6 year old son, Dahj, is made into a l'Cie, forced to carry out a mission to seek out enemy l'Cie which includes his own father. Fulfilling this task would mean selling out his father, while failing it would turn him into a demon.

Final Fantasy XV likewise shares the theme of questioning the free will of the "Warriors of Light" and Noctis' role as the True King.  In the context of FNC, Noctis is a l'Cie to the Crystal/fal'Cie Bahamut and the other Astrals, his Focus is to sacrifice his life and rid the world of the starscourge and the darkness.

V. Etro's role in FF Versus 13

Etro's role is explained by Stella Nox Fleuret in this 2009 trailer. Etro was the patron goddess of Lucis.  During the formal party to celebrate the treaty-signing between Lucis and Niflheim, Stella talked to Noctis about a legend from her home country of Tenebrae. The legend stated that whenever Etro opens the Unseen Gate, the souls of the dead ascend as a streak of light to the heavens and through the Gate. It is said that when few among the dying see the light, they are given power from the Kingdom of the Dead. Stella stated she can see the light of dying souls, as can Noctis. Noctis states the both of them must have had a near death experience.

However, in FFXV Etro, this plot point, and even Stella are removed. Except for a cameo in Kingsglaive, where the Stella and Noctis' meeting in front of a painting of Etro is with Nyx Ulric and Lunafreya instead.