Final Fantasy XV: The Dawn of the Future
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-06-22 07:56:59
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Jun Eishima
- ISBN：1646090004
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
A volume of all-new， character-driven stories expanding on the world of the hit video game Final Fantasy XV。 This deluxe， hardcover edition includes full-color inserts featuring concept art and exclusive content。
To oppose the gods or yield to fate？
That is the question confronting each of the characters in The Dawn of the Future。 Ardyn， having saved countless lives from the Starscourge， means to become the Founder King of Lucis and instead is cast into tragic exile。 On the day the Empire falls， as the imperial capital collapses around them， Commodore Aranea is entrusted with the life of a singular young girl。 The Oracle Lunafreya， upon awakening from the slumber of death， discovers that her body has undergone an extraordinary transformation。 And after gazing upon the eternal， Noctis， the True King， finally comes to terms with his destiny。 Herein lie the stories of the dawning of a new world in Final Fantasy XV。
To oppose the gods or yield to fate？
That is the question confronting each of the characters in The Dawn of the Future。 Ardyn， having saved countless lives from the Starscourge， means to become the Founder King of Lucis and instead is cast into tragic exile。 On the day the Empire falls， as the imperial capital collapses around them， Commodore Aranea is entrusted with the life of a singular young girl。 The Oracle Lunafreya， upon awakening from the slumber of death， discovers that her body has undergone an extraordinary transformation。 And after gazing upon the eternal， Noctis， the True King， finally comes to terms with his destiny。 Herein lie the stories of the dawning of a new world in Final Fantasy XV。
Reviews
rhiannon
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these books always suck， im just a nerd
Lex
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Its the ending I wantedAlso provides a better character development。 FFxv was a great world building game but I couldn't help be disappointed by the lack of character driven story。 This reading was a much more stratisfying conclusion Its the ending I wantedAlso provides a better character development。 FFxv was a great world building game but I couldn't help be disappointed by the lack of character driven story。 This reading was a much more stratisfying conclusion 。。。more
Eduardo Camps Moreno
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Mi baja calificación no se debe entender como un síntoma de poco disfrute， la disfruté bastante， sino de la tristeza que implica que una novela así sea la conclusión de lo que pudo haber sido una historia increíble。No entraré en los pormenores que sufrió el juego en lo que algunos llaman sus "10 años de desarrollo"， pero la historia repartida en múltiples medios audiovisuales termina encontrando aquí la última expresión de su desastrosa forma de ser contada。 Entre animes， películas， dlcs y múlti Mi baja calificación no se debe entender como un síntoma de poco disfrute， la disfruté bastante， sino de la tristeza que implica que una novela así sea la conclusión de lo que pudo haber sido una historia increíble。No entraré en los pormenores que sufrió el juego en lo que algunos llaman sus "10 años de desarrollo"， pero la historia repartida en múltiples medios audiovisuales termina encontrando aquí la última expresión de su desastrosa forma de ser contada。 Entre animes， películas， dlcs y múltiples videojuegos， el consumidor tiene que hacer un esfuerzo consciente muchas veces en querer disfrutar la historia para no terminar con una ceja levantada。 Y gracias a que han pasado cinco años desde su publicación es que ahora tenemos una historia más o menos íntegra， no quiero pensar el horrible hueco que los primeros jugadores sintieron al no saber qué diablos le había pasado a Ignis tras lo de Altissia。 Tan desastroso fue el desarrollo del juego， que esta novela representa los 4 argumentos de la segunda tanda de DLCs que tendría el juego， del cual sólo pudimos disfrutar uno tras su abrupta cancelación。 Es en este contexto que debe entender la novela y por lo tanto， es una novela dirigida exclusivamente para los fans del juego， sin dirigirse a una audiencia más amplia。 Lo cual es una pena， pues las 4 historias suceden inmediatamente después de que Noctis alcanzara la capital del Imperio: momento que en el videojuego marca el final de la parte más compleja argumentalmente del juego y empieza el final de la historia。 Aunque existe un resumen， es más bien escuálido y no transmite absolutamente nada respecto a los otros personajes que conocimos en el juego: Ignis， Prompto y Gladio harán su respectiva aparición en algún momento de la novela， pero a menos de que uno haya desarrollado aprecio por estos personajes en otros medios， acá será difícil hasta recordar los 3 nombres。 Más aún， tres de sus protagonistas （Aranea， Noctis y Lunafreya） carecen de un desarrollo que nos explique por qué estamos en el punto donde comienza la novela （y pobre Aranea， la pobre tiene apenas caracterización en todos los medios de esta historia， pese a ser uno de los personajes que más atracción causó）。 De su cuarto protagonista， Ardyn， hablaré más adelante。La estructura de 4 historias parece intentar marcarnos cuáles serían los supuestos DLCs y aunque en orden cronológico y con una pizca de entrelazamiento entre cada una de las historias que pueden dar una sensación de continuidad， uno hecha en falta una historia más fluida y menos enfocada en un sólo protagonista con la intención de por fin obtener toda la magnitud de ese mundo que nos imaginamos en el videojuego。 Y es que la novela cuenta hechos importantes que en el videojuego se pasaron más bien por encima: la descripción de la caída de una ciudad， de algunos personajes de a pie y en general， una mayor atención a los detalles habrían corregido parcialmente uno de los mayores pecados que el juego principal tiene y es darnos un mundo inmenso pero vacío， donde se siente que más bien uno está jugando en una maqueta más que en un mundo íntegro （salvo los npcs necesarios para la historia， el resto son maniquís con apenas caracterización）。Pero para ello se hubiera requerido una pluma más hábil。 Con todo respeto para el escritor， que seguro no es quien inventó todos los detalles de esta historia sino quien sólo la escribió， pero en muchos lados se echa en falta una pluma más poderosa para transmitir。 Es la misma historia la que transmite， más que la habilidad del escritor， pues por lo demás， se limita a enumerar una serie de hechos más que a involucrarnos con una historia: como tomar un periódico el día después de los dragones revivieron y leyeramos "el dragón de escamas rasposas se alzó sobre la ciudad y la destruyó" sin mayor dimensión。 Y se echa en falta en dos momentos particulares: cuando hace descripciones de las batallas y los poderes （y es aquí cuando otra vez se hace patente que la novela es sólo para los jugadores， de lo contrario frases como "un destello azul con el que apareció su espada" se volverán totalmente irrelevantes cuando no confusas para quien no entienda las armas del juego）。 El otro momento en el que se hecha en falta es para ahondar en los personajes más complejos。Y eso me lleva al 4to protagonista del que no hablé antes。 Ardyn。 Qué tristeza que uno de los mejores villanos de Final Fantasy se vea opacado por todas las deficiencias que aquí he enlistado。 Y aun así， su historia es tan potente que sólo él， la dimensión que él le otorga a toda la historia， hacen tolerables todas esas deficiencias。 Quien fuera apenas explicado en el juego （y aun así， ya transmitía suficiente fuerza）， encontró en el DLC la complejidad que lo hace memorable。 ¡Qué oportunidad más desaprovechada la del escritor aquí！ Recontar los hechos del DLC， sólo cambiando el final y agregando apenas escenas parece un desperdicio para poder explotar lo mejor de la historia。 Sobre todo porque en esta novela él sigue siendo el motor principal， siendo el único que aparece en las 4 historias。 Ardyn es la chispa inicial de toda la acción del juego y la historia final， que también tuvo que ser su final， apenas y le dedica tiempo。 Obtuve más final de él en las imágenes al final del libro que de la historia misma。 Y cuánto se hecha en falta una pluma que justifiqué mejor la transición de Ardyn y que nos haga entender más a un Bahamut que de pronto se convierte en villano con explicaciones más bien endebles: Ardyn siempre fue un personaje ambiguo， pero Bahamut es sencillamente caprichoso。Pero no se me malentienda。 Las 4 historias son entretenidas， siendo la más endeble quizás la de Aranea， pero sosteniéndose al ser la que nos introduce al único nuevo personaje。 Están enmarcadas dentro de una misma línea que， como dije， le dan continuidad a la novela y nos conducen a una serie de hechos finales y distintos a los del juego。 Dependerá de gustos qué final gusta más， pero al igual que el trailer Omen o el final alternativo del episodio Ignis， no hay mayor justificación de por qué estamos leyendo esa serie de eventos distintos o por qué los eventos del juego fueron posibles。 Los fans han hecho más por encontrarle un sentido que Square Enix por intentar justificarse。 El final alternativo es satisfactorio respecto a la mayoría de nuestros personajes （aunque como dije， se echa en falta un mejor desarrollo para el final de Ardyn）， jugando el rol de "final feliz"。 El libro es de tapa dura con cubierta， buena calidad y el contenido extra es en interesante para terminar de entender las rutas que los desarrolladores barajeaban como finales para nuestros protagonistas: al menos una de las imágenes conmoverán a más de uno。Éste es propiamente el final de Final Fantasy XV。 Un juego desastroso con una historia llena de potencial y un villano que pese a todo， hará que el juego se destaque en la saga。 Es un viaje accidentado que， pese a todo， es increíblemente satisfactorio。 Por desgracia， llegar hasta acá sólo será para los más devotos y eso significa que， en general， los méritos de la historia hallan su fuente fuera de este libro， aunque aquí sea donde， por fin， encontramos su desembocadura。 。。。more
rachael ♡
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Necessary reading for all fans of this game。 It’s perfect ✨
max
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1。 I don't like Ardyn。 Not a fan of everything added to him as it makes him worse。 I used to like him back when the game first came out， but they just ham fisted sympathetic villain into his character that it just makes me annoyed。 Because he could have been cool， but nah lol out of everything， this one felt a lot like a fanfiction and I didn't enjoy it。2。 After reading Aranea's story though， it makes me upset that we did not get to see her DLC because that would have been really cool。 Also， I l 1。 I don't like Ardyn。 Not a fan of everything added to him as it makes him worse。 I used to like him back when the game first came out， but they just ham fisted sympathetic villain into his character that it just makes me annoyed。 Because he could have been cool， but nah lol out of everything， this one felt a lot like a fanfiction and I didn't enjoy it。2。 After reading Aranea's story though， it makes me upset that we did not get to see her DLC because that would have been really cool。 Also， I love her and nothing will change that。 Her story was fun and added more depth into her character。3。 So I am more of a fan of the original， true ending because I think that makes for a better story that hits closer than the ten different endings the dev's couldn't all agree on。 That being said， I really liked Luna's story。 Upset that we couldn't get her DLC merely because I absolutely adore Sol as a character and her banter with Luna was fantastic to read。 Not into the ending though。 Like I said， I don't like Ardyn and this whole 'kingdom hearts'-esque ending just isn't for me。4。 The last one was a total divergent of the original ending， so there were some things I enjoyed， other things I did not。 I think the only thing I enjoyed of it was the very beginning and then the very end with the wedding。 The middle and end of conflict things I was like。。。eh。。。especially when it came to Ardyn。 tl;dr I don't like Ardyn hgskgj 。。。more
Agenger1
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This FINAL FANTASY XV -Dawn of the Future it's EMOTIONAL。 This FINAL FANTASY XV -Dawn of the Future it's EMOTIONAL。 。。。more
Katie McKernan-Clarke
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The first Final Fantasy game I’ve ever played， and I have so so so much love for everything about it。 This book is no exception。 It was definitely a mercy after the ending of the games/DLCs， but bittersweet given how great it would have been to actually have it realised in the content that never eventuated。
Daniel Rumbell
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Not going to lie， I didn't actually finish this thing。 The scenarios are good， and the characters have their depth， but it is a translation and it is tedious。 There are parts that I enjoyed， but even those tended to slow everything down to a crawl。 I like the world this takes pace in， and I like the characters themselves。 With the exception of the first of the four stories， these are the unmade DLC chapters of the game， so if you felt it was incomplete as an experience， here's what was never fin Not going to lie， I didn't actually finish this thing。 The scenarios are good， and the characters have their depth， but it is a translation and it is tedious。 There are parts that I enjoyed， but even those tended to slow everything down to a crawl。 I like the world this takes pace in， and I like the characters themselves。 With the exception of the first of the four stories， these are the unmade DLC chapters of the game， so if you felt it was incomplete as an experience， here's what was never finished and put in。 I don't know about how it reads in its original language， but this translation could have used a more exciting effort。 。。。more
Marie Flower Panda
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Aujourd'hui je vous parle d'un roman portant sur l'une de mes séries de jeux vidéo préférées， les Final Fantasy， et sur l'un de mes épisodes préférés : Final Fantasy XV。Pour les gamers， cette franchise historique vous parlera immédiatement。 Pour celles et ceux qui ne connaîtraient pas， il s'agit d'une série de jeux dont le 1er épisode est sorti en 1987 （j'étais même pas née 😅）。 Chaque épisode se veut indépendant et prend place dans un univers magique， où une équipe de héros doit sauver le monde。 Aujourd'hui je vous parle d'un roman portant sur l'une de mes séries de jeux vidéo préférées， les Final Fantasy， et sur l'un de mes épisodes préférés : Final Fantasy XV。Pour les gamers， cette franchise historique vous parlera immédiatement。 Pour celles et ceux qui ne connaîtraient pas， il s'agit d'une série de jeux dont le 1er épisode est sorti en 1987 （j'étais même pas née 😅）。 Chaque épisode se veut indépendant et prend place dans un univers magique， où une équipe de héros doit sauver le monde。 Classique mais ô combien addictif ！Le dernier épisode en date， le XV， a beaucoup fait parler de lui， en bien comme en mal。 Personnellement， je l'ai adoré ！ Forcément， il me fallait donc Dawn of the Future， qui n'est ni plus ni moins que la version écrite des épisodes du Season Pass。Honnêtement， il n'apporte pas grand chose par rapport au Season Pass。 Pour exemple， l'épisode d'Ardyn est identique dans les deux versions， le roman ne donnant que quelques tout petits détails supplémentaires。 Mais comme j'adore Ardyn et ses répliques cultes， c'est pas grave ！！ En revanche， il était prévu initialement d'autres épisodes supplémentaires sur console。 Or， malheureusement， ceux-ci ne verront jamais le jour （Lunafreya， Aranea）。 Le seul moyen de les découvrir est donc de les lire ici。 Et là， il y a un réel apport。Est-ce que cela suffisait pour justifier l'achat de ce roman ？ À mes yeux de fan， oui， certains vides du jeu ayant pu être comblés。 Mais cela m'a également frustrée car j'aurais tant aimé jouer à ces épisodes。。。ConclusionBref， vous l'aurez compris， c'est un roman essentiellement à destination des joueurs de FFXV qui permet de prolonger encore un peu l'aventure dans le monde d'Eos。https://flowerpanda04。wixsite。com/pan。。。 。。。more
Diana Agudo
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Final Fantasy is probably my favorite franchise in videogames。 I was disaponted that Final Fantasy XV didn't get the rest of the DLC thought for this game。 A real page turner couldn't let go and finished it in one day。 Final Fantasy is probably my favorite franchise in videogames。 I was disaponted that Final Fantasy XV didn't get the rest of the DLC thought for this game。 A real page turner couldn't let go and finished it in one day。 。。。more
Jorge Luis
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Como fanático de la saga， y sobre todo de esta entrega debo decir que disfrute mucho la lectura， sobre todo el capitulo de Luna， siento que el final no fue tan épico en libro realmente el Impacto como DLC hubiera sido mejor。 Pero en vista de la situación recomiendo este libro a cualquiera que juegue final fantasy xv y busque expandir ese mundo。
Alex
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The story in this book details indeed a glorious ending that the FFXV game definitely deserved。 If timelines had been kind to the dev’t team and all of the storylines were inserted into the main game， FFXV surely would’ve been considered as one of the best FFs ever。 When I first heard of spoilers for the ending included in this book， which somehow negates the original ending in the game， I thought it wouldn’t fit well。 The original ending was heartbreaking in a beautiful，poignant way。 But as I r The story in this book details indeed a glorious ending that the FFXV game definitely deserved。 If timelines had been kind to the dev’t team and all of the storylines were inserted into the main game， FFXV surely would’ve been considered as one of the best FFs ever。 When I first heard of spoilers for the ending included in this book， which somehow negates the original ending in the game， I thought it wouldn’t fit well。 The original ending was heartbreaking in a beautiful，poignant way。 But as I read on， it fit perfectly， and all of the cogs in the storyline fell into place in a rewarding way。 So sad that the Dev’t team wasn’t able to make this game the way they wanted to。 -Writing-wise， I like how the style changes per character。 But the reading experience also feels disjointed somehow？ It doesn’t flow as well as it should。 Regardless， the plot alone is well worth the read。 Favorite parts would have to be Aranea （I love her！） and Luna and Noct’s chapters。 （so in short all？？）。 If you’re an FFXV fan， you need to read this。 。。。more
Remimi
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Here it is， the true ending of Final Fantasy XV and the third main entry in the Fabula Nova Crystallis project。 It's a downer that we never got the development of Lunafreya and Aranea in the game that the book unfurls。 Lastly， I would've liked to have a bit more information on Cindy， Iris， and Ravus to round out the complete ending that this book provides。 Otherwise， it was enjoyable。 The dialogue lacked overall， but the descriptions and thoughts of the characters were very well done。 Either way Here it is， the true ending of Final Fantasy XV and the third main entry in the Fabula Nova Crystallis project。 It's a downer that we never got the development of Lunafreya and Aranea in the game that the book unfurls。 Lastly， I would've liked to have a bit more information on Cindy， Iris， and Ravus to round out the complete ending that this book provides。 Otherwise， it was enjoyable。 The dialogue lacked overall， but the descriptions and thoughts of the characters were very well done。 Either way， I don't regret buying the book， nor reading it。 Thank you for giving the fans this book。 。。。more
Bradley Freeman
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This one is easy - if you are a fan of FFXV （and it's likely you are to read this）， then you'll enjoy this book。 All the planned DLC is here in story format。I'd like to highlight the translation done here， as it can't have been an easy one （quasi-formal/fantasy-based Japanese switched over to English without a single bump along the way）， and the whole book soars along without a dull sentence。The only downside to it all is that often， you can see where the game levels would have been， and it's no This one is easy - if you are a fan of FFXV （and it's likely you are to read this）， then you'll enjoy this book。 All the planned DLC is here in story format。I'd like to highlight the translation done here， as it can't have been an easy one （quasi-formal/fantasy-based Japanese switched over to English without a single bump along the way）， and the whole book soars along without a dull sentence。The only downside to it all is that often， you can see where the game levels would have been， and it's not quite so interesting to read。 X character attacks X monster。 Sees a weak point。 Attacks that。 Moves to another weak point and targets that， etc。 It does read like a breakdown of a boss fight at times， without any real character insight or added content。But hey， you like Eos？ Want to know the alternate ending with Noctis and Co。？This book is for you。 。。。more
Christoper Tan
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I really dissapointed after reading the whole book and realized this book ending is just so much better than the game ending。 So about the book the story starts 5/10 ten years after noctis being suck to the crystal to regain his true power。 The book consist of 4 chapters: Ardyn ， Aranea， Lunafreya， and Noctis。 For Ardyn chapter is basicly the same as the game dlc story but it give you more detail about the god old war， ring of lucii power， beyond area and bahamut。 For Aranea chapter is great bec I really dissapointed after reading the whole book and realized this book ending is just so much better than the game ending。 So about the book the story starts 5/10 ten years after noctis being suck to the crystal to regain his true power。 The book consist of 4 chapters: Ardyn ， Aranea， Lunafreya， and Noctis。 For Ardyn chapter is basicly the same as the game dlc story but it give you more detail about the god old war， ring of lucii power， beyond area and bahamut。 For Aranea chapter is great because as we know the game didnt tell much background story for aranea in the first place， and in this chapter we also introduced with a character named sol which gonna help lunafreya when she grow up。 Lunafreya chapter is the most shocking one so basicly lunafreya is suppose to be dead in altisia but the god（bahamut） bring her back to life and give her new calling and power to defeat ardyn in this chapter we also gonna see sol and lunafreya forming bond together in their journey。 In noctis chapter we can see his struggle to defy his calling and god（bahamut） which gonna destroy the realm using teraflames and make luna as sacrifice。 In this chapter we can also see luna and noctis romance as their both willing to defy their calling just to be together and save the world。 。。。more
Zhu
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This hurts。 The content was clearly designed for gameplay and it's a damn shame we'll never get to see it。 Because it would have been epic。 In many ways， this feels like the true True Ending to FFXV and I'm glad we got to see it in some form。 I enjoyed looking into the thoughts of beloved characters and am finally content to say goodbye。 So farewell， Noctis and co。 It's been my pleasure。 This hurts。 The content was clearly designed for gameplay and it's a damn shame we'll never get to see it。 Because it would have been epic。 In many ways， this feels like the true True Ending to FFXV and I'm glad we got to see it in some form。 I enjoyed looking into the thoughts of beloved characters and am finally content to say goodbye。 So farewell， Noctis and co。 It's been my pleasure。 。。。more
Jessica
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Hi， my name is Jessica， and I’m a FFXV-obsessed fangirl。 I’d wager a guess that you’re also a fan – maybe even a super-fan – if you’re interested enough to read this review。Either that， or you’re a friend who clicked the link in partial disbelief， just to confirm that I have， in fact， come out of my self-imposed Goodreads hibernation。Hi。That title I gave myself at the start – FFXV-obsessed fangirl – is one I embrace， and wear with pride。 Games， books， sound tracks， movies， animated episodes…I ha Hi， my name is Jessica， and I’m a FFXV-obsessed fangirl。 I’d wager a guess that you’re also a fan – maybe even a super-fan – if you’re interested enough to read this review。Either that， or you’re a friend who clicked the link in partial disbelief， just to confirm that I have， in fact， come out of my self-imposed Goodreads hibernation。Hi。That title I gave myself at the start – FFXV-obsessed fangirl – is one I embrace， and wear with pride。 Games， books， sound tracks， movies， animated episodes…I have pins and stickers and keychains and even a replica reusable Ebony can， for crying out loud。 Yeah， I’m pretty far gone。 So， a few things to lay out before getting into my thoughts on the episodes。First， I’m working on the assumption that anyone reading this review has played through the game at least once。 That being the case， I won’t hide any plot points or references to the main game in the reviews below。 I will bury any references to existing DLC， or information given outside of the games themselves， and will of course suppress spoilers to the episodes in this book。The second thing I want to say is， if you’re a fan， and are contemplating buying this book， I have two things to say。 a） DO IT， you won’t be disappointed; and 2） definitely splurge on the hard cover version。 I’ve heard all kinds of nonsense about the artwork not translating correctly to the e-book， and trust me， you want to be able to see the gorgeous drawings and concept art in all its lustrous， beautiful glory。Now that that’s out of the way， if you’re here for the episode reviews， feel free to skip the background， and scroll to the first title “A Savior Lost”， bolded so it’s easier to find。If you’re interested in extra background， well…don’t say you weren’t warned。I’m well over 400 hours into this world in total， and that number is still rising: watching my husband’s one and only playthrough; my own 4。5 playthroughs （one on normal， of course; my first NewGame+ was interrupted just over halfway through by the arrival of our PS5; my next real NewGame+， capping the guys at 120; and my current run， starting over from scratch）。 I’ve played 4 of the 5 available DLC’s， getting completionist on Ignis and Ardyn， eyeballing Gladiolus， passing on Prompto （I’m just not a shooter。） And I’ve bawled my eyes out over the course of each of those playthroughs; it was a stunned sob on my husband’s run， an I-knew-this-was-coming-but-still-how-COULD-YOU？ cry on my first run， and finally a this-feels-like-my-soul’s-been-torn-out-through-my-nostrils cry on my next one。 I feel for the characters， and love everything about the world， from Ardyn to Zegnautus Keep。 Hell， I can honestly say that sometimes I preferred the boys to my own brothers。 （Sometimes， I still do…） And yes， this book did make me cry – two of the four stories， at least。 I may have slammed the book， crossed my arms， pouted a bit， and pushed the book further away from me a couple times on repeat， as well。 I’m emotionfullTM， what can I say？ Anyway…review！A Savior Lost （Episode Ardyn）I actually read this story before playing Episode Ardyn， the only DLC episode that was birthed into the world。 It was bittersweet， because the story was so beautifully told， and the game itself was about 98% true to these pages。 （view spoiler）[Except for that ending， which took me so by surprise I actually audibly gasped and twitched， and felt my eyes grow as wide as they can。 （hide spoiler）]My feelings for Ardyn – already so complicated as to make me shy away from trying to define them – were sent reeling after reading this story。 （view spoiler）[and after playing the episode。 I can’t tell you how long it took me to ease into playing as Ardyn， fighting the Crownsguard and the Kingsglaive on the streets of Insomnia。 But， once I got over that， I realized: Ardyn was bad ass and so fun to play！ （hide spoiler）] You get much of his history from his own lips and the whispers of the Crystal throughout the main story， but this episode dove right into the chain of events that led to creating the Ardyn Izunia we know and sometimes love， most times hate。 Add to that the concept art the production team used as inspiration – ties to the Lucius line， defining differences between Ardyn and family， introducing the Oracle lineage， and Ardyn in exile – and the effect is astounding。 Just， breathtakingly astounding。And that’s only the first episode。I won’t dawdle too long on this one – it is， after all， DLC that anyone can get and play， but the other three…ah， the other three。The Beginning of the End （Episode Aranea）Fan-girl disclosure: Aranea was one of my most favorite characters – top 3， at least – and I’m not ashamed to admit that I love， love， love everything about her。 If I wasn’t such a cheapskate， I’d have an Aranea action figure on my desk right now （alas， it’s hard for me to justify that kind of money on something I’d just moon over…though， I guess I could argue that that’s exactly the point of an action figure， innit？）At any rate， this was the Aranea history I didn’t know I needed， and am so happy to have。 Her story – and that of Biggs and Wedge， which tickled me to no end – picks up on the heels of the events at Altissia， and plunges the reader into the aftermath of a war and the principles that drove Lady A to give up her post as Commodore of Niflheim’s Third Army Corps’ 87th Airborne Division。 nerd alertThe story also offers insight into Aranea’s childhood， as well as her unbreakable bonds with Biggs and Wedge （providing， along the way， surprising and fun tidbits about their personalities， and why they work so well as a team。） It also cements her strength of character and mind， as well as her incredible bravery and unyielding devotion to her country and her men。This is the shortest of the four episodes， with an abrupt ending。 One minute you’re zipping along the streets of Gralea， trading verbal barbs and punches （view spoiler）[with Ardyn， who in this instant is an a-hole （hide spoiler）]， and the next you realize a great deal of time has passed， but that you won’t be privy to anything that’s changed， at least， not yet。The story does introduce a new character， who’s dropped into Aranea’s lap at the hands of a main story side character that you either loathed or tolerated （view spoiler）[I was team loathe， honestly。 Loqi was just too randomly obsessed with Cor， and he’d pop up， cause a ruckus， get his ass handed to him， then slink off to lick his wounds before popping up in the oddest of places again and again…he just seemed forced on the reader。 At any rate， I did find him annoying in this story， but at least he gave his life for Aranea and Sol to escape…？ （hide spoiler）]， causing a few changes in the personalities and responsibilities of Aranea， Biggs and Wedge。Choosing Freedom （Episode Lunafreya）Having played the game， I can almost hear your question: How， exactly， does Luna have an episode？ Well， here there be spoilers。 But， for those curious， this is where the disparate storylines really start to line up and make sense。 （view spoiler）[Especially the gasp-inducing ending of Episode Ardyn （hide spoiler）]（view spoiler）[We catch up with Luna ten years after Altissia， ten years after Noct is sucked into the Crystal， ten years after darkness engulfed Eos and the daemons took over。 Poor Luna is ripped from her warm， semi-conscious slumber， reanimated， and unceremoniously awakened in the tomb – her “final resting place” – with no help， no light， and no clue as to what’s going on， much less why or how she was brought back。Enter the daemon who chases her from the tomb， up a hill， down a ravine， and right into the path of Sol， the child taken in by Aranea， Biggs and Wedge ten years prior。 “Child” no longer， Sol is proving her worth with the Hunters， and just happens to drive a motorcycle with a side car。 She also just lied to A， B and W about her whereabouts， so nobody knows where she is or that she’s been separated from her hunting group。Luna and Sol forge an uneasy – at first – alliance， with Sol filling Luna in on the last ten years， and the fate of Noct （though at that point， she can only say that he’s been missing the last ten years。） Along the way， we discover that Luna’s Oracle powers have been replaced by something far less pretty – the power to remove the Scourge from others， sucking the darkness into oneself。 Sounds familiar， no？ This， of course， kicks off a whole new set of doubts and fears in Sol， though she has the presence of mind to ask Cindy to let Gladio， Ignis and Prompto know that someone claiming to be the Oracle returned is in her custody。The girls build a mutual trust and respect while travelling together， which isn’t surprising。 What is surprising is when we finally find out about the circumstances behind Luna’s revival and powers。 Bahamut， the Draconian。 We hate that guy。 Turns out the Draconian has been manipulating everyone for millennia， from poor Ardyn and Aera， right on down to the newly re-animated Luna。 Gentiana is able to warn Luna of the Draconian’s plans， which lights a fire in Luna’s soul – the desire to help Ardyn （say what？） and stop Bahamut on her own （I ask again， say what？）One of the more touching moments came towards the end of the story， after Luna saved Aranea from turning into a daemon herself， absorbing the Scourge and losing that much more of her human self。 Sol is just barely able to restrain Aranea， stopping her from killing Luna。 We’re treated to snippets of conversation between Cor， Gladio， Ignis and Aranea before Sol （and Aranea， tangentially） bust Luna out of her cell to give her a chance to finish her mission。And can I just say how much I loved seeing Umbra show up when Luna most needed him？ We do not deserve dogs。 （hide spoiler）]The Final Glaive （Episode Noctis）Again， having played the game， I can hear your two prevailing questions: a） How， exactly， does Noct have an episode？; and 2） wasn’t the entire Final Fantasy XV game essentially an “Episode Noctis”？ I had the same questions， but now understand what the developers were doing （in addition to tearing my heart out of my chest， shoving it back in， stitching me up， then savagely re-ripping my heart out again， and again， and…well， you get the idea…） This is the story of Noct’s time in the Crystal， of him coming into the Power of Kings， and of his understanding and coming to terms with sacrifice。 （view spoiler）[This is also the ending that my heart so desperately needed – the ending that lets me confidently proclaim， “I reject your reality and insert my own！” whenever my husband and I talk about the game。 （hide spoiler）]We see and understand it all， from his first meeting with Bahamut， to his revelations about Ardyn’s past and own losses。 It’s richly detailed and beautifully presented， allowing the reader to feel Noct’s own doubts， fears and uncertainties， and to experience his struggles with him。 You see him mature into the leader he is upon exiting the Crystal， and I， at least， appreciated that transformation so much more for having been privy to his mind。Remember that book-slamming-arm-crossing-pouting moment I referred to at the beginning？ （view spoiler）[This totally happened after Noct encountered Regis in the Crystal。 Brutal， man。 Beautiful， but still brutal。 （hide spoiler）]Noct’s return to Eos in this story follows much of the path that he takes in the game， with one major exception that I personally take…well， exception…to。 （view spoiler）[By inserting Sol into the game， the developers completely removed the young adult Talcott， effectively scrubbing him and his role – and his eventual confession moment with Noct – from the shared history。 I adored Talcott – as both a precocious young lad and the mature young man – and hate that we lost him so that Sol could have a place in the world。 （hide spoiler）]Things diverge from there， though， as this story treads a different path than what’s forced on us via the game。 I don’t want to have to bury more of this under the spoilers tag， so I won’t go into too much detail， but the long-awaited reunions with Ignis， Gladio and Prompto are perfectly timed and feel comfortable， and the events leading up to and culminating in “the final battle” would have been incredible to play。 I mean – it would have been tough and unrelenting， and I’m sure I would’ve cursed a few times through， but this？ This is the end FFXV fans deserve。Overall impressionsHappy as I am to have these stories – well-written， engaging and detailed – I am truly sad that they’ll never come to fans as DLC。 Playing as Ardyn was fun for many reasons – he really was quite powerful – but more than his story and his mission， I loved romping down the streets of Insomnia， before the fall。 Streets unblemished by war and daemons， streets I vaguely knew from end game。 How fantastic would it be to have these stories brought to life by the original team？ I know it’s not meant to be， but a fan girl can dream。 Like any good “proper” story， these episodes had me laughing， crying， questioning my own sanity and left me wanting more。 。。。more
Pamela Kalimukwa
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I am torn over how I feel about this book， I both love it and hate it。We'll start with the love， I think the story， or the concept of it， is really good。 I wouldn't call it well thought through though。 （view spoiler）[The twist with Ardyn's refusal of his destiny was an interesting one， though I don't feel it should have carried the weight it did。 Bahamut could have still left things as they were and I believe Noctis would still have defeated Ardyn， there was no reason to believe Noctis was now i I am torn over how I feel about this book， I both love it and hate it。We'll start with the love， I think the story， or the concept of it， is really good。 I wouldn't call it well thought through though。 （view spoiler）[The twist with Ardyn's refusal of his destiny was an interesting one， though I don't feel it should have carried the weight it did。 Bahamut could have still left things as they were and I believe Noctis would still have defeated Ardyn， there was no reason to believe Noctis was now incapable of fulfilling his life's calling i。e。 sacrificing himself to defeat the Accursed。 Which brings us to the next issue， the twist on making Bahamut the true villain both makes sense and doesn't make sense。 On one hand we've fought Bahamut before， felling gods is nothing new to Final Fantasy， and we all know Ardyn isn't exactly the big bad we thought he was， after learning of his past in the anime and in Episode Ardyn we discover he really is just another victim， so if he isn't the villain who else but Bahamut？ But on the other hand in FFXV the main game Bahamut was never portrayed as anything but an all knowing divine God， mightiest of the six， who had stirred events from time foretold to drive events to the ultimate culmination of the chosen True King eliminating the scourge that plagued the star。 It's what we laboured for for hours in the game， its what the other 4 （Ifrit being indisposed） of the gods helped us achieve throughout， it's what the game concluded on， its what we were made to believe。 So to turn that on its head the way they did， suddenly talking of how Bahamut had intended to destroy the world during the War of Old， was honestly weird and misplaced。 I've read backstory on FFXV， watched the anime（s）， played the whole game， watched the movie， played all the DLC's and never did I ever hear such a thing mentioned。 It was simply dropped into the book over 200 pages in。 I can accept Bahamut being the villain but not like this， it came out of nowhere， like an after thought。 It so clearly was not the intended plan。 （hide spoiler）]All that said I do like the direction， just not the execution。 I think the story portrayed in Dawn of the Future could possibly be better than the main games actual ending （maybe？）。 With this information the main game basically becomes an ending where the bad guys get away with everything， glorified as good （Somnus and Bahamut） while the victim of their machinations is painted as evil and banished （Ardyn）。 Though I am not entirely sure because the book is so poorly written。 It relies far too heavily on prior knowledge to pretty much the entire world of Eos and story of FFXV， and beyond that the writing， grammar， sentence construction is not great， descriptions are next to non existent。 I pity anyone who tries to read this book without having experienced all the other aspects of the story。 Perhaps if it had actually been made into a game it would have turned out better， especially that final battle would have benefited greatly from the flashy scenes we've grown to expect from final fantasy games， but Square really should just stick to their day job and keep making games， books are not their forte。All in all the book has delivered on 2 things that I have always loved about FFXV， first being a world that is so detailed you can almost think it happened， with strong characters like Noctis and his bros， Ardyn who I have grown to love， and even Lunafreya was fleshed out better in this book than in the game。 I wanna say we didn't get enough of Ignis， Gladio and Prompto and I was urked that they skipped the reunion and Noctis went straight for Insomnia， but we got so much bro love in the game I honestly feel no need to complain， I love these guys so much and with all the love in the main game I don't really feel cheated。 And secondly the characters got the ending I think they deserved， the game ending always left me feeling a bit empty。 （view spoiler）[ Especially Ardyn's end， ultimately he died in both endings but this time it was his choice and I think he deserved that much。 And the fact that Noctis didn't die at all。 （hide spoiler）] To me this is the true ending of Final Fantasy XV， the ending we all deserved， but we deserved it in game。There are some questions that none of the installments have successfully answered。1。 Where exactly did the Starscourge come from？ At one point it was mentioned that it came from a meteor from Ifrit， but Ifrit himself was infected by it and controlled so that's kind of out？ And sometimes it seems to be some kind of divine punishment from Bahamut， the fact that he can give people the gift to control it and he used it to charge Teraflare just confuses things all the more。 People seem to have just settled that it's an alien parasite。2。 Why did the Gods choose Ardyn only for the crystal to reject him？ Didn't they know？ Did they just find it funny？ Getting their shits and giggles from it？ Its never made sense to me。In conclusion， it feels like an incomplete project that Square keep throwing to us in little scraps and convoluted pieces that don't always fit well together。 As much as I love getting more content， I agree with people who say if you need a whole game， 2 anime， a movie， 4 DLCs and a whole novel to tell a story properly then you are doing something wrong。（view spoiler）[ PS was Ravus the only character they didn't think deserved a happier ending？ He was barely mentioned and I assume still died and became a deamon like the original？ Poor Ravus。 （hide spoiler）] 。。。more
Jamaela
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Prior to reading the book， you must play the original game AND the DLCs in order to understand the context of this book。 I haven't played the DLCs， which resulted to a lot of confusion within the book BUT it still helped me understand the plot a lot more。My initial reaction after completing this book was: Why didn't they use this plot in the original game？ I thought the plot in the book was way better than the one in the game。 But after pondering over it， I still felt like the original game's pl Prior to reading the book， you must play the original game AND the DLCs in order to understand the context of this book。 I haven't played the DLCs， which resulted to a lot of confusion within the book BUT it still helped me understand the plot a lot more。My initial reaction after completing this book was: Why didn't they use this plot in the original game？ I thought the plot in the book was way better than the one in the game。 But after pondering over it， I still felt like the original game's plot carried it better。 The book offered an alternate ending that is somewhat optimistic than the game。Overall， it doesn't disappoint - other than the flowery prose which I can't stand most of the time。 I think this is mainly due to the error in translation between Japanese and English， but then again， the plot outweighs the prose。 。。。more
Pierfrancesco Crivellari
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Well， a great way to understand where Tabata wanted to bring the franchise before square enix dropped it。Really fun read， definitely suggested， found myself caring about the new character too， surprisingly。The writing is good too， never played FFXIII or i'd check out the other FF works from the author。 Well， a great way to understand where Tabata wanted to bring the franchise before square enix dropped it。Really fun read， definitely suggested， found myself caring about the new character too， surprisingly。The writing is good too， never played FFXIII or i'd check out the other FF works from the author。 。。。more
Kestra
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i'm going to cry。 this ending is so much better than the one in the game。 i love the characters。 LUNAFREYA I LOVE YOU TO THE MOON。 i'm so happy。 oh god。 the game was amazing but the book。。。。how i wish they did the remaining dlcs。 i'm going to cry。 this ending is so much better than the one in the game。 i love the characters。 LUNAFREYA I LOVE YOU TO THE MOON。 i'm so happy。 oh god。 the game was amazing but the book。。。。how i wish they did the remaining dlcs。 。。。more
Brandon McMahon
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Honestly I prefer this ending to the one we got in game。 A beautiful story all in all。
Michael Davenport
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Good ending to the series。
Pamela Gudobba
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Is it well written？ Not particularly， but the content it provides FAR outweighs that。 Knowing that this is the *true* ending to FFXV is so painful。 I wish they hadn’t given up on this game， because this DLC would have fixed all of the problems people had story-wise。 I’m so upset we had to get this through a book rather than through the game as they had intended。
Britt
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The fact that this wasn’t the canon ending to Final Fantasy 15 is why I’ll never be happy
Austin Grant
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 "You say I am not the savior of man， but his sacrificial lamb。 And that I live only to die by the hand of the heir to an ill-gotten throne"••Final Fantasy XV: The Dawn of the Future by Jun Eishima is both an extension and conclusion to the story of the video game Final Fantasy XV。 Originally， the game was to have extra downloadable content to round out it's story， presenting a happier ending than its original one。 Unfortunately， this content was cancelled， and the would-be story was collected in "You say I am not the savior of man， but his sacrificial lamb。 And that I live only to die by the hand of the heir to an ill-gotten throne"••Final Fantasy XV: The Dawn of the Future by Jun Eishima is both an extension and conclusion to the story of the video game Final Fantasy XV。 Originally， the game was to have extra downloadable content to round out it's story， presenting a happier ending than its original one。 Unfortunately， this content was cancelled， and the would-be story was collected in Dawn of the Future。The novel is split into four parts， each for one of the would-be game episodes。 Each takes place mainly the perspective of a single character， but the one I found to be the most interesting was Ardyn， the main antagonist of the original game。 The novel greatly expands his story and characterization， taking him from a solely evil villain to a nuanced and tragic antihero。 The other characters were just as compelling， with each having their own motivations and goals。All in all， I found the novel to be a satisfying and heart wrenching conclusion to the story of Final Fantasy XV， giving each main character the ending they deserve， whether happy or not。All this being said， the book is really only for those who played and enjoyed Final Fantasy XV， and would likely be near- incomprehensible to those who haven't 。。。more
Jaime
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As a fan of the game， this book was absolutely amazing！ A different ending of the game made the book unpredictable and introduced a couple of new characters that would've been introduced through the DLC's that were cancelled。 Just loved it。 I would recommend this for every Final Fantasy XV fan！！ As a fan of the game， this book was absolutely amazing！ A different ending of the game made the book unpredictable and introduced a couple of new characters that would've been introduced through the DLC's that were cancelled。 Just loved it。 I would recommend this for every Final Fantasy XV fan！！ 。。。more
Alan O'Keeffe
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A shame this didn't make it into the game。 A shame this didn't make it into the game。 。。。more
Nathalie
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Final Fantasy XV was a game and franchise I was never really interested in， but I got the game gifted to me， after which I played it and fell in love with it anyway。The game itself went through development hell， and changed stories and concepts multiple times so much that the initial trailers have nothing to do with how the actual game turned out。 The story therefore， lacks a bit in some places。 I do however really love the character work which makes me more easily forgive those。The game had two Final Fantasy XV was a game and franchise I was never really interested in， but I got the game gifted to me， after which I played it and fell in love with it anyway。The game itself went through development hell， and changed stories and concepts multiple times so much that the initial trailers have nothing to do with how the actual game turned out。 The story therefore， lacks a bit in some places。 I do however really love the character work which makes me more easily forgive those。The game had two rounds of DLC， each consisting of four episodes。 Unfortunately， the second round was cut short， and only Episode Ardyn made it。 This book contains what they had planned for what they never got to make。 （Though it also includes the Ardyn Episode）。As a fan of the game， this was super interesting to read， and it was a joy to see that it really got the character's voices right。 As this novel was originally Japanese， it could have been easy to just do a straight translation instead of making it fit the English version and characters of the game。And I gotta say， getting to read Noctis' thoughts during the final battle is very much a punch in the gut。As with Episode Ignis， the story here includes an alternative ending。Another cool thing: concept art！ I had to load up the file on a computer to get to really look at it all in color and to read the little notes that the development team wrote。 At the end of the book， there's an entire chapter filled with cool art of things they had planned to do or were ideas that they might have done。 And then for some reason there's a bunch of designs for placemats and coasters :DVery recommended if you like the game！ 。。。more
Xia ✻。
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