When it came out, Final Fantasy 15 felt like a major event. Square Enix had been advertising it and its prior form Final Fantasy Versus 13 for over 10 years, and as Final Fantasy fans had spent those years dealing with the controversial Final Fantasy 13 trilogy and Final Fantasy 14's rough launch, they were ready for something new. After a slew of showings and a delay, Final Fantasy 15 finally came out. As the first open-world title in the series, it was impressive but received mixed reviews. Many noted the gameplay was not on par with other action-RPGs, and it was obvious that the game was rushed out before all of its content was complete.
However, the game had a strong cast of characters that got better over time. Many would agree that some of Final Fantasy 15's best content came after launch. Three DLC episodes focusing on the previously non-playable party members Gladiolus, Prompto, and Ignis came out for the first season pass. Another episode handing players the reigns of Ardyn Izunia, the game's main villain, came later. These episodes provided a fun alternative to Noctis' normal gameplay, and also allowed the developers to implement playable party members into the main game. Unfortunately, Final Fantasy 15 couldn't escape its development woes, and several more DLC episodes had to be canceled before they could come out.
Episode Aranea and Mod Support
The second season pass was intended to construct an expanded backstory for Final Fantasy 15, leading into an alternate ending. Even though this major addition with Episode Aranea never came to pass, Episode Ardyn still delivered a lot of its intended lore. Aranea Highwind is Final Fantasy 15's resident dragoon, and the leader of a mercenary group hired by the Niflheim Empire to apprehend the heroes. It turns out that Aranea was just working for the money, and later joins the heroes' side of her own accord. She was among the most popular side characters in the game, and fans were excited to have her around during the endgame and Prompto's DLC, with Episode Aranea potentially making her playable, or a permanent party member.
Story episodes were not the only DLC planned for Final Fantasy 15. The game and its Comrades multiplayer expansion received a lot of updates over time, and one of the most alluring was the addition of dedicated modding tools for Final Fantasy 15: Windows Edition. Basic model swapping mods and importing Comerades avatars into the main game were already common, but this official toolset would have allowed players to dive even deeper into changing Final Fantasy 15. However, modifying the game's code was deemed too exhaustive for the team still working on post-launch support.
Episode Luna, Episode Noctis, and The Dawn of the Future
The final two episodes of the second season pass were adapted into the Final Fantasy 15: The Dawn of the Future. These episodes were likely meant to present the plot of the second half of the novel, being an alternate ending to FF15 where the Astral dragon Bahamut is outed as the true villain. The first is Episode Luna, which might have finally given Noctis' fiance some time in the spotlight. One of Final Fantasy 15's criticisms was that Lunafreya, despite being billed as a major character, was barely present before dying. Episode Luna would have seen Lunafreya restored in order to complete Bahamut's plan of purging the Starscourge from Eos. With her new Starscourge-absorbing power, Lunafreya would have been able to take center stage.
Episode Noctis would have been the grand finale of Final Fantasy 15. Players would once again control Noctis, now navigating a timeline caused by Ardyn's refusal to go along with Bahamut's plan. Noctis would have fought Lunafreya in Daemon form, as she had been overwhelmed by purging the Starscourge from Ifrit. Bahamut would have then used the dark energy Lunafreya gathered to fuel his Teraflare, which would be repelled by Noctis, his friends, and the other Astrals. Ardyn would then perform the True King's ritual to purge the Starscourge in Noctis' place, and upon Bahamut's death all magic would have disappeared from Eos.
Everyone but Ardyn and the Astros would be alive in this timeline, serving as a much happier ending than the base game. It would have been interesting to see all of this realized in playable form, but perhaps it was for the better that Square Enix let Final Fantasy 16 take the spotlight instead.
Final Fantasy 15 is available now on PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.