Final Fantasy XV: Road Trip! (Part Two)

Welcome back to part two!

Now, with all I've already said, you might be thinking, what about Lunafreya? And to that I say, I don't know. One of the most disappointing things here, writing wise, is that Luna has no discernible character. Her job is to be the oracle and help the king (who is now Noctis) and that's pretty much it. 

She makes really poetic speeches about light and dark and everyone says she's really important. But I haven't been given a reason to care about her except for Noctis' flashbacks. And even in those, she seems super mature for her age and stiff, rather than a kid.  

She does have one really good character moment but it doesn't last long. It involves a flashback where she's speaking to a messenger of the gods. She implies that, while she hopes the upcoming marriage isn't a burden to Noctis, she is actually looking forward to reuniting with him and staying by his side. 

That's the only selfish desire she admits to having. She doesn't even mention her brother who switched sides to the empire for some reason. But I'll come back to that later. 

As we collect royal arms, we get messages from Luna using magical messenger dogs. I really appreciate this mechanic because it lets me interact with Luna via small notes of chosen dialogue. Even if it doesn't have a good payoff, I won't get mad at the story for letting me role play. 

And almost on cue, Luna delivers our next plot objective to the boys. In order to give Noctis more power, Luna begins seeking covenants with the six gods of Eos on his behalf. The gods themselves actually have some character to them but don't get too much screen time aside from Noctis gaining their powers. They're absent in human affairs but have personality. Some like humans, some don't, and some don't really care. 

Upon obtaining two of the six gods, Noctis finds out Luna is in Altissia to meet with another god. The royal arms have sorta been disregarded but the plot makes time for them here and there. Whatever makes Noctis the strongest as they bee line to the empire seems like the best idea. And I don't blame them too much seeing as how darkness is slowly taking over the world; literal darkness, as in days get longer, meaning daemons are out longer in the day. 

During the boat ride to Altissia, which is long overdue, the boys and Cid reminisce over the plot so far. It's a nice, slow moment paced to let everyone air how they feel about ongoing events. And it's optional so you can skip past it. But I recommend not doing that, the characters elaborate on a few background details that help fill in the world around them. 

Oh, and I should probably talk about the main antagonist at some point too. What's that? You thought the empire was the main villain, or the maybe the daemons? It turns out, they're really just proxies of a larger problem. 

The chancellor of Niflheim, Ardyn Izunia, makes his early appearances by helping out the boys and being very strange and very cryptic. And also relatively flamboyant so he gets style points for that. However, apparently his first name and general appearance isn't enough to distinguish him as the boys have no idea who he is. He has major influence with the empire and often just politely moves entire armies out of the way when the boys need extra help. 

It's only when he reveals his last name do they have any idea who is. It's very strange and his motivations make no sense at this point (neither does that one scene where he saves the boys, has the empire tow their car, and drops them off at a random location. And then lets them take their car back!). The boys at least acknowledge how weird it is but they're cautiously open to letting him help. We'll talk more about him as he reveals his own motivations; it's not as disappointing as you might think. 

So the boys arrive at the immigration checkpoint in Altissia and not a single person can recognize that Noctis is the prince. You might think I'm being petty by pointing out how people don't recognize famous individuals but this world has television! I've seen them in the diner! How is no one snapping pictures of him from afar? 

The double-edged sword of this conundrum comes into play with a side quest where Noctis can go into town and see Luna's wedding dress, that she never got to wear, in a store window. Every person in this Venice-like city is clamoring to see the dress. Heck, I got lost on the gondolas because I wanted to see it so bad. 

Finding the dress is a bitter sweet moment where Noctis silently looks on the future he and Luna might have had together. And they could still have it at this point. While concise and unspoken, Noctis clearly cares about Luna. Upon arrival of the town, all Noctis thinks about doing is finding her. Even if they aren't romantic, I genuinely believe that Noctis has sincere feelings for Luna. 

I might not understand why, because as the player, I haven't received that level of depth from her. But, none the less, I believe that Noctis feels this way. And even that small distinction works in the game's favor. 

So, the boys continue with a secret rendezvous, when the leader of Altissia shows up to invite Noctis back to her manor. Somehow she knew Noctis was in the city (I guess someone recognized him after all) and wants to discuss the terms of what to do about Lunafreya. 

There's a neat amount of dialogue you get to choose when talking to Altissia's leader. You can be flippant, demanding, or sympathetic to her side of things while also trying to guarantee Luna's safety and help against the empire. 

If you do well, you get some coins. Not currency, just coins that are treasure and you can sell them or use them to make magic. Which is good, I guess? I got a good chance to role play as King Noctis negotiating terms but finding out it doesn't really change anything is a let down.

But what isn't a let down is the next action sequence! It's pulls out all the stops to ensure momentum is flying off all the walls. Luna summons Leviathan and demonstrates a lot of confidence and magical prowess. Leviathan hates humans so Luna is taking some hits while convincing the goddess that Noctic is worth her time. Half the city gets torn apart by tidal waves that look like dragons, the empire shows up with airships and start shooting, and Noctis is all by himself while the boys are evacuating the citizens (Which I appreciate them lamp-shading. It would've been weird if everyone was just fine or dead with no effort)

Noctis gets his butt kicked and Luna does something vaguely magical to awaken his royal arms' special abilities. Then Ardyn shows up and stabs Luna while she's busy. The only reason I can find for him doing this is to piss off Noctis. Because after this, we still get the other three gods to work for us without her (whether they like it or not). 

So we defeat Leviathan, throw her in a poke ball, mourn Luna after she gave Noctis his dad's ring (that the king had entrusted to her), and call it a day. I'm coming off as cavalier but like I said, I never got to know Luna so I'm more disappointed than anything. 

In Final Fantasy VII, Aerith spends 2/3rds of the game with us before she gets killed by Sephiroth. She was a plot device with special powers just like Luna, but Aerith at least had character. Aerith was involved in a love triangle, made a meager living selling flowers in the slums, helped us during fights, helped us discover white materia. Heck, she's part of the reason we storm Shinra Headquarters. Even if her character wasn't any good, at least we were given time to decide that. With Luna, not so much. 

The real payoff is watching Noctis react to her death, causing another stirred up feud among the boys. Ignis was injured off screen (Because why not cut that too while we're at it?) and Gladiolus is tired of Noctis being somber for the past couple weeks when others are still suffering. 

This is a way better feud than before because we're playing with full house of evidence this time. Gladio is coming from a place of caring about Ignis and wanting to encourage Noctis but he's too abrasive for his own good. Ignis is blind in one eye so he feels like burden but can't bear to abandon his friends. And poor Prompto is caught in the middle, trying to keep the peace. Then there's the poor Regalia is parked in the back of the train, if you're curious. 

There are a lot of emotions everywhere so the games takes a second while they're on this train to Niflheim to look for a royal arm. Okay, now I know this train transition just sorta happened but bear with me. The transition is jarring and we just left Altissia without too much direction but the game is doing the right thing by slowing things down. 

There's a lot going on so the game dives into what it does best; having our boys take time for the little things. They make time for a detour and get used to what's happened. Ignis is slow moving with his cane. Noctis is leading the group but gets warned if he strays too far in the fog. Gladio keeps to himself and Prompto is right by Ignis' side, making sure he's hanging in there. When you make camp, all you've got is beans and cup noodles because Ignis sure as hell can't cook with no vision. 

You feel every moment of what they're going through. I might not be fully invested in this plot or understand what's happening but damn if I can't feel how heavily this events are weighing on my boys! 

Even after we find the royal arm and Ignis rejoins as a somewhat competent party member, (with a new skill) things feel tense. Gladio is still avoiding you here and there, Prompto isn't as upbeat as usual, and Ignis is keeping us on our toes with his condition (If Ignis is your party, you literally have to keep slowing down for him until the last hour of the game). The mood has dropped but we've still got the mission in mind.

That's two parts down. We're rounding the home stretch on this road trip and close to the end of this nubile bromance. Stay tuned for the next part!

- Gabriel A. Franco

Writer, Let's Player, and Proud Member of Huffle N' Stuff