Thoughts on the New Final Fantasy XV DLC

We skipped the latest Final Fantasy XV news in favor of discussing the Wild Arms mobile game, so let’s go back to it now.

At PAX East, Square Enix officially announced the next four DLC episodes for Final Fantasy XV.

They’re collectively called the “Dawn of the Future” DLC and are intended to show “a future everyone longed for” with an “alternate grand finale.”

Here are their official descriptions and working titles.

Episode I: Ardyn
“The Conflict of the Sage”
This story portrays the struggles of Ardyn. Witness the resentment he harbored towards Lucis for over 2,000 years, and his clashes with the Astrals.

Episode Side Story: Aranea
“The Beginning of the End”
A side-story about the Starscourge depicted from the Niflheim’s perspective. The final day of the Empire turns out to be Aranea’s worst day.

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.

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.

(They also announced that the Comrades multiplayer expansion will be released as a standalone product this summer.)

Episode Ardyn sounds out of keeping with the “future” theme, since it should be depicting events of the past, but it’s the DLC I wanted the most.

Episode Aranea appears to be shorter than the others, since it’s described as a “side story” rather than being numbered with the others.

Episode Lunafreya and Episode Noctis (and yes, it’s ironic to get an Episode Noctis when the entire game focused on him) are the ones most obviously connected to an alternate future. Luna will help Noctis overcome his destiny and he’ll reach an ideal future.

Alternate ending DLC is… odd. It’s not particularly what I hoped for, but it’s less frustrating than DLC that feels necessary to tell a complete story. Still, I’d have traded it for DLC actually expanding Luna’s role in the plot and maybe showing us Iris during the time skip.

But it is what it is. I just hope Ardyn’s DLC isn’t a part of the “alternate grand finale,” since we need to learn about his past, not an alternate future.

What do you think about the upcoming Final Fantasy XV DLC? Are you planning to get any of it? Let me know in the comments.